Feral hunter vs hunter


Advice

Scarab Sages

So feral hunter can have an animal aspect all day and switch as needed, the regular hunter can use it minutes per level but if the companion is "dead" he can apply the aspect he would use on his animal on himself (which doesn't have a limit). What am I missing? Isn't it better to have the regular hunter and have an aspect all day and an extra one you can add in emergency or when needed?

Liberty's Edge

It really depends on how you wanna play. Some people like the idea of the Hunter but doesnt want the hassle of an animal companion.


I think the feral hunter can keep switching whereas the regular hunter is stuck?

Shadow Lodge

Cirocco wrote:
So feral hunter can have an animal aspect all day and switch as needed, the regular hunter can use it minutes per level but if the companion is "dead" he can apply the aspect he would use on his animal on himself (which doesn't have a limit). What am I missing? Isn't it better to have the regular hunter and have an aspect all day and an extra one you can add in emergency or when needed?

I've looked at Hunter as a one-level dip class and concluded the 'normal hunter with a dead pet' was a slightly better option than 'Feral Hunter' because the 'dead pet' rule still allows you to use your 'normal' buff for 1m/lvl as well as the 'constant' pet buff.

I think the key difference is the other features the archetype offers:

  • Precise Summoned Animal - grants your teamwork feats to summoned animals
  • Wild Shape - Always fun, though I don't think it stacks with the Animal Focus abilities because they are both polymorph effects...
  • Summon Pack - More Animals, More Fun...

If you are doing more than dipping and don't want a pet, the archetype is probably a better deal. On the whole, however, I think Feral Hunter probably comes up a bit weak in the power department:
  • Stat Buffs don't really make up for the 3/4 BAB and d8 HP if you want to be a front-liner
  • Buffing Summon Nature's Ally doesn't seem like it would work that well with the 'six level spell progression' the Hunter gets.


The physical changes from Feral Focus are polymorph effects, but the actual mechanical bonuses aren't, so it stacks fine with wildshape.

If it was up to me as GM (which it isn't, this being for PFS), Hunter with a permanently dead pet would be losing their powers due to obviously not having "forged a close bond" with their companion (I'm not mentioning the cheesiness)

Shadow Lodge

Andy Brown wrote:

The physical changes from Feral Focus are polymorph effects, but the actual mechanical bonuses aren't, so it stacks fine with wildshape.

If it was up to me as GM (which it isn't, this being for PFS), Hunter with a permanently dead pet would be losing their powers due to obviously not having "forged a close bond" with their companion (I'm not mentioning the cheesiness)

Ah, you are mostly right about Feral Focus:
Feral Focus wrote:
This physical change is a polymorph effect, though the effects of the animal focus are not.

So, you can keep the specific benefits of the Focus while Wild shaped, but not the 'cosmetic aspects of an animal.'

Honestly, as someone who has lost pets in real life, it's much 'cheesier' if you turn around and replace your 'Close Bond' the next day with a new pet.

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