1666: Amsterdam How to Hunt The Originals

Hunting The Originals is the central gameplay loop of 1666: Amsterdam. Each district in Amsterdam contains at least one Original — a supernatural being that has lived for centuries, hiding behind human faces. Your job as the Collector is to identify them during the day, mark them, and then confront them during the Esbat when they reveal their true form under the full moon.

Identifying The Originals

During daylight hours, Noa moves through the streets of Amsterdam gathering evidence. The Originals disguise themselves as ordinary citizens, but there are always clues — behavioral anomalies, supernatural auras visible to Noa’s witch sight, and documents hidden in the buildings they occupy. Every building in the city is enterable, and Originals tend to inhabit locations with historical or occult significance.

The key tools for identification are Noa’s witch sight and her ability to search properties. Witch sight highlights supernatural energy — Originals emit a distinctive dark glow that stands out against the background noise of Amsterdam’s supernatural atmosphere. Documents and letters found inside their homes provide narrative context about their long lives and the specific abuses of power that justify collecting their power.

Do not rush this phase. Missing an Original during the day means you will have to wait for the next full moon cycle to attempt the hunt again. Thorough investigation makes every Esbat dramatically easier.

Marking Targets

Once you are confident an NPC is an Original, you must mark them before the Esbat begins. This is done through a specific interaction in the investigation menu. Marked targets are tracked throughout the night and their general location is shown on your map. An unmarked Original cannot be confronted during the Esbat — the game will prompt you to return to investigation if you attempt to skip this step.

You can mark multiple targets in a single day cycle, which means you can potentially complete multiple hunts in one Esbat. This is one of the most effective strategies for progressing efficiently through a district.

The Esbat Night Hunt

When the sun sets and the full moon rises, the Esbat begins. The city transforms: ordinary citizens retreat indoors, and the supernatural layer of Amsterdam becomes fully visible. The Originals shed their human faces and patrol the streets in their true forms.

The Esbat is a timed challenge. You must hunt all marked targets before dawn or the night ends in failure. The good news is that marked Originals are highlighted on your map and tend to follow predictable patrol routes. Planning your route through the district before engaging is worth doing.

The roguelite element of the Esbat is significant: if Noa dies during the hunt, the entire night resets. All Coffers collected during that Esbat are lost. You return to the safehouse with your investigation progress intact but your ability choices for that night discarded. This creates genuine tension in every encounter — going in underprepared is genuinely punishing.

Coffers and the Risk/Reward Loop

Between hunting marked Originals, you will encounter Coffers scattered through the district. Each Coffer presents three ability options. These choices are permanent for the current Esbat — but if you die, you lose them. This creates a deliberate risk/reward tension: do you push deeper into dangerous territory to grab a Coffer, or do you play it safe and prioritize completing the hunt?

Experienced players develop an instinct for when to push and when to play conservatively. Early in a district, when you have not yet committed to a full Esbat, conservative play is usually correct. Once you have identified all targets and marked them, you can be more aggressive about Coffers in the final sprint to dawn.

Esbat Combat Basics

Originals in their true form are formidable opponents. They use supernatural abilities alongside melee attacks, and many have area-denial patterns that make direct confrontation dangerous. The Combat Guide covers fighting techniques in detail, but the most important Esbat principle is this: use your environment. Environmental objects can be weaponized, and Lux abilities let you manipulate the battlefield in ways that pure combat cannot match.

After the Hunt

Completing an Esbat successfully allows you to keep all collected Coffers and their chosen abilities permanently. The Original’s power is absorbed, and Noa grows stronger. The district’s story arc concludes, and you can move on to the next area of Amsterdam. Failed Esbats cost you the Coffers but do not block progression — you simply try again the following night cycle.

For a step-by-step walkthrough of the demo hunt in the free Prologue, see the Prologue Walkthrough.