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Getting Started with Hunt: Showdown

By ScotUpdated

Tactical Quick Answer

Hunt: Showdown is a first-person PvPvE extraction shooter set in a supernatural version of 1896 Louisiana and Colorado. You track a monstrous boss with clues, kill and banish it, then extract with the bounty token while up to 12 hunters share the same map. Hunter death is permanent, so run cheap loadouts on recruits you can afford to lose until you know a map and its boss encounters.

Hunt: Showdown is a first-person PvPvE extraction shooter set in a supernatural version of 1896 Louisiana and Colorado. You play as a bounty hunter tracking monstrous targets across fog-choked bayous, crumbling plantations, and abandoned mines. Other hunters are doing the same thing on the same map at the same time. Some will ignore you. Some will try to kill you and take what you earned.

The game is developed by Crytek and available on Steam, PlayStation 5, and Xbox Series X/S. You can run solo, pair up in a duo, or form a three-person trio.

The Bounty Hunt Loop​

Bounty Hunt is the core game mode. Every match follows the same structure:

  1. Recruit or select a hunter from your roster. Equip them with weapons, tools, and consumables.
  2. Pick a map and deploy. You share the map with up to 12 hunters total (solos, duos, and trios mixed).
  3. Find clues scattered across the map. Each clue narrows the boss's location by eliminating sections of the map.
  4. Locate the boss lair after collecting three clues. The third clue circles the boss location in red. Kill the boss inside the compound.
  5. Banish the boss. This takes a little over three minutes and broadcasts your position to every hunter on the map for the entire duration.
  6. Pick up the bounty token. This gives you 5 seconds of Dark Sight Boost, which reveals nearby hunters. It also marks you for everyone else through the Bounty Lightning shown in their Dark Sight and on the map. Since Update 2.8 the Dark Sight Boost map icon fades gradually over 5 minutes instead of vanishing at once.
  7. Extract. Reach one of the extraction points before the match timer runs out. Since Update 2.8 the extraction points start the match hidden, so read a Scouting Map at the Stronghold, Medical Supply, or Military Supply to reveal them, or wait for a banish or a bounty token pickup to do it for you. Other hunters will try to intercept you.
danger

Budget for the full banish. Three minutes pinned to one compound with your location broadcast is the most dangerous stretch of any match, and it is long enough for a team on the far side of the map to cross it and set up on you. Plan the defense before you start the banish, not while it is running.

If your hunter dies, they are gone permanently along with every weapon, tool, and consumable they carried. Two details soften or sharpen that:

  • You keep only 50% of the XP earned in a failed run, not all of it.
  • Hunt Dollars and Blood Bonds you looted during that run are lost. Only what you extract with is banked.
tip

New accounts get a grace period. Trainee Mode protects you from permadeath until Bloodline Rank 15, so your early hunters survive their mistakes. Use those ranks to learn a map instead of hoarding gear, because the protection goes away exactly when your loadouts start getting expensive.

Game Modes​

Hunt: Showdown has two competitive modes, though the queue layout hides that:

ModePlayersDescription
Bounty HuntUp to 12The core experience, and an umbrella queue and not a single mode. It contains Random Contract and Bounty Clash as sub-queues. A standard contract always runs two targets, either two bosses or one boss and one Wild Target. For the duration of Road to Hell a Caged Boss Target is guaranteed on top of that, which cuts the normal Boss Targets in those missions to one and allows up to 3 bounty token sources in a single match.
Soul SurvivorUp to 12A faster-paced mode. Compete to find rifts and become the Wellspring carrier. Hold the Wellspring to drain other hunters' health and win.

The Tutorial and Shooting Range are available for practice. The tutorial walks you through movement, combat, and boss mechanics. The Shooting Range lets you test any unlocked weapon against stationary and moving targets with no risk.

tip

Play the tutorial before your first real match. It covers mechanics that the game does not explain anywhere else, including Dark Sight, clue tracking, and banishment. Skipping it puts you at a real disadvantage.

