The Huntsman in R.E.P.O. has one defining characteristic you can take advantage of to best deal with him, and with that comes many different strategies that can bag you more coin during rounds with the Huntsman in.
Here’s how to tackle and maximize the Huntsman’s worth in R.E.P.O.
What does the Huntsman do in R.E.P.O.?
The Huntsman can appear on any map, but is most commonly found on Swiftbroom Academy.
He’s blind and prone to falling down, but his hearing and accuracy are excellent. Be mindful of his shotgun he uses as a walking stick. If you’re too close to him, he can take you out immediately, killing anyone who hasn’t upgraded their health stat. Pay attention to how much noise you, your teammates, and other monsters are making. Any noise near his position will alert him to your presence.
The most important detail you need to know about the Huntsman is that his blindness makes him reactive to sound only. Avoid using your mic when he’s in the same room as you. You can walk around in the room even if he’s present (so long as he’s far away), but never run. You can get within a two-meter radius to him and he shouldn’t notice you. Switch to crouch walk (Ctrl) if you want to get closer.
With that said, you must avoid wandering into his shotgun that he uses as a walking stick. It’s best not to stand in his path in case you bump into it by mistake. Once he becomes aggressive, he’s quick to draw his weapon and he hardly ever misses. If you’re oblivious, make too much noise, or don’t notice him within the same room as you, then he’ll take you out. This can be a one-shot if caught out in close proximity to him.
How to evade Huntsman in R.E.P.O.
It’s important to keep an eye on your stamina when facing off against the Hunstman to maintain enough of it. Your safest exit strategy is to make a mad dash away from him if he’s ever alerted of your presence since distance always lowers his accuracy. You might sustain some injuries, but he won’t be able to one-shot you from afar.
The Huntsman is simple to counter and avoid compared to other entities (e.g., Headman, Animal, and Upscream). This lower difficulty in handling him opens up strategies in tackling other entities that appear alongside him. For example, you can use yourself as bait to have him kill another monster. This is helpful early on, as buying the best weapons in R.E.P.O. (like spending 92K for the Shotgun) won’t be happening any time soon. So, your best tactic is to take advantage of the Huntsman’s own weapon.
As long as you have cover, you can make the Huntsman shoot another enemy. No monster gets alerted or aggressive to the Huntman, so use that to your advantage. The Animal, Rugrat, and Apex Predator are very loud enemies; use these as bait for the Huntsman to take out. If these monsters happen to be in the same round as each other, you should take them out as quickly as you can, otherwise the Huntsman will get alerted of your position.
Can you kill the Huntsman?
Yes, the Huntsman is killable. You can kill him with a Spewer as it latches to your face, having it spit acid which you can aim on the Huntsman. The Gun can also quickly kill the Huntsman with a mere two bullets. Slowly approach him while crouched and shoot into his back. He’ll fall over from the first shot; wait until he stands back up to shoot him again, delivering the killing blow.
Use weapons that stagger, like the Baseball Bat and Sledge Hammer, whenever the Huntsman falls over. If you haven’t got the funds to afford the Gun, stun him with the Traq Gun or Stun Grenade and swap to either the Frying Pan or Baseball Bat to kill him while he’s down.
