Caltrops (6 Discipline): Drop a Caltrops trap that activates when an enemy steps within 12 yards of it. Once sprung, this trap creates a 12-yard radius zone that lasts 6 seconds and slows enemy movement by 60%.
Your first way to actually spend Discipline, Caltrops is an entirely tactical skill. While it does involve numbers- its area and slow effect- the only way to really get a picture of what it can do and how you can use it is to actually try it. If you’re defending an area, or need to flee, Caltrops can be hugely useful for slowing down incoming enemies. However, because it’s an area of effect, some enemies will go around it, fly over it, or teleport or leap past it. You also have to take the time to actually drop it. Don’t take this as a recommendation against Caltrops- some players can use it very effectively. But for others, it just winds up wasting time- it’s a matter of difference in how people play.
Hooked Spines (6 Discipline): Drop a Caltrops trap that activates when an enemy steps within 12 yards of it. Once sprung, this trap creates a 12-yard radius zone that lasts 6 seconds and slows enemy movement by 80%.
And so we return to the Demon Hunter’s apparent motto- ‘And then I do it -even harder-.’
Torturous Ground(6 Discipline): Drop a Caltrops trap that activates when an enemy steps within 12 yards of it. Once sprung, this trap immobilizes all enemies within a 12-yard radius for 2 seconds and creates a 12-yard radius zone that lasts 6 seconds and slows enemy movement by 60%.
If you have trouble running away, this is your rune. A wholly defensive enhancement for Caltrops, especially useful if you drop it when enemies close to melee and immediately Vault or Evasive Fire away, Torturous Ground doesn’t so much improve Caltrops as add a second effect to it. In any other situation, though, this effect is really hard to use- since only enemies in the area when it triggers will be immobilized, it can wind up doing nothing that regular Caltrops doesn’t do.
Jagged Spikes (6 Discipline): Drop a Caltrops trap that activates when an enemy steps within 12 yards of it. Once sprung, this trap creates a 12-yard radius zone that lasts 6 seconds, slows enemy movement by 60%, and deals 45% weapon damage.
With the relatively low damage packed by most Demon Hunters (who tend to rely on weapon speed instead of per-hit damage), it’s really hard to notice this small of a damage rider, and it doesn’t help that Caltrops has to be thrown around -really frequently- or with absolute precision to really get a large effect out of it to begin with. It’s unlikely that anyone will really have a use for this- until they reach a high level and find themselves going back to an earlier difficulty to help a friend. Then watching things die from walking towards you can be fun.
Carved Stakes (4 Discipline): Drop a Caltrops trap that activates when an enemy steps within 12 yards of it. Once sprung, this trap creates a 12-yard radius zone that lasts 6 seconds and slows enemy movement by 60%.
This is a very useful rune for Caltrops, since your Discipline pool is so small. If you like Caltrops and can use them to good effect, congratulations, you just got even more to throw around. If you’re not good at using Caltrops, this isn’t going to do squat for you, though.
Bait the Trap (6 Discipline): Drop a Caltrops trap that activates when an enemy steps within 12 yards of it. Once sprung, this trap creates a 12-yard radius zone that lasts 6 seconds, slows enemy movement by 60%, and increases your Critical Hit chance by 10% as long as you are standing in it.
This rune is hard to come to a decision on- on the one hand, using Bait the Trap and then standing in the caltrops is obvious, particularly if you’re a crit-monkey. On the other hand, you’re a Demon Hunter. Usually you’re going to be dodging all over the place, not sitting in one spot daring things to come at you so you can slow them. If you’re good at using Caltrops to your advantage and you’re big on critical hits, this can be very nice- but otherwise don’t worry about it, you’ll get yourself killed trying to take advantage of it.
