Hunter Advise

[ncvr]

Originally Posted by spawngt

dude u serious ????? noway!! pets rule i mean the small ones r kel cuz wid em u can actully see ur enemy but wid a yeti ull probably target ur ally insted lool...
but pets r kwl fr a hunter in the wz
well i think so atleast...
im pretty sure ppl agree on dat

I will share with you all on experience I had with my pet in wz (since then I never used pets again).

-I meet a conjuror. I cast my evasive buffs, and send my pet after him.
-His zarkit hits the pet, so the pet turns away and attacks the zarkit instead.
-The pet hits the zarkit, so even if I hit the zarkit as well the zarkit won't turn away and I can't send the pet after the conjuror again.
-The zarkit killed the pet in 5 hits.
-I died because I didn't have very high bow skills and could do little alone.

[ementh]

If you are a hunter using a pet it would be wise to learn to use some of the lvl 1 pet buffs available to you. They will make a difference whether or not you pet lives or dies quickly. Also, using bestial wrath is a must for any hunter relying on pet for damage. Given most hunters are weak hitters it's almost a must. Besides, with bestial wrath and pet buffs you can easily kill most with just pet + base hits. Barbs and knights are a different story but are still manageable.

[Valorius]

Pets under Beastial wrath are very, very easy to kill though. With the -100% evasion, every shot hits them.

[ementh]

Originally Posted by Valorius

Pets under Beastial wrath are very, very easy to kill though. With the -100% evasion, every shot hits them.

Yes...that's why you use the other 2 pet buffs if your pet is attacked. Skin of the beast and performance.

Skin of the beast lvl 1 adds 50% protection to your pet and Performance lvl 1 adds 25% evasion.

[Jedi-x]

Wow ........ so many people just blow off the whole idea of short bows .... it just amazes me. As I have 1 lvl 50 hunter and another on the way, I have tried all of them, as have many others, YES, it's a personal preference. But, just to clear things up a bit, the short bow is 5 meters less in distance, and deals as much, if not more damage with less mana spent, and is the choice for many hunters low level and high level alike. With the long bow, you have a range of 25-30 meters and an increase with parabolic shot. In my own experiences, the short bow is much faster for leveling, and hits just as hard as the long bow, and the skill tree isn't "bugged" like the long bow skill tree is. It's all a matter of preference, but if you observe some of the better hunters in the game, you will find a 50/50 mix ..... it's all in what u prefer, and your hunting style. I've switched to short's only, less mana usage, and more damage, YES .. i give up 5 meters in range, but the quickness and damage of the bow makes up for it. Just my 2 cents

[Valorius]

Originally Posted by comp

Yes...that's why you use the other 2 pet buffs if your pet is attacked. Skin of the beast and performance.

Skin of the beast lvl 1 adds 50% protection to your pet and Performance lvl 1 adds 25% evasion.

Yeah, lot of casting time though. That's about 2 offensive attacks worth of time to cast those two. With a fast bow, maybe 3. Also, skin of the beast is an extremely distinctive graffic, so a smart opponent will just run away (or cast SOTW/AoE/Steel Skin/Sanc) for 30 seconds until it wears off.

I dunno, i kill a lot of hunters with pets. Definitely over 50%. Pets just don't impress me. I miss the old ranged pets. Back then they were worth having. IMO the best overall pet i've ever had was the Goblin mountain shaman. You could get him with lvl 4 tame, and he was so little(and green) that many times your opponent would never even know he was there attacking them. And of course the ranged attack made him far more useful overall to begin with. The Ghost Necromancer was also really, really good, but a lot easier to spot, and required lvl 5 tame.

I really miss ranged pets.

WRT bows, i use both long and short, i think what you use should be guided by your equipment. I have a monstrously good LB, but it's slow, so i don't use it much because it doesn't match my tastes. I like medium speed weapons. So in game 90% of the time i use a lvl 50 Viper SB 20/Med with +3 concentration. The LB does still have it's uses though, and i use it every day in numerous battles and skirmishes. If i could get the right 30/med LB, i would use it all the time. IMO you definitely die less in battles with a LB.

[ementh]

Yes, admiditidly the buffs take a moment to cast; however, bestial wrath is 60 sec with a 60 sec cool down so it's one of those buffs you can have active all the time. The other two buffs are a decision made in battle. If they opponent goes after your pet then buff it with one of the protection spells. If they go after you ... well they aren't quite smart are they

Additionally I have played with the pet passive protection and it is very very useful if you want a set-up that uses pets. At lvl 5, the protection is a passive 50%. That's quite awesome for a pet given that with the lvl 1 skin of the beast your pet is virtually unstoppable for 30 seconds.

[Valorius]

Originally Posted by comp

=
Additionally I have played with the pet passive protection and it is very very useful if you want a set-up that uses pets. At lvl 5, the protection is a passive 50%. That's quite awesome for a pet given that with the lvl 1 skin of the beast your pet is virtually unstoppable for 30 seconds.

This is true, but you're putting a lot of points into a pet that will die in seconds in a large battle anyway.(none of that stuff protects it from soulkeeper anyway, does it?)

If you use 4 pts for bestial, and 4 pts for SOTB or Protection, you're out 8 points for -you-.

The good thing about going petless is you always have your full combat power in place and on your person, as long as you're alive.

The best pet i had since post ranged pets was IMO the dark beastly wolf(used to be the top lvl 4 pet).

[fluffy_muffin]

Originally Posted by sociopath

of mana sucked out of you though. if you play your cards right you can manage it though, somewhat.

Yes this is the only problem. But from time to time when you have time to prebuff it is not so bad. It is bad only if you have to cast all this damn buffs at once than it is omg i am out of mana :P