Deathgarden Guide: The Right Way to Play as the Hunter

For those who have been enjoying Deathgarden over the free weekend, you may have likely spent more time as a runner than as the hunter. Those who do assume the hunter role can likely be categorized as strong-willed and stubborn because this role is not for the faint of heart.

Not only do you have to keep track of the objectives the runners are after, you have to carefully eye the supplies scattered throughout the map and ensure that the runners who go down, stay down. There are so many things to keep track of you’ll easily get lost during your first match. Here are some great things to keep in mind while you play the hunter to ensure you achieve victory.

Always Trust The Shotgun

The hunter can choose from between six different weapons to take with them into the garden. Of the six weapons, two of them are shotguns, and you need to make sure you take at least one of them in with you.

The shotgun can reliably land several more hits on a runner than the other choices, leading to them getting downed more frequently in a match. What are your other choices? There’s a standard assault rifle, an LMG, a sniper rifle, and a bolt-action rifle. If you’re looking to make the runner’s time truly difficult, avoid any one of the sniper rifles. While they do massive amounts of damage, it’s too easy for you to miss and waste time reloading. The runners have probably already dashed away into the foliage while you’re busy reloading your next round. 

It’s important to keep in mind that you’re only going to have seconds to react to take down a runner. Using one of the shotguns changes the variables of the chase, thereby forcing a runner to duck and dive far more than they would otherwise. The runners have a limited amount of rolls they can use at one time and a shotgun would demand they use those rolls earlier than later. Always trust your shotgun to get the job done.

Gravitate Towards The Center

Regardless of what game mode you’re playing, your eyes are going to dash all over the place as you attempt to keep track of your precious objectives scattered throughout the map. Because of the way they’re spread out, the objectives can feel miles away from each other. The best way to keep them all in reach is to center yourself as close to the center of the map as you feel comfortable being.

Those runners are going to be all over, trying to avoid you and seeing if they can’t steal an objective while one of their teammates distract you (trust me, I told them to.) The most optimal strategy to chase down a runner while they’re handling an objective is to never be too far from any of your objectives. Staying close to the center means you react to any of the objectives at a moment’s notice.

Plus, if you’re close to the center and go after one runner, chances are their teammates are going to react to you having moved and try to steal one of the other objectives. Smart runners won’t rely on straight communication, and instead react to each other accordingly and remain distant from each other. One runner may be acting as a distraction while the others go for another objective — being at the center gives you a higher chance of eliminating the decoy runner and still protecting your other two objectives located on the other side of the map.

Do Not Lure Runners 

One strategy some hunters have chosen to lean on is using downed runners as bait. They pull away from the downed runner, wait a little bit for a teammate to revive them and then down the would-be rescuer. The thought is to remove as many runners as possible from acquiring objectives and gain several bloodpost notches at the same time. Though this strategy may seem valuable, mostly it’s a waste of time.

Because you’re contending with five runners on your own you can’t solely focus on outright taking them out. You need to think about protecting your objectives and taking runners out as they go for them. The biggest downside to attempting to bait other runners is the fact you’ll lose objectives while you’re waiting. It takes time for a runner to bleed out and their teammates will use that time to go for objectives. 

Sure, having one less runner to deal with and being one step closer to victory is important, but you’re likely to lose far more with this strategy. There’s too much chance for error to rely on this. You’ll find it better to down a runner and then return to the center to see if any runners go for an objective.

Stamina Means Everything

The hunter’s stamina bar, the recharging meter with a lightning bolt, determines how long you can use your dash and disrupt abilities. While the disrupt ability only uses a chunk of your stamina bar at a time, the dash will go until there’s no more stamina left. It’s easy to activate your dash and then forget about it while you’re chasing down a runner. 

You need to keep your eye on this and not drain it in one go. Having access to this meter can mean the difference between killing a runner and losing an objective point. If you go for a runner on one side of the map, chances are their teammates are doing something fishy on the other side. When your dash is down you’ll never able to get to them.

Think of the stamina bar like your health, where running out means you’re moderately vulnerable to the agile runners who can already move significantly quicker than you. 

Don’t Always Jump Off The Cliffs

Runners are extraordinarily good at climbing the terrain in this game. This means they can hoist themselves up trees or rock faces like they’re nothing. Unfortunately, the hunter can’t do this and must rely on finding a lower ledge before getting to the highest point. A smart runner will remember this and use it to their advantage.

When a runner dashes off a ledge, take a second to lean over to the side and wait a second. Chances are the runner expected you to barrel down the ledge after them, and will already have started making their way back up the rock face. Because you didn’t follow them down, when they return to the top your gun will be ready to greet them.

The important thing to remember is you have two guns at your disposal, and you do not have a damaging melee attack. You don’t have to hit these runners at close range. You have distance and you need to use it to your advantage, despite how quick and agile your opponents are.

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Hunters may not have it easy in Deathgarden, but not all of the odds are stacked against them. Think before you dash off after a runner, and don’t expect to win every single round you play. Switch up your strategy to find what works for your playstyle!

For more on Deathgarden, keep it here at GameSkinny and check out our tips on how to play as the runners!