Introduction

Hunting is the art of tracking and capturing prey. In the hunter skill you will encounter many different methods for capturing many different types of animals. These range from simple bird traps and noose wands all the way up to hunting with falcons and imp catching. To start off you will need to visit one of the two hunting stores. The Yanille hunting store is located just west of the magic guild. Speak to Aleck to buy your supplies. If you go to the Nardah store speak to Artimeus. To start you will be tracking or bird catching, but first you should learn about the Hunting Grounds. It is much easier to get to the hunting areas if you can use the Fairy Rings.

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Hunting Grounds

For all your hunting needs you will be using eight different hunting grounds. You will see them referenced multiple times in the guide, so it would be good to familiarize yourself with their locations. For quick access to detailed maps of each hunting region, visit the Hunting Locations page in our Atlas.

Woodlands
The Woodlands hunting ground is located just south of the Piscatoris fishing colony, northwest of the Gnome Stronghold. The best way to get there is to use Fairy Ring A K Q.

Jungle
The Jungle hunting ground is located just south of Feldip Hills. The best way to get there is to use the Gnome Glider (site unlocked in One Small Favour quest) or the Fairy Ring A K S. Then just walk south.

Snow
The Snow hunting ground is located north-east of Rellekka. The best way to get there is to use the Fairy Ring D K S. Travel slightly north, then down the slope to the west, then north out onto peninsula to get to the hunting area.

Desert
The Desert hunting ground is to the far east of the Al Kharid desert. Waterskin(s) and a knife to replenish them from cacti are recommended. The best way to get there is to use the Magic Carpet to Nardah or the Fairy Ring D L Q.

Swamp
The Swamp hunting ground is located southeast of Canifis, between the Werewolf Agility Arena and Dessous' Graveyard. Accessing the Mort Myre Swamp region of Runescape requires both the Priest in Peril quest and the Nature Spirit quest. The best way to get to the hunting ground is to use the passage unlocked during the In Search of the Myreque quest. The Fairy Ring D L S will get you into the tunnel. There are ghasts on your way to the grounds, but once you get there there are very few ghasts.

Temple
The Temple hunting ground is located just east of a chaos temple, which is south-west of Ardougne. The best way to get there is to use Ardougne teleport or use the Spirit Tree teleport to the Khazard Battlefield and run the rest of the way west.

Karamja
The Karamja hunting ground is located northeast of Cairn Island and south of Tai Bwo Wannai Village. The best way to get there is to use the Fairy Ring C K R.

Wilderness
This location is by far the hardest to reach. You must run from Varrock up to level 20 Wilderness, northeast of the large Chaos Temple area. The spot is almost exactly north of the Varrock Lumberyard. Beware: This area is multi-combat.

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Prey by Level

For convenience, here is a list of all hunter prey ordered by skill level. It shows the region and hunter method for each, as well as the xp and drops. All underlined words are linked to explanations in this guide.

