The Hunter

## Hunter

**The Hunter** is a monster that may antagonize the player while they attempt to escape the ship in *Monstrum*.

## Description

**The Hunter** is a slender, almost skeletal entity with a gelatin skin that makes it harder to see (especially in dark places). It resembles a form of humanoid amoeba or jellyfish. Its basic skeletal structure is akin to that of a human, and it possesses three jaws, two that protrude from the side of its head. The Hunter has large, elongated fingers topped with sharp talons that it uses to grip onto prey or tear it to shreds.

## Abilities

The Hunter is a stealthy creature that exhibits predatory behavior and primarily relies on its ability to ambush the player to succeed.

**INTELLIGENCE:** The Hunter's intelligence appears to be above average, as it always seems to know the general area that the player is hiding in (based on the fact that it is "moving" constantly through the vents, following them), and will linger in an individual room it thinks the player is in for just as long, if not longer than the Fiend. The Hunter also checks hiding places with equal or greater accuracy than The Fiend. When the player is hiding in a more open area, the Hunter will only linger for about as long as it would in a room before eventually giving up and returning to the vents.

**SPEED:** The Hunter may not be as quick as the player in a chase, and must rely on its ability to corner the player or catch them off guard when it emerges from an egg sac or vent. If it fails to do this, the player should have no trouble outrunning it. Like the other two monsters, the Hunter has no trouble traversing the cargo hold, and can easily climb up through the holes.

**STRENGTH:** Though it may appear lanky and frail, do not be fooled; it can easily rip a wooden door to shreds, or tear metal ones off their hinges. It will open doors manually if it can, so it is advised to lock them if possible. The only noteworthy example of its physical weakness are power-locked doors, which it cannot open from either side, making it the only monster that can't.

**SPECIAL ABILITIES:** The most uncanny ability the Hunter possesses is that it is effectively always "near by" the player when it is not roaming on foot. For example, if the player has just escaped a chase with the Hunter on one side of the ship, then quickly ran all the way to the other and made a loud noise or set off an alarm, the Hunter would exit out of a vent or crawl from over a railing on the side of the ship as if it had somehow gotten there ahead of them.

The Hunter also has the ability to spawn egg sacs that it can suddenly burst out of when the player comes within a certain distance (or if they set one off with an item). These egg sacs can form on the floors, walls, and ceilings of hallways, as well as on the outskirts of the ship on the Main Deck. Such formations may appear or disappear as quick as it takes the player to enter and come back out of a room, which can be shocking. Static spawned egg sacs (or egg sacs that never despawn) will also be found in the cargo hold, and so the player should proceed through that area with caution.

As mentioned above, and as pictured in the image to the top left of this section, the Hunter has the ability to climb over the sides of the ship, which is quieter than its other aforementioned methods of emergence.

## Warning Signs

Because of the Hunter's ability to move through the vents, detecting it revolves around listening for the sounds it makes when it emerges:

**EGG SACS:** If you see Egg sacs, it means the Hunter is chasing you, as they cannot spawn if any other monster is chosen. Egg sacs are harmless on their own, but may be triggered causing the Hunter to emerge from them. As the hunter may pop out of them at any time, it is recommended that the player find some other way around them if possible, unless they're sure that they can run or hide safely if the Hunter appears. Note that the egg sacs that appear outside of the cargo hold vanish whenever the Hunter is roaming on foot, signaling that the Hunter is out to stalk its prey. Inversely, seeing egg sacs after a chase means that the Hunter is no longer roaming on foot and has returned to the vents.

**SLAPPING FOOTSTEPS:** The Hunter's footsteps sound like a wet slapping sound, and are a definite indication that it is roaming the halls looking for the player. As with the Brute, a skilled player who listens carefully enough will be able to judge where the Hunter is based on the loudness of the footsteps and which direction they are coming from.

**SCREECHING:** When the Hunter roams the halls it makes various screeching sounds. This should be treated the same way as its footsteps.

## Tips

* Remember to close and lock doors (if possible) behind you if you're being chased by the Hunter and are attempting to hide in a room. This will buy you a few extra precious seconds as it rips the door down. Otherwise, it is almost always better to keep running, since the Hunter is too slow to catch up to you.
* Avoiding cameras is particularly important when facing the Hunter, as unlike the Brute or the Fiend who must travel to the source of the sound, an alarm will cause the Hunter to almost immediately emerge from a nearby vent in the area, which gives the player much less time to hide or flee the area.
* The Hunter's transparent skin makes it hard to see in dark places, therefore it is recommended to use a light source when you are sure of its presence.
* It is advised that you try to save your flashlight as much as possible for times when the Hunter is roaming on foot, as its translucent body may make it very difficult to see in darker areas of the ship such as the cargo hold.
* The Hunter is vulnerable to flare guns, fire extinguishers, steam, pit traps, and is notably the most vulnerable monster to the effects of fire.
* Hiding is the best way to ward off the Hunter, as after a failed search routine, the Hunter will immediately return to a vent, as opposed to letting it wander around for a while.

## Trivia

* The Hunter was originally named ***The Stalker.*** It was supposed to follow a scent trail that the player would leave, and the player's scent would strengthen the longer they stayed in one area, however this was never implemented. It was also planned that it would be the only monster that couldn't open doors, but this is not the case (except for power-locked doors).
* One of the initially planned traits of the Hunter was that it had a strange attraction to electricity, which meant that it would presumably "gravitate" towards areas or rooms that were powered, however this is not the case. Its reaction to anything electrical being used (such as the TV in the Mess Hall) is no different from the other two monsters, though its response may appear more immediate because of the way it emerges from vents or egg sacs.
* The Hunter is vulnerable to every form of defense in the game, particularly fire.
* If the Hunter spots the player after just crawling from a vent, it will stay in place for about 5 seconds before starting to chase them. This could be the game's way of giving the player a head start, in case they were caught off guard.
* Once it came out from a specific vent, the Hunter will no longer be able to emerge from the same vent.
* The Hunter is currently considered to be the easiest monster to defeat, as it is the only one that doesn't have a static presence within the game, is slower than the Brute in a chase, and has no other abilities for catching up with or hindering the player as the Fiend does.
* The Hunter is also the only monster who has all of its abilites on the same level, (moderate). While the Fiend is smart, its strength is only normal, and is slow in chases, and while the Brute lacks intelligence, it makes up for it being really fast in a chase, and is the strongest.
* According to **Team Junkfish's Design Blog #05**, the Hunter's behavior and looks were inspired by the **Xenomorph** from *Alien,* the **Chryssalid** from *XCOM*, as well as various insects and spiders.

## Gallery

### Death Animations

The Hunter wraps it's face around the player's head, after jumping onto them.The Hunter kills the player from behind, while they are crouched.The Hunter back-stabs the player.The Hunter ripping open a locker and finding its lunch.The Hunter kills the player because they tripped while running away.The Hunter kills the player, after they trip right in front of its face.The Hunter kills the player from the front, while they are crouched.
### Images

The Hunter.The Hunter about to eat your face.

### Audio

Monstrum OST 06 The HunterMonstrum OST 07 Hiding From The HunterMonstrum OST 08 Out of Sight, Out of Mind

 • The Bhagra • The Malacosm