So of late I have been receiving many PM's asking me about hunting advice, thus I decided to post this. DO NOTE THIS IS MY OPINION THAT I SHARE, IT IS OFFERED AS ADVICE AND RESULT MAY DIFFER. I do not consider myself and expert, just someone who has the time and attitude to share information. (PS: your mentor / soc should teach you most of this) To start: We all differ in the availability of factors that influence our gaming experience in the game, these factors may include (but not be limited to): Time, Financial funds, Knowledge, Experience and Expectations. It is important to understand what it is that you want from the game and what your limitations are, before you plan what you want to achieve in the game and to strike a balance between your goals and the associated risks vs reward. So you have decided to be hunter and currently your goal may be to kill a Gallard and then go on holiday with the massive amount of loot you think you will receive. (after all other people's success keeps flashing up on the screen, and surely it is just a matter of time before it is your turn ?) The reality is not so simple. Hunting: For the sake of argument I am going to assume that you are in it for the long run and the future development of your avatar. Your intent should be along the lines of; To kill as cheap as possible and loot as much as possible, with the least amount of decay (incl armour & healing). In game this is refereed to as being economical, and A LOT of money is spent to achieve this at the mid to end game level. If you have just started this would not affect you as much, because you are limited to what you can kill and what is available to you to use (because of your limited skill). Using the right weapon: To keep it simple, always use a weapon that you have maxed out (maxed out means that your skill to use the weapon is superior to that which is actually required to use the weapon, and your damage / hit output skill / ability is to the maximum for that weapon i.e. you hit harder, crit more and miss less, be dodged by mob less) for Example: Note that: Profession requirement states a required level, consider this more of a guide level or minimum to use, it is more important to pay attention to: Skill progress should always be 100% NOT below. Skill Increase Bonus (SIB) Learning period damage and Learning period hit will state 1 of 3 things: Never - Do NOT use this weapon you will waste money for many reasons.(more than likely this is a level 100 weapon, even though it states level to use 0) Yes - This means that you are getting additional skill whilst using the equipment, what it does not tell you is that this comes at a price, your output is not maximized and there is an increased chance to miss or be dodged. (You are wasting ammo, but you are being compensated with extra skill), your choice if you want to use this or not, unless this is a TT weapon, which means you more than likely just started and its the smallest bit of equipment available, bite the bullet and carry on, you will get there. Not Anymore - This is the one you want. (The same principles for using maxed out equipment apply to ALL equipment in the game.) OK, so now that you have a weapon selected, lets find a target. On to Part 2: Selecting the right Mob
There's been one item I've ever tried to use in game that actually did have a 'required' level... the level 3 wood gathering tool (can't remember it's name right off hand)... below the 'required level' in skill and YOU CANNOT USE THE ITEM AT ALL. Not sure there' s any actual required levels for weapons like that, but suspect there may be some in game somewhere?
