Hunt: Showdown 1896: 10 Pro Tips for New Hunters

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is a brutal PvPvE extraction shooter that doesn’t hold your hand. You’ll learn by dying — a lot. But you can shorten that painful learning curve with these 10 pro tips that cover everything from clever positioning to knowing when to haul your bounty out of hell.

10 Pro Tips for the Bayou

1. Always Read the Clues in Dark Sight

Dark Sight isn’t just for seeing the boss; it’s your bread-and-butter tracker. When you investigate a clue, press the dark sight button and look at the glowing beam. It points you toward the next clue or the boss lair. Use this every time. Rushing without clues is how you end up wandering the swamps for 20 minutes only to get shot from a bush.

2. Noise Will Get You Killed — But Not Always the Way You Think

Crows, horses, chicken coops, and even broken glass all announce your presence to half the map. You should absolutely avoid them. However, don’t crouch-walk everywhere. Moving slowly makes you an easy pistol target in the open. Walk normally when safe, only crouch when you know enemies are near. If you accidentally trigger a sound, change position immediately: that noise is an invitation.

3. Choose a Loadout That Punches Above Its Weight

You don’t need a 600-dollar nitro. The classical combo of a Winfield rifle and a heavy melee weapon (like the sabre or the axe) clears AI with ease and puts pressure on other hunters. If you’re on a budget, bring a pistol with a good fire rate and a set of heavy knives. Headshots are king — two to the chest won’t always secure the kill.

4. Compact Ammo Is Your Friend

Many newbies underestimate the lowly compact ammo. The Winfield or the new 1896 M1873 variant can drop a hunter with two quick shots, and you can carry plenty of rounds. Pair it with a fanning or levering trait and you become a close-range menace. Plus, compact ammo is everywhere: loot boxes, dead hunters, and even some tool boxes.

5. Let the AI Work for You — But Don’t Rely on It

Grunts and armored monsters are obstacles for other hunters, and they make noise. Use them as alarm systems: if you hear gunfire fighting AI, that’s a callout. If you need a quiet approach, a silenced pistol or throwing knives are worth their weight in gold. But never try to hide behind a hive swarm – that’s a death trap for you too.

6. Master the Art of the Explosive

Consumables are more important than your loadout in certain indoor fights. A choke bomb can block a doorway completely; a frag arrow can clear a corner. Always carry at least one explosive (dynamite or frag) and one flash or decoy. The flash is especially nasty when you’re pushing a boss lair — it turns a trade into a free kill.

7. Boss Lair Siege: Trap Everything

When you find the boss, don’t just run in. Set up traps on the two main entrances and the windows you’re worried about. Concertina wire, bear traps, and alert trip mines can stall an entire enemy team while you burn the boss. Remember: the boss isn’t the prize; the bounty is. Toxic rounds and poison bombs work wonders inside, too.

8. Know When to Banish and When to Bail

After banishing the boss, you’ll be shown on the map. Everyone knows where you are. If you’re in a bad position, use the dark sight boost to scan for hunters, then extract without the bounty. If you do stay, wait inside the lair with your traps set. You have the home-field advantage. But know that a 3-team fight on your position is almost impossible to win alone.

9. The Game Is Played with Headphones

Audio is the most important tool in your kit. Footsteps, weapon swaps, even reloads trigger subtle sounds. If you’re not wearing headphones, you’re playing with a handicap. Use audio cues to track where shots came from. A hunter who shoots and then runs often leaves a trail of crows behind — listen for that too.

10. Learn the Compounds and the High-Ground Rules

Every extract, every boss lair, every compound has a flow. The church, the carvage, the mining camp — each has a roof, a basement, and a few sneaky paths. Spend a few solo games exploring. Get on rooftops; you’ll see and hear far more. High ground is always safer. And if you’re stuck, run to the nearest dark corner and crouch — sometimes the best tactic is to let the other hunters kill each other first.

Hunt is unforgiving, but these tips will get you to the extraction with a bounty and your skin intact. Now get out there — the bayou doesn’t hunt itself.