Hunters,
The wait is over—Hunt: Showdown 1896 is officially here! The patch notes for the release can be found below. For the Scorched Earth Live Event description, head over to here:
Happy Hunting!
~ The Hunt Team
Mammon's Gulch – Map #4
- A large new 1km² map set in a new mountain biome with large forests, mountains, rivers, and underground mines.
- The most detailed map in Hunt: Showdown by far, brought to life through the power of our new and updated CryEngine 5.11.
- 16 new and unique locations to explore, like Terminus Railyard, Grizzly Lodge, The Gasworks, Preston Oil, and many more.
- Three locations right at the edge of the map can yield up to two Clues for a head start early on.
- A central network of mining tunnels connects various compounds around the central peaks and are great for shortcuts and to evade pursuers.
- Increased verticality gives players more options to traverse and fight.
- Contains new animal types—bats and cows—that can be found throughout Mammon’s Gulch.
Developer Note:
We are thrilled to introduce our latest map: Mammon's Gulch, a diverse and dynamic new battlefield that we hope will elevate your gaming experience.
Our journey in creating Mammon's Gulch was deeply influenced by your feedback and comments. We have always valued the community's input, and this map is a testament to the collaborative effort between our development team and you, our dedicated players.
For the first time, we are venturing into a new biome, with Mammon's Gulch set against the rugged and majestic backdrop of Colorado. This map features higher elevation points than any of our previous maps, anchored by a central mountain that offers climbable sections for strategic advantages.
We are also excited to reintroduce underground areas, this time in the form of mines. These mines offer optional pathways that can serve as shortcuts across the map, presenting a risky yet potentially rewarding choice for those daring enough to navigate their depths.
Mammon's Gulch combines the best elements of our previous maps with fresh ideas to create a rich and varied environment. Whether you're scaling the central mountain or exploring the treacherous mines, we believe this map will provide you with numerous new opportunities for strategic play and exploration.
We can't wait to hear your thoughts and feedback on Mammon's Gulch!
Meet you in the mountains!
New Equipment
During the duration of Scorched Earth, the new equipment can be unlocked through the Battle Pass. After the Event, the Weapons and Custom Ammo will go into the regular Bloodline Progression, as usual. Please note that new Custom Ammo types will now be unlocked by default when this happens.
New Weapon: 1865 Carbine
Lever-action repeating rifle with a seven-round magazine. Well-balanced between power, speed, and accuracy, it is personally approved of by Abraham Lincoln.
The 1865 Carbine works great in close quarters assault with a high-powered medium cartridge. While the slower muzzle velocity and ammo type makes it lose much of its initial power at distance, the fast and easy full-reload of the magazine at the back as well as its large amount of extra ammunition makes it easy to keep up the pressure in a fight.
- Basic – Medium Ammo – 7+1/21
- Full Metal Jacket – Medium Ammo – 7+1/21
New Weapon: Infantry 73L
Winfield made lever-action repeating rifle in a “musket” configuration with longer barrel and more capacity at the expense of slightly slower levering speed.
- Basic – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
- Full Metal Jacket Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
- High Velocity Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/13
- Incendiary Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
- Poison Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
New Weapon Variant: Infantry 73L Sniper
Winfield made lever-action repeating rifle in a “musket” configuration with longer barrel and more capacity at the expense of slightly slower levering speed. Modified with a long-range scope.
- Basic – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
- Full Metal Jacket Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
- High Velocity Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/13
- Incendiary Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
- Poison Ammo – Compact Ammo – 17+1/20
New Weapon Variant: Crossbow Deadeye
Crossbow that fires powerful bolts. Quiet at range, but cumbersome with a long reload. Bolts can be retrieved and reused. Modified with a mid-range scope.
- Basic – Special Ammo – 1/9
- Explosive Bolt– Special Ammo – 1/4
- Shot Bolt – Special Ammo – 1/6
- Steel Bolt – Special Ammo – 1/9
Developer Note:
The Steel Bolts are a new ammo type that have a flatter projectile trajectory than regular bolts at reduced damage, making this ammo a better choice for precision shots at range. Combining the Steel Bolts with this variant’s Deadeye scope can yield accurate headshots even at long range.
