As mentioned in my previous post about Spencer Reid’s character development from before and after he experienced the torture in episode 15, the directors shot types had a huge impact on how each scene with Reid is interpreted. The most noticeable aspects of cinematography in the scenes where Reid is present are lighting and shot angle. From scenes in episodes released before ‘Revelations’, the lighting is usually soft and warm, making Reid look like a pure and innocent character, which can’t be said about how he is shown after the episode. From episode 16 until episode 19, when he is finally getting over his addiction, the lighting used to portray his character is harsh and cool. The coloring of the shots mixed with the lighting shows that Reid is not in good standings with himself during the later episodes, especially when compared to the beginning of episode 14 when he is shown having a good time with his friends. On top of the lighting shown when Reid is present in a frame, the shot types used to portray his character are usually from angles that belittle his character and show how degrading he is being towards himself. Prior to episode 15, Reid is shot from a neutral eye-line angle, that only really says that he is normal and nothing is wrong with him at the current moment; this angle is used again once his addiction is no longer an issue. Specific angles that are used to portray Spencer are low angles that look up at him, showing that he is not on the same level as other members of the team, who receive lower angles to show that they are more down to earth. Overall, the director did an amazing job setting up scenes and camera angles to really show Reid’s current mental state and sharing how different his relationship is with his co-workers.
The picture above shows Reid’s character from a low angle, showing him in a higher frame of the camera, while the picture below shows his co-workers from a higher angle, proving that they are more level and stable minded.
In our Places class today, we had a quick recap over what we have learnt in the past few weeks. Amy-Lee and I made a spider diagram whereby we listed all the different shot types and their effects. We did this prior to filming using these shot types.
This YouTube video discusses the significance of opening shots and how they often convey the characters or film’s overall message and themes. The content creator uses a wide variety of examples such as 2001 A Space Odyssey, Dan in Real Life and Little Miss Sunshine
The bread and butter for a gunner, these things do the actual damage, so it’s good to get to know what in the world you are firing.
In each shot type, I’ll put my own comments about the shot, their critical distance, damage, combination and the minimum reload/recoil needed to fire them without noticeable reload/recoil.
Normal 1, Normal 2
Basic ammo for all hunters, Normal 1 is always present, while Normal 2 has to be bought (cheaply) and brought into quests. What they do is simple, shoot and hit. Normal 2 should be your staple shot for all quests, and you should make it a habit to bring both 99 Normal 2 shots and combines for more with you on all quests, which can all be bought from the item shop. Normal 1 is pretty weak, and shouldn't be used unless the monster is limping away.
Their critical distance is pretty much from right next to the monster to about 2 rolls away.
Normal 1 does 6% of display raw, while Normal 2 does 12%.
Huskberry (99) x Needleberry (99) = Normal 2 (2-4) at 95%
Normal 1 needs a minimum of Slow reload, while Normal 2 needs Bel.Avg reload and High recoil.
Normal 3
Normal 3 is a bit special. It does the same thing as Normal 1 and 2, but it can ricochet off wherever it hit. Thus the key to using Normal 3 isn’t hitting the weakspot, it becomes hitting body parts where you have a higher chance of landing ricochets, like near joints. It would be useful, if the materials to combine them were not that difficult to get. (Fishing at Cheeko is pretty much the most stable way there is)
The critical distance is the same as Normal 1 and 2, but they can stand a little further away and still do max damage, somewhere between point blank and 2.5 rolls.
Normal 3 does 10% of display raw, with each ricochet doing lesser and lesser damage.
Huskberry (99) x Popfish (40) = Normal 3 (2-4) at 95%
Normal 3 needs Average reload and High recoil.
Pierce 1, 2 and 3
Pierce shots are easy, they just pierce down a monster. They do 3, 4 and 5 hits respectively at maximum, so if you’re shooting down from the side of a thin monster you probably will miss some shots. They’re pretty staple for HBGs, although the materials are fairly hard to get as well. Latchberries can be multipled at the Wycoon, Bird Wyvern Fangs can be bought with caravan points, while Pin Tunas are from fishing.
Their critical distance starts about 3 rolls away from a monster. They have a fairly small range where they do optimum damage, so don’t stray too far. Higher Pierce shots have a larger window, though.
