Hunter

The **Mgalekgolo**, referred by humans as **Hunters**, are a unique gestalt of Lekgolo worms species of the Covenant Empire.

## Overview and Background

Mgalekgolo are the strongest and most resilient species within the Covenant. A Mgalekgolo usually stands between 3.66 metres (12.0 ft) and 3.96 metres (13.0 ft) tall, but crouches to between 2.44 metres (8.0 ft)and 2.59 metres (8.5 ft) when in its combat state to protect its unarmored stomach and neck. A Mgalekgolo can become larger than even a standard Covenant Wraith.

Mgalekgolos fight primarily by using the heavy assault cannons integrated directly into their armor on one arm. On the other arm, they carry an enormous and nearly impervious two-part metal shield that is made from the same material that forms Covenant warship hulls and weighs approximately two tons. This shield protects them from almost every form of plasma-based or ballistic weaponry available to Covenant and human infantry and is a powerful melee tool capable of crushing anything in its path and allowing the Mgalekgolo to sweep away most enemies in close combat. Despite their immense mass, the Mgalekgolo are surprisingly nimble and can gain a surprising burst of speed when they move in for a melee kill.

## Rank Structure, Weaponry and Equipment

 Hunter Ultra
 Hunter Major
 Hunter Minor

## Gameplay Information

### General

Hunters are always encountered in pairs, with each rank carrying a specific cannon. They have been made to be larger and more imposing than they were in *Halo: Combat Evolved*, to be more suited to their future appearances. Also from *CE*, their crippling weakness to the pistol has been removed. Hunters have also been given more animations than what they previously had, for instance, they have an angry roar for when they are near-death. But more prominently, in addition to their normal one, in *SPV3* they have a second melee animation, which is a bit trickier to avoid.

Their shield is incredibly strong, regular plasma and ballistic weapons are completely ineffective. Their armour and shield can even protect them against weapons that would normally be an instant kill, such as the Energy Sword or the Golden Gun.

### Strategy

It is recommended to keep moving as their Cannons deal heavy damage. If an overshield happens to be nearby, use it as it will make it easier to combat them. Aim for the weak spots such as the neck and back as it's impossible to destroy their armour. However, heavy weapons and heavy vehicles are effective and much easier to kill Hunters with. For long distance fighting, the DMR, Battle Rifle, and Sniper Rifle are very effective against hunters.

## Trivia

* In Halo CE, it took one pistol shot in the back to kill them. However in SPV3, for balance reasons and the M6D being swapped for the M6G, this is no longer the case. A single sniper shot is still a one-hit kill for hunters however.
* In Tagalog, "Mga" means "the" in plural use. Mgalekgolo in English would be "the Lekgolos."
* The Hunter resembles the enemy of the same name from Bungie's older series *Marathon*, except that *Marathon*'s Hunter had a shoulder-mounted weapon rather than an arm-mounted weapon.
* The number of syllables in a Mgalekgolo's name may be a 7 reference, as 3 + 2 + 2 = 7.
* The color of the Hunter Major is taken from *Halo 3: ODST*.
* The Hunter Ultra is the only enemy in the game that is completely exclusive to Firefight.
	+ The Ultra is also considered to be one of the rarest normal enemy units in *SPV3*, along with the Elite Imperial Admiral, as only 2 of each unit appear in the mod. The difference is that the player will encounter 2 Hunter Ultras on one occasion, while only 1 Imperial Admiral is fought at a time, but on only two occasions. The only regular enemy that is rarer is the Brute Chieftain Combat Form, which is only ever encountered once. In *SPV3.2*, the Elite Special Operations Commander also held this distinction, but the enemy type was removed from *3.3*.
* The data above implies that the blue Hunter Minors would be the most commonly seen type in campaign, and that the black Spec-Ops Hunters would be the least encountered. However, in reality, the Minors are the rarest rank encountered, more so than the Spec-Ops Hunters, while the gold Hunter Majors are, by far, the most commonly seen.
	+ This leads to a general advantage given to the player in most Hunter encounters in SPV3. Majors wield Hunter Fuel Rod Cannons, explosive energy weapons that are very effective against the Hunters themselves. In a typical encounter with a pair Hunter Majors, once one is killed, its weapon can be retrieved to easily dispatch its partner. Whereas the Hunter Beam Cannons and the Hunter Shade Cannons, while powerful weapons, have little to no effect against other Hunters, making Hunter Minors and Spec-Ops Hunters more threatening than the Hunter Majors.
* In comparison to the Hunter Spec-Ops, Hunter Ultras are even better suited against hordes of infantry due to the way their weapon functions. However, their increased spread makes them even more inaccurate than the already inaccurate Hunter Shade Cannon, making them less suited against enemies requiring precision aiming for weak spots which includes, ironically, Hunters.

## Gallery

Hunter Minor and Major.Hunter Minor in the Silent Cartographer.Hunter Spec-Ops.Hunter Major in the Pillar of Autumn.A Hunter Spec-Ops fighting the Master Chief.Spec ops Hunters in the Level Maw.Hunter Ultra being deployed.Hunter Ultra shooting its weapon.Ditto.Dead Hunter Ultra.