The Hunter Subclasses provide you with a variety of ways to stun your enemies , deal high damage to a boss or major target and a class ability that serves as a get out of jail card for yourself and teammates if things are looking a little too dicey.
With so many options to choose from and ways to put a build together, it can be difficult to figure out what works for you.
Which is why in this article, we’ll rank the best hunter subclasses from good to best.
Without further ado, let's get into it.
5. Stasis (Revenant) Hunter
Stasis Hunter Subclass Menu Background
Revenant PvE Nuke Build, Skip to 1:50
Those that have been playing since the pre-stasis nerf will remember the dark days of the shatterdive meta. Trials of Osiris was like a virtual wild west.
Whilst the stasis subclass received a suite of nerfs, Revenant hunter is still viable for select activities.
One of the strong points to this super is the freezing ability of the melee. Shurikens that can slow and freeze enemies on impact. This is perfect for dealing with champions and enemies that are very aggressive.
Whilst this melee ability can ricochet off surfaces making it a very safe ability to cast. You can also gain one shuriken back from using your gamblers dodge near an enemy.
Speaking of Gamblers dodge, there is an aspect (winters shroud)which will enable you to freeze enemies upon casting your dodge, this also applies for marksman dodge as well.
This provides an already strong get out of jail free card the ability to slow overly aggressive enemies.
Stasis also offers a shatterdive, an ability to dive at speed to the ground which can shatter stasis crystals which can damage enemies when burst, freeze enemies upon impact and provide damage resistance in close proximity to them.
Finally the super which consists of two kamas being thrown, with the first one giving an aoe freeze effect and the second one spawning a tornado of freezing ice and howling wind which tracks enemies and deals damage over time.
Stasis Hunter Excels in :
- Survivability: The damage resistance provided by the crystals makes it perfect in moments where you feel like enemies are beginning to overwhelm you.
- Crowd Control: with the ability to slow/freeze enemies no matter the difficulty of content, especially champions, will never not be useful.
- Movement: Shatter Dive adds a new level of moment into the game, especially when it comes to PvP as being able to get to the ground quickly from mid air is a useful utility.
- Burst damage: Whilst hunters are known to be agile and lightweight. Revenant hunter is capable of significant amounts of burst damage using shatter drive on stasis crystals.
- Safe Subclass: A lot of the offensive abilities can be used at range plus the super which automatically tracks enemies and dodging which slows enemies, stasis is a very safe super in a lot of situations.
Use Stasis if:
- You want to play the slow game: Slowing then Freezing hordes of enemies is the perfect crowd control tool in PvE from mid game to end game.
- You don’t have many strong exotics: The good thing about Stasis is that you don’t need strong exotics to make the most out of this subclass, there aren't many exotics that make it stronger which means its a low cost build.
- You’re new to PvE: This subclass is a very forgiving one, simple gameplay loop, damage resistance and all abilities can be cast from a safe distance/behind cover. Perfect if you're dipping your toes in PvE for the first time.
4.Strand Hunter(Threadrunner)
Strand hunters main strength comes from the ability to ensnare multiple opponents with the aspect ensnaring slam.
This particular play style involves diving into groups of enemies which will then ensnare them, dangling them in the air.
You then defeat them by any means necessary whether it's with a grapple melee or a weapon directly paired with a syphon mod.
In the event that you’re playing difficult content in which diving into a group of enemies is not such a great idea. You can use a shackle grenade for a safer way to play.
It is important that you have the necessary mods to generate orbs of power on enemy defeat, this will give you woven mail, a damage resistant perk that allows for better survivability.
You can further increase your survivability by putting on recuperation for a small bump in health on orb pickup.
Strand Hunter Excels in:
- Crowd control: Being able to suspend enemies in the air pretty much on command is useful in ad heavy activities and champion based content.
- Orb generation: having the correct mods to generate orbs to defeat enemies is useful, but when you can suspend them all together in close proximity makes this even better.
- Synthesising well with itself: using thread of mind fragment will allow hunters to gain class ability energy which is used to snare enemies in the first place, this makes the gameplay loop seamless.
- Survivability: The ability to gain woven mail on orb pick up makes the strand hunter quite tanky since you’ll be generating so much.
- Dealing with Champions: Strand is a hard counter to unstoppable champions and can prevent barrier champions from deploying their barrier.
Use Strand Hunter If:
- In ad heavy content:When you’re playing content with numerous ads and champions, the ability to take away enemy movement and attack will always be appreciated.
- You want more breathing room in loadout: Having a subclass that can deal with 2 of three champions quite easily will create breathing room for a more customisable loadout.
- You want to play aggressively in PvE: If you enjoy leaping into the fray and weaving in and out of engagements at will then this is the subclass for you.
3.Void Hunter (Night Stalker)
Void Hunter Subclass Menu Background
The Greatest Void Hunter Build. Info at 0:24
Nightstalker is a great all round subclass which provides a ton of survivability, good damage output with the super and debuffing enemies.
It all starts with throwing a smoke bomb at an enemy, defeating that enemy will give you invisibility thanks to stylish executioner.
You can then move to that enemy's last position to retrieve the orb of power and void breach created due to having echo of harvest .
Devour is now granted due to picking them up with having echo of starvation on and this buff lasts ten seconds and refreshes once you defeat an enemy by any means.
All that needs to happen now is to defeat an enemy with a void grenade(vortex recommended) and you now have volatile rounds applied to your void weapon of choice.
