Introduction To The Game
theHunter Classic is, as of last year (2019) I think, is completely free-to-play. In the tutorial page or in some of the item descriptions in the store, they still mention some items being where being a "member"/owing a membership title will give you some extra bonus. Just ignore those as they have yet to update those descriptions.
As most of you know, this is a hunting simulator. And like most simulation games, they tend to be very slow, so you are going to need some level of patience when playing this game. Either way, I still encourage new people to try this.
Launching The Game...
LAUNCHERWhen you first start the game, the game will give you a launcher tutorial right after creating your theHunter account. The way the game works is when you launch through Steam, the launcher will start up. From here, you can check your profile, add other hunters to your friend's list, available missions/mission progress, how much money you have in your account and all your basic needs (use the following screenshot for reference),
Bear in mind that you will ONLY see this launcher, AFTER you complete the tutorial.
From the screenshot above, you can see a big orange button with HUNT NOW on it. Upon clicking on this, you can choose:
Dashboard
Singleplayer (The current page on that screenshot)
Multiplayer
Find a Multiplayer game
Tutorials
EQUIPMENTUpon completing the tutorial, the game will reward you with 2 free weapons and its appropriate ammunition:
.243 Bolt Action Rifle (Wood and Carbon)
12G Single Shot Shotgun
The .243 Bolt Action Rifle comes with a 4x scope for free as well.
As I mentioned before, the ammo for these 2 weapons are completely free and will refill everytime you start a hunt/session. For those who don't know, a hunt is whenever you launch the game via the launcher/when you actually play the game.
AMMUNITION/PERMITTED AMMONow, BEFORE you start your hunt and start shooting the very first thing you see, you it is IMPERATIVE that you know which animal you're ALLOWED to hunt, with the ammo you're using. The game and other tutorials I've read does not make it clear where you can check this, but it is rather easy. If you go to the LAUNCHER, click on STORE, then select AMMO, you can see all available ammo you can buy. When clicking on the ammo, you will see what gun it can be used with, and the permitted animals you can hunt (check the screenshot below).
For simplicity's sake, I took a screenshot of the .243 Nosler Ballistic Tip, the ammo you can use for the free weapon you get (243 Bolt Action Rifle).
As a general rule of thumb, you can hunt ALMOST every type of deer and medium game with the 243 ammunition, but again you can check all the permitted animals in the store page.
CURRENCYThere are two forms of currency in the game:
em$ - Premium Currency you can get by using irl money
gm$ - In-game currency you can get by hunting and missions
Preparing For The Hunt...
Once you got all the basics of the launcher out of the way, let's actually prepare for the hunt.
MAPS/RESERVESin theHunter Classic, we have access to 12 huge hunting reserves with their respective animal spawns.
On each reserves, you have some points-of-interests (marked with an exclamation mark on the map), campsites (marked with a campfire icon on the map), hunting towers/tree stands (marked with a tower icon), telephone poles/power grid lines (marked with a telephone pole icon on the in-game map), hunting lodges (marked with a house icon on the map) and more.
- POI icon
- Campsite icon
- Hunting tower/tree stand icon
- Hunting Lodge icon
SINGLEPLAYEROnce you've selected the map/reserve you want to hunt in, now you need to select which hunting lodge you want to start in and the time you want to start. If you do have a tent, you can set it up anywhere on the map and you can then use it as a spawn point, as well as a fast travel point. You cannot select the campsites as your spawn point, however, you can fast travel to them, if you have enough camping supplies to fast travel.
MULTIPLAYER - HOSTING AND JOINING A GAMEHosting a multiplayer game is similar to starting a singleplayer game, however you can set a password and the privacy of the server.
When joining a multiplayer lobby, you can search a specific lobby or join any random one.
GAME SETTINGSYou can adjust the game settings (such as the graphics and etc) in the launcher menu. YOU CANNOT DO IT IN GAME. On the top right of the launcher, you can see settings. Click on that, and you'll see the option to change game settings.
IN-GAME PREPARATION/HUDFinally, you have now started the game, and you should be able to see your character holding up the HunterMate. But, you're not done yet. At the bottom right of the screen, you should see a few things:
1. Current Location
2. Prompt to do something (In this case, 'I' to open up the inventory)
3. Stance/Walk-Run indicator
4. Look indicator
2: When you're close to certain objects (vehicles, hunting towers/tree stands, etc), a prompt will appear on the bottom right. In this case, since you're WITHIN the proximity of a hunting lodge, you can access EVERYTHING in your inventory. When you are outside the proximity of the hunting lodge, you can ONLY access items on your person/character.
