Entropia Universe hunting guide
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In Entropia Universe hunting is one of the major professions/activities. Hunting basically means equipping a weapon and killing creatures but depending on one's style of playing can involve a lot of "parameters", for example: matching protection type to attack types of creatures to hunt, finding a spawn of specific creatues with the right size and re-spawn rate, team settings for team hunting, etc etc etc. If you don't find answers to your questions in this guide please ask on the forum: Tutorials, guides and help.
The very basics
Short intro to weapons
In Entropia Univese there is no barehanded fighting, to cause damage you always need a weapon. There is a huge selection of weapons and 99% of them irrelevant for beginners (because specific amounts of in-game skills are needed to use them efficiently). There are also many ways how weapons can be categorized, one major would be distinguishing between Melee weapons and ranged weapons, or between Skills respectively "professions" related to different types of weapons.
Weapons, professions and skills
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Weapons and ammunition
Ranged weapons consume ammunition while Melee weapons don't. Then again, there are several types of ammunition:
- Binary Liquid Propulsion (BLP) Packs for, well, BLP weapons,
- "Weapon Cells" for Laser and Plasma weapons
- "Explosive Projectiles" (not recommended for beginners)
- "Mind Essence" for Mindforce chips (not recommended for beginners)
Weapons and decay
Weapons, just like all items in Entropia Universe, have a specific value you can sell them for to the Trade Terminal (TT), consequently called "TT value" or even shorter "TT". Each single use of an item decreases the TT value a tiny little bit, this is called "decay". At some point the value of a item is that low that it cannot be used anymore.
Limited and unlimited weapons
There are 2 basic types of items: Limited items and Unlimited items. Limited items have an (L) at the end of their name. Unlimited items can be repaired back to full tt value at repair terminals. Limited items cannot be repaired, and once they reached their minimal usable condition they cannot be used anymore, never ever.
How to get a weapon
The recommended way for beginners to get a weapon is obtaining them from tutorial missions, alternatively or in addtion from the Trade Terminal
Weapons from tutorial missions
Most beginner's tutorial missions on the different planets will reward a weapon (plus the appropriate ammunition) at some stage:
- Planet Calypso: A first Pistol can be obtained in the "Target Practise" mission in Crystalline Cavern
- ROCKtropia:
- Next Island:
- Planet Arkadia:
- Planet Cyrene:
- Monria:
- Planet Toulan:
Weapons from trade terminal
Starter weapons can be purchased from the Trade Terminal (TT) for a few PED.
Weapons from starter packs
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Weapons from other players
Weapons can be bought from other players by 3 different methods:
- Via in-game auction where players list items for sale, this it probably by far the most popular way of obtaining weapons, probably because it is the most comfortable and offers the largest selection.
- In shops where shop owners put items on display for sale.
- Directly by avatar-to-avatar trade. Not recommended if you don't know exactly what you want for exactly what prize.
Weapons from NPC traders
On some planets special weapons can be bought from NPC traders in exchange for various types of tokens.
Equipping a weapon
To use a weapon you must equip it first
Equipping a weapon from Inventory
1. Press I on your keyboard to open the Inventory.
2. Click the "Weapons" category (4th from above in the right menu bar of the Inventory window)
3. Right-click the weapon and left-click "Equip" in the dropdown menu
Once equipped the name of the weapon and the ammunition appears left of your health bar
Using a weapon
There are two basic modes for controlling your avatar, consequently also for hunting: Cursor Mode and Aim Mode. You can toggle between them by pressing Left Alt.
Using a weapon in Cursor Mode
In "Mouse Cursor Mode", You can repeatedly Click on a creature to use the tool, or setup a hot-key to "Toggle Auto-Use Tool". Once the creature is Dead, press your Auto-Tool Hot key again to stop shooting.
Using a weapon in Aim Mode
In "Aim Mode", where your mouse movements turn your Avatar; you can Hold down the left click while your Weapon or item is equipped to "Use Tool". You can also Auto use tool in Aim Mode; simply equip weapon then aim your Crosshair at the creature and hit your Auto-Tool Hot key.
Finding a creature
Run. The R key Toggles Auto-Run/Stop. Look at your Radar, it has a compass on it. M key will Open the Map - this will help you find the location you are heading to faster. You can also Right click anywhere on the Map to create a waypoint, once you are close - the waypoint will appear on Radar. If you can't find the creature or location you are looking for, you can ask in local chat or try Entropedia for Player updated Mob Locations/Teleporters.
