Melee Hunter (Divine/Primal Companion Hunter): reasonable build

[Spore]

So beyond the automatic Outflank feat I don't really like the teamwork feats. And I like the Eidolon from Summoners but I dislike that they have to be summoned for a whole minute as well as the summoner basically being the sidekick. That is why I would want to start a Hunter with the archetypes of Divine Hunter and Primal Companion Hunter.

Flavorful choices will benefit minor optimizations (no wolves with wings or horses with razorsharp teeth) but I want a build that works with these archetypes. Riding might be a gimmick but shouldn't be the main theme.

Which animal is useful and makes sense for an 8th level melee build? (I'm partially for something that stays medium until I use the 8th level once per day ability in order to give them the large evolution but an all time mount might be nice as well)
Which weapon would you use? (I am torn between Longspear and Falchion but more exotic things like Spike Chain or Elven Curveblade are also possible)
Which race and domain would you choose? I feel Catfolk or Elf make decent flavorful yet suboptimal choices if not for a Finesse build.
How'd you use the spells effectively?

[DedWards]

So beyond the automatic Outflank feat I don't really like the teamwork feats. And I like the Eidolon from Summoners but I dislike that they have to be summoned for a whole minute as well as the summoner basically being the sidekick. That is why I would want to start a Hunter with the archetypes of Divine Hunter and Primal Companion Hunter.

Flavorful choices will benefit minor optimizations (no wolves with wings or horses with razorsharp teeth) but I want a build that works with these archetypes. Riding might be a gimmick but shouldn't be the main theme.

Which animal is useful and makes sense for an 8th level melee build? (I'm partially for something that stays medium until I use the 8th level once per day ability in order to give them the large evolution but an all time mount might be nice as well)
Which weapon would you use? (I am torn between Longspear and Falchion but more exotic things like Spike Chain or Elven Curveblade are also possible)
Which race and domain would you choose? I feel Catfolk or Elf make decent flavorful yet suboptimal choices if not for a Finesse build.
How'd you use the spells effectively?

I've been looking at designing a build for Hunter, and after doing a lot of reading of the 'pure' Hunter; archetypes; and a lot of 'guides', I've come to the conclusion that the Teamwork Feats are a vital part of the Hunter and most, if not all, of the archetypes really suck. That said, Divine Hunter does give a more caster feel, do maybe you should consider going ranged (archery?), this is a d8 HD class that's not a full casting class (even with Divine Hunter). Feral Hunter does give some nice boost options to your Animal Companion. I'd probably use it to try make the animal more tanky, then to boost it's ability to do combat maneuvers like grab. Cat, Big gains Grab as part of its 7th level advancement and has been suggested the most for a Hunter's Animal Companion, but mostly because of the combination of Grab, Pounce, and Rake.

[Spore]

I've been looking at designing a build for Hunter, and after doing a lot of reading of the 'pure' Hunter; archetypes; and a lot of 'guides', I've come to the conclusion that the Teamwork Feats are a vital part of the Hunter and most, if not all, of the archetypes really suck. .

Most of the character's power comes from the advantageous spell list and the animal companion as well as being medium BAB and its' good array of skills. I feel taking away teamwork feats for a domain is more beneficial than detrimental. Because you gain two powers that are inaccessible via feats plus a lot of decent wizard or cleric spells on your spell list.

If anything then taking away Animal Focus for a few evolutions is screwing you over. But to think that you could have an on-command flight speed, scaling Con poison or Energy immunity then it becomes interesting in a niché. It's probably best to not water down the Divine Hunter with another archetype.

Although I will miss the swift action "digivolution".