How do Heartshots work in Nightingale?

In Nightingale, you will learn one way or another that shots to the heart, heartshots, are lethal to any animal. This provides both a cost and time-effective way of felling your foes. But it’s not the easiest thing to achieve.

How to score a Heartshot in Nightingale

As the name suggests, to score a heartshot in Nightingale, you need to shoot a creature in its heart. However, this is much easier said than done.

Players encountering this problem would have either read the loading screen tip or received the quest from Bass Reeves instructing them to achieve three heart shots, alongside two headshots, which are a lot easier.

Thankfully, almost every creature in Nightingale has a heart, even those Bound enemies. For those bipedal Bound monsters, simply aim for the chest as if shooting a human. Upon scoring a heartshot, you should see significant damage inflicted and a small heart icon will appear.

With other animals, like Deer or Waywolves, this task is more challenging. It’s important to note that it doesn’t seem to matter what your orientation is – whether you’re beside, behind, or in front of – to the animal. If you aim near the heart, it seems to register as a heartshot.

The heart position does change from species to species, so you’ll need an educated guess and trial and error to find the sweet spot. Many players have reported success with shooting from the side just above the creature’s front legs and shoulders.

Try also to envision the lungs of the creature, as the heart is tucked just under the lungs for creatures in real life. Having this extra point in your mind’s eye may help you better envision the heart. In previous hunting games, this has helped me significantly (big ups Deer Hunter 2018).

Related: Best ways to get Essence Dust quickly in Nightingale

Does this work for every ranged weapon?

By the time you receive the quest from Bass Reeves, you may have upgraded to a bow and arrow – or even a pistol. I had assumed that the Slingbow would simply not be powerful enough to achieve a heartshot, but players have reported heartshot success with the Slingbow.

It is much harder, however, considering that there is no clear reticle or exact point, and you must consider the arc and weight of the marbles that you shoot.

Now that you know all about heartshots in Nightingale, why don’t you try to make a dedicated server and show off your skills to friends?