Before we get started, I need to point out that this build is inspired by the extremely popular Demon Hunter build on this site, although it bears no resemblance other than the fact that the Undead Hunter is also primarily a crossbow wielder that eschews sneaking (for much the same reasons expounded in that build) and is based on the Diablo 3 demon hunter class. My Undead Hunter however is not only inspired by the demon hunter, but seeks to emulate it as much as possible, which is made possible by a major programming oversight which I will now explain.
Go into your inventory and hotkey your crossbow. Take aim, fire, and quickly double-tap the crossbow hotkey (it also works with the hotkey of a different crossbow, which you will soon see is the cornerstone of this build). You will be immediately able to run again (without the ranger perk, you'd be slowed to a crawl whilst reloading), and what's even better, once the crossbow is reequipped, it will be magically loaded and ready to shoot again.
This allows for some serious hit and run tactics, but it also enables us to do one of two things: either restrict yourself to a couple of crossbows, roleplaying that you are dual-wielding them but shooting them one at a time, just like in D3, or you can have a whole selection of crossbows, each with their own, unique enchantements, to simulate the many different active skills of the demon hunter. It's totally up to you; personally, I prefer the latter option as it makes for more interesting gameplay. So, without further ado, let's jump right in to the Undead Hunter's different moves:
Moves
Hungering Arrow - Cinder Arrow: equip a crossbow enchanted with Fire Damage and Fiery Soul Trap. This is our main damage dealing skill (undead creatures have a weakness to fire). Equip exploding bolts of fire if you need more oomph.
Elemental Hit - Frost Arrow: equip exploding bolts of ice on a crossbow enchanted with Frost Damage and Stamina Damage. This is our kiting skill. Just as with D3's skill, it will hit multiple targets with the ice splash damage, slowing them all down, not just the NPC hit by the bolt. This is useful when you have bunched up NPCs sprinting towards you screaming bloody murder.
Elemental Hit - Screaming Skull: equip a crossbow enchanted with Fear. Useful for when melee get a little bit too close for comfort. Because you won't be using it often, you won't have to recharge it all the time.
Elemental Hit - Nether Tentacles: equip a crossbow enchanted with Absorb Health and Chaos Damage (for some reason, it boosts absorb effects. Requires Dragonborn). Who needs potions?
Vault: Whirlwind Sprint can be used to leap across rooftops, which is a lot of fun and tactical.
Smoke Screen: Become Ethereal shout.
Shadow Power - Gloom: Breton's Dragonskin.
Marked for Death: duh! Note that the Marked for Death shout is bugged and severely overpowered. I don't use it for this reason but you may wish to if you're having trouble with certain NPCs.
Companion - Wolf Companion: Bretons start at level 1 with Summon Familiar, which can help in the early levels. Later, if you wish, you can use Call Dragon or Summon Durnehviir for a slightly tougher companion ;).
Passives
Brooding: Lady Stone. Perfect for a kiting build.
Major Skills
Archery: Overdraw (5/5), Eagle Eye, Power Shot, Critical Shot (1/3), Hunter's Discipline. The other skills are useless for our build.
Light Armor: everything. We are a kiting build, so we need to be light on our feet and squeeze out every bit of stamina we can get.
Enchanting: everything. This skill is crucial to this build.
Minor Skills
Smithing: Steel Smithing, Dwarven Smithing, Arcane Blacksmith. Because we have to craft a lot of bolts, this will allow us to level smithing up enough for what we need without the pain normally associated with leveling a crafting profession. Take advantage of this to temper your crossbows and improve your armor.
Flavor Skills
We have lots of perk points left over, so you may opt to develop Speech, Lockpicking, or anything else you desire to customize your undead hunter.