You now have before you a borderline immortal debuffing machine. As long as you can defeat enemies whilst devour is active, you’ll replenish your health to 100% and if things are looking too dicey just remember defeating weakened targets will grant you invisibility.
Void Hunter Excels in:
- Debuffing enemies: the mix of volatile rounds and a super designed for weakening all enemies, perfect for dealing with majors and damage phases.
- Orb generation: On super cast, the more enemies tethered the more orbs you create which your teammates will be thankful for.
- Survivability: Invis, devour, smoke nades and overshields will make most content a breeze and harder content a little bit easier.
- Damage output: the alternate super moebius quiver is perfect for dealing quick, high damage to a boss that moves around a lot or has a short damage window.
- Ability spam: with the correct mods and aspects equipped, you’ll be looking at a subclass with very high ability uptime.
Use Void Hunter If:
- You’re in an activity with tough enemies: The weakening and debuffing effects of your abilities will help you chew through tanky enemies.
- You want better survivability: Hunters aren’t renowned for tankiness but this subclass will aid you in the way of that.
- You want a support role: Numerous orbs generated combined with a debuffing super makes this the perfect support subclass.
2.Solar Hunter(Gunslinger)
The Gunslinger subclass is all about the ignitions and making yourself and your fireteam radiant, all whilst boasting insane ability uptime and one of the best burst damage supers in the game.
The main gameplay loop is based around your throwing knives , Ember of torches will allow you to become radiant on throwing knife defeats, combined with the knock 'em down aspect which fully replenishes your melee energy whilst radiant.
This pairing in theory will allow you to have an unlimited supply of throwing knives(knife trick recommended).
You’ll then want the ember of empyrean on to extend the duration of restoration and radiant with solar weapon or ability final blows.
In the event of your melee ability being down, gamblers dodge will grant you full melee energy when dodging neat enemies( at quite a generous range).
On top of that, blade barrage is one of the strongest supers out there for burst damage, with season of the wish having artefact perks designed to boost the damage potential even further.
Wrap this all together and you have a subclass that breaks the rules of ability cooldowns and health regeneration.
Solar Hunter is also the best in pvp as well, boasting melee abilities that have 1 tap potential and a super that is a hard counter to bubble titans.
All in all, this subclass boasts strong abilities, strong neutral game and a fantastic gameplay loop.
Solar Hunter excels in:
- Burst Damage: Blade barrage and even golden gun are perfect for getting out bursts of damage in a short time span(although blade barrage is the preferred option in most cases).
- Ability uptime:you can have a melee ability up with zero down time without the use of armour mods or artefact perks.
- Ability Synergy: solar hunter really synergises well with itself, if you can get melee final blows you not only have your melee replenished but also your radiant and restoration buffs are extended.
- Healing: The solar subclass is probably the best for replenishing health from having a healing nade to restoration buffs that can be kept up as long as you keep defeating enemies.
- Weapon synergy: this subclass synergises well with solar weapons, especially those with the incandescent perk .
Use Solar Hunter if:
- You’re new to the game: the solar subclass is very strong regardless of whether you have exotics that make it stronger or not. a lot of the subclass strength is found internally.
- You want to get the most out of the season: a lot of the artefact perks will benefit you if you’re using the solar subclass.
- You want to lean into abilities more: If you’re the player that likes using character abilities more than weapons, the uptime potential of gunslinger will suit your playstyle well.
1.Arc Hunter/Arc Strider (Best)
It is insane that Arc Hunters (arc striders) went from arguably one of the worst subclasses in the game to the best in the game with its amazing add clear capability and crazy burst damage when using the gathering storm super.
The gameplay loop is predominantly melee based, between Titan Hunter and Warlock, arc striders have the easiest path to jolt enemies and become amplified.
It also boasts fantastic synergy with combination blow, lethal current and flow state which is lethal once it gets going.
It’s so strong that people have been able to speedrun grandmasters which is some of the hardest content in the game.
What makes it a cut above the rest is how strong the abilities are when facing a variety of enemies.
Gunslinger is fantastic for dealing with minor ads and boss damage but there's not much in the way of dealing with major opponents.
Sure, gunpowder gamble is like a pocket nuke but that is a very situational perk with not much utility when enemies are spread far apart.
Arc hunters kit has all of this and is further enhanced when using subclass specific exotic armour.
All while being able to provide health regen AND some damage resistance makes Arcstrider the tankiest subclass in the game with the best damage potential.
Arcstrider excels in:
- Add clear: Perhaps one of the best subclasses for jolting enemies, waves of enemies could run at you and they would be fried to a crisp with minimal effort once you melee them.
- Mobility: The bonus movement speed granted once amplified will make it easy to lock down multiple objectives within PvE.
- Crowd control: The ability to blind enemies, rendering them harmless for a moment will always be a bonus in any PvE activity.
- Survivability: You’ll gain a flat 25% damage resistance when close to enemies(3+). With a subclass that is melee centric, this’ll be handy when getting up close and personal.
- Burst Damage: Rivalled only by blade barrage, gathering storm is the perfect super for dealing boss damage quickly or your damage window is small.
Use Arc Hunter if:
- You want to solo hard content: As I mentioned before, people use this subclass to speedrun grandmasters. Some of the hardest content in the game and you’ll be able to breeze through it.
- You have liars handshake: If you have liars handshake lying around, put it on and prepare to be blown away. After all, who says no to more damage?
- You enjoy melee focused combat: If you like to imagine your character being out of ammo and options and resort to using your bare hands to fight your way out, this is the subclass to do it on.
