Hunters,

This weekend we’re celebrating International Women’s Day! It’s a simple fact that Hunt wouldn’t be what it is without our female Partners, players, and staff. As part of our celebrations, we’re taking the opportunity to spotlight some of the women in our community as well as some of our female Hunters.

Our Partners are a huge asset to Hunt. By providing so much visibility, feedback, and support, what they do helps hugely with our efforts to consistently push the game forward. As a thank you to the women in the Partner program, their exclusive codes will get you 50% off selected products in the Crytek store from today until March 9th (10 am CET), with a larger revenue share for your chosen streamer. Whether it’s a DLC you’ve had your eye on, or you want to get a friend into Hunt, there’s something for everyone—and you’ll be supporting the fantastic women that make up the community!

Check them out below – their discount codes can be found on the Partner website here

Angejia

Azuki

Failish

Holthe93

JacJac

Jenntacles

Justbree

Kerrty

Kiteera

LeafLit

Lunarfelis

MelPlaysAround

Morgan

NerdyNetty

Sigma

Rxysurfchic

TameHotPear

WhiskyFrizz

YaSmithe


We would also like to take the opportunity to highlight some of the iconic female Hunters in our ranks, as well as share some insights from the team about how these characters took shape.


Beloved by the community, Felis has become an icon of Hunt—she’s been part of the game for a long time. When it finally came to find a voice actor for her, we were torn; she is an eccentric character, a child of the wilderness, and it was important to get it right. In the end, we settled on her having Appalachian roots and a taste for travelling far and wide. She values her primal side, and this is reflected in her design as well as her name, which means ‘cat.’ She had a significant impact on the lore of other Hunters too, and prefers her wilder peers… but of course she would!


The Prescient is another beloved Hunter found in the bayou and beyond. She is part of an inquisition order, meaning her background is somewhat stranger and more rooted in the occult than the other Hunters. If you didn’t know, Prescient Night is blind. This was designed intentionally as we opened up the lore around Dark Sight from a narrative perspective. She has a heightened ability to exploit Dark Sight written into her character, although this is of course not represented in-game. We hope to show a little bit more of this lore in the future.

This Hunter’s name is an homage to Phoebe Couzins, the first female US Marshall. The real Phoebe was more of a lawyer, temperance advocate, and suffragette than a gunslinger. The second name—Brewer—is a vague reference to when Couzins left the movement in 1897 to join the United State Brewers Association. It is assumed that she left due to financial reasons, and in our homage we saw an interesting parallel between someone leaving a life enforcing the law (i.e Marshall) to pursue her own idealistic ambitions (Brewer), hence the name Marshall Brewer was born.

Frau Perchta was based on a goddess of Alpine Paganism and was the first of our Hunters to come with two variants: Dusk and Dawn. For her lore, we wanted to represent how mythology could come into the darker, more grounded setting of Hunt. Since writing her character story, we’ve implemented this idea in a lot of other characters.


We once again want to wish a happy International Women’s Day to all the women that have contributed to making Hunt: Showdown 1896 what it is today. Our team is beyond proud to support and celebrate you!

Hunters,

Last week we shared that we had been making adjustments to matchmaking, and today we want to talk more about what those changes were and what our plans will be moving forward.

We saw that high ping players were presenting as an issue for the community regularly, and as a result we began collecting and analyzing player data around ping during matchmaking. Our goal was to investigate potential solutions, and this data allowed us to work on identifying an ideal cutoff point for "high ping" on a per-region basis. This means that we have been able to experiment with refining the matchmaking experience to ensure fairer connections for all players.

To begin with, we investigated region locking for various servers, but we found the system too easy to circumvent using a VPN.

Two weeks ago, we tried introducing a new system that would separate any players with a ping above a certain defined threshold from the rest. Here’s how the high ping separation works:

• When matchmaking begins, teams are evaluated based on the highest ping player on the team. If that highest ping player crosses the threshold, the entire team is considered "high ping."
  
  
• High ping teams are then placed in a separate matchmaking pool, where they will be matched against other high ping teams.
  
  
• Normal ping players continue to match in the standard player pool, improving connection quality across those matches.
  
  
• If a high ping player is matchmaking solo or with randoms, they will also be sorted into the high ping pool.

