A Master Hunters Guide to Becoming a Master Hunter Table of contents 1. Introduction 2. General information 3. Levels 1 through 9 - the beginning 4. Levels 9 through 19 - the next step 5. Levels 19 through 27 - decision time 6. Levels 27 through 43 - you're getting there 7. Levels 43 through 53 - almost chin time 8. Levels 53 through 63 - big money in 3...2...1... 9. Levels 63 through 99 - cape time! 10. Clicking tricks, and other small things to speed you on your way note, the guide is long, so you can use ctrl + f to skip to the part of the guide you need. 1. Introduction Hunter is one of the most diverse skills in runescape. With so many things to hunt and so many different methods, this skill can be very confusing. There are net traps, pitfalls, bird snares, box traps, butterfly nets, deadfalls...the list goes on. This can be confusing to many people, so hopefully this guide will help you with the skill, whether you want a higher level, a new source of income, or even a new cape! I hope you enjoy reading this guide and learn something you can use to help you with your hunting. 2. General information First thing's first - the traps! Most traps are self-explanatory - bird snares catch birds and butterfly nets catch butterflies, but others aren't quite so obvious. This section will detail all the hunting methods and traps to give you a better understanding of how the skill works. Tracking: Tracking is done with a noose wand. You look in the animals burrow, then search the area for footprints until you finally find the poor creature. Bird Hunting: Bird hunting is done with a bird snare. You set the bird snare in an area with birds, and a bird will either land on the trap and get caught, activate the trap and fly away, or no birds will land on the trap and it will fall over. After one of these happens, you need to go dismantle the trap and reset it. Butterfly Hunting: Butterfly hunting is done with a butterfly net and butterfly jar. Simply wield the net and click on one of the butterflies you see flying around, and eventually you will catch it and put it in the jar. Deadfall Hunting: To use a deadfall, you use a knife and log to prop up a boulder, then walk away and a creature will get smashed by the boulder. You need 1 log per deadfall trap you use. if you do decide to deadfall hunt, it is a good idea to bring a hatchet to replenish your log supply. Rabbit Snaring: To catch a rabbit, you need a ferret (caught by box trapping) and a few rabbit snares. Set rabbit snares up in front of as many entrances to the rabbit warren as you can, then use a ferret on an opening without a trap blocking it. The ferret will chase the rabbit out of the warren, and it will run out of one entrance into another. Box Trapping: Box trapping is done with a box trap. This is one of the easiest and fastest hunter methods in the game, simply lay the trap, wait for the creature to walk into the trap, dismantle the trap, then lay it again. Pitfalll Traps: To create a pitfall trap, have a knife and logs in your inventory, then use them on one of the existing holes in the environment. Wield a teasing stick, poke one of the big beasts you plan on catching, then RUN! Lead it to your trap, jump over the trap yourself, and hope the big animal gets caught. Net Traps: Net traps are made using rope and a small fishing net. Click on a young tree to set the trap, then step back. The trap will either catch something, get sprung but not catch something, or dismantle itself. After one of those happens, dismantle the trap and set it again. Falconry: To take part in falconry, you must rent a falcon from the falconry area for 500 gp. Once you rent your falcon, click on one of the kebbits running around in the area to have your falcon catch it. Once your falcon catches it click on your falcon to retrieve it. Now, that's a lot of different ways to hunt. On the way to 99 you probably will not use them all. The fastest methods are bird snaring, box trapping, net trapping, and falconry, which is why most players use those methods to get to 99. You're probably wondering where to get all this different equipment to hunt with. After all, there's a lot of it. The answer: The hunter store. There is one located in Yanille and one in the desert. The Yanille store is more convenient, so I used it for the guide. You should buy 3-4 bird snares, around 10 box traps, a butterfly net, a couple of jars, and maybe even some rabbit snares. You'll need rope and small fishing nets too, but those aren't sold there. The next step to becoming a professional hunter is the outfit. You should wear camouflage based on which area you're in. If you're in the jungle or the woodlands, wear Larupia camo. If you're in the desert, where Graahk camo. If you're in the snow, wear Kyatt camo. To obtain this camouflage, either buy it from another player or hunt the creature needed using pitfall traps and take the furs to the fancy dress shop owner. Now that you know how to hunt, where to get your equipment, and where to hunt, it's time to hunt! The following sections will detail the different methods to achieve 99 hunter, starting with level 1. 3. Levels 1 through 9 - the beginning At level one there are only two things you can catch: crimson swifts and polar kebbits. The smart choice here is crimson swifts, because tracking is not good xp. You catch crimson swifts here: They are at the spot by the beach. To catch them, you place a bird snare in this area: Now step back from the trap and one of three things will happen. The bird will either get caught by the trap, manage to get out of the trap, or the trap will not be set off. No matter what the result, what you do will be the same: go dismantle the trap, and set it up again. You will have to catch 29 Crimson swifts to get to 9 hunter. 4. Levels 9 through 19 - the next step Well, youve reached 9 hunter. Now you have to move to the next spot, where you will hunt copper longtails. Copper longtails are found here: You catch them at this spot: You catch them at the spot on the west, at the edge of the map. The technique here is the same as it is at crimson swifts. You will need to catch 50 copper longtails to level 19. At level 15, you can catch Ruby Harvest butterflies. The butterflies themselves are not good xp, but catching them alongside crimson swifts will give you an xp boost. You can also keep them to sell, as they are used in summoning. You will need to catch 66 ruby harvests to go from level 15-19. 