DPS Rotation & Cooldowns

This rotation offers a general priority list for Havoc Demon Hunter abilities, along with key cooldowns at the bottom. It's based on a standard build and is here to help while we work on a smarter, build-aware system. If you are very new to the game or this class, we added info on the new assisted rotation features at the bottom of this guide. Updated for the latest patch in World of Warcraft: The War Within (11.2).

Single Target

Ensure Immolation Aura is active before engaging.

• Death SweepView detailsDuring Essence Break debuff
• AnnihilationView detailsDuring Essence Break debuff
• Immolation AuraView detailsIf not active or at 2 charges
• Essence BreakView detailsWith Metamorphosis active
• Eye BeamView detailsOn cooldown
• The HuntView detailsUse for burst or priority target
• MetamorphosisView detailsWith Eye Beam and Death Sweep on cooldown
• Blade DanceView detailsTo prevent Fury capping
• AnnihilationView detailsTo spend Fury
• FelbladeView detailsIf under 80 Fury
• Chaos StrikeView detailsTo spend excess Fury

Focus on using Death Sweep and Annihilation during Essence Break. Maintain Immolation Aura uptime and use Eye Beam on cooldown. Utilize The Hunt for burst and Metamorphosis strategically.

AoE

• Death SweepView detailsDuring Essence Break debuff
• AnnihilationView detailsDuring Essence Break debuff
• Immolation AuraView detailsIf at 2 charges
• Vengeful RetreatView detailsTo trigger Initiative and Inertia
• The HuntView detailsWith no active Reavers Glaive proc
• Essence BreakView detailsWith Metamorphosis active
• Eye BeamView detailsOn cooldown
• Blade DanceView detailsTo prevent Fury capping
• Sigil Of FlameView detailsTo generate Fury
• FelbladeView detailsTo generate Fury
• Throw GlaiveView detailsTo fill downtime

In AoE, prioritize Death Sweep and Annihilation during Essence Break. Use Immolation Aura frequently and Eye Beam on cooldown. Trigger Initiative and Inertia with Vengeful Retreat.

Cooldowns

• MetamorphosisView detailsUse during burst windows with Essence Break
• The HuntView detailsUse for burst or priority targets
• Eye BeamView detailsUse on cooldown for Demonic triggers

Use Metamorphosis during burst phases, The Hunt for priority targets, and Eye Beam on cooldown to maximize damage.

New to Class? Try Assisted Rotation

Patch 11.1.7 introduced new features that make it eaiser to pick and play new characters. These new settings can be enabled from settings » gameplay enhancements:

• Single-Button Assistant
• Assisted Highlight
• Cooldown Manager

If you are new to World of Warcraft or a certain class, enabling Assisted Highlight and Cooldown Manager can help you learn which abilities to prioritize and use.

While the Single-Button Assistant can be a much easier and more accessible way to play the game, it does come with a slight performance hit due to a small GCD penalty, as you will have to wait 25% longer in between spells and abilities.

To see which specs are best with the Single-Button Assistant feature, you can check out our DPS Rankings which uses SimC to sim every class using this feature.