Killing a creature
Once you start, don't stop unless you need to heal. Weigh up if you have enough ammo for the creature too - if you get half way through and run out - then it will regenerate HP and you'll have wasted what you shot into it.
Looting a creature
Double click the creatures Corpse. It will have a few shiny Gold bubbles floating around it if it is your loot. You can find the "Loot" Hot key in the action library; Very handy to assign to a key so you're not spamming the Double Click. My loot key is V.
More basics
Using Armor
Different Creatures do different attack types, and different percentages of these damage types. Having "The right fit" is another Mathematical problem you'll encounter. An Exarosaur for example, does 100% Impact damage. There are various Entropia Information sites just like Entropia Planets which will help give you these numbers and variables.
Using a Healing tool
Start with your Free tool in the Starter area and Heal EVERYONE! After it's dead, you'll probably be looking for another one. Just remember the SIB rule, Tools are SIB too.
Using Weapon Attachements
Weapon attachments other than Weapon Amplifiers, are said to increase Hit Ability and also Skill Gains. Many tests have been done to understand more what these attachments actually do and how much they do it.
Here is a Quote from Mindark:
Entropia Universe 11.2.0 Release Notes 21 Jun 2010
Attachment Parameter Changes
•Skill Bonus on Attachments. The skill modification effect now have a clarifying tool tip. The attachment gives a bonus to the user's hit ability and it has full effect when the target is on maximum weapon range. When the target comes closer the effect decreases and it reaches its minimum effect when the target is in the immediate vicinity. Since the effect is variable the hit ability parameter display is not affected by the skill modification.
•New Parameter on Attachments. A new parameter has been introduced on laser sights and scopes. This new parameter gives the user a skill increase bonus when the attachment is attached to the tool. The skill increase bonus of the attachment will affect the skill that the tool affect. The number does not indicate an actual increase rate percentage but a higher number is better than a lower.
Here is a link to a thread on the Planet calypso Forum, written by a player who shared their results using Attachments.
As an Economic Standpoint, it is probably better NOT to use extras unless you feel it is the right thing to do, or you have more money than you can care to count.
Using enhancers
Enhancers are a Stackable item which can be placed into an Item's Tier slot, once it has been unlocked. Enhancers break randomly during use so it can make your weapon more efficient if they last for a while, or it can reduce the economy if they break quickly. (L) Limited Items will Tier Upgrade Automatically, while Unlimited Weapons will hit Tier 0.9, the require a Manual upgrade by Right clicking the item> Tier Upgrading. Manual Tier upgrades require a list or recipe of various loots Such as Tier I Components, Nova and Piles of Garnet.
• Weapon Accuracy Enhancer
Increases Critical Chance.
• Weapon Range Enhancer
Increases the Weapon's Maximum Range.
• Weapon Damage Enhancer
Increases the weapons Min/Max Damage, decays weapon faster and increases Ammo Burn.
• Weapon Economy Enhancer
Reduces the decay and ammo burn on a Weapon
Mining Tools, Medical Tools and Armours also use Enhancers, More information about them can be found by searching the forums.
At a low level, you will not need to worry about enhancing Weapons, it is probably less cost efficient to use because of the Market Value for the Enhancer.
Team Hunting
Some creatures have more HP than you could poke a stick at, this is where it's advisable to find a group of friends to work together to take it down. Make sure you setup a team with "Shared Loot" settings; this setting means you will each be distributed loot based on damage output. It is usually the fairest way to distribute your loot. Some people like to split Item loots between the amount of players in the team, this is not mandatory and in fact it is sometimes looked down up. If you loot the item, it is yours unless you have arrangements prior to the hunt.
It is good for players to have similar damage ranges so that loot is relatively even. If you're using a level 2 weapon, hunting with a player using a level 50 weapon - you will not be doing a lot of damage in comparison meaning you will not be looting half as much as you are spending.
In Teams, you can "Set Team Target". This will help your team know which one to shoot at next. Nothing worse than 3 big creatures coming at your team all at once, and someone has to Tank them all in an attempt to save you all from being brutally beaten down. Setting multiple targets can disorient your team. It is best that you assign one player in the team to be the Targeter; they will Target a Creature, pull it with their ranged gun and then everyone can start firing together once it is in range.
Team hunting
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Creating teams and team settings
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Team invite and joining a team
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Team hunting methods
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Team hunting etiquette
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Hunting economy
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Tips for eco hunting
In this section you can find further tips for hunting more economically. Some might fit your preferred play-style, others might not, consider to adopt what you like.