Prey by Level
Picture	Animal	Level	Region	XP	Method	Drops
	Polar Kebbit	1	Snow	30	Track	Bones, Polar kebbit fur, Raw beast meat
	Crimson Swift	1	Jungle	34	Snare	Bones, Red feathers, Raw bird meat
	Common Kebbit	3	Woodland	36	Track	Bones, Common kebbit fur, Raw beast meat
	Golden Warbler	5	Desert	47.6	Snare	Bones, Yellow feathers, Raw bird meat
	Feldip Weasel	7	Jungle	48	Track	Bones, Feldip weasel fur, Raw beast meat
	Copper Longtail	9	Woodland	61.2	Snare	Bones, Orange feathers, Raw bird meat
	Cerulean Twitch	11	Snow	64.6	Snare	Bones, Blue feathers, Raw bird meat
	Desert Devil	13	Desert	66	Track	Bones, Desert devil fur, Raw beast meat
	Ruby Harvest	15	Woodland	24	Butterfly Net	Keep
	Tropical Wagtail	19	Jungle	95	Snare	Bones, Stripy feathers, Raw bird meat
	Wild Kebbit	23	Woodland	128	Deadfall (raw meat bait)	Bones and Kebbit claws
	Sapphire Glacialis	25	Snow	34	Butterfly Net	Keep
	Ferret	27	Woodland	115.2	Boxtrap (raw meat bait)	Keep
	Rabbit	27	Woodland	144	Ferret	Bones, raw rabbit, rabbit's foot
	Swamp Lizard	29	Swamp	152	Net Trap (guam tar)	Keep
	Spined Larupia	31	Jungle	180	Pitfall	Big bones, Larupia fur or Tatty larupia fur
	Barb-tailed Kebbit	33	Jungle	168	Deadfall (raw rainwbowfish bait)	Bones and Barbtailed harpoon
	Snowy Knight	35	Snow	44	Butterfly Net	Keep
	Prickly Kebbit	37	Woodland	204	Deadfall (barley bait)	Bones and Kebbit spikes
	Horned Graahk	41	Karamja	240	Pitfall	Big bones, Graahk fur or Tatty graahk fur
	Spotted Kebbit	43	Woodland	104.2	Falconry	Spotted kebbit fur
	Black Warlock	45	Jungle	54	Butterfly Net	Keep
	Orange Salamander	47	Desert	224	Net Trap (marrentill tar)	Keep
	Razor-backed Kebbit	49	Woodland	348	Track	Bones, Long kebbit spike, Raw beast meat
	Sabre-toothed Kebbit	51	Snow	200	Deadfall (raw meat bait)	Bones and Kebbit teeth
	Chinchompa	53	Woodland	198.5	Boxtrap (spicy chopped tomato)	Keep
	Sabre-toothed Kyatt	55	Snow	300	Pitfall	Big bones, Kyatt fur or Tatty kyatt fur
	Dark Kebbit	57	Woodland	132	Falconry	Fur used for clothing
	Red Salamander	59	Temple	272	Net Trap (tarromin tar)	Keep
	Red Chinchompas	63	Jungle	265	Boxtrap (spicy minced meat)	Keep
	Black Salamander	67	Wilderness	304	Net Trap (harralander tar)	Keep
	Dashing Kebbit	69	Woodland	156	Falconry	Fur used for clothing
	Imp	71	Anywhere	450	Magic Box (bead bait)	Keep

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Tracking

In tracking you use a noose wand, 4 gp at either hunting store, to capture the prey that you have tracked. With your noose wand equipped, travel to the region of the animal you want to trap and find a burrow. Follow the footprints and search around where they end to make the next set appear. After doing this for a while you will get a message saying that you suspect that there is an animal. Attack what you searched (it depends on the area you are in) and you will catch the animal and receive the drops. Beware, if you attack the wrong bush you could end up with a smelly pair of old boots. The furs can be changed into camouflage at the Varrock Fancy Dress shop. See the clothing section for more details.

Tracking
Animal	Level	Region	XP	Drops
Polar Kebbit	1	Snow	30	Bones, Polar kebbit fur, Raw beast meat
Common Kebbit	3	Woodland	36	Bones, Common kebbit fur, Raw beast meat
Feldip Weasel	7	Jungle	48	Bones, Feldip weasel fur, Raw beast meat
Desert Devil	13	Desert	66	Bones, Desert devil fur, Raw beast meat
Razor-backed Kebbit	49	Woodland	348	Bones, Long kebbit spike, Raw beast meat

Raw beast meat can be cooked on an iron spit and earns 82.5 cooking xp. Apply a chisel to long kebbit spikes to fletch a neat stack of bolts for the hunter crossbow (see deadfall section for more crossbow information).

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Bird Hunting

If tracking small critters just isn't your cup of tea then you can capture birds using a bird trap, 6gp at either hunting shop. Lay your bird trap below where the birds are flying, then walk several steps away and wait for a bird to land on it. When the bird perches, it will either be caught or set off your trap and fly away. If the bird escapes, you will notice that the perch has fallen to ground level; take down the trap and reset it. Sometimes, no bird will be attracted to the trap, and it will eventually fall to the ground on its own accord. Should this happen, right click the trap to reset it. If the bird is caught then check the snare to receive the drops and xp. If you have 39 hunter you can smoke the trap with a torch so the bird can't smell your presence.

