Steel Hunters Beginner Guide Tips & Tricks
Steel Hunters Wiki
Here is a quick guide to help folks get started with Steel Hunters, a new Mech game. This is aimed at beginners jumping into early access, especially if you’re feeling a little lost in your first few matches. Things will change over time as the game updates, but this should give you a solid foundation.
🔥 Match Overview & Pacing in Steel Hunters
Steel Hunters is an extraction shooter, and matches are short and punchy—about 10–15 minutes total. Each match can be broken down into three main phases:
- Opening Phase – Fight nearby drones and loot early XP and repair kits.
- Mid Phase – Focus on rogue drones and leveling up.
- Endgame (Extraction) – Everyone converges on the extraction point. Fights get spicy here.
Watch the map marker under your minimap to know what phase is coming next. Be cautious around event areas—they're designed to attract players, which means lots of fighting and limited cover.
⚙️ Essential Tips to Survive & Thrive in Steel Hunters
🕹️ Loot Fast
- You spawn near 3 drones: 1 green Guard drone + 2 white drones.
- White drones die to one melee hit—quick and easy loot.
- Kill them ASAP to get Energy (XP) and Repair Kits before green pod drops.
🧨 Legendary Drones
- Orange markers on the map = Legendary Drones.
- Drop powerful consumables that can turn a fight—always worth going for if it's safe.
🔫 Ammo Management
- You only carry 3 spare magazines.
- Ammo recharges passively over time.
- Press T to instantly refill ammo (off cooldown).
🤖 Prophet’s Drone
- Prophet’s Sentinel Drone has a white health bar—don’t shoot it.
- Enemy drones always have red health bars.
🗣️ Communicate!
- Middle Mouse = Ping.
- Hold Middle Mouse = Chat wheel.
- Good comms = good fights. Let your duo know your plan.
🧭 Positioning & Tactics in Steel Hunters
🏞️ Pick Your Fights
- Always fight from strong locations (cover, high ground, flanks).
- Try to pincer enemies with your teammate—forces bad decisions.
🎯 Focus Fire
- Take 2v1s when possible.
- Focus one enemy at a time for faster kills.
🛡️ Be Prepared
- Repair Kits take time to use and can be interrupted.
- Heal behind cover and always top up before a fight.
⚡ Level Up Early
- Hit Level 3 (9600 Energy) for your 2nd ability—this is a huge power spike.
- Prioritize energy gain early to get the advantage.
🚀 Know When to Commit
- You don’t have to fight every time. Disengage if you're outmatched.
🗺️ Map Awareness
- M opens the full map.
- Use teleporters (A & B) to rotate fast.
- Mark key areas and loot with Middle Mouse.
- Each Hunter benefits from specific upgrades: Heartbreaker loves damage upgrades. Tanky Hunters benefit more from structure upgrades, etc.
- Heartbreaker loves damage upgrades.
- Tanky Hunters benefit more from structure upgrades, etc.
- Communicate with your duo to prioritize loot based on your builds.
🎨 Hunter Overview: Roles & Tips for Steel Hunters
You start with Razorside and unlock 2 more quickly. Here’s a quick breakdown of Hunters:
Razorside (DPS/Tank)
- Razorside Overview.
- Default Hunter, but super solid.
- Frag grenades + self-shield regen = great sustain.
- Versatile and rewards aggression.
Fenris (DPS/Area Denial)
- Fenris Overview.
- Uses blink to reposition.
- Plasma Arc forces enemies to move.
- Great for trapping or flushing enemies.
Heartbreaker (Sniper/Scout)
- Heartbreaker Overview.
- High skill ceiling.
- Invisibility + wall vision = nasty ambush potential.
- Needs map awareness and team synergy.
- Not recommended for beginners, but deadly in the right hands.
Prophet (Support/Area Control)
- Prophet Overview.
- Summons a Sentinel drone and uses airstrikes.
- Great at indirect damage and denying space.
- Not the best in straight fights, but very disruptive.
Trenchwalker (Support/DPS)
- Trenchwalker Overview.
- Closest thing to a medic.
- Heals and deals damage with hybrid grenades.
- Works great with aggressive teammates.
Ursus (Tank/DPS)
- Ursus Overview.
- Up-close shotgun brawler.
- Builds Rage with a giant ice shield.
- Unleashes missile barrages to finish fights.
- Requires smart positioning and close-range play.
Weaver (Support/Denial)
- Weaver Overview.
- Deploys barriers and uses a minigun.
- Needs setup time, but shreds once in position.
- Slower and less flexible, but huge area control potential.
🌱 Progression & Specialization for Steel Hunters
- Each Hunter has a skill tree that changes how they play.
- Focus on 1–2 Hunters to progress faster.
- Upgrades cost currency—don’t spread yourself too thin.
- Keep a 3rd Hunter lower level if you want to duo with a new friend.
🙌 Final Thoughts
Steel Hunters is fast, tactical, and all about positioning and teamwork. Hopefully, this guide helps you settle in faster and enjoy the chaos of the battlefield. Keep experimenting, pick a Hunter you vibe with, and most importantly—have fun!
See you in the field, Hunters. 🚀
About the Author: Alcast
