Hunt: Showdown 1896 Beginner Guide: Weapons, Loadouts & Survival Tips

Hunt: Showdown 1896 is one of the most punishing extraction shooters available right now, and that reputation is entirely earned. You drop into 1896 Louisiana, track supernatural bosses through swamp and ruin, and fight both AI creatures and rival hunters for the same bounty. Lose your hunter and they are gone permanently. No respawns, no second chances. The first 20 hours will humble you, but the payoff once things click is unlike anything else in the genre. This guide covers exactly what you need to start strong: the best beginner weapons, a reliable cheap loadout, the four traits worth picking first, and how each game mode works.

What makes Hunt: Showdown 1896 different from other shooters?

Most shooters reset everything between matches. Hunt does not. Your hunter has a name, a level, and traits you have spent hunt dollars building up. When they die, that investment disappears. That permanent stakes system is what gives every firefight its weight. A shot that would feel routine in another game feels genuinely dangerous here because the cost of failure is real.

The setting compounds this. The Louisiana Bayou maps are dense with audio traps: crows that scatter when you walk near them, dogs that bark, chains hanging in doorways that rattle if you rush through. Every sound you make is information for every other team on the map. Hunt has some of the best environmental audio design in any action game released in the past decade, and learning to use it against your opponents is half the skill ceiling.

Louisiana bayou compound layout

What is the best beginner weapon in Hunt: Showdown 1896?

Here's the short answer: the Winfield M1873C. It costs between $35 and $56, fires fast for a lever-action rifle, holds a decent magazine, and uses compact ammo that is cheap and easy to restock mid-match. You will use it for the majority of your engagements in your first 50 matches, and it will not let you down.

The mistake most players make early on is chasing expensive weapons before they understand the maps. A $1,015 Nitro Express Rifle is devastating against bosses but costs you everything when your hunter dies on the way to the compound. Cheap loadouts let you take risks, learn from mistakes, and rebuild fast.

Here is a breakdown of the weapons worth knowing as a new player:

What is the best beginner loadout?

Every loadout in Hunt has four slots: main weapon, secondary, tools, and consumables. The goal for your first matches is staying alive and learning the maps, not maximizing kills.

Main weapon: Winfield M1873C

Fast fire rate, manageable recoil, and compact ammo make this the safest rifle to learn on. At $35 to $56 it costs almost nothing to replace when your hunter dies, which will happen.

Secondary: Caldwell Conversion Pistol

Strong damage for a sidearm and access to FMJ ammo, which punches through wood and light cover. When your main runs dry mid-engagement, the Conversion Pistol finishes the job without leaving you defenseless.

Tools: Knife and Lockpicks

A standard knife handles silent melee kills on AI grunts without alerting nearby teams. Lockpicks open locked doors and chests for free loot, which helps rebuild your bankroll between matches.

Consumables: First Aid Kit and Vitality Shot

A first aid kit recovers serious damage between engagements. A vitality shot handles chip damage and limb wounds during active fights. Prioritize staying alive over buying offensive consumables until you understand how fights flow.

Beginner loadout setup screen

Which traits should beginners pick first?

Traits are passive perks assigned through the trait menu using the plus icon next to your hunter. They persist across matches as long as your hunter survives. These four are worth prioritizing before anything else:

• Necromancer: Revive teammates at range, or self-revive when playing solo. Relevant in almost every match you will play.
• Resilience: Get revived at full health instead of partial. Skips the medkit cost and puts you straight back into a fight at full capacity.
• Vigilant: Spot traps and ammo boxes in dark environments. Especially useful on night maps and inside dense indoor compounds.
• Vulture: Loot bodies faster and earn extra hunt dollars. Builds your currency early and keeps your loadout budget healthy.

How do the three game modes work?

Hunt has three distinct modes. Each one teaches different skills, but the order you approach them matters.

Spend your first 50 matches in Bounty Hunt. The pacing gives you time to learn clue tracking, boss mechanics, and extraction routes without being immediately overwhelmed by other players. Once you have banished a few bosses and survived a handful of extractions, move into Bounty Clash for faster fights. Save Soul Survivor for when you understand map layouts and weapon spawn locations well enough to compete without starting gear.

Bounty Hunt clue tracking map

Pro tips for surviving your first matches

After spending time with Hunt, a few habits separate players who progress from players who keep losing hunters to the same mistakes:

• Use melee for AI grunts. A knife kill produces no sound. A gunshot carries roughly 200 meters and tells every team exactly where you are.
• Crouch and walk indoors. The audio design punishes running through buildings. Veteran players hear your footsteps and pre-aim the doorway before you reach it.
• Do not loot in the open. Killing one team frequently draws a second team that heard the fight. Get to cover before you start searching bodies.
• Mark clue locations on the map. Your teammates can converge without voice callouts, which keeps the team coordinated even when communication is limited.
• Extract early when you are ahead. Greedy plays after a successful boss kill are how hunters with good trait builds get eliminated. A live hunter with modest loot beats a dead one with full pockets.

Common mistakes new players make

• Buying expensive weapons before understanding map layouts and extraction routes
• Skipping Necromancer in favor of offensive traits and then dying with no self-revive option
• Running through buildings and alerting every team within earshot
• Looting bodies in open sightlines after a firefight
• Jumping into Bounty Clash before learning boss mechanics in Bounty Hunt

Hunt: Showdown 1896 at a glance

Frequently asked questions

Is Hunt: Showdown 1896 beginner friendly?

Not traditionally, but recent updates added new player matchmaking and tutorial improvements that give fresh hunters a safer environment to learn the basics. Expect a steep learning curve across your first 20 hours. The payoff is one of the most rewarding extraction shooters on the market.

Can you play Hunt: Showdown 1896 solo?

Yes. Solo play is supported in Bounty Hunt and Soul Survivor. Equip Necromancer before queueing solo since it is the only way to self-revive after going down without a teammate nearby.

How many players can play together?

Hunt supports online multiplayer and online co-op. Cross-platform play is available between consoles, though PC and console players are kept separate.

What platform is Hunt: Showdown 1896 on?

PC via Steam, PS5, and Xbox Series X/S. The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S versions launched on August 15, 2024. It is also playable on Steam Deck.

For more strategies, weapon breakdowns, and mode-specific advice, check out the full Hunt: Showdown 1896 strategy guides collection on GAMES.GG.