Vengeance Demon Hunter is a hyper mobile tank with strong self healing, quick control, and steady damage. You shape fights with sigils, leap to set the pace, and smooth incoming hits with active mitigation and smart timing. If you want a proactive tank that rewards planning and clean movement, this spec fits well.
This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide is paraphrased from confirmed public information and will reflect patch notes over time. If a detail is unconfirmed or likely to change with tuning, treat it as subject to updates. The aim is clear, practical steps that work in raids and Mythic Plus.
Spec At A Glance In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
Strengths
- Excellent mobility with Infernal Strike for engage and kiting.
- Big control kit with multiple sigils, an AoE stun, purge, and imprison.
- Predictable mitigation with Demon Spikes and Fiery Brand on key hits.
- High baseline self healing through soul fragment spending and Fel Devastation.
- Easy to start, deep planning around cooldowns and pack control.
Weaknesses
- Poor timing on Demon Spikes or Fiery Brand leads to spikes in damage.
- Misplaced leaps can scatter packs or break routes.
- Some talents ask for careful positioning and channel safety.
- Damage taken is smooth when played right, but punishes panic button mashing.
How Vengeance Works
You manage two resources. Fury powers many abilities. You build it with Immolation Aura, Fracture or Shear, Sigil of Flame ticks, and talent hooks. You spend Fury with Soul Cleave and some talent buttons. Soul fragments are your other engine. Fracture and other effects create fragments. Consuming them with Soul Cleave heals you and triggers defensive and offensive bonuses tied to your build.
Active mitigation centers on Demon Spikes and Fiery Brand. Demon Spikes reduces physical damage and increases parry for a short time. Fiery Brand marks a target and causes it to deal less damage to you for the duration. You get far more value by pressing these before predictable swings rather than after the hit.
Eye your cooldown windows. Fel Devastation is a major channeled heal and damage tool. Metamorphosis is your big panic and push button. Sigils shape the battlefield and buy time for your healer and DPS. The core loop is simple. Keep Immolation Aura rolling. Generate fragments with Fracture. Spend with Soul Cleave after you take damage or when you risk capping fragments. Hold Demon Spikes for weapon swings. Use Fiery Brand on tank busters or angry elites.
Talents And Hero Talents In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
Exact nodes shift with tuning, but two safer outlines cover most content. Adjust a few points per fight.
Raid build goals
- Stable mitigation on bosses and clean control for add waves.
- Take talents that increase Soul Cleave value, strengthen Fiery Brand, and improve fragment flow.
- Keep Fel Devastation and Metamorphosis modifiers that raise survival during heavy phases.
- Fit Sigil of Silence or extra control when the encounter has dangerous casts.
Why it works. Raid bosses hit hard but predictably. You want strong tools for scripted tank busters, reliable self healing, and enough control for add sets without giving up core defense.
Mythic Plus build goals
- Snap threat, frequent control, and kiting tools.
- Pick Fracture for fast fragment generation and smoother Soul Cleave rhythm.
- Add Sigil of Chains if the dungeon rewards grouping and slows.
- Keep Fiery Brand enhancement so you can rotate it across priority mobs in big pulls.
- Fel Devastation remains a large sustain button whenever packs are scary.
Why it works. Keys stress your ability to gather mobs, stop casts, and live through chain pulls. This setup gives smooth flow, strong self healing, and multiple stop options.
Optional nodes and swaps
- If packs are caster heavy, invest in Sigil of Silence and cooldown reduction for sigils.
- For bosses with repeated tank busters, take talents that shorten Fiery Brand and Metamorphosis or extend their value.
- If you find yourself kiting often, prefer tools that slow and group mobs so your team can kill safely.
Hero talents
- One hero tree pushes demonic self sustain and window length, rewarding careful planning of Fel Devastation and defensive buttons.
- Another leans into strike centric flow and burst pacing in dungeons. Pick the theme that matches your content and playstyle. Recheck after tuning passes because small changes can flip the best path.
Stat Priority And Benchmarks In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
Item level is king for tanks because armor, agility, and stamina scale your durability and damage. Secondaries sit close enough that you should favor balance unless a guide update says otherwise. A safe default that lines up with public overviews is:
- Item level for agility, armor, and stamina when it does not gut your secondaries.
