Hunter build

+100 Range
+1% Damage for every 10 Range you have
Crit Chance modifications are increased by 25%
Harvesting modifications are reduced by 100%
Max HP modifications are reduced by 33%

Unlock and starting weapons Open Hiking Pole in the calculator

How players win with Hunter Community consensus

Crossbows with Crit Chance (boosted 25%) and Range, which also grants % Damage; Harvesting gains are cancelled, so drop it. Thief Dagger, Icicle, Shuriken and Hiking Pole are reported alternatives.

Stats: Crit Chance, Range, Ranged Damage, Luck, Max HP, Life Steal. Weapon classes: Precise.

Avoid: Harvesting.

ArosRising's Brotato Character Guide (undated; written before Primal Dread): Danger 5 oriented Google Doc; the author says it has not been updated for Primal Dread or Update 1.2.
Beginners/Achievement Guide - How To Win As Every Character (+D5 Tips) - Brotato (AdamsIdeas) (last updated 2026-02-12): Predates Update 1.2 and Primal Dread.
Brotato + DLC!! - Danger 5 Runs and Tips (All Characters) +UPDATES (B the No-Self) (posted 2023-08-12; last updated 2026-11-05): Character sections are undated and many were written before Update 1.2 (2 Nov 2026); Danger 5 wins.

Summarised in our own words on 13 November 2026; check the patch date of each source against PC 1.2.

Weapons Hunter boosts most Computed from rules

Hunter: ordered by how much Hunter's modifiers raise each weapon's damage compared with a character without modifiers, then by damage per second; weapons Hunter doesn't boost fall back to raw DPS. Reference profile: Hunter's own stats plus 20 points bought in the weapon's main scaling stat, both multiplied by Hunter's modifiers; one weapon, its highest tier, no items, single target, every projectile hits. 89 of 95 equippable weapons scale with a stat Hunter can raise.

#	Weapon	Boost	DPS	Main stat	Hit	Cooldown
1	Hiking Pole IVStarting option	×1.65	57.3	Melee Damage	66	1.17 s
2	Crossbow IVStarting option	×1.51	58.3	Ranged Damage	42	1.13 s
3	Sniper Gun IV	×1.43	95.3	Ranged Damage	143	2.40 s
4	Tranq Rifle IVStarting option	×1.45	85.7	Ranged Damage	116	2.03 s
5	Combat Shotgun IV	×1.09	383.5	Ranged Damage	35 ×8	0.75 s
6	Machine Gun IV	×1.09	273.5	Ranged Damage	24	0.09 s
7	Minigun IV	×1.10	251.8	Ranged Damage	22	0.09 s
8	Obliterator IV	×1.10	245.5	Ranged Damage	770	3.23 s
9	Flaming Brass Knuckles IV	×1.10	187.4+ burn 8×18	Melee Damage	110	0.59 s
10	Power Fist IV	×1.10	187.4	Melee Damage	110	0.59 s

Starting weapons by the same measure

Legendary-only weapons

These exist only at tier IV, cost a Legendary shop slot and carry the Legendary set penalty of −20 Max HP per weapon of the class. At the same profile: Chain Gun 788.6 DPS; Gatling Laser 542.5 DPS; Excalibur 460 DPS; Scythe 267.5 DPS.

Items for the stats this build buys Computed from item data

Ranked by points per base material after Hunter's multiplier; prices rise each wave. Downsides are listed because they hit other stats.

Range converted by Hunter

Crit Chance Hunter multiplies it

Melee Damage main stat of the top weapons

Ranged Damage main stat of the top weapons

Items that turn Hunter's stats into more

Lucky Coin+2 Luck for every 1% Crit Chance you have

What the modifiers change Computed from rules

Hunter's modifiers reward Crit Chance ×1.25, Range (converted to Damage). At the reference profile the highest single-target damage comes from Hiking Pole IV (57.3 DPS).

Crit Chance ×1.25: Every point from items, level-ups and set bonuses counts ×1.25; penalties grow by the same factor.
Max HP ×0.67: Counts ×0.67, including its penalties, which shrink by the same factor.
Harvesting ×0: Always 0, whatever you buy: items adding it are wasted.
Range → Damage: +1% Damage for every 10 Range you have. At 20 Range this gives 2% Damage.

Never offered to Hunter

Item groups: harvesting.

Assumptions and method

Damage per hit = round(trunc(base + Σ stat × scaling) × (1 + %Damage/100 + class %Damage/100)); crits average in as chance × round(hit × multiplier). Formulas are datamined from the game code; weapon numbers come from the game-file tables.
Cooldown is the tooltip value, which includes the attack animation. Reload weapons average the long cooldown over its shot count. Attack Speed divides the tooltip, an approximation: the game divides only the cooldown frames.
Not modelled: pierce, bounce, explosion splash, knockback, on-hit and kill-count effects, structures, and how often the weapon actually reaches enemies. Multi-projectile weapons assume every projectile hits the same target, which favours shotguns.
Version: Brotato PC 1.2 with the 12 November 2026 patch. Reviewed 12 November 2026.