Hunt: Showdown is a first-person shooter game that prides itself in its well-balanced arsenal. In Hunt: Showdown, you will find that each weapon excels at something better than another weapon, regardless of how similar the two weapons are. To further acquaint you with the different weapons in Hunt: Showdown, here is a simple guide and overview on some of the weapons available in-game:
Pistols:
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Nagant M1895
Ammo Type: Small Ammo
Damage: 91
The Nagant M1895 is the first pistol available to use in the game. It is unlocked and ready for use at Player Rank 1. For your first few games, this pistol will be your designated sidearm simply due to a lack of choice.
As your first ever pistol, you have the option to spend the most time with this particular pistol while learning the game. Furthermore, the Nagant M1895 has a silencer variant which you can unlock by gaining experience using the Nagant M1895. In a game where sound is crucial, having a silencer gives you an immediate edge over your opponents by allowing you to shoot while remaining undetected.
You should take note, however, that the Nagant M1895 has the second lowest damage numbers among pistols, on par with the Nagant M1895 Officer and only higher than the Bornheim No. 3.
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Nagant M1895 Officer
Ammo Type: Small Ammo
Damage: 91
The Nagant M1895 Officer is a direct upgrade from the Nagant M1895. It has similar stats with the Nagant M1895, but it sports a semi-automatic firing mechanism. The Nagant M1895 Officer is one of the few pistols with semi-automatic firing mechanism.
The only downside of the Nagant M1895 Officer is its wider hip fire grouping which essentially lessens the effective distance of hip fire shooting with this pistol. However, in a game where most weapons are one shot reload type of weapons, having a semi-automatic pistol lets you rain down bullets on your enemies. This pistol is also an early unlock in the game, unlocking at player rank 10.
The Nagant M1895 Officer excels at raiding enemy defenses with its semi-automatic firing mechanism allowing you to run and gun as you please. However, do note that this pistol is still a revolver with the same ammo and reloading constraints as any other revolver. Shoot ‘em up, but do not simply shoot into the air since reloading all 6 bullets still takes some time.
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Caldwell Conversion
Ammo Type: Small Ammo
Damage: 104
The Caldwell Conversion pistol is the standard single-action cowboy pistol. If you watch a cowboy movie and see them facing off with these standard long-barrel revolvers, that is what the Caldwell Conversion is. The Caldwell Conversion is the most versatile pistol in the game because of all the variants available to it.
The basic Caldwell Conversion pistol is a more accurate small ammo pistol with higher damage and longer range than the Nagant M1895 pistols. This is probably the best pistol for any skill level. Once you master the Caldwell Conversion pistol, you will most likely just use the Caldwell Conversion pistol family for your whole Hunt: Showdown career.
Among the most popular variants of the Caldwell Conversion pistol are the chain variant and the uppercut variant. The chain variant gives the caldwell conversion 18 bullets per belt of ammo before it is emptied. Pair this up with the Fanning hunter trait and you get yourself a room sweeper capable of showering your enemies with 18 bullets in a short span of time.
The Caldwell Uppercut is the other popular variant of the Caldwell Conversion pistol because it gives you a large ammo pistol great for long range combat and usually a go-to sidearm for shotgun users. It also acts as an extra ammo pool for your large ammo main weapon because Hunt: Showdown uses a shared ammo pool inventory between all weapons equipped.
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Caldwell Pax
Ammo Type: Medium Ammo
Damage: 110
The Caldwell Pax may share the Caldwell name with the Caldwell Conversion pistol, but it is its own family of pistols. The Caldwell Pax is unlocked independently of the Caldwell Conversion pistol.
The Caldwell Pax is the first medium ammo pistol in Hunt: Showdown, and it offers damage and longer range than most other pistols, except the Caldwell Uppercut and the Dolch 96, but it also has a slower fire rate than most other pistols. There is a correlation between ammo size with fire rate and damage.
You would probably enjoy using the Caldwell Pax if you prefer medium ranged combat with lots of movement and not a lot of continuous gunfire.
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Bornheim No. 3
Ammo Type: Small Ammo
Damage: 74
The Bornheim No. 3 is the first magazine-fed semi-auto pistol that you will get your hands on. Remember what I said about the Nagant M1895 Officer? Well, the Bornheim No. 3 is much better than the Nagant M1895 Officer, except for its lower damage.
