Success in Hunt: Showdown relies on more than just aim and reflexes. Your hunter loadout—the weapons, tools, and consumables you bring—can make the difference between life and death and ultimately, extraction. Whether you’re a solo hunter or enjoy rolling in a duo/trio team, choosing the right hunter build is crucial in order to be prepared for any monster or pvp encounter you might run into. This guide breaks down some of the best Hunt loadouts for both beginners and seasoned players that are looking for a meta loadout, helping you gain the edge against both the bosses lurking in the dark and the hunters stalking your every move.
Beginner Hunter Builds
Loadouts primarily aimed at new players since they're very cheap, so even dying 10 times in a row will not make you go broke. Though, all of these loadouts are good for experienced players who just prestiged too, just make sure to fill up any empty consumable/tool slots with useful items. For example, an experienced player will definitely want to run a stamina and regeneration shot in these loadouts.
Medium range rifle loadout
Large slot
There's two really popular medium range rifles at the moment: Infantry 73L and the Centennial. Both of these guns are cheap and effective, with the Infantry 73L being my personal favorite in terms of cost, shooting speed and magazine size. The gun has 38 ammo which is more than enough for most hunts, and even if you opt for special ammo such as the high velocity rounds, you'll still have 31 bullets. It does however deal low damage with body shots, so you really need to aim for the head with it. If you find yourself not hitting headshots, try switching to the Centennial instead.
Medium slot
Since the large slot guns hold a high amount of ammo there's really no need to overspend on a medium slot weapon in this loadout. For the medium slot I can tell you two options: a melee weapon or a cheap pistol with a silencer. A melee weapon, the Baseball Bat for example, is extremely useful for team play because you can stun a boss such as the Assassin while your teammates cut him down. On the other hand, a Nagant M1895 Silencer is relatively cheap and will allow you to have a pistol to stealthily deal with horses, cows, monsters and dogs.
Tools
The knife is essential for killing normal zombies quickly (if you have a Baseball Bat or Machete you don't need it), a first aid kit is a must have in every loadout and choke bombs are useful for extinguishing fires on your dead teammates as well as disorienting enemies.
- Knife
- First Aid Kit
- Choke Bombs
- Fuses - a cheap way of lighting dead hunters on fire
Consumables
For the consumables in this loadout we're only using 2/4 available slots because you generally won't need more as a new player. On top of that, there's plenty of toolboxes around the map that will grant you more consumables.
- Dynamite Stick - useful for one-shotting Meatheads (the big zombies that have leeches around them). It is also good versus bosses such as the Butcher. Using 18 dollars worth to potentially get a Perk drop from a Meathead is very much worth it in my opinion.
- Fire Bomb - comes in handy for killing Spider boss as well as in PvP to burn dead enemies.
Long range sniper loadout
Large slot
Long range loadouts are really fun to play, especially once you get the hang of the gun you're playing. At the moment I'd say that the Krag Sniper is very much worth it for the price point. It is more expensive than the medium-range large slot guns but the Krag devastates everything it hits. If you'd prefer to have a long range gun that can also dominate mid range fights, grab the non sniper variant of the Krag (which is also a bit cheaper).
A notable and surprisingly cheap alternative, if you have the Infantry 73L Sniper unlocked, it's also potentially a very strong sniper. It's quite underpriced at the moment (only costs 90 dollars) considering it has a very nice scope a great zoom and packs 38 ammo. Even though the ammo is compact, using High Velocity special rounds will net you 31 ammo and will pack a punch over distance, oneshotting anyone with a hit to the head.
Medium slot
Whichever large slot weapon you pick, you'll definitely want to have a sidearm for close combat encounters. Nagant M1895 Silencer is once again a really good pistol as it shoots quick and allows you to be stealthy, while the Officer is a strong non-stealthy variant with Dumdum ammo.
Tools
A knife is used for dealing with zombies and bosses, then you'll want a first aid kit and choke bombs.
- Knife
- First Aid Kit
- Choke Bombs
Consumables
For the consumables in the sniper loadout we're only using 2/4 available slots because you generally won't need more as a new player. On top of that, there's plenty of toolboxes around the map that will grant you more consumables.
- Dynamite Stick - useful for one-shotting Meatheads, dealing decent damage to bosses and so on.
- Fire Bomb - comes in handy for killing Spider boss as well as in PvP to burn dead enemies or zone them away from you.
Close range shotgun loadout
Large slot
Romero 77 is a very strong and cheap break-action shotgun with a single barrel. It being single barrel means that it has a single high damage output but has to be constantly reloaded after a shot. It's really strong but back when I was a new player I struggled to remember to reload during intense gun fights. Try it out and if you also have the same problem, perhaps give the Romero 77 Alamo a shot— a modified Romero with an added magazine that has 5 shots instead of one.
