Hunt Showdown – XP List & Strategies

XP List and Strategies

A quick note on Hunters & The Bloodline

An important facet of Hunt is the amount of XP that gets into the Bloodline as a result of you levelling up your Hunter, an amount ultimately capped at 4000 from the level-up milestones from 1-50:

Level 4 = 250 XP
Level 9 = 250 XP
Level 13 = 250 XP
Level 19 = 500 XP
Level 26 = 500 XP
Level 34 = 750 XP
Level 42 = 750 XP
Level 50 = 1000 XP

Total Bloodline Gain from Single Hunter = 4000 XP

However, it’s worth mentioning that Hunter levels exist on an incline, requiring more XP (roughly double) for each level above the one your Hunter currently sits at.

This means you won’t be able to kill the same amount of monsters per match and expect the same XP gain that brings a level 1 Hunter up to level 5 to be the same for a level 20 hunter, bringing them up to level 25. Further information on this scale can be found here: https://huntshowdown.gamepedia.com/Hunters

However, retiring a Hunter (minimum Level 25) will give the player 100XP per-level e.g: 2500 @ Level 25. Ideally, the player will want to get a Hunter to level 50 before retiring, receiving both 4000XP from the milestones and then an additional 5000 upon retiring for a total of 9000 XP

Thus, if interested in purely levelling up the bloodline, In my opinion, it is advisable you retire Hunters when they reach level 25 (you must have a second Hunter in your stock in order to retire a single Hunter) if you are not confident on reaching a higher level safely.

It’s worth mentioning the obvious that once you die, the amount of XP you’ve gained is halved and put straight into the bloodline. If you want to keep your hunter, it’s advisable you extract, but if you really just want to level up as quick as possible, it’s probably advisable you sweep the map and then kill yourself. I’m sure a small portion of the playerbase will be interested in that.

If unconcerned with the bloodline, then enjoy the guide and prioritise these creatures (along with bosses and Hunters) to best level up!

XP Index

BOUNTY HUNT

• Bosses

Any clue pickup = 100 XP
Discovering lair = 100 XP
Killing Boss = 400 XP
Solo Boss Kill = 400 XP
Banishing Boss = 350 XP
Extraction with Bounty = 400/500/600 XP – with Partner Extract = 800/1000/1200 XP (2X PARTNER EXTRACT MULTIPLIER)
Clean Sweep (Kill, Banish, Extract) = 100 XP

• Creatures

Leeches = 10 XP
Grunts = 10 XP
Hellhounds = 20 XP
Hives = 30 XP
Immolators = 50 XP
Armoured = 60 XP – Arguably the easiest valuable enemy to kill, prioritise in sweeps with flare guns and lanterns
Water Devils = 60 XP
Meatheads = 100 XP

• Hunters

Tier 1 Hunters = 100 XP
Tier 2 Hunters = 500 XP
Tier 3 Hunters = 1000 XP
Reviving Partner = 100 XP
Teamkilling Partner = –500 XP

• QUICKPLAY

Any rift pickup = 100 XP
Wellspring activation = 100 XP
Energy absorbed = 1-400 XP – as Final Survivor = 400-800 XP (4X FINAL SURVIVOR MULTIPLIER)

Leeches (10 XP)

The easiest enemy to kill in Hunt but for good reason, these little poisonous bastards only give off 10 XP a pop and will only spawn on Meatheads, who drop them at intervals during their idle animations. Once the Meathead is killed, these leeches will instantly curl up and die. However, this won’t give you XP in addition to the Meathead, so you have to take them out before the Meathead dies.

Best fought as part of taking on a Meathead, the most efficient way to deal with both is to throw a lantern (or firebomb) onto the Meathead. Most of these creatures at his feet will die instantly from the flames, giving you a head start on killing the Meathead and netting you some tiny profits from his dead offspring.

Grunts (10 XP)

The most common enemy in Hunt: Showdown, these enemies appear at every location on both maps, both inside and out. They can also appear in two different variations: carrying weapons and torches that do Bleeding and Burning damage respectively.

While most Grunts can be taken out with a simple headshot, depending on your weapon, this can be both a waste of ammunition and ineffective at range. To that end, save ammunition in areas by using a Knife or Knuckle Dusters to hit them in the head for an instant kill. Be prepared to experience a lot of these enemies throughout a match and for them to get in the way more often than not.

On a sweep, focus these enemies when moving between sites, but don’t go out of your way to kill them, there’s bigger fish to fry.

Hellhounds (20 XP)

Often appearing in packs of three or more, Hellhounds have one of the largest radiuses in the game to aggro. They attack with a bite that causes bleeding damage and will occasionally appear in a variation with an armoured helmet.

With some of the most inconsistent pathfinding and animations in the game, they are particularly difficult to deal with and can cause a boatload of problems when appearing in a swarm due to their speed.

Best dispatched before they get up close, any weapon comes in handy. Once in your face, wait for the jumping animation with a prepared knife, then stab as they start to jump. This should dispatch the dog quickly, but they are best dealt with at a distance.

