Why is the Demon Hunter so Special?

[Kyrbi0]

So, topic-title. I'm not trying to be silly here... But if you look through the Hive's Model section, for instance, how many times do you see a model with Demon Hunter animations? That, along with Blademaster, are pretty much the single-most abused animations in all of Warcraft modding, I believe.

But also, what makes him "special" in terms of race... We are told that nearly all Night Elf females are in the 'army' (Sentinels), and nearly all Night Elf males are Druids (correct me on that one). But the one Night Elf male we interact with most in a regular ladder game is... the Demon Hunter, a totally 'one-off' class. (to me, that's the Thematic equivalent of having a Human Warlock in the Alliance; yeah it happens occasionally, but not often enough; Heroes were always meant to be the paragons or champions of their Faction/Race! The ultimate example & representation of them!)

Is it due in some way to the fact that one of the main storyline characters (Illidan Stormrage) is a Demon Hunter? Or that he's just plain cool, or something?

Thoughts?

 

[chobibo]

I think he just looks cool, plus he has a cinematic and it's played on the first run of warcraft. He's like a ninja, ninja's are really popular even when their depiction in the media isn't historically accurate.

 

[GhostThruster]

anims are cool.

he's chosen in-game because he's the most versatile night elf hero. nothing to do with lore.

why did this warrant a medivh's tower thread

 

[Kino]

anims are cool.

This, and its practical.
Also the reason why there are so many skins of said model.

Any dual-wielding humanoid character (bandits, pirates, assassins, or any "light melee archetype" for that matter) that isn't a fist/claw user is probably best served with this animation set.

 

[Vinz]

The lore is also nice. How they are shunned. Shadowy beings in the darkness, left all alone.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Demon hunter is a good choice if you have someone dual-wielding weapons. I imagine that is partially why it is used a lot. The other options are rexxar... um, can't think of too many others. If you want a brutish hero, go with rexxar anims. Agile -> demon hunter.

Demon hunters in ladder -> mana burn gets great value since heroes already have enough mana troubles. It is a good choice against DK's who can perpetually live and keep other salive as long as their mana pool is up, and evasion means they won't be one shot too easily (and demon hunter damage is great).

But I think people like demon hunters mostly because of Illidan (apart from ladder, that is mostly just pvp related). He is the iconic demon hunter, and his character/attitude was refreshing all throughout warcraft 3. Whereas malfurion and tyrande were complete "do-gooders", Illidan had his own darker side, and he has a pretty interesting past. It is hard to hate him (except maybe in burning crusade).

 

[Vinz]

^I agree, especially the last part.

 

[Eagle XI]

People like DH because he is of the few things that can counter the blademaster.

Open the editor and look at how stastically superior in every aspect he is to begin with, an wide gap in comparison to any other hero, which gets even worser at each level up.
Add upon this the universally useful skillset he has, gear him up good properly, then give the cheese army on his back to nail the coffin.
Is there any reason to not like the (according to blademasters only: second-)best hero in the game's system ?
To not be able to win with him takes either a bit of talent or simply lack of knowledge about how to play him properly.

 

[Vinz]

What's the third best hero in melee?

 

[Footman16]

Demon Hunter is a pretty bad melee hero on OP rating. I've already told the story before of how my Level 7 Blademaster killed a level 10 DH a KotG and I think one or two Dryads before being killed by his army.

 

[GhostThruster]

each hero's utility varies based on maps and player counts, but the one that remains consistently the most powerful is the death knight, with demon hunter as second. however, the blademaster, mountain king, and warden each have niches where they are much stronger than any other hero.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Demon Hunter -> martial arts attacks with hand blades.
Blademaster -> martial arts attacks with sword.

It is purely that simple. I do not think there are any other models inside WC3 that remotely fulfil those categories.

 

[PurgeandFire]

Demon Hunter is a pretty bad melee hero on OP rating. I've already told the story before of how my Level 7 Blademaster killed a level 10 DH a KotG and I think one or two Dryads before being killed by his army.

It depends on the game. He is great for 1v1 matches. As for hero vs. hero, he isn't going to fare too well. Blademaster is one of the best--crit procs devastate. But demon hunter can really put pressure with mana burns, and just kite around off cooldown.

