Metroid Prime Hunters/Tips and Hints

Choosing the Right Hunter, and Weapons
Oftentimes people will choose a hunter just for an alt, or their prime weapon. A lot of skilled hunters fight without having their hunters alt/prime be their favorite weapon. Sylux is a common example. People often love his alt, yet primarily use either the Volt Driver, Imperialist, Judicator and/or Magmaul. Notice the "or". Many people can use nearly every weapon in their strategy.

The choice for hunter should (but not always) primarily be chosen by Alt. You may like Kanden because most Samus Morphers leave you alone with your Stinglarva. But maybe you don't like the Volt Drive so much. Well, what other weapons do you like? If you are able to find at least one weapon you're good with/like on every level, and you like the alt form, that is probably a good hunter for you. Of course, there is the case when people want to have a weapon they know they're good at instead of taking a risk. Then just select which weapon is best for you, and then choose which alt you like the most (That go with the hunter).

Unless you're totally confident you're weapon is good against stationary snipers, alt forms, fleeing alts, rapid-firing weapon users, magmaulers, freezers, roaming snipers, missile launchers, Charged Volters, and Battle Hammer users; you may want to use some of these weapons for stated enemies:


 * Stationary Snipers: Volt Driver, Missile, Imperialist.
 * Alt Forms: Magmaul, Battle Hammer, and if you train immensely: Volt Driver, Imperialist.
 * Fleeing Alts: Battle Hammer, Magmaul (Magmaul's harder) Imperialist, Judicator, Volt Driver.
 * Freezers: Imperialist, Volt Driver, Missile, Judicator (Charged and uncharged with both Noxus and others)
 * Rapid firing; Magmauls: Almost anything.
 * Roaming Snipers: If Weavel and the Battle Hammer work as a great due to how much it moves them around, Volt Driver, Freeze them, close weapons work fairly well, too.
 * Missiles Users: You can beat them by using a fast weapon to pick them off, a charged Magmaul if you can aim it well, or you can try and quickly finish them with the Imperialist.
 * Charged Volters: Fast weapons and Magmaul.
 * Battle Hammer: Missiles, Volt Driver, and Battle Hammer because of its large splash radius. Another good weapon to use is the Shock Coil if you are Sylux because you can run around the stationary half-turret while stealing its life.

One last note, you should probably learn to use the Omega Cannon as well.

Battle Tips and Hints
This is where to go for tips and hints for making your online skill level boost.

Fighting Strategy

 * Think logically. If you're Sylux and you see on your radar someone coming out from a tunnel in Combat Hall, what do you do? You can charge him, not smart. You can blast him with Magmaul shots, okay of an idea. Or you can set two tripwires and wait for him to come out, then lay the third one, and hopefully kill the foe. You can use the Imperialist too, no matter how much you deny it, the Imperialist is a very powerful weapon you can rely on. And you can use it in a similar situation such as the Sylux one. If you're someone like Samus in this situation, attack with a charged Magmaul; and then chase in Alt.


 * Don't only go after newbies, they want to enjoy it too. Instead, rather noob hunt the noob hunter, in a sense is what you should do. For example, you're a Weavel (On Alinos Perch) and the noob hunter's a Noxus, noob's a Trace. Trace is standing still, trying to snipe old fashioned way, staying in one spot. The Noxus comes up behind him to freeze him and does. You can snipe the Noxus, who will now be infuriated. He comes up to get the Imperialist. You place your turret on the weapon respawn, and you hide out of radar sight. Then you charge him as he nears it. Scoring another kill possibly.


 * Surprise is your friend. Remember that. That means ambush, sniping, falling out of nowhere and whacking them on the head (Works with Weavel's alt turret amazingly well)... all of it. Master all forms of surprise, ambush, and sniping. Surprise could be as simple as launching a volley of attacks at once towards a hiding Trace, to tricky ambushing while waiting, as Weavel) for a foe to come out of a tunnel and executing deadly alt drop, double slash, BH three times, snipe as they flee in alt technique.