New Weapon Variant: Rival 78 Trauma
Caldwell made, break-action shotgun with two barrels. High Damage at close range, two-tapping gives it an edge. Modified with a stock mounted bludgeon.
- Basic – Shotgun Ammo – 2/8
- Dragon Breath – Shotgun Ammo – 2/8
- Flechette – Shotgun Ammo – 2/8
- Penny Shot Ammo – Shotgun Ammo – 2/12
- Slug – Shotgun Ammo – 2/5
New Tool: Bear Traps
This portable foothold trap clamps loudly shut when the trigger plate is touched, inflicting bleeding damage on its victim. Comes in a pack of three.
New Custom Ammo on Existing Weapons:
- Crossbow Steel Bolt
- Drilling High Velocity Ammo
- Marathon High Velocity Ammo
- Marathon Incendiary Ammo
- Martini-Henry High Velocity Ammo
Weekly Challenges Redesign
The Weekly Challenges system has received a massive overhaul with the goal of addressing numerous pain points and player feedback.
Challenges are now released weekly in the form of distinct Weekly Sets. Once released, Weekly Sets and their Challenges remain available and can be completed until the end of the Event. The order in which Weekly Sets are released and their contents are the same for all players.
Every Challenge can be completed only once, and the player cannot reroll them to a new one. Contributions made by teammates continue to progress the player’s Challenges.
Improved Gunplay Experience
This update introduces many improvements to the core gunplay experience in Hunt: Showdown. Besides the option to toggle between a centered crosshair position and the previous, lowered position on the screen, we have added the concept of bullet drop, which greatly mixes up the established balance of weapons. Universal headshot damage and a host of secondary balancing tweaks across the entire arsenal make this the most impactful set of changes since our introduction of Custom Ammo and is expected to shuffle around some of the established meta.
Center Crosshair
The Crosshair position can now be customized between two preset positions: Centered and Lowered.
- Centered - Center of the screen (this is the new default)
- Lowered - Legacy setting (20% below center)
This setting can be changed with the new 'Crosshair Position' option in the Game section of the Settings Menu.
Developer Note:
Historically, Hunt has always had a lowered crosshair enforced. This choice was made to give a POV of the world that focuses on seeing more vertical space, with the weapon getting less in the way as we encouraged players not to always shoot on the first opportunity.
With the addition of this option, we finally made it possible to change the crosshair position, allowing players who prefer (or even rely on) having the crosshair at the center to have a better experience.
Dark Sight Aim Helper
A simple dot crosshair will now show whenever Dark Sight is entered. This helps to properly aim when performing interactions for Traits like Necromancer, Serpent, Remedy, etc. This also applies to Beetle View, allowing to place Ping Markers more easily.
Ballistics
The concept of ballistics focuses on a projectile being pulled down by gravity as it travels, requiring the shooter to adjust their aim over distance. Certain aspects of projectile ballistics have always been a part of Hunt with muzzle velocity and gravity already affecting some ammo types, like bolts and arrows. However, with this update we are consistently applying projectile ballistics across the entire arsenal, introducing an exciting new layer for players to explore for weapon mastery.
A Million Changes
To compensate for these gunplay updates, additional changes have been made alongside them to help deal with the increased difficulty:
- Headshots from single bullets are now always lethal against Hunters and weaker AI.
- Damage falloff has been adjusted, retaining more damage over distance than previously in most cases including shotguns, although the adjustment to shotguns isn’t as large as the increase to other firearms.
- Minimum damage to the upper torso at any range, for all firearms apart from shotguns and the Quad Derringer, is now 25.
- Shotgun maximum combat ranges have increased to allow for better suppression of enemies and igniting barrels and lanterns.
- Shotgun spread has been globally narrowed down, and damage has been slightly increased. This is especially noticeable for sawn-off variants.
