Mar 8, 2023

Empires of the Undergrowth - Mike

We're entering a stage of development where we're making some pretty fundamental changes to both the campaign and freeplay mode, in order to get them closer to their final implementation when the game leaves early access. That's been the priority for our devs in the past few weeks - and we'll detail some of the changes that are coming in this newsletter.

A fire ant about to be entangled from NappyB

On the graphical side of things, there's a new Formica fusca queen model on the way and a change to two of the beach creatures for geographical consistency. We've also been finalising work for the visual improvement of the beach levels. Whilst we're not ready to show that in all its glory we will go through some of the new things that will be making the beach even beach-ier than it was before.

A little later this month we'll have the penultimate extra level in the Sequel Season appearing. Once again, the enemy of your enemy is your friend. Well, not quite your friend, it'll attack you, too - but you get the idea.

Finally, in late February I sat our 3 devs down to confront them with the harsh reality that some people don't like their game. This was a giggle, and all in good fun - see the results later!

Campaign Balance Updates

We have been due a large overhaul of the campaign ever since the fire ant update. The food balancing in the 4.x levels is closer to our philosophy going forward for how food from aggressive creatures will work in the finished project, and we are now at a point where it's time to implement this.

Something on your nose? From Dolly on our Discord

To reiterate the reasoning behind this - in the game as it currently stands, colonies often reach a 'tipping point' beyond which nothing can realistically threaten them, and this was not our original intention. Some creatures have methods of circumventing this, such as wolf spiders that can charge past ant lines underground - but these are more like band-aids over a much deeper issue. Once the colony cannot be realistically threatened, things become much less interactive. Enemies arriving in the nest to attack the queen become, instead of a threat, a free delivery.

We balanced the fire ant levels with this philosophy, with aggressive creatures dropping significantly less food for their difficulty than creatures in the 1st and 2nd tiers (the 3rd tier is immune to this due to leafcutters not eating creatures). We accept that the difference is quite jarring and can be disconcerting for a player who is used to a level of resources from fallen critters in previous tiers.

We agree with the overall consensus that we pushed things too far in the other direction when it came to balancing 4.x, so we're going to be increasing food from aggressive creatures a little in those levels whilst decreasing it across the board in the rest of the campaign. Food from other sources is being increased to compensate, but players starting the campaign from scratch should get a much more consistent feel for what they can expect from slain aggressive creatures.

Such a change is going to require tweaking, and we'll be inviting the community to be a part of that when the time comes. It's likely that we will run an extended optional beta.

Freeplay Changes

We originally envisaged the upcoming freeplay changes to be a lesser update, rather than the entire overhaul that it's turning out to be! As we've moved forward with introducing the improved AI systems from the 4.x levels into it, we've come to the inevitable conclusion that, stats-wise, freeplay and the campaign operate on two entirely different levels. If we want to balance plant-harvesting leafcutters against voracious omnivores like fire ants, we're going to need a different set of numbers.

A short time ago, the stats for critters in the campaign and freeplay were divorced from one another, so that they can be balanced separately. How different they need to be will be down to the testing phase, once again, and we are very likely to run another optional beta for the freeplay changes. This is likely to be ready for testing after the campaign balance pass detailed above, so will probably be a separate event to it.

Other changes are also in the works for freeplay - a CSV-driven way of sharing freeplay setups is being implemented (the rarely-used copy/paste method is going to be retired), and this ties into another exciting addition to the mode that we'll detail in a future newsletter or vlog.

Outside of these larger changes, a smaller one that is freeplay-relevant is an increase of the number of harvest points on an uber velvet worm to 8. This was just an oversight with this one particular creature and did not represent where we intend to go on that front!

New Creature Artwork

One of the earliest models made for Empires of the Undergrowth in its current form is the Formica fusca queen. Matt has been itching to have another go at her, and has recently done so. We're sure you agree that the new model is much improved!

The new Formica fusca queen

Since she's a constant, static feature in levels she features in, she was a much more pressing candidate for improvement over other models. Older stuff can always be improved, and we have a priority list for this. Improvements to, or replacements for, other models depends on time.

View from above

We will be making changes to two of the beach creatures for reasons that shall be detailed shortly - both the tiger beetle and the wolf spider will be replaced with similar yet distinct species. Earlier in the project, in the geographical crunch that was necessary to get the game to an initial early access release, the intended location of the beach levels (coastal Europe) was compromised by the inclusion of two North American species - the beach tiger beetle (Cicindela dorsalis) and the beach wolf spider (Arctosa littoralis).

