Hunt: Showdown 1896

Hunters,

Tomorrow, September 10 at 09:30 CEST, we'll be deploying a hotfix to address several issues that have surfaced since the launch of Update 2.9.

This hotfix includes:

• Fixes for several game crashes
• Re-enabling the Legendary Hunters Hex Breaker, Corvid: Bile, and Corvid: Brood
• Unlocking LeMat High Velocity Ammo by default

✅ No downtime required ✅ Small download required (~200mb) If you're playing around 09:30 CEST, we recommend restarting your game client to ensure you're connected to the latest version.

Our team continues to investigate additional issues and work on further fixes and improvements for Blood Testament.

Happy Hunting! 🤠

Bloodskin

Bloodskin is the newest Boss Target: A bloodthirsty being whose protective shell hides the horror that lurks deep within. Those who seek it should beware. The fight begins against a slow, hard-hitting, heavily-armored beast. But once you remove its armor and lower its health, it shifts into a distinct second phase—as an agile abomination with new and bloody abilities. If you defeat Bloodskin, it drops the “Siphon” Trait. When Bloodskin’s banish begins, nearby monsters become more aggressive, like when they are affected by the Blood Moon.

Blood Moon Time of Day

A new and dynamic Time of Day—or rather, time of night—rises over the Incursion areas and shifts between two phases throughout your Mission. During the Intense Blood Moon phase, a storm grows and the moon breaks through the clouds. Monsters become more aggressive and attack faster. During the Dark Blood Moon phase, clouds cover the moon, reducing visibility and returning monster behavior to normal. Both phases bathe the map in a red glow, with the effect becoming stronger and brighter when the Blood Moon leaves its cloud cover.

New weapon: Burgess

New weapon: Burgess

The Burgess is a foldable, slide-action, long barrel shotgun with a Weapon Capacity of Size 3 at the cost of a long equip and unequip animation. It features a 6-round magazine. It can be equipped with the “Bulletgrubber” Trait to recover ejected live shells.

• Basic - 6+1/6

• Dragon Breath - 6+1/6

• Flechette - 6+1/6

• Penny Shot - 6+1/9

• Slugs - 6+1/4

New variant: Burgess Bayonet

A variant of the Burgess that has a bayonet added to it, which comes at the cost of an even longer equip and unequip animation, as it takes more time to deploy and stow away.

• Basic - 6+1/6

• Dragon Breath - 6+1/6

• Flechette - 6+1/6

• Penny Shot - 6+1/9

• Slugs - 6+1/4

New variant: Burgess Trauma

A variant of the Burgess with a reinforced stock that changes the heavy melee attack into a hammer strike.

• Basic - 6+1/6

• Dragon Breath - 6+1/6

• Flechette - 6+1/6

• Penny Shot - 6+1/9

• Slugs - 6+1/4

Dev note:

During Blood Testament, all Burgess variants are unlocked via the Battle Pass and will stay unlocked over Prestige. Once Blood Testament ends, they will be added to normal weapon progression.

Gunplay

New Custom Ammo: LeMat High Velocity

• For LeMat Carbine and Variants

• Damage 101

• Muzzle Velocity 560

• Drop Range 150

• Recoil 4.5

• Reserve Ammunition 9/12

• For LeMat

• Damage 92

• Muzzle Velocity 450

• Drop Range 85

• Recoil 8

• Reserve Ammunition 9/8

Balance Changes:

Hunting Bow

One-hit kill range to the upper body while at full draw has been reduced:

• With the “Hundred Hands” Trait from 36m to 30m

• Without the “Hundred Hands” Trait from 29m to 27m

The damage curve for draw percentage has also been adjusted to reduce damage:

• Generally, this means that quick shots will deal less damage and be less likely to one-hit kill a Hunter

Reduced Reserve Ammunition

• Basic - from 1/8+8 to 1/6+6

• Poison- from 1/5+5 to 1/4+4

• Frag- from 1/5+5 to 1/4+4

• Concertina- from 1/5+5 to 1/4+4

LeMat

Reduced LeMat reserve ammunition

• Compact from 9/18 to 9/12

• Incendiary from 9/18 to 9/12

• FMJ from 9/18 to 9/12

• Shotgun Shells from 1/3 to 1/2

• Dragon Breath from 1/3 to 1/2

• Starshell from 1/3 to 1/2

• Slugs from 1/2 to 1/1

Officer

Reduced Officer and Officer Brawler ammunition:

• Compact from 7/14 to 7/10

• Poison from 7/14 to 7/10

• Dumdum from 7/14 to 7/10

• High Velocity from 7/9 to 7/7

• Subsonic from 7/16 to 7/12

Terminus

• Damage increased from 186 to 207

• Spread decreased from 40 to 30

Slugs

Reduced pricing from 65 to 40 Hunt Dollars for:

• Romero 77, Romero 77 Shorty, and Romero 77 Hatchet

• Drilling and Drilling Variants

• LeMat and LeMat Variants

• Haymaker

Tools and Consumables

Adjusted Hunt Dollar prices

• Tool Box decreased from 70 -> 25

• Medical Pack decreased from 35 -> 15

• Throwing Spear increased from 80 -> 145

• Throwing Axes increased from 50 -> 80

• Derringer Pennyshot increased from 63 -> 100

• Decoy Fuses decreased from 30 -> 15

• Bear Traps decreased from 70 to -> 35

Heavy Knife

Adjusted the swing melee to increase hit chance:

• Increased the height of the melee hit box.

Gameplay

Hidden Information Changes

• All Supply Points, Scout Towers, and Extraction Points are hidden by default.

• Investigating a Clue will now reveal 2 Extraction Points.

• The Scouting Maps that reveal hidden info can now appear at all Supply Points.

• Scout Towers still have a guaranteed Scouting Map inside.

• The Spyglass still reveals hidden location icons on the compass.

The radius to discover hidden locations has been increased to 75m.

