The Strafer: A Demon Hunter Paragon Leveling Build - Topic

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Jan 14 2013 09:22pm

The Strafer: A Demon Hunter Paragon Leveling Build by VVR4ITH / Akukami

Goal of This Build

Obtain between 950k - 1mil XP per minute in Act 3 Inferno on MP0 to MP2 using a Demon Hunter build centered around Strafe

Video Version of This Guide

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Contents

1. Skills

1a. Active Skills
1b. Passive Skills

2. Stats

2a. Main Stats
2b. Additional Stats

3. Gearing

3a. Quick Notes
3b. Gear Recommendations
3c. Follower Skills and Gear

4. Playing the Build

4a. The Strafer on an Alkaizer Run
4b. Tips for Speed Runs
4c. Q & A

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1. Skills

1a. Active Skills

Strafe: Demolition or Rocket Storm
- Main skill
- Demolition and Rocket Storm are the only two runes that do significant damage
- Demolition - Crazy amount of damage, best used in mobs
- Rocket Storm - Won't kill everything on first pass, but rockets finish the job

Vault: Trail of Cinders
- Combine with Tactical Advantage for fast Paragon leveling runs
- Secondary source of damage if you ever run out of Hatred for Strafe
- Finish off low-health monsters that follow you
- Possible to use other runes, but ToC is by far the best for this build

Chakram: Shuriken Cloud
- Extra damage while Strafing through mobs
- Probably the only Active Skill you can change on this build

Shadow Power: Gloom
- Get life back
- Tank Champions and Elites

Preparation: Focused Mind
- Get Discipline back
- Focused Mind - Extra Discipline if have less than 45 Discipline in your overall pool
- Gradual Discipline gain makes the play feel smoother than an instant gain

Companion: Bat Companion
- Get your Hatred back faster
- Needed for constant Strafing

1b. Passive Skills

Vengeance
- Main passive that fuels your build, near-impossible to play without
- Hatred and Disciplined gain from health globes
- Extra 25 Hatred

Night Stalker
- Regain Discipline with Critical Hits
- Required for this build unless you have high Discipline + excellent resource management

Tactical Advantage
- Combine with Vault for fast Paragon leveling runs
- Switch to Perfectionist if you have lesser gear or you're comfortable doing slower runs

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2. Stats

2a. Main Stats

Minimum Stats
- 75k DPS
- 27k Life
- 325 All Res
- 3k Armor

Ideal Stats
- 100k DPS
- 35k Life
- 400 All Res
- 4k Armor

2b. Additional Stats

7-10 Pickup Radius
- Saves you time from backtracking to pick up Health Globes

24% Movement Speed
- Faster Paragon leveling runs

40% Critical Hit Chance
- More chances to proc Night Stalker

200% Critical Hit Damage
- More damage is always good

Extra Discipline
- Don't make this a priority mod on your gear unless you can afford it

Life on Hit / Life Steal
- Still not sure if this is needed for the build or not
- Again, don't make this a priority mod on your gear unless you can afford it

--

3. Gearing

3a. Quick Notes

Avoid Attack Speed Increases as much as possible!
- Strafe is Hatred-intensive
- Need to use Hatred as slowly as possible so you don't run out

Items For Paragon Leveling
- Ruby-Socketed Helm, up to 31% Bonus XP
- Hellfire Ring, 35% Bonus XP
- Leoric's Signet, up to 30% Bonus XP

Legacy Natalya's for Discipline Regeneration
- Probably the best set to put on this build if you can afford it
- Possible to get rid of Preparation and/or Night Stalker

3b. Gear Recommendations

Weapon: Rare Crossbow or Manticore
- Slow Attack Speed
- Emerald Socket(s), Critical Hit Damage
- Bonus: Life on Hit / Life Steal

Off-hand: Dead Man's Legacy
- Spawns with excellent stats, hard to find Rare equivalent
- Dex, Vit, Hatred Regen, Critical Hit Chance
- Bonus: Lowest possible Attack Speed you can find without sacrificing other stats

Helm: Natalya's Sight or Rare Helm
- Natalya's for Set Bonuses
- Dex, Vit, Ruby Socket
- Bonus: Res, Critical Hit Chance, Pickup Radius

Shoulders: Vile Ward or Rare Shoulders
- Dex, Vit, Res
- Bonus: Pickup Radius

Amulet: Rare Amulet
- Dex, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage
- Bonus: Vit, Damage, Res, Life on Hit

Gloves: Rare Gloves
- Dex, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage
- Bonus: Vit, Res, Pickup Radius

Chest: Natalya's Embrace, The Inquisitor, or Rare Chest
- Natalya's for Set Bonuses
- Emerald Socket(s) Dex, Vit
- Bonus: Res, Strafe Bonus, Pickup Radius, Discipline

Bracers: Strongarm Bracers or Rare Bracers
- Dex, Vit, Critical Hit Chance
- Bonus: Res, Pickup Radius

Rings: Natalya's Reflection, Hellfire Ring, Leoric's Signet, and/or Rare Ring
- Natalya's for Set Bonuses, Hellfire and/or Leoric's for Paragon Leveling
- Can use Stone of Jordan for faster Elite kills, but not recommended for this build
- Dex, Vit, Damage
- Bonus: Res, Critical Hit Chance, Critical Hit Damage