The northern dune

This is now being corrected. The beach tiger beetle is being replaced by the northern dune tiger beetle (Cicindela hybrida). This beetle has different pigmentation to its predecessor, but shares the same behaviour - including an appetite for ants.

The new king of speed on the intertidal flats

The beach wolf spider is being replaced with the splendidly-named sand bear wolf spider (Arctosa perita). An active night-time hunter, it shares the same niche as its American cousin and will also be a one-to-one replacement for it in the campaign levels.

We see no reason to replace the existing species in places such as extra levels, so dorsalis and littoralis will still be around for the foreseeable future! So, in the current plans, the Hungry Spider will remain a beach wolf.

Texture differences between the new (left) and old

Beach Decoration

The art team has been hard at work sprucing up the beach environment to bring it up to scratch with the more recent additions. Environment artist Dan C has been building pebbles, plants and shells, and creating a large amount of sand textures. So much sand.

Sea-smoothed pebbles for your improved beach!

New decorative elements for the beach include limpet and scallop shells, as well as other marine adornments such as seaweed and flowering bindweed.

Lots of new beach assets appearing in the game files now

Please note that in the small thumbnails of the assets in the above editor screenshot they are missing their in-game textures. These are starting to go into the levels now, and our hope is that we can include the beach visual improvements alongside the campaign balance pass beta test.

Enemy of my Enemy 2

Within the next few weeks from the time of writing, extra level Enemy of my Enemy 2 will appear. Like in its predecessor, digging is done with the mouse and no ants are controlled. This time around, the queen is located at the very centre of the map, which puts her at a much more perilous crossroads.

Uh-oh!

Buried enemy packs are hostile to each other, and the order in which you unearth them is crucial. Get them to take each other out before they reach your queen, where a limited number of powerful Royal Guard ants are protecting her. Harder difficulties represent a more intricate puzzle, and as always with these types of extra levels, game knowledge and a good feel for how powerful individual creatures are is paramount.

A red velvet ant threatens the queen, from tester NappyB

As things stand, the higher difficulties of this level are very difficult - perhaps too difficult! It’s due a final balance pass, but we’re not in a position to package another build of the game before it appears (everything is current in bits because of the ongoing campaign and freeplay changes). We’ll be interested to see if a distinct meta appears to beat insane difficulty before we get a chance to apply a rebalance!

Reacting to Mean Comments

In late February, I sat down with our 3 devs John, Liam and Matt, with the intention of bruising their egos a little. Whilst we’ve had plenty of support for Empires of the Undergrowth, there’s definitely some meaner comments out there and I thought it’d be healthy (and definitely not soul-destroying) for them to read through them.

We all had a giggle making this, and no foul is intended to anyone whose comment is featured in it! Let’s be honest, everyone who says we take a long time to do things isn’t wrong. There are few combinations as deep-cutting as both mean and witty, as many of the featured comments demonstrate. You’ve got to laugh, haven’t you?

Thanks to our Discord members, and Chinese community managers Kaidi and Lin, for helping me organise and collate the comments for this video.

Screenshot Central

If you’d like to submit a screenshot for this part of the newsletter, the easiest way for us to see it is to post it on the appropriate channel of our community Discord. Alternatively, you can post it to the Steam Community which I’ll occasionally rifle through. As an absolute last resort, you can email me at mike@slugdisco.com.

To get better screenies, hold down shift when entering screenshot mode to uncouple your camera from the ground plain.

A squadron of salamanders from Bananta on Steam

A swarmed spider from doom guy

One last look at the old black ant queen from heheboiboi999

Mar 8, 2023

Update 1.12 - Live on Test Server!

Hunt: Showdown (Test Server) - Crytek_Violet

Hunters, the Patch Notes for Update 1.12 (Test Server) are below! Before you read through the details, there are some important topics we’d like to provide updates for:

Reload bug: We are happy to announce that the refactor of our ammo system has been completed! This means that the reload bug should be a thing of the past. This fix is included in the Test Server, so please, play around with it and give us your feedback!

Server Issues: We are aware that some people, especially in the Europe and Asia servers, are experiencing unusually high ping and packet loss. We are investigating these issues and apologize for the inconvenience. Please continue to report issues or changes.

