I play Demon Hunter a lot and I’ll tell you plainly how to run Challenge Rifts. I’ve refined these tips through hundreds of runs (yes, that many) and they work in 2025 meta. Some advice is blunt—you’ll like that or you won’t—either way, it saves time.
Challenge Rifts push builds hard. You need mobility, ranged output, and ways to survive heavy bursts. I focus on Multishot for screen clear, Crossbow Shot for single-target and Hatred generation, and Smoke Screen to buy breathing room. That combo wins most matches if you tune gear and gems properly.
🎯 Core Skills (what I use)
- Multishot — primary AoE damage, great for packs.
- Crossbow Shot — steady single-target power and Hatred gen.
- Smoke Screen — reposition or cancel dangerous casts.
- Rain of Vengeance — area denial (use sparingly).
- Daring Swing — repositioning and brief invulnerability.
Yes, Multishot is strong. But here’s a minor controversy: sometimes Crossbow Shot beats Multishot on boss-heavy maps. Try both. Seriously, try both.
⚔️ Gear priorities — short and exact
Pick weapons that boost Multishot scaling. In my experience The Hungerer and Windloft Perfection are solid choices for that role (2025 patches haven’t removed these synergies). For defense pick pieces that give cooldown reduction and damage reduction versus elites. Mobility boots or off-hands that help reposition are underrated.
| Slot | Primary | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Main Hand | The Hungerer | Multishot scaling |
| Off-Hand | Bladed Jambarts | Favors quick repositioning |
| Helm | Prepared | Cooldown reduction |
| Chest | Fairflesh | Elite damage reduction |
| Shoulders | Coiled Bulwark | Survivability boost |
| Legs | Wildfire | AoE enhancement |
“Pick items that change how you play, not just numbers.” — real advice from my runs
💎 Gems and upgrades — practical plan
Berserker’s Eye remains top priority for raw damage scaling when well upgraded (player data through 2025 backs this). Defensive gems like Blood-Soaked Jade stop one-shot scenarios. Echoing Shade gives utility; Frozen Heart helps control. Don’t neglect balance.
Gem priority (simple):
1 Berserker's Eye
2 Blood-Soaked Jade
3 Echoing Shade
4 Frozen Heart
5 Lightning Core
6 Chip of Stoned Flesh
Upgrade strategy: get your #1 and #2 to Rank 3 before touching others (this is where the biggest power jump lives). This doesn’t always work for every niche—depends on your build and team makeup.
🛡️ Stats: how much offense vs defense?
Short answer: roughly 60% offense / 40% defense works for many rift tiers. I’ve noticed you should push Crit Damage and Crit Chance first, then layer Damage to Elites. Defensive targets: Damage Reduction, then Life. Exact numbers change with Combat Rating—test and adjust.
| Category | Targets | Goal |
|---|---|---|
| Offense | Crit Chance / Crit Damage | ~30% / ~200% |
| Offense | Damage to Elites | 15–20% |
| Defense | Damage Reduction | 40–50% |
| Defense | Life | 50,000+ (varies) |
Why these? Damage stats speed clears; defensive stats keep you standing. If you ignore one, progression stalls. Watch this: sometimes an extra 5% Damage Reduction buys more tier progress than +10% Crit Damage.
📊 Progression roadmap
Tier scaling typically raises enemy health and damage by about 15–20% per significant milestone. Start conservative, learn mechanics, then push. Here’s a practical milestone map I use:
- Tiers 1–15: Learn rotation and get decent gear.
- Tiers 16–30: Upgrade key gems and legendaries (test each change).
- Tiers 31–50: Master positioning and elite handling.
- Tiers 51+: Polish resource use and boss patterns.
Progress tip: after a gear upgrade, run 2–3 rifts at your comfortable tier to confirm stability before pushing. There’s no shortcut here.
🔥 Combat rotation — exact sequence
Short sequence that I drill until it’s reflex:
- Smoke Screen — set angle
- Rain of Vengeance — deny area
- Multishot ×3–4 — main damage
- Crossbow Shot ×2 — Hatred refresh
- Daring Swing — reposition / i-frames
Use defensive tools proactively. Don’t wait until you’re one-shot—use Smoke Screen before heavy telegraphs. That change in mindset made me climb tiers faster than any stat reroll.
Elite fights — concise phases
- Open heavy with area damage.
- Keep distance and chip with Multishot.
- Preempt big attacks with Smoke Screen.
- Use Daring Swing for exits or quick reposition.
Question: why practice on dummies? Because muscle memory wins when chaos hits. Practice until the rotation is automatic, then test on real elites.
Tips, caveats, and a surprise insight
Honestly, some legendary items are overrated by streams. I’ve seen people chase a single stat and stall for months. Between us: balance works faster. Also, controversial take—Multishot gets too much praise; in certain boss scenarios Crossbow Shot clears faster. Try swapping; results may surprise you.
Counterintuitive insight: lower-tier runs sometimes raise your performance faster than constant pushing. Grinding a comfortable tier builds consistency and helps you spot mechanical flaws.
To be fair, these methods depend on your niche, team, and preferred playstyle. There are exceptions. But follow this path and you’ll shave hours of frustration off your climb.
“Play to enjoy. If a build makes you miserable, change it.” — me, often
One last thing — practice, test, and repeat. The game changed on 14 March 2025 with some balance tweaks, so keep an eye on patch notes. Keep experimenting, and have fun. Yes, fun matters!
