Regardless of which side of the fence you happen to fall on regarding the perceived quality of the game, Predator: Hunting Grounds can be tons of fun with the right mix of friends. The asymmetrical multiplayer shooter finds four people playing as members of an elite team of human soldiers tasked with completing a variety of objectives, all the while being hunted by a fifth person playing as a predator.
The setup should be familiar to anyone that has played other 4-v-1 multiplayer games like Evolve or Dead by Daylight, wherein four weaker players have to contend with a fifth, more powerful one. But for anyone jumping in for the first time, its flow and style of gameplay can take some getting used to. That doesn't have to be the case though — not if you keep the following things in mind while playing.
5 The Predator Can Be Spotted In Trees
A game like Predator: Hunting Grounds almost seems skewed to favor the predator at first glance. Not only are they more powerful in a one-on-one encounter, but they also have a number of tools, like thermal vision, that make it easy for them to spot and track their prey from the safety of a nearby vantage point.
But as a member of the fireteam, it's possible to tell if a predator is nearby, even when they're currently cloaked. You do this by listening and looking for a number of telltale signs they make while moving around. For example, the predator causes branches to shake and leaves to fall while jumping through the trees, so use this to your advantage to pinpoint their exact location as you go about your objectives.
4 Stealth Is Key
In Predator: Hunting Grounds, the quickest way to inadvertently give up your position to the enemy is by engaging them in a firefight. To avoid this, you'll want to take a primarily stealthy approach while tackling your objectives. This goes for both the Predator and the fireteam members alike.
As a predator, the last thing you want to do is charge headfirst into a skirmish and get gunned down in a matter of seconds. A far better tactic would be to remain hidden by using your active camo, and by sticking to the trees and bushes, only coming out to pick off members of the fireteam when the opportunity to do so arises. As a fireteam member, you'll want to avoid alerting the enemy soldiers to your presence for as long as possible, taking as many of them as you can out before they even know what hit them. You'll also want to use some mud from time to time to counteract the predator's thermal vision.
3 The Minimap Is Super Helpful
It might seem obvious to some, but the minimap in Predator: Hunting Grounds can prove really helpful while trying to navigate through the jungle toward your objectives. It is available to players on the fireteam, where it appears on the left-hand side of their HUD.
The minimap not only shows you and your teammates' current position, but it's also helpful for tracking nearby points of interest like health pickups and in-game objectives. Best of all, it even shows the position of the predator momentarily after it has been spotted by any member of the fireteam using the spotting feature, giving all the remaining team members better spatial awareness as they try to complete their objectives or survive an encounter.
2 The Energy Bar Runs Out Fairly Quickly
As a predator in Predator: Hunting Grounds, most of your actions and abilities are tied to an energy meter. This includes using your active camo and thermal vision, two iconic abilities that you'll indeed find yourself using a lot in the game.
But it can be tempting to always use and constantly switch between both abilities during a round. This would eventually lead to your energy bar getting fully depleted, which could happen at a point when you need one of your abilities the most. To avoid this, you'll want to keep a close eye on the energy bar at all times, and use abilities that drain it sparingly.
1 Sticking Together Is Very Important
A classic mistake characters make in horror movies is suggesting that a group in imminent danger split up to cover greater ground. This almost never ends well, and the same is certainly true in Predators: Hunting Ground.
The members of the fireteam are substantially weaker than the predator, making it hard or near-impossible to down one in a one-on-one encounter. But as a group, the concentrated fire from their guns can tear through a predator's health and defenses in a matter of seconds. This is why it is always a good idea to move together as a unit while tackling objectives as the fireteam — or, at the very least, ensure you have one other team member with you to watch your back if you need to split up. Even then, you'd want to get back to the rest of your team members as quickly as possible.