Empty Lobbies: We noticed an unusually large number of empty matches during Devil's Moon. We were able to find the cause and make a quick adjustment to correct the issue. Since then, we have seen a decrease in empty matches, back to their previous level. Thank you for reporting your empty matches, and please do so again should they increase in frequency!

Avto Balancing: We have heard your feedback on the current state of the Avtomat and other weapons that allow players to get a large amount of extra ammo. We are working on a change to the ammunition system. This will introduce some changes to how resupplying and extra ammo capacity are handled. We hope this will alleviate the frustrations when playing against high-capacity weapons. These changes are still in progress, so they will not come with this major update yet. Thank you for your patience as we work on this.

New Tutorial

This update introduces a complete overhaul of our new player onboarding experience. Players are now introduced to the unique gameplay of Bounty Hunt through two new tutorials:

The Basic Tutorial offers a narrated sequence of sections that explain the most important core elements of Hunt, like controls, Dark Sight and Clues, gunplay, and monsters—step by step.
The Advanced Tutorial offers the possibility to explore a specially prepared compound on your own to practice what you have learned, giving you space to explore each AI type in the game and fight a full boss (the Spider) on your own.

The Advanced Tutorial can be played seamlessly after the Basic Tutorial has been completed. Both tutorials can also be accessed directly from the menu later, but the Advanced Tutorial is not accessible until the Basic Tutorial has been successfully completed first.
The previous training missions and their rewards have been removed, as well as the assistance through short pop-ups within regular Bounty Hunt or Quickplay missions.

Basic Tutorial

Players are introduced to the game's core elements through a guided mission with individual sections. John Victor, a veteran Hunter of the bayou, will guide them through this journey to become a Hunter themselves. Players are given custom objectives, supported by hints and corresponding entries in the manual alongside.
Upon completing the Basic Tutorial for the first time, players will be provided with a fresh Tier 1 Hunter that includes all the rewards they collected during that playthrough. Successive playthroughs will not yield a new Hunter—that only happens the first time.
New players will also receive three additional Hunters with predefined equipment and Traits in their Roster to help them take their first steps in the bayou.

Advanced Tutorial

After completing the Basic Tutorial, Hunters can either continue playing the advanced section or access it separately later. During the Advanced Tutorial, Hunters will find a clue to locate a Boss Target (the Spider) to fight and banish it. After retrieving their Bounty, they can leave with their prize.
Compared to the Basic Tutorial, the Advanced Tutorial offers neither a narrator nor a detailed guide. Hints will help players to understand important beats and learn about other monster types and tactical options available to them. Each type of enemy has their own space, separated from other enemies where possible to give players a chance to explore their unique behaviors without being overwhelmed.
When replaying the Advanced Tutorial from the menu, the currently active Hunter in the Roster, together with all their equipment and Traits, is used instead of a fresh Hunter. This allows Hunters to practice with new gear and refine their loadout and playstyle.
Equipment found in the Advanced Tutorial cannot be extracted, and the Hunter does not level up. However, when completing the Advanced Tutorial for the first time, the used Hunter will level up once and take along anything he finds. If playing for the very first time and continuing into the Advanced Tutorial from the Basic Tutorial, the initial Hunter will receive benefits from the experience points collected from both sections, claiming the one-time reward for both.

After the Tutorial

New players will see a new pop-up message after playing the Tutorial for the first time, informing them about other important topics and directing them to their Roster, where they can see their three starter Hunters (plus one extra if they complete the Basic Tutorial).
To help Hunters take their next steps, we have added additional safety nets:
Players will receive a warning when trying to load into the game without having essential gear on their Hunter or when their Hunter is missing a Health Chunk from a previous encounter.
Players will receive a warning when trying to load into the game without a teammate, informing them of their options to find other Hunters and the risks of going in alone.
Developer Note:
Updating the tutorial from our 1.0 release has been a major milestone for the team, and we are super excited to finally be able to offer a much richer and more detailed onboarding experience to new players to help them enter the world of Hunt: Showdown and become part of our growing family. We encourage our existing players to also look at the new Tutorial, tell us what you think, and help spread the word about these improvements. Hunt is going strong, and the new Tutorial will go a long way to bring more players into the game.