Bird Hunting
Animal	Level	Region	XP	Drops
Crimson Swift	1	Jungle	34	Bones, Red feathers, Raw bird meat
Golden Warbler	5	Desert	47.6	Bones, Yellow feathers, Raw bird meat
Copper Longtail	9	Woodland	61.2	Bones, Orange feathers, Raw bird meat
Cerulean Twitch	11	Snow	65	Bones, Blue feathers, Raw bird meat
Tropical Wagtail	19	Jungle	95.2	Bones, Stripy feathers, Raw bird meat

All feathers can be sold at the Varrock Fancy Dress shop. The feathers can be used for ordinary fletching. Tropical Wagtail feathers can be used by level 38 fly-fishers to catch rainbowfish (80 fishing xp). Raw bird meat can be cooked on an iron spit for 62.5 cooking xp.

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Butterfly Catching

To catch butterflies you will need a net and an empty jar. Wield the net and click on the butterfly to chase after it and catch it.

Butterfly Catching
Animal	Level	Region	XP	Drops	Stat raised
Ruby Harvest	15	Woodland	24	Ruby Harvest	Attack
Sapphire Glacialis	25	Snow	34	Sapphire Glacialis	Defence
Snowy Knight	35	Snow	44	Snowy Knight	Hitpoints
Black Warlock	45	Jungle	54	Black Warlock	Strength

Captive butterflies can be used on other players in multi-combat areas to provide temporary stat boosts. The receiving player must have "Accept Aid" turned on (though a dialog to accept is not used). These can be used in Castle Wars. As shown in the table, Ruby Harvests add an attack bonus, Sapphire Glacialis add defence, Snowy Knights hitpoints, and Black Warlocks strength. A complete analysis has not been made, but initial reports show boosts of around 20%.

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Deadfall Traps

Deadfalling involves propping up a boulder with a log and allowing an unsuspecting critter to get smashed underneath it. In order to deadfall all you need is a knife and a log for each deadfall you want to make (an axe/hatchet is good for replenishing your log supply.) With a log and a knife in your inventory click the boulder and you will make the deadfall. It is also recommended to put bait out to lure the creature to the deadfall. If the animal sets off your trap but escapes, the bait can be reused. You can only set one deadfall at a time. If you have 39 hunter you can smoke the deadfall with a torch so the animal can't smell your presence.

Deadfall Traps
Animal	Level	Region	Bait	XP	Drops
Wild Kebbit	23	Woodland	Raw Meat	128	Bones, Kebbit claws
Barb-tailed Kebbit	33	Jungle	Raw Rainbowfish	168	Bones, Barbtailed harpoon
Prickly Kebbit	37	Woodland	Barley	204	Bones, Kebbit spike
Sabre-toothed Kebbit	51	Snow	Raw Meat	200	Bones, Kebbit teeth

Deadfall prey drops are useful in a variety of skills. Level 32 Crafters can apply kebbit claws to their leather or dragon vambraces (5.8 xp) for a +2 strength bonus. Level 35 Fishers will enjoy equipping the Barbtailed harpoon, allowing them to carry one more fish. Level 53 Herblorists can use ground kebbit teeth and avantoe to make a hunter's potion (120 herblore xp), which temporarily raises your hunter level by 3.

Leon, a strange inventor in the Yanille hunting shop will offer to sell you a prototype hunter's crossbow. Usable by level 50 rangers, this crossbow offers a +55 ranged bonus and according to Jagex, fires faster than most crossbows (its speed is comparable to Karil's crossbow). This crossbow requires special kebbit bolts, fletched by using a chisel on kebbit spikes (from the prickly kebbit, or long spikes from tracking the razor-backed kebbit). Bring your chisel while hunting these, since the bolts are stackable.

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Box Traps

To trap chinchompas, buy a box from one of the hunting stores and move to an area where the chinchompas live. To trap ferrets, you must complete most of the Eagle's Peak quest. Set up the box and bait it. You can also smoke it with a torch to remove your scent.

Box Traps
Animal	Level	Region	Bait	XP	Drops
Ferret	27	Woodland	Raw meat	115	Ferret
Chinchompa	53	Woodland	Spicy Chopped Tomato	198.5	Chinchompa
Red Chinchompa	63	Jungle	Spicy Minced Meat	265	Red Chinchompa

Your captive Chinchompa can be used as an explosive ranged weapon.

