Hunter
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| Hunter | |
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| General information | |
| Faction | |
| Type |
Medium assault and recon Synth |
| Individual information | |
| Health |
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| Weapon(s) | |
| Game information | |
| Entity |
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| Designer(s) |
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The Hunter, originally known as the Mini-Strider,[6] is a fast and efficient Synth used by the Combine as scouts for close-range assault and assassination missions or as bodyguards for escorting tasks. The Hunter is first briefly seen in Episode One, and is featured as a prominent enemy in Episode Two.
Contents
Overview[edit]
The Hunter's body is somewhat rounded in shape and encased in a shiny metallic blue-green exoskeleton. It has three horse-like muscular legs on its sides and back that end in sharp barbs. A pair of vertically aligned eye-sensors[7] which also act as fléchette launchers are mounted on the Synth's front, and an unidentified clump of bulbous masses are grouped on one side of its torso. Located directly underneath the eyes are a pair of antenna and two long claws for impaling targets. On each side is a pair of mandibles. On its back are two ovoid orifices and an additional large antenna pointed upwards which can raise and extend two spikes. Like all Synths, Hunters possess a number of vocalizations, all of which are shrill, fierce, and slightly electronic. They also appear to secrete some sort of light grey fluid when shot. While Hunters are only seen in the Arctic and Outlands, the AR3 argument alludes to there being Hunters in City 17.
Abilities[edit]
Hunters do not appear to be well-suited to urban combat situations, as most of their tactics which rely on speed, range, and maneuverability are strongly impaired in close quarters. If multiple Hunters are deployed in the same mission area, they tend to use pack hunting tactics such as flanking and suppression fire.
Although possessing less firepower and armor than their larger tripodal cousins, Hunters are far quicker and more agile. Due to their weapons' poor performance at longer distances, Hunters will normally attempt to shorten their gaps with opponents and engage at medium range, allowing them to fire fléchette rounds with greater accuracy. The Hunter can use its body as a ram to break down weak structures and pounce on vulnerable targets. At point-blank range, they use the talons on their legs to slash their opponent, which can severely injure the target sending it flying away. They are also sometimes observed using a special instant-kill move when they leap on unaware victims and crush their spines.
When deployed in groups, Hunters demonstrate a degree of resourcefulness and intelligence, utilizing pack-hunting tactics such as constantly shifting positions, taking turns assaulting targets while others take cover, and charging rapidly to close distances with their opponents. When facing covered targets, they will shoot at nearby explosives to injure them with the splash damage. When acting as escorts for Striders, they will attack and try to distract approaching enemies. However, when a held or launched Magnusson Device is spotted by them, they will prioritize those threats and concentrate on destroying them instead.
Weaponry[edit]
The Hunter's main weapons are its high-speed explosive fléchette projectiles. The large metal darts end in fork-like spikes and are capable of vaporizing biological matter with a few hits. When a fléchette hits a solid surface, it will stick there for a few moments before exploding, dealing splash damage to enemies nearby. Hunters are very accurate at firing their weapons, as they utilize deflection tactics, i.e. aiming ahead of a moving target, and can gradually shift their aim toward the target's location.
Appearances[edit]
Half-Life 2: Episode One[edit]
The Hunter is first glimpsed briefly in Episode One as part of the Combine force attacking the base where Judith Mossman recorded her transmission.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two[edit]
Gordon Freeman combated Hunters extensively in the forested open spaces of the Outlands outside of City 17. The first Hunter is seen near the Victory Mine, when it managed to ambush Alyx Vance and impale her in the back. Later, they are encountered scouting or patrolling areas as well as being part of various Combine forces attempting to intercept the duo on their way to White Forest. Hunters are again used during the second Combine offensive against White Forest, where they are seen acting as escorts for the incoming Striders.
In the chapter Our Mutual Fiend, a Rebel radio operator exaggerates his combat ability by declaring that people in the city fought Hunters with their bare hands: "We used to wrestle Hunters to the ground with our bare hands! I used to kill ten, twenty a day, just using my fists!"
Tactics[edit]
While Hunters are quite resilient to gunfire, they are considerably more vulnerable to blunt force or explosions. Several well-aimed hits by launching tires, metal pieces or lodges with the Gravity Gun are sufficient to kill one. If an object fired with the Gravity Gun has an unexploded fléchette sticking to it when it hits a Hunter, the fléchette will detonate upon contact for even more damage, vaporizing the Hunter if that was the killing blow. The Muscle Car can also be used to kill Hunters by ramming the creatures with sufficient force. They may sometimes anticipate this, however, and will jump out of the vehicle's way.
Hunters can be also brought down easily with RPGs or Submachine Gun grenades. A direct hit from the Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle's Energy Balls is also capable of disintegrating a Hunter, as a rebel lecturing some City 17 conscripts in White Forest Base points out. Trying to down a Hunter with conventional firearms is not recommended, the Hunter's armor greatly reduces damage from most ballistic weapons and it can take multiple reloads to down even a single Synth, much less the whole pack. If the player is forced into a gunfight, the Magnum and the Crossbow are the most efficient options — their damage is not reduced by the Hunter's armor, and while their rates of fire are low they can each down a Hunter with only a few well-placed shots. No matter what weapon the player chooses, it's not recommended to square off against the Synth's agility and powerful attacks without sufficient cover to duck behind.
