Stealthing and stuff... (melee hunter spec)

[phillies]

I've been told by some that stealth is char-lvl based and by others that it is skill-lvl based.... Could someone enlighten me?

Another thing about my speccing ... I want to have stealth lvl 25 (for spiderman effect) and max spear .... but how much would that leave for beastcraft?

And one last thing ..... Melee hunters are so much fun, and the some of the spears dont even look like spears but more like lances nothing better than to lure them in with a sucky bow and shout "SAY HELLO TO MY LITTLE FRIEND" as I whip out the ol' stick:touch: :touch:

 

[Khazik]

Only assasin classes (SB/INFIL/NS) get 'spiderman' effect :/

Use character builder to see how much u can put into BC

http://daoc.catacombs.com

 

[phillies]

Hmmm.... Been checking out the char builder now.... It does say that I get Climb wall ability @ lvl 25....

But I should be able to have : 50 spear | 50 Beastcraft | 28 Stealth and 6 bow (just to pull critters in PvE)

Anyway .... would this be a viable build (again it depends on stealth being skill-lvl based or char-lvl based)

 

[Khazik]

When the character builder first came out it used to say under lvl 25 stealth (assasin classes only) just noticed myself after replying to you, that it no longer says this... So I too would like info! Although the american boards havent said hunters can climb walls yet.

Stealth imho is only useful against non assasins now.. Its roughly 75% char lvl and 25% skill based as far as I have heard, and this is seems supported with my RvR experiences.. I can sneak past lv 50s as long as they don't have an assasin with them. @ lv 42 I have 15 + 4 stealth and does me well in RvR on the whole.

Unless I get really close to non stealthers i can get past without incident.

Its a nice spear build you have, but imo, we don't have the HPs or absorb % to do any tanking in RvR. You can take casters and most assasins u are lucky enough to spot before they get to you (or blue/greens) but most other classes will stand a good chance of kicking your butt all the way back to the mmg.

Yes Hunters specced in spear HURT, but we don't last very long :s
___________________
Khazik, 42 Hunter
Officer in <Heart & Soul>

 

[phillies]

No shame in dying for a good cause not really planning on tanking a 1on1 with tanks either though, but might do a bit of kiting on the slow days (just to mess (mezz¿) with their minds

 

[Khazik]

Lol you go girl!

Personally, I like Hunter specced with bow mainly.. But I've changed my idea on final spec.
I like my hunter as is 42bow, 37bc 16spear 15stealth.
Might respec to full bow eventually..
But atm I'm going for 42bow, 43bc, 39 spear, rest in stealth.

Nice spear dmg, v nice bow dmg.

Found myself chasing down a few run away casters in emain lately, so the speed buff with good spear should finish that. Having to rely solely on my bow against red casters doesnt work 2/10 times. And I hate leaving a few to get away.

 

[kathal_tdd]

Why 42 in bow???

Im going for 36 bow.
skill 36 + items 11 + 3 Realm rank = 50

I dont see the point in 36+ in bow.

Did I miss something?

Kathal 50 Taxi
Aicon 31 Hunter and 1008 Fletcher

 

[Spix]

Taken from hunter guide written by Branin hunter TL for version 1.52.

http://vnboards.ign.com/message.asp?topic=34794654&replies=33


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

Stealth is a special skill, going over 50 spec improves nothing compared to 50 spec. The game only takes into account your modified spec, up to a maximum of 50. Beastcraft likewise has no benefit for going over 50 spec, since the spell line has no spells which deal damage or heal (these are the only 2 abilities which are influenced by spec level). Weapon skills however, give the following benefits:

1. Improved damage variance
2. Increased WeapSkill gains from stats
3. Increased style damage (non-bow weapons only)
4. Additional styles (non-bow weapons only)

The key feature is that benefits #1 and #4 are no longer gained when you overspec. You will not gain any new styles, nor will your damage variance improve beyond the 50 spec levels for 50 character levels rate. Characters who overspec beyond 50 skill via items will be expending spec points for only the #2 and #3 benefits. The weapon spec level does determine HOW MUCH a character will benefit from his stats. Overspeccing allows a character to benefit more from stats and buffs than a character with a lower spec. For comparison purposes, consider two characters, one with 39+11 spec, and another with 50+11 spec. When fully buffed and optimized with Shaman DEX/QUI and DEX buffs, the character with 39+11 spec will have approximately 1500 WeapSkill, while the character with 50+11 spec will have almost 1700 WeapSkill. The difference in WeapSkill (see question #3 for more details) is ~13% more if you are fully and maximally buffed for having spent 495 more spec points for 11 spec levels. If you are not buffed, the then the differences are even small, as low as 3-7%.

(So, only "Increased WeapSkill gains from stats" applies for archer classes when going 50+)

------------------------

As I see it, taking bow over 39 is a waste of usefull skill points.
Better put those points on beastcraft or spear.
Getting buffed by shaman is one thing, but how long do they stay on? Unless you have a buffbot you cant rely on them, and if you die (most hunters tend do that from time to time) and get rezzed the buffs are gone.