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Flushing

Flushing prey is done by compelling the animal to flee a hiding place. After the Eagle's Peak quest, you can trap ferrets which can be used to flush out rabbits from their warrens. There are two rabbit warrens in the woodlands (Piscatoris) hunting area, each having six openings facing each other. Set up rabbit snares directly in front of as many warren openings as your level allows, then use your ferret at another. The rabbit will dart across the open ground and hopefully into your snare. Sometimes you lose your ferret, so bring extras. The rabbit snare can be smoked by level 39 hunters.

Flushing
Animal	Level	Region	Flusher	XP	Drops
Rabbit	27	Woodland	Ferret	144	Bones, raw rabbit, rabbit's foot

Level 37 crafters can string a rabbit's foot using a ball of wool (earning 4 crafting xp). Wearing a rabbit's foot necklace increases the chances of getting a bird's nest while woodcutting, but requires level 24 hunter to wear.

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Lasso

The Eagle's Peak quest introduced a new type of hunting, though no experience is currently earned from it. After completing the quest, you can use a rope as a lasso on giant eagles to obtain a ride between four different hunting locations. Giant eagles fly between the woodlands and the jungle, desert and snow hunting areas, and have names identifying their route. The woodlands is the network "hub" where you can change to another eagle and fly elsewhere. Ropes spawn at the desert and snow locations, but you must bring your own to board at the jungle and woodlands.

Lasso
Picture	Animal	Level	Region	XP	Purpose
	Giant Eagle	27 and Eagle's Peak quest	Desert, Jungle, Snow, Woodland	None	Ride to a major hunting area

Each destination nest must be unlocked one time to exit/enter it. The nests are all located up hills or cliff faces, not on the ground. The snow nest is located in the northeast corner of the area, across a small bridge; some rocks must be climbed to enter or exit. The jungle (Feldip Hills) nest is a short distance northwest of the Hunting Expert. Although it's possible to exit the first time, it requires a teasing stick (or a spar from the Jungle Cleanup minigame) to train a vine to grow up to the entrance. You will receive a message in your chat window when it's done; it takes at least 20 minutes (probably longer) to grow. The desert nest is located east of the desert river, just steps west of the mine northwest of the Ruins of Uzer. It is the most inconvenient to unlock because you cannot fly to it and exit the first time. It must be approached from the outside to push a boulder into the nest and away from the opening. Once these areas are unlocked, you can fly freely back and forth to the woodlands. This is useful for players without access to the fairy ring network.

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Net Traps

Take a rope and a fishing net (big nets don't work) to the hunting location listed below and click on a young tree. You will set up a trap and eventually a lizard/salamander will get caught in it. The "bait" is not required for catching the animal but does make the task faster. The bait is made by using the listed herb with 15 swamp tar in a pestle and mortar (earns herblore experience; examples are guam 30 xp, marrentill 42.5 xp, harralander 72.5 xp). You can use a torch at level 39 hunter to remove your scent from the trap.

Net Traps
Animal	Level	Region	Bait	XP	Drops
Swamp Lizard	29	Swamp	Guam Tar	152	Swamp Lizard
Orange Salamander	47	Desert	Marrentill Tar	224	Orange Salamander
Red Salamander	59	Temple	Tarromin Tar	272	Red Salamander
Black Salamander	67	Wilderness	Harralander Tar	304	Black Salamander

Once you have caught the animal you can equip it as a two-handed flame thrower. You must equip its favourite bait (see above) as ammunition in your arrows slot (right-click for option). Selectable combat styles include magic, melee and ranged.

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Pitfalls

Pitfalls utilize existing holes in the RS landscape to capture large beasts. Click on the pit with logs and a knife in your inventory to cover it. Once you have done this poke the beast you are hunting with a teasing stick (bought at a hunting store) to lure the beast towards the pit. Once the animal is chasing you, lure it over your pit. If he isn't caught, you can't lead him across the same trap - but you can lead him to another you've set. Be aware that these animals can damage you, so you may want to bring food (or a tinderbox and iron spit to cook meat dropped by nearby players). Pitfalls can be used by multiple players at the same time. The fur of these beasts can be taken to Varrock's fancy dress shop owner to get special hunting clothing made.

