"Lives entwined, a tapestry woven anew each dawn, every thread a part of the whole."
— H'aanit, after defeating the Ghisarma.
H'aanit is one of eight playable characters in Octopath Traveler. She is a hunter that resides in S'warkii and is one of the last descendants of the people who live in the forest. When her master, Z'aanta, goes missing, H'aanit sets out in search of him.
Profile
Appearance
H'aanit has messily-braided light brown hair and green eyes. She wears the grayish skin of a beast's fur around her neck similar to a scarf. She wears a beige animal skin dress, black pants, gray boot-warmers, and brown glove on both arms. H'aanit also sports feather earrings, and a leather belt to which her quiver is strapped. Her arrowheads, belt buckles, bow, and knives are made of bone.
Personality
H'aanit is a cool-headed hunter that dedicates herself to helping her clan after her master left to hunt the beast Redeye. She has a strong moral compass and is a fierce hunter. H'aanit is seen to barely lose her cool despite facing dangerous situations, proving the experience she has accumulated. H'aanit is also rather mature and pragmatic—a foil to that of her master, who is only serious about hunting and takes life in stride. She tends to remain oblivious towards evidence of affection, as evidenced in her interactions with Alaic.
Despite appearing to be a level-headed individual, H'aanit tends to also fall into a scolding spree, especially towards her master, a gambling addict. She also dislikes the idea of killing for pleasure or for sport, thinking that it disturbs the natural order of the forest and must be quenched at once. She is a firm believer of the ideals taught by Z'aanta, her mentor. Additionally, H'aanit believes that all living beings should be respected, and in a conversation with Primrose, was infuriated that Simeon would create a play to mock Primrose's life.
History
"Your name is H'aanit, and you are a hunter. One of the last descendants of an ancient clan that calls the deep forest home, your prowess with the bow is unmatched. Your master left home one year ago, summoned to hunt a dread beast, and you protected the village while awaiting his return. Then, one day, the return of an old friend gives you cause for concern, and you strike out on a journey of your own."
— H'aanit's description when selecting her.
Prior to Story
H'aanit is one of the few people who has been taught the ways of hunting by the clan who make their home in S'warkii. When she was an infant, her parents passed away. Z'aanta, a talented hunter of some renown, decided to raise H'aanit and made her his apprentice. A year before the events of her story, Z'aanta left the village in pursuit of a fearsome beast named Redeye. H'aanit was asked to remain as the village guardian until her mentor's return from his hunt with the Knights Ardante.
Chapter 1
A year had passed since Z'aanta's departure and all H'aanit has of him is a letter mentioning his whereabouts. One day, an official arrives and asks H'aanit to hunt and kill Ghisarma, which has fled from its native habitat and settled in the forest near the town. H'aanit notes that the beast has killed for sport rather than for survival. H'aanit confronts the monster and kills it.
Upon her return to S'warkii, she is approached by Hägen, Z'aanta's direwolf companion. He is visibly frightened and agitated, and H'aanit senses that Z'aanta is in danger. She sets off to Stonegard to save him.
Chapter 2
At Stonegard, H'aanit meets with Natalia, an old friend of Z'aanta's. H'aanit informs her of Z'aanta's disappearance and admits that she sees him as a father figure. She then departs for The Spectrewood, a forest guarded by animate trees. She is confronted by the Lord of the Forest, and defeats it in battle.
She finally happens upon Z'aanta, who has been turned to stone. She notices a note attached to an arrow he had fired, which explains that Redeye had petrified him and that she must speak with a seer named Susanna.
Chapter 3
In Stillsnow, H'aanit realizes that she must first get past Alaic if she wishes to see Susanna. After besting Alaic in a duel, Susanna explains that Redeye must be defeated if Z'aanta is to be cured. H'aanit must find the Herb-of-Grace in The Whitewood to resist Redeye's petrification.
H'aanit ventures into The Whitewood before realizing it is the nest of a legendary Dragon. She is able to slay the beast and take the herbs, which Susanna uses to create an Herb-of-Grace potion.
Chapter 4
H'aanit travels to Marsalim to hunt Redeye. She meets with Eliza of the Knights Ardante, who has worked with forces from Marsalim to fend off beasts from Marsalim Catacombs, where Redeye has settled. H'aanit promises King Khalim that she will defeat Redeye.
