The SCARIEST Melee Weapon?! Katana Mastery | Hunt: Showdown 1896

Intro

Hi guys, Rex here! The katana is one of the most popular melee weapons in Hunt: Showdown – and for good reason! This one slot melee weapon offers extreme value in both PVP and PVE, as it tears through enemy hunters, most AI and bosses alike. The katana will one-shot hunters with a single slash or stab and even has the ability to kill multiple enemies with a single swing. Speaking of, the Martialist trait enables a special attack for the katana where you can sheathe your weapon, then release a powerful and rapid swing that has increased range and deals more damage than usual. This trait can be assigned for 2 trait points, and by default the sheathe animation is bound to X on PC – or whatever your switch weapon mode hotkey is set to in your keybinds. On the topic of traits, the katana also benefits from the silent killer trait, which reduces the noise you make with your melee attacks and thus reduces the chance the enemy will discover you before it is too late, and this trait can be assigned for 3 trait points in the menus. The katana causes intense bleeding on impact, but in most cases, you will end up killing the enemy before this actually matters due to the very high one-shot potential.            

Because the katana is a 1-slot weapon, it can be paired with any weapon in the game – but generally works best with a weapon that can hold its own and cover at least the short to medium range encounters without the need for a sidearm – for example the ranger 73, the drilling or the lemat, all of which I have covered recently in my mastery series. The katana also works well alongside the hunting bow if you want a more close-range focused loadout, at the cost of little to no long-range potential.

The katana is extremely powerful in capable hands, but relies on good positioning, movement and map knowledge. A skilled katana player can take out entire teams in a matter of seconds under the right circumstances, but at the same time – this can easily be avoided if the enemy knows how to counter a melee rush. If you are caught out of position you will usually die, which means this weapon is perfect for improving your movement and positioning in close quarters, which translates well to other close range combat scenarios – such as shotgun gameplay, bow gameplay, and many of the rifles in the game.

This video features some great rounds where I played the Katana both solo and in trios. At the end of the video, I’ll share my thoughts and recommendations for this weapon, but without further ado – let’s dive into it!

Thoughts & Recommendations

After having played the katana for a couple of days, here are my thoughts! As expected, this mastery was a ton of fun. I am by no means new to the katana, as I’ve done multiple videos on it in the past, but given its popularity I thought it would be fun to do a rerun for this series. The katana performs extremely well under the right circumstances, and I always have a blast playing it. I find that this weapon really puts my abilities to the test, and allows me to make fast and effective rotations, outmaneuver opponents and catch them off guard. In some cases, you can even drop on them from a rooftop for extra cinematic and crazy kills, which is extremely rewarding and fun!

While the katana works really well as it is, I highly recommend taking the martialist trait when possible. Without it, you might as well play the saber instead – and for me personally the martialist trait is what makes this weapon so unique and fun to play. As for other traits, I generally don’t take the silent killer trait that often – but in hindsight I probably should. In addition to the two traits I’ve covered so far in this guide, I highly recommend taking the kiteskin trait for 1 point as well, especially if you plan on aggressively jumping off buildings like I often end up doing. It could also be smart to take the vigilant trait for 1 point so you can scan for traps before pushing into a compound to ensure you can move freely without running into any traps, and the dauntless trait to disarm any explosives in your path.

What do YOU think about the Katana? Is it too strong for a 1-slot weapon, or is it fine as it is? Let me know in the comments, and until next time I’ll see you in the bayou!