You should choose the Bornheim No. 3 if you simply want to harass your enemies and give them a headache. The fast fire rate and low recoil of the Bornheim gives you the opportunity to easily hit your enemies multiple times. While the damage of the Bornheim is low, you will see your enemies run around and panic from the constant hits they receive.
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Dolch 96
Ammo Type: Special Ammo
Damage: 110
The easiest way to describe the Dolch 96 is that it is Bornheim's big brother. The Dolch 96 is magazine-fed and semi-automatic with 10 rounds in the magazine and a high rate of fire. You can easily pick off your enemies from close to medium distance with the Dolch 96 and take them all down with ease.
However, you need to take note of the Dolch 96’s ammo type since it uses special ammo. Special ammo is the developers’ way of balancing the Dolch 96 by making the bullets harder to find and refill in-game, so be sure to take note of your bullets before going gung-ho with the Dolch 96.
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LeMat Mark II
Ammo Type: Small Ammo and Shotgun Ammo
Damage: 97
The LeMat Mark II is the most unique pistol in the game. It has small ammo and shotgun ammo with a single-button switch to swap between ammo types. It has 2 barrels, one for each ammo type, and allows you to change your playstyle on the fly by simply switching your ammo.
Personally, I love the LeMat. The versatility that two ammo types give you is insane in Hunt: Showdown. If you’re bringing a long gun and are forced to go into close quarters combat, you have a shotgun in your pistol. More often than not, a single shot of the shotgun ammo at close distance is enough to take down another hunter.
Learn the LeMat Mark II and you have yourself a trusty versatile sidearm for any occasion!
Shotguns:
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Romero 77
Ammo Type: Shotgun Ammo
Damage: 200
Shotguns are powerful in Hunt: Showdown. At close distances, they will guarantee a hunter elimination if you hit the torso. The power of shotguns is more apparent when you realize that the maximum health points of any hunter is 150. All shotguns have damage numbers above 150.
The Romero 77 is the first shotgun available to you from Rank 1, and it is by no means weaker than any other shotgun in the game. In fact, the Romero 77 has the highest damage and the longest effective range among shotguns in the game. The only downside to the Romero 77 is that it is a single shot shotgun. After every shot, you need to manually replace the bullet in the barrel before you can fire another shot.
You will definitely love the Romero 77 if you just want to play to have fun. Run in, blast an enemy, run away, then rinse and repeat. I guarantee you’ll get a hunter kill from simply running in and blasting with the Romero 77.
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Caldwell Rival 78
Ammo Type: Shotgun Ammo
Damage: 175
The Caldwell Rival 78 is the double-barrel shotgun in Hunt: Showdown. It has the lowest damage numbers among the shotguns in the game, but it is the fastest shooting shotgun in the game. Its double-barrel feature lets you unload two shells almost simultaneously, easily saturating the area in front of your gun with countless pellets.
If you want to secure your kill or deal the most amount of damage to anything in the shortest amount of time possible, the Caldwell Rival 78 is your gun. Reload speed is decent and the quick shots let you deal enormous amounts of damage almost instantly. There is no escaping a Caldwell Rival 78 once you see it in front of you.
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Specter 1882
Ammo Type: Shotgun Ammo
Damage: 185
The Specter 1882 is a pump-action shotgun with 5 rounds in the barrel. It’s capable of long, drawn-out close quarters combat or even medium-ranged combat. The Specter 1882 has the second longest barrel among the shotguns and has the second farthest effective range.
If you’re using the Specter 1882, you don’t have to be afraid of shooting at some distance away. You have 5 shots with decent range on a shotgun. You can blast your way in from a window and rest assured that your shots can reach and kill the hunter at the other end of the room.
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Winfield Terminus
Ammo Type: Shotgun Ammo
Damage: 185
The Winfield Terminus is the only lever-action shotgun in the game. It has the shortest barrel and effective range among the shotguns, but it can be the second fastest consistent shooting shotgun in-game, second only to the Crown & King Auto-5.
If you pair the Winfield Terminus with the Levering hunter trait in Hunt: Showdown, you can channel your inner Arnold Schwarzenegger and go in a room while shouting, “hasta la vista, baby!”. Go in like the Terminator and leave only dead hunters in your wake!
