Hunter - Rainworld

Strong and quick, with a fierce metabolism requiring a steady diet of meat. But the stomach won't be your only concern, as the path of the hunter is one of extreme peril.

The Hunter serves as the base game's hard mode. Though they are faster and stronger than Survivor, their campaign features a multitude of changes to make the game much more challenging.

Hunter's campaign is only accessible after completing the game as either Survivor or Monk.

6 food pips are required to hibernate, while up to 3 may be stored for the next cycle.

Hunter does not have an intro cutscene, instead playing a short animation before handing control over to the player.

Unlike every other Slugcat, Hunter's cycles count down, meaning the player has a limited amount of time to do everything they wish. Cycles decrement upon Hibernation and are limited to 19 upon beginning the game. If Hunter visits Five Pebbles, he rewards them with 5 extra cycles and acts like an Echo in terms of karma, as opposed to raising it to Maximum Karma 10. This means that visiting Echoes is required; the player needs to raise their maximum karma 4 times before passing the Guardians.

At cycle 0 and below, Hunter becomes significantly weaker, suffers seizure-like spasms, and requires more food to survive. The cycle count descends into negative numbers, with each cycle below 0 making the effects of their affliction much worse. In this state, Hunter occasionally 'hallucinates', covering the screen in a shaking, dark red filter which partially obscures the player's vision. It is difficult, although not impossible, to survive for some time in negative cycles. At this point, dying, quitting after the first thirty seconds of a cycle, or during the starvation cycle causes the run to immediately end and the final score to be tallied. Quitting at the hibernation or Echo screens will not result in a game over.

In order to hibernate, Slugcat must find and eat enough food each cycle. This amount is represented by the food meter, which can be viewed alongside the current karma level by pressing and holding Map.

The food meter is made up of food pips: circles that fill up as Slugcat eats, and a vertical line that separates the food pips required to hibernate (all pips to its left) and the food pips that are saved for the next cycle (all pips to its right). The amount of food required to hibernate varies between Slugcats.

Slugcats are able to swallow and store certain objects in their stomach. Only 1 object can be stored at a time. An object can be swallowed by holding Pick up with no other inputs. If holding 2 objects, the object in Slugcat's right hand is prioritized. When there is already an object in Slugcat's stomach, holding Pick up with no other inputs regurgitates it. When Slugcat has a free hand and is upright, such as by standing or crawling upwards in a tunnel, then Slugcat grabs the object.

While both death and incapacitation disable the player's input and cause a game over, Slugcat is still alive when incapacitated and may be able to come back. This potentially allows the player to continue without restarting the cycle. The 2 states can be differentiated by looking at Slugcat's eyes; they are shut when incapacitated but crossed out when dead. Additionally, death plays 2 bass notes, while incapacitation only plays 1.

Lizards, Dropwigs, and Big Spiders, among other creatures, have an RNG-based kill system, which means that when bitten or grabbed there is a percentage chance that Slugcat dies. If this check fails, the player is incapacitated, then killed if brought into a den.

There are a few ways to get out of incapacitation. A creature is likely to let go if already wounded or attacked by another creature. When bitten by most creatures, there is a short grace period where a Rock or a Spear can be thrown to stun them, allowing escape. Tamed Lizards or friendly Scavengers may also attempt to save Slugcat.