Dev Note: We’ve taken note of community feedback and hope this alleviates some of the pain points of the previous iterations of the hidden info mechanic. We hope this adds focus to the core game loop, while adding the element off discovery by keeping a lot of information hidden.

Trait Changes

New Burn Trait: Siphon - Allows you to loot a Scarce Trait off an enemy Hunter’s body, leaving Siphon in its place. Siphon can be acquired by interacting with Blood Wells or found in-world like other Scarce Traits. Siphon will also be dropped by Bloodskin.

Dev Note: Siphon will prioritize Death Cheat whenever possible, and if not, it will steal a random Scarce Trait if the looted Hunter had one. For solos, if not Death Cheat, it will then prioritize Necromancer, but you will not be able to steal Necromancer from another solo player, only from someone in a team. When Death Cheat is stolen, it will still be active for the player that lost it for the rest of the round.

New Burn Trait: Chupacabra - Interact with a live horse, cow, or animal cage to restore 1 Health Chunk.

_Dev Note: Once unlocked, Chupacabra will be buyable from the Trait menu for 2 Upgrade Points. When interacting with dog cages, all 3 dogs can be interacted with separately, while for chickens the entire cage can be interacted with once. The chosen animal is triggered during the interaction and killed upon completion. _

Catalyst Updates:

• Vulture: Now gets a Catalyst Conditional which allows players to loot some ammo from downed Hunters.

• Lightfoot: Now gets the Catalyst Conditional to never break branches. This effect was previously part of the Catalyst Conditionals for Beastface, but has now been moved to Lightfoot.

Trait Spawn Changes:

• Added Crackshot, Blademancer, and Corpse Seer to the list of possible Trait spawns at Scout Towers and themed Supply Points. Both Sealed and normal Trait Spur variations can spawn.

Misc. Gameplay Changes

• Destiny’s Dial now has a chance to reveal all hidden locations as a reward.

Sealed Reward Spawn Changes:

• Postal Supply now only contains the Experience Boon, with the other Boons moving to more thematically appropriate Supply Points.

• Clockmaker’s Supply now contains a Dark Sight Boon.

• Reduced the chance of Sealed Boons to spawn in Scout Towers and Supply Points.

AUDIO

• Added a short variation of the Rise Up Dead Man “Humming Theme” to play after a successful extraction.

• Fixed an issue with certain Equipment Animation sounds in first person to be heard after canceling the inspect.

Monsters

· The Intense Blood Moon phase from the “Blood Moon” Time of Day affects monsters except for Water Devils.

o Triggered by the Blood Moon (general effect in all maps), when players banish Bloodskin, or when players interact with Blood Wells for the Community Event (both in a radius for a short time).

o Agitated monsters have the following Traits:

§ A dark, smoky aura.

§ They sound more aggressive.

§ They have slightly sharper senses while roaming.

§ They move faster. Armoreds and Leeches are most affected by the change, while Hellhounds and Immolators retain their original movement speed.

§ Grunts, Armoreds, and Firebreathers (when wet) attacks occur at shorter intervals, so they deal more damage over time.

§ Attack animations for Grunts, Armoreds, Firebreathers (when wet), Brutes, Ursa Mortises, and Meatheads are faster.

· Immolator navigation has been nerfed, no longer allowing the monster to figure out long, complex paths to players. Detection distances remain the same, preserving the experience in open fields where the Immolator has a straight path to its target.

· Hellhounds are now slower when they are in water or have a mutilated leg.

New Boss Target: Bloodskin

• 2 Stages: Bloodskin transforms mid-encounter, changing the dynamics of the fight. It never returns to Stage 1 after transforming.

• Stage 1: Slow, armored creature. Dangerous in close-quarter combat, he hits hard.

• Stage 2: Fleshy, agile being who teleports around to ambush the player.

• Drops the “Siphon” Trait when he dies.

• When banish begins, nearby monsters become more aggressive, like when they are affected by the Intense Blood Moon phase of the “Blood Moon” Time of Day. Effects last for the duration of the banish.

New Player Onboarding

• Low visibility Time of Day rates have been reduced for new players to ease their first steps in the game.

• Bloodskin (new Boss Target) is excluded from new-players-only Missions (all players below Bloodline Rank 11).

UI

Traits in Loadouts

• A much-requested feature is finally here! You are now able to add Traits to Custom Loadouts and, in the process, hopefully cut down on the number of steps to re-equip a Hunter after death.

• Custom Loadouts now come with a dual cost: Hunt Dollars and Upgrade Points.

• You can equip 0-15 Traits to a loadout. Cost is replaced with total budget needed.

• The cost of the Traits will be applied when you equip the Loadout to your Hunter.

• If you have insufficient Upgrade Points, you will not be allowed to equip the Loadout and will be shown an error message.

• You can still copy your Hunter's loadout into a Custom Loadout slot.

• Scarce and Locked Traits cannot be copied over to a Custom Loadout from a Hunter. Those items will be skipped once the action is taken.

• You can disable the Traits widget if you want to equip the Custom Loadout without the Traits.

• Hunter Slots

• Expanded the total possible number of Hunter Slots from 75 to 100.

• Made improvements to the localization for French, Russian, Chinese Simplified, and German.

Matchmaking

MMR Decay

• Returning players will now receive a temporary MMR modifier that slightly reduces difficulty of Missions after a longer break from the game.

• This modifier gradually decreases the more you play, perfect for when you are feeling rusty and need a few games to get back on track.

New Player Modifier

• Before, this was a flat-value MMR reduction that was turned off at specific Bloodline Rank, resulting in a spike of difficulty for new players.

• Now it uses similar logic to MMR Decay—a modifier that smoothly increases difficulty and gives newcomers a fair fighting chance against more experienced (but similarly skilled MMR-wise) players.

