Disclaimer: This is a compilation of all the testing and observations I have made. It is the work of myself, and many other friends who provide data. However, I am just one player, and my particular combination of Hunter is not all Hunters. So, at best, these are all educated guesses. Most of it has stood up to the scrutiny of other players, but it is a constant fact that other Hunters point out behavior in game that does not match my theories. Assumptions are constantly broken, new patches are introduced, and theories are revised all the time. Nothing in this FAQ is set in stone, as more information is brought up and patches introduced, it will change to reflect a better understanding of how the game works.

The following has changed since the last revision (v1.46):
- #3 (rewritten to fully explain how the game calculates damage)
- #4 (clarified how stats work on a STR/DEX weapon)
- #5 (mistake in how QUI affects style damage corrected)
- #7 (overspeccing is valid, realm rank chart has been made for realm ranks 1-6, realm ranks bonuses are intended to stack with items)
- #12 (many new items added to lists, explained how realm ranks are supposed to stack with items)
- #14 (changes to critical shot explained, you can now critical shot players who are holding still and not actively fighting)
- #15 (upgraded charm spells have been proven to have level limits)
- #24 (overspeccing is valid, explained how realm ranks are supposed to stack with items)
- Appendix (realm rank chart has been added, damage formulas clarified)

The following have been added since the last revision (v1.46):
- #28. How do you I use the "range-finder" in the game?
- #29. What stat gives Hunter's their power points?

Table of Contents:

1. What's the best race for a Hunter?
2. How should I spend my starting points?
3. How does the game calculate damage done per hit? What's this WeapSkill and WeapDam on my character sheet?
4. What do the different stats do? How do they affect weapon damage? Which weapons use what stats?
5. What does QUI do to my damage? Does it reduce my damage?
6. Should I use a spear or a sword?
7. Do skills over 50 do anything? What template should I follow? What about skill caps and realm ranks?
8. What does stealth do? Is stealth important? What about stealth styles? Do Hunters get any? Why do I keep appearing when I nock an arrow/critical shot?
9. What about Volley and Longshot? Aren't those high level bow styles? And where Critical Shot X go?
10. What about Shapeshifting and Tracking?
11. What do Hunters do in RvR?
12. Where does all this good equipment come from? Why aren't my skills getting all the bonuses from these items?
13. How do I use a bow? How do I use Critical Shot?
14. How does Critical Shot work? Why is my critical shot not working?
15. Why can't I charm animals? How does charming work?
16. Can my Hunter solo? How can I do it?
17. How does Weapon Speccing work?
18. What are my skill/stat caps?
19. How does my Hunter compare to Scouts/Ranger? What about Thanes/Warriors/Beserkers/etc.?
20. Do I need to become a fletcher? Does arrow quality affect damage?
21. How many bonus skill points do I get past level 40?
22. Will I be able to respec my points? What if I mess up? What if I changed my mind?
23. Do Hunters auto-train in anything?
24. Is going over 50 spec in a weapon worth it? Do realm ranks stack with items? Does this do anything?
25. Why do Hunters have spear styles that trigger off Parry? Can Hunters use those styles?
26. Why should I train Beastcraft? Shouldn't I concentrate on my weapon skills instead?
27. Do Evade items actually do anything?
28. How do you I use the "range-finder" in the game?
29. What stat gives Hunter's their power points?
Appendix: Misc. Information & Formulas
Addendum: Misc. infobits
Credits: The Hunter FAQ Testing Crew

1. What's the best race for a Hunter?

Depends on what you want. Size is a not an issue in RvR. The way the graphics engine is, most players have no problems seeing kobolds, much less dwarves or Norsemen trying to "hide" in bushes. If you want to get out of sight, you'll have to obstruct with an actual polygon tree, get out of the clipping plane, or just stealth.

By levels 40-50, the following differences begin to appear between the various races:

Norsemen: Starting with 70 STR, 70 CON, 50 DEX, and 50 QUI, they are apparently the most balanced of the Hunter races. With the changes to the way buffs and stats work, the "dead-zone" of 180-230 QUI has been removed such that Norsemen/Dwarves still benefit from QUI beyond that point. While Kobolds have a 0.2 second faster drawtime, Norsemen can expect to have ~100 more hit points based upon their starting CON. In addition, the WeapSkill caps for having a lower starting DEX have been removed, and a Norseman with equal DEX will shoot a bow just as hard as a Kobold with equal DEX. A Norseman at level 50 will on average have ~100 hit points more than a Kobold, shoot 0.2 seconds slower (depends on bow delay), and deal out an estimated 4% less damage.

Dwarf: Starting with 60 STR, 80 CON, 50 DEX, and 50 QUI, they are much like the Norseman. By emphasizing CON even more, Dwarves make tougher Hunters than any other race. Arguably, Dwarves make the best spear Hunters because the extra hit points let them deal out more damage in the long run because they can live longer in hand to hand. The lack of 10 points of STR compared to the Norseman is very small for encumbrance, and small for damage purposes. By level 50, those 10 points of CON translate into ~50 extra hit points (for a total of ~150 more than a Kobold). In other aspects, they are identical to Norseman.

Kobolds: Starting with 50 STR, 50 CON, 70 DEX, and 70 QUI, they are intially the best Hunters at the lower levels, when the hit point differences are minimal. By the later levels, Kobolds will begin to lag behind Norseman/Dwarves by ~100-150 hit points. Due to changes in the stat system, Kobolds no longer need to raise their CON to 60 to begin to gain bonus hit points. A Kobold will deal out an estimated 4% more damage per bow shot than either a Norseman or a Dwarf, and fire a bow 0.2 seconds faster (depending on bow delay). In exchange, they typically lag behind Norsemen/Dwarves for ~100-150 hit points. Depending on which stats were raised at character creation, this could be as low as 50, or as high as 250.

2. How should I spend my starting points?

The first +10 points to a stat cost only 1 character point each. The next +5 afterwards will cost 2 points each, and the last +3 will cost 3 points each. At most, you can raise 1 stat by 18 points by spending 29 character points. Because of the changes in the stat system at higher levels, I do not recommend spending your points by putting them all into one stat. You will get the most benefit (even if it is not a lot) by spreading it out.

Hunters will gain 1 pt. of DEX every level, they will gain 1 pt. of QUI every 2 levels, and 1 pt. of STR every three levels. When you hit level 6, you will gain 1 point in all three stats. At level 7 you will only gain a point into DEX. At level 8 you gain 1 DEX and 1 QUI. And finally at level 9, you will gain 1 point in DEX and STR.

With the 1.44 patch, the caps based upon starting stats appear to have been removed entirely. In short, the bonus character points purchased at this point are apparently no different anymore from points gained via items. In short, CON, DEX, and QUI give the most benefit to your character because STR has such limited application to your character (only encumbrance, and partially spear damage). For a more detailed explanation, see questions #3 and #4 below. Because values over 50 begin to give bonuses, almost all races start out with average or higher values.

3. How does the game calculate damage done per hit? What's this WeapSkill and WeapDam on my character sheet?

The game takes the WeapSkill, WeapDam, and the target's AF stats to determine how much damage you do. Being higher level than an opponent grants increased damage and vice versa. Your character will hit very hard against grey/green opponents, and hit for very little against red/purple opponents. The mechanics for this are two stats known as WeapDam and weapSkill. WeapSkill is basically compared to AF to find out how much of a multiplicative bonus/penalty you receive for hitting something different from your level (it appears to govern the grey to purple damage reduction we see). WeapDam is the effective DPS of your weapon capped by your level (if you turn the 2nd digit from the right as a decimal point, it should be the same as your weapon DPS if you are not capped).Before the actual theory is presented, a few more complex terms need to be defined:

Base Damage (per hit) = WeapDam (as a DPS) x delay x quality x condition

Damage Multiplier = (WeapSkill / target's AF)

Max Damage (per hit, 100% mark in damage variance equations) = WeapDam (as a DPS) x delay x quality x condition x (WeapSkill / target's AF)

Damage Cap (per hit) = unknown function of DPS, delay, and style used (this is the absolute most dmg a single hit can do)

As you can see, the maximum damage per hit is really just the Base Damage multiplied by the Damage Multipliter. This is the 100% mark referred by the weapon specialization section. If you are completely unspecced, then the damage variance of your weapon will fall between 25-125% of this 100% mark. If you are fully specced (or overspecced), then the damage variance will be 100-150% of this mark. As you can see, "Max Damage" is really a misnomer, as you can still go over this. The damage variance is not something that appears on your character sheet, it is an intangible benefit to speccing in weapons. The actual variance in damage itself (not the range you fall within from speccing) is NOT linear. See question #17 for more details.