Combat Log Rework - First Iteration Beta

The revised Damage History feature offers an enhanced level of detail, allowing players to view events (both inbound and outbound) that occurred in the 90 seconds leading up to their demise. Inbound and outbound actions are clearly differentiated through different colors; inbound damage (damage received by the player) is shown in red, while outbound damage (damage done by the player) is shown in gray. Healing actions are denoted in green. The player is provided with specific information such as which body part was struck, the amount of damage inflicted, the source of the attack, distance from the player, and the type of event (e.g. deathblow or banishment).

Furthermore, players are able to access an extended view of each event which offers additional details including the weapon used, custom ammunition, any status effects that were applied, changes to the health bar (as a result of status effects), and special icons indicating actions, such as headshots and wallbangs. As this is the first iteration, please give us your Feedback!

Equipment

We have revised the equipment selection process to make it easier for players to choose Legendary Weapons. Previously, they were listed separately, but now they are incorporated into a rotating selection within the base category. Each selection made by the player modifies the weapon's cosmetic appearance and becomes the default option, ensuring that when a player selects a particular skin, it remains the default choice for that weapon, until it is changed again.

The exceptions to this new system are contraband Legendaries and Legendaries obtained as a reward for weapons that are not yet unlocked. In such specific cases, these items will still be considered as separate instances, maintaining the previous approach.
As an additional feature, players can now unequip all equipment from a hunter by pressing a newly added button.

Solo Gameplay Changes

This update adds additional solo-only conditional effects to some existing Traits to help those Hunters daring to go into the bayou on their own, taking on teams of Hunters. Not only does Necromancer’s self-revive from Devil’s Moon have a comeback, but there are also several other Traits that give benefits to Hunters when going in solo. We are also slightly increasing the bonus for extracting with Bounty as a solo player.

Necromancer

‘SOLO: You can revive your downed Hunter.’
Solo Hunters with Necromancer can revive themselves using a button on the death screen; this option will only be active 10 seconds after death.
Developer Note:
During the Devil’s Moon Event, we enabled solo self-revive as a part of the Grounded pact, gaining some great insights surrounding solo play. Therefore, as a part of the 1.12 update, we are bringing it back to regular play, and it will now be an option available for solos regardless of Pact etc. We have increased the time needed to wait to revive from 4 to 10 seconds.

Magpie

‘SOLO: Dark Sight Boost capacity and all Boost sources are doubled.’
Solo Hunters with Magpie now have an increased maximum of 10 seconds Dark Sight Boost, instead of 5. They will now gain 10 seconds of Dark Sight Boost when they pick up the Bounty and will also gain 2 seconds back from looting a Hunter or investigating a Clue, instead of 1.

Additional Effect (for all Hunters, not just Solo): Magpie will now always give all 3 effects when picking up Bounty; the duration remains unchanged.

Serpent

‘SOLO: Interaction range increased. (50m)’
Solo Hunters with Serpent can now interact with Clues, Bounty, and Banishes from up to 50m, instead of 25m.

Underdog Bonus

Increased the value of the Underdog Bonus, granted for Bounties extracted while playing against larger teams:

Solo vs Duos: increased from 250 to 300 Hunt Dollars
Solo vs Trios: increased from 500 to 600 Hunt Dollars
Duos vs Trios: increased from 125 to 150 Hunt Dollars

Wildcard Conditions

In this update, we’re testing the ability to have a second contract—a Wildcard contract—that will take players to a different mission, one that is not available in the standard rotation. This opens up an interesting alternative for those times when you don't want to play the standard rotation.

The first wildcard that we're rolling out as a part of this test, is the Night Time of Day. If you select the Wildcard Contract in Update 1.12, you will be in a separate queue that consists of players wanting to play the Night ToD. Please note though, the Standard Contract will not include the Night ToD, as long as the Wildcard Contract is active. Please give your feedback on this initial test!

Audio

General Audio Improvements

Interacting with spotlights around the maps now has a sound.
Adjusted the sound of the wooden indoor levels. Footsteps above the player in wooden buildings should now be more easily differentiated to a Hunter moving on the same level as the player.
Crouching through cans and trash piles is now audible to an enemy in very close proximity.