- Slight picture adjustments have been made for many weapons to normalize the thickness of their front sights, making it easier to aim at distant targets without the front sight getting in the way. Thin front sights have been a major factor for choosing particular weapons in the past, and this will hopefully open more viable options for players and helping to bring more diversity to the arsenal.
- Distance to ping markers will be displayed if you ping locations using the Spyglass. This feature was previously only working for pings in the Shooting Range and by allowing its use in missions it can help players get used to the new ballistics improvements by verifying distances and correcting aim.
- Normalized maximum distance across all bullet projectiles so that they will always travel around 500m before being deleted.
- Slight adjustments to cracked scope lenses so they interfere less when trying to adjust your aim for ballistics.
Early in Hunt’s inception, it was decided that the physical simulation of bullets would be minimal, only including projectile velocity, penetration power, and damage decay—while not including gravity, except for some weapons, like Crossbows. This decision was made to help tackle extra gameplay difficulty coming from the crude iron sights that many of the weapons from the old era had. However, now many years into the game’s release, we have decided to introduce this extra layer to help keep the gameplay fresh and interesting, as our arsenal as matured.
Our version of projectile ballistics is an abstraction and does not represent a fully realistic simulation. For example, projectiles will not drop instantly. Instead, they will travel straight for a certain distance before a sudden gravity is applied to them, creating interesting differences and challenges between weapons.
Our goal was to focus primarily on playability and consistency. The impact these new variables have on our weapons provide balance overall instead of closely simulating physics. For instance, Long Ammo weapons typically drop more sharply than other ammo types, while Compact Ammo weapons may experience a flatter, gentler trajectory, making headshots potentially easier at long distances. We expect this to present a particularly critical advantage—now headshots are fatal from any distance. This is all part of our wider efforts to reduce the dominance of Long Ammo weapons by ensuring all ammo types and weapons offer individual advantages.
Drop Range
- To give a consistent idea of the distance at which vertical aim adjustments need to be made, a new weapon statistic called Drop Range can be seen in the store for each relevant weapon.
- Past this range (listed in meters), the weapon's projectile may drop more than a full head’s height, potentially requiring aim adjustments to compensate if the player is attempting a headshot.
- You can confirm a weapon’s Drop Range by checking weapon and ammo stats. A weapon’s Drop Range is also shown in a small HUD element to the right of the screen when you aim down sights. Please note that Custom Ammo may have a different Drop Range due to differing muzzle velocity.
Developer Note:
A weapon’s Drop Range is determined by a mix of the weapon's barrel length, its action type (e.g. lever-action or bolt-action), the ammo being fired, and the muzzle velocity of the projectile. Together, they determine the ballistic trajectory of the projectile.
Projectiles fired from weapons with longer barrels and tightly locked actions travel longer distances before they start to be affected by gravity, especially when compared to weapons with shorter barrels and less refined actions. An example for a tightly locked action would be a bolt-action rifle or a break-action shotgun. An example of a less suitable action which results in a bullet traveling a shorter distance before it starts to be affected by gravity would be a revolver drum or lever-action rifle that fails to secure a tight grip on the projectile.
In the case of silencers, be aware that some will be placed on a shortened barrel, while others are screwed on top of the default barrel. This might result in different Drop Ranges between weapons; however, silencers do not add practical barrel length to a weapon.
All weapons behave differently with the rate their projectiles fall, depending on muzzle velocity and ammunition types. Pay close attention to the Drop Range and experiment with different weapons to understand their unique trajectories. You can find the Drop Range in the Weapon Stats and on the right-hand side of the HUD when you aim down sights.
This is a new feature for Hunt: Showdown, and we are very excited to see how you like the addition of bullet drop. We think this is a chance to truly master specific weapons and ammo types as you learn their unique ballistic trajectories, and we guarantee that your first long-range headshots in this new system will feel a lot more rewarding—especially since headshots are always lethal now, regardless of weapon.
Drop Intensity
Drop Intensity determines how intensely a projectile drops. This is systemically affected by a weapon’s muzzle velocity and its projectile weight. For example, larger projectiles will drop faster than lighter ones, but this can be compensated for by using faster flying projectile types (if available).
