Firearms, levels, accuracy and more

There is little to think about when using weapons in most modern video games. Many fantasy firearms are simply a point-and-shoot mechanism, which streamlines firearm maintenance to make it as easy as possible for the user to hit their target. hunter’s path, however, focuses a bit more on realism to immerse you in its world and firing your weapons is no exception. Here you will find everything you need to know about shooting in Way of the Hunter.

Types of firearms and hunting levels

hunter's path
hunter’s path

Hunting is an activity that focuses on precision and planning, and that means you’ll always want the right tool for the job. Way of the Hunter simplifies this idea by separating the animals into levels.

Small game such as birds and badgers will be on a lower tier, which is more suitable for close-range weapons such as a pistol or shotgun. These smaller animals are not worth a lot of money and are usually the hardest category to make a profit on.

Larger game, such as deer or sheep, complete the higher levels of the scale. This is because hunting these animals requires precision shots from larger-caliber rifles with telescopic sights.

Even if you hit and kill the animal, the quality of the kill is everything and your focus in this wilderness is conveyed on the ethical side of things. If you need more than one chance, that animal suffered too much and won’t be worth as much as one that didn’t, meaning roadkill is almost worthless.

You’ll also want to be a worthwhile hunting game or focus on the animals you need to hunt for quests. While trophy hunting for awesome animal trophies to decorate your hut is fun and engaging, there are very few in-game tasks that reward you beyond cosmetic appeal.

How to hit your shots

Before you shoot, there are a few things to consider when using a rifle.

Unlike most other games, you’ll need to aim your rifle before you shoot to make sure the bullet travels the distance. While you can focus on the rifle for 200m shots, these are some of the riskiest you can take, so it’s best to prepare for shots out to 150m max. Since you always want to aim for the kill with every shot, it’s important that all of these factors are taken into account before you go for it. Aiming isn’t simply a point-and-click affair either.

When you look down things wobble a bit and you will have to hold your breath to steady your aim. Before you commit, though, you’ll want to hover over your target and wait until they stop moving before lining up your shot. You’ll also want to take wind resistance into account.

know your anatomy

Hunter's Path Stag Shot
Hunter’s Path Stag Shot

While it may not steal a killshot from you, not taking note of the details can be the difference between piercing a heart for instant death or just the lungs, meaning you’ll need to follow a trail of blood to claim the kill. Not being accurately focused on your rifle will also cause this. Zeroing at a greater distance than your target’s range will make the bullet fly higher, while zeroing it at a lower calibration will make it fly lower. You will need to keep this in mind just when you need to make small adjustments before taking the photo.

Directly hitting an animal in the head, heart, or spinal cord will cause it to die where it is. While the head and spinal cord are the best shots, the heart is the most practical and is almost always worth shooting over all other options. The main reason is because even if the direct hit to the heart misses, it will almost always puncture the lungs which will kill the animal. While it can still run, the animal will be much easier to track and claim something like a random shot to the stomach, causing you to chase that animal around.

Way of the Hunter is an incredibly immersive hunting simulation experience. The game does a good job of telling you where to find most of the information you’ll need to excel in your hunt, but it does a pretty poor job of showing you how it all works. With this guide, you’ll be able to take your first steps in the wild with confidence and take a shot worth claiming.

Way of the Hunter is available for PC, PS5 and Xbox Series X and S.

READ NEXT: Top 10 open world FPS games of all time

Some of the coverage you find on Cultured Vultures contains affiliate links, which provide us with small commissions based on purchases made while visiting our site. We cover gaming news, movie reviews, wrestling, and much more.