What proff you reckon is best for hunter??

[Cremaster]

Well, gimme your thoughts....

[Ceriad]

Well, gimme your thoughts....

Woodsman is an obvious one, tried it and I won't be picking it as I found farming pretty useless. Hunters get a couple of nice bows as hunter quests rewards which along with all the ordinary quest bows along the way should mean you hardly need to buy/craft a bow anyway.

Explorer is very tempting - theres lots of wood about and not many people after it, though I found I spent a lot of time killing mobs for leather. If you havent played beta this is a big plus point as killing all those wolves will stop you from running out of quests, if you have played beta its less important as youll have some idea where the quests are. Two gathering crafts is tough to level as you can only have one on the radar at a time. I liked Tailoring as a production craft and it means you can fill 6 slots yourself. Will probably do Explorer on my main alt. Nice money-making profession.

Tinker is the one I'm most likely going for. Cooking is a good thing for a hunter to have as downtime is an issue (If you're lazy in your approach like I am), it also has a lot of potential to be useful in the end-game. Prospecting is a bit tougher to level as there are fewer nodes and plenty of folk after them. I ended up deciding this was a plus point for me as I intend to level pretty quickly and dont want to be too diverted by gathering, though I am into crafting. Jeweller is nice as a production craft so I'm happy with the combo.

Yeoman - Again this one has farming so I ruled it out.

Armsman - Wood has proved to be pretty expensive in beta so having Woodworker and needing to purchase all the mats sounds like hard work.

Armourer - 2 production crafts - hard work again but could be fun, havent tried it yet but worthy of consideration

Historian - Has farming which put me off, the scholar bit could be fun but sounds painful work to level. Also has a production craft and no gathering ability.

[Inxx]

Yes indeed, explorer looks like a nice job for starters to make some money.

Woodsman sounds like the right thing for hunters, but farming ?
I tried it out in beta and it was very boring (well for me).
On the other side you dont have to train in it, just keep it aside for later use if you are bored with questing :)


Tinkering is very nice.
Food and Jewelery will be in demand for sure, plus you can mine your own stone.

Armor + Weaponsmith, not really worth it for a hunter.
Most enemies should be half dead when they are in melee range :P
And as said before, bows come from woodsman not weaponsmith.

I will go woodsman , crafting bows is a good thing (also see the Bow List post to compare crafted/quested bows).

[litharan]

im going for woodsman also because it seems like the right proffesion for a hunter :)

[Ceriad]

(also see the Bow List post to compare crafted/quested bows).

Here are the high end bows from the excellent list linked in the bow thread at http://http://forums.lotro.com/showthread.php?t=32614. I cant see which of crafted v quested v dropped is the winner, I guess itll be the extra effects that decide which is best. Experience from other games makes me think we need a crossbow list too, as the huge single shot damage can usually be put to horrible effect in the right combinations

Crafted
Fortified Black Ash Bow
Stats: 29.6 dps, 58-84 fire damage, +1 crit chance to auto attacks, Demoralize
Materials: 13 Treated Black Ash, 1 Ancient Iron Ingot
Trophy: Lethal Sharp Dread Turtle Webbed Claw, Drops off turtles in the Malenhad Swamp.

Carved Black Ash Bow One use recipe
Stats: 28 dps, 55-79 light, 3% Ranged Vulnerability, Reduces threat, 9 common every 5 seconds
Materials: 15 Treated Black Ash, 1 Ancient Iron Ingot
Trophy: Hoartusk’s Horn, Drops off Hoartusk a master elite mammoth who wanders the giant halls of the Misty Mountains.

Ornate Black Ash Bow One use recipe critical success
Stats: 29.6 dps, 54-77 light, 3% Ranged Vulnerability, Reduces threat, 12 common every 5 seconds
Materials: 15 Treated Black Ash, 1 Ancient Iron Ingot
Trophy: Hoartusk’s Horn, Drops off Hoartusk a master elite mammoth who wanders the giant halls of the Misty Mountains.

