Hunter for Solo Play?

[acko]

Hi,

I wondered what peoples opinions are on Hunter being good for Solo Play as I am a casual player generally and dont have time to do many big group hunts due to kids:)

I really want to play Hunter at start but my first 10 levels on Beta seemed difficult compared to the other classes I played to first 10 levels. I found it difficult in the caves with the spiders, as soon as 2 came at me I seemed in trouble where as other classes I could kill 2 easy.

Please give me your advice on hunter as a solo class and does it get better at a higher level.

Thxs in advance

[Kheld]

The Hunter is great for solo play - when you pick & choose your fights.

But as you discovered, multiple mobs are a Hunters nightmare, as Bowshots are interuptable & we have paper armour.

Dungeons are bad for ranged classes, and have been in all MMORPGS ive played.

As a ranged char you need distance, and you must pick your fights.

It doesnt really get better at high levels, as even though Hunters get medium armour, the mobs start getting tougher in certain situations such as Instances(lots of Elites).

Hunter is a fun class though, and arguably as good as a champion for soloing.

[Grimdog]

someone told me that elfs are better for groups. and men and hobbits better for solo

[chabio]

I'm also thinking along the lines of soloing my Hunter and maybe using a different class for groups.
Since I'm opting for an elf, this will make me very weak in morale and a great target for monster crews (since they know we will die more easily) and multiple mobs, due to our taunting.
Reading elsewhere in the forums and Lotro notes, it seems to me, I will have to rely on traps and distance to save embarrassment. Can anyone confirm what crafting profession I would need to make traps/oils etc. Is it Armsman (weaponsmith), Historian or neither? I will be playing a confused elf ingame but out of game, I need clarity.

[Bado]

I think the Hunter is perfectly adept at soloing.
Firstly ranged combat, so you can squeeze a few hp out before they even get close.
Trap hold them and loose a few more arrows and then if they do manage to get close a more than capable swordsperson.

As a lot of the Q's that I have seen have been outdoors then there is a real advantage to ranged weapons.
My Elf had no problem as a hunter she often killed mobs before they had got a second hit in.

[CasperA]

I think the Hunter is perfectly adept at soloing.
Firstly ranged combat, so you can squeeze a few hp out before they even get close.
Trap hold them and loose a few more arrows and then if they do manage to get close a more than capable swordsperson.

As a lot of the Q's that I have seen have been outdoors then there is a real advantage to ranged weapons.
My Elf had no problem as a hunter she often killed mobs before they had got a second hit in.

I second that. The hunter is very very playable solo.

I solo'ed an elven hunter to lvl.31, and only getting help with the epic fellowship quests that I HAD to take. All solo quests I managed without problems - and there are plenty of solo quests out there :)

Incredible ranged damage - possibly with additional fire damage - combined with traps, made shure that most mobs at my lvl and beneath dropped before they reached me. Higher level mobs was severely damaged when they got to me, and a combo of high damage attacks later not many are standing.

But, as has been mentioned before, the hunter is weak when cornered by multiple mobs. So running away, and re-attacking is part of the hunters path :)

"He who runs away today, lives to run away an other day"

But all in all, great class to solo! Not good if you are looking for fellowship play - because there are so many of them around ;)

Regards Casper aka Leaphor the hunter.

[Zarrkoff]

If you are going to fight more than 1 enemy then it helps if you can prepare. Set your trap, go to the maximum distance and make sure you target a ranged enemy. That way the melee mob will get stuck in your trap and won't be able to harm you. Kill the archer first then go to maximum distance again before targetting the trapped mob. If you have 3 mobs, two of which are melee, kill the untrapped melee first, then the archer.

It helps when you get focus and precision shot skills, then you can do a lot more damage with your first shots. I always hit with a barbed arrow first, followed by precision shot then swift shot, as these take the longest to execute. By that time the enemy is half dead and you can finish him off with melee skills.

Of course, sometimes you get ambushed and traps fail. As Casper says, thats the time to run!

[Ezrond]

I have been playing a hunter for a while, and like others said, most missions are possible solo.

As a matter of fact, some of the ranged skills are so strong i wouldn't be surprised if they nerfed them a little (that would be bad, but it wouldn't surprise me).

[iBilly]

Read the bottom of my sig...

Only time I ever group up is when I'm forced to for the epic quests.

I'm getting better and better at controlling any PvE situation that I come to face in Ered Luin.

Bree next.