- Haste for faster global pace, more Immolation Aura ticks, and smoother Fury and fragment flow.
- Versatility for reliable damage reduction and a bit more damage.
- Mastery as a solid defensive stat that increases armor and improves parts of your kit.
- Critical strike usually last for survival, though it still increases damage.
This order can shift with talents and trinkets. If you lean into a build that favors different breakpoints, follow the latest notes. When you care about tight edges, simulate gear swaps on a target dummy and compare damage taken logs to confirm comfort.
Gear Enchants Gems And Consumables
Enchants
- Rings: versatility or haste, matching your current needs.
- Cloak and chest: the season appropriate primary or defensive enchants.
- Bracers and boots: stamina or movement if available, otherwise general DPS options.
- Weapon: choose the current season weapon enchant favored for tanks. Pick one that adds primary stat or a defensive proc. If you lack gold, a cheaper version is fine until upgrades drop.
Gems
- Mix versatility and haste. If you feel too spiky, bias toward versatility. If your rotation feels slow, add haste.
- Early on, use budget gems and upgrade later without guilt.
Consumables
- Flask or phial: use the main tank phial for stamina or the hybrid that boosts a solid secondary, depending on the season.
- Food: versatility or haste food are safe defaults. Eat the feast in raids when offered.
- Potions: carry health potions for emergencies and a combat potion you can pop during damage checks. Have a stack of armor or mitigation potions if the season offers them.
Trinkets
- For survival, pick trinkets that give a clear defensive on use or a reliable absorb. For mixed content, one defensive and one offensive trinket is a good blend.
- Avoid long channels that stop you from defending or moving. Reliability beats edge case bursts for tanks.
Rotation And Priority In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
The spec runs on priorities and timing, not a strict script. The overall idea is to generate fragments, spend with Soul Cleave when it will heal or when you might cap, and place mitigation before hits land.
Single target basics
- Keep Immolation Aura on cooldown. It fuels Fury and adds damage.
- Generate fragments with Fracture. If you do not take Fracture, use Shear and keep Sigil of Flame rolling.
- Spend with Soul Cleave after you take damage or at high fragment counts. Do not overcap fragments.
- Maintain Frailty if your build uses it. Soul Cleave often applies it. Keeping it up makes you sturdier and increases damage taken by the enemy.
- Use Demon Spikes before known physical swings or when auto attacks ramp up.
- Place Fiery Brand on the target for tank busters or long melee burst windows.
Opener example
- Pre pull, place Sigil of Flame where the boss will stand.
- Infernal Strike in to engage and snap threat.
- Immolation Aura.
- Fracture to start fragment flow.
- Demon Spikes if a swing is due.
- Soul Cleave after you take a hit or when you are rich on fragments.
- Fiery Brand for the first tank hit window.
- Fel Devastation when safe to channel for a large heal and damage swing.
Multi target and Mythic Plus packs
- Pre drop Sigil of Flame and Sigil of Chains if talented to group mobs.
- Infernal Strike to the stack point. Be careful not to leap through the pack and spin it.
- Immolation Aura for snap threat.
- Fracture to build fragments and trigger cleave.
- Soul Cleave often to heal and apply Frailty if your build uses it.
- Demon Spikes to smooth physical damage. Stagger charges rather than stacking them unless the pull is extremely dangerous.
- Fiery Brand on the scariest mob or use a spread talent to mark several.
Resource flow tips
- Never sit at max fragments. Spend before you waste them.
- Do not spam Soul Cleave at full health without a reason. Save it for after a hit or when you risk capping.
- Keep at least one Demon Spikes charge rolling during heavy physical intake. Avoid being caught with zero when big hits land.
- Keep Immolation Aura on cooldown. It is your most reliable engine.
Cooldowns And Burst Planning In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
Metamorphosis
- Your biggest survival tool. Use it before dangerous overlaps or during panic moments. It also pushes damage. On progression, plan Meta for scripted pain points rather than using it on pull.
Fiery Brand
- Press this proactively. It shines on tank busters and high damage elites. With the right talents you can spread it across a pack. In raids, align it with known heavy swings.
