The Trapper - what am I missing?

[Taliesin]

After playing with friends yesterday and finding a slew of awesome polearms and spears that none of us had the stats to use, I unlocked the Trapper. And... I'm a little confused, here. Why are the Trapper's stats so bad across-the-board? A significantly lower total than the Hunter, worse at literally everything save for Talent. The Trapper even has worse Vitality, despite the fact that it's one of only two classes that starts with a shield and is therefore, presumably, supposed to be taking hits.

The skills are okay (despite the incredibly poorly-named Counter Attack), but even there it seems like the Hunter beats it. Am I wrong in looking at these numbers and reaching the conclusion that a Hunter straight-up ignoring Called Shot would still be a better spearman?

Have the devs ever done a balance pass or responded to calls for one? Browsing the forums here, I can see at a glance that I'm not the first to notice what seems to be an obvious power disparity. Maybe you guys can help clear this up for me.

[Cohih]

I'm guessing the Trapper is meant to be more of a utility character.

It has solid awareness, talent, and speed for skill checks, which leaves strength, vitality, and intelligence to the other two party members while a Hunter's party would likely end up lacking because it can't cover talent (I haven't unlocked the Hobo or Treasure Hunter yet so I'm not sure if this still holds true after unlocking them).

The Trapper's skills are very lackluster in combat but in the overworld/dungeons they can be a major boon.

Pros:
-Being able to ambush with one less check makes ambush much more reliable, compared to elite sneak this skill seems like the clear winner in a direct comparison unless you have your Trapper/Hunter out on their own.
-Elite Trap Disarm is another direct upgrade to the Hunter's Elite Trap Evasion, being able to disarm traps with less risk as opposed to giving your Hunter the option to run past traps with next to no risk while your other two heroes have to either disarm or run through.

Cons:
-Like you mentioned, Counter Attack is poorly-named and it is way too situational to consider it being of any worth.
-The Hunter's Energy Boost is a great for scouting around and getting to encounters, making the Hunter even better at getting around compared to the Trapper.
-The Hunter's Called Shot gives it a very definitive edge over the Trapper when it comes to damage when using a bow.
-If forced into a skill check, the Hunter has a better chance in succeeding STR/VIT/INT/SPD checks compared to the Trapper

In conclusion, the Trapper could probably use some love but I think the power gap between it and the Hunter is relatively small.

[Taliesin]

I was originally with you on Elite Ambush vs Elite Sneak until I tried it out - it turns camps and swarms into single enemy encounters, which lowers the experience and rewards you get for clearing them. With how important it seems to be to maximize your gains in this game, that makes Ambush a lot less desirable than I initially believed it would be.

[玩家一]

this game is not well–balanced,as hunter is much stronger than others.i guess trapper once get nerfed when i find elite ambush not same as the description.Trapper is still good anyway.It is the best luter and the second best character in late game.

[Nissipa]

I just beated the game with my friends, I was using an Trapper.

I dont know if that's only luck based, but I could not land perfect shots with an bow with trapper, but he's a beast with polearms. My awareness was around 91. I could land all the status derived from perfect shots using polearms, but not with a bow, actually I missed pretty much everything with the bow.

The Elite Ambush is amazing for grinding exp/gold, especially at late game, since your ambush % reachs the 88% and, if you have speed enough, you just destroy the monster before he can move if you choose your fights carefully. it's free xp/gold/items. At camps, you can instantly kill one enemy, making the fight much more easier.

Counter-Attack is okay, I did not got ambushed a single time during the playthrough, not even by the Kraken.

The Elite Trap is crap.