Quest
Level 50: Queen of the Host
Lunathron’s Bow
Stats: 28.6 dps, 52-74 Westernesse-make, 1.3% Induction, Slightly reduces threat, Demoralize

Level 50: The Champion of Minas Angos
Victory at Minas Angos Crossbow
Stats: 28.6 dps, 71-112 Westernesse-make, Slightly reduces threat, Slightly reduces threat, Weaken

Level 50: Ending Terror
Donaith’s Bow
Stats: 29.1 dps, 58-82 Beleriand-make, Reduces threat, 2.5% Induction

Level 50: Implements of the Hunt
Bow of the Hunt
Stats: 28.4 dps, 56-80 Westerness-make, 4.5% Induction, Slightly reduces threat, 13 common damage every 5 seconds

Drop

Level 50: Flightsong
Stats: 29.7 dps, 59-84 Beleriand-make, 14 fate, Subtracts 80 from Armour Value
Location: Urugarth, first elite master goblin

[SquarePusher]

I've decided to go for Historian so I can make my own traps & oils. I'll also be able to make potions & dyes for cash.

I tried Woodworker in beta but I always seemed to be one step behind my adventuring. This meant I always seemed to have a better quest bow than one I could make.

I'm never very good at crafting so I'll leave the hard stuff to the experts :)

[Kheld]

I got to mastery of Tier 4 in Woodworking, in 40 character lvls I rarely had to use a crafted bow.

Quest rewards were always better - even some drops were better.

The nicer bows you can make need ingrediants (rare or v rare), and the recipes were 1 use only.

Woodworking just isnt working atm, though I wish it would! (pardon the pun).

[Cremaster]

thanks for the inputs folks :)

[Phero77]

Hi

Havent tried beta, so dont have a clue what waits me..but im almost 80% sure i will pick a hunter so what im wanna ask is, is the hunter Lothro compareable to the hunter in wow, with run slow enemy etc..?

[Hejjin]

Hi

Havent tried beta, so dont have a clue what waits me..but im almost 80% sure i will pick a hunter so what im wanna ask is, is the hunter Lothro compareable to the hunter in wow, with run slow enemy etc..?

The hunter in LotRO is vastly different from the hunter in WoW, obviously there is no pet to take into consideration, the LotRO hunter seems less fluid & more static than its WoW counterpart.

Yes Hunters get a run speed buff (Find the Path) at lvl 14, which has a 15% increase to movement speeds...it also does not have the negatives associated with aspect of cheetah / pack that the wow hunter has to live with (it is not useable in combat).

Hunters do get a movement impairing shot (Barbed Shot), i think this was available at lvl 1...(can't remember). There is also a melee attack that decreases movement speed on multiple enemies that are in front of the Hunter.

My exposure to the LotRO Hunter was limited, so I cannot comment on what it is like at higher levels, but certainly at the lower levels it appears both viable and fun.

[Shariva]

Hi

Havent tried beta, so dont have a clue what waits me..but im almost 80% sure i will pick a hunter so what im wanna ask is, is the hunter Lothro compareable to the hunter in wow, with run slow enemy etc..?


I have played a hunter in beta up to level 20 or so. As far as comparing it to WoW, I cannot do that since I never felt the need to play WoW.

Hunters have the option to slow the enemy they are facing down with the barbed arrow shot. The barbed arrow shot is a slow building shot that can be interrupted when attacked, so better to use it as a first or maybe a second shot. I found that it slowed my enemy more often down after using the quick shot or fast bow shot. There is also a melee attack that slows your enemy down. It is a slash with one (or two) melee weapon(s) to the legs. And last but not least there are the traps you can lay. It makes your enemy immobilised where the trap is, so it works like kind of a root.

The hunter also deals a great deal of damage. This means that you might want to be careful when in a fellowship with a champion or guardian of the same level. Two good shots can pull the aggro towards you and then this mob will be focussing on you.

[Belechael]

Having played both a beta hunter up to 23 and a WoW hunter up to 30 I can assure you that even though similarities exist they are very different during play. They are both of course, range attackers, but this character is more similar to the Mage class in WoW.

First of all there is no pet to take into consideration, and the main thing is that our hunter has the ability to use his bow in close range. His melee skills and a trap are sufficient to deal with 2 mobs at at time, usually even one mob up to 4 levels higher than your char.

As far as the professions go, well... I'm all for RP, but I have to agree with the previous posters that the crafted bows are most of the time inferior to the ones you get from the quests or drops. You could of course invest in the long run, as Ceriad wrote, for the end game bows, but in the mean time you just won't get the satisfaction of crafting something better than the ones you already have.

The only solution that I could come up with is to play very slowly, concentrate on hunting and fulfilling accomplishments which will not level you up, but that may not be for everyone.

[Ceriad]

Having played both a beta hunter up to 23 and a WoW hunter up to 30 I can assure you that even though similarities exist they are very different during play. They are both of course, range attackers, but this character is more similar to the Mage class in WoW.

