What to expect in Hunt Showdown’s latest update

Everything that’s coming to Crytek's Hunt: Showdown in update 1.8.1, currently live on test servers

What to expect in Hunt Showdown’s latest update

The Sun has finally risen again on the Bayou, banishing the Traitors Moon to the stars from whence it came. With the stark raving moonlight no longer ravaging the senses, folks have nothing left to do but look upon the ashes and swear to build anew, lest whatever new horror the Sculptor can dream up guts them in their unprotected sleep. But as is always the way in Hunt, with new dangers come new rewards, and untold riches bring their own type of madness, one that the Traitors moon could only dream of bringing. The darkness never leaves the Bayou, no matter how hard the sun shines.

A Pistol and Lantern Grunt

Without contest, the biggest news of update 1.8.1 is the new enemies coming to the game. Two new varieties of grunt will be making their way to the Bayou, and Hunters caught unawares might just get themselves killed. The first of these are the Pistol Grunts. Now, Grunts don’t possess even a tenth of the wherewithal to wield a firearm, but their rotting minds still remember it means protection, so they’ll bash their rusted pistols at any threat they see, causing the gun to go off. The gun’s rusted beyond any actual use and won’t shoot out a bullet, but any Hunters that heard the sound might investigate the noise. The other variation of Grunt are Lantern Grunts. These grunts can wield lit or unlit lanterns, and will use them as a melee weapon if provoked. The unlit lanterns will create a flammable pool of oil when broken, and the lit lanterns will explode into a fireball upon impact. However, unlike the Pistol grunts, if you kill a Lantern grunt, you can pick up their item for your own use. It is impossible for Hunters to shoot or break the lantern of a lantern grunt while they’re holding it, as Lantern grunts have to drop it as a usable item upon death.

Another major update coming in 1.8.1 is the new Quest system, which will be replacing the current system of daily and weekly challenges. The new quest system allows for more flexibility and repeatability than the old challenge system, while also boasting a hefty 25 blood bond reward that can be collected once a week, with the weekly refresh happening on Monday. On the Quest tab, currently labeled “Summons”, there are a large selection of quests to complete, each with a star rating. Completion of a quest gets you an in-game reward, and the number of stars that quest was worth. Quests can be completed multiple times, but subsequent completions will only give you more stars, not the in-game reward. Upon the collection of 30 stars, the reward of blood bonds will be given out. Hunters can choose 2 to 3 quests at a time to work towards, depending on if they can afford to unlock the final slot.

The new 'Summons' tab

Both of the large known changes coming in this update have players dreaming up the possibilities. Add into that the promise of server stabilization and bug fixes coming along the way, and it looks like Hunters will be reinvigorated and more than ready for a few more rounds of fighting and dying in the Bayou.