Hunt Showdown can be a game full of excitement, and fun, filled with great moments and even laughs when playing with friends. But hit that Solo button and you are launching a whole new game. Hunt turns into a horror game where any bush, window, or a simple silhouette will look suspicious. Your paranoia will be the main voice inside your head when you least expect it, a You’re dead screen will appear in front of you.
Hunt is already punishing when playing with friends. Yet, it can get worse if you do it by yourself. Thankfully, the matchmaking system will be kind enough to place you in a lower MMR match if you are alone. Not only that, but if you make it out alive, the rewards will be higher. With the following solo tips, we hope you can go into a solo Hunt Showdown match more confident and with a better mindset than before.
Forget Everything You Know about Hunt
In Solos, you won’t be playing the same way you play in Duos or Trios. If noises matter when paired up, in Solos, they do even more. You already face a huge challenge from the very beginning. If you die, you die. Period. No one will pick you up. Furthermore, the enemy team will have a feast with your loot.
Remember that every decision matters and if you commit a mistake, especially in a gunfight, no one will be there to provide you covering fire while you reload, heal, or reposition. Things like flashbangs take on a whole additional level of scary when no one is around who can see the enemy closing in on you.
Knowing you have to be careful doesn’t mean that you have to be a scaredy-cat. Like when facing a bear alone, our best tip for playing solo in Hunt Showdown is to have you stand up and stretch your arms wide to look like a bigger threat. Make them feel like they chose to fight the wrong solo hunter. Confidence mixed with patience will send other players back to their lobbies and win you matches.
Pro Tip: When Running Solo in Hunt Showdown, Take a Balanced Loadout
Hunt: Showdown is a game with a very vast arsenal that goes from bolt action rifles, lever action, revolvers, bows, etc… Being familiar with the weapons in this game is key for having a balanced loadout. Hunt is known for being a very well-balanced game where any piece of equipment can be lethal or very effective on the right hands.
Guns and Other Weapons
Definitely, the best way of getting familiar with Hunt’s weaponry is by using it and getting a feel for them. Once you get to know them better you will be able to make better loadouts for your playstyle of preference.
Want to be lethal on the short-range but still be able to take a fight on the mid-long range? Grab a shotgun with slugs and a Caldwell Conversion Uppercut. Want to be effective at long range but at the same time be ready for a close-quarters gunfight? Pick a Mosin and an Officer. These are just examples. You will discover your combination of preferences. Feel free to visit our previous article where we also cover ammo types in Hunt Showdown.
Tools to Use When Playing Solo in Hunt Showdown
You can almost never go wrong with the tools in Hunt unless you bring an Electric Lamp. Seriously, never ever use it. Our next tip for solo adventurers in Hunt Showdown is to always bring a melee weapon of choice and a first aid kit. Once you have these 2 items it comes to personal choice of what else you bring.
You can bring any kind of traps to block paths for enemies, choke bombs to use them as a sound trap, and flares to quickly kill armored grunts or blank fire decoys to distract enemies. Blank fire decoys can be extremely useful to confuse enemies and make them think they are fighting a bigger threat or more than one team. Use them to your advantage to make them look away from your direction.
You may also find yourself making great use of the tactical gadgets in Hunt: Showdown.
Don’t Be Stingy with Your Consumables
A big mistake that a lot of Hunt players make (including ourselves) is saving your consumables for the next fight or match. Don’t… This is not an RPG, this is a tactical shooter where you are going to regret not using that flash grenade when you die and lose it anyway.
Be confident when using them. With practice and dying a few times, you will improve your timing and situational awareness to be more effective with your consumables.
Positioning is Even More Important When You are Alone in Hunt: Showdown
Good positioning and repositioning will make you get the best out of any enemy player. Good luck trying to peek at the same angle twice in a gunfight, this is not a game where you can go back into cover, refill your armor, and peek the same window all over again while eating bullets like a sponge, remember that this game rewards players for headshots.
- Find a good spot with cover and repositioning options before you start the fight.
- Shoot and Run: Especially if you are fighting a Duo or a Trio, you will need to be a hard target to hit and by staying in the same position you will be no more than target practice for them.
- If you are running a close-range loadout with a shotgun and you are approaching a building with enemies you have two options: Run from cover to cover until you are in shotgun range to blast them in the face. Or, if they are not aware of your presence, go in sneaky peaky and get them by surprise. Sometimes when trying to be sneaky you will not always have the best cover so at least try to move through good concealment but only to blend yourself temporarily while you move to the next piece of cover.
You have Something that They Don’t: Loneliness
Jokes aside, you are by yourself, you don’t have to worry about anyone else. Yet, they do.
As soon as you kill one of them, a great tip for solo play in Hunt Showdown is to never lose sight of where it fell. In Duos, if you kill one of the two, even tho now is a 1v1 you already have the upper hand, you now control the gunfight. If you have the chance, throw a lantern or a firebomb on the downed enemy hunter. This will put pressure on the other one and will make them do impulsive decisions because now the time is against them.
If you don’t have a lantern or firebomb, you can use a concertina bomb to deny the revive or a choke bomb so you can hear them coughing if they get close to reviving their teammate.
Stop, Listen and React
This is one of the most, if not the most important tips from this list. Being aware of your surroundings is fundamental. Before entering a landmark on a mark, stop and listen for a few seconds and listen for unusual sounds like players stabbing grunts, footsteps, equipment being used, and doors being opened or closed. With this information, you can know to enter a compound with more confidence and be ready to react.
is worth mentioning that once you stop doing this for a few seconds, you have some cover or concealment at least. Never ever stop in the middle of an open field to scan an area because even if you spot a team before they spot you, you still need to find cover.
Solo Tip to Dealing with Bosses in Hunt Showdown: Don’t Kill Them as Early in the Game
This solo tip might not apply to experienced Hunt Showdown players that know how to easily deal with these situations. Remember that you are outnumbered, so our guidance for inexperienced players is to hold. Your chances of survival will be higher if you are not inside the lair trying to defeat the boss with every team on the map surrounding you.
This doesn’t mean that you have to camp in a bush and wait for a team to come. Always be on the move at your own pace.
Hip Fire
As gamers, we are used to and taught that hip fire is a horrible resource in most first-person shooters due to the inaccuracy produced in guns. Yet in Hunt Showdown, hip firing is a highly encouraged tip in short-range Hunt Showdown fights, especially when playing solo. You need to respond quickly, or you will fail.
Go for body shots if you are not confident enough. Hunt has a very accurate hip fire that you can rely on especially with handguns. Keep in mind that even tho you are firing from the hip, you are spraying and praying. NO, As we mentioned before, if you are going to pull the trigger, you better be sure.
Learn the locations and main buildings.
This is one that will take time and some exploration but knowing the entrances, hallways, and paths of a building will give you a bigger advantage when fighting a team inside a building.
Getting the Right Upgrades for Solo Play in Hunt: Showdown
You did it, you extracted with a bounty and some hunter’s heads on your belt, what is next?
Spend your upgrade points. Our personal recommendations and tips for solo Hunt Showdown player upgrades are Lightfoot, Silent Killer, Greyhound, Determination, Doctor, Physician, and Bulwark. Remember this is just a recommendation and might not suit your playstyle. At the end of the day, is up to you on discovering what works for you or not.
Players are Not the Only Threat
A common mistake is ignoring grunts, or other monsters in Hunt coming for you. If you are in a middle of a gunfight, your first thought will be to focus on the enemy hunters. Yet, a well-placed shot on your chest mixed with the hit of a monster is enough to send you to your grave. Always take your time to deal with any monster coming at you.
Wrapping Up our Hunt Showdown Solo Tips Guide
While Hunt: Showdown is best with friends, it is still great fun solo. If you sometimes play solo, we hope you can make use of some of these Hunt Showdown solo tips. At the end of the day, it’s your journey and you will hunt your prey on your own terms. Keep playing and dying, this is the best way to improve and find your own playstyle. Keep it up, hunter! Good hunt, good luck.