Gameplay

Left-side Peek Advantage

Adjustments were made to the location of the Hunter model in relation to the camera, reducing the advantage gained from peeking from the left side of cover. This adjustment focuses specifically on how much of a Hunter’s head is shown when peeking, meaning that there can, in some edge cases, still be slightly more of a Hunter’s body showing, depending on the situation.
Developer Note:
With this adjustment, we have addressed an issue that we know many in the community have been asking for. Although these changes should make it much more fair regardless of the side you peek from, it’s important to mention that due to the nature of first-person cameras, this will never be perfect. We hope these changes bring it as close as possible; however, we will continue to make any additional adjustments based on your feedback.

Stalker Beetle

Increased Stalker Beetle explosion damage to 25.

Quickplay

Interacting with a Rift now shows the rewarded Trait on the right side of the screen for better readability.

Lootable Saddles

In this update, we are adding a new loot option. Lootable saddles are new additions that can be found on hitching posts or strapped to the dying horse sound trap. These saddles can have a weapon holster and/or saddle bag attached to them. The weapon holster will contain weapons frequently carried by horse riders. The saddle bag will either contain consumables or Hunt Dollars when looted. Lootable saddles spawn in both Bounty Hunt and Quickplay. In Quickplay, the Hunt Dollar reward for the saddle bags is replaced by an ammo replenishment.

Gunplay

New Weapon Variant: Winfield M1876 Centennial Shorty

The growing popularity of the Winfield M1876 Centennial throughout the country brought a wide range of users who desired more flexible versions of the rifle. Some thought an increased recoil to be a worthwhile trade-off for this flexibility.
Ammo types

Basic - Medium Ammo – 5+1/12
Poison - Medium Ammo – 5+1/12
FMJ - Medium Ammo – 5+1/12

New Weapon Variant: Winfield M1876 Centennial Shorty Silencer

Once the rifle is reduced in size, a suppressor attachment makes the Winfield M1876 Centennial Shorty Silencer both dynamic and quiet. It’s well suited for hunting multiple monsters in a small area with speed and subtlety but requires some deft handling.
Ammo types

Basic - Medium Ammo – 5+1/12
Poison - Medium Ammo – 5+1/12
FMJ - Medium Ammo – 5+1/12

Developer Note:
With the addition of the Winfield M1876 Centennial Shorty Silencer, we are adding a medium slot silenced firearm. This variant has been on our list for quite a while and will make a fine addition to Quartermaster loadouts.

New Weapon Variant: Springfield M1892 Krag Bayonet

The Springfield M1892 Krag is a repeating bolt-action rifle with a side-loading magazine. To combine the modern magazine with a classical bayonet was an obvious but exceptionally effective evolution, as it made for a fast-loading rifle that could easily fend off nearby attackers.
Ammo types

Basic - Long Ammo – 5+1/6
FMJ - Long Ammo – 5+1/6
Incendiary - Long Ammo – 5+1/6

New Weapon Variant: Springfield M1892 Krag Sniper

Thanks to its side-loading magazine, the effectiveness of the original Springfield M1892 Krag was unquestionable and was only enhanced with the addition of a sniper scope attached to its barrel. The fast reloading combined with long-range efficiency made this rifle a great choice for those who prefer to stay out of sight and range of their prey.
Ammo types

Basic - Long Ammo – 5+1/6
FMJ - Long Ammo – 5+1/6
Incendiary - Long Ammo – 5+1/6

Weapon Changes

LeMat Carbine: There has seen a couple of tweaks based on the community's feedback. Its rate of fire has been increased a bit to make it put up more of a fight. Its iron sights have been realigned so it will feel more accurate. Last but not the least, its recoil has been decreased to allow for easier follow up shots.

Hand Crossbow Choke Bolts

Slightly increased the size of the choke cloud.
Choke Bolts now have the same slightly bigger initial area effect, compared to the lasting cloud of the regular Choke Bomb.

Hand Crossbow Poison Bolts

Slightly increased the size of the poison cloud.

Meta

Challenges & Questlines System Improvements

Shared Team Progression
Developer Note: Your teammates’ actions will now count towards the progress of all active personal Challenges and Quests. This rule applies to both PvE and PvP-oriented objectives.
Improved Description Text Readability
Improved Questline Visibility
Developer Note: Questlines are now accompanied by an interactive Questline Teaser Banner upon their release. The Teaser Banner is located at the top center part of the UI and is visible while in the Lobby and any other sub-screen. Clicking on the Teaser Banner will redirect the player to the corresponding Questline’s Overview Screen, after which it will disappear.
Additional Questlines UI Dressing
Questlines now have their own distinct background visual.
Challenges Pool Update
The pool of Challenges has been updated with some new objective types while retiring some old ones. Additionally, most existing Challenges have been rebalanced.

