Bounty Hunter Archive
Thread: Dagger's Guide to Intelligent Jedi Hunting
Page 1 of 3
Diamond621
Thu May 12, 2005 2:04 pm
#1
The Bounty Hunter community in SWG has given me a lot in my time in this game, and I have had little chance to give back to them. What follows is my attempt at writing a Bounty Hunting guide, which is based on the knowledge and experience I have gained in my time as a Hunter. Please feel free to give me feedback on this and I will do my best to answer or even update the post accordingly!
This guide covers several categories, or steps, of hunting in chronological order - from picking a mission off the terminals to deathblowing your target.
Mission Acquisition
---Do not discriminate amongst targets (...too much)
A Bounty Hunter is a businessman (or woman) at heart who does what (s)he does for the love of the hunt and the rewards of success. Personally, I simply refresh the terminals and examine each mission. If it is between 25,000 and 220,000 credits, and the target is not a personal friend or guildmate of mine, and is online (a quick /addfriend xx then /removefriend xx will check) I take the mission. You will find you take down a lot more targets if you aren't picky about who you hunt.
---Location, Location, Location!
Where are the best places to get missions? There are terminals all over the galaxy, but one X factor is required for hunting - the SpyNet Operative. For acquiring missions I recommend Kaadara, as it has both a Bounty Hunter Mission Terminal and a Level 3 (Investigation III and up) SpyNet Operative, both within the borders of the same city. There is also a big field about 100m outside of Kaadara due west of the Operative that is perfect for dispatching droids.
This guide covers several categories, or steps, of hunting in chronological order - from picking a mission off the terminals to deathblowing your target.
Mission Acquisition
---Do not discriminate amongst targets (...too much)
A Bounty Hunter is a businessman (or woman) at heart who does what (s)he does for the love of the hunt and the rewards of success. Personally, I simply refresh the terminals and examine each mission. If it is between 25,000 and 220,000 credits, and the target is not a personal friend or guildmate of mine, and is online (a quick /addfriend xx then /removefriend xx will check) I take the mission. You will find you take down a lot more targets if you aren't picky about who you hunt.
---Location, Location, Location!
Where are the best places to get missions? There are terminals all over the galaxy, but one X factor is required for hunting - the SpyNet Operative. For acquiring missions I recommend Kaadara, as it has both a Bounty Hunter Mission Terminal and a Level 3 (Investigation III and up) SpyNet Operative, both within the borders of the same city. There is also a big field about 100m outside of Kaadara due west of the Operative that is perfect for dispatching droids.
(credit to Gawzeera) Another excellent location to get missions is Dearic on Talus. The BH Terminal is just outside the Cloning Facility and there are 2 master-level spynet operatives nearby - one in the Starport and one behind the cloner. Also it has an excellent plain off to one side to launch Arakyds from.
---Advanced methods for checking online status
One of the techniques I use most often is a friend macro. For obvious reasons you rarely want your target on your friends list for extended periods of time, yet you want to know immediately if they log off. For this I use a macro - a very simple one in fact, called Track.
/addfriend xxxx
/pause 0.1
/removefriend xxxx
/pause 120
/macro track
Simply replace "xxxx" with your target's name and save the macro, then run it. This will give you updates every 2 minutes (120 seconds) on whether your target is online or offline, then immediately remove them from your friends list within a tenth of a second to prevent them tracking you.
---Do not discuss your targets with ANYONE
You nver know who knows who else, and what information could find its way into the wrong hands. NEVER reveal who your target is to ANYONE until they are terminated.
Tracking
---Arakyd Usage
Not much to say on this topic, really. You call the probe droid, it drops from orbit, and you approach it and program it. However I should note two things - first off, you can both call and program the droid from a Mount or Vehicle, so use that to your advantage to cut down on your time spent on tracking. Also, if you hunt out of Kaadara, it often conveniently works out that at Master Bounty Hunter you will receive your planetary feed from your Arakyd at around the same time you arrive back at the Starport from the field west of the SpyNet.
---Get JTL! Now!