The following factors will affect your WeapSkill (and hence your character's damage multiplier):

1. Character levels will raise the cap and the actual WeapSkill value by 10 to 50 points, depending on the type of weapon and the character level. Also, the bow appears to have a greater gain in cap per level than the spear. The gains are quite random, despite the constant DEX gain, suggesting that it follows something akin to the HP function.

2. Weapon Specialization gives you +7-9 to both your WeapSkill value and your WeapSkill cap per spec level. This also raises the max amount of weapSkill you can gain from stats. Although the spec levels themselves will not raise your weapon's max damage, if you have excess stat points, it will effectively raise your max damage by increasing your damage multplier slightly (see above). In addition, weapon speccing will raise the range (and average damage) dealt with the weapon if you are not max specced.

3. Stats for weapons will raise your WeapSkill (but not the cap) based upon the type of weapon. The amount you gain depends upon your level. In the 30's, Hunters gain around 1.5 pts of WeapSkill per pt. of DEX for bow, and around 0.75 WeapSkill per pt. of DEX or STR for spear. By level 44, these values change to around 3+ pts. of WeapSkill per pt. of DEX for bow, and 1 pt. of WeapSkill per Pt. of DEX/STR for spear.

The cap on WeapSkill is a function of level, class, weapon type, and weapon specialization. A comparison with other classes is available in question #19. With the 1.44 patch, WeapSkill is apparently no longer capped by starting stats.

Your WeapDam is a translated DPS. If you are fully able to utilize a weapon, then its DPS will be identical to the translated WeapDam on your character sheet. A 13.2 DPS weapon would be 1302 WeapDam (the decimal point is turned into a zero). Every time your character gains a level, your WeapDam cap goes up by 0.2-0.4 DPS. The formula for this has been shown to have been changed with recent patches, and so is no longer valid. However, gathered information has been used to construct the following chart for levels 40-50. For more details, see question #18 below.

40 - 13.3 DPS
41 - 13.5 DPS
42 - 13.8 DPS
43 - 14.1 DPS
44 - 14.3 DPS
45 - 14.6 DPS
46 - 15.0 DPS
47 - 15.3 DPS
48 - 15.6 DPS
49 - 15.8 DPS
50 - 16.2 DPS

4. What do the different stats do? How do they affect weapon damage? Which weapons use what stats?

There are 4 attributes which affect Hunters:

STR: A fairly unimportant attribute because its only large effect is encumbrance. I personally do not carry more than 80 arrows into RvR, and I have yet to run out. 50 STR is enough for a full suit of studded and 80 arrows (it depends on which types of studded you wear, some lines weigh more or less than normal). By level 50, with gear and levels, a Kobold starting with 50 STR can easily break 100+ STR, making encumbrance a non-issue. However, if desired, +10 STR can be purchased at character creation to make the early levels easier. STR has very little impact in the end-game because it only improves spear damage in the same manner DEX does.

CON: This adds a lot hit points on paper, but it does help in some subtle ways. The amount of hit points gained per point of CON starts at approximately character level / 10 and is reduced as CON gets above the 200 mark. By level 50, a healer buff for +~40 CON gives ~150 extra hit points, which is enough to absorb 1 or 2 extra hits. CON gear helps a lot in RvR, especially if one has a lot of it. It will add up, significantly adding to the durability of the Hunter in RvR. However, there is a diminishing return on CON, and as you reach into the 200's, CON will give less and less per point. Because of the changes to equipment (i.e. all stat bonuses have been multiplied by 1.5, rounded down) in the 1.44 patch, it is a matter of prefence to whether HP or CON gear is preferred.

DEX: This increases your weapon damage for bow and for spear. Because the caps based upon starting stat values were removed in the 1.44 path, raising DEX at character creation is a permanent slight boost to damage with both bow and spear. DEX gives a half bonus to spears and gives full bonus to bows, which are DEX only weapons. Most Hunters put +10 into DEX at character creation because a Hunter relies upon a high offense to compensate for the classes's extreme lack of defense.

QUI: This does reduce your melee/ranged weapon delay by a proportional amount. QUI does not reduce the damage per hit, this has been disproved repeatedly with precise testing. It is a tremendous benefit to melee and ranged combat, complementing a high DEX. Again, most Hunters also stick +10 into QUI to further enhance their damage output. Because the 1.44 patch removed the caps based upon starting stats, Norsemen and Dwarves can benefit from high QUI beyond the 180 point. For more details, see question #5 below.

Hunters who want to choose a weapon (and as a reference with other classes) should base it upon what stats they will gain as they level. The following list details which weapon types use which stats. Note that this is entirely dependent on the WEAPON type, not the damage type. Weapons such as Spears can deal out two different damage types, but BOTH are dependent on the same stats.

Note: 1 point of STR gives as much bonus to a sword/axe/hammer as 2 points of STR/DEX gives to spear.

Swords, Axes, Hammers: 100% STR
Spears: 50% STR, 50% DEX
Bows and Staves: 100% DEX

5. What does QUI do to my damage? Does it reduce my damage?

Based upon exhaustive tests on the effects of QUI upon weapon speed and damage, QUI greatly increases the amount of damage dealt over time. Subsequent investigation and postings by the developers have confirmed these test results. Because Hunters have a DEX/QUI buff and access to Swords, the tests were considered fairly definitive. The following conclusions were reached:

1. QUI affects both melee and ranged weapons in the same manner.
2. QUI gives a proportional reduction to the delay of ranged and melee weapons.
3. The cap of delay reduction is not based upon base/starting QUI anymore. In 1.44, the only limits for how weapon delay could be reduced was 2.1 sec, and the haste buff cap which is 1.7 sec. With the 1.45 patch, this has been lowered even further, but it has not been identified.
4. The damage per hit is based purely upon the base DPS and base delay, NOT the modified delay via QUI. QUI will speed up the rate of hits, but NOT reduce the damage per hit. Hence, QUI raises the damage output over time.
5. According to Mahrin Skell, there is a "slow weapon bonus" to damage. Between 2.0 and 6.0 delay, this adds up to "a few percentage points". Any reduction in damage per hit is solely based upon the reduction of this bonus, and not the DPS which is based only off weapon delay.
6. Styles however, are effectively a constant DPS buff, and QUI does not increase the damage received from styles. If you swing faster, you will style for less damage per hit.

I tested the draw times of bows for every value of QUI from 83 to 206 and found that QUI does indeed reduce draw times proportionally in a very non-smooth step function. Using a 4.8 and 3.9 delay bow with the 1.45 patch, a weapon requires (50 / delay) QUI for each 0.1 second reduction in draw time. This number is rounded up or down to the nearest even integer, and then, it does keep track of fractions in the long run. As those fractions add up, the weapon will require (50 / delay) + 2 QUI for the 0.1 second reduction. In other words, it takes 5 points of QUI for an exactly 1% reduction off the weapon's delay. Previously, in the 1.44 patch, this was only 4 points of QUI. Because Critical Shot is a multiplier off the normal shot time, those fractions can also cause the Critical Shot time to reduce by 0.1 seconds when the normal shot has not changed.

The conclusions reached were that QUI is of immense importance for combat, especially for Hunters. It will NOT reduce your damage per hit while raising the rate at which you hit. If this were true, Hunters would be able to hit twice as fast, for half as much damage. Test Hunters have QUI scores and spears where this would be possible, but it has NOT happened. Because Hunters have the second worst defensive skill set in the entire game (second only to robed casters), utilizing all methods of increasing damage is important. See questions #3, #4, #18, and #19 for more details.