Pierce 1, 2 and 3 scale off display raw, and do 10% x 3, 9% x 4, and 8% x 5 respectively.
Huskberry (99) x Latchberry (50) = Pierce 1 (1-3) at 90%
Huskberry (99) x Bird Wyvern Fang (50) = Pierce 2 (1-3) at 75%
Huskberry (99) x Pin Tuna (40) = Pierce 3 (1-2) at 75%
Pierce 1 needs Average reload and Average recoil, Pierce 2 needs Abv.Avg reload and Some recoil, and Pierce 3 needs Fast reload and Some recoil.
Pellet 1, 2 and 3
Pellet is easy as well, they just shoot a spray of bullets that do a certain number of hits from 3 to 5. If you came from previous games, you might have heard of a term called the pellet magnet, where pellet shots magically attack. This magnet seems to be removed, however, so it’s not really worth it to use Pellet any more. Especially not in multi-player, where the spray can stagger other hunters. Scatternuts and Wyvern Fangs can be multipled at the Wycoon.
Pellet doesn't have a critical distance, so you do full damage as long as you hit. They seem to not be able to travel as far as other shots, though, so be about 1.5 to 2 rolls away.
Pellet scales off display raw, and do 5% raw per hit. Pellet 1 hits 3 times, Pellet 2 hits 4 times, and Pellet 3 hits 5 times.
Huskberry (99) x Scatternut (30) = Pellet 1 (1-3) at 90%
Huskberry (99) x Wyvern Fang (50) = Pellet 2 (1-3) at 75%
Bone Husk (99) x Wyvern Fang (50) = Pellet 3 (1-3) at 75%
Pellet 1 needs Bel.Avg reload and Average recoil, Pellet 2 needs Average reload and Average recoil, and Pellet 3 needs Abv.Avg reload and Some recoil.
Crag 1, 2 and 3
Crag shots are a little special. They hit and latch onto a body part, and after a while they explode, doing damage. Uniquely, if the initial latch shot hits the head, they are able to do KO damage. Pretty cool, but because you can only bring a very limited number into quests, it’s not very good. They’re mainly used by support LBGs. Nitroshrooms can be multipled, but the fish can only be gotten from fishing in quests or from Cheeko Sands.
Crag might have a critical distance, but the damage from the initial latch shot is so low it might as well not have any.
The latch shot does 3% of display raw. The explosion does fixed damage which increases with shot level, and the KO values are 25, 30 and 40 respectively.
Huskberry (99) x Nitroshroom (20) = Crag 1 (1) at 90%
Huskberry (99) x Burst Arowana (10) = Crag 2 (1) at 75%
Bone Husk (99) x Bomb Arowana (10) = Crag 3 (1) at 75%
Crag 1 needs Abv.Avg reload and Some recoil, Crag 2 needs Fast reload and Low recoil, and Crag 3 needs V.Fast reload and Low recoil.
Clust 1, 2 and 3
Clusts break into smaller bomblets upon contact with a monster. These bomblets will fall with gravity and explode on contact with a monster or floor. It takes practice to hit them, since they’re fairly slow, but they do good damage. Bomberries and Claws can be multiplied, Scatterfish is once again from Cheeko/fishing.
Similar to Crag, Clust might have a critical distance, but the initial impact is pretty weak compared to the bomblets.
The initial impact does 6% display raw, but the bomblets do fixed damage. Bomblets produced are 3, 4 and 5 respectively.
Huskberry (99) x Bomberry (10) = Clust 1 (1) at 90%
Bone Husk (99) x Wyvern Claw (50) = Clust 2 (1) at 75%
Bone Husk (99) x Scatterfish (10) = Clust 3 (1) at 75%
Clust 1 needs V.Fast reload and V.Low recoil, while Clust 2 and 3 needs Fastest reload and Min recoil.
Element
Element shots, excluding Dragon, function as a Normal 2 shot. The only difference is that they have elements associated with it, so instead of a raw weakpoint you should be firing these at a element weakpoint. Good news is usually the monster’s head functions as both, so there isn’t much change.
Dragon is different, however, it’s a Pierce 3 shot with a Dragon element. Being Piercing, it’s bad for small monsters, but it can wreck Akantor and (with a full team) Kushala Daora in seconds.