The most important selfbuffs from bc is "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. "

compared to max bow 50+11 ( 3-7% weapskill more) and 3.5+ sek draw speed on a 4.7 bow vs 39+11 bow + 20% weap damage from bc buffs and a 2 sek draw speed on a 4.7 bow.
I go for bc and 39 bow. Also BC provides AF buff and a Speed shout that have saved me more than once. at bc 43 you can run minstrel speed for 1 minute and that is a great way to escape.
And some pretty pets, lvl 41 max at 50 , but a 41 pet with pet buff can be a pest for stealthers and casters if used correct.

My specc is now: 26 stealth , 43 beastcraft, 39 spear and 42 bow (will lower it to 39 bow and raise spear with respecc)


Hope it cleared some stuff for all who think of speccing 50 bow.

And go ahead and max spear, havent heard of one before, and I honestly belive you should start a warrior instead with throwing axe
Let us know how it turns out. May be a killer.

taken from branins guide:

"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. "
So you will swing fast and hard with 50 Spear and max bc.
And no, you wont get any stealth styles like detect hidden or safe fall. but still its good to have some stealth.


Spix

 

[Khazik]

My spec stands as stated

42bow, 43bc, 39spear, 26stealth, 3 pts left over.
I don't intend on relying on RR for bonuses or too many items for bonuses (spec bonuses that is). I play for fun and don't disect a character for optimal performance.

I would be aiming to get resist items, const items, maybe some more dex/quick items.

So I build a foundation for my character and work around what I get I would have bow high for decent low end dmg.

Also, when the 8 character per server comes out, I'll be making a spear spec Hunter, see how much fun that would be. I enjoy trying to put a 'spin' on a character, it is afterall a game, hence fun.

This is not a flame of any sort, so don't go taking anything mentioned in this post as such. Its my personal approach to the game.

 

[Hatt]

OMFG LOOOOOOOOL! GOOOOOOOOOOOD LUCK!

 

[Cowled]

Originally posted by khazik
My spec stands as stated I don't intend on relying on RR for bonuses or too many items for bonuses (spec bonuses that is). I play for fun and don't disect a character for optimal performance.

I would be aiming to get resist items, const items, maybe some more dex/quick items.

So I build a foundation for my character and work around what I get I would have bow high for decent low end dmg.

Also, when the 8 character per server comes out, I'll be making a spear spec Hunter, see how much fun that would be. I enjoy trying to put a 'spin' on a character, it is afterall a game, hence fun.

This is not a flame of any sort, so don't go taking anything mentioned in this post as such. Its my personal approach to the game.

Gl mate..

And ignore Hatt, you don't need to be 100% optimal, if u play for fun .. (not likely hatt )

 

[old.Attle]

IMO hunters have 4 useless or semi useless skills.
First off, Bowskill. No additional "styles" after 27. Speccing over 39, will give you marginal improvements. But speccing high in bow is maybe the best option if you look at the alternatives.

Next: The feared hunter spear. At 39 we get the rear position 4 sec stun style. It sucks, compared to what other classes get at 39. But speccing to 39 is worth the points imo. You might even want to go as high as 44, to get the nice chain style for Razors edge.

Stealth: This used to be a good skill, untill see hidden. Now I wouldn't spec more then 25-30 in it. With some nice items and a few RR you should be alright, until you meet a NS or Infil with see hidden.

Beast craft: I see that some ppl are taking their BC as high as 43. Why? A mid-30 shaman can give better buffs or you can get the "buffspear" from DF. Then we have our not so useful pets. Sure they are nice sometimes, but 90% they are useless. Then we have our speedshout, that breaks on almost every thing. Buffs can be nice if you don't have any friends or your own personal buffslave.

So as a hunter we have 4 not so useful skills. You could raise spear or bow to 50 just to use up all your points, or even go 5 spec (speccing in both spear and sword^^). But hunters need their skills to be more useful or atleast worth speccing over 39.

I'm not going to use my respec until they "fix" hunters, atm I'm on the "classic" 39 Bow, Spear, Stealth and 35 BC. It works ok for me.

 

[Khazik]

I don't have a buffbot, nor do I intend on making one. I enjoy both soloing RvR (picking off reinforcements or hunting xp spots) and grouping. My self buffs do me very nicely, and that frees up a few more conc points for tanks to use. I don't intend on getting into melee very often, if I did, I would have made a melee based class. IMHO Hunters are not primarily melee based, they are range based.

Soloing; I find myself getting into melee maybe once out of 10 encounters, also in good groups (Guild groups, as we know how each other work) I find myself using my bow to take out casters and my pet interrupts mezz casters nicely. I find pets tend to be good at stopping a caster from using their 'speed spells' or from casting, they arent for dmg, but distraction purposes imo.

I generally use my speed buff to catch up with run away targets to finished them off (if I was at extreme range when I started my onslaught).

With my current spec in bow I am finding it fairly easy to take down red casters and below, while having a blast at the same time

So with points left over I thought I would put more into spear to make myself more dangerous, also would be nice to suprise an infil with a 200+ dmg poke if he/she happened to think me easy prey. Undoubtedly I would die more often than not versus an assasin class, but would be nice to make them sweat it a little.

 

[Hatt]

Bah cowled, you are so nice
Well to the guy who owns this topic.. if you want a melee stealther class make a Shadowblade or change realm to albion.
Hunter's are baaaad tanks.. spear does crap dmg.. bow = double dmg, faster attack speed etc. Spear is crap if you just go after dmg. Beastcraft .. 50? Usefull.. you need like 32 to get all the nice stuff you need.