[Bug Fixes]

• Fixed rare issues that could affect both client and server stability

• Fixed an issue where fuse audio for cooking Tools and Consumables was missing. Audio would only play after the item was thrown, while explosion audio functioned as expected

• Fixed an exploit where players could Prestige after readying up, causing them to load into a Mission with an empty Hunter

• Fixed an issue where equipping a Loadout while viewing a Hunter other than the selected Hunter would apply the Loadout to the wrong Hunter

• Fixed an issue where the “Frontiersman” Trait could disappear after being picked up twice

• Fixed an issue where the iron sights on some weapons were slightly misaligned

• Fixed an issue where, after losing connection while loading into a Mission and then reconnecting, teammate and monster footsteps would play from the player's original spawn location instead of their actual positions

• Fixed several locations where players could become partially or fully stuck

• Fixed an exploit where players could instantly self-revive by opening Death Screen sub-menus before the Death Screen had fully appeared, bypassing the intended revive timer

• Fixed an issue where the third Clue, when located inside the Boss Target compound, could fail to register as collected, preventing the map from shrinking as intended

• Fixed an issue where the Shooting Range could incorrectly display a Bounty Hunt or Bounty Clash contract after returning from the Loadout Screen

• Fixed an issue with incorrect sign placement and orientation on the signpost south of La Plata Mine, including upside-down signs and an incorrect direction sign pointing to Pelican Island Prison

• Fixed an issue where Hellhounds could sometimes spin around

• Fixed an issue where the light in a Hellhound's eyes didn’t turn off when it died

• Fixed an issue where the Bileweaver could stop moving and become unresponsive

• Fixed an issue where the player receives increased damage from Firebreather while standing in the water

• Fixed an issue where Armoreds could get stuck attacking after breaking an obstacle

• Fixed an issue where Bileweavers could start walking in the air

• Fixed an issue where the VFX for moving in water was placed too high for the Firebreather and Immolator

• Fixed an issue where Hellhounds could spawn even if user was below the required Bloodline Rank

• Fixed an issue where multiple Hellhounds in the same spot could visibly clip into each other

• Fixed an issue where the Immolator could move without proper alignment towards a closed door

• Fixed an issue where some monsters were unaffected by fire volumes when in deep water

• Fixed an issue where the Firebreather didn't have body destruction enabled during the “Wet” Status Effect.

• Fixed an issue where the Firebreather’s weakness to poison didn't apply with certain applications

• Fixed an issue where Grunts could be moved after the attack animation

• Fixed an issue where the Bileweaver ragdoll may glitch and fly away

• Fixed an issue where Bats would always start to burn, even if they were not killed by fire

• Fixed an issue where a Liquid Fire Bomb would not damage Rotjaw

• Fixed an issue where audio would crackle and produce audible clicks and pops when downed or affected by the ear-ringing effect

• Fixed an exploit where players could interact with the top of a ladder from below, allowing them to bypass climbing and save time and button presses

• Fixed an issue where removing the “Quartermaster” Trait while a Quartermaster-enabled Loadout was equipped always unequipped the weapon in the first slot instead of the second slot

• Fixed an issue where FPS dropped significantly when standing beneath the waterfall near Split River Mill

• Fixed an issue where, after killing a player with a Vetterli 71, all subsequent kills in the same Mission were incorrectly counted as Vetterli 71 kills

• Fixed an issue where the side tray and navigation were bound to the same button in the Bloodline Progression and Prestige screens

• Fixed an issue where players were unable to reload their weapon while using VIVOX voice chat

• Fixed an issue where the Hunter Screen paperdoll incorrectly shared saved shortcuts across all Hunters

• Fixed an issue where the “Shadow Leap” Trait could be used on Bileweavers

• Fixed an issue where Boss Target kills did not contribute to the "Monsters Killed" statistic in Bounty Hunt, despite the stat description stating that it includes all monsters, including Boss Targets

• Fixed an issue where holding the Interact button while a paperdoll slot was selected in the Gear Screen did not open the Party Tab

• Fixed an issue where the Inspect button was missing from the “All Hunters” Recruit Screen

• Fixed an issue where the third-person weapon swap animation played incorrectly while aiming down sights if the player had any combination of Dolch 96, Dolch 96 Bullseye, or Dolch 96 Claw equipped in both Weapon Slots

• Fixed an issue where “Favorite” stars in the Story Challenges tab did not display correctly when they were selected from right to left after already being favorited

• Fixed an issue where burning Hunters wouldn’t damage caged chickens and caged dogs on contact

[Unresolved major issues of update]

• Rare crashes and freezes occur during gameplay and/or while loading into or out of a Mission

• When the player holds the shortcut used to assign a Quick Slot to the currently held equipment item, the shortcut cannot be assigned to the highlighted slot

• The Lobby may become broken if one of the Players in an invited team disconnects during extraction

• When a player recruits a new Hunter, enters a Mission, and acquires Traits, then purchases additional Traits for the same Hunter from the Loadout Screen, selling a Trait may result in two Traits being sold instead of one

• Healing a teammate with a Vitality Shot or First Aid Kit does not grant them shared progress for the “Restore Health for yourself or your teammates” Challenge. Progress is only granted to the player using the item.

Hunters,

Update 2.8.1 is now live! You will find description below.

Make sure to check again tomorrow for the start of Road to Hell: Chapter 2, which will bring the arrival of the Cargo Balloon. You'll also be able to witness the tragedy of the 26th Regiment's downfall up close in the free Story Challenge "The Regiment's Last Stand."

There will be a separate announcement for Chapter 2 on July 2nd.

Gunplay

The Inventory Rework opened new possibilities and incentivized greater loadout diversity, though some new pain points have been noted. We've seen the feedback and are bringing the first set in a series of changes aimed to fine tune the system further. We’ll continue observing player feedback and weapon data to ensure the arsenal will slowly but steadily find its new balance. What we have seen so far is very encouraging, but there is still more work left to do and some equipment has not yet fully settled as players keep experimenting with new combinations.

Shotguns

We've adjusted the reserve ammo of most shotguns, increasing the amount full-size shotguns carry while reducing sawn-off shotguns.