Medium slot
Both Romero's have low ammo and can't be used at mid-long range so you'll want something to fill in for this gap. I'd go with the Pax or Pax Trueshot in this case, both are pistols that are reliable and accurate, with a decent amount of ammo.
Tools
A knife is used for dealing with zombies and bosses, then you'll want a first aid kit and choke bombs. Lastly, fuses are good because they can illuminate and somewhat blind players in dark places, they can be also used for lightning up dead enemies.
- Knife
- First Aid Kit
- Choke Bombs
- Fuses
Consumables
The consumables in the shotgun loadout are a bit more costly when compared to the first two beginner loadouts. You'll definitely want to carry an ammo box to refill the Romero 77, and I'd argue a regeneration shot is very useful as well.
- Ammo Box
- Regeneration Shot (weak) will regenerate your health for up to 5 minutes, pop this right before fights.
- Dynamite Stick's usage has already been explained in earlier loadouts.
Advanced Hunter Builds
These Hunt: Showdown loadouts are mostly aimed at experienced players who know what they're doing. Some of these hunter builds will be quite expensive, but more often than not you get what you paid for.
I'll avoid going too much in depth on what each item in these loadouts does, since you probably already know.
Mid range Krag/Lebel 1886/Mosin loadout
Large slot
As mentioned in the title, this slot is quite flexible. All three guns feature long ammo that's dominating the Hunt: Showdown meta at the moment. If you run the Krag get the Incendiary Ammo, on the other hand for the Lebel 1886 or Mosin you'll want Spitzer ammo.
Medium slot
There's three solid choices for the medium slot in this loadout: Bornheim No. 3 Silencer, Dolch 96 or the Scottfield Spitfire with Dumdum Ammo. These pistols offer high rate of fire and have decent damage. If you want to get best bang for your buck, I'd recommend the Bornheim Silencer with Incendiary ammo, otherwise the Dolch 96.
Tools
Throwing Spear can actually be used as a melee weapon and is currently the most overpowered item in the game. When thrown, it oneshots enemy hunters and while wielded as a melee weapon it can oneshot most special monsters and deal quite a bit of damage to bosses too.
- Throwing Spear
- First Aid Kit
- Flare Pistol
- Bear Traps/Choke Bombs/Concertina Trip Mines
Consumables
- Ammo Box/Vitality Shot
- Frag Bomb
- Stamina Shot
- Regeneration Shot
Long range Krag/Mosin Sniper loadout
Large slot
The Krag-Sniper is almost twice cheaper than the Mosin-Nagant Sniper, with both performing relatively the same. While they do have their differences, both these guns are excellent choices for long range encounters, for the Krag you can run the basic or Incendiary ammo, and on the Mosin you'll want the Spitzer ammo.
Medium slot
This sniper loadout often runs either the Rival 78 Shorty—a shotgun that doesn't have many bullets but will oneshot hunters in close range (though you need a trait to be able to equip it), or the Bornheim No. 3 Silencer with Incendiary Ammo. As always, Dolch 96 is an option as well.
Tools
- Throwing Spear
- First Aid Kit
- Flare Pistol
- Bear Traps/Choke Bombs/Concertina Trip Mines
Consumables
- Ammo Box/Vitality Shot
- Frag Bomb
- Stamina Shot
- Regeneration Shot
Close range shotgun loadout
Large slot
The Auto-5 absolutely dominates in the close range department with its high damage and rate of fire. It's my favorite shotgun to run by far, but it's quite costly. Another, almost half cheaper variant is the Slate. For both of these, the Slugs special ammo have gained a lot of popularity and will in most cases be the best ammo you can run with.
Medium slot
For another close range weapon you can use the Scottfield Spitfire with DumDum ammo, otherwise for a more versatile loadout approach I'd go with the Pax Trueshot since it's decent at range, or the Dolch 96 Precision if you have money to spend.
Tools
- Throwing Spear
- First Aid Kit
- Flare Pistol
- Bear Traps/Choke Bombs
Consumables
- Ammo Box
- Vitality Shot
- Stamina Shot
- Regeneration Shot
Frag Arrows Hunting Bow loadout
Large slot
Since this loadout runs a bow, we need something for close-medium range encounters to switch on and finish enemies after shooting from the bow since this is primarily a close-to-medium range setup. This is where the Bornheim No. 3 Match comes in, with its semi-automatic pistol action that features high fire rate and low recoil.
Medium slot
The Hunting Bow with Frag arrows is actually quite good nowadays, the arrows bounce on impact to detonate after a short delay, causing bleed as well as a lot of damage. This in combination with the Bornheim makes for a deadly hunter build.
Tools
- Throwing Spear
- First Aid Kit
- Flare Pistol
- Mostly a flexible slot, use Bear Traps, Choke Bombs or a Derringer.
Consumables
- Ammo Box
- Vitality Shot
- Stamina Shot
- Regeneration Shot