6. Should I use a spear or a sword?

If you want your Hunter to be able to fight efficiently in melee combat (as opposed to cosmetic looks), then the short answer is spear above all else, there is no substitute. The short reason for this is that Spears do more damage with their styles (see style list in appendix), have damage chains that are usable anytime (swords do not) and can easily stun with a style from behind at spec level 39. The spec level 39 style for Sword requires a fumble, which you will very rarely see. Stuns are what allow Hunters to survive long enough to have a chance against "tank" classes in melee combat, and without them, the weaker armor and lesser hit points will cause defeat.

The long answer is:

A. Style damage: Spear styles are easier to use for damage in solo or in RvR. The spear level 10 style beats the sword level 10 style. The spear chain off 10 at 25 also beats the sword chain off 10 at 25. The spear chains at 18 and 29 do bleed and can be used at any time, where as the sword chains cannot even be used unless a special event happens. You will do more damage with a spear because your styles are more accesible, while swords are based upon events you have no control over. Style damage is hugely dependent on the skill level required for that style, so if you can use a higher level style, you will do more damage than a lower level style. You can practically ignore the "high", "medium", etc. damage ratings, they are true between equal level styles and for equal specced characters, but usually insignificant compared to the bonus from the actual style level. There is a huge difference between the spear level 10 and 25 styles. It is important to note that the web pages used as references for styles are wrong, and that the information has changed greatly since beta. Below, is a delving of all spear styles up to 39:

2 - Dazzling Spear - Use any time, high fatigue cost, high damage bonus, no to hit bonus.
4 - Return Thrust - Use after successful evade, low fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, causes light bleeding (6 dmg).
6 - Engage - Use any time, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, medium penalty to defense, taunts target.
8 - Extend Reach - Use after sucessful Return Thrust (4), low fatigue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus, slows target.
10 - Lancer - Use any time, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, low penalty to defense.
12 - Dismissal - Use any time, medium fatigue cost, low damage bonus, no to hit bonus, high bonus to defense, detaunts target.
15 - Wounding Thrust - Use after successful Engage (6), medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus, hinders target.
18 - Stab - Use after successful Lancer (10), low fatigue cost, low damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, causes medium bleeding (15 dmg).
21 - Perforate - Use from side, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, no to hit bonus, medium penalty to defense, slows target.
25 - Lunging Thrust - Use after successful Lancer (10), medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus.
29 - Raze - Use after successful Stab (18), medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, causes heavy bleeding (28 dmg).
34 - Whirling Spear - Use any time, high faitgue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus, low penalty to defense.
39 - Razor Edge - Use from behind, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, low penalty to defense, stuns target.

B. Stats: Also mentioned, swords are pure STR, which Hunters only get 1 pt. every 3 levels. Spears are half STR/DEX, and Hunters get 1 pt. every level. Throw in the DEX/QUI buff. By level 40, you'll be looking at least +100 DEX over your base stats through levels and buffs, vs. only +11 STR through levels. At level 50, you can expect the higher DEX to give at least 120 more WeapSkill than a Hunter would have with a sword, giving a higher multiplicative effect on damage (i.e. estimated 10% more damage than a sword Hunter).

C. Stuns: Damage is not the factor that decides victory in one on one fights. It is the proportional rate of damage both combatants take that decides victory. He who hits zero hit points first loses, the goal is not to be that person. Doing more damage faster, or slowing/reducing the damage you take are the two ways to win. The level 39 stun style for the Spear does not require a chain and accomplishes both, it only requires an attack from behind (which is possible if you lag strafe or attack in a group). The sword requires the target to fumble, which is practically an impossibility in RvR, where most fights are over in 3-7 hits.

In order to maximize the amount of damage a Hunter will do over time, a max spec in Beastcraft is also essential. WeapSkill is capped fairly low for Hunters, which means the only way to deal lots of damage is by hitting faster, game mechanics prevent Hunters from hitting harder. 1H swords benefit equally from QUI as 2H weapons, but do not receive the 2H damage bonus. 2H swords do not benefit from the buffs that beastcraft provides. The optimal damage path for Hunters is via spear with high beastcraft.

7. Do skills over 50 do anything? What template should I follow? What about skill caps and realm ranks?

First of all, several words of caution about how skills work. Mythic has recently changed their position, overspeccing is a valid way to enhance your character abilities. However, the benefits from overspeccing are less than what you normally receive for speccing in that skill, and not all skills benefit from this. Be assured that all weapon skills do benefit from overspeccing. Regardless, speccing over character level gives a very small benefit to WeapSkill (i.e. 7-9 pts. per spec level), making 61 in a weapon the same damagewise as just being level 52 with 52 weapon spec but without the hit rate bonuses.

Secondly, realm ranks give bonuses to all skills. Mythic has clarified their position, although the realm ranks act like items do (i.e. they give no new spells or styles), this is a totally seperate cap. The realm ranks stacking with items has been intended all along, and is functioning correctly.

Your character may only benefit a certain amount from skill items (although realm ranks are not limited in this manner and stack with items). The current formula is your character level divided by 5, rounded down, plus one. This means that at level 50, your character can get at most, +11 to any one skill from items and realm points combined. Although they do not appear on the character sheet, they do raise your WeapSkill caps, etc. just as if you had the spec levels.

Because the composite bow skill and stealth currently do not have styles or abilities (see question #9), there is no significant benefit to speccing over 39 in these skills. Bow in particular has been shown to have a very small effect on WeapSkill (and presumably damage, this hasn't even been shown to affect damage and not be some cosmetic change).

If you do not have enough items to get the skill bonuses needed to reach a desired level, realm rankings can substitute. However, it is very difficult to get anymore than +1 to your skills. An example follows:

Realm Rank 1: --------- (+0 to all skills) [Stiltvakten]
Realm Rank 2: ----7,200 (+1 to all skills) [Isen Vakten]
Realm Rank 3: ---61,800 (+2 to all skills) [Flammen Vakten]
Realm Rank 4: --214,200 (+3 to all skills) [Eldur Vakten]
Realm Rank 5: --515,000 (+4 to all skills) [Stormur Vakten]
Realm Rank 6: 1,014,000 (+5 to all skills) [Isen Herra]

The following are common templates (number in parentheses indicate end level equipment and +1 bonus from realm points):

- Bow/Search and Destroy Hunter
Optimal bow, max beastcraft, and potentially max spear, can stun, most useful in large scale fighting where bow can be used to kill enemy archers/healers and spear can stun opponents group engages. However, low stealth makes solo RvR difficult.
39 (50) Composite Bow
50 (50) Beastcraft
39 (44) Spear
16 (27) Stealth

- Spear Hunter
Effectively a melee damage machine, useful in large scale fighting or keep raids for battering down doors. Lower spear to save on spec points and raise stealth or other skills. Medium stealth makes solo RvR tolerable.
39 (50) Composite Bow
43 (44) Beastcraft
44 (50) Spear
22 (31) Stealth

- Grief Hunter I
Well rounded and flexible. Max bow, potentially max spear, and the 2nd best DEX/QUI buff with high stealth.
39 (50) Composite Bow
43 (44) Beastcraft (Note: you will not get the last DEX/QUI buff)
39 (44) Spear
30 (41) Stealth

- Grief Hunter II
Another well rounded and flexible template, trading off the best AF, pet, and speed buffs for higher stealth.
39 (50) Composite Bow
40 (41) Beastcraft
39 (44) Spear
34 (45) Stealth

The point is, it is damn easy to get 50 skill in two skills, almost 50 in a third, and quite decent skill in the last. Which means there are practically only 2 types of Hunters:

1. non-stealth (with maxed out Beast and weapons)
2. stealth (with maxed out stealth, beast, and 1 weapon)

Specializing in a weapon makes a huge difference. Your weapon specialization raises your WeapSkill, which in turn raises your potential multiplier in damage against an opponent. At just 7-9 points of WeapSkill cap per spec level, this adds up. Just a 100 extra WeapSkill guarentees some extra small damage looking at the formula in question #3 (this is not exact, it just provides an order of magnitude):

(WeapSkill / enemy AF) * WeapDam (as a DPS) * quality * condition * delay
There are other factors involved, but the order of magnitude follows this function.

In addition, weapon speccing raises your maximum damage and minimum damage. See question #17 for more details.