What counts as "high ping" isn’t set in stone right now. We are experimenting with a starting threshold of 125 ping, but we will be testing slight shifts and variations as we gather more region-specific data. Based on what we’ve seen so far, we expect the final cutoff to sit somewhere between 100 and 150 ping, depending on the region.

Although these changes are proving effective so far, there are still improvements to be made and we plan to continue tweaking the system, monitoring results, and refining matchmaking overall. With that in mind, we have a few changes in the pipeline that we will be trialing:

• Deactivating this matchmaking separation in Russian and South American servers—we have seen that due to location, infrastructure, or other reasons, some players can’t achieve better ping, so we will try creating safe space regions for those unable to improve.
  
  
• Raising the initial high ping threshold from 125 to 140 as a pure experiment—this will help us better understand how small adjustments to the threshold impact matchmaking quality, player distribution, and queue times across different regions.

Making these improvements means you may notice changes to your matchmaking experience over the coming weeks, but rest assured that these fluctuations are intentional and with good cause.

It’s also important to keep in mind that these changes will have the most impact during periods where active player count is at its peak. Although the system may make wait times for some players slightly longer at the moment, we will see more improvements when many players return for the next Event.

Any issues that may arise as we continue to test and tweak the system will be closely monitored and resolved quickly as we fine tune performance. As always, we appreciate your patience and hope that the new high ping separation system will improve the overall Hunt experience for everyone.

Thank you,

Your Hunt: Showdown 1896 Team

The sprawling, eerie lore of Hunt: Showdown 1896 is something we hold near and dear to our larvae-riddled hearts, and we want to assure you that it will not be abandoned. As a part of the greater goal of making past content available to our players again, the first step has been focused on returning all legacy lore to the “Mythos” section of our website. You may have already noticed that the original Book of Monsters has been added, filed under “Corrupted Monsters.”

Check out Mythos on our website.

Today we are also excited to bring you a new category of lore: Shocking Events, allowing you to relive every twist and turn of past Event narratives from the Tide trilogy onward via the original texts and, where applicable, the audio recordings that accompanied them.

Oh, to be a fly on the Corrupted walls of the bayou’s darkest corners...

To sit undetected on the upper deck of the Delphine as its presence in the Land of the Dead worked to corrode the minds—and bodies—of all who were unfortunate enough to be on board.

To witness the moment The Kid and The Rat returned as Drowned, their new minds heavy with secrets and rot.

To watch in fascinated horror as a man sick with greed found out what happens if you stuff Bounty Tokens down a human’s throat and toss them down an oil well.

Your support means the world to us, Hunters, and we appreciate your patience as we continue to work on making all the Library content available again.

So head over to Mythos and relive the legacy lore of Hunt. Become the fly on the wall and bear witness to the stories which helped to make Hunt what it is...if you dare. Do the stories told here represent the whole truth? Have they been embellished, or twisted to leave out key elements? Are they the testimonies of sound minds, or the ramblings of folks gone mad? While the answers may be unclear, one thing is for certain:

To stare into the face of Corruption is to open your mind to its workings.

Hunters,

We rely on your feedback with every update, and the main way we take action on changes based on community response, is through feedback submitted to us via our surveys. A big thanks to those of you that have participated in surveys so far, and for those yet to take part, we encourage you to take the opportunity in future.

Many of you have requested that we discuss the results of those surveys, so today we want to go over the responses that you shared after Update 2.2.

Let’s dive into some of our key findings and the actions we are taking in response to your feedback.


We conducted a survey that focused on future developments, and the main message we took from your response was the need to focus on performance and bugs.
While some changes were already in the pipeline, survey results showed an overwhelming priority for UI improvements and bug fixing, so this has become our focus for throughout 2025.




As you can see in the graph below, there was an increase in the game’s performance and how it ran from the community’s point of view. We are pleased to see a positive trend here, but we have tons more coming down the line this year to keep pushing performance forward.




Our team put a lot of effort into this update, and we were pleased to see that many of the gameplay additions were well-received. Here are some of the results.
First up is all about the circus compound, as well as the new items in and around it. Overall the compound, the possible locations, Grunts, and the activities all scored well, and we will keep this in mind for future Events.





For the Dark Sight Boost changes, we were pleased to see that the majority of you were ‘satisfied’ or ‘very satisfied’ with these changes.




In Update 2.2, we introduced some new Weekly Challenges for the Event, and the results showed that some players felt frustrated with how they influenced weapon usage, sometimes leading to an unbalanced meta for extended periods as well as feeling repetitive.