3: You can change your stance by using LSHIFT and LCTRL. Everytime you press LCTRL, your character will crouch, and then prone (in that order). When you press LSHIFT, you stand up. You can also toggle between walking and running by pressing C.
4: You can also toggle between free look as well, by pressing X.
When you press I, you should see this screen:
On the weapon's screen, you can see that you can carry 3 weapons, 2 rifles/shotguns, and one handgun. You can either buy or unlock the handgun holster. To unlock it, you need to have a hunter score of 3000, and the price of a handgun holster is ~8000gm$. You also have an indication on how much you can carry on you at all times at the bottom right, next to the backpack icon. The big empty square marked "Unequipped carry items", you can store extra ammo to bring with you on the hunt. To do this, you need to select ammo on the left hand side, and click and drag the desired ammo you want to bring.
When selecting your weapon, the game would indicate what you can assign that area with. From the example above, you can see that if I were to click on the scope icon, it will display all the available scopes I can attach on my rifle. This prompt will be the same for everything else in the equipment and clothing tab.
There should be 3 tabs, labelled weapons, equipment and clothing:
Equipment Tab. In this tab, you can equip any equipment you have on you. Equipment can range from binoculars, cameras, scent lures, caller lures and more. These items will also contribute to your weight as well.
Clothing Tab. In this tab, you can equip your hunter with any piece of clothing you own. Bear in mind that camoflauge has an effect on animals, but for now, the all green clothing you have should suffice in most of the maps you can venture in.
How To Hunt...
Hunting, believe it or not, is not as easy as it seems. Some of you might say, "I'll just shoot the head, right? How hard can that be?" Or, "If I shoot the head, its an instant kill because I hit the brain". Although the latter statement isn't wrong, its still not a good idea to shoot at the head. This comes to my first point:
SHOT PLACEMENTShot placement matters a lot in this game. The better your shot placement is, the higher your score. The higher your score, the more CSS/gm$ you get. The vital organs are as follows:
Heart
Left and right lungs
Brain
In a perfect scenario, you should always go for the heart, as the animal would die on the spot. Going for the brain? Chances are it will still run or chances are it will miss and the animal will run. When you hunt, you don't want the animal to suffer. There is a variable called Wound Time, when you harvest your kill. Wound Time does have an effect on score, but I don't see any significant difference in score between an instant kill and an animal with a wound time of 10+ minutes.
When looking at the animal head-on, like this:
the heart is located in between the two legs. Aim it around there and you should get the heart and/or the lungs, ensuring you an instant kill.
If the animal is on its side however, you should shoot around where the front legs are. If you can imagine a human on all fours, their heart would be somewhere around the arms. Think of it like that.
GENDERWhen it comes to certain animals/game, gender matters. When it comes to deers and elks, the male variant (bucks for deers and bulls for elks) of those species are the only ones that will give you a score, and therefore CSS/gm$. For those who don't know, to differentiate the two genders is that bucks/bulls have antlers, whereas females don't. Another way you can check if the animal you're looking at is male or female, is by spotting the animal, either using your eyes, through a scope of a rifle and/or binoculars.
WHAT TO HUNTWhen you start out theHunter for the first time, it can be very difficult to choose which animal you want to hunt. With the 2 weapons you get for free, you can hunt:
Whitetail deer - .243 Nosler and/or 12g Slugs/Buckshot
Blacktail deer - .243 Nosler and/or 12g Slugs/Buckshot
Mule Deer - .243 Nosler and/or 12g Slugs/Buckshot
Moose - 12g Slugs
Roosevelt Elk - 12g Slugs
Cottontail Rabbit - 12g Birdshot
Pheasant - 12g Birdshot
Bobcat - 12g Buckshot
Coyote - .243 Nosler and/or 12g Slugs/Buckshot
Turkey - 12g Birdshot
Snowshoe Hare - 12g Birdshot
European Rabbit - 12g Birdshot
Feral Hog - 12g Slugs
These are some of the animals you can hunt with the weapons you get at the start. I recommend hunting the Cottontail Rabbits, Pheasants, Whitetail, Blacktail AND Mule Deer. I will explain why in its own dedicated section.
SKILLSThere are some skills that players can upgrade:
Spotting - Lvl1 - 20
Tracking - Lvl1 - 20
Shooting - Lvl1 - 20
The spotting and tracking skills are species dependent. You can have a Lvl3 spotting and Lvl5 tracking for Whitetail Deer, but it won't be the same for Cottontail Rabbits. The same goes for the shooting skill. You can have a shooting level of 10 with a .243 Bolt Action Rifle, but you can have a shooting level of 5 with a 7.62x54R (Mosin Nagant).
