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We've put together this Diablo 3 Demon Hunter guide to get you up to speed on the most relentless class coming to Blizzard’s upcoming action role playing game. This handy guide gives you all the most important info on the Demon Hunter from Diablo 3 at a glance.

You Should Play A Demon Hunter If: If you love standing back and slaying enemies from afar, or finding the most strategic way to take down a monster, then the Demon Hunter could be for you. Specializing in ranged weaponry and traps, Demon Hunters, unlike some of the other Diablo 3 classes, need to take their environment into account when bringing down their enemies.

Background: Demon Hunters are a group of fanatical warriors who have but one purpose: to avenge their friends and families who were butchered by demons and hellspawn. Every arrow that a Demon Hunter launches is "dipped in spite" and "delivered with hatred." This fuels them to keep hunting, as every demon who falls to their deadly attacks makes the world that much safer.



The key features of the Demon Hunter include ranged weapons, shadow magic, traps, and battle tactics. A Demon Hunter has more precision with a ranged weapon than any other class in Diablo 3, and they use this extra skill to equip various artillery like longbows, grenades, hand-thrown weapons, and even dual-wielded crossbows. With shadow magic, the Demon Hunter can cloak themselves and slip between the shadows to sneak up on their enemies.

Demon Hunters are extremely agile but they can't withstand much damage. Therefore, they use traps to slow their enemies down so that they can kite, or run and fire at their enemies while they're slowed down. Using mines, grenades, caltrops, or steel-jawed traps are just a few of the ways that Demon Hunters soften up their prey. Finally, a Demon Hunter uses battle tactics like hamstring arrows or entangling bolas to debuff and slow enemies, making them more vulnerable to the Demon Hunter's attacks.

How You Play A Demon Hunter: Demon Hunters are the only class in the game with two different resources: Hatred and Discipline. Hatred is the resource which is available for a Demon Hunter's offensive skills and it regenerates quickly. Discipline on the other hand is the resource available for defensive maneuvers and traps and it regenerates very slowly.

Therefore, to successfully play a Demon Hunter you have to carefully balance how you generate and spend your Discipline in order to not only ensure survival, but also to kill demons as efficiently as possible.

Demon Hunter Equipment: Like all of the classes in Diablo 3, the Demon Hunter gets their own one-of-a-kind equipment including hand crossbows, quivers, and cloaks. Hand crossbows are "quick-reloading, fast-firing ranged weapons" that the Demon Hunter can actually dual wield. Double the hand crossbows, double the fun, as they say. The Demon Hunter's quiver contains not just arrows, but mystic properties that allows the DH to fire faster as well. Finally, as every class needs a stylish flair, Demon Hunters can equip cloaks which not only provide chest protection, but allow them to move acrobatically while defending themselves against their foes.

Demon Hunter Skills: Demon Hunters have 23 available skills in total in Diablo 3 which are divided in to three different types: Offense, Discipline, and Utility skills. Whereas other classes have skills that feel like they could be interchanged between any tree, the Demon Hunter's three types of skills are all very distinct. It will be up to your personal playstyle to choose which skills will be the best for you.

Skills which use Hatred will cause the most damage to enemies, as well as debilitating them, depending on the skill. Discipline skills are all of the Demon Hunter's defensive maneuvers. These skills will allow you to use traps and turrets, summon companions, or even vault out of harm's way. These are non-direct spells that generally help protect your Demon Hunter while dealing out some damage to foes in the process.

Like all of the other Diablo 3 classes, Demon Hunters can only have six skills active at a time. You start out with one active skill at level one and you unlock the ability to use a extra skills at levels 2, 6, 12, 18, and 24. Demon Hunters also unlock passive skill slots at levels 10, 20, and 30.

As you're making your way through Diablo 3 as a Demon Hunter, there are a few skills to keep in mind. These are skills that will prove to be the most useful, or are a bit more potent than others.