JTL is really a necessity for Bounty Hunters for several reasons. One, because it cuts down on Arakyd delay times (the time between when you receive "your target has been located on xxxx" and the time you actually arrive on that planet). With JTL you can cut this time to around zero and ensure that the target WILL be on that planet when you arrive, 100% of the time. Second, merely having JTL cuts down on a ton of travel ticket money and general hunting time. If you hunt out of Naboo, and your target is on Dathomir, guess what? You're taking 2 shuttles and paying a couple thousand credits! Over time, shuttle fees DO add up and you will be better off in the long run if you can instantly fly to your target's planet.
Acquisition and Arrival on Target Planet
---Seekers, seekers, and a few more seekers!
The title says it all. When you arrive on the target planet, your first move needs to be to scan the area for traffic. If you know the guild of your target, avoid launching seekers in view of guildmates of him, even factionmates. It is very likely they would post such an event in guildchat or worse yet, directly warn the target. If the area is not clear of traffic, step inside a building or shuttle to a nearby city to launch your droids. When you have a clear area, launch a flotilla of seeker droids. Note that you CAN launch multiple droids at once, just execute the droid tracking command with your Seeker stack rapidly and you can launch an absolute fleet of droids which will give you constant updates on position.
---Cross-Check the Target's Position
When you get your seeker feed back revealing the target's exact location, you need to open up your planetary map and head for the filters on the right side. Go through ALL of them, and cross-check your target's location with registered cantinas, cities, mission terminals, even cloning facilities and banks. This will tell you if your target is out hunting in the wilderness, in a cantina relaxing, getting missions, etc.
-Travel to your target covertly!
When I say this, I don't mean you should be a combatant when hunting (actually I recommend being on leave at all times for Bounty Hunting, which can prevent Jedi kiting you into turrets or other factional hazards). No, when I say 'covertly', i mean without alerting them. THE GREATEST FACTOR IN THE BOUNTY HUNTER'S ADVANTAGE IS SURPRISE. If your target knows you are coming for them, or worse yet knows exactly where you are, you have lost that advantage and brought your target one step closer to defeating you, one way or another. You should've already cross-checked your target's location with shuttleports, so you should know if your target is at or near one. If your target is in a city, shuttle to the closest adjacent city or bike there if no nearby city is available. NEVER SHUTTLE INTO THE SAME CITY AS YOUR TARGET! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! Even if you don't load into your target, you will most likely load into guildmates, allies, and friends who can warn him.
Approaching the Target
---Silent and covert approach tactics
-----If your mark is in a house or other private building
They may be afk, but they may not be. It is a good idea to wait a safe distance (200-250m) away from the target and keep constant probe droids on him. Minor movement a few meters one way or another is usually an indication that your target is active and at the keyboard.
-----If your mark is in a Cantina
A more difficult situation, most definitely. I recommend staking out the mark (see the section below) or otherwise keeping yourself hidden but within striking distance of the target should they leave the cantina.
-----If your mark is in the wild
...then you've hit a stroke of good luck. Taking down a Jedi in the open field is probably the most preferential way to hunt for ranged Bounty Hunters - you have room to maneuver, clear line of sight, and room to kite. Approaching a target in the wild is often best done by a dismounting fire technique. This is just a fancy name for riding up to within range of the target, dismounting from your bike and immediately firing your weapon (preferably with a root or snare attack). Chances are that in the wild your target is working a lair or creatures, so you have a few seconds before he realizes you are there, most likely. Use this time to your advantage - again, surprise is your friend.
Engaging your target
---Battle Preparation
This probably belongs in the 'approach' section, but certain preparations should be made before taking on a target. Make sure you have stims loaded, make sure you have food and spice out and handy (or taken already in the case of long-lasting ones like muon or neutron pixie). Some food/drinks I recommend are:
Pikatta Pie/Air Cake --- Dodge bonuses on both, and they can be stacked with one another for a devastating cumulative bonus
Vegesparsine ----------- Melee Defense Enhancement, good ones can reach 100+. Excellent for helping to avoid/mitigate saber attacks.
Deuterium Pyro --------- A somewhat rare concoction but absolutely brilliant in its effects. Raises Ranged Accuracy by upwards of 210. This affects damage as well as general accuracy, but only lasts a short time (~45sec). Down it right before the fight and keep it in you if the fight drags on!