SPOTTING AND TRACKINGSpotting and tracking are very important when you hunt. The spotting skill gives the player information about the animal they spot. As mentioned before, you can spot with your eyes, through a rifle of a scope or through a pair of binoculars.
On the top right of this screenshot, it gives us some information about the animal. It tells us the species, the gender, how much it weighs and the score of that particular animal. If your spotting skill is high for that animal, you'll spot the animal a lot faster and the ranges for the weight and score will be a lot smaller. For example, if you're level 6, the weight range will be something like 70kg - 100kg, whereas if it were level 15, it will be something like 80kg - 90kg. To level up this skill, you need to spot the animal. YOU ONLY GET EXP FOR EACH ANIMAL YOU SPOT. SPOTTING THE SAME ANIMAL WILL NOT GIVE YOU EXP.
The tracking skill determines the amount of info you will get from the HunterMate, when spotting the tracks of different animals. When you start out, the HunterMate will only display the species of the animal, and the status of that animal of that current track. The higher the tracking skill, the more information you obtain from the tracks, like the age of the track and the weight of the animal. To level up this skill, you need to track that species' tracks.
SHOOTINGYour shooting skill determines how much weapon sway you have and how long you can hold your breath for with that particular weapon. Different weapon variants, such as the .243 Bolt Action Rifle Wood/Carbon will both level up, as they are the same weapon. To level up this skill, you will have to shoot animals with its permitted ammo. If your shot hits a vital organ, the more exp you get.
What To Hunt...
As mentioned before, I recommend hunting Cottontail Rabbits, Whitetail, Blacktail, Mule deers and Pheasants. In this section, I will try my best to give you some of my tactics, as well as tips I believe you can use when hunting these animals. As always, if you feel like you have a better way, let me know in the comments and I'll be sure to mention them!
Cottontail Rabbits And Snowshoe Hares
The reason as to why I added Snowshoe Hare is that they have the same behaviors, same scoring and they are relatively fun and easy to hunt/spot.
(Some of this information are from the wiki, I will post their respective links in their own section)
In case you have forgotten or skipped to this part, you need 12g birdshot to hunt these animals or any other smaller caliber. I personally recommend the shotgun as you shoot pellets and it will usually end in a one shot kill if you're within 30m of the animal. As long as you're using the shotgun, you shouldn't worry about hitting any vital organs.
Behavior - Spawn (Cottontails and Snowshoes)These small animals are very slippery if you don't keep an eye on them. As soon as they spawn, they will stay within a 100m radius. Since rabbits and hares are territorial, they will stay within this space, unless a player forces them to run away and find a hiding spot.
Spotting the animal(s) (Cottontails and Snowshoes)Spotting the rabbit/hare is quite simple. I recommend you put your screen complexity on low, so you can see the rabbit in un-rendered space. To paint you a picture of what it should look like is this: You should see 1 or more rabbit/hare in an open field. But if you were to zoom in with your binoculars/scope, you should see some shrubs, foliage and trees. This will prove useful to spot them where they are, and where they hide when they flee.
Behavior - Fleeing (Cottontails and Snowshoes)If you see them run before you get any close to them, don't fret! If you do see them run away, keep an eye on them. They will flee for about 40m, and they will find a bush, shrub or tree to hide in/next to. In this hiding state, you can get up to them as close as you want, as long as you crouch or walk near them. In this distance, your character will spot them for you, and all you have to do now at this point is to find it, aim your gun and shoot.
Scoring (Cottontails and Snowshoes)Their weight will equate to more or less the score. So for example, if the rabbit/hare weighs 1.6kg, it will have a score of somewhere around 1500 or 1600. This in turn will be around 50gm$ - 70gm$. YOU WILL GET CSS/GM$ FOR BOTH GENDERS.
Where to find them - Cottontail RabbitsI personally enjoy hunting Cottontails in Settler's Creek, just around Homestead Lodge, at 11;00.
The whole area south of that lodge are some nice open fields. As soon as you spawn, you should move south and you should see a few rabbits down that field. If not, you can use your map, and you should see a trail that ends up being a roundabout. There is a big dilapidated barn there. Behind it is another massive open field. Cottontails can be spotted around there as well. Refer to the screenshot below for the Settler's Creek areas.
Where to find them - Snowshoe HaresSnowshoe hares can ONLY be found in Whiterime Ridge. Since this area is just filled with snow, it can be blinding during daylight hours. I recommend hunting at the early hours of 5;00, at Danforth's Lodge (Northern Lodge).
The area near Kosatka Harbor (the exclamation mark near the lodge) and the area southwest of the lodge should be ripe with Snowshoe hares. There are also other animals within this region, such as Arctic Foxes, Moose (Meese, for the intellects), Dall Sheeps and Sitka Deers. You can refer to the screenshot below.