- Compact Ammo - Weak drop, meaning flatter curve.
- Medium Ammo - Mild drop, balanced curve.
- Long Ammo - Strong drop, intense curve.
- Nitro - Very strong drop, very intense curve.
- Bolts, Arrows, and Throwables will remain as they were prior to this update.
Developer Note:
Generally, Drop Intensity is consistent across ammo groups. However, the distance a projectile travels, as well as its muzzle velocity, also play a huge part in the final trajectory of the projectile. This is a more simplified look at how Drop Intensity works, and not an actual statistic that can be seen in-game. The Shooting Range is a wonderful place to dive deeper into this topic and learn the different nuances between weapons and how their projectiles drop over distance.
Custom Ammo
- Some Custom Ammo types will systemically affect the ballistics of a projectile due to muzzle velocity, for example: [list]
- FMJ/Dumdum - Stronger Drop Intensity due to reduced muzzle velocity.
- High Velocity/Spitzer - Reduced Drop Intensity due to increased muzzle velocity.
- Explosive - Reduces the distance a bullet travels before it starts to drop.
Damage Multiplier Changes
Adjustments to damage multipliers for Hunters and some AI have also been made:
- Changed the headshot multiplier for Hunters and AI cast so that all bullets to the head are now lethal at any range except for on Armoreds, Hellhounds with metal masks, and bigger monsters. [list]
- The Effective Range stat has been removed and replaced with Drop Range.
- Bullet projectiles now retain more damage at longer ranges.
- Compact and medium bullets have been improved, with even silenced compact pistols able to inflict 25 or more damage to the upper torso at the longest ranges.
- Medium rifle bullets now deal full damage up to 30m. Previously, they only dealt full damage up to 20m.
Developer Note:
At long encounters, especially regarding compact and medium bullets, we found that damage dealt in some cases became negligible to the point of irrelevance. By increasing damage retention over distance and the minimum damage dealt, we can ensure damage remains a forcing factor at long-range engagements, pushing the opponent to act even while hitting them with lower damage weapons.
Shotgun Changes (Shot)
- Globally reduced HUD crosshair size to match the actual spread in which Shotgun pellets can hit.
- Long Barrel Shotguns: [list]
- Slightly increased the damage at range
- Slightly decreased Crosshair Spread size
- Increased the Travel Distance of the projectile to 100m before disappearing
- Slightly increased the damage at range
- Increased the Travel Distance of the projectile to 100m before disappearing
- Decreased Crosshair Spread size
- Increased one-shot kill range
- Slightly increased the Travel Distance of the projectile (50m)
[/list]
Developer Note:
Previously, the HUD crosshair on Shotguns was displayed as larger than the actual pellet spread, to help reinforce their place as close-range weapons and to discourage use at longer ranges. The HUD Crosshair now represents the actual area in which the pellets can land.
We hope these changes help with accuracy and prevent instances where you feel a pellet should have hit but did not. This change may lead to the false perception that shotguns have become a lot more accurate in general.
While there have been additional changes to make them more powerful at range through better damage retention and some spread adjustments, the spread element is more a minor change overall.
By increasing their range, we want to give Shotguns a better chance to fight back at medium distances. While not dealing as much damage as a rifle or pistol, they can now be used to drain some health from the enemy or give them a harder time to aim.
Shotgun Changes (Slugs)
- Slugs now always have some minor spread deviation when fired (even in ADS). This means they are not fully accurate at medium-to long-distance. [list]
- Slug spread now follows the rules of other single projectile ammo types:
- Crouching will decrease spread (hip only)
- Movement will increase spread (hip only)
Developer Note:
With the addition of Ballistics, Slugs gained a huge boost, also benefiting from the global headshot damage changes in addition to their effective power at close range.
Considering that firing a Slug from the smoothbore barrel of a shotgun is not that dissimilar to firing a vintage musket, accuracy at distance is often a bit of a gamble compared to riffled barrels that spin the projectile for added stability mid-flight.