Hungering Arrow: Unlocked right off the bat at level 1, Hungering Arrow is a magically imbued arrow that seeks out targets and deals 115% weapon damage to them, with a 35% chance to pierce through targets. It also generates 3 Hatred. I liked this skill a lot because it was sort of a homing arrow, and no matter which direction I aimed, it would always find a target to kill.

Caltrops: Unlocked at level 4, Caltrops costs 6 Discipline and the skill allows you to lay a trap of caltrops on the ground that slows enemies within 12 yards by 60% once activated. This skill is a great way to slow enemies down so that you can get as far away as possible and deal damage to them while they can't catch up to you. With this kiting method, you can solo just about any standard enemy in Diablo 3.

Chakram: Unlocked at level 12, Chakram costs 10 Hatred to use. It sends a Chakram towards enemies, dealing 150% weapon damage to any enemies that it hits along its path. It's basically a huge swirling ninja star of death that deals tons of damage and looks very cool in the process. Getting a good angle to send out the Chakram is fun, and watching it impale multiple enemies at once is awesome.

What's great about the Demon Hunter is that because they're adept with both ranged weapons as well as traps and explosives, you can choose the way that best compliments your playstyle and set your Demon Hunter up in that way. Balancing your Hatred and Discipline might be somewhat difficult when you first start with the class, but eventually it makes sense and once it does using both types of skills pays off.

Passive Demon Hunter Skills: In Diablo 3 you can only equip one passive skill at level 10. Your choices at level 10 are Tactical Advantage and Thrill of the Hunt. At level 13 Vengeance unlocks, while at level 16 you get access to Steady Aim. When you unlock your next Passive Skill slot at level 20, you'll also unlock Cull the Weak and Night Stalker. Passive Skills are just that: abilities that you don't have to cast but grant passive advantages to your Demon Hunter.

Tactical Advantage gives the Demon Hunter a 60% boost to movement speed for 2 seconds every time you use Vault, Smoke Screen, or backflip with Evasive Fire. Thrill of the Hunt makes your attacks immobilize your target for three seconds once every ten seconds. Vengeance allows you to gain 20 Hatred, 2 Discipline, and increases your maximum Hatred by 25 for ten seconds whenever you consumer a health globe. Steady Aim increases your damage by 20% as long as there are no enemies within 10 yards of you.

Cull the Weak will have you utilizing traps to an extreme, as this Passive Skill increases damage to slowed enemies by 15%. Finally, Night Stalker is useful if you find yourself struggling to fight defensively, as it causes critical hits to have a chance to restore 1 Discipline.

I went for the Vengeance passive skill for my Demon Hunter. Increasing my Hatred by 25 every time I ate one allowed me to spam a lot of Hatred Spender skills and deal a ton of damage to my enemies. I also just love the Steady Aim passive skill in general. I think that it will make players play the Demon Hunter how Blizzard intends for the class to be played, and that's brilliant game design in my opinion.

For my Demon Hunter's Active skills I chose a mix between Hatred Generators, Spenders, and Discipline spells (what a surprise!). My staple Hatred Generators were Hungering Arrow and Evasive Fire, the latter of which shoots enemies for 125% weapon damage, and if an enemy is at close range you back flip away 15 yards. This mix of Hatred Generation was strong enough to take out enemies out quickly, and then I'd spend my Hatred on Chakram which could rip through packs of foes quickly. Finally, I used Vault as my Discipline skill to both get away from enemies quickly, as well as a way to stylishly get from one pack to the next. In sticky situations I'd throw down a caltrop trap, but in general I didn't need to do this too much.

Like the Monk, the Demon Hunter is one of the more skill-based classes in Diablo 3. You really have to focus on balancing your Hatred and Discipline in order to use your skills, and it will be interesting to see how different types of players utilize the Demon Hunter. Not only that, but a lot of the Demon Hunter's skills will be more beneficial for those people who strategize more with class, lay traps, etc., rather than those who just run into every situation with their crossbows out.