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Crown & King Auto-5
Ammo Type: Shotgun Ammo
Damage: 185
The Crown & King Auto-5 is the semi-automatic shotgun of Hunt: Showdown. Yes, you heard that right, semi-automatic. If you see an enemy nearby, just spam your Fire button and watch the bodies fall.
There isn’t much I could tell you about the Crown & King Auto-5 except that you should run if you see or hear it. On the other hand, fear no hunter in close quarters if you’re the one armed with the Crown & King Auto-5.
Rifles:
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Winfield M1873C
Ammo Type: Small Ammo
Damage: 110
The Winfield M1873C is the first rifle you have access to at Rank 1 in the game. It has 8 bullets and uses small ammo. It is a highly versatile rifle meant for close range combat. It’s not capable of one-shotting hunters at a distance due to the ammo type and effective range, but it is easy to use.
You can spend time learning the Winfield M1873C and make the most out of its silencer variant when you unlock it. It’s easy to use but hard to master. This is a gun that can take you all the way to top-tier by simply mastering it.
This gun introduces you to pretty much all of the types of rifle variants in the game, ranging from silenced to bladed to shortened to scoped variants. This is the gateway rifle of Hunt: Showdown.
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Winfield M1873
Ammo Type: Small Ammo
Damage: 110
The Winfield M1873 is simply the Winfield M1873C but with more ammo. It also doesn’t have a silencer variant, but your skills with the Winfield M1873C will definitely carry over to this gun.
The Winfield M1873 is also best paired with the Levering hunter trait for rapid fire close range supremacy.
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Winfield M1876 Centennial
Ammo Type: Medium Ammo
Damage: 123
The Winfield M1876 Centennial is the big brother of the Winfield M1873. It has less ammo, but it carries medium ammo instead of small ammo. As a consequence, it has higher damage, farther effective range, and more recoil.
However, this gun feels and plays completely different from the Winfield M1873, so your training and experience with the Winfield M1873 will not directly translate to expertise with the Winfield M1876 Centennial.
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Vetterli 71 Karabiner
Ammo Type: Medium Ammo
Damage: 130
The Vetterli 71 Karabiner is the go-to medium ammo rifle in Hunt: Showdown. You will find players of all skill levels using this gun simply because it is a rifle that can compete at any distance. It shoots faster than any long ammo rifle and packs more firepower than any small ammo rifle.
The Vetterli 71 Karabiner also has a silenced variant, so it is a weapon that you can master and use to stalk enemies from any distance. You will remain lethal at almost all engagement distances due to the ammo size and damage numbers of the Vetterli 71 Karabiner.
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Springfield 1866
Ammo Type: Medium Ammo
Damage: 132
The Springfield 1866 is the only medium ammo breach-loaded rifle in the game. It suffers from slow rate of fire due to being breach-loaded, but it offers utility unlike most other rifles.
The Springfield 1866’s edge comes from its special ammo since it is capable of using dum dum ammos which inflict bleeding damage on enemies. This means that if you’re able to hit any enemy with a dum dum ammo, you will see them take continuous damage until they stop the bleeding. This is a powerful mechanic in Hunt: Showdown that would easily make or break any combat situation by forcing your enemies to disengage and heal up or bleed out to death.
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Sparks LRR
Ammo Type: Long Ammo
Damage: 149
The Sparks LRR is the single strongest sniper in Hunt: Showdown. It is a breach-loaded rifle which deals 149 damage per hit. This means that anyone hit by a Sparks LRR is left with 1 life until they heal.
The Sparks LRR also has the farthest effective range in the game which makes it a favorite among players, especially in higher skill levels. This rifle is not for beginners due to its extremely low rate of fire. Being caught in an unfavorable situation while using a Sparks LRR is essentially a loss for the unskilled.
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Mosin-Nagant M1891
Ammo Type: Long Ammo
Damage: 136
The Mosin-Nagant M1891 is the “meta” rifle of Hunt: Showdown because of its damage, range, and rate of fire. It has great damage and range paired with a bolt-action mechanism that lets it fire at a decent rate. It is also extremely accurate with an easy-to-use set of iron sights.
The configuration of the Mosin-Nagant M1891 and its iron sights makes it an appealing choice for players of all skill levels. However, the Mosin-Nagant M1891 truly flourishes in the hands of a marksman. Accurate shots from a marksman can take any hunter down from almost any range with the Mosin-Nagant M1891.
Master the Mosin-nagant M1891, and you will have a rifle for all your needs and wants.
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Lebel 1886
Ammo Type: Long Ammo
Damage: 132
The Lebel 1886 is another bolt-action long ammo rifle, but it does not share the same love received by the Mosin-Nagant M1891 because of its iron sights. The iron sights of the Lebel 1886 is harder to use at long distances as compared to that of the Mosin-nagant M1891.
However, the Lebel 1886 does not pale anywhere else in comparison with the Mosin-Nagant M1891. In fact, the Lebel 1886 excels at longer gunfights since it has a larger ammo capacity with 10 bullets in the gun before requiring a reload as compared to the Mosin-Nagant M1891’s 5 bullets.
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Martini-Henry IC1
Ammo Type: Long Ammo
Damage: 143
The Martini-Henry IC1 is the Sparks LRR’s little brother. It has shorter range and lower damage than the Sparks LRR. However, the Martini-Henry IC1 has a much faster reload speed. This gives the Martini-Henry IC1 a different playstyle to that of the Sparks LRR.
The Martini-Henry IC1 excels at medium to long range combat where you will be constantly on the move and repositioning. You will be able to unleash bullets upon your enemies consistently as you reposition for better angles and clearer shots. The Sparks LRR cannot do what the Martini-Henry IC1 does because the Sparks LRR is really meant for a single shot with long intervals in-between shots.
You can use the Martini-Henry IC1 to keep your enemies on their toes by shooting them from multiple angles and constantly repositioning.
Special Weapons:
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Nitro Express Rifle
Ammo Type: Special Ammo
Damage: 364
The Nitro Express Rifle is an elephant gun. There is no other way to describe the Nitro Express Rifle except that it is huge. It has big bullets more than capable of killing hunters unlucky enough to get hit by it.
However, you do not want to use the Nitro Express Rifle since the developers nerfed it by putting difficult to use aperture sights on it and making the damage fall off really fast. It is also the most expensive rifle in the game.
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Bomb Lance
Ammo Type: Special Ammo
Damage: 150
The Bomb Lance is a melee weapon with a ballistic harpoon attached to it. It is mainly for melee and not for distance combat. Any hit with the Bomb Lance is fatal for a hunter, be it the melee hit or the harpoon hit.
The melee hit from the Bomb Lance guarantees you a hunter kill as long as you can get close. Additionally, landing a harpoon hit on a hunter guarantees you a hunter kill because the harpoon is an explosive that pops after a few seconds with more than enough damage to kill a hunter.
Master the Bomb Lance and you will not need another weapon. However, mastering the Bomb Lance is more of mastering movements, understanding hiding spots and blind spots, as well as memorizing the maps.
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Crossbow
Ammo Type: Special Ammo
Damage: 260
The Crossbow is a silent assassin. It makes no sound and it causes heavy bleeding on hit, assuming that the enemy hunter survives. However, it also takes the longest time to reload, longer than the Sparks LRR so make your shots count. It also does not have much range to it because the bolts arc and drop as it travels the distance.
The crossbow is an underappreciated weapon. Players often use rifles and rarely use the crossbow. However, the crossbow is the most ammo-efficient weapon in the game since the bolts are retrievable and would also deal additional damage when you pull it off of a living enemy. You can easily use a crossbow for a survivalist stealth playstyle while you learn the game, and you can eventually learn to use the crossbow for all forms of combat and playstyles when you master it.
The crossbow also has bolt variants like the shotgun bolt and the explosive bolt. These bolts give a lot of utility to the crossbow while also packing a lot of damage capable of single hit kills.
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Hand Crossbow
Ammo Type: Special Ammo
Damage: 195
The Hand Crossbow plays exactly the same as the crossbow, except that it has different special bolts. The Hand Crossbow is more of non-combat utility versus the crossbow’s combat utility special bolts.
The hand crossbow has poison cloud bolts and choke bolts. Both special bolts work to put a special effect on a specific area for a decent amount of time. The poison cloud deals poison damage over time to anyone within the area while the choke bolts extinguish any flame in the area and make every hunter cough when passing or staying in the choked area.
As Hunt: Showdown continues to develop and evolve under the full support of its developers, you will find more weapons becoming available in the game.