In Update 2.3, we have announced that we will be introducing a randomized set of Weekly Challenges for each player. With this change, we hope to encourage more diverse weapon choices in matches as players tackle a variety of different challenges.


When we asked your opinions on Event weapons, we saw that different variations of the same weapon had varying results.

In the graphs below you can see community preferences, and some of the results showed that some of the 2.2 Event weapons did not have the impact we hoped for.



While players liked the idea of weapons being obtainable in a Mission, we also recognize that the Shredder didn’t meet player expectations for balance. Both the Fragblade and the homing mechanic of the regular Sawblades were two major pain points from the community, and we agree with this.

We released a mid-Event balance change to the Shredder, and while this improved some aspects of gameplay, it failed to address the primary concern of our players, and the increased cost resulted in players seeking out the Shredder less overall. You can see this demonstrated in the graphs below.








The Trick Shooter Troupe saw the highest positive reaction, while The Mystic Troupe saw the lowest.



The Mystic Traits were perceived as weaker and more situational compared to the Traits provided in other Troupes. We have taken note of this, and will be adjusting these Traits to deliver a better player experience for upcoming Events.






We recently discussed changes to kill trade windows that were implemented late last year, and our telemetry data showed an overall decrease in trades. We wanted to verify if this aligned with player perception, so we polled you during the 2.2 Event survey. It was encouraging to see that the results confirmed players noticed this reduction.



We are continuing to monitor kill trades and windows as we refine key elements of gameplay, and we may include this question again in future surveys.


We deeply appreciate your participation in our surveys, and the feedback you share plays a crucial role in shaping future updates. We are committed to making meaningful improvements based on what we learn from the community, and we will share more results with you in the future. Thank you for being part of our journey.

See you in the bayou, Hunters!

The Rise Up Dead Man Anniversary Collection by Port Sulphur Band is now available on Steam ! 🎶

Seven years, seven versions of Hunt’s most legendary track. From the iconic Humming Theme to the brand new Bones and Bounties version, experience Rise Up Dead Man like never before.

Get it now:

https://store.steampowered.com/app/3548900/Hunt_Showdown_1896__Port_Sulphur_Band__Rise_Up_Dead_Man_Anniversary_Collection/

Get 15% off on our new release, as well as the entire Port Sulphur Band Collection using the bundle here:

https://store.steampowered.com/bundle/50739/Hunt_Showdown_1896__Soundtrack_Collection/

Hunters,

Tomorrow we’re celebrating our 7th anniversary! To start, we want to thank you all for being on this incredible journey with us. Through all the ups and downs, we are extremely grateful to have a community that cares so deeply about Hunt. Seven years down, and we can’t wait for many more, bringing you face-to-face with untold horrors in the backwaters of Louisiana and Colorado.

We will be celebrating this momentous occasion with some giveaways, anniversary sales, news from Port Sulphur Band, and more! We even have some interesting Hunt factoids to share.

DID YOU KNOW:

Ever wondered how many Hunters have been kicked to death by a horse? Us too. So, in the spirit of seven years of Hunt, here are some interesting stats you guys have racked up since Hunt: Showdown 1896 began:

• 1,010 Hunters have been delivered their mortal blow by a horse
  
  
• 33,569 Hunters have died thanks to Dog Cages
  
  
• 94,429,355 total Targets have been ended by Hunters
  
  
• 16,527,398,805 total monsters have been slain

Hunt Partner Showcase

We’re showcasing some of the greatest clips from our Partners - because Hunt wouldn’t be the same without them!

Many of our Hunt Partners have been with us for years, with some by our side from the very beginning. To celebrate their contribution to the project, we have created a video recapping their evolution from Rookie to Veteran, and the many years through which we have grown together.

Watch our Partner Showcase | 7 Years of Hunt:



‘Rise Up Dead Man’ Anniversary Collection

Our beloved Port Sulphur Band are also excited to be involved in the anniversary celebrations as they release the Rise Up Dead Man Anniversary Collection!

Available to stream on Spotify starting February 23st and heading to Steam for purchase on February 27th, this special collection features seven versions of the iconic Hunt track “Rise Up Dead Man” to celebrate seven years of Hunt. It includes a range of variations, from the original Hunt “Humming Theme” battle anthem to a never-before-heard slowed down “Bones and Bounties” version.