We’ve added some slight spread to Slugs at a distance to help take the difficult properties of Shotguns for precision shooting into account. This solidifies their role as high damage, close encounter use ammo, as they will be much less reliable at medium and long ranges.
Previously Slugs followed the same rules as a buckshot when dealing with hip fire spread. However, this didn’t really make sense as they are a single projectile like a rifle or pistol. With these changes, the hip fire spread now matches other, similar weapons.
UI
A major update has been made to Hunt’s in-game menu experience, resolving some of the bigger pain points of the previous implementation and bringing the UX/UI on par with a more modern look and improved usability.
Goals
- Enhance UX/UI accessibility for both PC and console players.
- Implement community feedback based on surveys and player engagement.
- Streamline navigation to reduce complexity and improve intuitiveness.
- Commit to making ongoing improvements with continuous updates and new features.
- Facilitate the rollout of more high-quality features over time with scalable UI framework.
Main Features
- Simplified user experience, with streamlined navigation and information architecture
- Unified visual language across the interface
- Improved Hunter Recruitment
- Improved Traits Screen
- Introduced the Actions Menu fly-out to reduce clicks and streamline navigation
- Updated Store
- Introduced the ability to filter Favorites
Settings
- 2.0.0.4: Added the 'Show Other Player Names' option in the HUD tab which, when disabled, hides all player names in the game. This feature will be especially useful for streamers!
Developer Note
We aim to create an accessible and intuitive experience for all Hunt: Showdown 1896 players on PC and console. Originally designed for PC, the game has posed challenges for console players. Addressing these issues has been our primary goal. We also removed or paused low-value features to make room for reworks and new functionalities. A key focus has been crafting a scalable UI framework for consistent control and navigation. We are very excited to roll this new UI out to you and are very much looking forward to feedback on this initial release. More updates and improvements are slated to go live in successive updates later this year, and your feedback will be instrumental for this.
Gunplay
Weapon Changes
- General weapon changes
- Reduced the sway of all stockless rifles and the Haymaker (held in two hands)
- Reduced recoil for all dual pistols, making them easier to control
- Reduced damage for the Uppercut to 123
- Reduced damage for the Haymaker to 122
- Increased friction of dropped weapons to reduce sliding on slopes
- Improved the spread of the Mako 1895 and its variants (this also improves levering!)
Deadeye Scope Mobility Changes
- The player’s mobility while aiming down sights with a Deadeye weapon is no longer reduced, setting them apart from other scopes.
- The increase in sway when aiming down sights with a Deadeye weapon during and after moving has been reduced.
Levering Changes
- Increased levering rate of fire
- Improved spread when levering for more reliable hits
- Affects the following weapons: Centennial, Frontier 73C, Vandal 73C, Infantry 73L, Mako 1895, Ranger 73 and Terminus, and all their variants
Silencer Changes
- Normalized iron sights across all silenced weapons [list]
- The Frontier 73C Silencer and Sparks Silencer rear sight have been cut down to match other weapons, like the Vetterli and Centennial Silencer, in style and overview.
[/list]
Scottfield Changes
- Increased rate of fire for Scottfield Precision.
- Improved spread for Scottfield Spitfire and Scottfield Brawler
Obrez Extended
- Increased extra ammo capacity for Obrez Extended to give it a clear advantage
- Increased recoil for Obrez Extended to make it slightly harder to stay on target
Hunting Bow Changes
- Slightly increased damage for the Hunting Bow’s basic and Poison Arrows [list]
- These changes make the Hunting Bow as effective as it was if it had the Hundred Hands Trait in the old version, which means it will get even stronger when Hundred Hands is added post-update.
