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Assassin
Shadowhunter
A PvE
S PvP
Easy
guide authors
Sekwah

Demonic Impulse Shadowhunter Build Guide for PvE

Build

required skill points: 384

is a (relatively) cheap class, durable due to self-healing, and easy to learn since it doesn’t require complex rotations or too much effort.

It is a transformation build. This means that you spend little time in your “human” form to generate enough identity meter, and then transform into a powerful demon to wreak havoc.

It’s a high-floor, low-ceiling engraving which means that it is very powerful with little investment but falls off (compared to other classes) the higher you go since there are limited options to increase our damage later on.

Blood Massacre

Blood Massacre

Galewind
Death Claw

Death Claw

Bleed
Destruction

Destruction

Overwhelm
Gore Bleeding

Gore Bleeding

Galewind
Leaping Blow

Leaping Blow

Galewind
Ruining Rush

Ruining Rush

Rage
Demonic Slash

10

Demonic Slash

Damage AmplificationNimble MovementChain Charge
Thrust Impact

10

Thrust Impact

Swift ThrustDeep ThrustEncroaching Power
Rising Claw

10

Rising Claw

Naively HonestGiant HandGrasp of Death
Demonic Clone

10

Demonic Clone

Naively HonestFist of DestructionEnh. Release Encroachment
Demon Vision

10

Demon Vision

Concentrated ReleaseEncroaching PowerInstant Discharge
Wealth
Demon's Grip

10

Demon's Grip

Swift FingersEncroaching PowerStretching Hand
Howl

10

Howl

Swift FingersEncroaching PowerMighty Roar
Wealth
Decimate

10

Decimate

Swift FingersWeak Point DetectionCruel Hand
Fallen Ruin

Fallen Ruin

Skill priority

Demon Vision
Howl
Demonic Clone
Decimate
Demon's Grip
Thrust Impact

Specialization Breakpoints

The image contains specialization values, runes and the skills necessary to transform. The tripods listed are for . If you wish to use a combination with 3 wealth runes, you can replace the Overwhelm rune on .

The following values assume you have all relevant Encroaching Power and Enh. Encroachment Release tripods at level 5.

How to play

You use Human Skills to generate enough identity meter and transform as soon as possible:

Once you’re in demon form, you want to prioritize high-damage long-cooldown skills such as:

Then fill with the rest of skills that have much shorter cooldowns.

Damage Skill Priority:

  1. and are the hardest hitting skills. Use them on CD.
  2. Spam the rest of the skills, using and to apply your damage synergy, and and for damage.

engravings

3

Demonic Impulse

3

Grudge

3

Adrenaline

3

Keen Blunt Weapon

3

Cursed Doll

These are the recommended engravings for the Spec/Crit build.

In 's penalty, the healing penalty doesn’t apply to the self-heal on transformation.

In case you don't like , you can use . It's a safer alternative, but doesn't affect awakening or human skills.

If you are running Spec/Swift build then you should run instead of .

If you have a 9/7 stone, you can choose:

  • at level 1, never use this engraving at a higher level
  • or at either level 1 or level 2 (level 2 in case of ancient accessories)

combat stats

Crit

500

Swiftness

0

Specialization

1600

Endurance

0

Domination

0

Expertise

0

In order to achieve this stat distribution:

  • Neck - Spec + (Crit or Swiftness)
  • Earrings - Spec
  • Rings - Spec
  • Bracelet - Spec + Crit

The necklace stats will determine whether you are running a Spec/Crit or Spec/Swift build.

Attack Gems

Demon Skill

Only 1 Damage gem on Demonize "transformation" is enough because it applies on all transformation skills.

Cooldown Gems

Demon Skill

Only 1 Cooldown gem on Demonize "transformation" is enough because it applies on all transformation skills.

gear tripods

Demon Vision
Encroaching Power
Demonic Clone
Enh. Release Encroachment
Demon's Grip
Encroaching Power
Howl
Encroaching Power

The tripods listed above are vital to get level 5.

Lower priority tripods you can focus on after getting the above tripods:

  • 's
  • 's
  • 's or

Gear Set

Your relic set choice depends on which substat you pick.

Shrieking Hallucination provides additional Crit Rate, which means you can opt for Swiftness as a secondary stat to get the most out of Raid Captain and to reduce the cooldown of your demonic skills.

Poem of Salvation lacks crit rate but gives attack speed and has a higher damage potential (although the difference is not that big) but you will need to pick Crit Rate as a secondary stat to compensate.

Bracelet

Look for around 50-70 Spec and around 50-70 Crit on your bracelet to begin with, these will be the easiest bracelets to obtain and will provide a good damage increase for a low cost.

Endgame bracelets will have 2 static and up to 2 rollable bonuses (3 with Ancient Bracelets). These bracelets also typically want bonuses that compliment each other like Hammer and Wedge, which are difficult to roll.

Endgame bracelets are typically extremely expensive to purchase and roll, costing hundreds of thousands of gold on average. Do not roll for these bracelets until you’ve finished gearing up other parts of your character.

Endgame bracelets should consist of the following affixes:

  • Spec
  • Crit
  • Hammer (Has additional bonuses when rolled together with Wedge)
  • Wedge (Has additional bonuses when rolled together with Hammer)
  • Circulate
  • Fervor
  • Superiority
  • Precise