In general, the most benefit from skill points comes from a balanced Hunter that does not swing too far into extreme speccing in any one skill.

See question #8 below.

8. What does stealth do? Is stealth important? What about stealth styles? Do Hunters get any? Why do I keep appearing when I nock an arrow/critical shot?

Stealth has changed a great deal since retail, the latest change being the 1.45 system. First off, a few terms need to be explained (note that when I refer to Stealth spec, I am talking about the enhanced level of stealth from items and realm points, NOT the base spec).

The "clipping plane" is the distance at which character models disappear. This is the farthest you can see in the game, because beyond this distance, the software does not render or draw anything. There are two clipping planes, one for scenary and landscapes, and the other is for monster/player models. For stealth, we are only concerned with the player/monster clipping plane. This defines how far a player can see, and is farther than any bow range.

The "bubble" (of detection, stealth, etc.) is the distance at which an observer's client begins to download location data for the stealthed player. Within latency times of entering this radius, players will begin seeing a transparent outline, and are then able to target and attack that stealthed character. This bubble is different for each observer of the stealthed character, and its radius is determined by the observer's level, the stealther's spec level, and the class of the observer (but NOT the character level of the stealther). Note: Stealth is purely deterministic, there is absolutely no randomness involved in stealth detection. In addition, the calculations for FINDING a stealthed character are not influence in any way by the observer's class, or stealth spec level.

The benefits of speccing in Stealth appear to be as follows:

1. Faster movement rate while stealthed. However, this will never approach running speed, at best, a max stealth specced player can approach is a fraction of running speed. This speed appears to continue to improve up until 50 spec (including item bonuses).
2. Reduced odds of detection. Below is a detailed explanation of what I think is the mechanism for this.
3. Smaller radius of distance around the character needs to be empty of hostiles for character to stealth (depending on your point of view, this can be a penalty since many Hunters use low stealth as a sensor for whether stealthed enemies are nearby).

It has been observed that players who just stealth are totally undectable for as much as several seconds. The current theory is that the game client must wait for the server to process whether the observer is close enough to observe the stealther, and then begin to download the locational data. As the observer leaves this radius, the client will still receive locational data while the server calculates that this is not allowed, and then shuts off the stream. This explains why there is a delay when finding a stealther, and why you see stealthers for a short bit even though you move far away.

The formula for calculating this radius using /loc has been shown to be as follows (Treat this as the maximum distance you must approach to spot a stealther. The distance cannot be less, but may be slightly higher than shown):

Note: If the stealther's spec is higher than the observer's level, this becomes a constant of 125 or 250 units.
Non-detect hidden class: [(observer's level - stealther's spec) * 20] + 125
Detect Hidden Class: [(obvserver's level - stealther's spec) * 50] + 250

The largest change in the 1.45 system of stealth is that there is a minimum detection radius for all characters. Regardless of observer's lefvel and the stealther's spec, the stealther will be spotted if the observer enters within 125 units using /loc. Roughly, 25 units is equal to one walk step animation. This is an imprecise measurement because the walk animations are difficult to judge completeness.

The other component of this change is that assassins have a much greater chance to detect archer classes now. Instead of using a base 125 units to detect any other stealthed class, assassins use a base of 250 units. The end result is that Hunter stealth is largely ineffective against an equally specced Nightshade/Infiltrator. If an assassin were to attempt to detect a non-archer class, then the minimum distance is changed to 125 as normal, but the assassin keeps the 50 multiplier instead of the 20 multiplier (due to Detect Hidden).

There are two other warnings about stealth. The first is that pets always see through stealth. Mythic's latest fix with v1.46 is that pets no longer infinitely follow players. If you have run away and stealthed, the pet will return to its master eventually. This is both a Hunter's friend and foe, your pet will allow you to track down enemy archers, minstrels, etc. in a limited manner. However, enemy Druids, and other Cabalists will be able to do likewise. The second is about guild cloaks, while stealthed, they will not be transparent. Anyone who gets close enough to see your outline, will obviously see you, although this is trivial if stealth is high. By then, they are also able to see your blue name, and a shimmering outline (which by itself is pretty obvious).

The most important aspects of stealth are that it breaks targetting. If you are far enough away that hitting stealth causes the enemy player to be out of your bubble, they cannot target you, and any targetting they had before is gone. This is invaluable when going alone to grief in the frontier. It is also useful when fighting in large groups, and you want to get an archer off you from across the battlefield. You simply stop shooting, wait 10 seconds, and stealth and then move and unstealth. Be warned however, that being attacked counts as being in combat. You will be unable to stealth for 10 seconds after being shot at by an arrow.

The other benefits of high stealth include being able to stay stealthed when nocking an arrow. Currently, the ratio of your stealth level to character level is the percentage chance you will stay stealthed when nocking a normal shot. If you have 20 stealth at level 40, you have a 50% chance of staying stealthed when firing. Critical shots are like normal shots, only the chance is reduced by 20%. The same character would only have a 30% chance of staying stealthed if he tried to fire a Critical Shot.

Stealth is necessary if you want to solo grief or scout. As the formulas for detection have changed, you will not require a moderately high level of stealth to be able to observe without being seen or run over. In addition, higher levels of stealth allow you to move faster, makind scouting and griefing much more convenient for the Hunter.

There are only 5 known stealth abilities, and Hunters do not receive any. Distract only works on NPC's and is used to rotate their facing. Danger Sense tells the assassin whether a scout NPC has spotted them and is running to get help (this only applies to NPC's). Detect Hidden simply changes the multiplier (and raises base radius) of the difference between stealth spec and level of observer, as detailed above. Safe Fall reduces the damage done by falling off high objects. Lastly, climb allows assassins to scale walls of keeps to get inside.

9. What about Volley and Longshot? Aren't those high level bow styles? And where did Critical Shot X go?

Volley and Longshot are not implemented in game yet. According to Camelot Herald, they are still being worked on, despite missing the deadline of implementation of the 10th of January, 2002. Critical Shot X has never existed, and is a rumor. Mythic has confirmed this ability has never, nor will ever exist. The last bow ability currently in game, is Critical Shot IX, received at 27 bow skill.

See question #22 if you think you don't have enough points to receive these abilities.

10. What about Shapeshifting and Tracking?

Shapeshifting for Heroes and Berserkers has already entered the game. However, the Hunter's advertised shape-shifting is unknown in status. While Camelot Herald reports missing archer skills, they are vague on this point. It may possibly be Beserker/Hero only to compensate for class weaknesses discovered in retail (however, this is doubtful, Mythic has emphasized all classes will get what they were advertised, and Hunters were promised shapeshifting).

Tracking is unknown and has not been mentiond on the herald for some time. Mythic appears to imply that Scouts are not aware of their value of their shield spec vs. a spell line, and this could mean all archery classes receive tracking.

11. What do Hunters do in RvR?

There are three things you can do to other players: grief, scout, and fight

If you want to grief, it probably means you'll be alone or with other stealthed parties. Stealth is useful, as well as bow. Typically griefing involves sneaking up on lower level players, and then killing them with impunity from stealth. Particularly killing them while they are fighting monsters to cause the loss of experience. Mythic has explicitly explained that this is intentional because it introduces an element of risk into the frontier, and removes an exploit to avoid experience loss when exp'ing. It is up to the player to decide if they will exercise this tactic which Mythic approves of. Because vigilante posses are formed quickly to rid the frontier of said griefer, high stealth is important as well as a high bow skill to pick players off from a distance while hidden.

Scouting is looking for enemy players while a larger group sieges a keep or some such. Usually the Hunter or Shadowblade warns his group/guild/rampaging mob of large groups of enemies (with appropriate level cons) so that they can be prepared for the fight. In this case, high stealth is useful but not necessary. It also means you won't be fighting, which is particularly boring for many people. However, stealth spec is all that matters for remaining hidden while close to enemies. This is one way by which lower level Hunters can meaningfully contribute to large scale RvR battles.