Synthsteak ------------- Another food to eat right before the fight begins or if you need some damage mitigation to cover you on a heal or a kite. Lasts a short time but butchers enemy damage statistics.
Other foods should be used to boost mainly health, health regen, and action regen. Experiment and find what combos work best for you.
---Use your duelist stance!
The "duelist stance" ability in Bounty Hunter (Investigation line), especially the improved version, adds 160 points to your defense and cuts damage on enemy attacks down by nearly 35%! Use it and keep using it when it wears off - it will save your life.
---Opening shots
In general I like to begin combat with a target using a root or snare attack, for the obvious reason of keeping the Jedi from bolting on you right off the bat. Follow this up with a knockdown to give you a significant damage bonus on your next attack (attacks do more damage to knocked down targets. A lot more). From here on out your attack pattern should alternate between Advanced Critical Shot (for a Master Bounty Hunter) and your other most powerful shot in your arsenal (for me it is Torso Shot). Try to sneak in an eye shot if possible, because blinding your target, in conjunction with your Duelist Stance, makes it very difficult for you to be hit by much of anything.
---General Bounty Hunter vs Jedi Combat
-The Jedi's strength is at close range, the Hunter's strength is at long range. It's as simple as that.
-Use your roots, snares and knockdowns to keep your target away from you, and pelt them with the most powerful attacks you have.
-If you are knocked down, IMMEDIATELY use your Knockdown Recovery skill (it should be on your toolbar). You can't afford to let the Jedi get in even one attack with that nice KD damage bonus.
-Often being knocked down will give your target a chance to close on you, so follow up with a root, snare, or knockdown of your own to re-establish safe working distance.
-Have stims on your toolbar (Stim Ds can heal upwards of 1000 damage and are useable by CL 60 and up) and use them if your health falls below the halfway mark. Be mindful of the 1 minute delay between stimpack usages (when not using a medic ability like bacta shot). Make your heals count - you won't get any more for 60 seconds.
-Experience is the best teacher for learning how to effectively take down Jedi. Above all, use what works for you and is comfortable. If it means you have to ignore everything else in this guide, do so if it works for you.
-Save your burst run, and do not use it carelessly. If your target runs on you, you will need it.
-Carry extra swoop bikes! If a Jedi decides to quickly use a Saber Throw on your bike and then run away, you are downright screwed unless you carry extra ones on you.
---Advanced methods for checking online status
One of the techniques I use most often is a friend macro. For obvious reasons you rarely want your target on your friends list for extended periods of time, yet you want to know immediately if they log off. For this I use a macro - a very simple one in fact, called Track.
/addfriend xxxx
/pause 0.1
/removefriend xxxx
/pause 120
/macro track
Simply replace "xxxx" with your target's name and save the macro, then run it. This will give you updates every 2 minutes (120 seconds) on whether your target is online or offline, then immediately remove them from your friends list within a tenth of a second to prevent them tracking you.
---Do not discuss your targets with ANYONE
You nver know who knows who else, and what information could find its way into the wrong hands. NEVER reveal who your target is to ANYONE until they are terminated.
Tracking
---Arakyd Usage
Not much to say on this topic, really. You call the probe droid, it drops from orbit, and you approach it and program it. However I should note two things - first off, you can both call and program the droid from a Mount or Vehicle, so use that to your advantage to cut down on your time spent on tracking. Also, if you hunt out of Kaadara, it often conveniently works out that at Master Bounty Hunter you will receive your planetary feed from your Arakyd at around the same time you arrive back at the Starport from the field west of the SpyNet.
---Get JTL! Now!
JTL is really a necessity for Bounty Hunters for several reasons. One, because it cuts down on Arakyd delay times (the time between when you receive "your target has been located on xxxx" and the time you actually arrive on that planet). With JTL you can cut this time to around zero and ensure that the target WILL be on that planet when you arrive, 100% of the time. Second, merely having JTL cuts down on a ton of travel ticket money and general hunting time. If you hunt out of Naboo, and your target is on Dathomir, guess what? You're taking 2 shuttles and paying a couple thousand credits! Over time, shuttle fees DO add up and you will be better off in the long run if you can instantly fly to your target's planet.