 

[Dr Super Good]

Demon Hunter is anti-caster/crowds (support?). He will never win out right against blademaster who is pure damage.

Something like Keeper of the Grove with thorns/trents or Warden with shadow strike and lots of damage skills will fare better against Blademaster.

Priestess of the Moon will probably also do well against Blade Master when in an army backed with ranged units due to the increased range damage and her high single target DPS.

Remember that Dryads can dispel mirror images and I even think Wind Walk making them very useful against blademaster if microed well. Bladestorm is not dispellable but does leave him vulnerable to range attacks, split and hammer for maximum damage since it is only devastating if it hits more than 1 unit.

 

[Ceday]

Demon Hunter is a pretty bad melee hero

It is most used hero by night elves in 1v1 melee games.

 

[Dr Super Good]

That is because mana burn is seriously powerful, especially against heroes who depend on spending mana. He is also flexible with Immolation dealing huge AoE damage against enemy armies.

 

[Footman16]

It is most used hero by night elves in 1v1 melee games.

If you're going to quote me then at least quote me in context, I'm just saying that he needs to be "used properly" in order to be effective unlike the BM who can basically own anything once he gets past level 4. In 1v1 games though heroes make it to level 6 at least in my experience before the games over.

^^ Exaggeration is being used sparingly.

 

[Kyrbi0]

So Immolation is all that and a bag of chips? I knew Mana Burn was, like, super-SC-Feedback (and thus awexome), Metamorphosis (while COMPLETELY destroying the concept of "Theme & Role interaction") was solid awexome, and Evasion... Ah dannae, seemed cool? However, I always saw Immolation as nearly negligible. Or at least, not dealing *that* much damage. :<

 

[Dr Super Good]

For a hero hitting a single target for 40-60 damage, dealing >10 dps (ignoring armor) to all nearby enemies (if user properly) is not something to be ignored. Especially if you find yourself up against a composition where mana burn is not that useful yet you edged on having mana burn available.

 

[GhostThruster]

dh is an army leader, a hybrid tank/dps of sorts. at lower levels, dh can take on bm 1v1. between lvl 3-5, i reckon bm has advantage. once level 6+, dh rapes bm hard.

kotg and warden are like butter to the blademaster's knife. dh is inifintely better equipped vs a bm than these 2. potm can ward off a bm, but cant really ever kill it.

mirror image is possibly the least picked hero ability in the game because it is stupid and useless, and dryads cannot dispel windwalk.

immolation can be effective for harass vs peasants or fending off ghoul rushes, but other than that it is useless.

@footman16: this is ur 'context'

I've already told the story before of how my Level 7 Blademaster killed a level 10 DH a KotG and I think one or two Dryads before being killed by his army

not once did you mention he must be 'used properly'. any misinterpretation was from ur part.

in any case, the dh requires just as much handling as the bm to be used effectively. bm peaks at like level 3, meaning he is comparatively at his strongest vs other heroes at that stage. a level 6 dh with metamorphosis will hand the bm his ass with a cherry on top.

 

[Footman16]

in any case, the dh requires just as much handling as the bm to be used effectively. bm peaks at like level 3, meaning he is comparatively at his strongest vs other heroes at that stage. a level 6 dh with metamorphosis will hand the bm his ass with a cherry on top.

My point was that the BM didn't require much effort, anyone with half a brain can use him to great effect unlike the DH who requires micro and a fair bit of effort.

a level 6 dh with metamorphosis will hand the bm his ass with a cherry on top.

No he won't, I just said my level 7 BM killed the level 10 Demon Hunter and several of the other enemy units before being killed by them. If I find the replay I'll upload it but it was ages ago and I've stopped playing ladder games since then.

I had a Periapt of Health on the BM and a ring of protection (I don't know the level) but he carved through the Demon Hunter like he wasn't there.

 

[takakenji]

i hate his animations they are so weeabo

 

[Adarsh]

Night elves in general are the easiest race (that's why they are the most played race) and they have only 2 choices for their first hero (i'm not counting tavern heroes) - DH and warden. Warden is difficult to use(and can be only played against human and maybe undead), so all those who picked elf because it's easy to play will pick DH as their first hero and that's why he's the most popular one in melee games.