Lastly, Hunters can fight in large scale battles between two huge forces. With max spear, a Hunter spear is effectively a polearm, you will deal out a lot of damage even if you cannot take as much as a "tank". With a bow, you can either shoot enemy casters or archers who get too close, or you can fire into melee with normal shots. Because the bow's WeapSkill cap is the same as most Warriors, you will do significant damage with the bow against other players, greatly helping your melee fighters in whatever engagements they are in. Most Hunters who do not extreme specialize in stealth do so for this reason: They can fight extremely well in close combat or ranged combat provided they can be healed or do not fight multiple opponents at once. Hunter pets are also extremely dangerous against non-melee classes, far more than their level suggests. The Feral Spirit line of spells makes pets much more damaging than their level implies.

12. Where does all this good equipment come from? Why aren't my skills getting all the bonuses from these items?

First of all, the amount of skill you can gain from items is character level based only. The formula appears to be character level / 5, rounded down, plus one. Note that realm ranks give bonuses to all skills. Mythic has clarified their position, although the realm ranks act like items do (i.e. they give no new spells or styles), this is a totally seperate cap. The realm ranks stacking with items has been intended all along, and is functioning correctly.

Currently known and confirmed:

Composite Bow items:

---

Spear Items:

---

Stealth Items:

---

Armor Sets:

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Latticed Shadow armor
92 AF, 89% quality, 25% bonus (From Spindelhalla, level 37+ groups to obtain):
Chest: +6 DEX/QUI, 12% body
Legs: +15 CON, +3 QUI, 2% body, 2% acid(?)
Arms: +15 STR, +3 CON, 2% heat, 2% cold
Helm: +27 HP, 10% spirit
Hands: +3 left axe, +3 composite bow, +6 DEX/QUI
Feet: +15 DEX, +3 QUI, 4% body

Bloodwolf armor
98 AF, 89% quality, 25% bonus (From Malmohus, level 45+ groups to obtain):
Chest: +42 HP, +10 QUI (has 90% quality)
Legs:
Arms: +15 STR, 6% spirit/energy
Helm: +24 HP, 6% body/energy/heat (has 94 AF)
Hands: +21 QUI
Feet: +2 stealth, +4 CON, +6 DEX/QUI

Supple Serpent-Hide armor
98 AF, 90% quality, 25% bonus (From Vanern Swamp, level 42+ groups to obtain):
Chest: +30 HP, +9 DEX, 6% fire
Legs: +15 CON, +6 QUI, 4% slash
Arms: +18 STR, +6 CON, 4% slash
Helm: +12 PIE, +2 berzerk, 4% slash
Hands: +2 composite bow, +10 DEX/QUI, 2% slash
Feet: +9 DEX/QUI, +12 HP, +2 evade

Studded Fur Lined armor
98 AF, 90% quality, 25% bonus (From Raumarik, level 45+ groups to obtain):
Chest: +13 STR/CON, 10% cold
Legs: +13 STR/DEX, ?
Arms: +13 STR/CON, 10% thrust
Helm:
Hands: +13 DEX/QUI, ?
Feet:

Soulbinder's armor
98 AF, 91% quality, 25% bonus (From Malmohus, level ??+ groups to obtain):
Chest: +45 HP, +12 STR/DEX
Legs: +15 CON, +12 DEX, 8% body/matter
Arms: +16 STR/QUI, 10% spirit
Helm: +51 HP, 6% body/matter/spirit
Hands:
Feet: +22 DEX, 10% ?/body

Misc Useful Items:

---

* Note: Many, if not all, Horned/Crafted Silksteel items have random stats. Always SHIFT-I these items to check if they have the stats you want. I have several Horned Silksteel Rings that give +7 PIE instead of CON. Hunters ostensibly do not want these.

13. How do I use a bow? How do I use Critical Shot?

In order to easily switch between weapons, you will need to put both your bow and the critical shot ability into your hot bar. Left click on any weapon, and drop that icon into an empty slot of a hot bar. It will not drop the weapon on the floor or otherwise move it. Now you can click on that button in the hotbar to equip that weapon. Most Hunters put their spear button (and styles) in one set of 8, and put their bow (and crit shot with other macro buttons such as /face) in a second set of 8.

To fire a bow:

1. Target the monster/player.
2. Equip the bow by hitting its hotbar button.
3. Tap the bow button again to nock an arrow. A message indicating how much time till you can fire (as well as if the target is in range) should appear in orange.
4. Tap the bow button again to activate auto-release of arrow when you are ready. This saves valuable fractions of a second by avoiding latency issues.
5. If you want, tap the bow button a third time to activate auto-release and auto-nock another arrow against the same target.

To fire a critical shot, you must drag your critical shot icon from the abilities page into a hotbar slot. Instead of clicking on your bow to nock an arrow, click on critical shot to nock an arrow. If you click on critical shot again, you will switch to a normal shot. To auto-release and auto-reload, click on your bow (not critical shot) icon instead. Aside from nocking, critical shot is just like normally using a bow.

14. How does Critical Shot work? Why is my critical shot not working?

Critical Shot is an ability Hunters receive as they spec in Composite Bows. Effectively, Critical Shot raises your damage if you hit something that is not engaged in melee combat, running, or aggro'd onto something. In return, your draw time for that arrow is increased. Critical Shot I multiplies the draw time by 2.0, and each version afterwards reduces this multiplier by 0.1. Thus, Critical Shot II multiplies draw time by 1.9, Critical Shot III by 1.8, etc. all the way up to Critical Shot IX, which multiplies it by 1.2. This last ability, Critical Shot IX, is received at 27 Composite Bow skill. While the theory is that you receive a version of Critical Shot for every 3 levels of Composite Bow skill, my personal experience very early in retail suggests this initially was not true.

With the 1.45 patch, players can no longer deal out 300% normal damage to green and grey con targets. The cap has been changed to at most be 200% for anything up to a "yellow" con player/monster. Currently, the formula for your maximum Critical Shot damage is purely based upon character level vs. target's level, and has nothing to do with bow spec level. For every 1% the target's level is above your character's level, Critical Shot's max damage is reduced by 3% from the max of 200%. For example, a monster that is 10% higher in level than your character (i.e. level 55 to a level 50) can be Critical Shot for 170% normal damage.

You also cannot critical shot an NPC who has aggroed (which obviously includes hand to hand fighting). You must fire the shot before it aggros on someone. If it aggros before the shot lands, this does not affect the damage.

You also cannot critical shot any players who are engaged in melee combat, or at running speed. You can however, critical shot players who are holding still, and in combat mode, but not swinging their weapons. In other words, the only ways to render yourself immune to the extra damage of a crtical shot is to be swinging a weapon in melee combat, or running at normal speeds or higher. It is also important to note that any player who has "engaged" you has a good chance (95%) of blocking your arrows. The extreme consequence of this is that critical shot will be used less and less in RvR as players become aware that they immunize themselves to critical shot simply by running. It costs them nothing, and always works. For this reason, I do not recommend using critical shot unless you are at Critical Shot IX, where the extra fraction of a second is negligible if wasted, but the payoff is worthwhile if it works.

Typically, critical shots are only guarenteed against other archers shooting, and casters casting a spell as these two situations are both against stationary non-combat mode players.

15. Why can't I charm animals? How does charming work?

The formula to charm animals has been shown to no longer follow the previous model of thought. Instead, the Hunter's character level appears to set a base value, and the spec level in Beastcraft modifies this by an amount. It has been recently confirmed that the beastcraft spells do have level limits, and that the upgrades are ncessary to charm targets above certain levels.

The current estimate is that Hunters can charm pets up to the following level:

(Hunter level x 80%) + (Beastcraft spec / Hunter level)

The above number is then rounded appropriately. Currently, there are several data points which can be reliably confirmed through test Hunters. However, the above formula does not work for all cases. Several Hunters have pointed out that their high or low beastcraft seems to affect whether the fraction of level x 80% is rounded up or down, but this is unconfirmed. Confirmed data includes:

Level 11, Beastcraft 6, level 8 insect (level 7 animal due to outdated charm spell)
Level 11, Beastcraft 7, level 8 pet
Level 17, Beastcraft 17, level 13 pet
Level 19, Beastcraft 18, level 15 pet
Level 20, Beastcraft 19, level 16 pet
Level 21, Beastcraft 20, level 16 pet
Level 22, Beastcraft 23, level 17 pet
Level 23, Beastcraft 24, level 18 pet
Level 44, Beastcraft 35, level 36 pet
Level 47, Beastcraft 43, level 38 pet
Level 48, Beastcraft 43, level 39 pet
Level 49, Beastcraft 43, level 40 pet
Level 50, Beastcraft 35, level 41 pet
Level 50, Beastcraft 43, level 41 pet

Note that these spells work in rather odd ways. I have found that the Call of Gleipnir will work on anything using a bear, wolf, cat, frog, badger, horse, or rat model, but will not work on humanoids or snakes (although Squabblers in Hibernia work). In addition, Call of Gleipnir has been known to work on Torpor Worms in Uppland/Yggdra forest, but not anything else with a worm model. I have also found the Compel Insect spell to work on ants, crabs, spiders, and even arachites.