Waist: Inna's Favor or Rare Waist
- Inna's for Set Bonuses
- Dex, Vit, Res
- Bonus: Res, Pickup Radius

Legs: Inna's Temperance
- Inna's for Set Bonuses and Increased Movement Speed, hard to find Rare equivalent
- Dex, Vit, 12% Movement Speed, Emerald Sockets

Feet: Natalya's Bloody Footprints, Ice Climbers, Fire Walkers, or Rare Feet
- Natalya's for Set Bonuses
- Dex, Vit, 12% Movement Speed
- Bonus: Res, Pickup Radius

3c. Follower Skills and Gear

Recommendation: Templar
- Best choice because it can hold the most amount of Magic Find
- Skills: Heal, Loyalty, Charge, Inspire
- Gear: Sun Keeper, all Magic Find Gear, Defensive Stats on the Templar Relic

--

4. Playing the Build

4a. The Strafer on an Alkaizer Run

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHRVGPf4Arg]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHRVGPf4Arg

4b. Tips for Speed Runs

Keep Moving Forward
- Stop only for items you want
- Can stop for Goblins, but not really worth it

Dead End / Wrong Way and 70% Complete?
- Town Portal out, move to the next area
- Less than 70% done? Backtrack, and go the right way

Strafe in Mobs
- Don't go after single monsters unless they are Elites

Don't Get Frozen / Trapped
- You open yourself to getting killed

Play in Monster Power 0 or 1
- Anything above this will add time to your runs unless you have crazy DPS

4c. Q & A

Q.What if I don't have the proper gear and I can't afford it just yet?

A. You can still play this build in Act 1 and 2 Inferno on MP0 and do some Magic/Gold Finding for better gear.

Q.Can I play this build on Hardcore?

A. In theory, yes, but I haven't tested it in HC. However, I would imagine that you'd prioritize tanking and survivability over damage.

Q.Can I play this build in multiplayer games?

A. Yes, but you should play close to the rest of your party rather than going ahead. In general, you're stronger together than separated.

Q.I can't get at least 950k XP per minute. What am I doing wrong?

A. It could be several things including what XP gear you're wearing, the randomness of each game, your play style, or even the route you take.

Do the following.

- Get the most XP gear you can. You should at least have a Ruby Socketed Helm.
- Cut down on the time you spend on each run by following the Tips for Speed Runs. Also, memorize your route.
- Keep your eyes open for Enlightened Shrines on your route, but don't go out of your way for them.

Lastly, remember that you will have really good runs and really bad runs that will balance each other out.

Q.Is there a better Paragon leveling route than Alkaizer's route?

A. I've seen other routes posted all over the Internet, but I haven't tested them all yet. If you know of a better route, please share it with all of us.

Q.Is there a Strafer build that can handle MP3 and over?

A. I'm sure there is, but I haven't found one that works well just yet. If I do find one, I'll let you know.

--

Conclusion

The Future of This Build

With each new patch to the game, I will do my best to update this guide as long as the build is still viable.

I am always looking for ways to improve upon this build, so please feel free to share your thoughts on this thread.

Thank you very much for reading, and I hope you enjoy this build.

This post was edited by VVR4ITH on Jan 14 2013 09:50pm

RocketRaccoon

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Jan 14 2013 09:41pm

Very nice guide, just have a couple of questions.

Can you go more indepth of why you prefer demolition over rocket storm? If you look at the animation of rocket storm I found that it has a small splash damage similar to bola shots, except with a smaller radius. Also it does overall more damage.

Also can you post a vid of your gameplay? I use a very similar build but with some differences, im thinking its a difference in play styles.

Also for attack speed, I found higher attack speeds killing a lot faster and the health globes keep me sustained in hatred. I'm just wondering if you play it a bit differently than I do =/

/e

Also Roaha's route is better than alkaizer I found, getting close to 75-80m/hour with leorics/hellfire on myself and merc.

/ee

also idk if you went over this but if you use SP and then Shuriken Cloud you get the life steal bonus from SP on your Cloud for the whole 2 minutes.

This post was edited by Shamx on Jan 14 2013 09:46pm

VVR4ITH

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Jan 14 2013 09:58pm

Quote (Shamx @ Jan 14 2013 11:41pm)

Gameplay: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FHRVGPf4Arg

For the Demolition vs. Rocket Storm discussion, I don't have a preference for either rune because they both do the right amount of damage for this build. I switch between both of them quite often just to change the animation.

As for higher attack speed, I've found that it doesn't work well unless you have really high DPS. With all of the more common Demon Hunter gear (IAS Mempo, Lacuni, Witching Hour, etc.), you'll lose Hatred really quickly. Since this build is aimed for low to medium budget players, I don't recommend higher attack speed.

I'll have to look at that route when I get a chance. I've heard of it, but I haven't really tried it out because I've been busy finishing up this guide.

Lastly, I'm aware of the Life Steal bonus, but I didn't go over it because it's not crucial to the build. Nice to know, but not overly important. Thanks for bringing it up though.

This post was edited by VVR4ITH on Jan 14 2013 10:00pm

pyropunk

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Jan 14 2013 10:08pm