Acquisition and Arrival on Target Planet
---Seekers, seekers, and a few more seekers!
The title says it all. When you arrive on the target planet, your first move needs to be to scan the area for traffic. If you know the guild of your target, avoid launching seekers in view of guildmates of him, even factionmates. It is very likely they would post such an event in guildchat or worse yet, directly warn the target. If the area is not clear of traffic, step inside a building or shuttle to a nearby city to launch your droids. When you have a clear area, launch a flotilla of seeker droids. Note that you CAN launch multiple droids at once, just execute the droid tracking command with your Seeker stack rapidly and you can launch an absolute fleet of droids which will give you constant updates on position.
---Cross-Check the Target's Position
When you get your seeker feed back revealing the target's exact location, you need to open up your planetary map and head for the filters on the right side. Go through ALL of them, and cross-check your target's location with registered cantinas, cities, mission terminals, even cloning facilities and banks. This will tell you if your target is out hunting in the wilderness, in a cantina relaxing, getting missions, etc.
-Travel to your target covertly!
When I say this, I don't mean you should be a combatant when hunting (actually I recommend being on leave at all times for Bounty Hunting, which can prevent Jedi kiting you into turrets or other factional hazards). No, when I say 'covertly', i mean without alerting them. THE GREATEST FACTOR IN THE BOUNTY HUNTER'S ADVANTAGE IS SURPRISE. If your target knows you are coming for them, or worse yet knows exactly where you are, you have lost that advantage and brought your target one step closer to defeating you, one way or another. You should've already cross-checked your target's location with shuttleports, so you should know if your target is at or near one. If your target is in a city, shuttle to the closest adjacent city or bike there if no nearby city is available. NEVER SHUTTLE INTO THE SAME CITY AS YOUR TARGET! NEVER, NEVER, NEVER! Even if you don't load into your target, you will most likely load into guildmates, allies, and friends who can warn him.
Approaching the Target
---Silent and covert approach tactics
-----If your mark is in a house or other private building
They may be afk, but they may not be. It is a good idea to wait a safe distance (200-250m) away from the target and keep constant probe droids on him. Minor movement a few meters one way or another is usually an indication that your target is active and at the keyboard.
-----If your mark is in a Cantina
A more difficult situation, most definitely. I recommend staking out the mark (see the section below) or otherwise keeping yourself hidden but within striking distance of the target should they leave the cantina.
-----If your mark is in the wild
...then you've hit a stroke of good luck. Taking down a Jedi in the open field is probably the most preferential way to hunt for ranged Bounty Hunters - you have room to maneuver, clear line of sight, and room to kite. Approaching a target in the wild is often best done by a dismounting fire technique. This is just a fancy name for riding up to within range of the target, dismounting from your bike and immediately firing your weapon (preferably with a root or snare attack). Chances are that in the wild your target is working a lair or creatures, so you have a few seconds before he realizes you are there, most likely. Use this time to your advantage - again, surprise is your friend.
Engaging your target
---Battle Preparation
This probably belongs in the 'approach' section, but certain preparations should be made before taking on a target. Make sure you have stims loaded, make sure you have food and spice out and handy (or taken already in the case of long-lasting ones like muon or neutron pixie). Some food/drinks I recommend are:
Pikatta Pie/Air Cake --- Dodge bonuses on both, and they can be stacked with one another for a devastating cumulative bonus
Vegesparsine ----------- Melee Defense Enhancement, good ones can reach 100+. Excellent for helping to avoid/mitigate saber attacks.
Deuterium Pyro --------- A somewhat rare concoction but absolutely brilliant in its effects. Raises Ranged Accuracy by upwards of 210. This affects damage as well as general accuracy, but only lasts a short time (~45sec). Down it right before the fight and keep it in you if the fight drags on!
Synthsteak ------------- Another food to eat right before the fight begins or if you need some damage mitigation to cover you on a heal or a kite. Lasts a short time but butchers enemy damage statistics.
