strategic ambush using map reading: hunt showdown

Channel:

Sitting Forgetting

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1,140

Published on June 8, 2023 6:12:10 AM ● Video Link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-x0XtM5vldY

Game:

Hunt: Showdown (2019)

Category:

Show

Duration: 3:41

228 views

6

there's quite a bit of complaining from a segment of the player base about "camping," "bush wookies," etc. i differentiate between a strategic ambush and simply camping and waiting indefinitely for someone to walk by. recognizing map positioning, expected enemy flow, and punishing enemy players for triggering noise traps is a central part of the game design. it's a long 45 minute round, a huge 1 km/sq map, and only 12 players. as a solo player, you will mostly play handicap matches against duos. you cant just brawl everything like its an arena shooter. with that in mind, below is the sequence of events shown in the video:

1. i spawned on the small quadrant of a lopsided 2 boss map. my quadrant is north east, 1/4th of the map. the other boss is represented by the remaining 3/4ths of the map. this is RNG and advantageous.

2. get clue at stillwater.

3. clue removes port reeker and scupper lake (top part of my quadrant) as viable boss locations.

4. keeps stillwater as viable location, but i am in stillwater, and boss isnt there.

5. boss must be in alice farm or chapel.

6. my general strategy is usually to go for the interior town and get there before others, so i head north west to alice farm.

7. in the woods before crossing the rushing river to alice farm, i hear a horse back at stillwater, then birds. the horse is on the north side of the base, as far as i can tell. it's almost certainly a team that spawned at chapel, got the chapel clue, and came south. sometimes, teams that spawn on a lopsided large quadrant in a 2 boss map will switch to the small quadrant, but based on this map, stillwater bayou, it is unlikely a team could quickly traverse the long span between catfish (south east corner) and stillwater. and even if they did, they wouldnt startle noisemakers on the north side of stillwater, it would be from the south side.

8. startling noise makers almost always indicates a team, not a solo. one player is running, and the other player is trying to keep up, and startles something. solo players are much less likely to startle noise makers.

9. since the chapel team went south to stillwater, it means the boss isnt at chapel, otherwise they would have stayed. this means the boss is guaranteed to be at alice farm, by process of elimination. i went the right way.

10. more importantly, it means when the chapel team gets the stillwater clue, they too will realize the boss is at alice farm and they will take roughly the same path i did, from stillwater to alice through the field, into the woods, and across the river.

11. i look for a place to ambush. there is more physical cover closer to the river, but it is also noisier due to the rushing water and will be more difficult for me to echo locate approaching footsteps. i set up farther inland, using no physical cover, only visual cover.

12. stray zombie worked in my favor, as it served as a distraction for the first player, who had melee out. i didnt actually plan or intend that, as i prefer to clear out trash mobs to set up an ambush, but i didnt have time.

13. as the first enemy approaches, i realize i am well positioned to attempt a one-hit kill and decide to switch to a shotgun. when playing a handicap match against a duo, opening with a one-hit kill is ideal i get the one-tap with romero shorty on the first enemy and the bug out, moving back into the brush to break line of sight, completing a reload, and gaining physical cover behind a tree.

14. second hunter is interested in me, which suggests he believes his best chance is to push, either because he thinks i am caught between reloads, or he believes his gun performs best in close, and because he realizes that has has nowhere to fall back to, as the field is behind him. he also doesnt know what i have, as i didnt use my "primary" weapon yet. he also makes no attempt to revive his teammate or throw anything.

15. the second enemy is close but isnt going to just run right into shotgun range like the first enemy. i defensively strafe and make a shot with the springfield shorty with bleed. second enemy thinks about it and decides to fire a shotgun somewhat blindly into the brush, probably hoping to wing me so that i will back off and spend some time healing to help offset the time he knows he will need. but even if he damages me, the time tax is already in my favor, as he needs to first stanch the bleed and then heal.

16. i can hear him stanching the bleed in the bush, but am unsure of his exact location. maybe i could have charged with melee, but there isnt really an advantage to doing that, and i already know he can one-shot me since he has some kind of shotgun. i take a shot and miss, then circle 90 degrees to better triangulate his location. second shot kills him, even though i havent seen him since he disappeared into the bush.

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