Hunter Economy​

Your hunter roster is the backbone of the game. Here is how the economy works:

  • Recruiting: You recruit hunters from a randomized pool. Each comes with a random set of traits, health chunks, and a basic loadout. Recruitment costs Hunt Dollars.
  • Equipping: You buy weapons, tools, and consumables from the store and equip them before deploying. Higher-tier gear costs more.
  • Hunt Dollars: The in-game currency. You earn Hunt Dollars by extracting from matches, killing AI enemies, killing hunters, finding clues, and banishing bosses. Dying earns you nothing.
  • Bloodline XP: Your account-level experience. Leveling your Bloodline (1 to 100) unlocks weapon variants, traits, and cosmetic rewards. All base weapons and their standard ammo are available from Bloodline rank 1. Variants (Marksman, Uppercut, Deadeye, etc.) unlock by earning XP with the base weapon family.
  • Retiring: When a hunter reaches level 50, you can retire them. This converts their accumulated XP into a 10,000 Bloodline XP bonus but removes the hunter from your roster. You cannot retire hunters before level 50.

The risk-reward balance is simple. Better gear improves your odds in a fight, but losing it hurts your wallet. Cheap loadouts cost almost nothing to replace. Premium loadouts cost hundreds of Hunt Dollars and sting when you lose them.

Sound Is Everything​

Hunt: Showdown builds its entire stealth and detection system around sound. Every action you take generates noise, and every noise can betray your position to nearby hunters and AI.

Common Sound Traps​

The maps are filled with environmental hazards designed to punish careless movement:

The game calls these Noise Traps, and the full list runs longer than most players expect:

Noise TrapHow It Works
CrowsFlocks of birds that scatter loudly when disturbed.
DucksSame idea as crows, found around water.
HorsesHitched horses that whinny and stamp. Audible at long range.
CowsLivestock that call out when disturbed.
Dog CoopsCaged dogs that bark. Among the loudest traps in the game.
ChickensCoops scattered across compounds.
BatsRoosts that erupt when you get close.
Broken glassCrunches underfoot.
SticksSnap once when stepped on. A single discrete noise, not a repeating alarm.
Tin cansRattle when disturbed.
Hanging chains, bells, horseshoes and bottlesStrung in doorways and corridors, and they rattle when bumped.
Fishing hooksStrung lines that give you away.

Traps run a simple two-stage system. They become alerted first, then triggered if you keep pushing, and each hunter has their own escalation threshold and not a shared one. Crouch-walking around them or taking another route through the compound avoids most of them. You can also shoot or melee animals to silence them first, though that noise carries its own risk.

info

There is no hidden cumulative threat meter behind these traps, despite that idea circulating widely. It is the two-stage alerted-then-triggered system above. If crows scatter and you were sure you were far enough away, the likely culprit is a Stick you stepped on, which is its own separate trap and not a modifier on the crows.

Water is not one of the game's noise-trap categories. Moving through it is simply loud movement, so it behaves like sprinting and not like a tripwire. That still matters on Stillwater Bayou, where routing around deep water is worth the extra distance.

Your Noise Profile​

Crytek has never published audible ranges for player actions, and the precise meter figures that circulate for sprinting, walking and crouching do not trace to any source. What holds up is the ordering, which is all you need in practice:

  • Sprinting is the loudest thing you routinely do. Assume it carries far enough to matter.
  • Walking is moderate and crouch-walking is quiet, and standing still makes no noise at all.
  • Unsuppressed gunfire carries across compounds. Suppressors cut that down sharply without silencing you.
  • Opening doors, reloading and melee swings all make noise worth timing around cover.

