Personally I like the defensive build that the DH can have, rushing in generally get's me killed since I have no resistance. I can only withstand 1-2 hits before I'm dead.
There's my hero and all my gear. The current gear that I have isn't the best but it's enough to get me through Act 3, and MOST of Act 4.
I'm sure you know the basics but if you don't:
CRIT DMG is the most important I believe when it comes to demon hunter. Sharp Shooter will bring my crit chance up, but it's also important to have that also.
Having a 2 - hand crossbow is my personal favourite. It brings up my damage by A LOT with the passive skill "archery"
Hungering Arrow - Devouring Arrow -
This skill is really useful, especially for the champion packs that I come across. I can crit anywhere from 100 - 200k when the arrow pierces through multiple targets. This skill is my preference but you can also use the "Shatter Shot" Rune instead. Many people use this rune instead because it kills multiple targets faster which can also improve your survivability rate. Depending on your overall DPS and preference it's up to you which one you want. Since my DPS is 50k without SS and 120k with SS my personal preference is Devouring Arrow.
Cluster Arrow - Cluster Bombs -
This has to be one of the most useful skills that a demon hunter has. When I'm up against a lot of mobs Hungering Arrow isn't going to cut it. This launches and arcs a "grenade arrow". Along it's arc it releases multiple bombs. I can achieve multiple 200k crits from this, sometimes hitting up to 400 - 800k with one use.
Smoke Screen - Lingering Frog -
I like smoke screen for getting away / improving my survivability rates. In most cases I would die when fighting normal mobs if I did not have smoke screen. I use it to get away from enemies / take down elites / avoid the mechanics that bosses have. Lingering frog makes the smoke screen last longer. I use this when fighting REFLECT DAMAGE mobs also, I use my cluster arrow on the mobs and use smoke screen straight after to avoid the reflected damage they cause. REFLECT DAMAGE = demon hunter's worst enemy
Vault - Tumble -
I also use vault to get away from mobs. I mainly use this to avoid mechanics in game and to avoid elite / champion packs. It can take me anywhere from 1 - 10 minutes to kill an elite pack depending on the combinations they have and how many times I may die. Backing up is the only option I have when facing elite packs, but it works! - The Templar comes in handy when fighting mobs / elite or champion packs along with your skills. The Tumble Rune allows me to not spend as much discipline when vaulting a second time with the first 6 seconds of the first vault. This is my PERSONAL PREFERENCE and you can change this rune if you'd like.
Shadow Power - Blood Moon
This is a VERY IMPORTANT skill. This skill will aid you when you need it the most. Depending on your DPS the skill should be able to heal you fully no problem when you need it. I mainly use this skill when fighting REFLECT DAMAGE mobs. YOU MUST USE THIS SKILL BEFORE ATTACKING THE MOBS OR YOU WILL NOT BE HEALED. When fighting reflect damage mobs I use shadow power then I use the cluster arrow to heal fully / not take any damage / cause the most damage against them. Blood moon increased the amount of life gained.
Preparation - Battle Scars
This restores all my discipline. This is also a VERY IMPORTANT SKILL. I run out of discipline a lot and I even have a +10 Discipline quiver. Having this skill ultimately boosts your defence and it allows you to survive longer and aids you when you're trying to kill a pack of mobs. The rune "Battle scars" heals you fully when you use preparation. I use this skill for both restoring my discipline and healing myself.
Passive Skills
All of my Passive Skills are self-explanatory. I like having more DPS, so I choose to have: Steady Aim, Sharpshooter, and Archery.
If you want to choose differently, I highly suggest you use: Tactical Advantage Tactical advantage will give you 60% movement speed for 2 seconds after you vault or smoke screen. This may not seem like much, but this helps SO much! I personally would replace Steady Aim with tactical advantage if you would want to do that, but that's your personal choice.
What you can do:
I use a Templar and I try and get him to tank everything. He does die A LOT, but he definitely saves my life on more then one occasion.
I like to shoot off screen when advancing, in Act 3 there aren't many mobs that will surprise you but it can get tricky. In act 4 you have to shoot off screen because many things will easily kill you. The more DPS / resistance you have will determine how far you go in act 4. Once I had beaten IZUAL ( by myself ) I joined a game with a barbarian and continued the rest of the act.
I think I covered most of the things you asked, if you have any questions just p.m me or respond and tag me on here
There's the link to mine, I personally use Tactical Advantage and Evasive Fire because they add a good bit of survivability.
I am a big fan of Multishot, super fun imo. Like blasting away with a shotgun lol...especially with all the crits from Sharpshooter.
Just incase you guys are still playing and are using Trail of Cinders rune, Blizz has stated that it is a bug doing 1500% wep dmg over 3 sec and will be lowering it to 300% over 3 sec in patch 1.0.5. Just a heads up
Just incase you guys are still playing and are using Trail of Cinders rune, Blizz has stated that it is a bug doing 1500% wep dmg over 3 sec and will be lowering it to 300% over 3 sec in patch 1.0.5. Just a heads up
A bug? No way.
Haha well...thanks for the heads up. I haven't been on in a few days..just don't feel like it.
Just in case you're still looking, try using Bola Shot (Volatile Explosives - The one that increases AoE), Companion (Bat - Hatred Regen), Vault (Trail of Cinders), Shadow Power (Gloom), Spike Traps (Bandolier - The one that makes Spike traps explode thrice) and Preparation (Backup Plan). Have about 35k HP, 350 all res and about 120k DPS (with only archery and bow expert). As for the last passive, I would recommend Custom Engineering to make your spike traps more worthwhile. I used this skill build for my DH and I got through up till MP 5 of A3 pretty well. (1.0.5 hahaha). And as an added bonus, legacy nats isn't really a pre-requisite for this build since you can probably blast off most packs with about 4 glooms, which means you probably only need 1 armor piece to have a +discipline stat!