Pitfalls
Animal	Level	Region	XP	Drops
Spined Larupia	31	Jungle	180	Big bones, Larupia fur or Tatty larupia fur
Horned Graahk	41	Karamja	240	Big bones, Graahk fur or Tatty graahk fur
Sabre-toothed Kyatt	55	Snow	300	Big bones, Kyatt fur or Tatty kyatt fur

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Falconry

Using another creature to do your dirty work, now doesn't that sound appealing? Go to the falconry training ground east of the Woodland hunter area to use falcons to catch kebbits for you. When using falconry you can't have gloves, a weapon or shield/defender equipped. Falconry gloves and the falcon are rented to you by Matthias for 500gp. You cannot leave the training ground with the falcon. You must have a hunter level of at least 43 to use falcons.

Falconry
Animal	Level	Region	XP	Drops
Spotted Kebbit	43	Woodland	104.2	Spotted fur
Dark Kebbit	57	Woodland	132	Dark fur
Dashing Kebbit	69	Woodland	156	Dashing kebbit fur

Use falconry prey fur to make clothing accessories with some interesting properties.

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Imp Catching

The prey requiring the highest hunter level is the ordinary imp. To catch it, activate a magic box trap near a location known for imps, such as south of Edgeville, south of Falador, Lumbridge, Varrock and Brimhaven/Karamja. Smoking the trap has no effect. You can optionally bait the trap with a coloured bead (obtained, ironically, from killing imps), but they will steal the bead fairly regularly, and can be caught without bait. You can have more than one imp-in-a-box at a time, but it cannot be traded.

Imp Catching
Animal	Level	Region	Bait	XP	Drops
Imp	71	Anywhere	Magical Bead	450	Boxed Imp

The captive imp-in-a-box has unique properties. In addition to engaging in lengthy dialog, captured imps will transport two items to your bank in exchange for being released. This works from level 30 wilderness but not from level 31. In wilderness levels above 30, the imp will tell you right away that it can't transport anything for you right now.

You can right-click Bank or go through the lengthy Talk dialog to get to the banking option. This pulls up a small inventory screen. You can select two items to be sent. Each item clicks out to your bank immediately - there is no confirmation, so no second chances on a "whoops" mis-click. If you only want to send one item, click it [it goes immediately and you have Imp-in-a-box(1) left], and just use the X in the top right to close the interface.

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Clothing

Bring some furs and speak to the owner of Varrock's fancy dress shop (located southeast of Aubury's Rune Store) to get some new clothing made.

Two tracking animal furs and 20 gp will get you a top or a bottom that matches the area where you got the fur: polar kebbit, common kebbit (woodlands), weasel (jungle), and desert devil. Wearing these clothes in the related area will make you less noticeable to prey and improve your chances of success using "place and wait" traps.

Camouflage Clothes
Region	Fur Source	Image	Top	Image	Bottom
Snow	Polar kebbit		Polar Camo Top		Polar Camo Bottom
Woodlands (Piscatoris)	Common kebbit		Wood Camo Top		Wood Camo Bottom
Jungle (Feldip Hills)	Feldip weasel		Jungle Camo Top		Jungle Camo Bottom
Desert (Uzer)	Desert devil		Desert Camo Top		Desert Camo Bottom

More dramatic clothing is available using the furs from pitfalls. Any fur from a Spined Larupia, Horned Graahk or Sabre-toothed Kyatt can be used to make a top or bottom for 100, 150 and 200 gp respectively. The best furs (not "tatty" ones) can also be used to make matching headresses. It is 500gp for a Larupia headdress, 750gp for a Graahk, and 1,000gp for a Kyatt one. Jagex states that wearing any of these items will increase your hunting success in the related terrain: spined larupia for jungle and woodland, horned graahk for desert, and sabre-tooth kyatt for polar. Wearing all three pieces of a set in the matching area will maximize your chances.