[chabio]

I'm getting to grips with the Hunter now, learning similiar tactics to what Zark mentioned. I also have gone explorer, as I do a lot of "exploring" and found the money is better in the long run. Traps and oils can always be bought after all.

Enjoying the hunt very much..just squirmed at the mention of "nerf" remembering the old Daoc days.

[Wilbor]

Ehem i whant to say first shoot have to be quick shoot and only when barbel shoot corse after you get stance you can slow enemy whith quick shoot for 40% whats more when need to kill it befor he reach you

[Shariva]

Personally I use, on normal mobs, swift bow first, followed with barbed arrow and conclude it with penetating shot. After these three the health of the mob will be so far down I can easily finish it off with one of the melee attacks a hunter has.

For elite mobs I usually first set a trap, then use focus. When focus completed I start off with swift bow followed by penetrating shot and concluded with barbed arrow. By the time barbed arrow is done I can use penetrating shot again. By then the mob is up to melee range so I throw in one or two melee attacks. If the mob is not dead yet, I use quick shot followed by a last penetrating shot. Sure they hit me a few times, but somehow I always seem to manage to gain more then it costs me.

As for attacking multiple mobs, I have only one advice: Traps. You can set them for a reason and don't shoot the trapped enemy. Zarkoff was right in his explenation regarding this. :)

[Franriel]

Why would you want to solo, grouping with people is great, in-built mic's ftw.

[CloakVai]

lol, because everytime I group the Dorf guardian runs off in random direction chassing ore nodes. hehehe

[Instakiller]

Hunters are great for soloing but cant be missed out on in dungeons they can come in handy verry often

as we hunters have a nice dps and nuke dmg not even to mention our traps and other abilyties we will help our fellowship kill elite mobs more faster

you'll see hunters will be popular in dungeon groups and raids

All i can say is HUNERS FTW!

[Crazalus]

The first 10 levels for hunters can be a problem... the armour is close to useless and confined areas are trouble, as are multiple opponents.

However... at lvl 10, you can train the medium armour trait. From that point, the armour is a lot better. Also at lvl 10, the Gather Focus trait can be trained, along with Piercing Shot... both of those can turn a confined area from a death-trap into something you can survive with little effort.


I must admit, however... I had two Hunters during Beta, and both of them had problems all the time. More than one opponent and I was dinner. This time, I've gained the experience to know how a Hunter performs... and that is making all the difference.

[RingMaster]

I have tried all but the healer class and i must say despite everyone saying all classes are solo'able, they ain't.

But i guess they ain't to my style of play, maybe someone that loves ranged combat will do MUCH better then me, but in the end, the Hunter class role is 'Nuker' which i guess is like DPS, but i get more damage from a Guardian.

Anyway, everyone has different tastes of gameplay, some may find Melee fighting more easier then Ranged, or prefer magic over the others.

I don't mean smacking a bow on a Guardian and shooting, i mean doing hunter for ranged and guardian/captain/champion for melee.

I personally find Melee much more easier to do, but i have yet to survive to level 10 without falling, just do not understand it. :/

It seems as soon as you reach level 8, all the Mobs stats shoot up over the roof, which i honestly don't agree with, but hey, what do i know?

[Zarrkoff]

I have tried all but the healer class and i must say despite everyone saying all classes are solo'able, they ain't.


My hunter is now lvl20 and apart from 3 fellowship quests, Ive solo'd all the way, and haven't died yet. I guess you just have to think like a hunter and carefully plan your attacks using ALL of your abilities.

[iBilly]

Being a Hunter requires more skill than classes like Champion/Guardian solo, not for the faint hearted.

[Shariva]

Being a Hunter requires more skill than classes like Champion/Guardian solo, not for the faint hearted.

True, true, as a hunter you just don't want to rush into a mob and start fighting like a champion, guardian or captain. This means we have to prepare for battle. It also happens that when you as a hunter are preparing for battle, some champion or guardian or captain comes running in and starts beating the mob you wanted to attack. All preperation for nothing and the process can start again for a new mob.

[Acetaminophen]

Hunters are very weak against multiple opponents, but against a single opponent, we wreak havoc.

In my time at the game I found it rather hard to kill elite mobs, however signature mobs that are 2 levels beneath me were easy targets. So, yes, it can be said hunters can be lone-wolves if wanted, but I think they are more fun to play with a group.

And also I would like to note that this is the only game where group-playing with a hunter is more fun than soloing, none of the other games I played (always a hunter, yessir) were like that.