Hello, Bounty Hunters! I’m Victor Mercier, lead producer on Necromunda: Hired Gun, releasing today! In this visceral, fast-paced FPS set in the Warhammer 40k universe, you make your living as a Bounty Hunter in the lower portions of a gigantic hive city. It’s a nasty, endless slum full of desperation, death, and industry. But also, doggos!

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In this article, we’ll explore the ways in which your trusty mastiff will aid you as you shoot, stab, and slay your way through the Underhive.

The Underhive can be an oppressive environment even for the toughest of souls. Down there, you can’t trust your own mother. But the bond between dog and master, that’s another story. Your furry friend will follow you to the depths of hell and back again, and enjoy every moment. Summoning your mastiff is as easy as squeezing their favourite toy rat (you heard us). Aim the rat at the enemy you want to attack and they’ll feel 220 pounds of augmented flesh and steel slam into them within seconds.

While an enemy is being mauled by your mastiff, they’ll be far too busy trying not to die to attack you, allowing you to deliver death in other directions as you see fit. Additionally, for as long as your hound is with you, you’ll gain part of its senses, creating red highlights around enemies within a certain radius of your buddy. Summoning your mastiff works great as both a panic button and for strategically incapacitating and attacking selected enemies. As strong as your mastiff is, it will need to rest after attacking for a set amount of time, but can be summoned back when the ability is ready again. All of this can be improved with augments.

Just as with your own body, your mastiff can be upgraded at the Ripper Doc in Martyr’s End, the game’s hub area. A good boy deserves some Cranial Armour. With three major upgrade categories: Head, Body, and Paws, you’ll have a range of technology to help keep your dog alive and killing. Increase speed with Bionic Paws, then upgrade to a Bionic Nose for some cyber-sniffing, increasing detection radius of enemies. Improve your mastiffs dodge, health, armour penetration, and more, creating a veritable machine of destruction (while remaining your best bud, of course). With each major upgrade, your hound will visibly go from flesh to metal. What it may lose in cuteness, it’ll gain tenfold in killing ability.

We hope you’ve enjoyed this overview of the mastiff in Necromunda: Hired Gun. Together, sniff out your target, eliminate it, and collect the bounty. The Underhive may be dangerous, but blood is good for business. 

Necromunda: Hired Gun is available now on PS5 and PS4. The retail version will be available on June 30. Pre-order now to get special bonuses.