Predator: Hunting Grounds, IllFonics’ latest multiplayer title following 2017’s Friday the 13th: The Game, is out now and has already established a core player base eager to test their wits against the human-hunting Yautja. As an asymmetrical affair, teamwork is the key ingredient to ensuring success; a strategy well worth adopting, considering the enemy you’re up against.
Make no mistake: you’ll find yourself on the receiving end of a Plasma Caster barrage several times while learning the ropes, but perseverance is necessary if you’re going to learn how best to serve your squadmates in not only exercising awareness of your surroundings but escaping from each and every Predator encounter with a head still firmly attached to your shoulders.
At the beginning of any given match, your first port of call is to carry out a coordinated sweep of the map for supplies. Resources ranging from powerful weapon pickups to consumables can be found by journeying to orange-coloured dots on the mini-map, and the Predator – assuming it’s being controlled by a competent player – will do everything in its power to destroy every last supply cache before you’re able to secure the loot it offers.
It’s important to note that during this time, you and your comrades are at your most vulnerable, so you’ll want to assign one member to be a dedicated ‘spotter’ – one with the primary objective of watching the jungle canopy above for any movement. Audio cues – clicking, disturbed foliage, far-off footsteps – can all signal the Predator’s presence too, so should you hear anything out of the ordinary, cast an eye upward for a quick scan. If anyone spots the alien, its current location can be pinged for the entire team to see for several seconds, causing any smart Predator players to retreat from view in order to lose the trail, giving you some much-needed breathing room.
Follow the tips above and your odds of survival should increase drastically. Do note, however, that your mileage will vary wildly in instances where you’re matched with random players. Good luck!
Predator: Hunting Grounds is available for PlayStation 4 and PC.