Armor
As we will be leveling enchanting, feel free to wear any light armor you think looks coolest and enchant it with Fortify Archery, Stamina, Resist Disease (damn bloodsuckers) and anything else you deem useful. I personally love the Dawnguard leathers. If you are on PC, you could also go for a custom armor. I recommend the Armor of Intrigue. While you're at the nexus, you could also download a mod that unlocks basic steel crossbow and bolt crafting so you can begin roleplaying as soon as you get to Riverwood (it won't feel overpowered because we're not sneak attacking).
Race
Breton, if you want to emulate Shadow Power - Gloom. Otherwise, Redguards are a good choice because of Adrenaline Rush and useful skill bonuses, but any race other than Altmer will do nicely (from a purely metagaming perspective, of course).
Standing Stone
If you don't want to take the Lady Stone, you can opt instead for the Lord's Stone for the magic resist, or the Atronach Stone for the spell absorb. Other useful stones are the Mage Stone, for leveling enchanting faster, or the Steed Stone, if you're having encumbrance issues from carrying too many crossbows.
Attribute Spread
1:1 Health:Stamina until ~200 stamina, then all out on health.
Conclusion
And there you have it. I hope you enjoy this build as much as I am. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
Before we get started, I need to point out that this build is inspired by the extremely popular Demon Hunter build on this site, although it bears no resemblance other than the fact that the Undead Hunter is also primarily a crossbow wielder that eschews sneaking (for much the same reasons expounded in that build) and is based on the Diablo 3 demon hunter class. My Undead Hunter however is not only inspired by the demon hunter, but seeks to emulate it as much as possible, which is made possible by a major programming oversight which I will now explain.
Go into your inventory and hotkey your crossbow. Take aim, fire, and quickly double-tap the crossbow hotkey (it also works with the hotkey of a different crossbow, which you will soon see is the cornerstone of this build). You will be immediately able to run again (without the ranger perk, you'd be slowed to a crawl whilst reloading), and what's even better, once the crossbow is reequipped, it will be magically loaded and ready to shoot again.
This allows for some serious hit and run tactics, but it also enables us to do one of two things: either restrict yourself to a couple of crossbows, roleplaying that you are dual-wielding them but shooting them one at a time, just like in D3, or you can have a whole selection of crossbows, each with their own, unique enchantements, to simulate the many different active skills of the demon hunter. It's totally up to you; personally, I prefer the latter option as it makes for more interesting gameplay. So, without further ado, let's jump right in to the Undead Hunter's different moves:
Moves
Hungering Arrow - Cinder Arrow: equip a crossbow enchanted with Fire Damage and Fiery Soul Trap. This is our main damage dealing skill (undead creatures have a weakness to fire). Equip exploding bolts of fire if you need more oomph.
Elemental Hit - Frost Arrow: equip exploding bolts of ice on a crossbow enchanted with Frost Damage and Stamina Damage. This is our kiting skill. Just as with D3's skill, it will hit multiple targets with the ice splash damage, slowing them all down, not just the NPC hit by the bolt. This is useful when you have bunched up NPCs sprinting towards you screaming bloody murder.
Elemental Hit - Screaming Skull: equip a crossbow enchanted with Fear. Useful for when melee get a little bit too close for comfort. Because you won't be using it often, you won't have to recharge it all the time.
Elemental Hit - Nether Tentacles: equip a crossbow enchanted with Absorb Health and Chaos Damage (for some reason, it boosts absorb effects. Requires Dragonborn). Who needs potions?
Vault: Whirlwind Sprint can be used to leap across rooftops, which is a lot of fun and tactical.
Smoke Screen: Become Ethereal shout.
Shadow Power - Gloom: Breton's Dragonskin.
Marked for Death: duh! Note that the Marked for Death shout is bugged and severely overpowered. I don't use it for this reason but you may wish to if you're having trouble with certain NPCs.
Companion - Wolf Companion: Bretons start at level 1 with Summon Familiar, which can help in the early levels. Later, if you wish, you can use Call Dragon or Summon Durnehviir for a slightly tougher companion ;).
Passives
Brooding: Lady Stone. Perfect for a kiting build.
