Dear Hunters!

We are delighted to let you know that Update 1.5 is now live on the Hunt: Showdown Test Server! The showstopper is our biggest new feature, Custom Ammo, which offers you a vast amount of flexibility, real depth, and allows you to customize your weapons to your playstyle. We've put a lot of work into this new feature, and we're excited to see how you use the 17 types of Custom Ammo on offer, based on real world ammunition. The selection includes explosive bullets, poison ammo, and flammable projectiles, offering you dramatic new ways to deal damage to your foes. We'll be monitoring your feedback closely, so please let us know your thoughts on the usual channels. All feedback is heard, and it really does make a massive difference to how we develop the game.

So, let's explain a bit about these new toys. First up, we consider Custom Ammo more of a 'side grade' rather than a direct 'upgrade.' Custom Ammo isn't designed to replace default ammunition, but it will instead give you a new way to tailor your loadouts.

Different Custom Ammo types provide different advantages, but, as you'd expect for balancing, disadvantages too. For instance, some ammo categories will have higher penetration values, but these come at the cost of reduced muzzle velocity and damage. Others will deal fire damage and instantly blow up explosive barrels but will have a visible tracer and no wall penetration. Some Custom Ammo types will be more suited to PvP play, while others are tailored towards PvE combat. And not all weapons can use every kind of Custom Ammo.

Custom Ammo is unlocked through the Book of Weapons. When equipped, Custom Ammo replaces the standard ammunition for the duration of the mission. Depending on what you choose, it may adjust the amount of ammo that you can carry. Custom Ammo is available for compact, medium, and long bullets. Carrying multiple weapons with the same Custom Ammo type will share the ammunition between them, and you cannot change your ammo type during the mission. Collecting a weapon from a downed Hunter will give you access to the ammo they were using, and looted Custom Ammo becomes contraband like other items. We've made some changes to weapons to allow for Custom Ammo, so let's check those adjustments out…

Single-Shot Weapons

All single-shot weapons have been upgraded to make them more versatile. They now can carry two types of ammunition. This allows these weapons to split their extra ammo capacity between two different ammo types for added flexibility, or you can double down on your preferred ammo. To compensate for this, individual ammo types provide roughly half as much ammo as before.

Crossbow Custom Ammo

Individual crossbow variants now no longer exist but are instead replaced with custom bolts! Similar to the single-shot weapons, crossbows can now be equipped with two different bolt types. This means you can now carry regular bolts, or mix things up with explosive bolts, for instance. And, of course, your favorite Legendary Skins can be applied to your crossbows. As part of the changes, Hand Crossbows will now move to a small weapon slot.

So.. now to the main event! Take a look at each of the new Custom Ammo categories and discover what they can do for you.

Custom Ammo Types

· Poison Ammo

o This bullet shatters on impact, releasing a toxic agent that is fatal in high doses. But the cost is reduced stopping power and penetration.

· Incendiary Ammo

o This bullet contains a small phosphorous charge that ignites when fired and sets flammable targets alight. A visible tracer can give the shooter's position away.

· Dumdum Ammo

o This modified bullet expands and shatters on impact, causing severe bleeding, but at the expense of penetration power and muzzle velocity. However, this additional stopping power has little effect on monsters and the infected, who often suffer from gruesome wounds already and are less concerned about blood loss.

· Full Metal Jacket (FMJ) Ammo

o A hardened casing increases this bullet's penetration power, though additional weight reduces muzzle speed.

· High-Velocity Ammo

o A hot-loaded bullet with a strong powder charge combined with a lighter projectile tip significantly boosts the muzzle velocity but increases recoil slightly. Great for ranged combat. When used on weapons with a silencer, the gunfire will be audible at slightly longer distances.

· Spitzer Ammo

o Spitzer rounds revolutionize rifle ballistics, improving both penetration and muzzle velocity but adding slightly stronger recoil. They are more stable in flight and can punch clean through multiple targets. However, they often cause less severe wounds.

· Explosive Ammo

o This bullet contains a small charge that bursts on impact, scattering shrapnel over an area. The larger the bullet size, the greater the area. It has reduced penetration, velocity, and damage, but a well-aimed shot can tear apart your enemies.

· Flechette Ammo

o This shell contains a number of smaller dart-like projectiles which fan out in a tight spread. It will rarely pierce surfaces but can saturate an area and cause bleeding damage.

· Dragonbreath Ammo

o This shell creates a several-meter-long jet of flame that ignites anything in its path. It has a reduced range over buckshot.

· Slug Ammo

o A single solid projectile that can be used in shotguns to provide an advantage in range and penetration over buckshot. Not effective at long distances.

· Starshell Ammo

o A shell that launches a flare that descends slowly, illuminating the area. It ignites everything it touches.

· Penny Shot

o Coins replace shot pellets in this shell for a more powerful, if erratic, barrage. It will shred skin and flesh but cannot penetrate harder obstacles. Unreliable at a distance.

· Explosive Bolt Ammo

o A highly volatile and explosive bolt.

· Shotbolt Ammo

o Modified, multi-purpose bolts tipped with shotgun shells that detonates on impact.

· Poison Bolt Ammo

o This compact bolt releases a highly toxic agent upon impact. In high doses, it can cause death in seconds.

· Chaos Bolt Ammo

o A compact bolt that emulates the sound of a gunfight just like a Chaos Bomb, but with a shorter effect.

· Choke Bolt Ammo

o A Choke Bomb in the form of a compact crossbow bolt. It has a shorter lifespan and a smaller range. Can be used offensively or defensively.

What's going to be your favorite? We're delighted that this feature is now live on the Test Server, and we are excited to hear your feedback, good and bad. It's a big rollout, and as with anything on Hunt: Showdown, your input is incredibly valuable and will shape the future of the feature. Head to the Test Server and get involved.

See you in the bayou,

Your Hunt: Showdown Community Team

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