AI Enemies​

The maps are populated with AI threats beyond bosses. Each type has distinct behavior and requires a different approach:

EnemyBehaviorHow to Kill
GruntsSlow, shambling undead. Walk toward noise. Low threat alone, dangerous in groups.Melee (knife, dusters). One heavy knife hit kills them silently.
HivesStationary at range, send poison swarms when they spot you. The swarm tracks aggressively via line of sight.Kill from range with a headshot, or close in fast with melee. Blunt weapons work well against the swarm.
ArmoredHeavy undead wrapped in metal plates. High bullet resistance. Extremely loud to fight.Fire is the answer, killing them within seconds of ignition and not instantly. A close-range Poison Ammo headshot kills one outright. Bladed melee works but takes several hits.
ImmolatorsFast, aggressive fire-based enemies. Bullets and sharp weapons ignite them, and the explosion drains your health and stamina.Blunt melee only (dusters, hammers) or Choke Bombs, which both damage and extinguish them. Never shoot them at close range.
MeatheadsMassive and almost blind. They sense through their attached leeches instead of sight or sound, and they specifically hunt poisoned hunters. Worth exactly 300 XP.Heavy melee or sustained gunfire. Kill the leeches first to remove their tracking.
Water DevilsAquatic threats in deep water that block crossings.Poison ammo kills instantly with a single bullet. Otherwise about 3 to 4 regular gunshots does it. Melee is not a real option, so do not plan to punch your way through.
HellhoundsFast-moving packs that rush and bite. Individually weak. Packs run from 2 up to 4.Shotguns, melee swings that hit multiple targets, or any weapon with a wide spread.
warning

Immolators are the deadliest AI enemy for new players. Your instinct is to shoot them. Do not. Bullets and bladed weapons cause them to explode, dealing heavy fire damage to you and anyone nearby. Switch to dusters or a blunt melee weapon. If you do not have one, throw a Choke Bomb to neutralize them without detonation.

Your First 10 Hours​

  1. Play the tutorial. It covers every core mechanic. Do not skip it.
  2. Use free hunters and cheap loadouts. You get a few free hunters with basic gear. Use them. Losing a free hunter costs you nothing but time.
  3. Learn one map first. Pick Stillwater Bayou or Mammon's Gulch and run it repeatedly. Learn where clues spawn, where bosses lair, and where extraction points are.
  4. Kill AI for XP. Grunts, Hives, Armored, and Immolators all give XP and level both your hunter and your Bloodline. Meatheads are worth 300 XP each.
  5. Listen before you move. Stop at the edge of every compound and listen for 5 to 10 seconds. Gunshots, footsteps, triggered sound traps, and boss sounds all tell you whether the compound is occupied.
  6. Do not chase every gunfight. If you hear shots across the map, that does not mean you need to go there. Picking your fights is how you survive.
  7. Extract early and often. A successful extraction with one clue and some AI kills is worth more than dying with two bounty tokens. Get comfortable extracting before you get comfortable fighting.

Frequently Asked Questions​

What happens when your hunter dies in Hunt: Showdown?

The hunter is gone permanently along with every weapon, tool, and consumable they carried. You keep only 50 percent of the XP earned in that run, and any Hunt Dollars or Blood Bonds you looted during it are lost, since only what you extract with gets banked. New accounts are exempt from permadeath entirely until Bloodline Rank 15 under Trainee Mode.

How long does banishing take in Hunt: Showdown?

A little over three minutes, not the 40 seconds often quoted. Your position is broadcast to the whole map for that entire stretch, which is long enough for a distant team to cross the map and set up on you, so plan your defense before you start it.

How many players are in a Hunt: Showdown match?

Up to 12 hunters share the map, mixed across solos, duos, and trios. Both Bounty Hunt and Soul Survivor cap at 12.

How do you kill an Immolator in Hunt: Showdown?

Use blunt melee like dusters or hammers, or throw a Choke Bomb. Never shoot them at close range, because bullets and bladed weapons make them explode and deal heavy fire damage to you and anyone nearby.

Which Hunt: Showdown map should a new player learn first?

Pick Stillwater Bayou or Mammon's Gulch and run it repeatedly until you know where clues spawn, where bosses lair, and where the extraction points sit. Learning one map well beats knowing three of them badly.

Is the Hunt: Showdown tutorial worth playing?

Yes. It covers mechanics the game does not explain anywhere else, including Dark Sight, clue tracking, and banishment. Skipping it puts you at a real disadvantage in your first matches.

These guides cover every system in depth: