Hunt: Showdown’s latest update brings it to version 1.8.1, and the game received a handful of important new additions, including guns, AI, and quests.
The latest update for Hunt: Showdown, version 1.8.1, has just arrived on PC, and is bringing a handful of new content to the bayou. 1.8.1 will come to consoles shortly, with the update on track to arrive on PlayStation and Xbox sometime in the next couple weeks. As with other patches, this most recent continues to address bugs and exploits in Hunt: Showdown, but a decent content drop alongside these fixes brings a brand new quest system, the addition of new AI variants, and full integration of the game’s latest weapons.
Crytek’s cutthroat first-person shooter hasn’t had a major content update since Hunt: Showdown‘s newest map, DeSalle, released last year, but a steady stream of weapons, map reworks, and events has managed to keep the player base engaged. Traitor’s Moon, the most recent event, added two new weapons to the game – the Caldwell 92 New Army and the Winfield Model 93 Slate. With 1.8.1, both are now permanent fixtures in Hunt‘s arsenal for those who weren’t able to unlock them during the event.
Those new weapons offer all players some more variety in load outs, but two new variants of the AI Grunts and the implementation of a quest system will change how players approach certain situations. Aside from new content, the most significant change in 1.8.1 is a fix for a glitch colloquially known as the ladder desync exploit. In both Bounty Hunt and Hunt: Showdown‘s solo-only Quickplay, the ladder exploit let players peer through walls, but has now been patched out after a long stint plaguing the game. Other bug fixes can be found on the update’s Steam page.
Perhaps the biggest change coming to Hunt: Showdown in the 1.8.1 update is a quest system. These Quests replace the Daily and Weekly Challenges, and can be found in the Summons screen under the main menu’s Progress tab. Quest objectives range from very simple, like collecting Clues, to more difficult, such as extracting with a Bounty Token in 10 different matches. Each quest has an immediate reward upon completion – Hunt Dollars, weapons, consumables, or tools – but will also grant the player a certain number of stars, ranging from one to six stars depending on difficulty. Earning 30 stars in a week will grant the player 25 Bloodbonds.
Some six-star Quests might call for the use of a Hunt: Showdown DLC weapon skin, incentivizing players to spend more cash on the game, but these aren’t required to earn all 30 weekly stars. Each Quest can be completed multiple times, but only the stars will be awarded on subsequent completions, with the aforementioned item rewards exclusive to the first. An entire list of Quests will be presented on the Summons screen, with players able to track two at any given time. A third quest slot can be added through a one time purchase using Bloodbonds as well. All nine available Quests will change weekly, giving players new challenges, and another opportunity to earn the 25 Bloodbonds.
Update 1.8.1 adds another layer of danger and some additional gameplay complexity through the addition of two new variants of the Grunt, the game’s most basic zombie AI. There haven’t been any new bosses in Hunt: Showdown since Scrapbeak was added, but the DeSalle map did bring with it Miner Grunts, whose headlamps are combustible. Now, 1.8.1 is adding the Pistol Grunt and the Lantern Grunt. As the names imply, each will carry an old rusted pistol or a lantern respectively. While these don’t necessarily add any brand new mechanics to the game, both will throw a wrench into how players deal with monsters.
Pistol Grunts won’t be able to aim and fire their weapon, but will still attempt to melee the player like usual. If they land a blow, the decrepit pistol will misfire, breaking the firearm and discharging a gunshot sound. This attack will only do the normal amount of melee damage, and players are never in danger of taking a gunshot, but the loud noise is liable to attract nearby hunters. Although a small modification to an existing AI, this may be the Hunt: Showdown update’s biggest change when it comes to gameplay, since audio is such a large component of the game.
Lantern Grunts are almost exactly the same as their Miner counterparts. They carry the lanterns that are normally found around the map, which may be either lit or unlit. Lit lanterns will create a small explosion of fire when destroyed – whether that’s from a bullet or the lantern being bashed over a player’s head – and unlit lanterns will drop a pool of oil on the ground, which can subsequently be ignited. Killing the Grunt before it has a chance to melee will give players the opportunity to pick the intact lantern up from the ground and use it like normal.
Both weapons being permanently added to the arsenal were previously put in the game during the Traitor’s Moon event. They will just be another weapon to learn for new players checking out Hunt: Showdown, but some who were able to earn enough event points may already be familiar with the Caldwell 92 New Army and Winfield Model 93 Slate. The New Army adds another small slot, compact ammo option. It’s the second double action revolver to be added after the Nagant Officer, meaning pulling the trigger both cocks and releases the hammer. Rate of fire is comparable between the New Army and the Officer, but the New Army will have more damage and range at the expense of muzzle velocity.
Similarly, the Slate adds a second pump action shotgun to the game, joining the Spectre 1882. Like the other full-size shotguns players can bring into Hunt: Showdown‘s swampy maps, the Slate takes up a large slot in a load out. It will hold six shells in its chamber, and is intended to be more effective at closer ranges than the Spectre. Compared to the Spectre, the Slate has a faster reload and rate of fire, but its shorter barrel gives it a greater spread, higher recoil, and a nearer effective range for one hit kills. A more modern pump mechanism also ensures the Slate doesn’t require the Bulletgrubber trait in order to avoid wasting shells when reloading before the chamber is emptied. Updating to version 1.8.1 may not drastically overhaul Hunt: Showdown, but the added content further builds on the game’s complexity, and the Quests are a welcome feature for those who enjoy having more concrete objectives.
Source: Steam
One of Kyle’s earliest memories is of watching his older brother play Ocarina of Time, which probably explains how he ended up as an Editor for Screen Rant’s Gaming section. His tenure at SR began in late 2020 as a contributing Game Features writer before quickly becoming a Staff Writer, a role that gradually progressed into an Editor position. A terminal Midwesterner who graduated from the University of Kansas, Kyle also has knowledge and interest in literature, film, film adaptions of literature, and history. When not talking about The Legend of Zelda, Dark Souls, Mass Effect, or some PlayStation exclusive, he’s probably droning on about the works of Cormac McCarthy, Frank Herbert, Stanley Kubrick, and Wes Anderson. Or he’s trying to get you to watch Mad Men. He’s a firm believer in three hours being the perfect length for a movie, but thinks a lot of games are much too long. When not sedentary, Kyle enjoys traveling to the National Parks, seeing new cities, and has ambitions to explore abroad.