Camouflage Sets
Region	Fur Source	Level	Hat	Top	Legs
Jungle/Woodlands	Spined Larupia	28
Desert	Horned Graahk	38
Snow	Sabretooth Kyatt	52

Falcon-caught prey fur can be used to make items useful outside the hunter skill. Each item requires two furs plus a small fee. Spotted kebbit fur can be made into a cape which reduces your weight. This cape can be traded, but can only be made or worn by level 40 hunters. Two dark kebbit furs can be made into gloves which improve your chances at pickpocketing. (These gloves unfortunately disintegrate at times.) Two furs from the dashing kebbit can be turned into a spottier cape, which reduces your weight even more.

Falconry Fur Accessories
Furs	Fee	Item	Image	Level	Effect
2 Spotted Kebbit	400	Spotted Cape		40	Reduces your weight (between 2 and 3 kg)
2 Dark Kebbit	600	Gloves of Silence*		54	Increases success at pickpocketing
2 Dashing Kebbit	800	Spottier Cape		66	Greatly reduces weight (between 4 and 5 kg)

* Gloves of Silence can be repaired by using one dark kebbit fur on them while carrying a knife, needle and thread. Repairing gloves requires 64 crafting. Wear status is shown when checking the gloves (or 'operating' them when worn). The messages are as follows:

• These gloves are new.
• These gloves are in good condition.
• These gloves are starting to look quite shabby.
• These gloves are starting to need repair.
• These gloves are in need of repair!
• These gloves are about to fall apart!

If you continue pickpocketing after the last message, your gloves will vanish and you will see "Your gloves of silence have worn out."

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Tips and Tricks

There is a Hunting expert in Feldip Hills, where you can purchase the Hunting Cape of Achievement. (A second hunting guide is located in the Trollweiss hunting area.) According to the expert, there are four things that affect your hunting:

1. The bait you use
2. Your distance from the trap
3. What you wear
4. How the trap smells

Strategies for each concern:

1. Recommended bait is listed in the grouped trap tables above.
2. Stepping 4-5 squares away from the trap is recommended.
3. Wearing the clothes appropriate to the area will improve your success at trapping.
4. At level 39 hunter, you can use a lit torch on your traps to remove your scent (bring a tinderbox: the first option on a lit torch is "extinguish").

Bring some extra traps, as some of the longer random events will cause you to lose yours.

When setting traps and doing other things (such as catching butterflies) keep an eye on your message screen. After a while your trap falls over and you can lose it.

Hunter potion can be made at Level 53 Herblore. It requires ground kebbit teeth and avantoe, and temporarily raises hunter by 3 levels.

Hunter level and Maximum Traps

• Level 1 - 19 One trap at a time
• Level 20 - 39 Two traps at a time
• Level 40 - 59 Three traps at a time
• Level 60 - 79 Four traps at a time
• Level 80 - 99 Five traps at a time

 

Some trap areas such as pitfalls can be shared, but there can be competition for prey and some hunting fixtures such as deadfalls. Unfortunately there are few strategies for triumphing in these situations. If your trap falls, set a new trap first and then pick up the fallen one. Try to be vigilant for opportunities, keep calm, and/or change to a less crowded world.

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Impetuous Impulses

Impetuous Impulses is a minigame which involves warping to the world of Puro-Puro in order to use your hunting skill to catch various types of implings. The game is mostly used for fun and for the loot the implings provide, but the minigame does also give some slight Hunter experience. The implings found in Puro-Puro will sometimes make themselves known to the outside world. Capturing one of these more adventurous implings will give slightly more experience, but the possible loot remains the same. The minigame, however, is far slower for training up the Hunter skill than other methods.

Impetuous Impulses
Impling Type	Hunter Level required	Experience gained (Puro-Puro)	Experience gained (outside Puro-Puro)
Baby Impling	17	18	20
Young Impling	22	20	22
Gourmet Impling	28	22	24
Earth Impling	36	27	29
Essence Impling	42	25	27
Eclectic Impling	50	30	32
Nature Impling	58	34	36
Magpie Impling	65	44	54
Ninja Impling	74	50	60
Dragon Impling	83	65	75

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Cape of Achievement

Once you have mastered the skill and reached level 99 you may want to buy yourself a Hunter Cape from the Hunting expert at her cabin in the Jungle hunting area south of the Feldip Hills. (A second hunting guide is located in the Trollweiss hunting area.) Refer to the Achievement Capes guide for more details.