New Questlines

With Update 1.12, there will be 2 new Questlines in the Bayou: “The Ward of the Reptilian” and “Vengeance of the Skinned.” These Questlines offer Hunters new types of activities to pursue as well as valuable rewards to earn in 6 Acts each, such as unlocking new Weapon Variants, Legendary Equipment, and more.
Both Questlines will run for approximately 1 month each and in a sequential manner, meaning that the 2 Questlines will neither be running in parallel, nor overlapping with each other.

Equipment Unlocks

Winfield M1876 Centennial Shorty

During the “The Ward of the Reptilian” Questline, the weapon is unlocked as a reward for completing the 2nd Act.
Unlocked as part of the Weapon Progression of the Winfield M1876 Centennial and costs $103.

Winfield M1876 Centennial Shorty Silencer

During the “The Ward of the Reptilian” Questline, the weapon is unlocked as a reward for completing the 4th Act.
Unlocked as part of the Weapon Progression of the Winfield M1876 Centennial and costs $137.

Springfield M1892 Krag Bayonet

During the “Vengeance of the Skinned” Questline, the weapon is unlocked as a reward for completing the 1st Act.
Unlocked as part of the Weapon Progression of the Springfield M1892 Krag and costs $426.

Springfield M1892 Krag Sniper

During the “Vengeance of the Skinned” Questline, the weapon is unlocked as a reward for completing the 3rd Act.
Unlocked as part of the Weapon Progression of the Springfield M1892 Krag and costs $610.

Early Access & Later Unlock Conditions
Initially, all new Weapon Variants will be unlockable by completing certain Acts of the corresponding Questlines. All new Weapon Variants will eventually be added to their respective unlock trees in a future update. Playing the Questlines will give players a period of “early access” to these weapons.

Loading Screens

Added a new filter system to loading screens, allowing for display of specific loading screens to players depending on a variety of parameters: Bloodline Rank, Prestige, Playtime, Game Mode, etc.
Added new loading screen hints and images tailored to new players.
More unique loading screens will be added in future updates to expand on this new system.

Weapon Statistics
Improved accuracy of a lot of statistics.
Added new statistics to allow for better comparisons between weapons, tools, and consumables:
- Throw Range: The furthest range (in meters) this can be thrown.
- Damage (Thrown): Damage value of hitting a Hunter with its full effect.
- Spread: The relative crosshair spread while aiming from the hip. Shotguns have a comparatively wider spread.
- Sway: The relative amount of weapon sway while ADS.
- Recoil (Vertical): The relative strength of the vertical recoil after a shot.
  Developer Note: Spread, Sway, and Recoil replace the statistic ‘Handling’ and should allow for a more accurate comparison between weapons.
- Cycle Time: the time (in seconds) this needs to ready for the next shot, including time to reload if necessary. For Dual Wield: the time it takes for the weapon that shot first to ready again.
- Fuse Timer: The time (in seconds) until detonation.
- Stamina Consumption (Light): the stamina consumed with a light melee attack.
- Stamina Consumption (Heavy): the stamina consumed with a heavy melee attack.
- Stamina Consumption (Throw): the stamina consumed when being thrown.
Changed RoF (Rate of Fire) to a more realistic approach: shots fired per minute, including time to reload.
Developer Note: Due to how ‘Rate of Fire’ was calculated in the past, this created inaccurate values, especially for single shot weapons. The new stat follows a more realistic approach, which leads to the RoF for weapons being closer together across the board. To still be able to compare weapons, the new ‘Cycle Time’ stat was added and the ‘Reload’ stat was made more precise.

Quickplay Recruits

Added more variation to the starting equipment for quickplay Hunters. These weapons can now appear as additional starting items:
Medium Range:

Nagant M1895 Silencer Pair
Hunting Bow
Scottfield Model 3
Scottfield Model 3 Pair
Sparks Pistol
Sparks Pistol Pair
Springfield 1866 Compact
Springfield 1866 Compact Deadeye
Winfield M1873C Vandal

Short Range:

LeMat Mark II Pair
Winfield 1887 Terminus Handcannon

Melee:
When choosing Melee, the regular melee tools are replaced with:

Throwing Knives or
Throwing Axes

All weapons can also be chosen in the Random pool.