• Auto-5

• Basic from 6 to 8

• Flechette from 6 to 8

• Slugs from 4 to 5

• Penny Shot from 9 to 12

• Rival 78

• Basic from 8 to 12

• Flechette from 8 to 12

• Dragon Breath from 8 to 12

• Slugs from 5 to 8

• Penny Shot from 12 to 18

• Homestead 78

• Basic from 8 to 12

• Flechette from 8 to 12

• Dragon Breath from 8 to 12

• Slugs from 5 to 8

• Penny Shot from 12 to 18

• Romero 77 Alamo

• Basic from 5 to 12

• Dragon Breath from 5 to 12

• Slugs from 3 to 8

• Penny Shot from 8 to 18

• Starshell from 3 to 8

• Slate

• Basic from 6 to 12

• Dragon Breath from 6 to 12

• Slugs from 4 to 8

• Penny Shot from 9 to 18

• Specter 1882

• Basic from 10 to 12

• Flechette from 10 to 12

• Dragon Breath from 10 to 12

• Slugs from 6 to 8

• Penny Shot from 15 to 18

• Terminus

• Basic from 8 to 12

• Flechette from 8 to 12

• Dragon Breath from 8 to 12

• Slugs from 5 to 8

• Penny Shot from 12 to 18

• Rival 78 Shorty

• Basic from 6 to 4

• Flechette from 6 to 4

• Dragon Breath from 6 to 4

• Slugs from 4 to 3

• Penny Shot from 9 to 6/list]

• Romero 77 Shorty

• Basic from 52 to 22

• Dragon Breath from 52 to 22

• Slugs from 32 to 12

• Penny Shot from 82 to 32

• Starshell from 32 to 12

• Specter 1882 Shorty

• Basic from 8 to 4

• Flechette from 8 to 4

• Dragon Breath from 8 to 4

• Slugs from 5 to 3

• Penny Shot from 12 to 6

• Terminus Shorty

• Basic from 6 to 4

• Flechette from 6 to 4

• Dragon Breath from 6 to 4

• Slugs from 4 to 3

• Penny Shot from 9 to 6

_**Dev Note: **With sawn-off shotguns becoming Size 2, they now have become an enticing choice with few downsides. To make them feel more fitting in the Size 2 category, we've decided to reduce their reserve ammo across the board.

Full-size shotguns, on the other hand, have stagnated, dropping a little in usage with the recent changes. To strengthen their position and give players that still want to build their loudouts around shotguns viable options, we’ve added reserve ammo to full-size shotguns across the board, making them a stronger alternative compared to the sawn-off shotguns._

Alongside the ammo changes we've adjusted the prices of some shotguns:

• Terminus: 238 -> 168

• Terminus Shorty: 218 -> 148

• Slate: 333 -> 313

• Slate Riposte: 343 -> 323

• Rival 78: 150 -> 170

• Rival 78 Trauma: 160 -> 180

• Rival 78 Shorty: 125 -> 145

• Rival 78 Mace: 135 -> 155

Other Changes

Springfield 1866

• Increased Damage from 132 to 139

• Increased High Velocity Damage from 126 to 132

• Increased Explosive Damage from 123 to 125

Springfield 1866 Shorty

• Increased Damage from 130 to 135

• Increased High Velocity Damage from 123 to 128

• Increased Explosive Damage from 123 to 125

**Dev Note: **With Dumdum Ammo becoming Scarce, the Springfield has been struggling as an option compared to the other Size 4 weapons. To help with this we're increasing the damage, strengthening its positioning as a cheap Size 4 weapon with plenty extra ammo available.

Berthier 1892

• Reduced Damage from 132 to 128

• Reduced Spitzer Damage from 113 to 109

**Dev Note: **With its new place as a 3-slot, the Berthier quickly jumped up as a very strong option that can be combined with other powerful secondary weapons. While this was the core idea behind the new Inventory Slot system, the Berthier simply stood out as being strong. With these changes, the Berthier should make its reduced power level feel more fitting compared to other 3-slot choices, giving other weapons a chance to shine as well.

Nitro Express No longer has any random deviation (similar to how we balance Slugs on shotguns) over longer distances when firing from ADS to help with hits at medium to long distances.

“Shadow Leap” Trait Interaction time reduced from 4 to 3 seconds to make it snappier to use.

Mako 1895

• Slightly increased reserve ammo:

• Basic/FMJ/Explosive from 8 to 10

Player Profile Customization - DLC Hunter Avatars

Have you been customizing your Player Profile Cards? If so, we have good news for you: With Chapter 2 of Road to Hell, we are adding several Avatars from some much-loved DLC. This means if you own one of the DLC listed below, then you will automatically receive the corresponding Avatar with this release.

We are working on having an Avatar available for every Legendary Hunter from our collection of DLC. The team have been working hard on making some of your favorites, and we wanted to launch these as soon as we had a batch ready so you weren’t left waiting. Rest assured that Avatars from the rest of the DLC containing Legendary Hunters will be available through other updates across this year and early next year. Creating and importing Avatars for every DLC is a huge workload for our artists and backend teams, so we appreciate your patience and understanding, and hope you like this first batch for now!

The following DLC will be available with their Avatar for your Player Profile Cards:

#DLC NameLegendary Hunter 1Legends of the BayouThe Bone Doctor 2Weird Sister 3The PhantomThe Phantom 4Llorona's HeirLlorona's Heir 5The ResearcherThe Researcher 6The RatThe Rat 7Zhong KuiDead Blessing 8Zhong Kui 9The RevenantThe Revenant 10RoninThe Ronin 11The Trick ShooterCarter 12Spirit of NianNorth Star 13The Sovereign 14The Prodigal DaughterThe Prodigal Daughter 15The CommittedMonroe 16Cold BloodedThe Reptilian 17Meridian TurncoatThe Turncoat 18Fear the ReaperThe Reaper 19Ghost Face RampageGhost Face 20The Ghost of Blanchett GravesAngel of Death 21Cry of the Caged BirdLilith 22The Madness of MontresorMontresor 23The Heart of Lower DeSalleLady Lewis 24It Takes a RogueThe Ironclad 25Twice a RenegadeThe Mercenary

To get them in your game, you just need to make sure that you own the DLC and install the latest update.

