Alright so today I wanted to figure out what’s actually working for my Demon Hunter in Season 29, you know, messing around solo mostly. Heard some folks talking trash about certain sets being dead, so I grabbed my controller and hopped into the game to test ’em myself. No theorycrafting nonsense, just playing for real.
Getting Started Was Kinda Rough
First thing, I dusted off all the armor pieces I had stuffed in my stash. Felt like I was cleaning out a really messy closet, finding sets I hadn’t touched in seasons. Loaded up a fresh Torment 16 Neph Rift with some random ancient gear mixed in – my starting point was weak, I kept dying stupid fast. This sucked, obviously. Needed to focus on one set at a time.
Testing The Old School Stuff First
Marauder’s set was my first pick. Remembered it being the turret king. Started equipping it piece by piece during a normal rift run. Turrets everywhere, sure, but man it felt slow to get rolling. Finding enemies, placing turrets, waiting for damage… felt like forever compared to how things are now. Could handle high Torment? Yeah. Fast and fun? Nah, not really. Kinda boring to play now, truth bomb.
Next up was Natalya’s Vengeance. Tried the old Rain of Vengeance spam build. Resources drained faster than my coffee mug on a Monday morning. Had to constantly spam generators, manage cooldowns… it was a clunky mess trying to keep the damage going. Damage wasn’t bad when everything lined up, but keeping it lined up felt like juggling chainsaws. Tired me out fast.
Shifting To The “Meta” Picks
Alright, enough nostalgia, time for the sets folks actually talk about now. Slapped on the Gears of the Dreadlands set. This one… oh man. Completely different feel. Just hold down Strafe and everything starts blowing up instantly. Movement felt super smooth, melting trash mobs left and right. Felt powerful right from the get-go, even without super optimized rolls. Definitely lives up to the hype for speed farming. Tried pushing higher GRs though, started feeling a bit squishy past 120. But for zooming? Top choice.
Then I forced myself to try The Shadow’s Mantle. Hate the Impale playstyle usually, feels too single-target focused. But gotta test it, right? Focused the build, slapped on the belt and quiver. Man, elites and bosses just melted. Like, delete-button levels of damage on single targets. Running past trash felt weird, but jumping on a rare and one-shotting it never gets old. Squishy too, gotta play careful, but wow the damage is stupid high if you play sneaky assassin style.
Saved Unhallowed Essence for last. Multishot build, my old favorite. Firing screen-wide volleys is just pure satisfaction. Cleared whole screens instantly, visuals were nuts. Awesome for Torment farming and mid-level GRs. Problem? Ran into a brick wall pushing higher tiers. Trying to stack damage while surviving felt impossible without near-perfect gear and serious paragon investment. Fun, but definitely has a ceiling.
My Final Tiers After Actually Playing
Okay, based purely on my experience messing around today, here’s where things landed for me:
- S-Tier (Effortless Powerhouse): Gears of the Dreadlands (Speed & Comfort) & The Shadow’s Mantle (Boss Deleter)
- A-Tier (Still Feels Great): Unhallowed Essence (Multishot Mayhem)
- B-Tier (Works, Just Feels Old): Natalya’s Vengeance (Too Clunky) & Marauder’s (Too Slow)
Bottom line? Gears and Shadows are the ones really putting in work for serious pushing or smooth farming right now. UE Multishot is a blast if you’re not pushing your absolute limits. The others? They felt like ancient history, literally. Your stash mules. Maybe I missed something, but honestly, my finger cramps playing those old sets confirmed the rankings for me.