What do you think of the Demon Hunter in Diablo 3? Let me know in the comments below, and tell me how you set up your Demon Hunter's skills if they're different than the ones that I used. Also be sure to check out our Diablo 3 Witch Doctor Guide, Diablo 3 Wizard Guide, and our Diablo 3 Monk Guide for everything you want to know about the other Diablo 3 classes.



Source : http://www.g4tv.com

Game of Thrones: "The Old Gods and the New" Review

Warning: Full spoilers for the episode follow...

Whoa, now that was one powerfully wicked episode. No, nothing happened along the lines of a smoke demon birth or supernatural regicide, but "The Old Gods and the New" was filled some intensely heinous human events. Just some amazing, killer sequences. And it seems as though Vanessa Taylor, who also wrote the great and demented "Garden of Bones," might be this series' go-to scribe for big, intensely disturbing moments. From Theon raiding Winterfell and brutally hacking off Ser Rodrik's head, to Joffrey inciting a riot and nearly getting Sansa raped and murdered, this episode was an absolute stand-out that helped put this season into perspective; perhaps even finally giving it shape.

Having read the Martin books, I was surprised to see Theon arrive at Winterfell so soon. And I'm pretty sure that other book fans felt the same way since the season wound up skipping past a lot of Theon's actual journey to get there. But I see this as a good thing. For once, we book readers got to be surprised along with the non-readers. Surprised , sure, but still taken aback. And by leaping over some of Theon's story to get to Winterfell the producers and writers were able to turn the actual attack on Theon's former home into a bigger moment then it would have been if we had spent an extra episode or two with him plotting to take down Winterfell. Which would have ruined the surprise.




And now Theon has officially moved beyond being a pompous letch to being a full-fledged horrible human being. Yes, I can officially shout "F*** you!" at him, as he foolishly tried his best to lead a bloodless raid; wanting somehow to be both respected by his ship's crew the Winterfellians. It's funny to see someone who's turned his back on the Starks essentially wanting Ned Stark. Or, at least, be loved and respected like him. It actually kind of reveals the way Theon felt about Ned. But then everything turns massively ugly when Ser Rodrik refuses to yield and, well, Theon does his damnedest to give Joffrey a run for his money; competing for the ultimate "wretched prick" prize of Season 2. But even though Theon has now done the unthinkable (and to some, the unexpected), he's still given actual layers. For what it's worth, you can see how torn and conflicted he is. You see him not to hurt anyone. But, of course, when he has to make a bottom line decision, he makes the monstrous one. "Gods help you, Theon Greyjoy. Now you are truly lost."

- HBO

Royal Guard Photobomb!

And while Theon's clumsy sack of Winterfell got him a thousand douchebag points, there's simply no beating Joffrey. In the exact same episode, not only does Joffrey out-do Theon, but he out-does himself. Again. He's a marvel. He was so horrifyingly idiotic in this one that he actually caused the usually calm and collected
Tyrion to snap and give him an epic slap right in his kingly mouth (again!). "We've had vicious kings and we've had idiot kings, but I don't know that we've ever been cursed with a vicious idiot." So damn good. And a shot to the mouth so gratifying that the internet is sure to have a field day. Loop it. Gif it. Go nuts!

Man, what a scene. And can we now that Sansa has more than paid for her Season 1 sins? The riot scene was even tweaked enough from the books that I got pretty damn nervous watching the Sansa attack; not quite sure where they were going with it. But then, before I knew it, Tyrion wasn't the only one getting a great hero's moment this week. Yes, it was The Hound to the rescue. But now what? That crowd, that Joffrey vocally wanted to have killed, has crossed that line of no return. Because some of Joffrey's rich folk retinue sure as hell didn't make it out of that mob scene alive and . "Set up"-wise, there may have only been a few lines here and there about how the people in King's Landing were starving, but I'd like to think that Joffrey, being the way he is, would be enough to cause even a sane and well-fed crowd to lose it and start ripping royals to ribbons.

