Paragon farming is not fun.  It’s boring, repetitive, and monotonous…but here’s a new spec that will speed up your farming and make it interesting again.

Ever since Whirlwind Barbarians became the best thing since sliced bread, everyone has been trying to duplicate their mindless “hey I’m just gonna run though and kill everything and not get hurt cause I’m OP kthxbai” play style. You know what I mean, we’ve all been in a group with that WW Barb who solos Ubers MP10 blindfolded while reciting Shakespeare and basically carries us all.  All classes want to feel that OP, and Demon Hunters are finally in luck.

There are a lot of Strafe Specs out there that are…interesting.  The best one I found was CinderStrafe, but I thought it could be improved to allow you to farm higher MP content with a few small changes.

The 1.0.6 Solo PerfStrafe Build

This build is designed for Inferno MP 1+ farming.  When rolling with a group, it’s best to choose your skills to have the best synergism with your team.

Here’s the 1.0.6 Solo PerfStrafe build: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/calculator/demon-hunter#eSdgVh!bfX!cccYZZ

Play Style Explained

Ok, I know that some of you looked at the build link and were like “OMFGWTFBBQ???”…Yes, there is NO HATRED GENERATOR.   I know, I know, this seems weird and you’re starting to wonder if I’m trolling you.  Bro…trust me…

First off, a basic video of what this build can do:

Now that you see it works…allow me to explain the basics of it:

1. Always fire up your Shuriken Cloud and get out your Bat Companion before you rush in.
2. If you’re low on Hatred, look for health globes or pop Punishment
3. If you’re low on Discipline, get into melee range more for more Shuriken Cloud crits

See?  Not much to it, just like Whirlwind!  But…there are some finer points.

1. You’re going to need DECENT gear.  Your critical strike chance should be at least 30% and depending on what MP you want to run, you should have a good amount of all resist on your gear.
2. I recommend using the Templar Follower for his Hatred Regen talent.
3. This spec works best in big groups of mobs because you can generate more crits (Night Stalker procs) and get more health globes to naturally replenish your hatred.

Second off, another video of what this build can be when you get it:

Build Overview

Primary – Chakram with Shuriken Cloud

• What?  Yes, that’s right, you’re about to go melee range.  At first this may seem strange, with only 34% weapon damage , but the key is getting more critical strikes and thus, more Night Stalker procs.

Secondary – Strafe with Demolition

• Your Whirlwind.  Demolition’s AOE gernades do 187% weapon damage and has a small AOE, which will quickly clear the mobs.  This is the best rune because of the AOE criticals, which result in you always having enough Discipline to do anything your heart desires ^_^

Action Bar Skills

Hunting – Vault with Tail of Cinders

• DPS Increase.  300% over 3 seconds doesn’t seem like much, until you realize that you can stack trails, and then add that damage to Shuriken Cloud and Strafe.
• Mobility.  I’ve always been a big fan of vault, and it’s probably no surprise to you guys that it’s in my build.  It definitely comes in handy for getting out of clutch situations.

Defense – Shadow Power with Gloom

• Tank This.  35% damage reduction with 15% life steal for 5 seconds will allow you to tank into big packs of  mobs that would otherwise kill you, allowing for effective use of Shuriken Cloud to proc Night Stalker.

Hunting – Preparation with Punishment

• Strafe Up Time.  No Health Globes around? No Problem!  25 Disclipine for all of your hatred back keeps Strafe up and keeps you alive.
• Wait..Don’t you want this for Discipline? No, if you have enough crit and get into melee range to make sure you’re hitting with Shuriken Cloud also, you’ll have unlimited discipline!  If you’re not, then you’re doing it wrong.  9 times out of 10 this is where you need to look at your gear.  30% crit chance is the minimum that I’d recommend for this build, but the more the better since it snowballs.

Hunting– Compainion with Bat Companion

• Hatred Regen.  3 extra hatred per second may not seem like a big deal, but it’s very handy, especially when you never stop Strafing.

Passives

Vengence

• Hatred Regen.  The extra 25 hatred isn’t as important as the ability to restore 20 hatred from a health globe (and 2 discipline).  This is the real key to keeping your hatred up, killing mobs and getting the health globes with this passive.

Night Stalker

• Stay On Target.  You’re going to be using your Discipline often, and this is how we keep it replenishing.  Crits from Strafe’s gernades and Shuriken Cloud will keep this passive working all day long.  Don’t worry about the  chance on this passive, just worry about having enough critical strike chance on your character.

Perfectionist

• Tank Time.  Since we’re squishies, this is what keeps you alive as you dive into piles of enemies.  The Discipline reduction is nice, but the bonus to life, armor, and resistances is key.
• Do I Really Need This?  No, but it will keep you alive longer in higher MPs.  Switch this out for a DPS talent if you need more punch or already have good survivability for what you’re farming.

Gearing

At the time of my previous guides, there was no way to easily link my gear.  There is now, and here it is: http://us.battle.net/d3/en/profile/Rwenful-1228/hero/2248051.  Check it out, you can see what I’m rocking.

I don’t like gearing specially for a build, but in this case it’s helpful.  If you’re going to farm to paragon 100, you might as well take the time to invest in your gear.  Here’s what you should look at if you really want to make this build work:

1. Weapon Choice: Get a 2 Hand Crossbow with lots of Crit Damage and High Dps (READ: buy a MANTICORE) and a godlike quiver (READ: buy a DEAD MAN’S LEGACY).  This combo is awesome for DPS and Crit Damage.  The main thing is the top end damage.  I was running Danetta’s Spite and Revenge, which I loved (and actually had about 50% more crit damage), but they were only around 920 dps each.  I went to a 1090 Manticore.  I never looked back.  Go 2 Hand Crossbow.  I know, I hate the animation also, I hate the weapon speed, I just hate it, but damn…it’s beast.  Guess that’s why everyone’s using it.
2. Critical Strike Chance: You won’t be able to keep your hatred up at all times / survive at all times if you don’t have enough crit.  Crit’s are key to getting more Night Stalker procs, which results in more discipline, which keeps you in god mode.  Get Crit on your gear.  Head, Gloves, Wrists, Rings (unless you’re using a Hellfire with a bad roll, like me…), every place you can get crit on your gear…GET IT.
3. Movement Speed: This isn’t paramount, but it helps in farms, and I just like going fast.  Boots are the obvious choice for + move speed, but a GREAT DEMON HUNTER ITEM that everyone can afford is The Inquisitor.  12% movement speed AND there’s an affix for Strafe Crit Chance…hmm that works nicely, doesn’t it?

Well, I think that’s it.  This seems lengthy for a farming build, but I hope I demystified the PerfStrafe build for you guys.

Important: Many of the strategies and tips I share here were originally inspired by the people at the Diablo 3 Gold Secrets Forum. If you're serious about making the big bucks in Diablo 3, or just being the best players, you need to signup ASAP.