Major Skills
Archery: Overdraw (5/5), Eagle Eye, Power Shot, Critical Shot (1/3), Hunter's Discipline. The other skills are useless for our build.
Light Armor: everything. We are a kiting build, so we need to be light on our feet and squeeze out every bit of stamina we can get.
Enchanting: everything. This skill is crucial to this build.
Minor Skills
Smithing: Steel Smithing, Dwarven Smithing, Arcane Blacksmith. Because we have to craft a lot of bolts, this will allow us to level smithing up enough for what we need without the pain normally associated with leveling a crafting profession. Take advantage of this to temper your crossbows and improve your armor.
Flavor Skills
We have lots of perk points left over, so you may opt to develop Speech, Lockpicking, or anything else you desire to customize your undead hunter.
Armor
As we will be leveling enchanting, feel free to wear any light armor you think looks coolest and enchant it with Fortify Archery, Stamina, Resist Disease (damn bloodsuckers) and anything else you deem useful. I personally love the Dawnguard leathers. If you are on PC, you could also go for a custom armor. I recommend the Armor of Intrigue. While you're at the nexus, you could also download a mod that unlocks basic steel crossbow and bolt crafting so you can begin roleplaying as soon as you get to Riverwood (it won't feel overpowered because we're not sneak attacking).
Race
Breton, if you want to emulate Shadow Power - Gloom. Otherwise, Redguards are a good choice because of Adrenaline Rush and useful skill bonuses, but any race other than Altmer will do nicely (from a purely metagaming perspective, of course).
Standing Stone
If you don't want to take the Lady Stone, you can opt instead for the Lord's Stone for the magic resist, or the Atronach Stone for the spell absorb. Other useful stones are the Mage Stone, for leveling enchanting faster, or the Steed Stone, if you're having encumbrance issues from carrying too many crossbows.
Attribute Spread
1:1 Health:Stamina until ~200 stamina, then all out on health.
Conclusion
And there you have it. I hope you enjoy this build as much as I am. If you have any questions, don't hesitate to ask.
How did I steal a build if, as I said in the first paragraph, it bears no resemblance to it? There is not a single thing in common with it, which is understandable as, unlike my build, his DH is based on a paladin and witchhunter cross, not the demon hunter itself.
How did I steal a build if, as I said in the first paragraph, it bears no resemblance to it? There is not a single thing in common with it, which is understandable as, unlike my build, his DH is based on a paladin and witchhunter cross, not the demon hunter itself.
Love it! +1 from me. It's different enough from the Demonhunter to make it unique, and has a lot of room for flexibility if you want to mix it up a little.
Love it! +1 from me. It's different enough from the Demonhunter to make it unique, and has a lot of room for flexibility if you want to mix it up a little.
Hungering Arrow - Cinder Arrow: equip a crossbow enchanted with Fire Damage and Fiery Soul Trap. This is our main damage dealing skill (undead creatures have a weakness to fire). Equip exploding bolts of fire if you need more oomph.
Elemental Hit - Frost Arrow: equip exploding bolts of ice on a crossbow enchanted with Frost Damage and Stamina Damage. This is our kiting skill. Just as with D3's skill, it will hit multiple targets with the ice splash damage, slowing them all down, not just the NPC hit by the bolt. This is useful when you have bunched up NPCs sprinting towards you screaming bloody murder.
Vault: Whirlwind Sprint can be used to leap across rooftops, which is a lot of fun and tactical.
Smoke Screen: Become Ethereal shout.
Shadow Power - Gloom: Breton's Dragonskin.
Marked for Death: duh! Note that the Marked for Death shout is bugged and severely overpowered. I don't use it for this reason but you may wish to if you're having trouble with certain NPCs.
Companion - Wolf Companion: Bretons start at level 1 with Summon Familiar, which can help in the early levels. Later, if you wish, you can use Call Dragon or Summon Durnehviir for a slightly tougher companion ;).
Brooding: Lady Stone. Perfect for a kiting build.
But even without my +1 it wil rise for sure 