16. Can my Hunter solo? How can I do it?

The answer is yes (and quite well once a Hunter hits level 40+), there are several spots (I have been shown more than I can mention) in the game where monsters are:

1. Casters
2. Weak to slashing weapons
3. Vulnerable to pathing bugs

Otherwise, if not available, you will have to solo "normally". In order of experience gain rate, it is probably better to group until your late 30's. Then it is better to find a camp with pathing bugs and/or casters than group. Grouping is second best after that (but gives good equipment). Solo'ing normally with non-optimal monsters is a distand third, as it is dangerous and very slow. Shooting normal yellow or blue monsters with arrows and then melee'ing them to death is viable, but as you gain levels, you will spend more and more time healing because even a near dead yellow can kill a hunter at levels 30 to 40.

The key is yellow or higher equipment, and picking your targets. Slow moving monsters, archers, casters, or anything weak to slash/thrust damage are the best targets, letting you get the most arrows into it before it closes in for melee. You should avoid anything that is fast, roots, casts a DD, is resistant to slash/thrust or calls for help. Typically, this means avoiding Arachites, drakes, etc., etc. It is difficult to find the optimal target (i.e. a caster with low hit points, it is weak to slashing, and it has a pathing bug) until you are in the 40's. They are rare, and at any given level, you may not have such a spot. These places are incredibly fast experience (better than a group), and incredibly safe (assuming you are fully specced in bow, and almost fully specced in spear and beastcraft). If not, you may die due to a randomly high level spawn. Otherwise, you may have to hunt like most other players.

Usually a solo'ing hunter will find the max range of his bow (using the longest range arrows and heaviest damaging arrows he can afford easily) and pelt the target with arrows. Inbetween shots, he can click on the "attack" button for his pet to try to get the pet to input some extra damage. If the monster closes, the hunter/pet team tries to melee the monster to death as quickly as possible with detaunt styles to conserve hit points with the high defense bonus.

Choose a target carefully and stealth yourself when resting to avoid being ambushed. Solo'ing appears to be all about being careful.

17. How does Weapon Speccing work?

Specializing in a weapon is a necessary step towards raising the damage output of your character. No amount of stat bonuses, gear, or spells will help you without speccing in a weapon because of the way the game works. There are caps on how much each of the previously mentioned methods will benefit your character, caps that are based upon your weapon specs. Speccing in a weapon, aside from raising those caps, gives 2 other benefits (note that this is based off your item and realm point enhanced spec, NOT the base spec level):

1. It raises the minimum damage you will do.
2. Beyond 2/3 spec, it will raise the maximum damage you will do.

With no specialization, damage variance is from 25-125% of base damage (which is determined by weapon stats and character level). From there to 2/3 spec, the minimum damage is raised linearly up to 75% (i.e. 1/3 of your character level will raise your min. damage by 25%). At 2/3, the damage range is 75-125%. Above 2/3 spec to maximum spec, the minimum AND maximum damage will increase linearly until it is 100-150% at max spec.

From personal experience with both spear and non-spear spec Hunters, this makes a huge difference. Non-spec Hunters with 12-16 spear at level 45 can expect to hit yellows in cloth to chain anywhere from 90-120 damage a hit using the Lancer style. Spear-specced Hunters with 39-44 spear at level 45 can expect to hit the same yellows for anywhere from 200-400 damage a hit using the Whirling Spear style.

18. What are my skill/stat/AF caps?

Stat caps:

Your stat caps are easy to calculate, you need to find out what your "base" stats are counting in the points you gain from leveling. The easiest way to do this is via math, but you can also find out by stripping your character naked. In order to find out how many points you have gained from leveling, do the following:

1. Take your character level and subract 5 (to account for the newbie levels that did not give stat points).
2. Divide this number by 1, 2, or 3, depending on whether this stat is raised every 1, 2, or 3 levels. Make sure you keep track of fractions, they are important.
3. Round this up no matter what the fraction is. Even if it is 1/3rd, round it up.
4. Add this number to whatever your stats were at level 1, after character creation.

With the 1.44 patch, your character has three different caps on the bonuses to stats: items, single stat buffs, and double stat buffs. Your character can gain at most, his/her character level to any one stat from a single stat buff (i.e. +40 STR for a level 40 Hunter). However, your character can 1.5 x character level (rounded down) from both items and double stat buffs (i.e. +60 DEX from items, and another addition +60 DEX from a DEX/QUI buff at level 40). The most a character can raise any stat at level 50 is:

base/naked stat + 75 (item cap) + 50 (single stat buff cap) + 75 (double stat buff cap)

WeapSkill cap per level:

WeapSkill does not have an easy formula for, it appears to be based solely upon your character level & class and your weapon spec. Having weapon specs above your character limit WILL raise this, but not by much. I have always had 44 bow skill with items. When I gained level 41, my bow WeapSkill cap was 946. At level 42, it was 967. And at 43, it is 996. The uneven gains are not related to my DEX because I have always gained 1 pt. per level. However, by level 50, Hunters can expect to push ~1300 WeapSkill with with max bow spec, and ~900 WeapSkill with max spear spec, using only their self-buffs.

WeapDam cap per level:

Your WeapDam is a translated DPS. If you are fully able to utilize a weapon, then its DPS will be identical to the translated WeapDam on your character sheet. A 13.2 DPS weapon would be 1302 WeapDam (the decimal point is turned into a zero). Every time your character gains a level, your WeapDam cap goes up by 0.2-0.4 DPS. The formula for this has been shown to have been changed with recent patches, and so is no longer valid. However, gathered information has been used to construct the following chart for levels 40-50.

40 - 13.3 DPS
41 - 13.5 DPS
42 - 13.8 DPS
43 - 14.1 DPS
44 - 14.3 DPS
45 - 14.6 DPS
46 - 15.0 DPS
47 - 15.3 DPS
48 - 15.6 DPS
49 - 15.8 DPS
50 - 16.2 DPS

AF cap:

According to Camelot Herald, armor factor reduces the damage taken from a hit. Absorbtion therefore must be the chance that a blow is completely negated, even though it actually "hit". The AF cap for any character's level is equal to:

Char. level x 10 x (100% + absorb%)

Where absorb is the the absorb% of the highest level armor that class can wear. For Hunters, this reduces down to char. level x 11.9, or char. level times 1190%.

There are several odd things to note about AF. Your character's AF depends upon what is worn in all the armor slots, you will receive a different amount of AF from any piece of armor, depending on what the other slots have. The self-AF buff also follows similar behavior, it will give less AF if you are naked, then if you have armor covering all slots. If all the slots are full, then the following equation appears to be true for calculating the AF from any one piece of armor:

AF x quality% x [100% + (absorb% x quality%)]

Item skill/realm rank bonus cap:

Bonuses from skills are capped by your character level. The formula appears to be character level / 5, rounded down, plus one. I can confirm the cap jumps from +8 to +9 at level 40, and +9 to +10 at level 45, as well as all levels below this into the twenties. Hunters are fairly certain the cap raises to +11 at level 50.

19. How does my Hunter compare to Scouts/Ranger? What about Thanes/Warriors/Beserkers/etc.?

There are two main differences I have seen between Hunters and the other archers. Against Scouts, Hunters have a slightly shorter range, and a much faster draw time on their bows. While most high level hunters can shoot off arrows in 2.4-2.7 seconds and critical shot in 2.9-3.2, high level Scouts appear to be stuck around 4.5 second and 5.4 seconds for critical shots with powerful bows. While Hunter/Ranger DPS is higher than a Scout, the critical shot capability of a Scout is much higher thanks to the slower bows.

