Solo Leveling: The World of Hunters and Guilds Explained

The Solo Leveling anime adaptation is a fresh breath of air among the ongoing anime of 2024 as it features an intriguing world of hunters and monsters. Right from the first episode, we were hooked onto a breathtaking MMORPG-esque realm filled with dungeons and mighty hunters who stepped up to clear them and protect the masses. However, if you want to get a detailed look at who hunters are in Solo Leveling, on what basis they are evaluated, and what Guilds are, then you’re in the right place. Let’s dive right in.

Spoilers Warning: This article contains major information about the how the world of Hunters work in Solo Leveling. Thus, we highly suggest you to read the manhwa or watch the anime beforehand in order to avoid ruining your intended experience.

Who Are Hunters in Solo Leveling

When the dungeons aka “gates” started to pop up in this realm, a part of humanity was bestowed the gift of magical awakened powers. With these newfound awakened powers, humans started to evolve into a new role known as “Hunters,” as revealed in the manhwa and anime.

The hunters are in charge of defeating the fierce magical beasts that spawn inside the dungeons and clearing the gates after defeating the boss. These hunters are mankind’s only trump card against the magical demons and beasts lurking in the gates as normal weapons don’t work against them.

Fun Fact:

While many humans received these magical powers, not all of them went on to become hunters. There are also people who chose to remain in their same old normal lives instead of risking their lives as hunters.

There are different types of hunters based on their combative styles such as Mages, Tanks, etc. The hunters are evaluated based on the mana aka magical power (similar to Haki in One Piece or Nen in Hunter x Hunter) within them, and we have a ranking system for hunters in Solo Leveling as well. We explain all that and more in the sections below.

Types of Hunters in Solo Leveling

The hunters are not solely combatants, there are also non-combatant hunters who will greatly aid in the fights. So, the different types of hunters based on their actions are:

• Fighters: Hunters who are experts in melee
• Tankers: As the title suggests, these are hunters who fortify their defense over offense
• Assassins: Stealthy hunters who excel in agility and melee
• Mages: Hunters who are experts in sorcery and magic
• Rangers: Hunters who are experts in archery through magic
• Healers: Hunters who support other hunters through their healing powers

All Hunter Ranks in Solo Leveling

As mentioned earlier, each hunter has a certain amount of power and they cannot level up higher (Sung Jinwoo is an exception) in most cases. They are calculated by asking the hunters to touch a black crystal ball capable of reading the mana (magical power) levels within them. Rarely, though, hunters can experience a second awakening and can level up in their ranking status.

There is an international ranking system (S-E Rank System) for hunters worldwide starting from:

• S-Rank (Strongest Hunters)
• A-Rank
• B-Rank
• C-Rank
• D-Rank
• E-Rank (Weakest Hunters)

National Level Hunters

Among the hunters, there is a special case of hunters known as the National Level Hunters. They are S-Rank hunters who surpass a country’s whole military in terms of power. Thus, you can consider themselves as the strongest hunters who are in a league of their own, i.e. the top 1% of the hunters in the world.

The title of “National Level Hunter” was found after five S-Rank hunters teamed up and defeated the dragon Kamish. Every National Level Hunter has individually conquered at least one S-Rank Gate in their lives. Since they are the only elite hunters in the world, they are treated like kings by their people and reign over all matters as well.

There are only four known National Level Hunters in Solo Leveling, they are Thomas Andre (US), Liu Zhigang (China), Christopher Reed (US), and Siddharth Bachchan (India).

What are Guilds in Solo Leveling

Guilds are associations of hunters who are led by a Guild Master (usually an S-Rank Hunter in the case of top guilds). Their primary objective is to clear the gates that spawn in this world. Thus, the top guilds go after higher-ranking hunters to recruit them by offering generous rewards, according to their ranks.

Furthermore, if you are a hunter in Solo Leveling, joining the best guild in your country comes with a lot of guaranteed perks such as excellent wages and heightened security while raiding gates.

Moreover, there are various guilds in every country in this world and are ranked by the number of highest-ranking hunters they have with them. Therefore, top guilds continue to battle to recruit the strongest hunters to climb up the ladder to become the best guild in their countries and world as well.

List of Popular Hunters and Guilds

If you are curious to see some of the popular hunters and guilds worldwide, here you go:

Hunters are the prominent figures in this universe and there are many more aspects of this world waiting to be revealed very soon. This takes me back to the Hunter x Hunter days when we had a breathtaking world similar to this one. That said, who are your favorite hunters as of now? Let us know in the comments below.