Hunter
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The Hunter is a Combine Synth and is one of the new enemies introduced in Episode Two.
[edit] Appearance
A Hunter appears to be a smaller version of a Strider. They have three legs, two eyes, one above the other, and a small pincer arm tipped with blades for melee combat. They run with a gait similar to a gorilla's and can run faster than the average human.
[edit] Behaviour
Just small enough to follow targets into buildings and tight spaces, Hunters are among the most versatile ground units in the Combine's arsenal, alongside the Overwatch Soldier. They usually move in groups of three or more, and display a distinct pack mentality as they cooperate to surround and destroy their targets. They attack with plasma fletchettes which either detonate on impact with a target or stick to surfaces and detonate after a moment, inflicting considerable splash damage. The "sticky" nature of these fletchettes forces the player to consider their choice of cover carefully. If your cover has anything directly behind it, the Hunter will simply fire past your cover, sticking the darts to the wall or object behind you, flushing you out.
Once it has forced it's target into the open, the Hunter will often charge and forcefully ram the target. Once up close, they use a variety of melee attacks, utilising their strong legs as clubs and a small pincer arm to impale targets. It should be stated that Hunters are instructed to partol and guard areas outside of urban areas such as the wasteland. Hunters are mainly used in these open spaces as they are faster than most other combine units and are used for escourting soldiers, cargo or even striders to locations that may be dangerous.
[edit] Strength
Hunters are surprisingly well armored and are quite resilient to gunfire. They can take as many as four shotgun blasts at point blank range on Hard difficulty, and have even been known to survive a direct RPG hit. Surprisingly enough, blunt force from physics objects do what many bullets can't, and you'll soon learn that pummeling Hunters with heavy objects is the most effective method of neutralizing them.