Note that high shield specced Scouts are dangerous to Hunters in melee combat. While a Hunter can hit for a lot of damage and swings very fast, this is completely negated by the extreme ease by which a shield specced Scout can stun. Oddly enough, most Scouts do not realize the power in hand to hand combat their class possesses, although test Hunters have encountered Scouts who have aptly demonstrated that it is possible. Scouts (or any shield spec class) have access to two extremely powerful stuns, one at spec level 29 and the other at 42. The spec level 42 stun deals out approximately 450 damage and is a medium duration stun. The spec level 29 stun is most commonly used after an "engage", causing a 95% block rate, with the 29 style following immediately after. This stun deals out approximately 350 damage and is a long duration stun. Against properly specced and experienced Scouts, Hunters suffer a strong disadvantage due to the damaging shield stun.

Against Rangers, again, Hunters have an even smaller range disadvantage. Draw times are practically identical with equal delay bows. But where Rangers have a very slight advantage with their DPS buff (which does not give full benefit to bows, in fact, it is quite minimal from personal experience), Hunters have a slight advantage in melee combat. Hunters use slow heavy weapons, giving them a powerful first strike. Rangers however, get Evade III, a self DPS buff, but must spec in 2 melee skills. Because of diminishing returns, speccing in 2 melee skills is not that prohibitive, but dual wield success rates have been increased. Dual wield percentages have been empirically shown to be equal to 25% + (0.5% * dual wield spec) + (0.25% * char. lvl).

Compared to other Midgard classes, Hunters have a very poor WeapSkill cap compared to Viking based classes, ensuring that they will ALWAYS hit for less damage per hit than a viking base. While Hunters can push 900 WeapSkill with a spear at level 50, most Viking based classes can easily push over 1300. The stats are not in the Hunter's favor, the class not only has a lower ceiling, but the spear requires +2 of STR/DEX to add the same amount of WeapSkill as just +1 STR for a Warrior's sword.

The same applies to AF. Because the AF cap for level is based upon the absorbtion rating of the highest level armor, Hunters cannot compete with "tank" classes for AF. Their self-AF buff is constrained by the AF cap as well. A level 50 Hunter can at most, have 595 AF, whereas a level 50 chain class can have 635, and a level 50 plate class can have 670 AF.

Defensive wise, Hunters are the second worst class in the entire game. All other classes receive some method of completely "negating" attacks, via Evade, Parry, Shield, or Bladeturn. While Hunters are limited to studded and Evade I, all other classes receive either Evade II or better, parry, shield spec, better armor, bladeturn, or combinations thereoff. The only exceptions are "mage" classes, which are armed with bladeturn, quickcast on an unknown timer, and mez/stun spells.

20. Do I need to become a fletcher? Does arrow quality affect damage?

The answer is no to both counts. While fletching will appear to save you money, it also takes time. And that time can also be spent making more money. If you do not want to, you do not need to fletch, arrows appropriate for your level are easily bought for insignificant amounts of silver. It it's not petty change, then it's probably not needed for your level. Eventually, monsters drop well over 1 gold in coins a kill and you can easily afford as many footed flight broadheads as you want. The benefits of fletching are typically the ability to make your own bows up to level 35 (when it is better to get dropped bows, this may change later with additional crafted items). The other benefit is that low level broadhead arrows do not require a lathe, and the components weight less than the arrow itself. Many kobolds will carry components and fletch in the field.

The rumors of store bought arrows doing less damage than player fletched arrows are false. Tests have shown that arrows may have quality (influencing consignment rewards), but that this has no impact on damage, or range. In addition, regardless of quality, you may mix up stacks of arrows, further supporting the theory that the game does not track this.

The only benefits to fletching are as follows: ability to repair bows faster for less durability loss wherever you wish, cheaper arrows before level 35 where the money becomes trivial, increased carrying capacity of arrows before STR increases to the point where this does not matter, and crafting siegecraft parts (fletching raises some skills that are part of other skills used to craft siegecraft).

21. How many bonus skill points do I get past level 40?

Hunters receive twice their (new) level in skill points when they gain a level. Mythic changed this system to include bonus points for levels 40-49. It is safe to assume that level 50.5 does not exist, based upon interviews with level 50's who have been exp'ing for months straight.

When you are half way between levels 40 and above, you will reach what is termed a "half-level". Your experience and death counters are reset and you cannot fall below this half-way point. You will also receive skill points equal to half what you originally received for that level. In this example, upon reaching level 40.5, you will receive 40 skill points instead of the original 80 you received for level 40 itself. This brings up the total number of skill points to 2534 + 445 = 2979 (levels 1 through 5 as a rogue do not give x2 skill points, but rather x1).

22. Will I be able to respec my points? What if I mess up? What if I changed my mind?

Sanya has posted that Mythic is interested in allowing players to respec, but they want to do it in a way that is not abusable. Given time, this ability will probably be introduced. If you mess up your hunter, you will probably be able to correct the situation.

23. Do Hunters auto-train in anything?

The answer is no. Hunters do not auto-train in any skill. While other classes such as Armsmen and Shadowblades may confirm their auto-training, Hunters as a class do not.

24. Is going over 50 spec in a weapon worth it? Do realm ranks stack with items? Does this do anything?

Yes, you can get over 50 skill using items. Going over 50 skill with a weapon skill does improve WeapSkill. Presumably, this will increase damage by a very slight amount. Weapon spec levels over character level improve damage by ~0.7% per spec level. Mythic has changed their position, and this behavior is valid and intended.

Realm ranks give bonuses to all skills. Mythic has clarified their position, although the realm ranks act like items do (i.e. they give no new spells or styles), this is a totally seperate cap. The realm ranks stacking with items has been intended all along, and is functioning correctly.

25. Why do Hunters have spear styles that trigger off Parry? Can Hunters use those styles?

These are mistakes on the web pages that list the style lists. The actual values of to hit bonuses and damage bonuses have radically changed since retail, and those web pages are incorrect. All styles listed as triggering off parry have been confirmed to actually trigger off evade. For a partial list of the actual benefits of each style, see the appendix below.

26. Why should I train Beastcraft? Shouldn't I concentrate on my weapon skills instead?

The only way for a Hunter to maximize damage output is to have high weapon and Beastcraft spec. Hunters are a Rogue based class, and because of this, their WeapSkill caps are fairly low compared to Warriors for the Spear. Even though the bow WeapSkill caps for a Hunter are relatively close to a Warrior, it is still not an exact match. The Beastcraft spell lines offers 2 powerful self buffs to increase combat abilities for Hunters, as well as 3 pet related spells, and 1 speed shout. Both skills are required to maximize damage output. Because Hunters have the second poorest defense of all classes in all three realms, they depend upon a higher damage output more so than any other class save the robed casters. The actual spells given by Beastcraft are as follows:

- Nimbleness of the Lynx: self DEX/QUI buff. Increases damage multiplier to weapon damage by as much as 20%, as well as providing a significant reduction in weapon delay, making the Hunter swing faster and hit harder.

- Lynx's Pelt: self-AF buff. Reduces damage taken by lowering the damage multiplier of the enemy. Benefits depend upon the enemy's WeapSkill, but are more significant as the enemy becomes closer and closer to your character level (i.e. your AF is appropriately scaled for the enemy's level).

- Call of Gleipnir/Dominate Insect: 2 seperate charm spells for "animal" or "insect" flagged monsters. Functionally, they are identical, and will charm an animal/insect for 1000 minutes minimum.

- Feral Spirit: Pet only STR/CON buff. Increases damage multplier of pet, and reduces damage dealt to the pet. Because monsters use attributes differently, this is effectively a WeapSkill/AF buff for your pet.

- Speed of Prey: Self speed shout, usable only every 10 minutes. Increases speed as much as appropriate level skald/bard/minstrel speed song. Will drop if player/pet takes damage or attacks. Used to close distance or escape.