 

[Eagle XI]

So ive looked into that replay till end and i couldnt see your claim, where is this 'lvl 7 vs 10'-kill happening ?
At the time you could pawn his DH was when its lvl 7 vs 8, not vs 10.
Extra commentary for the lulz:
Yellow is a complete noob.
Green begun good then his brain stopped working as he lost time destroying leaver's base instead grabbing the free expo he cleared earlier, he fell economically behind and got crushed.
You did a similar mistake later on as you didnt move on to the next base when human rage-quitted.
Scouting failed in general, you and grey undead did better than rest, still should have refreshed the wards and carry one powder on either hero for occasional use.
Remember that whenever you feel safe and at home will be the most likely moment you are being spied on. Moments as in when about to massing the troops, or about to leave base for war.
Grey undead did a terrible decision with massing only Gargoyles, those cannot win all on their own like that, they are to support an army below them.
You have seen nelf has gone mass air with ranged support and dont even bother altering your build order, game ends not a single troll trained nor any tower built ever.
However i think that this replay did overall an great job, its precisely demonstrating whats broken about nelves(Magic immunities, magic immunities everywhere).

 

[Footman16]

I wasn't really paying attention to the DH's level I thought he was 10 but that's probably just my bad memory, point still stands, my BM did a lot of damage.

I usually do change my build order to counter the enemy but by that point in the game I knew it was too late. What I was trying to do was train raiders and Tauren so I could ensnare the Chims but obviously he attacked my base before I could get a good number of them.

I always thought I was terrible at ladder games hence why I stopped playing them.

 

[A Void]

Demon Hunter is an agile assassin-shadowy hero figure in Warcraft 3, he is good at almost everything, has a great skills- Metamorphosis for example is effective way of destroying units with chaos attack, Immolation quickly can burn everyone around him, once he has enough amount of mana he can almost be unstoppable. He is also a great spell-caster and mana-based hero killer, he can effectively use Mana Bolt (?) to steal enemies mana.

 

[taavidude]

He has good movement speed and that spell that damages nearby enemies is so good that you can easily solo green creep camps. Most easiest way is get Demon Hunter and some archers and make sure that Demon Hunter only takes damage. After killing monsters from a camp return to base. Use the wells to get full health and mana and go kill camps again. Overall hes op and easy to use.

 

[Edhel-dur]

This is the artwork of the Demon Hunter for Warcraft 3.

He is a rather complex character and their attempt of a new archetype. He is a blind male, with a strange yet awesome weapon we can't even name, with fire around his hand, long nails and wearing nothing but cloth.

Visually, our mind immediately sees the strangeness of this character.

Firstly by his weapon, it's nothing we've ever seen in other video games. I personally have ever seen that weapon in Sacred 2 but after seeing it first in Wc3. To continue...

Usually characters equipped with melee weapons are wearing chain mail, or at least leather. But no, this character wears pure cloth. This alone starts to intrigue us... for this character is basically a fighter who is using magic to deal damage and keep himself alive. In-game he also has tattoos across his chest, making him even more mysterious.

His animations are spectacular too, only to enhance his visuals.

Thematically, he is also 'cool'. His role is that of a Demon Hunter, however he is accomplishing his goals through the use of demon magic itself. Furthermore he will transform into a demon to get the job done, making him even more absolute. Fighting fire with fire has never been more well depicted.

In terms of character and story, we identify a lot with the character, as he is the well intentioned but clumsy persona. He is well intentioned to his people (slaying demons) but his approach is maybe childish. He tries to protect his people through brute force, ignoring any Night Elf laws or traditions. Demons are the biggest enemies of the Night Elves, as such becoming one is an abomination. Basically, Demon Hunters are rebels... more appropriately, teenage rebels. Who play this game? Well, mostly teenage rebels. You are already playing a video game which at the time wasn't viewed as a good leisure activity. So I think many of us at one point or another identified with this character, someone who wants to do good but is too clumsy to do it properly.

In-game he was known to be probably the best Hero. His Mana-Burn used to drain 100/200/300 mana, Immolation used to do 10/20/30 damage per second. Metamorphosis made his attacks ranged, chaos type (best type) and have splash damage. He was such a great hero all around, being able to solo some of the harder camps at level 1.