Whitetail, Blacktail And Mule Deers
Deers are a fun species to hunt, and they can be a good source of income. However, since most of them travel in herds, you can only take down 1 or 2 of them when using a firearm.
TerminologyFor those who don't know the terms or things to look for in a deer, I'll cover them here. If I miss out anything, just put them in the comments and I'll mention you guys and update it accordingly.
Buck - a male deer
Doe - a female deer
Points - how many points the deer has on its antlers. It will always be an even number
Herd - a group of deer
Rack - their antlers
Introduction (Whitetails, Blacktails and Mule Deers)YOU WILL ONLY GET CSS/GM$ FOR MALES
When hunting for these types of deers, you should be careful about where you go, your stance and the speed at which you're moving. From my own experience, I find deers to be very easily spooked and once they flee, their senses will be heightened and will get spooked much easier than before. I find it easier to track or spot these deers whilst crouched, as it keeps your profile low and your noise low as well.
Behavior - WhitetailsWhitetails usually travel alone. If you were to see a doe or buck, they would be alone. If you were to see 2 or more Whitetails together, then it is purely by chance. Whitetails will roam around and will call out once in a while.
Behavior - Blacktails and Mule DeersBlacktails and Mule deers will usually travel in herds. For Mule deers, they will travel with their own genders, so if you were to hear a buck call out, chances are you'll find 2 or 3 bucks along with the one that called out. For Blacktails however, from my experience, I've seen bucks and does travel together.
Fleeing - Whitetails, Blacktails and Mule DeersA rule of thumb when you see the perfect buck flee is to keep count of how many "Fleeing" tracks the deer has left. If it leaves around 6 or 7 fleeing tracks, you bet your ass that this buck is worth to chase/hunt. And of course, your first instincts when you see a deer run is for you to run after it as well. That is probably the worst thing you can possibly do. If you see it run, keep calm, and walk after the deer. Deer hunting requires lots of patience, but it will pay off when you see a big buck!
Luring - Whitetails, Blacktails and Mule DeersThe Deer "Bleat" and "Grunt" Callers work for all 3 of these species. The lure distance is around 100m. These callers will only lure them, it WILL NOT provoke a call from the deer. So for example, if you were to use the callers, do not expect them to call back, BUT this doesn't mean they will.
A general rule of thumb when luring is you should only use the lure when you a hear a call from the deer. Once you do, whip out your caller and use it every 30 seconds to a minute. Set yourself in a perfect position where you can shoot whilst prone, and make sure it faces you, perfect for a heart shot. When using the .243 Bolt Action Rifle, its best if you engage the deer within 50m. Anything above that will NOT penetrate the body.
You can also use the respective urine spray, which works well as well. But you only have around 50 uses of these sprays and will require a top up of around 2.5kgm$. It is viable, however if you're looking to save money, I'd recommend the callers as they can be used any number of times.
Where to find them - WhitetailsThe best reserve to hunt Whitetails, in my opinion, would be Redfeather Falls. The whole area to the west, northwest and northern parts of the Trapper's Rest Lodge (south) are filled with Whitetails and Moose (Meese, for the intellects). You will only find these two species in these areas. I find that spawning in the Trapper's Rest Lodge at 11;00 will yield very good results. Upon spawning, you should move to the western tower. When you cross the river and begin your climb up the hill, you should hear a deer call. It goes without saying that you should walk or crouch when approaching this tower.
(Screenshots to follow soon, don't worry!)
Where to find them - BlacktailsMuch like the Whitetails, Redfeather Falls is a good place to find blacktails as well. The area north of the northern tower from Trapper's Rest Lodge is a good area to find blacktails. I personally don't hunt blacktails a lot, since I have yet to invest in tents, but it isn't hard to find a good buck with a good rack!
(Screenshots to follow soon, don't worry!)
Where to find them - Mule DeersI personally love to hunt Mule Deers in Logger's Point, at the southern lodge, at 11;00. The whole area north, northeast and northwest are filled with Mule Deers. There is a small chance that you'll find a whitetail here, but predominantly, you'll find Mule deers here.
(Screenshots to follow soon, don't worry!)
Side NoteJust a quick side note, I find that listening to Cavatina from The Deer Hunter helps when hunting deers ;)
Comment Mentions
This section is for those who have contributed or helped me in the comment section! If there are any issues if I were to display your names here, please let me know and I will follow through with your requests!
As of Saturday April 18, 2020, user: [Rojeda] said:
"Just want to point out that wound time (harvest value) does not have an impact on score or CSS score. It will not reduce your GMs recieved."
Source: https://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=2060625874
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