Hunt at your level
"Hunt at your level" is a popular recommendation. Hunting at ones level can have several meanings, for example it can mean to spend only as much money for hunting as you can happily afford for entertainment. But most likely it means not to hunt creatures you are hardly able to kill which would result in increased decay of any equipment you use for hunting.
Hunting "naked"
Don't wear any armor. When being hit armor decays. Just make sure to hunt creatues you can kill without armor. However, at higher levels and if you are using a healing device under some circumstances it can be more economic to wear armor to reduce damage received instead of to use a healing tool to restore health, it's something to consider at a later point.
Don't heal
Don't heal yourself. Healing tools decay when being used. You can hunt creatures that rarely hit you before you manage to kill them or you can just wait until your health is fully recovered and do something else meanwhile, fx chat, read a page or 2 in book, etc etc etc. However, as mentioned just above, at higher levels and if you are hunting armored under some circumstances it can be more economic to use a healing tool instead of wearing armor, it's something to consider at a later point.
Use eco amps
Amplifiers can increase your weapons firepower. Some amps might be slightly more eco than your weapon, using them will make your setup more eco in total. More firepower can also result in being hit less before you kill a creature, consequently potentially saving armor decay and healing decay. A more in-depth look and an example can be found there: http://www.entropiaplanets.com/threads/weapon-amplifiers-why-do-they-matter.9397/
Avoid overkill
When a creature's health is that low that one more shot will kill it you can try to avoid making much more damage than it would take to kill the creature. You can use another weapon doing less damage than your standard weapon, a so called "finisher" for the so-called "kill shot".
Don't hunt but "swunt"
"Swunting" is a portmanteau for a combination of "Sweating" and "Hunting". It means to gather Vibrant Sweat from a creature until it becomes aggressive and attacks or even until it is "dry" and doesn't give more sweat. The latter method is popular for teams but rather impracticable when hunting solo, because in teams the hits of the creature are shared among the team members. Swunting is considered slightly more efficient because you gain additional skills from sweating and Vibrant Sweat that can be sold on the market.
Don't hunt without a mission
There are missions available with the task to kill various creatures. So you might want to get missions for the creatures you are able to kill before starting to kill them to ensure the kills count for finishing the missions.
Avoid taxed areas
Most player-owned areas have taxes on hunting. Taxes mean that a small fee of up to 5% is supposed to be deducted from each loot.
Employ a healer
A Medic will keep you alive while you hunt and you don't need to heal yourself. Even though you probably would have pay the medic you might be able to save PED in total due to less deaths, armor decay, ammunition spend per kill.
Utilize SIB weapons
SIB means "Skill Increase Bonus" which is a feature of many weapons, mainly of limited weapons. The skill increase period is attached to profession levels, so you only receive bonus while your profession levels are within the range specified in the item info of a weapon. However, being in the SIB range is mostly not efficient and not recommended, it only means that you gain a little bit more skills. But in almost any case it will be more eco to used SIB weapons you have "maxed", meaning your professions level are equal or higher than the upper limit of the SIB range of a weapon. Example?
Avoid getting hit
Each hit can reduce the value of your armor and decrease your health. Consequently you might need to heal more often, or even not be able to kill a creature at all. Therefore it is recommended to avoid getting hit, however, there are also positive aspects of getting hit in the form of defensive skills you can only gain by getting hit.
Tag creatures
"Tagging" means shooting at a creature to make it run towards you. By doing so you can avoid the "aggro" range of other creatures and thus avoid being attacked by several of them. Also if your main weapon has a short range tagging a creature with a longer range weapon deals a first damage before the creature enters the range of your primary weapon.
Walk backwards
While a creature is approaching you and you are shooting at it you can walk backwards to increase the time the creature needs to get close enough to attack you. Consequently you can deal more damage before being attacked, maybe even kill the creature before being hit at all.
Use gear with high tier rates
... Higher level players will use a large Amplifier to increase their Economy and overall DPP. Enhancers can be put into Items when their Tier is unlocked. (L) Limited items will automatically upgrade whilst Unlimited items will require a "Recipe" of ingredients to be Manually upgraded.
Weapon Accuracy Enhancers will usually make your Weapon more economic. Armour Durability Enhancers will increase the durability on your Armour. Miners may find Enhancers for their Finder which will increase their Eco also.
Higher tier rates on (L) items means you will unlock Tier Socket faster.
Links, references, contributors, categories
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Contributors:
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