• Fixed rare crashes that could occur, especially on Xbox

• Fixed an exploit where Tarot Card effects could be stacked/multiplied intentionally using a temporary disconnect

• Fixed an exploit where players could find a way to bypass the Tools and Consumables selection during the loadout preparation, granting access to bring a 9th item (hidden visually until using the one appearing in the loadout)

• Fixed some edge case spots where players could get semi-stuck and/or vault when they were not meant to be

• Fixed a bug where cancelling a reload of dual wield weapons leads to user not being able to aim down sights

• Fixed an issue where a newly hired Hunter is not automatically selected in the Hunter screen while in a team

• Fixed an issue where the sweetener sound was too prominent for Legendary Skins

• Fixed a bug where the “Blast Sense” Trait had a delay before activating when players entered Dark Sight

• Fixed a bug where the bullet drop indicator at the bottom of the scope was missing on the Mosin-Nagant Sniper and Lebel 1886 Marksman when using Standard Ammo

• Fixed a bug where the tooltip for certain ammunition types displayed the internal @-string instead of the correct localized text

• Partially fixed a bug where progress for the "Restore Health for yourself or your teammates" challenge was not tracked correctly

Hunters,

Update 2.8.0.3 is now live. You will find the list of changes and fixes below.

• Increased the Uppercut base damage with basic, FMJ, and Incendiary Ammo to 126

Dev note: With this change, the Uppercut regains some of its previous appeal and moves towards its old power level, especially compared to its new main competitor, the Haymaker. We will continue to balance weapons based on your feedback on the Inventory Slot Rework and expect more changes coming during Road to Hell.

• Fixed a dedicated server crash

• Fixed an Xbox crash caused by gamepad disconnect and reconnect

• Fixed the continued fire of the Maxim M1895 after extraction

• Partially fixed the delays for traits that involve using Dark Sight, including Blast Sense.

• The delays have improved, but we are still working on a definitive fix.

• Fixed the Uppercut Special Ammo reserve ammo count (from 9 to 12)

Hunters,

Update 2.8.0.2 is now live.

• Fixed a critical localization issue affecting the Chinese language

• Restored custom Special Long Ammo instances that were temporarily unavailable with 2.8 release. • Fixed in-game news display.

---

Hunters,

The launch of Road to Hell is off to a great start! Our concurrent player numbers have climbed into the top three in Hunt's history, and it's been fantastic to see so many of you jumping into the action and exploring the new update.

With that, we wanted to take a moment to address some of the feedback we have seen online.

Balancing & Metas

We have seen plenty of lively discussions around balancing and the new metas forming in 2.8. We love it. It's exactly this kind of passion that makes the community what it is, and we want to reassure you that all of it is being read and digested by the team. Your opinions are being carefully considered, and we will be keeping a close eye on the conversation going forward as these new meta starts to settle. Keep it coming!

Points of Interest Spawn Density

A few of you have raised concerns that the new Points of Interest (Stronghold, Medical Supply, and Military Supply) can on rare occasions spawn too close together. Their placement is intentional and strategic, designed to drive higher engagement, but we understand the feedback. Some of the rules that drive our placement logic will also shift when the second possible Stronghold locations arrive in Chapter 2. We will be monitoring spawn locations and their impact on gameplay closely as well over the next few days before making any decisions on potential changes.

Custom Ammunition Changes

We couldn't help but notice some frustration around the removal of Dumdum and other Custom Ammo, along with the changes that come with it. We recognize this will cause a meta shift and have taken this step in response to player feedback on how these ammo types were driving a stale meta. We are genuinely excited to see what fresh loadouts the community will build in response, and we are weighing all of your opinions and match data for future development. This change creates a clean slate and a return to core Hunt gameplay, from which we can further build and tune while staying true to the spirit of the more tactical gunplay that makes us different from all the other shooters. Reminder that we’ve increased the Loadout limit from 15 to 30 with this update, so you have more room for experimentation.

Supply Crates

Lastly, some of you have mentioned that Supply Crates aren't quite what you expected. Without giving too much away, we have an exciting twist on how Supply Crates will be used in the game arriving with Chapter 2 in July—a small teaser of which is hidden on our roadmap graphic. Stay tuned!

Thank you so much for your passion, feedback, and attention to detail.

Happy Hunting, Hunters.

Update 2.8 - The Road to Hell Starts Now

Road to Hell

_When two military scouts go missing while investigating the Corruption in Louisiana and Colorado, their concerned Commander decides to go after them. But his request for an official mission is declined, and instead he goes rogue and forms The 26th Regiment. With the financial backing of Desolation’s Delegate, the 26th are indignant at the lack of official support, but certain they can find their comrades and clean up the alleged Corruption themselves. They are professionals: well-trained and well-armed.

Their first mistake is their arrogance. Their second is their optimism. The Corruption is like nothing they have encountered before. Beset by monsters on one side and enemy Hunters who don’t want outside involvement on the other, their arrogance is transformed into doubt and then twisted into madness as they all lose themselves to the Hunt._

New Event Compound: Stronghold

The Stronghold is where The 26th Regiment had their last stand. Few survived the experience, and many who didn’t now wander the area, Corrupted and transformed into mindless Grunts. Here you won’t just find Destiny's Dial, Sealed Rewards, and Tarot Cards—but some new and interesting secrets…

The Strongholds are large and have 3 main areas to them: the trenches, the camp, and the fortified building. The camp area has a big mess tent where you will find:

• Scouting Map

• Various Sealed Boons

• Tarot Cards and more...

In the fortified building of the Stronghold, you will find:

• The Caged Boss Target

• The Maxim M1895

• The Sealed Explosives Box

• Many ways to restock your ammo.

In addition, the military has dug in all across the maps with additional trenches and smaller checkpoints and campsites that can be discovered.

