Comparison: Demon Hunter’s Smoke Screen vs. Shadow Power+Gloom
In the past few Demon Hunter builds we have seen either Smoke Screen or Shadow Power being present in all of them. If a build did not have Smoke Screen, it would surely include Shadow Power. Both of them are survival skills and Inferno does require a bit of tactics to clear it completely. Let’s have a quick comparison between the two and maybe find out which one is better.
Smoke Screen
Pros:
- Grants invulnerability for 1.5 seconds if it is paired with the Lingering Frog rune.
- In groups it drops aggro off the Demon Hunter, making the mobs focus on a different character. It can also work in single player mode if a Follower is around.
- It breaks every single moving imparing effects such as freeze, jailer etc.
- When Tactical Advantage is used as a passive skill, Smoke Screen also grants 60% increased movement speed making it great if kiting is not really your thing.
Cons:
- The effect only lasts for 1.5 seconds with the Lingering Frog rune. It has been reduced from 3 seconds in a recent patch.
- Not good for tanking. It will not help that much with mitigation. After the effect expires, the character will become the glass cannon it used to be.
- The Demon Hunter needs to get out of sight to lose aggro.
Shadow Power
Pros:
- It helps a lot to regenerate life as it returns 20% of the damage dealt as HP for 3 seconds.
- Reduces the incoming damage by 65% for the duration of Shadow Power if the Gloom rune is used.
- It works great with tanking builds.
- Has a long duration of 3 seconds.
Cons:
- The Demon Hunter still receives damage while it is active. It will not become invulnerable like with Smoke Screen.
- It is not a panic button. Shadow Power will not get the Demon Hunter out of bad situations. It will only help him survive 3 seconds longer.
The Conclusion
It is difficult to say which one is better. Smoke Screen is more of a general purpose skill. It is great for various situations especially if it has the movement speed boost from Tactical Advantage. It works in crowded situations, in boss encounters, farming for gear and possibly for PvP sometime in the future. However, it seems to be more beneficial to use it in enclosed areas. Open spaces make it impossible to drop aggro. Smoke Screen is also a more popular choice amongst players. It seems that there are more builds that use Smoke Screen than Shadow Power.
On the other hand, Shadow Power is amazing against bosses and by this we are referring to all Inferno fights. In situations like when fighting Diablo in second phase, the clone can be very powerful. If the Demon Hunter is strong enough, the clone can one shot him. Shadow Power proves its effectiveness and if used the moment the clone is spawned, the character will kill it without any problems. It works in all types of situations but it will not get the Demon Hunter out of bad combat encounters.
Personal preference win this debate.
Comparison thanks to: [phobos]
His video here.
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