Fel Devastation
- A channeled self heal and AoE damage button. Use it when you can stand still for the channel. If you expect to move, delay a few seconds rather than losing most of its value.
Demon Spikes
- Treat it as active mitigation. Keep uptime before strings of melee swings. Do not overlap charges unless the danger is extreme.
Sigils
- Sigil of Silence stops casts on packs and buys time for your healer. Sigil of Misery is a powerful stop or peel. Sigil of Chains groups and slows. Place them where enemies will be in a few seconds, not where they stand now.
Stack or stagger
- In easy content, stacking cooldowns ends pulls quickly. In tough content, stagger buttons to cover more time. Your job is to never be caught naked when a heavy hit arrives.
Movement And Survivability In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
Movement
- Infernal Strike defines your pathing. Use short hops to adjust packs and long leaps to start or escape. Do not leap through the group and spin it. Land slightly ahead of the pack so enemies face away from your party.
- Kiting is a plan, not a panic. Drop a Sigil of Chains or ask for slows before you step out. Leap to a safe marker and let the pack walk through ground damage.
Defensives
- Blur is available to Vengeance through the class tree in some patch setups. If you take it, press it early on known hits.
- Darkness is a group cooldown if your tree includes it. Use it on healer calls or raid mechanics where layered mitigation saves the team.
- Netherwalk, if taken, is a personal immunity and movement tool. Understand you will not attack during it, so plan around threat and boss timers.
Utility Toolkit
You bring a lot more than threat and mitigation.
- Disrupt is your short cooldown interrupt. Cover casts that other melee cannot reach.
- Consume Magic purges enemy magic buffs. Use it often to remove shields or enrages.
- Chaos Nova stuns a pack. Coordinate with other stops so you do not overlap.
- Imprison holds a problem mob or stops a patrol. Use it for clean pulls or to pause a priority add.
- Sigil of Silence stops casters. Sigil of Misery peels when things get messy. Sigil of Chains groups and slows.
- Chaos Brand increases magic damage taken by enemies you hit. Keep uptime by staying engaged.
Mythic Plus Basics
Start with keys you can time comfortably. The goal is clean control and safe pulls.
Pull sizing
- Build from small to large as your group learns each dungeon. Plan leap paths and sigil placements for every room.
Stop mechanics
- Assign interrupts. Call your Disrupts and cover loose mobs with Sigil of Silence. Use Imprison to set up dangerous packs.
Affixes
- Adapt your sigil plan to weekly affixes. Purge buffed mobs with Consume Magic. Drop Darkness on unavoidable pulses if your tree includes it.
Uptime and kiting
- Keep Immolation Aura rolling and build fragments constantly. When you must kite, slow first, leap to a marker, and keep mobs pointed away from the group. Do not panic leap through the party.
Climbing
- Time two or three keys per week at your comfort level. Move up one level when your routes feel smooth. Review logs for Demon Spikes gaps, wasted fragments, or late Fiery Brands.
Raid Role And Preparation In This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide
Raid leaders want a steady wall with clean control.
Expectations
- Keep Demon Spikes and Fiery Brand timing tight on bosses. Use Meta for assigned danger windows.
- Control add waves with sigils, stun, and grips from other classes. Place packs for cleave and safety.
- Face the boss away from the raid. Move the boss cleanly for ground effects and mechanics.
Weekly checklist
- Enchants and gems on every slot.
- Two stacks of potions and a stack of health potions.
- Markers for leap destinations on fights that ask for movement.
- Weak Auras for Demon Spikes charges, Fiery Brand, Metamorphosis, Immolation Aura, fragment count, and Frailty if used.
Leveling And Fresh 70 Setup
Leveling
- Tag with Sigil of Flame, leap in, Immolation Aura, Fracture, Soul Cleave. Use Fel Devastation for big pulls. Leap to the next pack while your dots tick.
Fresh 70 two hour plan
- Finish the current patch intro so vendors and outdoor content unlock.
- Buy budget enchants and basic gems. They matter more on tanks than most players think.
- Replace weak weapons and trinkets first. A strong defensive trinket smooths early keys.
