Hunters are skillful at indirect combat. Their increased ASPD with bows helps makes them superior to Archers in ranged combat. They are also able to lay mines and traps on the ground to hinder or catch mobs. These traps will cause various status effects (Sandman inflicts the status sleep, for example) or cause elemental damage (i.e. Blast Mine, Land Mine) to a target.
Additionally, they have a powerful subcharacter, the Falcon. Falcons are highly effective at dealing consistent damage, as their damage ignores DEF. Falcons give Hunters the ability to deal damage to multiple monster at once, by gathering enemies together and employing the Falcon with the skill Blitz Beat. If Blitz Beat is not cast manually, however, the damage of Blitz Beat done to each target is divided by the number of targets it hits at that instance, thus making "auto-Blitz" an inefficient method of mobbing. Falcons also have the ability to reveal concealed enemies and destroy enemy traps.
Hunters were once considered overpowered in Ragnarok Online pre-Amatsu patch, while players were still getting the hang of 2-2 classes, since they were capable of MVPing and seemingly only needed two stats: AGI and DEX to be successful at MVP, PvP, and PvM aspects of the game. However, Hunters have their own weaknesses, namely the lack of VIT and STR, except in certain specialized builds.
These Hunters are powerful damage dealers, capable of dealing some of the highest amounts of Damage per Second in the game under the right conditions. They have little to no defense, however, so they're best used when in a party, shooting from behind. Great for MvPing bosses without high DEF. Some modifications of this build will take into account some INT and LUK for Falcon strikes. Recommended for those who do not wish to lay traps, or for those seeking a jack-of-all-trades build.
Falconer
STR: 1
AGI: 90-99 (Base)
VIT: 10-20
INT: 1-40
DEX: 60-80 (Base)
LUK: 40-60+
Relying on the use of the Falcon to attack, these types of hunters can conserve SP while dealing good damage with the Falcon. One of their other advantages is that Falcons ignore DEF, making them effective anti-tankers. They are slightly more difficult to level in the Archer stage due to their reduced DEX. Recommended for those who enjoy seeing their Falcon fly.
Built for the singular purpose of laying traps, this hunter is made to survive. If the Hunter does not have Enlarge Weight Limit (purchased from the Kafra Shop), they should invest in STR for carrying potions and traps. This build is the most difficult to level of all, namely because of the lack of AGI and DEX. These builds can be effective at mobbing using traps that deal more damage per enemies.
Stats
STR affects weigh limit, however it is no longer efficient to invest points in STR for this reason, due to the Kafra Shop making Enlarge Weight Limit available to all classes. It also adds to Beast Strafing damage, and in very small amounts, bow ATK. This is generally considered the least useful stat for hunters and is often left at 1.
AGI affects the speed at which they are able to attack and their flee rate. This stat is important for most hunters and is generally considered their second or first most useful stat.
VIT mainly affects how much HP hunters have and their resistance to Status Effects. WoE Hunters tend to get around 60 VIT.
INT affects how much SP hunters have, as well as the regen rate for SP. It also increases Falcon damage and the damage inflicted of damage traps.
DEX increases bow attack, hit rate, and in very small amounts, attack speed.
LUK increases a critical rate as well as how often a Hunter's Falcon is released (attacks) during normal attacks.
Equipment
Headgear
Cap [1] - A basic 4 def, and cheap too. It is usually easy to find an overupgraded cap to put a card in for defensive or offensive purposes. A good combo would be the +9 Maestro Cap, with +2 INT and +150 SP.
Apple of Archer - Not recommended in PVP/WoE environment, but for MVP and leveling to reach a new dex bonus AoA is very useful. With it's +3 DEX on headgear, this is a must-have for all Hunters, even if it is not part of their build to reach a new DEX bonus. You never know when you may have ot use a different Armor/Accesory combo and have to use the AoA to reach the next dex bonus.
Poo Hat or Beret - Self-explanatory. 10% less from demi humans. If you don't need an AoA for your dex, Poo Hat or Beret is great for PVP and WoE.
Feather Beret - 1 def, 1 mdef, and 10% less from demi humans. a great choice for PvP and WoE.
Ghost Bandana - Agi + 2.. like the AoA except it helps you reach a higher ASPD. Not as useful as a carat/wise for leveling but if you do prefer having extra ASPD as opposed to SP in MVP/Leveling situations then this is a fine headgear to use
Binoculars - 1 DEF and 1 DEX, not bad but slotted sunnies are almost always better, unless you need the binocs to hit your dex bonus.
Sunglasses [1] - Nightmare card, Willow Card, and Elder Willow card are all good for Hunters (depending on your build). Marduk card is good too if you don't wanna worry about carrying green pots around (Hunter weight limit sucks).
Footgear
Hunters can use boots. This is the highest DEF footgear and also does not weigh much, so it is usually a good idea to use slotted Boots for this part of your gear.
