Missive IX - Traps

Not every threat in Hunger comes from what you can see. Some are waiting - buried beneath leaves, coiled behind a doorway, or sitting in silence just long enough to make you question the ground you walk on.

This Missive explores the two kinds of traps that shape life - and death - in the World After the End.

Map Traps

Map Traps are part of the world itself, built directly into the environments you explore. They exist as part of the level design, placed within ruins, beneath bridges, or hidden in the darker corners of the battlefield.

These traps act as environmental hazards. Some explode. Some release poison. Others leave you bleeding as you scramble to escape their reach. They are designed to threaten the Living, but can also be used in creative ways by the Living against the Hunger.

Certain points of interest and many dungeons may contain unique trap types or more complex arrangements. In these places, traps are not simply hazards but deliberate challenges. Some areas test more than reflexes alone - they test observation, patience, and memory. The most prepared survivors learn to read the environment carefully and recognize the signs that danger lies ahead.

Map traps can always be found in the same area, but their chance of appearance varies from Expedition to Expedition. If you activate one, remember the location as it’ll come in handy for the future - both for yourself and the potential to use it against a pursuing player or Hunger.

Player Traps

Later in development, players will gain access to their own deployable traps - items that can be brought into Expeditions as part of a loadout and placed strategically during play.

These tools are not part of the Early Access launch but will arrive later as Hunger ’s arsenal expands.

Player Traps can down or kill other players, and these outcomes contribute directly to the trapper’s own down and kill count, which boosts the experience they gain. They can also be used against AI, allowing players to control space, shape engagements, and manage threats from a distance.

A player and their allies cannot trigger their own traps. This ensures that careful placement and planning are rewarded rather than punished.

One exception exists for those who pursue the Survival mastery tree. Players who unlock Turncoat Mechanism gain the rare ability to assume ownership of traps placed by others, including those found within the world itself - provided they identify them and avoid them first. This allows them to move safely through hazards and even turn another player’s trap into a weapon against its original owner.

Masteries and the Art of Trapping

Traps are not only to be feared - they can be mastered. Through progression in the Survival mastery tree, players can unlock tools and abilities that make traps easier to detect, disarm, and - as mentioned above, convert into their own control.

For those who invest in this path, the battlefield itself becomes an extension of their strategy - every hazard, every snare, another weapon to be turned against the unwary.

In addition, as Hunger expands, more and more trap types will be added to the maps - both ancient traps found in levels as well as those to be placed by the player. Flashing, shocking, smoking or making large amounts of loud noise will all be mechanics to come.

Finally, like most items in Hunger, player-placed traps will be craftable by players with