Hunter: Ninja vs Pet user, which is better?

[Valorius]

This is a debate that goes back and forth at times, but has never had it's own thread(at least not that i've seen).

So, my $.02 on the subject, class by class, are offered below:

Warlocks are extremely easy for high evasion/tricks ninjas. A pet using hunter is actually dramatically inferior vs warlocks because the pet is such an extremely easy source of HP's for the smart warlock to drain, and because alternatively, the warlock can kill a pet before it covers the ground to the warlock to even get a single hit in (unlike the player, evasion doesn't protect your pet from the warlocks extremely powerful magical attacks). Of all the classes, Warlock is by far the easiest for a ninja hunter to defeat 1 on 1, but can be very tough for a pet using hunter if the warlock is smart and the fight begins at some distance. However, in an offensive ambush scenario, pets are quite effective vs warlocks too. Advantage: Ninja

Against a warjurer, who can kill your pet very fast, and who is protected from 90% of the pets dmg, all a pet does vs a warjurer is insure that killing the pet will leave the warjurer with a very weak opponent. Like a warlock, a Warjurer can kill a pet extremely quickly. A good warjurer is a tough opponent for a ninja too, however he and his full alotment of power points can be protected from the warjurers attacks by high evasion.
Advantage: Ninja.

In many scenarios pets are not an advantage vs a smart barbarian. In fact, i think if a pet using hunter's ambush is resisted, they are very, very weak vs. barbs. A smart barb will have that pet dead in 1 hit before it ever lands a blow, if your ambush doesn't work.
In those cases a pet using hunter is just a very, very weak archer, and at that point the hunter is in serious, serious trouble when facing the Barb, because a diminished speed/low tricks/low bow/19 pets skilled hunter has a much harder time escaping than a high evasion/high tricks ninja does. However in an offensive ambush role a pet can be highly effective vs barbs(and all classes). In 'meeting engagement' or defensive type fights, a pets effectiveness is almost totally contingent on the ambush spell and the intelligence of the barb.

A confused un-buffed barb dies very quickly. A smart ninja will either attack a barb unbuffed, or run from a buffed barb until his buffs expire, then confuse him. In a close combat or defensive/ambushed scenario, a barb is extremely dangerous to both pet user and ninja (and all other classes) alike.
Advantage: Push

Knight vs hunter is a draw. Smart knights have almost no trouble vs pets either. AoO is a perfect spell for killing the hunters pet (let alone all the blocking spells). Even if you get knocked/stunned, the damage you'll take while out of action is minuscule. A knight is at far, far more disadvantage vs a ninja with maxed speed (which almost all ninjas have) and room to manuever than he is vs a pet using hunter.
In fact, with room to maneuver and max speed it is completely impossible for a knight to defeat a hunter. No pet is needed for the hunter to defeat the pet, just lots of time and some space. Some knights have a hard time vs pet using hunters, but that's just their build and their tactics that are at fault.

I have had many of these fights end in a no result as both parties broke off and went their own way. All a pet does is give a knight something to kill, as opposed to the thin air that a ninja hunter offers.
Advantage: Push

Pets do offer an advantage against a marksman. They're not needed to beat a marks, but they do make beating them a good deal easier. From my days of using pets, i can recall abusing quite a few marksmen with my great sabertooth. Of all the classes, pets are most effective vs marksmen.
Advantage: Pets

I personally find pet using hunters to be far less challenging than other ninjas. In fights vs pet using hunters they can often be used by a ninja against the pet user in some clever ways if certain situations present themselves, and in all cases they can just be ignored if the ninja so chooses.

Overview:

The best use of pets is in tight terrain, like forests or very rocky areas where the pet using hunter just runs in circles around an object(or blatantly exploits facing bugs like many do) and his pet pounds his unable to fight back opponent to death. Conversely, a pet is the best offense vs the running in a circle around objects tactic too. Pet using hunters have very little problem vs that tactic because their pets can go/attack through many objects.

In open terrain pets are extremely vulnerable, and also give away a hunters position regularly. They also make it quite difficult to hide behind terrain at times. A pet can be used to hide 'inside of' because of the lack of collision avoidance in Regnum. It's a bug exploit, but everyone does it. I do it too(with other players pets)

In fort wars pets or large battles, pets typically die almost instantly, so obviously the ninja type hunter has a clear advantage in these scenarios.

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I am sure opinions will vary, these are mine.