Way Of The Hunter 2 Maps — New Laurentia, Kilimaya, and Map Tools

Way of the Hunter 2 currently spreads its hunting across two maps: New Laurentia, the North American wilderness region the game launched with, and the Kilimaya Reserve, the African reserve added in Early Access Update 2. Each map has its own lodge, its own species pool, and its own landmarks, and both are documented through an interactive map built with Shackmaps and through need zones you discover in play. This page covers the size, terrain, and tools of each map, using the official FAQ and the THQ Nordic announcement as the source for the numbers.

How Many Maps the Game Has

At the Early Access launch the game had one map. The official FAQ states that New Laurentia is a 10x10 km open-world region inspired by the North American wilderness, and that an additional map was planned for a near-future update. That update arrived in May 2026 as the Kilimaya Reserve, which THQ Nordic describes as a 100 km2 (40 square mile) African reserve. The two maps are deliberately different in climate and terrain, which is why the species lists barely overlap and why your loadout, clothing, and approach change when you switch.

New Laurentia Overview

Attribute	Detail	Source
Region	North America	Official FAQ
Size	10x10 km open-world region	Official FAQ
Added	Early Access launch, March 26, 2026	Fandom wiki
Lodge	One map-specific lodge	Fandom wiki
Mission content	Four NPCs with their own stories	Official FAQ
Terrain theme	North American wilderness, including forest and mountain habitat	Fandom wiki

New Laurentia is the map every player learns first, and it is where the opening NPC threads run, including the dog trainer and former warden storyline the Fandom wiki describes. Its habitat variety is what makes herd management interesting here: the Fandom wiki lists highland forest areas such as Haliwitch, White Pine Orchard, Thorn Springs, and Cascade Forest as a single habitat, which matters because an entire habitat's average fitness influences new spawns.

Kilimaya Reserve Overview

Attribute	Detail	Source
Region	Africa	THQ Nordic
Size	100 km2 (40 square miles)	THQ Nordic
Added	Early Access Update 2, May 26-27, 2026	THQ Nordic and Nine Rocks
New species	Twelve	THQ Nordic
Terrain	Highlands, forests, grasslands, wetlands, shrublands, barren terrain	THQ Nordic
Landmarks	Ancient stone ruins, remote villages, lookout towers, cave paintings	THQ Nordic

Kilimaya is built on contrast: the same reserve contains wetlands and sun-scorched barren ground, so a hunt can move from dense cover to open glassing terrain within a short walk. The update also introduced anatomically accurate animal models, with males and females reflecting true biological differences. Between the twelve new species and the landmark set, Kilimaya adds a second full progression surface rather than a small expansion to the existing map.

Interactive Map and Map Tools

The community-facing map tool is the Shackmaps interactive map, built with the help of Nine Rocks Games. Per Shacknews, it shows need zones for every species, plus lodges and campsites, and it is a work in progress that grows over time.

• Need zones — feeding, drinking, and resting areas for each species.
• Lodges and campsites — the hubs and rest points that anchor a hunt.
• Custom pins — a free account lets you mark your own map and suggest pins.
• Filtering — the map includes hide and show controls to cut down on clutter.
• Second-map coverage — the Kilimaya Reserve arrived later, so map coverage for the new terrain may be thinner than New Laurentia, to confirm.

In-game, the map is also your planning board. The official FAQ says tracks are dynamically created between need zones, and that spooked animals can leave temporary dynamic tracks, so a zone you mark on a visit can still change on the next one.

Zones, Landmarks, and Fast Travel

Knowing what you can find on each map is what lets you plan a hunt instead of wandering.

Marker or system	What it does
Need zone	A feeding, drinking, or resting area where a species predictably appears
Animal sign	Tracks and traces that hint at which species is using an area
Point of interest	Landmarks and collectibles that fill out the map
Fast-travel point	A discovered location you can return to instantly
Traveling tent	A placeable rest point for a good area with no nearby fast travel
Lodge	The map hub for trophies and upgrades

• Unlock fast-travel points early on both maps to cut backtracking after a long stalk.
• Mark points of interest as you pass them, since exploration achievements and map coverage benefit from deliberate discovery.
• On Kilimaya, watch for ruins, villages, towers, and cave paintings, which are documented landmarks rather than generic scenery.
• Remember zone behavior is dynamic, so re-check a zone if the animals stop showing up there.
• Use the interactive map to cross-reference a species before a trip, then confirm the zone in-game.

To see how zones and habitat feed the population systems, read the herd management guide and the animal list. The Africa page covers the Kilimaya Reserve update in more detail.