Other foods should be used to boost mainly health, health regen, and action regen. Experiment and find what combos work best for you.
---Use your duelist stance!
The "duelist stance" ability in Bounty Hunter (Investigation line), especially the improved version, adds 160 points to your defense and cuts damage on enemy attacks down by nearly 35%! Use it and keep using it when it wears off - it will save your life.
---Opening shots
In general I like to begin combat with a target using a root or snare attack, for the obvious reason of keeping the Jedi from bolting on you right off the bat. Follow this up with a knockdown to give you a significant damage bonus on your next attack (attacks do more damage to knocked down targets. A lot more). From here on out your attack pattern should alternate between Advanced Critical Shot (for a Master Bounty Hunter) and your other most powerful shot in your arsenal (for me it is Torso Shot). Try to sneak in an eye shot if possible, because blinding your target, in conjunction with your Duelist Stance, makes it very difficult for you to be hit by much of anything.
---General Bounty Hunter vs Jedi Combat
-The Jedi's strength is at close range, the Hunter's strength is at long range. It's as simple as that.
-Use your roots, snares and knockdowns to keep your target away from you, and pelt them with the most powerful attacks you have.
-If you are knocked down, IMMEDIATELY use your Knockdown Recovery skill (it should be on your toolbar). You can't afford to let the Jedi get in even one attack with that nice KD damage bonus.
-Often being knocked down will give your target a chance to close on you, so follow up with a root, snare, or knockdown of your own to re-establish safe working distance.
-Have stims on your toolbar (Stim Ds can heal upwards of 1000 damage and are useable by CL 60 and up) and use them if your health falls below the halfway mark. Be mindful of the 1 minute delay between stimpack usages (when not using a medic ability like bacta shot). Make your heals count - you won't get any more for 60 seconds.
-Experience is the best teacher for learning how to effectively take down Jedi. Above all, use what works for you and is comfortable. If it means you have to ignore everything else in this guide, do so if it works for you.
-Save your burst run, and do not use it carelessly. If your target runs on you, you will need it.
-Carry extra swoop bikes! If a Jedi decides to quickly use a Saber Throw on your bike and then run away, you are downright screwed unless you carry extra ones on you.
-(credit to DJODoc) A very good tactic is to deploy a swoop bike some distance away from your mark (150-200m I would assume) and waypoint it. This gives the Jedi little opportunity to destroy your bike, for one, and the waypoint means if you have a runner you can get back to it in a hurry to give chase.
-Wear armor. Against Jedi there is simply no reason not to. Bounty Hunters get mitigation bonuses for Assault Armor, however I strongly advise against wearing Assault because it has low energy (lightsaber) resistances. A much better choice is Reconnaissance (Pistoleer, Rifleman) or Battle (Carbineer) armor.
-Never hesitate against your target. If you incapacitate your mark, deathblow them IMMEDIATELY. No showboating, gloating, or haphazardly walking up to your target to make the kill. Don't be stupid - finish your mission.
Dealing with a successful mission
---Every Bounty Hunter is different in their attitudes, motivations and styles. However I do not conduct or condone bragging about kills, taunting current, former or even future targets or other hunters. Again, you are a businessman performing a job. Be professional, brief and polite.
Dealing with a failed mission
---Personally I have great respect for any Jedi that can defeat me. It shows a hell of a lot of class for a slain hunter to toss his target a /tell saying "Nice kill" or something to that effect, and people will ultimately respect and fear you more if you are humble in defeat as well as victory. In the words of Mandalore:
-Wear armor. Against Jedi there is simply no reason not to. Bounty Hunters get mitigation bonuses for Assault Armor, however I strongly advise against wearing Assault because it has low energy (lightsaber) resistances. A much better choice is Reconnaissance (Pistoleer, Rifleman) or Battle (Carbineer) armor.
-Never hesitate against your target. If you incapacitate your mark, deathblow them IMMEDIATELY. No showboating, gloating, or haphazardly walking up to your target to make the kill. Don't be stupid - finish your mission.
Dealing with a successful mission
---Every Bounty Hunter is different in their attitudes, motivations and styles. However I do not conduct or condone bragging about kills, taunting current, former or even future targets or other hunters. Again, you are a businessman performing a job. Be professional, brief and polite.
