In Hunt: Showdown you can now control a flying combat drone – players complain: “Like Call of Duty 1895”
With the big update 1.10, a lot has changed in the horror shooter Hunt: Showdown. A completely new item causes a special stir. The Stalker Beetle is a flyable, fully controllable beetle that functions like a combat drone. This creates very mixed feelings among the fans.
What exactly is the Stalker Beetle? The biggest innovation in Update 1.10, which is currently running on the test servers, is probably the flying Stalker Beetle. This is a consumable item that you can take with you into the round for 45 Hunt Dollars.
Once equipped, you can then throw away the flying friend and control it completely freely with the E key. You can move up to 150 meters away from your hunter and move freely in height and depth. There is no time limit.
If you leave the beetle view, the little animal just stays on the ground. You can then pick it up and use it again. But any other hunter can also pick up your beetle.
Why the comparison to the drone? Similar to a combat drone from modern shooters, the Stalker Beetle can also stand in place in the air. You can even detonate it to deal damage on the spot and even blow open doors.
This can often even happen unnoticed, because according to developer Crytek, the beetle is designed so that you can hear it clearly when it’s quiet. In the firefight, however, the sound of the flying monster should be lost.
This makes it the perfect combat drone in the mutant style of the shooter set at the end of the 19th century.
You can see the trailer for the Stalker Beetle here:
Announcement causes bad air in the community
What bothers the fans? Since the announcement of the flying aids, Hunt’s player base has been at odds. Many don’t like that a new method of reconnaissance is coming into play. Knowing where your opponent is is absolutely crucial in Hunt, as in many shooters.
This happens in the game mostly through the extremely good sound design. The only way to avoid it was to simply not move at all. If you were well hidden, this often led to surviving a round (via Facebook).
With the Stalker Beetle you can now look for such players without putting yourself in danger. This bothers some fans enormously, and they say it would destroy the natural flow of Hunt’s gameplay and make the unique shooter a “Call of Duty 1895” of sorts (via reddit).
There are also dissenting voices: Others, on the other hand, consider the Beetle to be a useful addition and are happy to finally be able to put an end to the campers. They are happy to have to rethink and to be offered new tactical options.
Just the fact that, at least for now on the test servers, it’s still possible to prevent other players from extracting from the game by directing the bug into the zone seems to really bother everyone right now (via reddit).
Players aim to do as much nonsense as possible with the beetle
What else happened to the beetle? Aside from the usual discussions, a completely different trend is taking place on reddit. There, some fans are trying to misappropriate the beetle. New videos appear regularly showing what is possible with the Beetle.
Among other things, fans have found out that you can attach a sticky bomb to the flying buddy. To do this, a player launches the beetle and a teammate throws a targeted sticky bomb at it. The pilot then has a few seconds to steer the bomb, which is otherwise very sluggish and rarely hits, to the target.
It takes a bit of practice, but it looks like this:
The mixture of the powerful Sparks Sniper together with the Beetle also creates funny situations. What is used in the following clip is a Sparks, i.e. a sniper rifle, which causes 149 out of 150 life damage. Also played with poison ammo and a perk called “Poision Sense”.
The beetle, which actually only does 5 damage, becomes a deathtrap in this combination. We see in the clip how the shot hits and leaves his opponent with only one life point. He can no longer shoot because Sparks only has one shot. He throws the beetle, allowing him to instantly see his opponent, which sets the Poison Sense trait that marks poisoned opponents. He steers the Beetle towards the enemy, killing them in a targeted manner with the Beetle’s shallow 5 damage.
These clips also get both positive and negative comments. So you can’t really agree on whether you like the Beetle or not in the community. When Update 1.10 and thus the beetle come to the live server, the reactions may also change again.
What do you think of the beetle? Do you think he’s a useful addition to Hunt: Showdown? Or would you rather not have him in the game? Write it to us in the comments here on MeinMMO.
In my favorite shooter on Steam, enemies stop killing me soon after I win
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