As of last year, this legendary track has amassed more than 10 million streams across all platforms.

Find out more about Rise Up Dead Man Anniversary Collection on Spotify: Spotify – Rise up Dead Man Anniversary Collection

Let the gunshots ring!


The History of Hunt: Showdown

The game began its journey on February 22nd, 2018, as we launched into Early Access on Steam and the Hunt: Showdown we know, and love today was born.

Over the years, we have introduced new weapons, maps, and signature in-game Events, from our very first Halloween Event in 2020 to our most recent collaboration for Post Malone’s Murder Circus. Events like Blood and Ice, Light the Shadow, and the Moon trilogy introduced new challenges, evolving Hunters, and even environmental changes. Then in 2021, DeSalle arrived and expanded the bayou with vertical map design that quickly became a community favorite. There is almost too much to look back on!

The past year has been our most monumental yet, with Mammon’s Gulch, the CRYENGINE 5.11 integration, and the launch of Hunt: Showdown 1896. Now, we look to the future as we roll out a new initiative in 2025 that looks to stabilize performance, improve gameplay features, and more.

Anniversary Sales:

From February 21st to March 3rd, we're celebrating Hunt’s anniversary in the Blood Bond Store with exclusive discounts, special Bundles, and daily deals!

Throughout the celebration, up to six exciting Bundles will be available in the store, alongside various discounts on all partner Skins.

Each day, you can expect a massive 50% discount on a featured item, a special 48 Blood Bond offer, and a rotating selection of ~15 discounted items ranging from 20% to 40% off (refreshes at 07:00 CET).


Newsletter Giveaway:

If you haven't signed up for our player newsletter, then now is the time. We are giving away anniversary celebration Hunt Dollars to all subscribers until Monday 24th February.

Player newsletter subscribers will receive exclusive giveaways and content, as well as all of our news and updates direct to your inbox. Join before Monday 24th to receive your anniversary bonus.

You can subscribe today at the bottom of the Hunt page here by entering your email address.

To conclude, we are so grateful for our seven-year journey together and we are looking proudly into the future of Hunt. Rest assured—the road ahead is long and full of new adventures.


- Your Hunt: Showdown 1896 team

Hunters,

We are entering 2025 with an initiative to focus on performance, fixes, and improving player trust. Today, we want to tackle some concerns regarding new features and overall game balance, as well as how we will address these issues in coming updates.

From Update 2.3 onwards, we plan to reverse some previous decisions around the power creep of certain weapons and Traits, as well as fixing some long-standing issues that impact gameplay, and more. This will go hand in hand with additional focus on stability, bug fixing, and performance improvements for an overall smoother experience.

Here are some of the reverts you can expect from update 2.3:

• The Lightfoot Trait no longer allows for silent crouching for solo Hunters.
  
• Revive Bolts are now Scarce, and can only be looted from dead Hunters and come with less ammunition (we plan on revising them further in future updates).
  
• The Krag will now have slightly reduced extra ammo capacity (from 12 to 10; used to be 8 last year) and goes up in cost to 450 Hunt Dollars to encourage more arsenal variety.
  
• The Uppercut will be made cheaper again, dropping to 310 Hunt Dollars.
  
• The Surefoot Trait will no longer have faster crouch speed and will go up in cost to 6 Upgrade Points
  
• It will now require three Bear Traps to kill an enemy Hunter, allowing players to avoid using a single Tool slot choice which allows for easy insta-kill trap setups on their own without using explosive barrels, extra traps found in the world, or the Frontiersman Trait.
  
• Melee Tools will cause more damage to Targets, and there are more in-world melee weapons spawned near Boss Target lairs again.
  
• Pull-out damage from stuck projectiles is back up to a meaningful level of damage. We’ll talk about how this affects Traits like Blademancer and Berserker at a later time.

We’ve also spent a lot of time on fixing some of our more challenging, long-standing bugs:

• We refactored the poison damage system to prevent issues around the effects not disappearing correctly.
  
• Hanging chains and other sound traps will no longer block attacks during combat.
  
• Concertina wire should no longer damage players through walls and ceilings.

Lastly, here are some of our upcoming changes you can expect in 2.3:

• The Fast Fingers Trait has been added to the Martini-Henry IC1 and Maynard Sniper families.
  