27. Do Evade items actually do anything?

The answer is no. This has been the case ever since retail, and has been reconfirmed with log parsing in 1.45. The most common theory is that Evade was actually a trainable skill early on in beta, but I am unable to confirm this. However, the Berserker team lead has been pressing for Mythic to actually make these items give some form of bonus (likewise, "berzerk" items do nothing).

28. How do you I use the "range-finder" in the game?

Many players have asked for a built in range-finder to let them see if their target is within bow range, without the risk of breaking stealth by nocking an arrow. The ground-targetting feature in game is a close substitute, although using it is somewhat clumsy. To enter ground-targetting mode, you must hit the appropriate key. By default, this is F5. Once you have held down this key, your movement keys will move the yellow crosshairs instead of your character. In order to determine your maximum range, you must find a stationary monster (i.e. a guard or a shopkeeper), and continually back up until you find the maximum range. Then you can ground-target the target and save the location of the crosshairs. The next time you want to change range, hit the F5 key (or whatever ground-target is bound to), and look at the crosshairs.

29. What stat gives Hunter's their power points?

Based upon examining the conditions a Hunter can receive the "Your power has increased" message while equipping items, STR is the only stat that gives this message. It is unclear however, how much of a benefit Hunters will receive from having a high STR (and hence, power pool) because many of the spells Hunters can cast are fixed percentage costs (i.e. 25% charms). In addition, many other spells have extremely high casting costs, the last upgrade of each spell costs approximately 68 power points, and the gains a Hunter makes per level is 2-3 power points. The benefits of a high STR may be limited to only a few extra power points, making the benefits negligible in the long run (especially since buffs need only be cast every 10 minutes).

Appendix: Formulas and Misc. Information

Arrow ranges (in /loc units):
- Flight arrows: 2000 units (~80 pace animations)
- Normal arrows: 1625 units (~65 pace animations)
- clout arrows: 1375 units (~55 pace animations)

Endurance usage of bows per bow delay:
- 4.8 delay, 18 normal shots or 9 critical shots
- 4.2 delay, 19 normal shots, or 10 critical shots
- 3.9 delay, 20 normal shots, or 10 critical shots
- 3.8 delay, 20 normal shots, or 10 critical shots

Attributes used per weapon type:
Note: 1 point of STR gives as much bonus to a sword/axe/hammer as 2 points of STR/DEX gives to spear.
- Swords, Axes, Hammers: 100% STR
- Spears: 50% STR, 50% DEX
- Bows and Staves: 100% DEX

Base Damge formula (does not include effects of weapon specialization and damage range):
- Base Damage (per hit) = WeapDam (as a DPS) x delay x quality x condition
- Damage Multiplier = (WeapSkill / target's AF)
- Max Damage (per hit, 100% mark in damage variance equations) = WeapDam (as a DPS) x delay x quality x condition x (WeapSkill / target's AF)
- Damage Cap (per hit) = unknown function of DPS, delay, and style used (this is the absolute most dmg a single hit can do)

Spear style list (compiled from delve information in game, v1.44)
2 - Dazzling Spear - Use any time, high fatigue cost, high damage bonus, no to hit bonus.
4 - Return Thrust - Use after successful evade, low fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, causes light bleeding (6 dmg).
6 - Engage - Use any time, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, medium penalty to defense, taunts target.
8 - Extend Reach - Use after sucessful Return Thrust (4), low fatigue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus, slows target.
10 - Lancer - Use any time, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, low penalty to defense.
12 - Dismissal - Use any time, medium fatigue cost, low damage bonus, no to hit bonus, high bonus to defense, detaunts target.
15 - Wounding Thrust - Use after successful Engage (6), medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus, hinders target.
18 - Stab - Use after successful Lancer (10), low fatigue cost, low damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, causes medium bleeding (15 dmg).
21 - Perforate - Use from side, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, no to hit bonus, medium penalty to defense, slows target.
25 - Lunging Thrust - Use after successful Lancer (10), medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus.
29 - Raze - Use after successful Stab (18), medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, causes heavy bleeding (28 dmg).
34 - Whirling Spear - Use any time, high faitgue cost, high damage bonus, low to hit bonus, low penalty to defense.
39 - Razor Edge - Use from behind, medium fatigue cost, high damage bonus, medium to hit bonus, low penalty to defense, stuns target

Chart of DEX/QUI buff benefits per spec level of beastcraft:
- 5 Nimbleness of the Lynx: +10 delve, +14 estimate
- 12 Alacrity of the Lynx: +19 delve, +23 actual
- 21 Dexterity of the Lynx: +26 delve, +32 actual
- 30 Quickness of the Lynx: +34 delve, +42 actual
- 40 Alacrity of the Lynx: +42 delve, +52 actual
- 50 Heart of the Lynx: +50 delve, +62 estimate

Char of AF buff benefits per spec level of beastcraft:
- 2 Lynx's Pelt: +12 delve, +14 estimate
- 4 Snake's Scales: +14 delve, +18 estimate
- 8 Wolf's Hide: +18 delve, +24 estimate
- 11 Turtle's Shell: +21 delve, +28 estimate
- 14 Bear's Mantel: +24 delve, +34 estimate
- 18 Crab's Shell: +28 delve, +40 estimate
- 23 Drake's Hide: +33 delve, +49 actual
- 31 Wyvern's Scale: +41 delve, +58 actual
- 42 Arachite's Chitin: +52 delve, +77 actual

Stealth detection radius against Archer classes (using /loc units):
* See Question #8 for a full explanation of when and how these formulas apply
Note: If the stealther's spec is higher than the observer's level, this becomes a constant of 125 or 250 units.
- Non-detect hidden class: [(observer's level - stealther's spec) * 20] + 125
- Detect Hidden Class: [(ovserver's level - stealther's spec) * 50] + 250

Maximum charmable pet level (approximation):
- (Hunter level x 80%) + (Beastcraft spec / Hunter level)

Attribute stat caps per level:
- base/naked stat + (1.5 x lvl) [item cap] + (1.0 x lvl) [single stat buff cap] + (1.5 x lvl) [double stat buff cap]

WeapSkill caps (unknown):
- Level 50 bow, ~1310 WeapSkill with with max bow spec
- Level 50 spear, ~920 WeapSkill with max spear spec

WeapDam cap (chart for higher levels) per level:
40 - 13.3 DPS
41 - 13.5 DPS
42 - 13.8 DPS
43 - 14.1 DPS
44 - 14.3 DPS
45 - 14.6 DPS
46 - 15.0 DPS
47 - 15.3 DPS
48 - 15.6 DPS
49 - 15.8 DPS
50 - 16.2 DPS

AF cap per level:
- Char. level x 10 x (100% + absorb%)

Effective AF per piece of armor (assuming all other slots filled with equivalent armor):
- listed AF x quality% x [100% + (absorb% x quality%)]

Item skill/realm rank bonus cap per level:
- [Char. level / 5] + 1 (rounded down)

Dual wield/Celtic Dual success percentage:
- 25% + (0.5% * dual wield spec) + (0.25% * char. lvl)

Realm Rank requirements (measure in realm points):
- Realm Rank 1: --------- (+0 to all skills) [Stiltvakten]
- Realm Rank 2: ----7,200 (+1 to all skills) [Isen Vakten]
- Realm Rank 3: ---61,800 (+2 to all skills) [Flammen Vakten]
- Realm Rank 4: --214,200 (+3 to all skills) [Eldur Vakten]
- Realm Rank 5: --515,000 (+4 to all skills) [Stormur Vakten]
- Realm Rank 6: 1,014,000 (+5 to all skills) [Isen Herra]

1.45 patch notes on stats:
- The stat "cap" has been raised from 250 to 350. Stats now give +1% bonus per two points from 50 to 200 then +1% bonus per four points from 200 to 300 then +1% per five points from 300 to 350. The total stat bonus cap has increased a total of 10% from the old system. This means that you can raise your stats higher than you could before (a total of 100 points, which reflects a bonus of an extra 10%) more. However, you will notice that if you character currently has items/spells that buff his stats to the 200-300 range, that stat will have slightly less bonus effect than it did under the old system - but you can now raise stats past the old cap for more effect. End result: more potential buff bonus, may impact players who are currently buffed to the old (250) cap.