So, with all these awesome traits, especially for a teenage player, how do you still wonder how Demon Hunters are one of the most popular heroes in all aspects of the game?

 

[Kyrbi0]

This is the artwork of the Demon Hunter for Warcraft 3.

He is a rather complex character and their attempt of a new archetype. He is a blind male, with a strange yet awesome weapon we can't even name, with fire around his hand, long nails and wearing nothing but cloth.

Visually, our mind immediately sees the strangeness of this character.

Firstly by his weapon, it's nothing we've ever seen in other video games. I personally have ever seen that weapon in Sacred 2 but after seeing it first in Wc3. To continue...

Usually characters equipped with melee weapons are wearing chain mail, or at least leather. But no, this character wears pure cloth. This alone starts to intrigue us... for this character is basically a fighter who is using magic to deal damage and keep himself alive. In-game he also has tattoos across his chest, making him even more mysterious.

His animations are spectacular too, only to enhance his visuals.

Thematically, he is also 'cool'. His role is that of a Demon Hunter, however he is accomplishing his goals through the use of demon magic itself. Furthermore he will transform into a demon to get the job done, making him even more absolute. Fighting fire with fire has never been more well depicted.

In terms of character and story, we identify a lot with the character, as he is the well intentioned but clumsy persona. He is well intentioned to his people (slaying demons) but his approach is maybe childish. He tries to protect his people through brute force, ignoring any Night Elf laws or traditions. Demons are the biggest enemies of the Night Elves, as such becoming one is an abomination. Basically, Demon Hunters are rebels... more appropriately, teenage rebels. Who play this game? Well, mostly teenage rebels. You are already playing a video game which at the time wasn't viewed as a good leisure activity. So I think many of us at one point or another identified with this character, someone who wants to do good but is too clumsy to do it properly.

In-game he was known to be probably the best Hero. His Mana-Burn used to drain 100/200/300 mana, Immolation used to do 10/20/30 damage per second. Metamorphosis made his attacks ranged, chaos type (best type) and have splash damage. He was such a great hero all around, being able to solo some of the harder camps at level 1.

So, with all these awesome traits, especially for a teenage player, how do you still wonder how Demon Hunters are one of the most popular heroes in all aspects of the game?

Oh believe me, I don't truly wonder. I was asking to see if there was any kind of consensus to be had, but you essentially crystallized all my pertinent thoughts on the matter, quite summarily. Excellent work, Edhel. : )

 

[Hantoo]

All Male NE Chicken out.. Demon Hunter is the Only Brave man Among NE

 

[Vinz]

^This. Wisps aren't even male...

 

[Hantoo]

But Demon Hunter is Male...

 

[Heinvers]

Wisps are generic NE souls. Theoretically they could be females or males

Yes the DH is male, what's with that?

 

[Vinz]

He's the only male. Wisps are gay.

 

[paydiggers]

Hi, I am not that familiar about this Demon Attacker but by asking my nephew, I finally found out that the attacker is considered special because it has variety of traps and escape skills to evade the grasp of opponents in war. I hope, I was able to answer it right

 

[Vinz]

Traps? Escape? Evasion could be considered one, though not fully since it is passive and works only for physical damage.

 

[Heinvers]

Maybe he meant AoE for traps, then yes, Immolation is one.

Wisps are gay.

Sure, and I'm a pharaoh

 

[GreeN!X]

Uh.. Furion, Druid of the Talon, Bear Druid, and err... Mountain giants? Mountain giants are males too right? Coz they have that loin cloth... or loin grass I suppose, on them.

On topic: I'm not so sure why but I guess it's because DH is the only one with agile or ninja-like animations? he's the only one that wields two huge ass blades.

He's the only male. Wisps are gay.

I think wisps are even manlier than illidan. Just scroll down and you'll start seeing gay shit. and that didn't even need explicit keywords.

 

[GhostThruster]

He's the only male. Wisps are gay.

i don't think you realise how fucking bigoted that sounds

 

[Eagle XI]

He's the only male. Nelves are gay.

Fix'd