Fans of Blizzard's Warcraft would immediately recognize the blindfolded eyes, bat wings, and dual-curved blades of Illidan Stormrage. As such, players found it quite a surprise to learn that their characters could become a Demon Hunter like Illidan himself, courtesy of the new Class of the same name as introduced in the Legion expansion. Essentially, Demon Hunters in World of Warcraft follow Illidan's philosophy of using the Burning Legion's own magic against their own forces. As a result, Demon Hunters have forms akin to the very demons they slay.
Thankfully, the sheer power of Demon Hunters also allows them to become extremely efficient damage dealers in the MMO. However, Demon Hunters seem to have more secrets about their secret order that other players might want to uncover.
10 Take Or Soak Damage
Unlike other Classes, Demon Hunters only have two specializations: Havoc and Vengeance. Both of these Specializations reflect the Demon Hunter's fierce mobility and upgraded endurance, signifying their renewed strength against demons. Essentially, Havoc allows the Demon Hunters to tap into their innate speed to build Flurry. As a timing-dependent spec, the right rotation can allow a Havoc Demon Hunter to dish out explosive bouts of damage brutally.
Conversely, the Vengeance Specialization allows Demon Hunters to take on damage by using pain and fire. When enemies attack them, Demon Hunters can use the pain to restore a bit of their health, giving them incredible damage reduction abilities. Moreover, this kit allows them to access sigils that can either help with crowd control, AOE damage, or even quick counter-attacks.
9 Never Let The Enemy React
In terms of gameplay, Demon Hunters rely on their sheer speed and mobility to get as much damage in as possible. Moreover, their rotations focus on building combos to unleash Flurry that ensures enemies don't get enough time to react to the Demon Hunter's barrage of attacks.
Essentially, most builds encourage Demon Hunters to crowd control enemy support before raking in burst damage. Meanwhile, they should switch to sustained damage while their bursts recharge. Essentially, this allows the Demon Hunter to keep on putting in damage with no stops.
8 Hero Class Meant Unique Perks
Like the Death Knight, the Demon Hunter enjoyed a couple of perks as a Hero Class. Most noticeably, Demon Hunters have a more unique take on their appearance compared to their knightly counterparts. Essentially, players can customize a lot of aspects of their Demon Hunters. They can customize the appearance and colors of horns, tattoos, skin variations, and even eyewear. Moreover, they get an exclusive Metamorphosis form, which allows Demon Hunters to fully tap into their demonic power.
Interestingly, one thing that sets Demon Hunters apart from Death Knights would be exclusive dialogue options. Death Knights only enjoyed a unique raspy or deathly effect on their voice.
7 Devoted To The Legion's Destruction
Unlike other Classes, the Demon Hunter almost exclusively dedicates themselves to one goal: annihilate the Burning Legion. Interestingly, this hasn't always been their origin story. Back then, Illidan Stormrage was feared due to his craving for power - having made deals with powerful demons that made him alter his appearance into something else entirely. However, many soon realized that Illidan wanted to destroy the Burning Legion with the same power he's gained from them.
As such, Illidan's Illidari dedicates themselves to striking down demons wherever they go. They constantly train how to combat much bigger and powerful demons, learning how to use the same Fel Magic against them.
6 Brutal, Arduous Training
Unfortunately, not all can become Demon Hunters. For starters, Illidan seems to only accept Blood Elves and Night Elves into the ranks of the Illidari. Essentially, Demon Hunters formally begin their training once an initiate hopes to slay a demon, drink its blood, and eat its heart. The shock of ingesting demonic essence will force visions of the Burning Legion to appear, so horrific that initiates will tear their eyes out, knocking them out in a coma - if they haven't died already.
Meanwhile, the Fel energies inside the demonic essence will start to warp the body of the Demon Hunter into their current form. By the time the Demon Hunter awakens, they attain a new spectral sight that allows them to have a much greater vision.
5 In Constant Fear Of Corruption
Of all Classes in the MMO, it's perhaps the Demon Hunter that carries a tremendous amount of risk with the power they possess. By the time an initiate becomes a full-fledged Demon Hunter, the Fel energies inside of them don't stop trying to corrupt them. In turn, Demon Hunters spend almost every day keeping their energies in check. Demon Hunters who "lose" control over the corruption will undergo Metamorphosis, transforming into a horrifying beast that lashes out of everything.
This caveat also explains why Demon Hunters rely on the aid of magical tattoos to help them keep their powers in check. Apparently, the magical tattoos on their bodies are Arcane Magic in nature, the natural opposite of Fel Magic. Interestingly, perhaps only the Warlock shares the same fear of corruption with Demon Hunters, given that they also rely on Fel Magic for their spells.
4 Signature Warblades
Interestingly, Illidan gained popularity among players courtesy of his Warglaives of Azzinoth. In turn, fans got stoked when they realized their Demon Hunters could use the same weapons. Moreover, the lore refers to these weapons as both warglaives and warblades. Interestingly, there doesn't seem to be an explanation as to why Demon Hunters use these weapons. After all, Demon Hunters can still use two swords or two axes.
However, these giant curved weapons still remain an integral part of the Demon Hunter's arsenal. Essentially, the dual-bladed nature of the blades allows them to strike multiple foes with just a few swings. Moreover, their melee nature reflects on the Demon Hunter's preference to get up close and personal when fighting demonic creatures.
3 Only One That Isn't An Illidari
Most Demon Hunter NPCs players will meet in Legion - powerful NPCs or not - almost always belong to the Illidari. After all, Illidan's Illidari are the only ones capable of being full-fledged Demon Hunters, right? Interestingly, Illysanna Ravencrest, a Night Elf noble, is perhaps the only Demon Hunter to not have trained under Illidan.
Unlike other Illidari, Illysanna met Illidan even before the War of the Ancients, back when Illidan was still a practicing Mage. Unfortunately, her father's assassination crumbled Illysanna's hubris and made her question everything about her life. When she discovered that Illidan had tapped into demonic energies, she realized Illidan was up to something and decided to follow in his footsteps. Unfortunately, players will have to kill Illysanna at some point in the game.
2 Demoniacs Are Like Demon Hunters
As with other Classes, certain people in Azeroth have incomplete skillsets and equipment that make them "seem" like an incomplete version of a Class. For instance, "Hedge Mages" serve as a term for Mages that don't receive formal training. In the case of the Demon Hunter, some Zandalari Trolls refer to themselves as Demoniacs, capable of tapping into demonic energies as well. However, unlike Demon Hunters, Demoniacs take controlling demons to another level.
Essentially, Demoniacs allow demons to enter themselves. Afterward, Demoniacs fight demons to submission from the inside. When successful, Demoniacs have a source of power without the need of a soul stone or magical tattoos.
1 Planned As Early As The Burning Crusade
Fans would remember Illidan's "You are not prepared!" quote from the trailer of The Burning Crusade expansion. Interestingly, developers will use such a line when contemplating some changes they might add to The Burning Crusade. Essentially, devs already thought of adding the Demon Hunter Class as far back as The Burning Crusade and even added them in the TTRPG. Unfortunately, they weren't interested in adding a Class that early. Moreover, they reconsidered the idea again back in Wrath of the Lich King, but the concept didn't fit the theme.
It's only in Legion that Blizzard had a story that fit a Demon Hunter Class addition. However, fans can notice this consideration even back then when Demon Hunter NPCs already existed in the game.