Hunt: Showdown has officially released into Early Access and this online PvPvE (Player vs Player vs Environment) is no walk in the park. Sporting a perma-death system and extremely dangerous enemies, it’s easy to struggle early on. Almost everything you do in a match can lead to your demise, making is extremely important to understand both the mechanics and how the world functions.
If you are looking to make a career as a successful hunter and not end up as spider food, here are 7 Hunt Showdown tips and tricks for success:
1. Sound is Everything
The single most important aspect of Hunt: Showdown is the sound. While item management and marksmanship will help increase your chances of survival, understanding how sound works can be life-saving. Almost everything in the environment reacts to what you do and this can give away your position to both the A.I. and players. A flock of crows will scatter if you run by them and a dying horse my neigh when you get close. These act as signals for other players to inform them of your general vicinity. Since you can die easily, it’s important to both avoid these triggers and listen for them.
Gunshots will also echo out and if you are too loud it might attract attention. You’ll need to learn how to pinpoint directions that a sound is coming from and what types of sounds to listen for. These include chains rattling, birds flying, horses neighing, doors opening, generators starting, different types of monster sounds, and footsteps.
2. Be Mindful of Your Voice
Another sound related aspect that the Hunt: Showdown doesn’t directly explain to players is that voice chat is proximity based. This means you have to be close in order to hear your ally and the farther the distance between teammates the harder it will be to speak to one another. Additionally, enemy players will also hear you talking if they’re close enough.
Remember, this goes for text chat as well which will appear for enemy players if they are in your proximity. Outside of using other programs like Skype or Discord, we recommend keeping communication to a minimum if you’re trying to sneak up on foes. Inversely, always try to listen for other players, as many may not know that their voice is being broadcasted.
3. Bring the Right Gear
Before you load up into a map you’ll want to make sure you have the correct weapons and consumables. Some items are strictly better against certain bosses or during different times of the day, so understand what to bring. If you are fighting the Spider we recommend using lever action rifles and fast firing pistols since this a very mobile target. Additionally, consider grabbing a Poison Antidote since the Spider’s primary attack is spitting a cloud of venom. Firebombs are also useful since the Spider will sometimes run into the flames, so use it to close off certain chokepoints.
As for the Butcher, explosives and shotguns are perfect for taking down this brute. However, if you do use these weapons make sure to always run away right after you fire. The Butcher is fast and you can then reload when running. Dynamite and Frag Bombs are also effective, but be careful since these can also damage you. Also, you shouldn’t need flares or an Electric Lamp for daytime maps so save those.
4. Change Your Keys
For whatever reason Hunt: Showdown has both the Sprint and ADS (aim down sights) button tied to the Shift key. Sadly, this can produce some seriously awkward moments so we recommend separating these two actions. Personally, I kept Sprint on the Shift key and moved my ADS to the thumb button on my mouse. Doing so allows me to have a full range of motions without ever taking my hands off the keyboard to use a gun’s iron sights. If you don’t have a thumb button then consider moving the ADS to your middle mouse button or the Q key.
5. Avoid Fighting the A.I.
While you can get a lot of points for just slaying the different versions of the undead, we recommend leaving them be whenever possible. This is one of the most Hunt: Showdown tips we can give you.
This is not only because it will save you ammo, but fighting them can cause unneeded attention from other players. Enemies in Hunt: Showdown hit very hard and can kill you without warning in a matter of seconds. Only the Hounds and Hive have large perception ranges so you may have to kill them. Also, the giant, bloated ghouls called Meatheads are both blind and deaf, but be wary of the leeches they use for sensors.
6. Camp Extraction Zones
If you are lagging behind in a match and a team is already starting to banish a boss to Hell then the location will be revealed to all the players on the map. This means users can either risk going into a heavily fortified location where the banishers will be able to funnel players through chokepoints or just wait until they are out in the open.
One of the easiest areas to kill bounty carrying foes is by the Extraction Zone, which is marked on your map as a black circle with a line through it. There are multiple extraction zones, but there’s a very good chance that the players will try to leave via the location closest to them. Just hide in the woods and ambush them when they think it’s clear.
7. Have Patience in Firefights
Eventually, regardless of your skill level, you’ll be forced into a PvP gunfight with another team of hunters. When battling it out you’ll want to exercise patience with your shots instead of wildly firing in a foe’s direction. Rifles sway side to side and you’ll need to compensate for this in a battle. Take your time and aim your shots, especially if you haven’t been spotted. Since a headshot with a rifle almost always downs someone instantly it pays to not just spray and pray.
The same can be said for those being shot at. Don’t just stand your ground and try to fire back, as this will almost always get you killed. Instead, get to cover and slowly peak to try an determine where the bullet came from. Be deliberate when fighting and make sure to always reload since the game will not do it for you if you run dry.
Bonus tips:
- Don’t get attached to Hunters – they level up quickly.
- Aim for the head or nest on Hives to quickly kill them.
- Always buy a melee weapon.
- The Stamina Shot is rarely useful.
- Just finding the boss nets you some XP and money, regardless if you kill it.
- Learn to use your compass.
- Supply caravans are marked as wagons on your map.
- Shotguns are better secondary weapons, especially for PvP.
- Unequipping items from a purchased hunter stores them in your inventory.
- Stop. Sprinting. Everywhere.
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7 Hunt Showdown Tips and Tricks You Need to Know