Dealing with a failed mission
---Personally I have great respect for any Jedi that can defeat me. It shows a hell of a lot of class for a slain hunter to toss his target a /tell saying "Nice kill" or something to that effect, and people will ultimately respect and fear you more if you are humble in defeat as well as victory. In the words of Mandalore:
"Defeat is part of a warrior's life. You train, learn and adapt so thatdefeatwill not be the outcome in your next meeting."
The only true failure is a failure you learned nothing from.
Indirect Hunting Tactics
Stakeouts
So your mark is in a house or cantina, but you know they are active. Maybe they are simply healing their battle fatigue - maybe they are hiding from another hunter. Either way, a good choice is to stake out the target.
---Be neither seen nor heard!
A good stakeout requires you to have 2 things - a good position to hide out of sight, and clear and short striking distance to your target should they reveal themselves. I like to use public houses (you can find them all over cities) to hide in. People outside can not see you unless they enter the house as well. If you have the Rifleman ability Cover, use it!
This is an excellent skill to have on stakeouts, even in the open, because to be uncovered someone has to be very close to you.
---Patience is key
Among the foremost qualities of any hunter is patience. They can't stay in that cantina forever and expect to get Jedi XP! Be patient and maintain your cover while waiting for your target. If your target logs off inside the structure, wait 5 minutes before leaving your cover and dropping the mission - they may be just trying to trick you into exposing yourself! Study routes used by others in the city who are not your mark. If you notice a pattern in movements, align yourself along that path so as to ambush the target if he uses it. Be smart and plan ahead.
Ultimately, experience is a far better teacher for Bounty Hunting than anything else. When in doubt of what to do, just go hunt some Jedi and try stuff out. Even if you get your tail kicked, you'll learn something.
Indirect Hunting Tactics
Stakeouts
So your mark is in a house or cantina, but you know they are active. Maybe they are simply healing their battle fatigue - maybe they are hiding from another hunter. Either way, a good choice is to stake out the target.
---Be neither seen nor heard!
A good stakeout requires you to have 2 things - a good position to hide out of sight, and clear and short striking distance to your target should they reveal themselves. I like to use public houses (you can find them all over cities) to hide in. People outside can not see you unless they enter the house as well. If you have the Rifleman ability Cover, use it!
This is an excellent skill to have on stakeouts, even in the open, because to be uncovered someone has to be very close to you.
---Patience is key
Among the foremost qualities of any hunter is patience. They can't stay in that cantina forever and expect to get Jedi XP! Be patient and maintain your cover while waiting for your target. If your target logs off inside the structure, wait 5 minutes before leaving your cover and dropping the mission - they may be just trying to trick you into exposing yourself! Study routes used by others in the city who are not your mark. If you notice a pattern in movements, align yourself along that path so as to ambush the target if he uses it. Be smart and plan ahead.
Ultimately, experience is a far better teacher for Bounty Hunting than anything else. When in doubt of what to do, just go hunt some Jedi and try stuff out. Even if you get your tail kicked, you'll learn something.
Prepare, Adapt, and Conquer. Learn to live by these three words, and you have already taken your first steps to becoming a truly great Bounty Hunter.
Thanks for listening - I hope this helps someone out there
Message Edited by Diamond621 on 05-13-2005 03:23 AM
Message Edited by Diamond621 on 05-13-2005 04:43 PM
------------------------|-------------------- 
Diamond621
Thu May 12, 2005 3:07 pm
#7
It's meant as a guide to help good bounty hunters become great bounty hunters, thru knowing how to outsmart as well as outdamage
BurnerMan
Thu May 12, 2005 3:37 pm
#9
Great guide, man! I´m gonna make sure a few of my mates see this one.
Damyon
Thu May 12, 2005 3:52 pm
#10
Bravoooooo - ty- well written. I will use is as a field guide for my BH's in my guild.
4 stars and VOTE ON STICKY
JMShunter
Thu May 12, 2005 6:21 pm
#13
nice job I will be using this to help me out.
.... btw is lethal shot from M marksmen any good?
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