Legendary Additions

Legendary Hunter – Worm Bite (1.000 BB)
Legendary Hunter – The Hornback (1.000 BB)
Sparks LRR Silencer – Muscadine (900 BB)
Romero 77 Alamo – Flat Iron (800 BB)
Fire Bomb – Brookes' Burner (800 BB)
Weapon Charm – Ruby’s Favor (400 BB)
Weapon Charm – Nemean Claw (300 BB)
Weapon Charm – Ferryman’s Coin (300 BB)
Weapon Charm – Blood Relic (500 BB)

Bounty Hunt UI

There are some updated UI icons in the Lobby of Bounty Hunt, including a new toggle to switch the selection of enemy team sizes. To increase the readability, we deleted the following elements: MMR Ranges, Event Information and Duration (if applicable), and the Redeem Code button (can now be found in the options).

Contextual Popups / Matchmaking Reminders

To help new players become familiar with important actions before starting matchmaking, we've added reminder pop-ups. These pop-ups provide information such as joining matchmaking alone, competing against teams of three, and the status and equipment of the player's Hunter. Pop-ups can be disabled by the player and will not appear again.

Weapon Charms

Weapon Charms are now displayed with different rarity levels: Common, Uncommon, Rare, Epic, and Legendary.

World

Stillwater Bayou:

Slightly reduced the number of bushes to make it a bit easier to spot enemy Hunters in the forest between Darrow Livestock and Port Reeker.

DeSalle:

A new water entrance/exit has been added to the Boss Target lair in Weeping Stone Mill.
Removed roots from vegetation near the bridge north of Upper DeSalle to improve player movement.
Reworked and cleaned up vegetation on the east side of Pearl Plantation for better readability and player movement.
Reworked and cleaned up vegetation between Ash Creek Lumber and Upper DeSalle for better readability and player movement.
Reworked and cleaned up vegetation on the west side of Upper DeSalle for better readability and player movement.
Reworked and cleaned up vegetation on the north side of First Testimonial Church.
Cleaned up hidden vegetation for performance improvement.

Fixed an issue that caused Hellhounds to sometimes keep repeating their last movement behavior until a Hunter approached close enough to be attacked.
Fixed an issue that caused the Assassin to sometimes not launch its ranged attack on Hunters that had just entered or left the lair.

Gunplay

Improved synchronization of ammunition amounts for weapons, which should mitigate issues from receiving delayed server updates. (Reload bug)
Fixed an issue where weapons with a chambered round received the missing ammunition of the chambered round twice at the start of the match instead of once.
For weapons with two ammunition types, the ammunition that is not loaded for the second ammunition type will not be added as an extra spare bullet anymore.
Adjusted an unintended physics interaction between bolts/arrows and certain explosives, which meant they would be launched at a high velocity.
- Now, hitting one of these thrown explosives with any kind of Bolt or Arrow will defuse the projectile as if it had entered a choke bomb or been defused by Dauntless.
Fixed an issue that allowed the Nagant M1895 Precision to deal more damage than it should.
Fixed an issue which allowed the Flare Gun ammo to exceed maximum capacity.
Fixed an issue that allowed overcooking a Choke Bomb to not consume a charge.
Fixed an issue that caused Meathead Leeches to not be killed by poison arrows when using the Dewclaw trait.

Gameplay

Fixed an issue that caused poison clouds created by yourself or teammates to deal reduced damage.
Fixed an issue that allowed two tools or consumables to be given from an item box without the Packmule trait.
Fixed an issue that allowed players to pick up Clues with the Serpent trait before the match had properly begun.
Fixed a rare issue that caused an extraction to be blocked even though no enemies were present.
Fixed an issue that caused the server to close a match even though a solo player used the Necromancer solo revive to continue playing.
Fixed an issue that caused Bomb Lance explosions to show incorrectly as the cause of death on the death screen.
Fixed an issue that caused bear traps to show incorrectly as the cause of death on the death screen.