H'aanit ventures into the catacombs and finds Redeye, who has petrified several Marsalim soldiers. She notes that, unlike with other beasts, she cannot read Redeye's heart. She slays Redeye, freeing the soldiers and Z'aanta.
Relationships
Z'aanta
He is the mentor of H'aanit. A gambling addict who only takes hunting seriously, he is rather laid back, which makes H'aanit worry for him. They seem to share a close kinship with one another, with H'aanit making jabs at the older man while he tries to deflect them with poor excuses. He is the one who taught H'aanit how to hunt and about the laws of nature.
Despite their banter, H'aanit still cares for her mentor to the point that she decides to embark on an extensive journey in search of him. H'aanit sees Z'aanta as a father figure as she did not have the privilege of meeting her own parents.
Battle
With the ability to use beasts captured from battle to aid her, along with the fact that each beast has different skills, H'aanit is one of the most versatile fighters among the eight. Not only does she come equipped with a bow and axe, but she is able to use lightning magic and use the skills of the captured beasts she has to her advantage in searching for the weaknesses of the enemy.
She is also able to duel NPCs using the Provoke Path Action. However, she cannot use her normal weapons during duels and must depend on whatever creatures she has captured to do all the fighting for her. The main weakness of using beasts is that the target cannot be chosen (unless the beast's skill targets all enemies). This is not a problem during duels, but can have repercussions if H'aanit is summoning beasts against several enemies with a team.
To improve on H'aanit's physical prowess, Warrior provides the most obvious benefit with two additional weapons and powerful weapon abilities. With this combination, H'aanit has access to the four most common weapon weaknesses, allowing her to break most enemies.
Thief is also a powerful option, providing two additional weapon types plus another elemental spell. The Thief's attack and defense debuffs combine well with her native Leghold Trap ability, giving H'aanit many ways to weaken the enemy alongside breaking enemy weaknesses. HP Steal and SP Steal also make H'aanit a more self-sustaining character, and are powerful attacks in their own right.
While some may consider Olberic to be the best choice for Warmaster, H'aanit is also one of the strongest contenders due to the fact that she is tied with him for the highest physical attack stat among the travelers. She also excels in accuracy and critical, and unlike Olberic, renders fewer of her native skills redundant once learning Warmaster skills. With high-level gear and equipment, her damage output is stellar.
Subjobs
Below are the sprites and appearance changes for H'aanit with each Subjob:
Each time a subjob is selected the appearance of the character will also change. The first sprite is the appearance with no Subjob equipped.
Quotes
- "Cometh, If thou darest" —Time to Shine
Gallery
Etymology
The name H'aannit comes from the hebrew word חנית, meaning 'spear'.
Trivia
- H'aanit's sprite shows her supposedly having red clothes rather than a pale color, most likely to give her a better outline on the overworld map.
- The two rings that she wears as a necklace is actually the wedding bands of her deceased parents.
- It is revealed in the travel banter Rituals and Superstitions that H'aanit had touched the two rings during her first hunt. Since then, it has become a habit of hers to do the same thing every time she goes hunting.
- H'aanit has a talent for acting, as stated by Everhold's Impresario if you finish the side story Star of the Stage by Provoking him, but was told she'd need to find the right role.
- H'aanit explains in the Animal Companions travel banter that Linde was given to her as a gift when she was a baby by a fortune teller. H’aanit does not consider Linde a pet, but a comrade and companion.
- During the Culinary Competence travel banter, Cyrus and Ophilia learn that H'aanit is a good cook after tasting her sweet dough, which H'aanit notes is a popular treat in S'warkii.
- During the Shall We Dance? travel banter, H'aanit admits she cannot dance well and is embarrassed to do so in front of others.
- Her lack of skill in dancing is seemingly on par with Cyrus's own incapability.
- Primrose comments that both H'aanit and Cyrus are a disaster when put together.
- During the For Women's Ears Only travel banter with all four female travelers, Primrose asks them all what kind of men they like. H'aanit's answer was a man who is stronger than her, to which the other women point out that there aren't many who can best her in terms of strength.
- H'aanit is the only character whose main chapter bosses are all inhuman/bestial in some form.