Hunt: Showdown update 1.15 is here, and aims to make progression faster and more convenient for new and prestige players alike in the co-op PvPvE FPS game. One of the top extraction shooters alongside the likes of Call of Duty Warzone and Escape From Tarkov, this new Hunt: Showdown patch changes the way both the bloodline and weapon progression work, along with several welcome quality-of-life changes. Kicking off at the same time is the Tide of Desolation event, and there’s even a Steam sale discount if you’re thinking about picking the game up during the holiday season.
The full Hunt: Showdown patch notes detail all the progression changes, balance updates, and other improvements made in the new update for the FPS game. There’s a lot to dig through, but the biggest takeaway – whether you’re a veteran player or just getting started thanks to the ongoing Steam sale – is likely to be the overhaul to progression. Developer Crytek says, “Our goal with these changes is to make progression easier, faster, and more convenient for both new and prestige players.”
That means changes to Bloodline unlocks, with “key gameplay items and traits available earlier in the Bloodline.” It also means increased experience gained from taking down AI enemies, standardization of the rewards for killing player-controlled Hunters, and excess experience earned past a target now being applied to your future goals, rather than simply wasted. Crytek says these changes are designed to better benefit individual players.
Progression across weapon families has also been rebalanced in accordance with the above changes: “This leads to an overall reduction in XP required to unlock the complete family and ensures no unlock is ever more than two [player] kills away,” Crytek explains. All of these adjustments, it says, should make Hunt: Showdown a little more approachable to newcomers, perhaps one of the bigger concerns that turns potential players away.
Alongside these upgrades comes a full suite of balance changes, which include plenty of weapon, equipment, and trait rebalancing, price adjustments, and much, much more. Meanwhile, the Tide of Desolation even has kicked off – running until Wednesday February 14, 2024, this sees you pledging your Hunters to one of several pacts, earning them specific benefits, with additional equipment and custom ammo up for grabs as you progress.
Hunt: Showdown is 65% off on Steam until Thursday December 21. That means you can expect to pay just $13.99 / £12.59 if you want to join the hunt. Whether you’re after a fun but tense co-op game, looking to fill the extraction shooter-shaped hole in your heart after The Day Before was removed from Steam, or simply wanting a new game to play over the holidays, Hunt: Showdown might be just the pickup you’re searching for.
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