5. Levels 19 through 27 - decision time Now youre 19 hunter. Now its back to the spot where crimson swifts were, except were going to the spot to the southwest of the pond this time. You will be hunting tropical wagtails. Tropical wagtails are found here: You catch them at this spot: The technique here is the same as it was before, until level 20. At level 20, you can use two traps at once! Once you hit level 20, start using that second trap. You will need to catch 61 tropical wagtails to 27 6. Levels 27 through 43 - you're getting there Now youve hit level 27. There are two ways to go about getting hunter levels from here. One way is to do the eagles peak quest and then catch ferrets. Here is tip.its quest guide. I will go into detail about this first. Ferrets are found here: They are the ones by eagles peak. You catch them at this spot: To catch ferrets, simply lay your box traps anywhere in the area. A rule for box trapping is to never lay all your traps in a straight line. This can be ignored at ferrets, but I suggest you put them a few steps apart just to get used to box trapping. You will release all the ferrets you catch. Dont forget to use three traps once you get to level 40! If ferret hunting starts to get monotonous, you can go catch some rabbits just east of where the ferrets are. Just set your rabbit snares in front of two of the rabbit holes, and use a ferret on the third. You will need to catch 353 ferrets to level 43 The second way to go about achieving level 43 is catching swamp lizards. To do this, catch a few more tropical wagtails until you get 29 hunter. Then, its off to the swamps! Swamp lizards are found here: You catch them in this spot: Net trapping is pretty simple. Just click on the young tree to set your traps, then check the traps once you catch a swamp lizard. If you just want fast xp, release the swamp lizards. You can also sell the swamp lizards if you want to run all the way to the bank. You need to catch 253 swamp lizards to 43 hunter. 7. Levels 43 through 53 - almost chin time From 43 hunter there are two options again: do falconry, or hunt orange salamanders in the desert. I will cover falconry first. You can do falconry here: Falconry is done in the fenced in area. To do falconry, you must have 500gp to rent the falcon. Once you rent the falcon, click on one of the many kebbits in the area and your falcon will attempt to catch it. After you do that, go retrieve your falcon. The furs you get are used to make spotted capes, which reduce your weight. You will need to catch 828 spotted kebbits to 53 hunter. The other option is orange salamanders. You must have 47 hunter to hunt them, so you should continue with your previous choice to 47 or do falconry to 47. They are found in the desert, here: You catch them at this spot: The technique here is the same as it is for swamp lizards. You will need to catch 275 orange salamanders to get to 53 hunter. 8. Levels 53 through 63 - big money in 3...2...1... Once again, you have two choices here: grey chinchompas and red salamanders. At level 53, you can hunt grey chinchompas. They are a good source of money, so if you want some profit, hunt them. They are found here: They are the southeastern spot. Catch them at this spot: You can lay your traps anywhere in that general area you want, however DO NOT place them all in a straight line. You will need to catch 1,169 grey chins to 63 hunter. Red salamanders require 59 hunter to catch, so you should continue with one of the past options until you get that level. Red salamanders are found here: Catch them at this spot: The technique here is the same as it is for the other salamanders. You will need to catch 444 red salamanders to 63 hunter. 9. Levels 63 through 99 - cape time! Congratulations on reaching 63 hunter, you can catch red chinchompas now! Red chins are an excellent source of money, and can also be used by rangers to get a lot of xp. Red chins are found here: They are at the spot southeast of the small lake. Catch them at this spot: There are other spots, but I recommend this one because very few people hunt there. At this spot, it is vital that you always put your traps in the exact spots. A good point of reference is the plant (the one that really stands out in the picture). They are arranged that way because the spot in the middle of the traps is where a red chin respawns. When the chin respawns, it should get caught by one of your traps. If not, shoot it with your bow. If you can only use four traps, pick one of the two corner traps and eliminate it until you reach level 80. You will need to catch 47,796 red chins to 99 Alas, red chins are not the fastest hunter xp in the game until level 80. Before that, red salamanders are slightly faster xp. Whichever route you choose to take, just remember whether youre hunting for profit or for xp. At level 71, red salamanders are 67k xp/hour (thanks vanhalen83! : If you didn't want to read the whole guide and just want a summary of what to hunt to 99, here it is: 1-9: Crimson swifts 9-19: Copper longtails 19-27/29: Tropical wagtails 27-43: Ferrets 29-43: Swamp lizards 43-49: Falconry 49-53/59: Orange salamanders 53-63: Grey chinchompas 59-63/80: Red salamanders 63-99/80: Red chinchompas From levels 63-80, red salamanders are more xp/hour than red chins. After 80, red chins are more xp/hour. 10. Clicking tricks, and other small things to speed you on your way NOTE: most of these tricks apply only to box trapping. How many people take the walk to the west after you set up a trap? If you do, youre wasting precious seconds. And when you have so many things to hunt, those seconds can make a difference in the long run. After you place a box trap, you will hear a noise that sounds something like a plop. When you hear this, you know the trap is set. The rest of the animation is just for looks. Right after you hear that plop, you should go tend to the rest of your traps, not watch the animation. Another way time is wasted is how you dismantle the trap. A lot of people click on the trap to take it down, then walk to the space the trap belongs on, then they set it up. But if you click on the very edge of the space the trap is on, you will run to that space, and not dismantle the trap. Once youre on the space, dismantle the trap and set it up again. These two small tricks will end up saving you quite a bit of time in the long run, so I suggest you use them. Thank you very much for reading my guide, and I hope you have fun hunting! If you have any questions, don't be afraid to ask :P