The developers of the popular shooter Hunt: Showdown are fed up for good with people who just don’t play their game properly. As nerfs and so on did nothing, the entire leaderboard is now being removed from the game. We at MeinMMO summarize.
What has been removed? With the major update 1.9, Hunt: Showdown has made many changes, improvements, and alterations. However, alongside the usual changes, one aspect stands out in particular. Observant players should have noticed that a complete tab in the main menu of the game is missing, namely the leaderboard.
You can no longer check your friends’ KD, how many kills, or bosses they have. But globally, there is currently no way for you to compare yourself with other players anymore. However, the system has not been entirely abolished.
Everything that the leaderboard recorded is still tracked by your profile. You can still keep an eye on your own stats and improve yourself. Only now, no one else sees them but you. And according to developer Crytek, that’s the crux of the matter.
Why was the leaderboard removed? According to a developer’s note in the patch notes of the update, it is because players no longer play Hunt as it was originally intended due to the leaderboard. The leaderboard was meant to serve as a means to find and crown the best hunter, but it measures according to false metrics, as Crytek states.
Since the leaderboard was automatically sorted by KD (Kill/Death Ratio – how many kills per death), players began to ignore the actual game principle more and more frequently. The values of teamwork, strategy, caution, and the hunt for loot, which the whole game actually revolves around, were often disregarded.
Competitive players just wanted to have the highest KD and be at the top of the leaderboard. This led to “the best hunters” spending their rounds well camouflaged with a sniper rifle in the same spot, ignoring the events around them.
However, both the developer and many in the community see this playstyle as fundamentally wrong and not intended. A good KD does not make a good hunter, and the leaderboards should no longer pretend that it does. So say the voices of the fans.
Here you can see the trailer for the game:
Community breathes a sigh of relief – “The leaderboards were a joke”
How are players reacting? Primarily relieved. Fans have been calling for changes to the leaderboards for quite some time. The argument is that people who only play for KD spoil the fun for others. However, many can imagine a new leaderboard sorted by successful extractions or killed bosses.
Crytek itself does not want to permanently remove the leaderboard from the game. They are currently working on an adjusted version but did not want to wait for it to be finished to tackle the problem.
Moreover, there is currently much schadenfreude in the community on reddit. The KD campers, often referred to by the community as “Bush Ewoks”, should now have less fun in Hunt. This pleases many players.
Some also emphasize that it simultaneously addresses the problem of smurf accounts. That is, experienced players creating new accounts to face newcomers. In the leaderboards, such fresh hunters were often seen at the very top. Values such as a KD of 35 with 70 kills and 2 deaths could regularly be found in the leaderboard. Here it quickly becomes clear that it is a smurf, say the fans.
This is what the fans say: We would like to share some voices from the community so you can form your own opinion:
- Kom_ writes (via reddit): “What a fantastic update. I am so proud to be part of this community. I can’t wait to see the game continue to grow.”
- Titan228 writes on Discord: “As soon as you enter the leaderboard lobbies, the game just becomes dumb. The people can hit well, I’ll give them that, but then it somehow becomes CSGO, just with cowboys. That took the fun out of the game for me.”
- totally not a spy complains about the update: “Great, now that the leaderboard is gone, we can’t even see the hackers anymore.”
- fnetma writes (via reddit): “I’m completely satisfied with their removal. People play more naturally when they are not just focused on their stats.”
What do you personally think about the update? Do you think it’s sensible to completely remove the leaderboards right away? Or did you enjoy fighting for the top spots? What do you think about Crytek telling you how you should play the game correctly? Feel free to let us know in the comments here at MeinMMO.
By the way, our author Mark Sellner loves another change that came with 1.9: In my favorite shooter on Steam, enemies won’t kill me anymore after I’ve already won