We got to see a little more of Robb and Lady Talisa out on the war trail, with Cat returning and reminding Robb of his promise to wed one of the ugly Frey daughters. Again, we have to shift time around in our heads here since Theon's attack on Winterfell took place... a few weeks after the last episode? And that's being very generous. A month is probably fairer, but again that would also mean that a month had passed for everyone else. Especially since, in the same episode, Cat and Robb get Luwin's raven about the raid - tethering them, at least to those events and that timeline. Of course, Robb wants to head back North, but much in the same way he can't give up the Kingslayer for his sisters, he can't abandon his battles. So Lord Bolton, who we don't know all that much about, tells Robb that he'll send word to his bastard, who we haven't met, to retake Winterfell. I won't say much more about this other than... I hope we soon get this story filled in a bit more.

Jon Snow meeting Ygritte, the fire-haired wildling lass, really helped juice up his storyline. For the first time, after he and Ygritte got separated from Quorin, I felt like Jon was experiencing his own story. And not just tagging along with a bunch of grizzled Night's Watch superiors who were exposition-ing him all about how the Night's Watch sucks as a career path ("We're not fighting an enemy, we're fighting the North"). Not that it was bad to watch. I did like Quorin's speech about how, really, you're to resent being the Night's Watch. But now that Jon is off on his own, with a feisty temptress, his trek has become a more lively and exciting. Downton Abbey's Rose Leslie is perfect at Ygritte; stubborn, brave and yet also instantly attracted to Jon. And yes, even though you can tell that the two of them have a certain "meet-cute" spark, Ygritte is definitely toying and teasing Jon with her hip gyrations; not really expecting it to go anywhere except to frustrate and torment him.

- HBO

Maniacal laugh. Maniacal laugh....

It's interesting watching Daenerys this season as she always feels the need to come off as strong and confident. And that's understandable, for sure. But it's a far cry from her Season 1 arc and since Jorah was off trying to find her a ship in this episode (and the only time she lets her guard down is with him) Dany tried to boast and "I am Daenerys Stormborn!" her way around Qarth with Xaro. Meeting up, once again, with the somewhat-contemptuous Spice King - who also stood as proof that Stannis Baratheon isn't the only "Grammar Nazi" in town. Dany is still trying to get Qarth sponsorship, which seems to mean that she's not fully listening to Jorah's advice about "making her own way." And at this point on the show, I think the audience trusts Jorah's wisdom more than hers.

So until Jorah comes back, Dany's apt to make mistake after mistake. As proven with the theft of her dragons. And the killing of Irri. Awww. At least she got to get in one final "It is known" back in last week's episode. So now Daenerys has nothing to brag about. The three things that were keeping looming scoundrels from savaging her are gone. Off to, what I assume was, the House of the Undying. Which maybe should have warned Dany about (*narrows eyes at Xaro*). You know, that Warlocks might also kill everyone in your house and steal your most prized possessions.

I mentioned last week how much I loved watching Arya and Tywin together and, man, that still stands. This week the two of them had a great scene together where it seemed like they actually connected as people. Especially Tywin, who talks more candidly to Arya than he does to any of the men on his war council. And even though Arya stealing the note (which actually lets us know that Tywin gets more satisfaction out of their chats than she does) meant that she had to a kill-name with Jaqen, it was still a very fun sequence; with Amory Lorch opening the door and falling flat on his face. Of course now, since Lorch's death can't be considered an accident, everyone has to know that there's an assassin hiding somewhere in Harrenhal. It's even fun watching Littlefinger "out in the field" working hard to pull the strings; coming to Tywin on behalf of the Tyrells.

Book purists will certainly have their gripes, but I found "The Old Gods and the New" to be nothing short of an intense triumph; filled with tons of cruelty and shock. Plus, there was some fun to be had with Jon Snow and some suspense to be found with Arya. It also, I must say, provided genuine surprises for those who of us who have read the source material.


Source : http://tv.ign.com/articles/122/1223767p1.html