Way Of The Hunter 2 Walkthrough — Missions, NPCs, and Progression

Way of the Hunter 2 does not have a single linear campaign you follow from start to credits. The official FAQ is explicit that the game mixes open-world free hunting with structured missions, adding light story elements for context and atmosphere. You pick up objectives from NPCs across the map, each with their own thread, and there are four NPCs waiting across New Laurentia. That means a practical walkthrough is less about a fixed sequence of chapters and more about the order in which you should tackle missions, free hunts, and progression so nothing blocks you later.

How the Story Is Structured

The Fandom wiki summary frames the opening this way: as the new hunter in town, you are recruited for a series of challenges that span two environments and introduce a cast of memorable NPCs. In New Laurentia you team up with a skilled dog trainer and assist the former warden, following the mystery behind the unusual behavior of the local moose population. The FAQ adds that the objectives are supplemented by light story rather than driven by it, so you are never locked out of free hunting. The lodge anchors each map: per the Fandom overview, every map has its own lodge, and it is where you plan hunts, display trophies, and unlock upgrades. In practice, the loop is mission, free hunt, lodge upgrade, repeat.

New Laurentia's Mission Thread

New Laurentia is the map the game launched with in Early Access, a 10x10 km region inspired by the North American wilderness. Its content is organized around NPC objectives rather than numbered chapters.

Element	Documented detail	Source
Map	New Laurentia, 10x10 km, North American wilderness	Official FAQ
NPCs	Four across the map, each with their own story	Official FAQ
Story hook	Dog trainer and former warden; mystery around local moose behavior	Fandom wiki
Lodge	Map-specific hub for trophies and upgrades	Fandom wiki
Trophies	Procedurally generated, still expanding during Early Access	Official FAQ

A widely discussed early objective is a mission to hunt a 90% elk bull. The player who raised it noted the animal still had about seven years of life expectancy and wondered whether waiting would let it reach five stars. Other players in that thread suggested mission-specific animals may not grow and may not count toward herd management, but nobody cited a developer confirmation, so treat that as to confirm.

A Mission-by-Mission Approach

Because the game is open, the most effective order is to keep one objective active while you hunt freely, then return to the lodge to spend what you earned.

• Start with the opening NPC missions. They introduce the dog, the map, and the basic loop, and they pay experience and money you need for gear.
• Keep a mission active during free hunts. You gain experience and cash while exploring, so nothing is wasted.
• Do not chase story progress at the expense of the herd. Randomly shooting weak animals while completing objectives can hurt the population you need later.
• Bank money for functional upgrades. Better optics, a rifle that covers the species you hunt, and a shooting stick all make later missions easier.
• Return to the lodge regularly. Displaying trophies and unlocking upgrades is the progression heartbeat between missions.

Once the opening threads are underway, the missions stop being a tutorial and become optional structure over a free-hunt game:

Phase	What to focus on	Why
Opening missions	NPC intros, the dog, basic tracking	Teaches systems and pays starting cash
Early free hunt	Finding zones and fast-travel points	Builds the map knowledge missions assume
Mid-game	Herd management and habitat work	Raises the quality of future trophies
Late unlock	Better gear, night hunting, more species	Expands which missions and animals you can take

For the systems that missions lean on, see the beginners guide, the herd management guide, and the maps page.