Is DH still a good class after the latest patches?

[GIJoeWWW]

Yesterday I joined a public after a long while. It was near the end of Inferno Act II, and there were a monk and a barb in the game. On several occasions, I knew if I got any closer, I would be in danger of getting killed instantly. Well, I still died a couple of times. These other two guys stood in the middle of it, banging away like it was nothing. I am not terribly equipped, 37k dps, 34k life, most resists around 300. So are DHs still competitive comparing to the other classes after the latest patches? I'm asking because it is the first char that I have taken this far.

[fishhead]

I have roughly the same range of DPS and life as yours and I am doing fine in singles and duo's. I think you always have to keep in mind that tanks are well.........tanks. You dish out that DPS, unless you go for more of a Shadow Power build that I have been seeing for a tanking DH. The other thing is sounds like you are still enjoying the DH as this is the farthest you've taken any toon.

[pbguy]

Yesterday I joined a public after a long while. It was near the end of Inferno Act II, and there were a monk and a barb in the game. On several occasions, I knew if I got any closer, I would be in danger of getting killed instantly. Well, I still died a couple of times. These other two guys stood in the middle of it, banging away like it was nothing. I am not terribly equipped, 37k dps, 34k life, most resists around 300. So are DHs still competitive comparing to the other classes after the latest patches? I'm asking because it is the first char that I have taken this far.

You have to keep in mind that a melee with your stats would get absolutely destroyed in ACTII. 300 AR isnt all that much.

[GIJoeWWW]

I'm enjoying it, but it is challenging at times. I have probably a survival rate of 50/50 against champion packs after Act II. Do you mind sharing your build? TIA.

I have roughly the same range of DPS and life as yours and I am doing fine in singles and duo's. I think you always have to keep in mind that tanks are well.........tanks. You dish out that DPS, unless you go for more of a Shadow Power build that I have been seeing for a tanking DH. The other thing is sounds like you are still enjoying the DH as this is the farthest you've taken any toon.

[Such Violent Storms]

Shorter answer: Yes.
Long answer: Moreso than melee classes in a similar price range. Monks have an even harder time as Dex gear is already inflated from Demon Hunters. DH still have the best damage/MF ratios and quite a bit of mobiliy and survivability. Literally the only things that changed were Smoke Screen and Nether Tentacles. That's no where near enough to ruin the class.

[Karth]

More than anything else, I would say the greater availability of gear makes other classes more viable. At first, DHs were great because you could completely ignore defensive stats and rely on smoke screen and dps to help you, while all other classes had to find some scarce mainstat+res+vita gear. So Demon Hunters are still a good class (they aren't Witch Doctors after all) but they no longer have a huge advantage over other classes like they did a few weeks ago.

[magicrectangle]

DH are the most fragile class, but before NT nerf they made up for it by having the highest damage of any class. Now barbs, wizards, and witch doctors all out-damage demon hunters, and are all more durable.

Basically barbs are sort of ridiculous right now (wotb + ww spam builds with enough crit to never stop), wizards with critical mass completely shut down and kill elite packs, and even witch doctors can dramatically out-damage DH with vision quest bear spam, or even out-damage DH while tanking quite well with VQ acid rain spam.

Monks and demon hunters get the short end of the stick right now, pretty much. Maybe next patch they'll give DH and monk some love - but judging by past actions they'll probably just nerf the specs for the other classes that are worth using so that everybody can be crappy together.

[fishhead]

I'm enjoying it, but it is challenging at times. I have probably a survival rate of 50/50 against champion packs after Act II. Do you mind sharing your build? TIA.

I base my build off RGDiablo's http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature...&v=t62Bc6oGS-s. EXCELLENT video. You have to see how he creates "stages" in combat, it makes so much sense. I have swapped a couple of his skill specs to cater to my style. Here is mine.....http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculato...VTY!YeV!baZcZc. Currently having some trouble with being able to consistently kill Ghom and Siegebreaker, but trash and elites are doable.

[thefranklin]

I like the versatility/utility that DH's have more now, although I miss the insanely high damage they used to do. I have had good succes using ES Justice is Served /w CA:Cluster Bombs (or Loaded for Bear). You will still die occasionally, you just gotta stay out of the way if you are not geared to take hits and get back life. Using Tactical Advantage is a large help, and so is using Battle Scars in lieu of Backup Plan. I always hated Backup Plan, such a waste of a rune. That free 60% heal is a big deal, especially as your armor and resists increases.

The snakes are a tough kill for DH's. Using a lot of stun-trops is the easy way around them. Lay about 2-3 down, and then you have to bait them to coming out of invisibility by them. Instantly move and blast away. Smoke-screening and just blasting them works, too but is tough on disc usage. At least the caltrops method gives regen some time to work.

[GIJoeWWW]

It took some time and experimenting for the other classes to figure out effective skills, stats, and equipment combinations. Maybe it is just time for DHs to go back to the drawing boards. I have been trying a few things with my very limited resources, but haven't come up with anything useful.

DH are the most fragile class, but before NT nerf they made up for it by having the highest damage of any class. Now barbs, wizards, and witch doctors all out-damage demon hunters, and are all more durable.

Basically barbs are sort of ridiculous right now (wotb + ww spam builds with enough crit to never stop), wizards with critical mass completely shut down and kill elite packs, and even witch doctors can dramatically out-damage DH with vision quest bear spam, or even out-damage DH while tanking quite well with VQ acid rain spam.

Monks and demon hunters get the short end of the stick right now, pretty much. Maybe next patch they'll give DH and monk some love - but judging by past actions they'll probably just nerf the specs for the other classes that are worth using so that everybody can be crappy together.