Hunter

Hunter skills assist with Bow attacks, hunting itself, harvesting ingredients, and ranged killing in general.

Tier I

Icon	Skill	Description	Notes
	Arrow Retrieval	Occasionally recover Arrows when looting enemies that were killed with your Bow.	This is nice to have but is entirely non-essential for most players. You get plenty of Arrows already, and can harvest Hardwood and Feathers to make even more.
	Breath Control	You have more Steady Aim time with Bows.	Take this to improve your sniping. It’s easier to get the best headshots if you have enough time to line everything up. Hold off on this skill if you’re more interested in non-Bow combat.
	Scavenger	You get more ammunition from corpses.	Non-essential but nice to have. This is more useful in the early game, so take this quickly or wait until you’re done with everything else.
	Animal Instincts	Animals glow when you’re using Survival Instincts. Larger animals leave footprints and blood trails.	This is a fairly powerful skill if you have trouble spotting animals on your own. Hide collection is a major part of your upgrade cycle, and anything that prevents you from missing targets is a good thing.
	Master of the Land	Reveal when exotic animals are nearby.	This shows you where exotic animals are located as long as Lara gets anywhere near them. Pair this with Animal Instincts to get the most out of your hunting sessions. Hold off on both of these if you’re just trying to race through the story.
	Anatomical Knowledge	Use Survival Instincts to highlight animals’ hearts. Shoot those areas for greatly increased damage.	You find this in a Codex at the end of a Tomb. It makes hunting slightly easier, but it doesn’t work on bears or large cats.
	Geologist	You get more Magnesite from ore veins, and Lara sometimes harvests Chromite as well.	This makes it easier to get your upgrade materials. It’s a skill that you learn from a Codex. Without this skill, Lara can never gather Chromite, which puts many upgrades completely out of reach.

Tier II

Icon	Skill	Description	Notes
	Double Shot	Fire up to two Arrows at different targets when you’re locked on.	Zoom in while charging a Bow attack. Highlight two different enemies to lock onto them, and then unleash your attack when ready. Combine with Triple Shot and True Shot to become a sniping god. We can’t stress enough how powerful this trio of skills becomes.
	Nerves of Steel	Improves Steady Aim time.	Combine this with Breath Control if you feel like you need even more time to aim your Bow attacks. This is player dependent, and skilled archers may not require both.
	Dead Eye	Shows an icon over a target’s head when your aim is true.	It’s nice to know when you’re on-target for a good headshot. This skill helps you perfect your aim. It’s stronger for newer players but fades somewhat as people get more and more used to the weapons in this game.
	Finesse	Earn bonus XP from headshots and all types of stealth kills.	Long chains of headshots and stealth kills earn you a HUGE amount of experience over time. This skill is effective, fun, and it encourages skilled gameplay. Always get this. It should be one of your first Tier II purchases. The extra experience pays for the skill over time, so this is almost a freebie.
	Naturalist	You gain increased natural resources when harvesting.	This skill is a time saver. Hold off on it if you’re having trouble simply surviving, but go after it as soon as you feel like you have your basic battle skills down. The less time you spend harvesting, the more time you have to explore and fight.
	Survivalist	You gain increased man-made resources when searching.	Pair this with Naturalist to get the most crafting items out of your time.
	Ancient Abilities	Quickly fire two successive Arrows without delay. Cannot be paired with Double/Triple Shot.	You get this skill from a Codex, so it’s free. This is very useful if you aren’t going after the Triple Shot/True Shot line of skills because it gives Lara more combat oomph when she’s using her Bow. The other line is more for Bow sniping. This one is for direct combat. Rapid fire skills like this one are also good for killing enemies with helmets. The first shot can break the helmet and the second one can kill with a headshot.

Tier III

Icon	Skill	Description	Notes
	Triple Shot	Simultaneously fire up to three Arrows against locked targets.	Zoom in and charge your Bow attack while locking in up to three targets. Get True Shot as soon as you can, and this becomes the best sniping combo in the game. You can take out the patrollers in a group when they’re isolated, and then Triple Shot any Soldiers that are watching each other. Silent. Quick. Easy.
	True Shot	Locked targets are automatically hit in the head.	We’ve already mentioned why this skill is amazing—See Triple Shot. Use a high-damage Bow (e.g. Compound Bow) to get the most out of this.
	Bow Expert	Unlocks a Bow Finisher attack and increases your chance of looting special ammo for this weapon type.	Use to execute incapacitated enemies when you have the Bow out. There are several Expert skills like this. They’re not as powerful as taking the Dodge skills and then upgrading your Axes. That’s a better use of your skill points for most players.
	Pistol Expert	Unlocks a Pistol Finisher attack and increases your chance of looting special ammo for this weapon type.	Use to execute incapacitated enemies when you have the Pistol out.
	Rifle Expert	Unlocks a Rifle Finisher attack and increases your chance of looting special ammo for this weapon type.	Use to execute incapacitated enemies when you have the Rifle out.
	Shotgun Expert	Unlocks a Shotgun Finisher attack and increases your chance of looting special ammo for this weapon type.	Use to execute incapacitated enemies when you have the Shotgun out.
	Classically Trained	Allows you to shoot up to three Arrows without pulling from the quiver.	This skill is learned from a Codex. It lets you rapid-fire Arrows against a target by pressing the right trigger several times in quick succession. It’s useful in direct combat but has no major value for sniping unless you miss your headshot and need to power through a target.