Blizzard has shown another set of brand new hero talent trees that will be coming in the next World of Warcraft expansion- The War Within. We will be taking a look as this hero talent tree will be centered around Havoc and Vengeance Demon Hunters so we will see how much the gameplay will be impacted.
Blizzard has set a lot of high expectations following their reveal of the three next expansions that will be rolled out over the following years. Although the concepts and ideas behind these hero talent trees share similarities with features from previous expansions, it is exciting to see how this will be integrated into retail WoW.
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WoW The War Within: Aldrachi Reaver Demon Hunter Hero Talent Tree
Since there is a lot to cover in the initial Hero Talent tree, we will be separately examining all of the nodes so we can get a better understanding of the core concepts.
Aldrachi Reaver Keystone
Art of the Glaive: Consuming 3 (Havoc) or 20 (Vengeance) Soul Fragments allows you to cast Reaver's Glaive.
Reaver's Glaive: Throw a glaive enhanced with the essence of consumed souls at your target, dealing physical damage and ricocheting to 2 additional targets for additional damage. Replaces Throw Glaive.
Begins a well-practiced pattern of glaivework, enhancing your next Chaos Strike and Blade Dance (Havoc), Fracture, Shear, and Soul Cleave (Vengeance):
- Chaos Strike (Havoc), Fracture, and Shear (Vengeance) applies Reaver’s Mark which causes the target to take 15% increased damage for 5 seconds.
- Blade Dance (Havoc) and Soul Cleave (Vengeance) deal 3 additional glaive slashes to nearby targets for additional damage.
Aldrachi Reaver
Row 1
Choice Node:
- Keen Engagement: Reaver’s Glaive generates 20 Fury.
- Preemptive Strike: Throw Glaive deals damage to enemies near its initial target.
Choice Node:
- Evasive Action: Vengeful Retreat can be cast a second time within 3 seconds.
- Unhindered Assault: Vengeful Retreat resets the cooldown of Felblade.
Incisive Blade: When enhanced, Chaos Strike and Soul Cleave deal 30% increased damage.
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Aldrachi Reaver Row 2
Aldrachi Tactics: The second enhanced ability in a pattern shatters an additional Soul Fragment.
Choice Node:
- Army Unto Oneself: Felblade surrounds you with a Blade Ward, reducing physical damage taken by 10% for 5 seconds.
- Incorruptible Spirit: Consuming a Soul Fragment also heals you for an additional 15% over time.
Wounded Quarry: While Reaver’s Mark is on your target, melee attacks have a chance to strike with an additional glaive slash for damage and shatter a soul.
Aldrachi Reaver Row 3
Intent Pursuit: Casting an enhanced ability reduces the remaining cooldown of The Hunt by 2 seconds.
Escalation: Each successive enhanced ability deals 10% increased damage. The effect of the second enhancement is increased by 100%.
Warblade’s Hunger: Consuming a Soul Fragment causes your next Chaos Strike, Fracture, or Shear to deal bonus damage.
Aldrachi Reaver Capstone
Thrill of the Fight: After consuming both empowerments, gain Thrill of the Fight, increasing your attack speed by 15% for 5 seconds and causing your next ability to deal 30% increased damage and healing.
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Summary
Overall, these are some very interesting design choices behind making Havoc and Vengeance Demon Hunters not only stronger damage-wise, but also give them a lot more self-healing capabilities.
As more is being revealed regarding the newest World of Warcraft Expansion: The War Within, we are slowly starting to see just how much the scales have changed for Retail WoW. Here is the entire Hero Talent Tree as presented in the most recent blue post.
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