Caged Boss Target

The 26th Regiment tried to know their enemy. Originally, they captured this Boss Target with the intent of sawing it to size and sending it out for future study. But during the siege, the soldiers grew hungry, and Sgt. Riggins had a different idea.

These are banish-ready Boss Targets that can be found at the Stronghold. Upon banish, they drop 1 Bounty Token. Before banishing this Boss Target, Whisper will be active, allowing you to detect nearby players. For the duration of Road to Hell, a Caged Boss Target will be guaranteed in every Mission, so there will be only 1 normal Boss Target in these Missions, with a chance of a Wild Target to be active as well. This means there can now be a maximum of 3 Bounty Token sources in a Mission.

New Supply Point: Medical Supply

• New themed Supply Point on the map with unique loot

• Players can find the following at the Medical Supply:

• Full Health Restoration Kit

• Scouting Map

• Four Shot Boon

• Random assortment of Shots

• Chance of a Tarot Card

• Medical Packs and more

• The Medical Supply will be visible on the map by default

New Supply Point: Military Supply

Teased in the final weeks of Update 2.7, we have the Military Supply that returns in Update 2.8.

• Players can find the following at the Military Supply:

• A Sealed Scarce Weapon Box

• Scouting Map

• Sealed Full Ammo and Tools Restock Box

• Guaranteed un-sealed “Catalyst” Trait Spur

• An assortment of Ammo Crates and Tool Boxes

• The Military Supply will be visible on the map by default

Hidden Information Changes

With Update 2.8, we want to bring back the scouting mechanics we introduced in 2.7, but with some changes to address the community's feedback.

• Scout Towers have been removed for Update 2.8. Instead, at the start of the Mission, the Stronghold, Medical Supply, and Military Supply will all be visible at the start of the Mission. Other Supply Points and Extraction Points will be hidden.

• These 3 locations all have Scouting Maps. Interacting with Scouting Maps reveals all the hidden locations.

• The Scouting Map no longer reveals the location of Wild Targets.

• Banishing Targets, picking up a Bounty Token, or using “The Chariot” Tarot Card will still reveal all Extraction Points.

Maxim M1895 - New In-World Weapon

The Maxim M1895 is a new in-world weapon which can only be found at the Stronghold, with each Event Compound containing only one due to limited numbers of the prototype weapons. Previously used as a mounted gun, this version has been ripped off the mount and had some makeshift adjustments, allowing it to be shot from the hip. To accommodate the makeshift portability, ammo bags have been affixed to the sides so that a limited amount of ammo can be carried with the gun.

• As an in-world weapon, it cannot be extracted or carried in a Hunter's inventory. Instead, it acts like current Shovels and Lanterns etc. do.

• Even if taken to an Extraction Point, it will be left behind.

• Due to its makeshift usage, it’s quite cumbersome and will slow Hunters down by 25% when equipped.

• Being fired from the hip means that there is a large spread. Aiming will reduce the spread slightly, but is still not accurate.

• Due to poor cooling following its prototype nature, it can overheat under extended fire, causing a malfunction which needs to be cleared manually. Best to keep the fire rate low to avoid stoppages!

• It has 50 Incendiary rounds by default, but cannot be resupplied.

Inventory Slot Rework

With Update 2.8, we are launching an inventory rework that aims to open new possibilities, promote loadout diversity at all skill levels, and give more weapons unique, viable niches.

• Weapons are assigned a Size from 1 to 5, as opposed to the previous convention of small, medium, and large .

• The player's default Weapon Capacity is 5, which can be extended to 6 with the “Quartermaster” Trait.

• Tools and Consumables are no longer restricted by type. Players can freely equip any Tool or Consumable to any slot, in any combination.

• Consumables are restricted to 4 instances of the same type (Throwables, Deployables, Shots, and Tarot Cards)

Other Changes

• Tool Boxes no longer resupply Consumables, instead only resupplying used Tools.

• New filter options have been added to the arsenal menu to help sort for the different weapon sizes, Tools, Consumables as well as category filters for Throwables, Deployables, Shots, and Tarot Cards. These have (for now) replaced some of the previous more granular filters for specific damage types for the sake of a better overview.

• A lot of secondary balancing went in across the full arsenal to make weapons, Tools, and Consumables fit their new categories. Certain Traits, like Quartermaster, have also been increased in cost.

• You can find the full list further below.

Dev note: With this rework, weapons that are equipped on already existing Hunters and would no longer fit due to the slot size changes will be unequipped and placed into your arsenal. This also counts for Contraband items—even if the Contraband limit will be exceeded by this, you will not lose your collected weapons.

New Weapon: 1890 Cavalry

Carbine version of the standard military rifle of the US Army until the introduction of the Krag. This lightweight version was mostly used by Cavalry and rear-echelon troops, while still packing the punch of a Long Ammo black powder cartridge. Cheap and readily available, the 1890 model upgrade offers improved sights and handling since it was first introduced in 1873.

• Added 1890 Cavalry, a Size 3, single-shot Long Ammo rifle. Compatible with the “Fast Fingers” Trait.

• 1/18 Ammo Reserve

• 139 damage

• 380 m/s muzzle velocity

• CATs: FMJ & High Velocity

• Dev note: The weapon does not look like much at first glance, but once its role within the wider Inventory Slot Rework is better understood, the advantage of a punchy and cheap single-shot long ammo rifle at Size 3 becomes a lot clearer. The 1890 Cavalry is a great companion weapon for some of the more diverse and affordable loadout choices we want to encourage with this system work. In addition, it is a very good thematic fit for the increased military presence in Road to Hell, where a lot of the service rifles the military brought along would naturally end up in the hands of Hunters.

New Free Story Challenge: Let the Gunshots Ring

With Update 2.8, we are introducing a brand-new and free Story Challenge to the game: Let the Gunshots Ring. Designed with a focus on player onboarding, players follow in the steps of John Victor, a well-seasoned Hunter who is ready to show them the ropes. As they are guided through the story’s Chapters and Challenges, players learn more about and deepen their knowledge of the game’s core gameplay and mechanics all the while earning valuable rewards for free.

