Diablo® III

The Demon Hunter looks like a pretty awesome character, but as the subject says, there's one thing that really bothers me: With DEX as the primary stat of the Demon Hunter, you must rely on dodge for defense. While a 40% dodge on AVERAGE reduces your damage by 40%, it's not unusual to hit a dry spell where you take several consecutive hits without dodging. On higher difficulties where all it takes is two or three hits to be killed, dodge is simply too unreliable to depend on as a valid from of defense.

I could see this more of an issue for a monk since they get in the thick of it, but even then monks have 30% damage reduction.

Maybe don't depend on getting hit?

And dry spells go both ways, you could have a wet spell where you dodge several hits.

That's why you don't rely on dodge to survive. Demon Hunters are equipped with many mobility and survivability-oriented skills so that you can escape and/or prevent targets from reaching you. Dodge is just a bonus to that. A good Demon Hunter will control the enemies so they don't put themselves in a situation where they even need to dodge attacks.

04/08/2012 07:54 AMPosted by Tiberius

reduces your damage by 40%

Dodge also extends the time you are not being hit, with certain stun mechanics or interruption effects... wiggle room as we call it

never a bad thing, just know the differences and use them to your advantage.

04/08/2012 08:32 AMPosted by Hax

That's why you don't rely on dodge to survive. Demon Hunters are equipped with many mobility and survivability-oriented skills so that you can escape and/or prevent targets from reaching you. Dodge is just a bonus to that. A good Demon Hunter will control the enemies so they don't put themselves in a situation where they even need to dodge attacks.

The enemies will have ranged attacks too. I think you're in for an unpleasant surprise if you think you will be able to play the game as Demon Hunter and never take a hit. All I'm saying is, when I take a few hits, I'd rather sustain a predictable amount of damage instead of not knowing whether I'll die or take no damage.

04/08/2012 11:07 AMPosted by Tiberius

The enemies will have ranged attacks too. I think you're in for an unpleasant surprise if you think you will be able to play the game as Demon Hunter and never take a hit. All I'm saying is, when I take a few hits, I'd rather sustain a predictable amount of damage instead of not knowing whether I'll die or take no damage.

True, but ranged attacks usually have travel distance, which makes them possible to avoid altogether. Also, dodge in D3 applies to not only ranged attacks, but magic as well. I agree with you that a flat mitigation is preferred over RNG, but that isn't the hand we're dealt.