Very much agree with this, played Hunter in WoW to 60 and 34 in LOTRO beta, and Mage in WoW to 45 and Lore Master in LOTRO to 24. I found LOTRO LM and WOW Hunter more similar, and WoW Mage and LOTRO Hunter similar.

I'm not a big fan of pets so for me the LOTRO Hunter is better, its basically big, nasty ranged dps that can be used at point blank range too, with superb tracking skills (once you get the advanced tracking trait), and enough melee abilities to get you out of trouble on occasion.

The only solution that I could come up with is to play very slowly, concentrate on hunting and fulfilling accomplishments which will not level you up, but that may not be for everyone.

Level the traits - very important with all classes - unlike WoW where your talents are unlocked with level, you have to earn them in LOTRO as its only the slots that unlock, so if you ignore the traits you have a pile of empty trait (talent) slots. Some of them are earned by killing 150 spiders in a zone etc, I would approach this tactically. Wait until you are a level above the mobs you need for a trait (As you may have killed quite a few in quests by then) and get a group together and zerg the rest. Not exactly great gameplay, but a lot less painful than staying in the same area for 2 days on your own.

[Socrath]

so is woodsman the best for a Hunter or explorer :S ?

[habanaman]

so is woodsman the best for a Hunter or explorer :S ?
Since there is no explorer class, I assume you're asking if you should choose woodsman or explorer for your hunter. The census suggests that it depends on how fast you wish to level your character. If you haven't got the patience for what seems like quite an involved, but slow, laborious crafting system then go explorer. that way you can level your actual character as well as his crafting skills more freely.
If however, you like to absorb youself in a craft, taking your time progressing through the game, and don't mind being penniless, then Woodsman would be an excellent choice.
Personally, I'm currently a woodsman and I'm dropping it in favour of explorer.
After having had high level crafters in several games, I really can't be bothered with it at the moment. I may drop explorer and take woodsman up again once I'm wealthier and loftier, to get the high level bows. But at the moment I'm keen to advance and woodsman is holding me back.

[Socrath]

what special things can you do with explorer? :S

[Belechael]

Do not, I repeat, do not chose Woodsman as your vocation. It is a money sink and some simple mathematics are enough to convince you.

I am a Woodsman myself, and I will stick to it purely for roleplaying reasons, but that's just it.

If you want to make your life easier pick Explorer. Sell everything you make/collect and be done with it.

Unless of course you are a masochist like me :)

[Dwindle]

my hunters a tinker which is perfect imo, speed buff for quicker ore farming which feeds both prospecting and jewelry. also at lvl 22 hunters get the campfire skill which is an esential part of lvling your cooking skill :)

[Belechael]

my hunters a tinker which is perfect imo, speed buff for quicker ore farming which feeds both prospecting and jewelry. also at lvl 22 hunters get the campfire skill which is an esential part of lvling your cooking skill :)

Another excellent choice. Especially if I remember correctly and the Tinker is the only one who can polish opals for late game crafting.

[Acetaminophen]

Hi

Havent tried beta, so dont have a clue what waits me..but im almost 80% sure i will pick a hunter so what im wanna ask is, is the hunter Lothro compareable to the hunter in wow, with run slow enemy etc..?
I haven't read the other answers, but as a loyal hunter player, who played hunter-like classes in loads of MMOs, I want to say something.

First things first, Lotro Hunter relies on bows more then WoW hunter does, but still Lotro Hunter has a (significantly) better melee damage. Although melee is almost never preferred in each Hunters, I would say a Lotro Hunter can kill a WoW hunter in a melee fighter.

Secondly, Lotro Hunters lack any sort of pets (as far as I know, they might've changed in the last patch, I didn't get it), but their traps act as one. As a WoW Hunter, your common tactic would be to send your pet, wait for him to get aggro, then attack. A Lotro Hunter sets his trap, pulls his enemy and attacks him because Lotro Traps hold people in their place insted of making damage.

Finally, Lotro Hunters have a focus system that kinda is like the Rage system of WoW warriors. But instead of normal attacks raising the Focus, some special attacks do. And some (more) special attacks consume it. Lotro Hunters, with a fair build, rely little on mana, but WoW hunters depend on mana greatly. Also Lotro Hunters wear medium armor (which is the equivalent of mail armor I think) very soon. Which helps the aforementioned melee superiority of Lotro Hunters.

Glad if I helped.