“Life is cheap, and sometimes the only way to learn is the hard way.”

• John Victor

Structure Overview

• Chapters: 4

• Chapter Rewards: 4

• Chapter 1 - Vanguard (Pax Legendary Skin)

• Chapter 2 - Hedera Mortiferum (Conversion Chain Pistol Legendary Skin)

• Chapter 3 - Bear’s Tooth (Mosin-Nagant Legendary Skin)

• Chapter 4 - Initiate (Player Title)

Gunplay

Weapons

• Updated the following Long Ammo rifles to now use Special Long Ammo instead:

• Mosin-Nagant and Mosin Obrez variants

• Krag

• Lebel 1886

• Berthier 1892

• Special Long Ammo weapons share ammunition with one another, but cannot resupply or benefit from standard Long Ammo reserve ammo pools

• Special Long Ammo can only be resupplied from Special Ammo Crates, Ammo Boxes, or Full Restock boxes.

• Updated the icon for standard Long Ammo to help differentiate between the new ammo type.

_**Dev note: **Alongside the Inventory Slot Rework, we are taking the opportunity to make significant balance changes to existing weapons to redefine their role and performance in the new weapon economy. Special Long Ammo weapons will continue to be among the best items in the arsenal, but with new constraints requiring adaptation and extra precision. _

• The following ammo types have been made scarce:

• All Dumdum Ammo

• All Explosive Ammo (includes Frag Arrows, Explosive Bolts, and Waxed Frag charges)

• All Spitzer Ammo

• All but 3 instances of the above ammo types have been removed from players’ inventories, and their purchase price refunded.

• Dolch FMJ ammo, previously scarce, has now been retired. All instances in players’ inventories have been refunded.

Dev note: With Update 2.8 we are approaching scarcity differently, targeting high-value ammo types by category. As part of this effort, Dolch FMJ stood out as an exception that we wanted to resolve for consistency. We also want the new scarcity to mean more across the board, therefore we decided a reset of the current inventory for all players allows for a clean slate.

• Extra ammo pools for a number of weapons have been updated based on inventory slot rework changes:

• Weapons being updated to Size 3 losing extra ammo in exchange for increased flexibility:

• Berthier 1892: reduced extra ammo from 3/18 to 3/12

• Vetterli 71: reduced extra ammo from 6+1/20 to 6+1/16

• Frontier 73C: reduced extra ammo from 7+1/28 to 7+1/21

• Smaller variants & weapon families lose extra ammo capacity:

• Mosin Obrez: Reduced extra ammo from 5/10 to 5/7

• Springfield 1866 compact variants: reduced extra ammo from 1/24 to 1/20

• Drilling compact variants: reduced extra ammo from 2/20 to 2/16

• Centennial Shorty: reduced extra ammo from 9+1/12 to 9+1/9

• Vandal 73C: reduced extra ammo from 6+1/28 to 6+1/18

• Weapons gaining extra ammo capacity alongside a size change, or now competing with different weapons:

• Uppercut: increased extra ammo from 6/9 to 6/12 and to 6/18 on Precision variants

• Nitro Express: increased extra ammo from 2/4 to 2/6

• Auto-4: Increased spread to from 57 to 65, reduced reserve ammo from 5 to 4

• Officer Carbine: Slightly increased horizontal recoil

• Hand Crossbow:

• Increased standard Bolt’s damage from 195 to 205; in practice, results in 120 damage to the arm at close range instead of 112, and greater damage retention over distance.

• Reduced Dragon Bolt’s impact damage from 17 to 11. Results in less initial charcoaling and more time to prevent Burning.

• Reduced Dragon Bolt’s reserve ammo from 3 to 2

• Reduced Mako 1895’s muzzle velocity from 540 to a more accurate 440 for using black powder cartridges

• Increased price of all Berthier 1892 variants by 50 Hunt Dollars

Tools & Consumables

• Reduced Alert Trip Mine and Bear Trap reserves to 2 each

• Increase Bear Trap (Tool) damage from 58 to 62

• Reduced Flare Pistol reserve from 2 to 1

• Increased Decoy Fuses reserve from 3 to 5

• Increased Quad Derringer reserve ammo from 12 to 16

• Derringer Pennyshot

• Reduced effectiveness of all Penny Shot Ammo vs doors by 50%, requiring more shots to breach doors.

• Reduced Penny Shot damage vs Brutes and Meatheads.

• Ammo Box

• Reduced ammo resupply from Ammo Boxes from 2.5 X standard resupply to 2 X. In practice:

• Reduced Compact Ammo resupply from Ammo Boxes from 20 to 16

• Reduced Medium Ammo resupply from Ammo Boxes from 15 to 12

• Reduced Long Ammo resupply from Ammo Boxes from 5 to 4

• Reduced Special Ammo resupply from Ammo Boxes from 7 to 6

• Etc.

Gameplay

• Updated Dark Sight Boost map icons to fade over time. After a Hunter gains a Dark Sight Boost, the icon will gradually fade over a period of 5 minutes.

• Trait Spurs found in Watch Towers, Hunting Towers, and other Points of Interest now have a chance of spawning a sealed variant of the Trait.

• Supply Points now only have a chance of spawning one Tarot Card; the previous 2 guaranteed Tarot Cards have been removed. The pool of possible Tarot Cards that can spawn are loosely themed to the specific Supply Point.

• Re-introduced the Sealed Explosives Box with some slight tweaks. It costs 1 Pledge Mark to open and spawns 3 different explosives when opened.

Traits

• Increased the “Quartermaster” Trait price from 6 UPs to 8 UPs

• Increased the “Frontiersman” Trait price from 5 UPs to 6 UPs

• Increased the “Hundred Hands” Trait price from 2 UPs to 3 UPs

AI

• Added a new military visual variant for Grunts.

• Slightly reduced the chance for a Hellborn to drop the “Death Cheat” Trait.

