Some Hunters are tactical and calculated. Some are precise. Taurus? He was made to charge headfirst into fights destroy anything in sight and either win the fight or die trying. "I am going to wreck stuff and I'm going to wreck YOU!" is how Emre Bugday a Technical Game Designer described Taurus.And that's exactly who he turned out to be. From the very beginning the team knew that the Hunter roster needed a true brawler—a Hunter who wants to fight and has a thirst for dominance.
Just a Cool Guy
That's what you might think when you see Taurus for the first time. And that's fair but the vision here was much deeper. The team wanted to build a Hunter with a strong emotional core—strong enough to resonate throughout the design abilities and voice lines. That's where the short-tempered bull with a character was born!
There was one thing the devs knew they wanted to do when brainstorming for the next Hunter. "We just wanted to make a cool guy!" said Anton Oparin Art Director. "We discussed other potential options that would fit his stocky build—a rhino ram even a minotaur. But in the end a bull was the best fit on all fronts." That's when Taurus started looking a little more like how we all know him now—with a septum piercing and big f****** horns.Maybe just a little more... scrappy. Like he was thrown together in a junkyard—which honestly wouldn't be that far from the truth. Taurus was originally meant to be a part of the Scrapper faction survivors making do with whatever they could salvage on an abandoned Earth. That rough patched-together look with many spikes worn metal and a punkish beaten-up vibe was a reflection of that. Another source of inspiration was his background. Nigel Davies as he was called when he was a human grew up and spent a lot of time in places where surviving meant being the toughest guy in the room. That also informed the way he looked.
Scrapper Taurus sketch versus current Taurus Things changed when Taurus moved to the Syndicate faction. While his design stayed true to its roots his model went through some polishing and refining—more befitting for his new faction. His armor plates became less chaotic and filled with various pieces of scrap—mainly on his legs shoulders and head. He did keep some remnants of spikes on some parts serving as a small callback to his original design. Taurus' expression became less feral but it still keeps true to all of his qualities.
Sketches of power gauntlet design for Taurus Taurus has always carried his sawed-off semi-automatic heavy shotgun. Nothing was ever changed about this gameplay-wise. But visually the team has explored many various design iterations including multiple versions of an axe mixed with a shotgun or a power gauntlet. Eventually everyone settled on a design that turned the shotgun into a fully integrated cannon-prosthetic attached to his right arm.
Shotgun design variations Making a Bull Out of a Mosquito
When a Taurus player does Taurus things (like running right up into enemies' faces) they put themselves in constant danger. And even though it would be on-brand for Taurus to run in with his bare robotic fists we're not sending him into battle unprepared. "Taurus has all the tools to survive. You just got to keep on using the abilities and you got to keep on using them at the right moment " explains Balance Designer Doruk Coskun.And there lies the mastery of Taurus—learning the right combinations at the right time to tap into the defensive and offensive capabilities of his kit. A good example of that is Taurus' main weapon—his shotgun. Combining the right things even before dropping down to the Hunting Grounds and knowing how to utilize them there can turn it into a great source of survivability during a fight (looking at you Brawl Mod)!His shotgun is no ordinary one either. In the sense that it doesn't have to behave like a typical shotgun. "I find the zooming effect on it very interesting! It expands the gameplay opportunities of Taurus without breaking the expectations on brawler playstyle & shotgun archetype." explains Doruk. Even though Taurus wasn't designed to play as a long-range Hunter the zooming effect on his shotgun enables Taurus to take poking shots before committing to an engagement. Enemies who barely manage to get away from Taurus are in for a rude awakening.
"He's like that mosquito you try to shoo away—always in your face! But you know bigger." Emre joked. Taurus strives to always be in the thick of the fight. His entire kit is built around that rewarding those who charge headfirst into danger and punishing anyone too slow to react.His signature Bull Charge ability embodies that perfectly letting him rush straight at his enemies—right where he wants to be. Once it's triggered he barrels forward slamming into his enemy or crashing into a rock. It's not just a mechanical fit either—it reflects his character too. "It's like seeing red—the player has only limited control over it. So even thematically I think it fits very well as well " explains Doruk.His second ability Power Pylon helps him last longer in fights by reducing the amount of damage he takes. It was a tough fit at first. As a concept Power Pylon seemed like a good idea but it didn't really fit Taurus' playstyle. "He is meant to be mobile always on the move and Pylon meant that he had to stick around it to get full benefit of it " explains Emre. The team tweaked it so the buffs linger even after Taurus moves out of the Pylon's zone which allowed him to keep his aggressive tempo up while still getting all the benefits. "As a Hunter that banner is a mark of claim—a brutal declaration: 'This ground is mine' '" adds Anton.Just like his rugged exterior Taurus' kit went through multiple reworks. Before the Power Pylon he cycled through two different versions of the same core idea: a grappling hook. The first version of it let him pull his enemies straight into his shotgun's sweet spot—a no nonsense move fitting his aggressive playstyle. In its second version the grappling hook became arguably even more chaotic as it let him steal enemy consumables mid-combat. It could've been a Health Kit Revive Booster or even Colossus—nothing was safe! "It was hilarious! But ultimately it was too powerful and honestly a little toxic " laughs Game Designer Georgii Gorin. "There was no counterplay to it and it had many other problems."
Showcase of the first versions of grappling hook Though the hook looked awesome it wasn't just balance that was the problem. There were many technical issues with the chain clipping inside the environment and network issues causing many visual and gameplay bugs.This mechanic is gone but you can have a look below at roughly what it looked like in game in the past. And who knows? The hook is a very cool ability and it may return one day with a fresh twist as part of a future Hunter's kit!Taurus & Players
Taurus isn't subtle and that's exactly why we think people will love him. "It all comes down to the idea of him being a fearless bull that's ready to bully his opponents " explained Georgii. His aggressive playstyle combined with a bold and brash personality makes him very easily recognizable among the rest of the Hunter roster.We hope that players will also appreciate how real he is. Raw unfiltered. He isn't a soldier or a hero. He doesn't have a "polished" personality like other Hunters. He's a fighter you would expect to find somewhere in a bar throwing punches—one thing he has in common with Ursus.He's still that same kid who's trying to fight his way through life. And that can be very magnetic energy for players who want to try him out on the Hunting Grounds—even if he has a very steep learning curve. In our tests we saw that new players often struggled with finding the right opportunities. In that sense playing as Taurus is very unforgiving—if you hesitate or miscalculate you lose. But those who push through master his abilities and learn to navigate the battlefield with him can easily perform among the top players.
Fortune Favors the Bold
That's what designers agreed to be the Taurus' design mantra. And for sure he isn't everyone's cup of tea. If you're a brains-over-brawn type of player and you like to think things through Taurus might not be your guy.He's a wrecking ball a battering ram with no brakes and a nightmare for anyone who gets in his way. But if you've got the guts to charge headfirst into the fight Taurus is waiting.