Fire Herbs and Dragonfell Berries can be multiplied, but most of the materials can be bought from the Wycoon (except Dragonfell).
Element shots don’t have a critical distance. They seem to fizzle out earlier than other shots, though, so keep close. Staying in Normal 2/3 range works fine.
They do 7% display raw in raw damage, and 45% true raw in element damage. Dragon is the exception, it does 1% display raw in raw damage and 40% true raw in element, per hit.
Huskberry (99) x Fire Herb (20) = Flaming S (1) at 90%
Huskberry (99) x Whetfish (20) = Water S (1-3) at 75%
Huskberry (99) x Ice Crystal (20) = Freeze S (1-3) at 75%
Huskberry (99) x Flashbug (10) = Thunder S (2-4) at 75%
Bone Husk (99) x Dragonfell Berry (10) = Dragon S (1) at 75%
All element shots, except Dragon, needs Average reload and High recoil. Dragon S itself needs V.Fast reload and V.Low recoil.
Status
Status shots apply status value to the monster. Do enough of it, and the monster will be afflicted with the status. They function like a Normal 2. Everything can be multiplied except for fish, which once again are from Cheeko/fishing.
Since they’re mainly used to apply status, critical distance doesn't seem to apply to status shots.
Level 1 status shots apply 25 status damage (35 for exhaust), while level 2 apply 50 (70 for exhaust). Status shots do damage (except sleep), so be careful when you’re using them while the monster is mounted.
Huskberry (99) x Toadstool (10) = Poison Lv 1 (1) at 90%
Bone Husk (99) x Ioprey Fang (99) = Poison Lv 2 (1) at 75%
Huskberry (99) x Parashroom (10) = Para Lv 1(1) at 90%
Bone Husk (99) x Genprey Fang (99) = Para Lv 2 (1) at 90%
Huskberry (99) x Sleep Herb (10) = Sleep Lv 1 (1) at 90%
Bone Husk (99) x Sleepyfish (10) = Sleep Lv 2 (1) at 75%
Huskberry (99) x Mopeshroom (10) = Exhaust Lv 1 (1) at 90%
Bone Husk (99) x Wanchovy (20) = Exhaust Lv 2 (1) at 75%
Lv 1 status shots need Average reload and Low recoil, while Lv 2 status shots need V.Fast reload and Min recoil. Exhaust is special, Lv 1 needs Abv.Avg reload and Some recoil, while Lv 2 needs Fast reload and Low recoil.
Blast, Slicing, WyvernFire
Blast functions like a status, although it doesn't have levels. Slicing functions like Crag, but instead of exploding, it opens up to 3 slices. These do shot damage, but can assist in cutting tails. WyvernFire is unique to limiter removed HBGs, and function just like the Gunlance’s Wyvern Fire. Unfortunately, barring a certain way to abuse Slicing S (see the Seregios LBG/HBG post), these shots are not commonly used due to either low damage or gimmicky uses. Whetstones can be bought from the item shop, fish are from Cheeko/fishing.
As above, these don’t have critical distance. In fact, WyvernFire’s range is so short the entire hitbox can be considered critical distance.
For Slicing S, latch shot is 1% display raw, followed by 8% x 3 display raw. Blast S applies 25 blast, while WyvernFire does 25% raw + 35% fire.
Huskberry (99) x Whetstone (20) = Slicing S (1-3) at 90%
Huskberry (99) x Bomb Arowana (10) = Blast S (1-3) at 65%
Bone Husk (99) x Burst Arowana (10) = WyvernFire (1) at 65%
Slicing S needs Average reload and Average recoil, Blast S needs Average reload and Low recoil. WyvernFire needs Abv.Avg reload, but there is no getting out of it’s recoil.
Support
Demon S and Armor S behave like a Pellet shot, they do a spray that increases attack and defence for 90s. Armor S grants superarmor as well.
Recover S Lv 1 and 2 also behave like a Pellet shot, healing other hunters.
Tranq S behaves like a Normal 2. Just like when using Tranq bombs, 2 shots can capture a limping monster if it’s trapped.
Paint S behaves like a Normal 2, and works just like a paintball. It’s wiser to just throw a paintball instead, though, unless you really want to free up space in your inventory.
None of these shots have a critical distance, nor they do damage.
