Tips and tricks for beginners in Star Wars Hunters

After much waiting and even more anticipation Zynga’s third-person shooter is here. A game with this much hype can often fall flat on its face, but so far Hunter’s has faired pretty well. A big part of this is thanks to its high skill ceiling. It’s a game which rewards tactics, communication and precise movement, and goes a good way to eliminating ridiculously overpowered characters or abilities.

The downside of all this is that it can make it intimidating for beginners to get going, and those who do can find themselves getting continually overpowered. We’ve compiled a list of tips and tricks, aimed at beginners, to help with this.

✓ At a Glance

Our top tips are

• Use a controller.
• Tweak your game settings.
• Collect pick ups.
• Learn the maps.
• Use your ultimates.
• Play a supporting character.

Our top 6 tips and tricks

If you want to excel in the game, the most important tip we can give you is to simply just play it as much as possible. With increasing game time you’ll figure out a lot of these tricks for yourself, as well as gain a better understanding and overview of how the game works, developing your own unique style of play along the way. That said, these tips still offer you a useful leg-up, and help you avoid falling into common beginner traps or mistakes.

1. Play with a controller

This is the first tip on our list as it can actually be taken into account before you even download the game. For some, what format they play on will be decided for them, and for most that will be touch-screen mobile. There is no denying the advantage here in terms of playability – nobody wants to be getting their gaming controller out on the daily commute. When you can though, keep in mind that playing with a controller offers you a significant competitive advantage, not to mention being, quite simply, much more fun. What’s more, it’s pretty simple to pair your controller up to your mobile, and the switching between touch and button inputs is pretty seamless. We’re counting the Switch as a controller here too, in fact, the Switch is arguably the best device to play Star Wars Hunters on, both in terms of fun and the competitive edge it offers.

2. Get your settings right

Once you’ve got the game downloaded and your controller is set up, the next move is to tweak the game’s settings. Start by removing the 30fps lock and see if it has an impact on performance. If it doesn’t, it is definitely a good idea to keep it off, as it can offer you a great competitive advantage. By default the graphics settings are pretty low too, so it’s worth whacking them up and seeing if your device can handle it. However, if you do see speeds drop, return the settings to low, as, if you want to win matches, smooth gameplay is more important than visual fidelity.

3. Don’t underestimate pickups

There are two kinds of pickup sprinkled around each map. Green ones to boost health, and purple ones to recharge your character’s ultimate ability. It is these latter ones that are especially useful and which are often overlooked by new players. It can even be advisable to focus your early game tactics on maximising how many of these you can collect. They increase your ultimate percentage by between 10% and 15%, depending on your character and can often prove to be match winners thanks to just how powerful ultimates are in this game, as we’ll be discussing more later on.

4. Get familiar with each arena

Knowing the maps inside out will have a huge impact on your overall gameplay. You’ll be aware of where the cover is, where the enemies might be, and which areas are best to contest or retreat from. A lot of this will come naturally from just playing the game but there are some things you can make a conscious effort to do early on.

This tip actually follows on nicely from our last one, as a big part of knowing each map is memorising exactly where each kind of pick-up is. In maps such as Mos Espa Podrace, you can get 4 Ultimate pickups right off the bat, getting you halfway to using your character’s most powerful ability almost straight away.

5. Use your ultimate wisely

Once you’ve got your ultimate charged up, you want to pick the right moment to deploy it. Something which actually sets Star Wars Hunters apart from other close combat 3rd-person shooters is just how powerful each character’s ultimate ability is. Often, the team which deploys their ultimates better will end up being the team that wins. You want your ultimate to be used against two enemy plays at an absolute minimum and, ideally against all four. There is no feeling better than getting a complete squad wipe, and each and every character’s ability gives you a fighting chance to do so.

6. Don’t underestimate support characters

One of the main advantages of playing supporting characters is just how underused they are. Naturally, a lot of players will avoid this character type as they want to feel like they are having the maximal impact, and a supporting character is always going to get less attention with this mindset. However, ironically, it is often the support character that ends up having this desired impact, especially if you are able to communicate with teammates. For example, a skilled Sprocket player can win a 3 vs 2 if paired up with a sentinal and using the right tactics. In fact, Skora tops our Star Wars Hunters tier list, with her ultimate being one of the best in the game. While they might not seem as flashy or impressive as the tanks or sentinels there is a tonne of fun to be had, and every successful team will inevitably involve someone playing the support character well.