Diablo III- Skills Article XXXVI: The Demon Hunter, Primary Skills- Bola Shot

Bola Shot: Fire a bola that wraps around the target and then waits for 1 second.  When the time is up, it explodes for 130% weapon damage as Fire damage to the target, and 110% weapon damage as Fire damage to all enemies within 7 yards of the target.  Generates 3 Hatred.

If you need targeted damage in your Primary Skill as a Demon Hunter, this may be your skill of choice.  While Hungering Shot is very good for firing without looking when you have an opportunity, just sort of need more Hatred, or want to have fun watching arrows bounce around, Bola Shot is pretty simply going to be more damaging- provided you can get yourself enough time to wait for the thing to explode.  In exchange for not being a fire-and-forget skill, it deals respectable damage to a nicely-sized area, making it an excellent way to handle clumps of enemies without worrying about how many there are.  However, without some sort of effect on tap- preferably multiple effects- to keep your enemies from jumping on you and killing you while you wait for the thing to explode, it can get you killed.  Apply carefully to clustered enemies.  Good as a support skill for Wrenching Smash/Call of Arreat Barbarians or Cyclone Strike Monks.

Volatile Explosives:  Fire a bola that wraps around the target and then waits for 1 second.  When the time is up, it explodes for 130% weapon damage as Fire damage to the target, and 110% weapon damage as Fire damage to all enemies within 14 yards of the target.  Generates 3 Hatred.

If you need to hit even more enemies, or your enemies are a touch more spread out, then you’re going to like Volatile Explosives.  This is pretty simply Bola Shot but better.

Thunder Ball: Fire a bola that wraps around the target and then waits for 1 second.  When the time is up, it explodes for 130% weapon damage as Electric damage to the target with a 35% chance of causing a 1.5 second Stun, and 110% weapon damage as Electric damage to all enemies within 7 yards of the target.  Generates 3 Hatred.

Thunder Ball turns Bola Shot into a more control-oriented shot, with the entertaining rider that if it takes effect it makes it easier for you to hit the same group of enemies repeatedly with it.  This rune is especially useful against fire-resistant enemies, who are fairly common throughout the game.  You should also consider Thunder Ball for use against boss enemies, since the damage remains respectable and the side effect is useful even against bosses.

Acid Strike: Fire a spread of three bolas that wrap around the targets and then wait for 1 second.  When the time is up, they explode for 130% weapon damage as Poison damage to the targets.  Generates 3 Hatred.

If you happen to be more interested in piercing resistances and killing the things nearest you, Acid Strike can be a passable rune for Bola Shot.  The elimination of the area explosion keeps it from being as nice as you’re going to want it to be, but the spread-shot effect goes a decent way towards mitigating that.  Sadly, it lacks useful side effects, so this is only a mediocre option unless you really really need Poison damage.

Bitter Pill: Fire a bola that wraps around the target and then waits for 1 second.  When the time is up, it explodes for 130% weapon damage as Fire damage to the target, and 110% weapon damage as Fire damage to all enemies within 7 yards of the target.  Generates 3 Hatred and has a 15% chance of generating 2 Discipline.

Some Demon Hunters are harder on their Discipline resource than their Hatred, and those Demon Hunters need their rune options to make up for that.  Bitter Pill is the rune of choice for those Demon Hunters, and while it keeps you from using some of Bola Shot’s wonderful other runes, vanilla Bola Shot is plenty good anyways, so it’s not too much of a drawback.

Imminent Doom: Fire a bola that wraps around the target and then waits for 2 seconds.  When the time is up, it explodes for 182% weapon damage as Arcane damage to the target, and 154% weapon damage as Arcane damage to all enemies within 7 yards of the target.  Generates 3 Hatred.

Give up damage now for more damage tomorrow- use Imminent Doom.  The increased delay on this can be incredibly dangerous, but it’s hard to refute the damage improvement- an almost 50% increase in damage is well worth it, particularly since this can give you a chance to make your enemies clump up even more before the explosion goes off.  If you’re good at using your other skills to control the battlefield, then this is going to quickly become a favored rune for you.