Hound

The Cyborg Hounds are twisted rabid versions of man's best friend, enslaved by the Cyborgs. Very fast, they tend to go for downed targets and try to finish the job. Fortunately they are lightly armored and go down easily with a bayonet stab.

## Tactics

* Found on most planets with a Cyborg presence, Hounds patrol the battlefield, normally in groups of three (six on difficulties 13-15), following semi-random patterns while searching for Helldivers. Their patrols are more densely clustered around mission objectives and they are also attracted to Stratagem beacons.

* The Hounds are usually limited to one group during regular missions and, being patrol units, will respawn infinitely whenever the entire group has been eliminated.

* After spotting Helldiver troops, Hounds will rush into melee range and leap at the player to engage in close combat. Their biting attacks do little direct damage but the leap-attack will knock players to the ground, leaving them vulnerable to further attacks from the Hounds or other Cyborg units.
	+ On their own, groups of Hounds can be annoying but mostly harmless enemies, but whenever supported by medium to heavy units (especially Warlords and IFVs), Hounds can become the number one cause of death for a Helldiver fighting the Cyborgs.

* Hounds are the fastest enemy that Helldiver troops will encounter and can be very dangerous if they catch players by surprise. They do have a fairly large turn radius and can accidentally stun themselves by running into objects or raised terrain, meaning they can be dodged or avoided with experience.

* The characteristic growling and barking noises made by Hounds as they patrol should alert players to their presence nearby and help to avoid ambushes.

* Using the SH-20 Shield Generator Pack or piloting a vehicle or Exosuit (such as the EXO-44 Walker) will prevent Hounds from charging at Helldivers: they will slowly walk towards the player, or (more often) attempt to rush another Helldiver instead. The Smoke Grenades Perk or Thunderer Smoke Round has a similar but more temporary effect.

* The AD-334 Guard Dog defensive automated drone (Defender Pack DLC) is another suitable defensive item against Hounds, stunning and/or outright killing them on approach.

## Notes

* Contrary to popular belief, the Heavy Armor Perk and the SH-32 Directional Kinetic Shield (Entrenched Pack DLC) will **NOT** protect a Helldiver from getting knocked to the ground by the Hounds' leaping takedown.

* Like many other enemy units in the game, Cyborg Hounds will prioritize certain deployed Stratagems (such as Helldiver vehicles and Hellbombs) over Helldivers or activated objectives, allowing crafty players to distract Hounds by leaving vehicles nearby or deploying Hellbombs and allowing the group of Hounds to gather around it and attack it. Due to the low damage of their attacks and their inability to quickly destroy these Stratagems it is possible to distract Hounds for the entire duration of various defense objectives.

– Vanguard
– Shadow
– Stalker
– Warrior
– Elite
– Brood Commander
– Impaler
– Tank
– Behemoth
 **Illuminate** | Observer
– Watcher
– Obsidian Observer
– Hunter
– Tripod
– Strider
– Apprentice
– Outcast
– Obelisk
– Illusionist
– Council Member
 **Cyborgs** | Initiate
– 'Squadleader' Soldier
– Legionnaire
– **Hound**
– Grotesque
– Immolator
– Comrade
– Berserker
– Butcher
– Hulk
– Warlord
– Infantry Fighting Vehicle
– Siege Mech