Although Hunters are generally very accurate at firing fléchettes, they are easily avoidable with basic dodging techniques due to their traveling speed, which is much slower than other projectiles. However, if moving predictably or staying still, Hunters can still quickly dispose of a player with a few direct hits.
Related Achievements[edit]
| Half-Life 2: Episode Two | |
|---|---|
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Meet the Hunters (10G) |
| Survive the Hunter ambush with Alyx. | |
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Payback (10G) |
| Kill a Hunter with its own flechettes. | |
Behind the scenes[edit]
Series writer Marc Laidlaw originally wanted to call these creatures "Blue Eyes".[8]
The Hunter was inspired by threat displays of mantis shrimps, the carapaces of tiger beetles, and raptorial limbs.[2] They were originally intended to be vulnerable only to blows from objects launched at them with the Gravity Gun. Later, Valve changed this as they redesigned the Hunter, though they are still more vulnerable to physics damage than all small arms but the .357 Magnum.[9] As seen in the second Episode Two trailer, Hunters were originally armed with a particle cannon.[10]
In Episode One, after typing give npc_ministrider, the predecessor of the Hunter appeared. On top of cosmetic differences, the mini-strider didn't shoot fléchettes. It was vulnerable to explosives and energy orbs, and could be taken down by normal weaponry. The mini-strider can no longer be spawned in Episode One because of the removal of the npc_ministrider entity.
According to The Orange Box Prima Guide, the Hunter is a mutated Strider.[1] In regards to this matter, Laidlaw stated that the description "seems wrong... but possibly Ted Backman did think of them as modified Striders and I just never heard him say so."[11]
According to Matt T. Wood, one of the team's main goals for the Hunter was to make the player feel vulnerable whether hiding or not. The Hunter arena before the secondary silo in White Forest became their test-bed for improving the Hunters' close-combat behavior. A classic combat space, featuring multiple exits and many possible paths, the team tuned it for a strong cat-and-mouse gameplay experience. While players have many options for escape, the map is designed so that Hunters will never completely lose them - but always be able to pursue and flush the player out of hiding.[12] Due to this, they are reprogrammed to focus on the player and will briefly ignore other NPCs.
Trivia[edit]
Due to the immense amount of damage the sawblade prop inflicts when punted via the Gravity Gun, it's possible to two or even one-shot a Hunter using a sawblade. Normally, this isn't at all relevant due to the only sawblades in Episode Two being in the very first mineshaft at the beginning of To The White Forest and the zombie infested resistance outpost in Freeman Pontifex, but bringing the sawblade in the first mineshaft to the start of the Victory Mine where Alyx gets fatally wounded allows the player to kill the Hunter glimpsed on top of one of the buildings' rooftops.
Gallery[edit]
Half-Life 2: Episode One[edit]
Concept art[edit]
Different designs.
Additional sketches.
Ditto.
Leg and head sketches.
Valve artist Ted Backman showing some of his Hunter sketches.
Concept art in a Wasteland-like setting, with human bones at its feet.
Concept art showing a Hunter with fléchette-launching appendages.
Concept art of Hunter with different design.
Preliminary plasticine modeling for the Hunter.
Running Hunters on an early Aftermath poster.
Retail[edit]
The Hunter seen in Judith's transmission.
Ditto, a better look.
The Hunter jumping at the camera.
Half-Life 2: Episode Two[edit]
Concept art[edit]
Running Hunters.
Hunters chasing Gordon and Alyx.
Pre-release[edit]
Cut "angry" Hunter texture, used in rendering regression test.
Hunter in the first Episode Two teaser.
The same scene in the second teaser.
A Hunter shooting its particle cannon at a Rebel in the second Episode Two teaser.
Retail[edit]
Hunter attacking Alyx and Gordon in the Riding Shotgun chapter.
Ditto.
The Hunter seen in Judith's transmission.
Ditto, a better look.
Half-Life 2: Episode Three[edit]
Episode Three concept art with a silhouetted Hunter in the foreground.
Other[edit]
Prototype plush toy seen in Valve's lobby in 2007.
Official plush toy released in February of 2008.
List of appearances[edit]
- Half-Life 2: Episode One (First appearance) (Video only)
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two (First identified as Hunter)
References[edit]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 The Orange Box Prima Guide
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 The Art of the Video Game
- ↑
Hunter on LinkedIn
- ↑ RPS Interview: Episode Two’s David Speyrer on Rock, Paper, Shotgun
- ↑ Hunter on LinkedIn
- ↑ "Just don’t call it “mini-strider”…it really hates that." Hunter Plush Toy on The Valve Store (archived)
- ↑ "Ep2’s Hunter features expressive green eye-sensors and posable tripod appendages." Hunter Plush Toy on The Valve Store (archived)
- ↑
Tweet: "I wanted to call these creatures “Blue Eyes.” They shipped as…Hunters." @marc_laidlaw (Marc Laidlaw) on Twitter (October 28, 2021) (archived)
- ↑ Source code and configuration files of Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- ↑
Half-Life 2: Episode Two Teaser 2 on YouTube
- ↑ Marc Laidlaw on the Orange Box Prima Guide enemies' characteristics (December 27, 2014)
- ↑ Half-Life 2: Episode Two commentary