• The Bolt Thrower Trait now also works for the Bomb Lance and Bomb Launcher.
  
• Weekly Challenges are now coming in random weekly sets to reduce the chance of individual weapons dominating entire weeks.
  
• The Conduit Trait now gives solo Hunters double the stamina reward and progresses two Clue steps with one interaction.
  
• The Vetterli has been given an improved rate-of-fire in ADS with the Iron Eye Trait, while the Centennial’s rate-of-fire has been reduced slightly at the same time.
  
• Players can now disarm and pick up Dark Dynamite Satchels, storing them back in their inventory (if they have a free slot).

As we said last year, Update 2.3 will be lighter on new content and features as we focus on actioning more bug fixes and improvements. We will be focusing on stability, performance, and more, ultimately raising the quality of your gameplay experience significantly.

Moving forward through 2025, we will still be bringing unique new Events, but at a lower frequency and with a priority on delivering those key improvements over new content.

We strongly feel that this is the best path forward as we consolidate and stabilize the game. We will share more on the contents of Update 2.3 and future Events as we draw closer.


– Hunt: Showdown 1896 team

Hunters,

Thank you all for your feedback since the release of Hunt: Showdown 1896, especially regarding the UI changes. Your insights have been invaluable. We recognize that some of our recent redesigns fell short of delivering the functionality and usability you came to expect.

Many of the changes were initially aimed at improving the console player experience, but we understand now that some of the new screens sacrificed functionality that was key to the PC experience.

Today, we’re going to discuss the screens we are prioritizing to adjust throughout the year: Loadouts, Team Details, Post-Mission Summary, and the Pause Menu.

Loadouts Redesign

The loadout screen is critical for quickly equipping favorite setups, but the current design isn’t making this process intuitive. Here’s how we’re improving it:

• Custom loadouts will return to a vertical list format, so we can display 10 custom loadouts at once.
  
• Both custom loadouts and Hunter loadouts will now display side-by-side to reduce memory strain.
  
• Actions for overwriting and selecting loadouts will be clearer.
  
• The Gear screen will display the name of the loadout being edited to reduce confusion when stepping away from the game.
  
• A “Loadouts” tab is being added to the top navigation for quicker access, especially the lobby.

Team Details

The current Team Details screen presents a lot of icons and colors while only showing a few teams at once. Our redesign aims to simplify and enhance this experience via the improvements below:

• The number of teams displayed will increase.
  
• A three-color icon system will clarify actions:
  
  
  • Gold represents your actions.
    
  • Blue represents your teammates’ actions.
    
  • Red represents enemy actions.
  This color-based icon system aims to make actions and interactions clearer and more consistent.

• Numbers and tooltips will now display for items with multiple instances, reducing the need to decipher multiple icons.
  
• The Legend has been moved to the actions menu, allowing more of the screen to remain visible in the background. It’s now more compact, with items organized into groups.
  
• Timelines for all teams will toggle open simultaneously, eliminating the need to manually activate them one by one.

Post-Mission Summary

While our goal was to modernize the post-Mission summary, we’ve realized the removal of Accolade Cards and their animations detracted from the game’s identity. Here’s how we’re addressing that:

• After a Mission, players will immediately see their Accolades, complete with new animations to celebrate your achievements.
  
• A comprehensive Mission Stats screen and Weekly Challenge progression will follow, putting critical information front and center.
  
• Sub-menus will be consolidated into tabs at the top to streamline navigation and reduce friction.

Pause Menu Enhancements

We’ve prioritised context and quick access to critical information in multiplayer Missions:

• The game will now remain visible in the background of the pause menu, preserving situational awareness.
  
• Your team’s loadouts will move out of sub-menus and be the first thing you see for quick reference during Missions.

After implementing these updates, our focus will shift toward refining other planned Quality of Life improvements. Along the way, we’ll also identify and introduce smaller adjustments to further enhance your overall experience.

Equipment Skin Selection

We’ve heard your feedback about the inconvenience of navigating to a separate menu to select Skins for your equipment. To address this, we’ve brought Skin selection directly to the Equipment Grid.

• Integrated Skin Selection: Players will be able to toggle through their owned Skins for their equipment directly within the Equipment Grid.
  
  
• Future Enhancements: We’re also working on improving the flow for equipping Charms and Equipment Animations, with more details to come later.

