The multiplayer experience in Hunt: Showdown is quite novel and dangerous. Other hunters are the biggest threat, but the NPC monsters, and especially the bounty target, pose a significant challenge as well. The stakes are high, with the permanent death of a hunter and the loss of all equipment on the line. Fighting a boss in Hunt: Showdown doesn't end the match - an extraction is still required - but knowing how to deal with the toughest mob in the game is crucial to success.

There are now four total bosses in Hunt: Showdown, and one or two will be in any given game. Each has unique attacks, movement, and weaknesses. Don't forget that bullets are loud, so fighting a boss will attract other hunters, and banishing the creature will alert the other players to the boss lair's location. Knowing the strengths and weaknesses of each of Hunt: Showdown's bosses will help players decide if their current equipment is suitable for the risk of engagement, or if they should try waiting for someone else to do the dirty work.

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Each boss in Hunt: Showdown will remain inside its lair and can't come out, so it's worth noting that a common strategy between all four is to leave the lair whenever healing or reloading is required. This also gives players an opportunity to check out their surroundings for enemy hunters looking to steal the bounty. Every boss is susceptible to more powerful explosives as well, such as big dynamite bundles and sticky bombs. A well-placed throw can make any of Hunt: Showdown's boss fights trivial.

Hunt: Showdown Boss - Assassin

The Assassin boss in Hunt: Showdown

The Assassin in Hunt: Showdown moves throughout its lair as a swarm of insects, materializing into a tall, humanoid figure to stab hunters, throw a spear, or produce clones of itself. The boss specializes in dealing bleed damage to its victims, and its clones will swarm hunters with insects to slow them down. Holding F on PC, or X/Square if playing Hunt: Showdown on consoles, will remove the bugs from the screen a bit faster. The Assassin is susceptible to poisoning, and dealing significant damage when it materializes can stagger the boss or even interrupt attacks.

Hunt: Showdown Boss - Butcher

The Butcher boss from Hunt: Showdown

The Butcher in Hunt: Showdown is large and lumbering, and can be easily outrun until it picks up the pace when its health is low. This boss specializes in fire damage; its glowing hook and a ranged fireball attack will set hunters alight. In a bit of an ironic twist, the Butcher itself is weak to rending items that cause bleeding. Bladed melee weapons, frag bombs, concertina bombs, or a crossbow will help defeat the Butcher quickly.

Hunt: Showdown Boss - Spider

The Spider boss from Hunt: Showdown

Possibly the creepiest boss to face in Hunt: Showdown's bayou, the Spider can also be the toughest to hit since it moves very fast and crawls along walls and ceilings. The Spider seeks to poison its prey, shooting toxic spit toward the player that leaves a cloud and pouncing on hunters to use its pincers. The pounce attack can be interrupted if enough damage is done while the Spider rears up. Setting the Spider on fire or squashing it like a bug with blunt melee weapons are the quickest ways to dispatch it.

Hunt: Showdown Boss - Scrapbeak

Hunt: Showdown's unique setting and high-risk gameplay loop make it a fascinating alternative to other battle royales.

The most recent boss added to Hunt: Showdown, Scrapbeak also offers the most varied fight in the game. It carries a large pile of tools on its back and can switch between a few melee weapons. This can make Scrapbeak a tough encounter, since there will be no tools inside the lair to pick up because the monster has been hording them. Scrapbeak's ranged attack is similar to a concertina bomb, leaving barbed wire where it lands and causing bleeding damage to anyone who comes into contact with it. Scrapbeak is especially weak to poison damage in Hunt: Showdown, and fire and explosives should be avoided, since both will damage the items the boss will drop throughout the fight.

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