Way of the Hunter 2 Beginner Tips: 13 Things to Know First
These tips come from three places: lines the tutorial itself tells you, the official patch notes and FAQ, and what launch-week players on Reddit and Steam said tripped them up.
1. Choose a difficulty you can enjoy
There are three difficulty levels. The studio says difficulty is close to final and new presets are unlikely unless players ask. Launch-week players describe easy as more game-like, with animals less aware of you and easier tracking; hard means more walking and more careful planning. On higher difficulties animals also follow their daily cycles less reliably.
The difficulty screen describes easy as relaxed, beginner-friendly hunts: animals are less cautious, do not flee as readily and tracks are easier to spot. A levelling guide notes that difficulty does not change XP or money.
2. Leave Hunter Assist on while you learn
The tutorial line: “With Hunter Assist enabled, you can see where your bullet will end up. Always aim for the vitals.” Version 1.0 lets you customise what animal analysis shows (Settings > Game) and added a high-contrast tracks option for anyone who struggles to see signs.
3. Mark where you are going, and where you shot from
Another tutorial line: “Always mark the location you’re trying to reach. This will help you find the hit blood.” First blood is the start of every tracking job.
Reading tracks: when Mikael teaches you to find a herd, the game says to follow an animal path, and that you can tell the direction from split hoof prints because the wider split is at the front. If the animals are in a zone right now you will not find fresh paths, and the hunting map shows when each herd goes to drink and rest. The developers say a trail in the grass means animals are at the end of it.
4. Big game gives you room
The tutorial tells you that distances over 170 m are generally safe when it comes to big game. Closer than that, wind and noise matter. Placing gear (like a blind or decoy) makes noise animals react to since Update 0.3.0.
5. Read the wind on the compass
The compass strip at the top of the HUD shows the wind, with its speed in metres per second (an official screenshot shows 6.4 m/s next to the compass). Approach with the wind in your face; launch-week players on Reddit describe walking the map in grids “mindful of the wind direction” to pick up every need zone.
Gear swaps: you can only change the equipment you carry near your lodge, your vehicle or a tent, not anywhere in the field. Plan the loadout before you walk off.
6. Buy the shooting stick early
The monopod shooting stick reduces sway for longer shots; place it before you aim. Console players on Reddit called it one of the first things worth buying. One of them also warns that planting it makes a loud, dramatic animation, so set it up before you are very close.
7. Use tents as fast-travel points
Tents act as portable base camps: fast travel to them, skip time and wait out weather. The achievement Camper is literally “You can now travel here directly. And reload your ammo!” Don’t put a tent in water, and note that the WildHeart Wild Escort tent used to pack itself up when you held the sleep key (fixed in 0.4.1).
8. Stay out of deep water
Entering deep water, even in a vehicle, can make you lose consciousness and respawn at the lodge. This was listed at Early Access launch and launch-week reviewers still mention it.
9. Fix the free ammo before your first hunt
Every weapon has a free default ammo type; you only buy alternates. Use Auto-equip Ammunition in storage so you never walk out with an empty rifle. Full steps: ammo change.
10. Spend on habitat, not just guns
Removing pollution and invasive plants has a big effect on how fit a population can become; feeders have a small effect. Repairs also open bridges and roads. See herd management.
11. Controller drift on console or PC
Patch 1.1 raised the default inner look deadzone to 12 to deal with stick drift and says to raise it further if the camera still drifts. Xbox players on Reddit reported drift mostly while crouched and moving right; 10 to 15 fixed it for them. Patch 1.1 also added inverted horizontal and vertical look.
12. Played the demo? Delete the old config
Old demo config files cause wrong resolution options, UI scaling and number glitches. Close the game, press Windows + R, paste %LocalAppData%\WOTH2\Saved, delete only the Config folder, and relaunch. Your saves are in SaveGames next to it; leave those alone.
13. Displaying trophies costs money
Taking a trophy is free, but installing it in a lodge display costs cash. Plan your lodge before spending everything on mounts. More in trophies and the lodge.
Next: the animal list · missions · crashes and fixes.
Sources: tutorial lines heard in launch gameplay videos, Nine Rocks FAQ (difficulty, Hunter Assist, demo config), patch notes 0.0.1 to 1.1, r/WayOfTheHunter launch-week threads, checked October 4, 2026.
Noted. That helps decide which page gets updated first.