 * Your alt is also a friend. It does not matter what alt you have, they can all be very effective. Sylux's Lockjaw is very effective, since he can lay tripwires, is very fast, and can also fly in low-grav levels (such as Headshot) by laying bombs very quickly and constantly. Make sure you use your alt in sticky situations, but don't rely on it, because most people have developed a resistance to most or all alts. If you need to get out of somewhere quickly, or without being noticed, the alt is for you.

Defense and Conserving Health

 * When you find yourself in the unfortunate situation of playing a cheater, unless miraculously they are not invulnerable, there isn't much that you can do. Instead of giving in, give the cheater a hard time. If the arena is large enough, run around, run around Constantly! Oftentimes, cheaters have enabled illegal use of the Omega Cannon (Which if in that situation in an arena like Combat Hall is hopeless), if the arena is large enough, you can just about avoid a terrible death at the hands of a cheater, by running and hiding often. If you are up against a Deathalt/Double Damage cheater, once again, run for your life. There is nothing to be gained from giving in and just standing immobile and letting the cheater rack up kills. If you encounter a cheater, you will often feel the urge to disconnect. While it is advised to d/c when up against a cheater, you will just lose the same amount of points (And your connection history percentage will drop), as if you just weathered through the battle. Although the odds may be seemingly low, most cheaters have no skill at fighting. Take advantage of that. On average, a cheater can't hit you with anything but the Omega Cannon and their Alt.


 * Another annoyance among players online are those who take advantage of glitches in the arenas. Most, if not all, glitches either have inside a wall, or in the arena's Shadow World (For definition, refer to the terms section) where they are invisible except for a small shadow on the ground. The only way to combat wall glitches is just to know the glitch and go in after them and give them what they deserve. You don't have to know the Shadow World glitches to combat them. To take a player down who's using a SW glitch all you need to do is track that pesky shadow.


 * A commonly unknown fact in that you do not receive damage from falling at great heights, if in alt. For places like Oubliette where you must jump off the edge often, remember this.

Sniping, and Using the Imperialist

 * Let's face it right now, the Imperialist is a must for high level play.

Uses

 * The Imperialist is used for many things, mainly and obviously sniping, as one would think. You probably know sniping as sitting in a corner trying to headshot the others from afar? Unfortunately, that is far from reality in Metroid Prime Hunters. Experts use it much differently, and outlined below is how to properly utilize this deadly weapon to your advantage.


 * Use the Imperialist to get runaway Alts. It works better than it may seem. Depending on speed of alt, lag could be a huge issue. Unless you aim a whole alt size ahead of the direction the alt is moving. Make sense?


 * Before the much-wanted tips are explained. Things must be pointed out.
 * Lag is a major issue, but you can get around it. Always aim slightly higher than the chart below says, it seems to work better.

Where to aim for headshots without lag

 * Samus: About the middle of the obvious head.(the huge ball-like shoulders sometimes also count as a headshot. Use that wisely)
 * Kanden: Pretty obvious, maybe a little lower than the middle of his face.
 * Spire: About right below his eyes.
 * Trace: Don't aim for his "floating head". Mainly aim for the top of his chest, or the tallest part of his main body (even the space underneath his head counts as a headshot)
 * Noxus:A bit above the neck.
 * Sylux: About the middle of the obvious head.
 * Weavel: Aim for the gold visor on his face.

Dodging

 * Remember, if there's a sniper gun or Trace on the level. Chances are, there's a sniper. Stay in Alt Form to avoid the risk of headshot completely. Also, in biped, stay jumping, and jump unpredicably.


 * IMPORTANT It is possible to get a headshot planted on you even when going into alt, during the time between alt and biped, you can get shot to the head. So jump, then go into alt, for safety.


 * It is more likely that you'll get a headshot on you when you land, not in the air. So the technique of being unpredictable upon landing is important.


 * A Trace can be stationary, and be a good sniper. But try and blend in with your surroundings. So if you're the blue one, a stage like Ice Hive would work good. If you're gold, there's not many good stages for you.