Recruit Free Hunters

We’ve heard your concerns about the difficulty of comparing recruits effectively. To address this, we’re reverting to an older design:

All four Hunters and their loadouts will now be visible simultaneously, reducing memory strain and back-and-forth navigation.



Hunter Details Improvements

PC players have often felt that the Hunter Details screen was redundant, since they could interact with all widgets present directly from the previous screen. The primary concern was having to navigate to a separate screen for actions that felt too similar. To address this, we are removing the distinction between the two screens, creating a more seamless experience. We aim to make Hunter Details a focused view of the active roster while retaining access to your other Hunters.

• Integrated Hunter Grid: When a Hunter is selected, the grid will now minimize to the bottom of the screen, allowing quick access to other Hunters without leaving the current view.
  
  
• Streamlined Transition: Hunter Details will act as a transitional screen, letting you maintain focus on your current Hunter while keeping other options easily accessible.
  
  
• Top Navigation: The top navigation bar will now remain visible in Hunter Details, providing direct access to other key screens like Loadouts, Lobby, and Store.

Events Screen

To improve the flow between the Battle Pass rewards screen and the rest of the UI, we are streamlining navigation and functionality.

• Direct Access to Rewards: Clicking the Battle Pass tab in the top navigation now takes you directly to the Rewards screen, removing the need for an intermediate menu.
  
  
• Integrated Event Details: Other Event-related screens, such as Event Details, will now be accessible directly from the Rewards screen.
  
  
• Equip/Recruit Items Directly: Players can now equip unlocked equipment and Skins, as well as recruit Hunters, directly from the Rewards screen. This eliminates the need to navigate to other screens to use newly unlocked equipment or Hunters.

Visual Improvements

Feedback about our rarity backgrounds indicated that they felt out of place, being overly colorful compared to the rest of the UI. Our team has worked to ensure these elements align better with the overall aesthetic while enhancing the focus on equipment and Hunters.

• Lighting Updates: All equipment and Hunters will now feature improved lighting, making them stand out more against dark backgrounds and reducing their grey tones.
  
  
• Refined Rarity Displays: Rarity colors are now more subtle, shown in the corners of items instead of dominating the background. This change ensures the items themselves remain the primary focus while keeping the rarity indicators consistent with the UI’s overall look.

Lobby Improvements

We’ve heard your feedback on the Home screen and Lobby, and will share our progress in an upcoming update. Our goal is to unify Lobbies into a single screen while also improving party management with these much-requested features:

• Adding the ability for Duos to matchmake a random third player.
  
• Retaining parties when switching game modes.
  
• Allowing any party member (not just the leader) to send invites.
  
• Enabling PC players to invite two players at once.
  
• Allowing party leadership to be transferred between members.

We’re committed to making Hunt: Showdown 1896 the best experience it can be. These updates reflect our dedication to listening, learning, and improving based on your feedback. We look forward to bringing these improvements to you throughout 2025. Thank you for your continued support—we couldn’t do this without you.

NOTE: All the images featured in this post are not final and are subject to change before the final product is released.

– Your Hunt: Showdown 1896 team

Back in December, we released an Event trailer that featured first look at an upcoming Hunter—Desert Rose. Immediately we saw a huge response from the community, with many of you clearly excited to see her drop.

Today, we're excited to finally bring Mercy Scribner, the sharp shooting Desert Rose, to the Hunt store. As she becomes available in-game for the first time, we thought we'd share a little backstory and character lore to introduce our latest Hunter.

Desert Rose: Broken Mirror

She could only hope that it wasn't too late.

With the barrel of her Bornheim still smoking, Mercy Scribner exited the arena to thunderous applause, just like she always did after a performance for Carter's show. This time though, her heart was racing. Not from the thrill of the success, but from the dread that had bloomed in her stomach upon seeing the audience member in the front row—a little girl—who clutched a stuffed teddy bear. Memories from before she'd left the circus dominated her mind's eye with sudden, hellish visions:

Two beautiful circus bears, roaring in agony as their bodies were pulled together by the Corruption, amalgamating into a single being of untamable rage and pain and fear.

People running, screaming for their lives as they were chased by cackling clowns holding meat cleavers.

The look on the ringmaster's face when he realized she'd been right all along.