Fixed several issues of overlapping text.
Fixed an issue that caused the damage from the Bomb Lance explosion to show incorrectly on the death screen.
Added description text to the Control scheme option.
Fixed an issue that caused the plus symbols in the newsfeed to pop up when switching tabs.
Fixed an issue that allowed the slot size filter in the Roster Equipment menu to include instances that should not be part of the filter.
Fixed an issue that caused the Bounty Token icon to turn blue when in Stalker Beetle view while carrying a token.
Fixed an issue that caused the Hunter model to disappear from the death screen when a player stopped spectating.
Fixed an issue that caused Small/Medium/Large slot filters to be enabled per default in the Roster Equipment menu when they should not be.
Fixed several issues regarding the sorting options in the Equipment screen where the results might be incorrect or confusing.
Fixed an issue that caused the ping in the Region Selection menu to break while maintenance is active or planned.
Fixed a rare issue that caused a Hunter to not receive a summary screen after a mission.
Fixed an issue when getting multiple rewards from Challenges that resulted in incorrect Blood Bond values to be shown.
Fixed a rare issue that allowed spare ammo to not always update immediately and could be displayed as 0 after picking up a weapon.

World

Stillwater Bayou:

Fixed a bug where sometimes the wrong Ambience Audio was selected for Gold, Neutral, and Sunset Times of Day.
Blanchett Graves: fixed several texture issues towards Lockbay Docks.
Catfish Grove: fixed a spot where you could hide inside the Boss Target dressing.
Catfish Grove: fixed a "slide" on a slightly too-big collision at the log piles.
Chapel of Madonna Noire: removed some static glass from the windows.
Chapel of Madonna Noire: fixed some floating Scrapbeak Boss Target dressing.
Chapel of Madonna Noire: fixed some floating debris on a wall.
Cyprus Huts: blocked access to the roof of one of the side buildings.
Reynard Mill and Lumber: fixed a floating Clue.
Reynard Mill and Lumber: fixed a hiding spot under some cloth.
Stillwater Bend: patched up some rocks that were semi-transparent.
Stillwater Bend: fixed a spot where players could get stuck behind a box.

Lawson Delta:

Arden Parish: fixed the rendering of some walls (facing Windy Run) of the Boss Target building.
Bradley & Craven Brickworks: moved some shrubs that were clipping through the floor of the southwest side hut.
C&A Lumber: fixed an issue with a stack of wooden planks that could cause issues.
Fort Carmick: fixed some floating grass.
Goddard Docks: fixed a spot on the fence by the southwest hunting tower where it was sometimes difficult to vault.
Goddard Docks: fixed some flickering bushes in the forest.
Golden Acres: moved some vegetation around for smoother traversal on the south side of the compound.
Hemlock and Hide: fixed some floating grass.
Iron Works: blocked off the attic of the Boss Target Lair.
Iron Works: fixed a tree clipping through a fence on the west side.
Iron Works: fixed some vegetation clipping through an outhouse.
Lawson Station: fixed a window barricade on a train.
Lawson Station: made it possible to jump around a corner at the northern tower.
Maw Battery: fixed some faulty terrain clipping through a staircase.
Nicholls Prison: moved a Dog Cage that was clipping through the wall of a hut.
Nicholls Prison: fixed some crows clipping through a metal railing when the Scrapbeak is present.
Nicholls Prison: fixed some floating vegetation southwest of the compound.
Nicholls Prison: fixed a patch of floating grass.
Nicholls Prison: fixed a spot where a player could become stuck behind a cart in the north yard.
Nicholls Prison: adjusted some floating crates.
Salter’s Pork: fixed a piece of the Scrapbeak Boss Target dressing clipping through a roof.

DeSalle:

Darin Shipyard: made some of the ceiling windows indestructible.
Darin Shipyard: fixed a spot where a player could become stuck in some vegetation.
Darin Shipyard: fixed an oil puddle spot that was not spreading the fire correctly.
Forked River Fishery: fixed a spot where a player could become stuck behind some barrels.
Fort Bolden: closed an unfair crack peek spot.
Fort Bolden: made the walkway on the walls less bumpy.
Moses Poultry: fixed a spot where a Hunter could become stuck in a rock.
Reeves Quarry: fixed a spot where Hunters could unintentionally get on the roof.
Seven Sisters Estate: closed an unfair peek spot through a crack.
Upper Desalle: blocked some climbable spots above the staircases in Boss Target building that shouldn't be climbable.
Upper DeSalle: closed some small gaps where you could see under the ground.