 * Don't forget that Trace almost goes completely invisible in his alt form, but is visible quickly when he jumps up to change, moves, or lunges. Use this to your dodging/sniping advantage.

Aiming

 * Be aware of lag at all times.


 * You may find it useful during close range combat to do this: Aim unscoped, and then at the last second zoom in and fire.


 * Learn to identify a head quickly. If you can, you can go into alt, speed forward, sniper, go back to alt, zoom forward, etc. While being chased by an alt. (Doesn't work on faster alts as well.)


 * A sniper who is stationary is a free kill for an experienced player. Even if they're Trace. But if you miss the first shot, then they'll probably run. See if they're looking at you, if not, stay still and fire. If they are, keep jumping/strafing unpredictably. (Remember about where to aim for the specific hunter.)


 * This is one of the best ways to put Trace's invisibility to great, high-level use. Hide behind a corner in a small corridor, and wait for them to show up. By using the radar, you can tell whether it'll be a biped or alt, and aim respectively; but that can be hard if it's a Kanden or Spire.


 * While jumping, you can try and line your aim up with the head of your foe by aiming near their chest, and as you jump you fire as it crosses their head.

Deathalt

 * The deathalt is probably the most powerful item in the game, as it forces the hunter who has picked it up into their alternate form with one major ability: whenever the hunter touches a foe, they are immediately killed.
 * In Headshot, this can be used to possibly its fullest. If it is obtained, two strategies should be used: 1. Position yourself precisely where it was obtained, and wait for enemies to fall onto you from the upper levels. The hunters who fall ont you will meet their dooms, or 2. A more direct way to use this power-up is to, as soon as it is obtained, move to the other levels and chase down other players.


 * In Headshot, if you are on a team with a Sylux user, than use the following plan. Have the Sylux user make two tripwire mines, so that a third can make a triangle around where deathalt spawns.  After taking deathalt from its position, chase the other team onto the bottom floor where two tripwire mines are set. Sylux should then set a third mine as soon as the opposing team hits the ground, causing one to two instant kills.


 * In the arena Processor Core, as soon as the battle begins, it will most likely become a race for the deathalt if there are four players in the brawl. If you are the first hunter to claim the deathalt, however, the other characters who followed you will probably be open for attack. Immediately race towards them to give as many kills as possible.

Cloak

 * The cloak is a item that when picked up, the user is turned invisible, but it should be noted that the hunter still shows up on the radar.


 * When cloak is obtained, immediately switch to imperialist, find a high unpopulated space with a good view of the arena, and prepare for a killing spree. Use zoom mode to deliver as many headshot-kills as possible now that nobody can see you.


 * If you are Kanden, you could also go around with a charged Volt Driver. Since you are invisible, and the Volt Driver impact blurs the enemy hunter's screen, they won't know where you are. Make sure you disappear before you become visible.

Affinity Weapons

 * A very important part of battling is the use of affinity weapons. In short, each character has a weapon that they can wield, which gives them special abilities or power-ups.


 * The chart of affinity weapons:


 * Samus-Missile Launcher-Although Samus has no Affinity Weapon proper, charged Missiles fires by her will have a slight homing ability, and she obtains 5 missiles when she collects an Affinity Weapon powerup.


 * Kanden-Volt Driver-Charged shots seek enemies and distort the target's view for a short period of time.


 * Noxus-Judicator-Charged shots freeze their targets upon contact.


 * Sylux-Shock Coil-When using the Shock Coil, Sylux drains the target's health and adds it to his own.


 * Spire-Magmual-Charged shots burn opponents, slowly causing damage.


 * Trace-Imperialist-When holding the Imperialist and standing still, Trace becomes invisible.(Note: Trace still shows up on radar.


 * Weavel-Battlehammer-When utilized by Weavel, shots have a larger blast radius, do more damage, and impart more momentum, making it useful for knocking opponents off ledges.