As the memories haunted her, Mercy busted through the swinging door to her powder room, then sat on the little stool before the vanity. The sight of her reflection, which showed no hint of the upset within, was the straw that broke the horse's back. You should have tried harder to stop it. Without even meaning to, she clenched her fist and broke the mirror with one hard punch. Ribbons of blood curled around her knuckles, but she hardly noticed.

She'd tried to warn him. That “stone" had trouble written all over it from the start—nothing good ever came from unprompted promises of great power. Of course, the ringmaster thought he knew best, laughing off her concerns as though she were a child who thought that shooting stars were a sign of end times.

But the more time that passed, the more convinced she'd become that it was just a regular rock peddled by some unhinged snake oil salesman. That the real trouble was all the result of the ringmaster's dream for something better for his traveling show, that the Corruption had sensed his desperation and passion and saw an opportunity, taking root in his circus from behind the mask of that worthless stone.

Putting herself in danger was hardly a worry—when it came down to it, Mercy had known that she could hold her own with a blindfold on. But those little girls who came to see her land all those impossible bullseyes would have been exposed to the danger as well. She'd refused to accept it in the end, leaving without so much as a goodbye.

“You okay, little miss Blue Skies?" Carter filled the open doorway behind her. She hadn't even noticed him appear. “Thought I heard some sort of commotion in here."

She stared at the broken glass on the vanity and the floor, the destroyed mirror. “I've got to go back," she said, just above a whisper, only fully realizing the truth of it once it fell from her lips. The shattered mirror before her was how she saw the ringmaster now—fragmented, in pieces. Despite her anger over everything that'd happened, she couldn't bring herself to let him go down like this.

“Pardon?" Carter shifted his weight nervously as he watched her stand and start packing her guns. “Go? Mercy, you're the best act we've got—"

“There are more important things," she responded curtly. “It's time for me to be a little less Blue Skies and a little more Dust Devil."

Carter knew her well enough to realize that trying to reason with her would be pointless. He let out an exasperated sigh as he watched her finish packing.

“What if you don't find what you're looking for?" he asked as she headed out.

Mercy paused, looked to the side as she considered how to answer. “I'll either find what I'm looking for," she told him, “or I'll die trying. Goodbye, Carter. Thanks for everything."

And then she was off, headed to the place called Mammon's Gulch, where the circus was last rumored to be spotted. After days of riding and eating rattlesnakes roasted over the campfire, she saw the first sign: a lone, lime-green balloon, tied to a supply post, its rubbery skin unnaturally warm and lined with impossible veins.

She pulled a pin from her hair and popped the balloon, almost swearing that she could hear the fading screams of trapped souls in the burst before all was quiet again...

Hunters,

Update 2.2.2 is live! Check out the full list of changes below.



Weekly Challenges:

• Updated Weekly Challenge sets.

The following new weapons, variants, and Custom Ammo have been incorporated into the progression system:

• Rifles
  
  • 1865 Carbine Aperture – 2nd unlock in the 1865 Carbine Family
    
  • Maynard Sniper Silencer – 2nd unlock in the Maynard Sniper Family
    
  • Krag Silencer – 4th unlock in the Krag Family
    
  • Chu Ko Nu – Bloodline Rank 1
• Pistols
  
  • Sparks Pistol Silencer – 5th unlock in the Sparks Family
• Special
  
  • Chu Ko Nu Explosive Bolt – Bloodline Rank 1
    
  • Chu Ko Nu Incendiary Bolt – Bloodline Rank 1
• Consumables
  
  • Recovery Shot – Bloodline Rank 1

• Fixed an issue where the purchase confirmation audio would get stuck if a Bloodline purchase was canceled while holding down the "Yes" button or pressing the space bar
  
• Fixed an issue preventing progress in the "Make Hunters Bleed" Weekly Challenge when landing headshots with the Shredder, Centennial, or Scottfield
  
• Fixed an issue where the description of Jesse Buchanan: Survivor overlapped with the Unlock Requirement lock icon and text when the game was set to the French language
  
• Fixed an issue where the description of Oliver Whitman: Survivor overlapped with the Unlock Requirement lock icon and text when the game was set to the French language
  
• Fixed an issue where the last chambering sound would be incorrect when reloading a completely empty Specter
  
• Fixed an issue with the description text of the "Ambrose Hazen: Veteran" Hunter in the Japanese, Polish, and German languages, where the text was overlapping, making it difficult to read and understand