- Run a couple of normal or heroic dungeons to practice your defensive rhythm.
- Enter low Mythic Plus keys. Build routes with your healer and learn where to Brand, where to Meta, and when to kite.
Weak Auras UI And Addons
A clear UI makes Vengeance much easier.
- Put Demon Spikes charges and remaining time near your character.
- Track Fiery Brand cooldown and duration on the target.
- Show Immolation Aura cooldown and fragment count. Glow when you risk capping.
- Add large timers for Fel Devastation and Metamorphosis.
- Use nameplates that show interruptible casts and purgeable buffs.
- Boss mods help plan timers. A combat log uploader lets you review damage taken spikes.
Useful addons include a rotation helper if you are brand new, a nameplate package for threat, a weak aura pack, a boss mod, and a combat log uploader you can download from CurseForge
Common Mistakes And Easy Fixes
- Sitting on Demon Spikes. Fix: press it before swings and keep some uptime during melee flurries.
- Casting Soul Cleave at full health with low fragments. Fix: wait for damage or high fragments, but do not overcap.
- Late Fiery Brand. Fix: place it before the tank buster, not after.
- Panic leaps through packs. Fix: set markers and land ahead of mobs so you do not spin them.
- Channeling Fel Devastation in danger zones. Fix: move first, then channel for full value.
- Ignoring sigils. Fix: pre place Silence or Misery for tough pulls and chain them with group stops.
Tips For Group Play
- Call your sigils and stuns so interrupts do not overlap.
- Ask for externals on scripted double hits when your buttons are down.
- Tell the group where you will kite. Drop a marker and leap there so everyone follows.
- Use Imprison to set up pulls and keep patrols out of the fight.
- If you talent Darkness, drop it when your healer is moving or the group faces unavoidable magic damage.
Advanced Notes For Veterans
Pooling and pacing
- Pool fragments and Fury before heavy hits so you can Soul Cleave right after. Keep one Demon Spikes charge in reserve in case a swing timer drifts.
Fiery Brand lines
- If your tree lets you reduce Brand cooldown or spread it, plan Brand waves across a pull. Brand the biggest threat first. Spread or reapply as the pack lives.
Fel Devastation timing
- The best use is after you have taken some damage but before you force a panic. Channel in safe ground. If mechanics are inbound, move first and then cast.
Kite patterns
- Chain slow and group tools before you kite. Sigil of Chains, then leap to a marker, then ask for team slows. Keep facing clean and do not turn mobs into the group.
Evaluating trinkets
- Tanks want reliable buttons. Prefer on use absorbs, damage reduction effects, or heal procs that you can count on in hard keys and new raids. If a high sim trinket has risky channels or delayed value, test it in real pulls before committing.
Quick Reference Tables
Topic Priority Or Tip Why It Matters
Stat priority Follow the source order for secondaries Smooths intake and resource flow
Opener Use sigils, leap in, build, then spend Front loads threat and sets the rhythm
AoE packs Group, Brand a threat, then rotate spikes Maximizes control and survival
Survivability Use Demon Spikes early and Brand proactively Prevents spikes and saves healer cooldowns
Single Target Priority Action
- 1 Keep Immolation Aura rolling for Fury and damage
- 2 Generate fragments with Fracture or Shear and Sigil of Flame
- 3 Use Demon Spikes before weapon swings or melee bursts
- 4 Soul Cleave after damage or to avoid fragment cap
- 5 Place Fiery Brand on tank busters and heavy windows
Mythic Plus Checklist Task
Before key Choose talents for control and kiting the dungeon needs
During pulls Call interrupts and place sigils to stop casts
Boss fights Time Fiery Brand and Meta for damage checks and mechanics
Conclusion
Practice on a dummy and in low keys. Keep Immolation Aura rolling, build fragments with Fracture, and spend with Soul Cleave without capping. Press Demon Spikes before swings and place Fiery Brand on scripted danger. Use sigils to keep packs under control and plan leaps so the group can follow. Review logs to spot gaps in spikes uptime, late Brands, and wasted fragments. This Vengeance Demon Hunter Guide will be updated as patch notes land.
