New class: Hunter

[Emperor Pan I]

San Francisco, CA (November 07, 2006) -- Leading video games developer Flagship Studios today released details on the third character faction that expectant gamers can play in Hellgate: London, the first original PC title from Flagship.

Hunters were highly-trained ex-military operatives and members of secret government agencies most comfortable clinging to the shadows and dealing with threats in their own deadly ways. After the Demon invasion, methods and weapons once held secret were shared as Hunters switched their crosshairs from one another to the monsters that had invaded their world.

The archetype of the Hunter is obscure, cloaked in mystery and subterfuge. In one way he is the Assassin, the Ninja, the knife in the dark. In other ways, he is the Ronin, a highly-trained warrior with no master. In yet more, he is the Destroyer, a force of blazing gunfire and deadly accuracy that lays waste to any foe that stands in his way.

Their weaponry was/is a mix of hyper-advanced technology and theoretical science. Their people are boisterous groups of practical hard-asses who have survived the Demon invasion thus far by remaining a few steps ahead and keeping the Cabalists and Templar a few steps behind. They are also men and women that have been subjected to indescribable horrors long before any Demon touched Earth's soil.

"Since the announcement of Hellgate: London, we've had a lot of requests for a class of characters that place an emphasis on player skill through mid-to-long ranged weapon attacks," said Bill Roper, CEO and co-founder of Flagship Studios. "By removing auto-aiming and target-locking, the Hunter has been designed to provide a game play experience which will appeal directly to FPS players."

Hellgate: London combines the depth of role-playing games and the action of first-person shooter titles, while offering infinite playability with dynamically generated levels, items, enemies and events. The player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero.

-http://www.hellgatelondon.com/news/view/62/#fancy_panel

[x42bn6]

Wow, this game just became more interesting by several notches.*

[Emperor Pan I]

From what I understand the Hunter class will provide free FPS game play, but the other classes will still cater to those who do not wish to play in a FPS environment. If that is so, than it this game has increased my anticipation.

[Gmechanic]

Hey guys,
I am brand spankin new to these forums ever since I saw the Hellgate preview video on G4. Totally hooked. I've never been more obsessed over anything else my whole life. Cant wait for it to come out!

But I digress, so will the hunter be a playable class as the
Cabalist or Templar in this game (because I'm not seeing them on the HG:L site), or just characters in the game like say demons? I'm assuming that those demons won't be playable as a class either right? Too bad, I would've liked to play the badass for once.

[Emperor Pan I]

there are six classes in Hellgate: London, divided equally among the three factions in the game. The factions, "Cabalists", "Templars" and "Hunters" represent the different approaches towards the demon invasion. Cabalists are witches and warlocks, templars are holy knights in shining armour, and hunters are high tech soldiers. All characters of a given faction share the same graphics, quests, storyline and some generic character skills, like the ability to throw grenades.

Within each faction, there are two classes. Cabalists have the Evoker, a frail but powerful direct damage spellcaster, and the Summoner, with few direct attacks but strong minions. Templars have the Guardian, a defensive class that receives bonuses for being surrounded, and the Blademaster, who can wield two swords and trades defense for damaging power. Finally, Hunters have the Marksman, the classic first-person shooter class, and the Engineer, a high-tech version of the Summoner.

Three additional classes will be provided to Elite subscribers shortly after launch. These are the Cabalist Shapeshifter, who can morph into a demon; Templar Crusader, who can wield two-handed swords; and Hunter Recon, a stealth-based class.