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If you lose the mount you also get the consolation prize of an additional hunter's focus. Still not nearly as good, but definitely helpful in a pinch.
Just for the sake of being able to get greater longstrider on your wasp, consider keeping Share Spells.
I've only played maybe one PFS scenarios that has had a combat where charging 120 ft via flying would not have been able to get me into range of the bad guy. You're asking him to give up an entirely useful archetype for something he won't get until he's 10th lvl that probably won't benefit him that much (120 fly vs 140--120 is already plenty).
Greater Longstrider is a 3rd level spell that he won't get until 10th level (and that's if he stays hunter only) that only grants a 10' bonus to fly speed to an already really good fly speed of 60'.
I don't know what chart I was looking at but it definitely wasn't the hunter chart.. It just dawned on me that hunters get their third level spells at seventh level. The above argument is still pretty valid, though.
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Don't hunterSNA spells extend when the AC is dead. If so with a good ride and HA you could summon a mount since you only really need a med mount.
This is another good point, just because you don't have a "mount" spell doesn't mean you can't summon something with SNA. However, I don't think you can ride bareback in PFS (I could be wrong about this, I don't really know how saddles work and there's confusion about them in the big animal-guide-thread), so it works better in theory than practicality. Also, just because you're riding your summon doesn't mean you'll get to share your teamwork feats with it.
If you're using a reach weapon, watch out for the teamwork feats that require specific positioning in regards to the enemy (e.g., both you and your mount need to be flanking, threatening, adjacent to the enemy, etc.).
If you have reach and your mount doesn't, you will almost never be both adjacent to the bad guy at the same time.
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Yeah, hunters get third level spells at level 7. We're also talking sharing buffs like freedom of movement, barkskin, cloak of winds, aspect of the wolf, echolocation, resinous skin, etc.
Fickle winds + resinous skin would give you DR 5/piercing and immunity to ranged attacks. Giving the same DR to your mount? I think it's worth having the wasp just spend one of its own feats on Bodyguard.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Okay, trying to put together a possible build here...
This version is focused on staying pure Hunter so as not to lose out on casting and class features.
Human (Eye for Talent)
STR 17 (15+2)
DEX 14
CON 14
INT 10
WIS 13
CHA 10
Hunter1: Undersize Mount
Hunter2
Hunter3: Mounted Combat, Escape Route
Hunter4: +1 STR
Hunter5: Ride By Attack
Hunter6: Improved Spell Sharing
Hunter7: Spirited Charge
Hunter8
Hunter9: Power Attack, Lookout
Hunter10
Hunter11: Um... some other feat? Doesn't matter much at that point...
Okay, that doesn't actually look too bad... No PA until 9th, but the lancing should help, right?
Alternatively:
Here's the fighter-dip version (same stats, making sure to take Magical Knack for one of my traits):
Hunter1: Undersize Mount
Hunter2
Fighter1: Boon Companion, Mounted Combat
Fighter2: Ride By Attack
Hunter3: Spirited Charge, Escape Route
Hunter4
Hunter5: Power Attack
Hunter6: Improved Spell Sharing
Hunter7: Lookout
Hunter8
Hunter9: ????????
Okay, so by comparison, with this method I get PA and Spirited Charge 2 levels earlier, but get delayed in my spellcasting by two levels (so I get 2nd-level spells at 6th, 3rd at 9th, and never quite get 4th-level spells). Unfortunately I'm not familiar enough with the lists to know if that's a big deal or not.
Thoughts?
Pure Hunter as in no archetypes, so using a Roc or Dire Bat mount, or did you mean in regards to the Animal Companion?
Here's a worthwhile question for you: how much does it matter to you that the Animal Focus/Verminous Focus abilities scale up at level 8? At that level, you get 2 active full time on the mount and 2 at minutes/lvl and the bonuses virtually all double over their original incarnations.
If you go Fighter dip, it would seem to make sense that you use the Dragoon archetype, which gives you both Mounted Combat and Skill Focus: Ride in place of the normal bonus combat feat. The rest of the archetype is lance/mount focused anyway, so there's no real flavor loss to speak of. The only loss is Tower Shields, which are going to be too heavy for your mount anyway.
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RPG Superstar 2012 Top 32
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Pure Hunter as in no archetypes, so using a Roc or Dire Bat mount, or did you mean in regards to the Animal Companion?
I just meant not multiclassing, as opposed to the version where I dip Fighter for faster feat access.
Here's a worthwhile question for you: how much does it matter to you that the Animal Focus/Verminous Focus abilities scale up at level 8? At that level, you get 2 active full time on the mount and 2 at minutes/lvl and the bonuses virtually all double over their original incarnations.
That's a pretty good point...
Second level includes wind wall from the ranger list, along with barkskin and bull's strength. Third level has fickle winds from the ranger list, along with greater magic fang and greater longstrider. Fourth is freedom of movement and flame strike.
I've never seen wind wall used, except by a hilariously ineffectual BBEG. Once. Bull's strength is a nonbo due to being an enhancement bonus, same as my animal focus. But man, dat barkskin...
Third level's lookin' pretty juicy as well. I think I'm leaning toward monoclassed hunter at the moment.
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Ah, I forgot that bull's strength doesn't stack. Okay, what about versatile weapon? Castable on both weapons and natural attacks, and you can divide the duration between yourself and your mount if both of you need to get through that DR 10/silver. You even give yourself and Waspy an enhancement bonus for a few minutes.
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If you multiclass, Dragoon fighter archetype for those two levels will do you much better than just normal fighter (you get exactly what you picked but in addition also get Skill Focus (Ride)). However, you're going to lose too much progression with your hunter to do it. Losing the spell progression really hurts--but you can at least still count as a full level hunter for spells if you take the Magical Knack trait. Again, not what I would do, but if you dip two levels for fighter, I would do that after hunter 3 instead of just before so that you can get your teamwork sharing ability.
One thing that I absolutely love for my hunter is the one level dip in brawler (wild child). It doesn't stunt your animal companion at all and four times a day you can get any combat feat you want that you qualify for--if it's a teamwork feat you can share that with your pet! Which makes situational stuff even more awesome.
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Yeah, one or even two levels of brawler (wild child) are really awesome for a hunter. I think I prefer the advanced spellcasting, but getting free Two-Weapon Fighting and not having to worry about having a 13 Int for Combat Expertise and Pack Flanking are really awesome. Martial Versatility and Improved Unarmed Strike are icing on the cake.