In PSO2: NGS, one of the classes that you can be is the Hunter, and they have a unique skill tree, however, you do not need all of the skills to be successful.
You are invited to join the Artificial Relict to Keep Species (ARKS) organisation in this thrilling video game, Phantasy Star Online 2: New Genesis (PSO2: NGS).
NGS is part of the well renowned series, Phantasy Star Online, which means that you are likely to experience similar features. However, since NGS was released a decade after its predecessor, players can enjoy updated graphics.
Before you can explore the vast open world of Halpha, you will get the opportunity to create and customise a character. You can select your character’s race, gender, body type, height, hair colour, and hairstyle.
The most important decision that you have to make during this phase is your character’s class. One of the classes that you can be is the Hunter, and they have a unique skill tree.
Hunter
The Hunter is geared towards close-range combat, which means that they excel at engaging enemies in close quarters. Since they have extremely high health points and defence statistics, they are exceptional standalone fighters.
Just like other classes, Hunters only have access to specific weapons, namely swords, wired lances, and partisans. Swords are mostly used for heavy melee strikes, but they lack speed. However, they make up for the lack of speed in raw damage.
The wired lances are capable of striking targets far and wide, at the cost of raw damage. On the other hand, partisans have multiple heavy attacks with long motions and limited cancelling in between.
PSO2 NGS: Hunter skill tree
in PSO2: NGS, the Hunter has several class-exclusive skills, so no other class can access these skills. Some active skills can be used in combat, while others are passive, which provides your character with several buffs and bonuses.
The Hunter has 2 main class skills, namely, Hunter Physique and War Cry, which is the primary aggro tool. This skill doubles the aggro drawn per attack when it is active, and it reduces damage taken while active by up to 70 percent.
However, this number depends on how many skill points are invested in it. You can either spend 1 point to get the 50 percent reduction or skip Volkraptor and put the second point into Hunter Physique.
It is advisable that you do not invest more than 2 points into this skill. The main purpose of War Cry is to have enemies face you, since this makes countering their attacks easier.
You can also invest 1 point into Flash Guard, which provides a 10 percent damage reduction with no drawbacks. However, every point invested into this skill only provides a 1 percent damage deduction, thus, it is not worth investing in.
To maximise your Hunter’s tank abilities, you should invest points into Iron Will. If you receive an incapacitating attack, and you have this skill active, your health points will only be reduced to 1, which gives you a chance to heal.
This allows you to deal damage to enemies for longer, instead of lying on the floor waiting to be revised. If you have more skill points to invest, you can unlock all the remaining, unmentioned skills. The order in which you unlock these skills is not important.
However, it is recommended that you prioritise quality of life skills, like Omnidirectional Guard, Sword Guard Counter, and Sword Attack Extra.
Which weapon should you use for the Hunter class?
As mentioned, the Hunter class can access 3 weapons, however, the sword is the best all-round weapon available. It is considered a jack of all trades melee weapon with which you can switch between defence and offense play styles.
Although it is a close-range weapon, its impressive damage-per-second and strong utility makes up for its lack of range.
A sword’s weapon ability is guard, which allows players to block and parry an enemy’s attack. After blocking an attack, you can jump towards the enemy and hit it with 2 hard tracks. Keep in mind that the skill is difficult to master, but it is considered the best weapon skill in the NGS.
Which Photon Art skills should you unlock?
The Hunter class has many decent Photon Arts, but you only need a few skills to deal high damage-per-second. When using a sword, you can unlock the Calibur Streak and the Twisting Zapper skills.
Twisting Zapper is a spiralling attack that is used as the sword’s primary engagement. Charging it up deals additional damage, but it is not necessary. The main purpose of this art is to lose the distance on an enemy.
Calibur Streak unleashed 3 powerful slashes for the price of 1, which is very Photon Points cost-efficient and can be used 3 to 4 consecutive times to deal a lot of damage.
Does the Hunter prefer multi-weapons?
The Hunter receives many benefits from the multi-weapon system. It is advisable that you use a sword and a wired lance combination, as the sword can parry and the wired lance can be used for mob farming.