Ammo Changes
High Velocity Ammo Changes
- Damage has been reduced by -5% across the board compared to standard ammo
- High Velocity Ammo’s muzzle velocity has been much reduced overall, now typically only 75m/s to 150m/s faster than standard ammo counterparts depending on the length of the weapon’s barrel
- Slightly increased recoil kick, making it harder to stay on target
- Reduced extra ammo capacity compared to standard ammo, making each shot count more
Spitzer Ammo Changes
- Reduced extra ammo capacity compared to standard ammo, making each shot count more
Developer Note
Spitzer Ammo was still considered exotic and experimental during this era. It was a modern concept that revolutionized small arms ammunition by combining a more streamlined projectile with new, high-powered propellants, resulting in a flat trajectory at high speeds. By reducing extra ammo capacity, we wanted to ensure that getting your hands on these was an uncommon occurrence and that each shot would be considered carefully as to be wasted.
FMJ Ammo Changes
- Added stronger recoil when firing Full Metal Jacket ammunition.
Misc. Ammo Changes
- Increased extra ammo for precision weapons, excluding the Dolch Precision, whose reserve ammo count remains the same.
- Explosive Ammo damage over distance has been adjusted to be more consistent with their basic ammo counterparts. Considering there is both a projectile and an explosion component for the total damage, it was not always easy to keep them feeling consistent. [list]
- Affects the Uppercut, Mako, Martini-Henry, and Springfield 1866.
[/list]
Equipment Changes
General Equipment Changes
- Removed the Electric Lamp Tool from the game.
Fire Damage Changes
- Increased the burn damage on the Hellfire Bomb from 24 to 49
- Increased the burn damage on Alert Trip Mines from 10 to 25
Developer Note:
The Hellfire Bomb and Alert Trip Mines will now instantly burn bars; however, having the Salveskin Trait equipped allows players to save the bars if the burning is stopped fast enough. This also promotes the use of large Health Chunks more in the never-ending battle of which type of Health Chunk is most effective.
Traps Changes
- Significant improvements to how trip wire traps can be placed in the environment.
- Both ends of the traps are now tested for suitable placement positions, which means that traps can now span across empty spaces like crevices or window frames.
- Placement on slopes and uneven terrain is now more forgiving and encourages players to find new ways to hide them from careful observers.
- Doors, Window Shutters, and Elevators will now trigger any trip wire traps they touch, requiring a more careful approach, as opening a door might set them off instead of stepping on them.
- These changes also benefit the placement of Bear Traps to be more forgiving overall.
- Bear Traps now apply a short slowdown to their victims.
- Strong increase of damage for Bear Traps.
Beetle Changes
- Increased speed of the Fire Beetle to match that of the other Beetles.
- Increase Burn Damage done by the Fire Beetle to 25.
- Increased damage done by the Stalker Beetle explosion to 50.
Gameplay
Stalemates and Closure
Adjusted several mechanics around burning and revive to reduce stalemates and bring closure to fights faster, while still offering a fair chance for a comeback for an active and engaged opponent.
Developer Note:
Over the last year, we have introduced ways for players to get back into the fight after being downed. These changes have had a positive impact overall but have also introduced many points of frustration. Having reflected on your feedback and the available data, we're making adjustments to burning and revive mechanics to end stalemates and bring more closure to fights.
We appreciate and want to emphasis the play and counterplay of burning and choke effects, now having Choke Bombs, Beetles, and Bolts available to players for tactical use. That being said, we are limiting the duration of the choke clouds to be roughly half the previous duration, to avoid two minutes of waiting out the choke cloud before being able to move on.
We are aware of the controversies surrounding reviving, restoring, burning, choking, and stalling out the Player versus Player fights. Our core philosophy is to provide mechanics for capitalizing on the advantage of taking down one or two members of an opposing team while still leaving room for clutch counterplay and tactics, to get your own team back in the fight without dragging out into overly long games.
Faster Burning
- The burn speed of downed Hunters has drastically increased, from 1 fire damage per second to 2.5 fire damage per second. [list]
- That’s around 50 seconds when downed on the ground with 125 health left, or just 40 seconds of burning when downed with 100 health left.
Choke Cloud Changes
- Reduced choke cloud lifetime of all choke items (Choke Bolts, Choke Beetles, Choke Bombs) from 120 seconds to 60 seconds.
Continued in Part 2, which can be found here.
