There’s a hush before a Shadow Hunter shoots — not because the room is quiet, but because everything in it knows the next sound will be the one that matters. The Shadow Hunter is Trove’s long-range precision class: a sniper whose charged radiance cuts through shields and mispositioning like a blade through silk. the class remains a high-skill, high-reward pick: it can one-shot priority targets, control fights with snares, and sprint through routes when built for farming.
This Trove guide walks you through the Shadow Hunter Abilities, and the three builds: Sniper, Rapid-Fire, or speed-Farm — with practical rotations, gem choices, emblem/flask picks and endgame tuning.
The Shadow Hunter Abilities & passive
The Shadow Hunter is essentially a long-range archer archetype with a charged “radiant” shot, snares (Sun Snares / traps), mobility that can be used to reposition, and a high-impact ultimate.
Basic Attack: It shoots a single arrow made of light energy that can travel through enemies and blocks. The character moves at a reduced speed while shooting.With Class Gem 
Shadow Blitz: The basic attack changes significantly, becoming a rapid-fire stream with attack speed 12/s (a “machine gun” effect) that also shoot through walls. Attack Speed stats on gear do not affect this rapid fire rate.
Dark Whispers: Nearby enemies periodically receive a Shadow Mark, increasing damage done to them as well as making them visible through walls. When the Shadow Hunter uses a basic attack on Shadow Marked targets a small explosion is triggered at the target and the Shadow Hunter will gain one Seeker. Additionally, when dodging the Shadow Hunter gains a movement speed boost for a short time.
Shadow Seekers: Requires one Seeker to use. On use fires all Seekers that hunt the closest target and explode on contact dealing damage. The Shadow Hunter can store up to 5 Seekers at a time. Seekers deal increased damage for each one fired when used.
Sun Snare: is the utility tool: it stuns or roots enemies in an area, creating the angle for clean charged shots or helping you kite dangerous mechanics. Sun Snares are crucial for controlling high-value targets and preventing escape.
Sacred Arrow: Fire a large damaging arrow of energy that applies a damage over time to targets hit by it. This arrow pierces targets and blocks. If the ability button is held down, you will continuously fire arrows until running out of energy. Damage over time effect can be applied to the same target multiple times.
The Shadow Hunter Builds
Sniper Build
If you love watching damage numbers pop and you enjoy lining up, this is the build. It’s the classic Shadow Hunter: massive single-target output that often trades pack speed for the ability to one-shot boss phases.
You’ll play at medium/long range, pre-aiming shots and using snares to lock targets into your arcs. Gear focuses on Physical Damage, Crit Chance, Crit Damage, and Light for endgame scaling. you should pushing crit to 100% before shifting to crit damage and Light for max DPS.
stats: Crit Chance → Crit Damage → Physical Damage → Light (late game).
Gems: Empowered picks: Explosive Epilogue (on-kill explosions) and Pyrodisc (AoE). Choose class gems that enhance your PD.- Emblems & Flask:
Martial + 
Beamer, 
Death-Defying Vial. - Ally:
Earnie
Rapid-Fire Build
Not every fight gives you the leisure to line up perfect shots. The Rapid-Fire hybrid aims to be more forgiving: a shorter charges and supplement with faster fires to keep pressure on moving targets. This build is friendlier in Delves and against many add waves.
Players adopting this style put more value into attack speed, some crit, and AoE-on-kill gems so that the frequent kills create chain damage.
- stats: Attack Speed → Physical Damage → Crit Hit → Crit Damage.
- Gems: Explosive Epilogue is still excellent
- Emblems & Flask:
Berserker for attack speed + Martial pairings for sustained damage; Death-Defying Vial. - Ally: Earnie
Speed-Farm Build
When the goal is resources, optimize for clear speed. Shadow Hunters can be excellent topside farmers, the empowered gems multiply brief kills into area clears. The trick is to keep movement and attack speed high while using snares only when necessary.
- stats: Movement Speed → Attack Speed → Physical Damage → Energy Regen.
- Gems: lesser gems into MS/AS; Empowered picks like Explosive Epilogue still add huge value to clears.
- Emblems & Flask: Martial +
Trailblazing combos for farm; 
Elysian Bandolier or fast flask to reduce downtime. - Ally: Earnie – The most effective ally for this build, it gives Light + Physical Damage Bonus, and provide a Shield when nearby enemies die.
Emblems, Flasks & Allies
Emblems, flasks and allies are often what moves you from “playable” to “carry.” The Shadow Hunter benefits from both damage windows and cooldown reduction emblems depending on the build.
Emblems:
- Martial +
Surestrike — classic Sniper combo (high damage + reliable crits). - Berserker + Martial — useful for Rapid-Fire and farming.
Chronomantic — if you want faster ultimate and snare re-use.- Trailblazing — for pure speed builds on servers that offer movement emblems.
Flasks:
- Death-Defying Vial — clutch for solo risky content (prevents instant wipe on missed window).
- Elysian Bandolier — for farming use to keep uptime high.
Allies:
Rapt Berserker — raw DPS ally that improves clear and boss damage.- Earnie — if you want sustain on solo runs.
Jingles — cooldown and and damage bonus.
Shadow Hunter Gear Stats priorities by slot
| Slot | Sniper / DPS | Rapid-Fire / Hybrid | Speed-Farm |
|---|---|---|---|
 Weapon | Crit Damage → Damage → Crit Chance | Attack Speed → Damage → Crit Damage | Attack Speed → Movement → Damage |
 Hat | Crit Damage → Damage → Light | Crit Damage → AS → PD | Movement → AS → PD |
 Face | Damage → Crit Chance → Crit Damage | PD → AS → Crit Chance | Energy Regen → Movement → PD |
 Ring | Crit → Crit Damage → PD | AS / PD / Crit | Movement / AS |
 Banner | Light → PD → Crit | PD → AS → Light | AS / Movement |
Progression roadmap — early → mid → endgame
- Early (0–PR5k): Learn charge timing and snare placement. Start with generalist gems and build towards 60–80% crit.
- Mid (PR5k–PR20k): Choose Sniper or Rapid-Fire. Hunt for empowered gems (Explosive Epilogue, Pyrodisc). Begin chasing a useful class gem from Everdark Vaults.
- Endgame (Long Shade / Shadow Tower): Push 100% crit if desired, invest Mystic/Cosmic gem upgrades into Light, tune emblems/allies and finalize class gem choices. Test your Stellar class gem — it often redefines rotation.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q — Is Shadow Hunter good in 2026?
A — Yes. Shadow Hunter remains a viable and often meta-adjacent choice for boss carry and topside clearing when built and played skillfully.
Q — Which empowered gem is best for Shadow Hunter?
A — Explosive Epilogue is broadly recommended; Pyrodisc and Cubic Curtain/Stinging Curse are popular alternatives depending on playstyle and class-gem interactions.
Q — Should I push to 100% crit?
A — Many high-end builds do. Aim for high crit first, then shift to crit damage and Light.
Final Thoughts
The Shadow Hunter rewards discipline: you will be punished for missed angles and unearned greed, and rewarded for patience, aim and rhythm. If you practice snaring and learn to line up the shots that count — and if you let empowered gem explosions do the messy clean-up — you’ll find the SH can carry fights, slice through bosses and still be a surprisingly efficient farmer when the situation calls for it.