Hives (30 XP)

Getting into decent XP gain now, Hives are one of the most loathed enemies in Hunt for their swarm of insects upon being aggro’d. This causes both poison damage and rapidly decreases your health.
Thus, like the Hellhound, Hives are best dealt with at a distance before they take note of you.

Her hanging head is the clear weak spot and can be taken out with a single stab, but beware inconsistencies with the knife up close if you choose to deal with her that way (you will also receive poison damage in the process). Once again, the best possible way is shoot her hanging head from a distance, but be prepared to stab twice if you choose to go up close.

Immolators (50 XP)

The newest enemy added to Hunt as of writing! Immolators are intimidating, fast and surprisingly tough, with their burning damage easily taking away a chunk of your health if you’re not careful. However, there are a few ways to quickly deal with them without them becoming an issue.

Immolators have two main stages: Pre-Burn and Burn. Pre-Burn is their idle state and upon them seeing you. Upon taking damage from a knife or bullet, the Immolator will advance to its Burn stage with a burning area-of-effect attack. At this point it’s a lot more of a problem to worry about, doing more damage and hitting faster as it stalks you.

The key to taking them down? Knuckle Dusters! Upon being aggro’d in the Pre-Burn stage, the Immolator will run towards you and begin swinging (they will also knock through doors to get to you so be careful!). Simply face it with the knuckle dusters and get punching. Four hits and it’s down, no Burn stage.

When not concerned with the Burn stage or taking it out from a distance, you must land a headshot on it as your first piece of damage. Then quickly follow up with a body shot or two. Without this, this dangerous enemy can quickly become a quickly advancing bullet sponge.

At 50 XP, Immolators are a decent enemy to take down, but not worth a load of ammunition. Take them out quickly with the knuckle dusters or with the 1-2 headshot and body combo and move on.

Armoured (60 XP)

Both a pain in the and a goldmine, Armoureds are both tough and easy to take down, but deliver a solid XP reward of 60. Spawning frequently across the map, they’re very easy to deal with in the right circumstances.

The speed of Armoureds can be slowed significantly by stabbing their legs into a bloody mess, reducing them to a crawl. However, killing them conventionally is a lot harder, requiring several shots from high powered weapons and even more from weaker rifles.

Knives are effective weapons, three hard stabs with result in an immediate kill on the armoured, provided you are aiming for the head.

But ideally, use a lantern, firebomb or flare gun to quickly kill them. In most sites, lanterns are abundant and so are Armoureds, giving you free reign with your zombie barbecue. After a second of being set aflame, they will enter a dying animation and be no more. It’s quick, easy XP.

Armoureds are the easiest high-XP enemy to deal with via fire, so prioritise these in your sweeps.

Water Devils (60 XP)

Irritating bullet sponges that are the bane of every player’s experience, Water Devils lie in wait until a player enters their radius in the same body of water, then rush the player and very quickly take off a large chunk of their health and do bleeding damage.

To be avoided at all cost, Water Devils are a nightmare for numerous reasons, not the least of which is their inconsistency. I’ve managed to kill some Water Devils with single Caldwell Uppercut shots, while using several up-close Crown & King Auto shotgun rounds on others. To kill a Water Devil is a confusing challenge and ultimately one that should be avoided. But there will be a time in which you’ll have to deal with them.

Once a Water Devil has been killed, nearby Water Devils have shown a tendency to leave the player responsible for a few minutes in “safe” period. However, it is uncertain if this extends to your partner so be careful when traversing water.

A strong recommendation from the community is a Shotbolt Crossbow round, which typically kills in one shot. Other solid choices include the Waxed Dynamite Stick or Liquid Fire Bomb for their water-based damage, but these are often inconvenient to take for a single Water Devil, when you will inevitably encounter many in a game. The key, it would appear, is to aim for the centre of the mass with whatever weapon you choose.

Avoid them or get ready to slug out a lot of rounds to take one down. Their XP gain is not worth the effort compared to the weaker Armoured that produces the same amount of XP.

Meathead (100 XP)

The big boy, Meatheads are the bullet sponge kings of Hunt’s lesser monsters. Found at various sites around the map, these big fellas promise the largest amount of XP, but spawn in relative sparsity and not out in the wild.

With a slight resistance to stabbing and fire damage, your best bet to deal with them is to slash with your knife, sword or axe (which they are weak to) or use explosives. Their pathfinding often makes them predictable, and you can lead them into the path of red barrels for an easy kill. However, beware their tenacity, they will follow you for a considerable length of time upon being aggro’d, so maintain your distance when you engage and always have a plan.

Best taken out as part of a sweep, they can quickly become a waste of ammunition, so try and use your environment to give you leverage over these intimidating enemies.

Conclusion

The ideal situation in a match is that you find all the clues, dome the boss and then every other player in the server before going on a sweep – splitting up and killing everything you come across before extracting with your partner (kills are shared amongst partners). However, this can be a rare occurrence depending on the circumstances.