Matyr Card - 1 AGI and 10% more HP. A good basic gear to wear while leveling and in PVP/WoE.
Firelock Card - 10% HP/SP increase. Awesome card for everywhere. Make sure those boots are +9!
Male Thief Bug Card - +2 AGI. An oldschool card but still useful. Can help you hit that important ASPD bonus.
Crystal Pumps - Many Falcon-build hunters use Crystal Pumps to increase their LUK, for more Autoblitz chance and Crit.
Armor
Mink Coat [1] - 6 def, weighs 230. A simple basic gear, same DEF as tights except no DEX and it weighs A LOT. Try to avoid this if possible, only to be used really for cards such as Ghostring which you wouldn't want to waste in a pair of tights.
Tights [1] - The best armor for a Hunter. 50 Weight, 6 def, and +1 dex. Often helps you reach your DEX bonus, or will allow you to take those binocs off.
Coat [1] - Use this or a Mantle [1] for elemental armors. Switching through 6 pairs of tights is annoying.
Garment
Generally, Hunters will use a Muffler or if you have the funds, a Heavenly Maiden Robe for their Garment.
Whisper Card - Good for leveling. Hunters can reach a high amount of flee with all of their agi/flee increasing skills (Wind Walker, Falcon Eyes, Improve Concentration).
Dragontail Card - Probably the best choice for leveling and MVP, and even in PVP. Increases your Double Strafe Damage by 5%, also adds 10 flee and 1 AGI. The AGI may help you reach an ASPD bonus, and the flee always helps while leveling. An excellent card for those powerhouse builds that are all about dishing out loads of damage.
Raydric Card - Of course, the classic Immune Muffler should be a part of your gear, for every aspect of the game.
Shield
Hunters are limited to wearing guards. You cannot attack with a bow while your guard is equipped, because bows are two handed weapons. You can, however, do any Trap or Falcon skill (such as Blitz Beat or Detect) while wearing your guard. Basically only useful for Trapper/Falconer builds.
Accessory
Nimble Brooches and Gloves are the best accessories to use as a hunter. Usually, with 99 DEX, you can use two nimble brooches to reach 150 DEX on a Hunter. If you prefer to use 140 DEX while leveling, flash rosaries are a very good choice. Of course, if you can afford it (and it works in your build), Bow Thimble [1] may be a good choice.
Weapon
Composite Bow [4] - Every Hunter should use composite bows for dealing damage. 2x2x Race/Element is the best, of course.
Bow [4] - You usually use a Bow [4] to inflict status effects on your enemies. Status bows are amazing in PVP. Hunters have very high attack speed and also can cause status effects from a range, which is a huge advantage in many situations in WoE and PVP.
Burning/Earth/Frozen/Gust Bow [1]- a nice replacement for 2:2 composites[4], carded with correct elemental modifier card and arrow set and against correct element monsters.
Arrows
Arrows are VERY important to Hunters. The fact that a Hunter can use a carded weapon with an elemental arrow without having to trouble a Sage for an Endow is a huge advantage in every aspect of the game, especially leveling.
PVP/WoE - In PVP/WoE, it is best to carry Stone Arrows for the basic attacking arrow. These will destroy those wearing Zephyrus (Dokebi Card) armor to counter a Wizard's Jupitel Thunder, or any other Wind/Water type skill. It also bypasses the Immune (Raydric Carded garment) that your enemy may have equipped. Status arrows, such as Mute Arrows and Curse Arrows are not hard to collect. They can be used in combination with a status bow to completely disable your enemy. For example, against a Lord Knight using a Quadruple Cursing bow with Cursed Arrows will allow you to keep your distance. You can also mix it up. You can use a Quadruple Stun Bow with Mute arrows to ward off those pesky wizards. Remember, since all status arrows are Neutral element you may want to use Cursed Water to continue bypassing the Immune effect. In PVP, a ghostring armor is very powerful against melee classes. However, Hunters have a huge advantage against those who keep their ghostring equipped. Hunters can easily change their weapon's element to Ghost Property by equipping Immaterial Arrows. A Hunter should always be prepared to help their party out by taking out Ghostring wearers with Immaterial Arrows.
Leveling - Self explanatory. Carry arrows that are strong against the monsters you are fighting. Leveling with status bows is not suggested, as it would be quite expensive to get an endow slave and go back to storage to restock on arrows.
An advanced form of Double Strafing modified to do additional damage against brute or insect race monsters.
1
Offensive
Job Bonuses
Stat\Amount
+1
+2
+3
+4
+5
+6
+7
+8
+9
+10
STR
5
10
11
44
AGI
12
19
20
31
39
47
VIT
17
22
INT
2
34
41
46
DEX
1
4
8
14
21
27
33
38
43
49
LUK
7
15
29
42
ASPD
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