Audio

• Resolved an issue where the Mosin-Nagant M1891 Avtomat fire rate could sound inconsistent.

_**Dev Note: **Midi feature introduced for rapid fire guns Using Midi allows for a more accurate and stable fire rate with rapid fire guns. This mitigates known issues with the Mosin-Nagant M1891 Avtomat ensuring more consistent gunshot audio when the Avtomat or Maxim M1895 is being shot. _

• Added heavy foley for player movement when carrying the Maxim M1895. Jumping and running sounds heavier and more mechanical.

• Added UI sounds for the Story Challenges in the main menu

• Slightly increased volume of deployed Dark Dynamite Satchel

• Fixed a bug where the position of a contextual ping sound was incorrect for a split second

• Fixed an issue with ambience transitions in Kingsnake Mine

• Fixed audio missing for certain Legendary Skins on the “Assassin’s Handfold” Equipment Animation for the Heavy Knife

• Removed lever charge sound from Vandal 73C on the "Double Spin" Equipment Animation for gameplay clarity

• Slightly reduced the reverberation in large forest areas for improved clarity

Player Profile Content

• Added new unlockable and purchasable Player Profile Titles

• Added Player Profile Stats for Tool and Consumable kills

• Added new 1890 Cavalry Badge set

Shooting Range and Tutorial Updates

• Updated Shooting Range with latest Event content

New Player Onboarding

• Hunter Bots now avoid concertina wire and big fire hazards.

• Hunter Bots' lethality has been adjusted to provide more balanced encounters for players.

Localization

• Added full Ukrainian localization to the game.

• Added a layer of polishing for the Polish localization.

World

Pitching Crematorium

has received several updates:

• The main entrance (south) has been widened, allowing two players to use the stairs at the same time.

• The crouch-only entrance (west) to the Boss Target Lair has been replaced with a sliding gate, accessible from both the ramp and the staircase.

• The small peek windows (north) have been expanded, but they cannot be vaulted through and still overlook the water entrance behind the back rooms.

• The open doorway / crouch entrance (north) from the back rooms to the Boss Target Lair has been replaced with standard doors.

• Several cloth coverings inside the Boss Target Lair have been removed, improving visibility and lines of sight within the room.

• The door frame leading into the Boss Target Lair from the elevator room has been widened.

• The open doorway from the main entrance (south) into the Boss Target Lair now has a proper door.

• A small crouch hole was added to prevent the staircase from the main entrance (south) from becoming a one-way entry point.

Terminus Railyard:

• Fixed an issue that allowed players to climb onto a cart and shoot through non-breakable glass.

• Closed off the Boss Target Lair windows to prevent unfair kills from inside.

Gravestone Pit:

• Replaced the large sliding gate leading into Boss Target Lair with a half-size version to improve the gates defensibility.

Healing-Waters Church:

• Some minor changes to the interior of the church for cleaner gameplay space.

Preston Oil:

• Closed some small gaps to prevent unfair angles.

• Added a ladder onto an oil tank at the east side of the main building.

UI

• Inventory Slot Rework:

• All screens that showed the players' loadout (Pause Menu / Hunters Screen / Gear Screen etc.) have been modified to show the weapon capacity and the combined Tools and Consumables.

• Loadouts Screen:

• Custom loadouts will now show Weapon Capacity.

• Tools and Consumables have been combined into a single entity which can be enabled or disabled.

• Gear Screen:

• Weapons:

• All weapons show their Weapon Capacity from 1-5 in the form of white squares.

• You can now filter by different Slot Sizes

• Tools and Consumables:

• Will now be shown in a single grid instead of separately.

• Added filters to show all, just Tools, or just Consumables

• Added filter for Tarot Cards.

Hunters,

Update 2.7.1.2 is now live.

It contains minor stability improvements.

Happy hunting!

Hunters,

Tomorrow, May 20th, at 09:00 CEST, we will be deploying Update 2.7.1.2. This update will be installed with zero downtime.

Some of you may have noticed that we have already shipped a number of backend updates with zero downtime, but this will be our first attempt at deploying a minor game client update the same way. As this is a test run, the update itself will be quite small, containing minor polishing and stability improvements.

We will let you know once the update has finished deploying. Please note that for the changes to take place, you will still need to log out, allow the update to be installed, and then log back into the game.

Thanks!

Return of Inferno

Shortly after the arrival of One Who Flies and Red Raven, a raging fire broke out across the Incursion zones. Locals accused the scouts of starting it. But among Hunters, rumor has it that the new Inferno may have a darker origin, with some claiming a connection to the new Firebreather monster that wanders the bayou and the gulch. They say the man who became the first Firebreather may have had ties to the Turncoat Gang, but that's just hearsay...right?

Inferno Time of Day

We are excited to bring back the Inferno Time of Day – with a new and improved experience:

• Inferno brings wildfires to Hunt, raging across all maps, including Mammon's Gulch.

• Hunters will experience reduced visibility due to heavy smoke and fire in affected areas.

• Wildfires are fixed in location, blocking key traversal paths and forcing new route planning.

• AI will generally avoid wildfire zones, but if necessary, enemies may follow players through the flames or take shortcuts across them.

Hellborn on All Maps

• Hellborn can now appear on all maps.

• Initially, only during the Inferno Time of Day.

Firefighter Supply

• It looks like the firefighters didn’t survive, but their supplies can help you beat the heat.

• Firefighter Supplies only appear during the Inferno Time of Day.

• Find Tarot Cards here or spend 1 Pledge Mark to obtain a Flame Rifle.

• 100% chance of finding the Sun and the Devil tarot cards.

• Guaranteed to find a Burn/Scarce Trait — first come first serve!

• You will also find water bottles here.

Event Points Boost

If you're looking to catch up on the Battle Pass, this weekend is your chance. From 10:00 CEST, 17 April to 10:00 CEST, 20 April, we're running a Double Event Points Boost: double the event points scored in every mission.

Happy hunting!