Demon Hunter (Warcraft III)

Demon Hunters are dark, shadowy warriors who are shunned by the greater night elf society. They made a pact, long ago, to fight against the forces of chaos using its own terrible powers against it. These mysterious warriors ritually blind themselves so that they develop 'spectral sight' that enables them to see demons and undead with greater clarity. They wield demonically charged warblades in battle and even call upon demonic energies to augment their formidable combat skills. Although they are counted as some of the mightiest warriors within the Night Elves' society, the Demon Hunters are always maligned and misunderstood for making their selfless pact with darkness.

In Warcraft III: Reforged, Demon Hunters can be switched to be Demon Huntresses instead.

Shadowsong, Shadowfury, Shadowstalker, Flameseeker, Darkweaver, Darkterror, Darksorrow, Sindweller, Painkiller, Hellbourne, Wrathbringer, Ragerunner, Firebrand, Bloodwrath, Terrorblade.

Though the Demon Hunter is a rather uncommon Hero used by Night Elf players due to the attention he demands compared to a Keeper of the Grove or Priestess of the Moon, alongside the fact that he lacks an aura often means most players ignore him. However, when a Demon Hunter is used by an experienced player, he is one of the Night Elves' most dangerous Heroes.

The Demon Hunter is similar to the Orcish Blademaster in physical attributes. Both Heroes specialize in Agility and come with very high starting damage compared to other Heroes, thanks to both their raw damage and Agility increasing the attack speed of the Hero. However, a Blademaster's skills primarily serve to hamper specific enemy units, while a Demon Hunter has more versatility with his skills. He is also one of the top melee Heroes along with the Undead Dreadlord, the Orc Blademaster and the Human Mountain King.

Mana Burn is one of the Demon Hunter's most notorious skills on his list. Though he must get close to the target to combust their mana, it is an incredibly feared skill because at level 3, it burns up to 150 mana per each cast with little mana used on his own. It's extremely effective against other enemy Heroes, such as Mountain Kings who have devastating skills but poor mana pools. Constantly using Mana Burn on Heroes also results in the enemy having to constantly buy mana potions to restore their lost mana, burning a considerable amount of their gold when constantly used.

Immolation is a somewhat uncommon skill but it's rather useful in creeping because all enemy units next to the Demon Hunter take damage over time. A common creeping tactic with the Demon Hunter is to run in and use Immolation, kill all the Creeps and then return to base to restore health and mana off Moon Wells.

Evasion allows the Demon Hunter to avoid incoming attacks (but not spells). This doesn't stack with the Talisman of Evasion, so sell those if the Demon Hunter manages to acquire some.

Metamorphosis is the Demon Hunter's strongest skill - it turns him into a demon himself, granting him additional health, regeneration and a ranged attack that deals chaos damage and has a small AoE. Combined with the Demon Hunter's Agility base, this skill is perfect at taking out groups of clustered enemies.

A Demon Hunter greatly benefits from health and attack boosting items. This ensures he has enough health to tank incoming attacks, because he has moderately low Strength. He doesn't need much Agility boosts because of his naturally high Agility growth, alongside the fact that an attack boosting item would compliment the Demon Hunter a lot more compared to a single item itself. If possible, try to get the Demon Hunter under the effects of Bloodlust and Unholy Frenzy so he can attack even faster.

The Demon Hunter needs lots of support with Archers, Dryads, and Huntresses to distract the enemy so he can sneak in and clean up.

• Sends a bolt of negative energy that burns a target enemy unit's mana. Burned mana combusts, dealing damage to the target equal to the amount of mana burned.

Mana Burn is best used against enemy Heroes who rely heavily on their spells. You can also use Mana Burn against annoying enemy spellcasters such as Priests, Sorceresses, or Shamans.

If you use this ability against enemy Heroes you will not get the full amount of damage due to Hero Magic Resistance. High level creeps and some units also have partial resistance if used against them.

Make sure you check the Mana of the enemy unit before using this ability. Don't waste your mana if they barely have any to cast spells.

This spell has little chance of being countered, since it is instant and cannot be interrupted. The only way to properly counter Mana Burn is to have magic resistance or have a Banshee cast Anti-Magic Shell on core units.

• Mana Burn Counters

• Engulfs the Demon Hunter in flames, causing damage to nearby enemy land units. Drains mana until deactivated.

Notes: Activating Immolation costs only 1 mana, but you need to have at least 10 mana to be able to activate it.

Use the ability when the Demon Hunter is engaged in combat with the enemy - it drains an immense amount of mana.

• Gives the Demon Hunter a chance to avoid attacks.

Evasion is a very powerful ability because it allows the Demon Hunter to avoid attacks and take no damage in return. Try to invest in this ability first so he can survive potentially fatal encounters. This ability will not stack with the Talisman of Evasion (the item is worse than the level 2 counterpart anyways).

• Transforms the Demon Hunter into a powerful demon with a ranged attack (600 range) and 500 bonus hit points.

Notes:

• Demon Hunter stats in Metamorphosis Form:
• Weapon: Chaotic Attack
• Weapon Targets: Ground, Structure, Debris, Air, Item, Ward
• Weapon Attack Range: 60
• Weapon Attack Type: Chaos
• Weapon Type: Missile Splash
• Weapon Area Damage Radius:
• Full Damage Area: 5
• 1/2 Damage Area: 15
• 1/4 Damage Area: 25

The demon hunter will temporarily become a ranged hero that deals chaos damage, gives him additional health and improved health regeneration. The attack also has splash capability so it can be very useful when combined with attack speed boosting items.

Kill the Demon Hunter quickly with focused fire and Heroes who have spells that deal considerable damage.

• Metamorphosis Counters

• See Warcraft III Demon Hunter quotes