Hunters

> :*Aw shit, this one's regenerating!*" "*How are you going to kill it!?*" "*I'm not!*"
>
>

— *Abdullah* And *Usagi Tsukino*
—In *Dead Space 3 Remastered*

## **Physical information**

### Distinctions

Very similar to both the Hunter and the Ubermorph.

## **Military and political information**

### Attack(s):

Stabbing and striking with its scythe-like blades.

## Overview

The Hunter physically resembled a Slasher, possessing large blades that are attached to a pair of elongated arms jutting out from it's shoulder blades. It was noticeably bulkier and taller than the standard Slasher and it's original arms appeared to be bound inside the flesh of it's torso similar to a straitjacket. Unlike the other forms of Necromorphs, it was able to regenerate lost limbs in seconds, meaning that conventional dismemberment tactics only served to temporarily incapacitate it. The Hunter's voice could be compared to a deep throaty roar as it was opposed to the Slasher's usual form of screaming and shouting. Just like the other Regenerating and Enhanced Necromorphs, the Hunter's eyes are glowing, although not as strongly as the other Regenerators'. The victim's jaw is gone with 4 tentacle-like veins hanging in place along with the neck frozen into a 45-degree angle. The big toes severely enlarged into sharp claws. The body is greatly covered in muscular tissue with no original skin left due to the mutation. Pieces of different bones can be seen pointing at different body parts. The spine and the pelvis bone can be seen at the back.

The Hunter first appeared during Chapter 5: Lethal Devotion. Morga kept the creature stored in a stasis tube in the Chemistry Lab on the Medical Deck, just outside the Cryogenics Storage Room. When Abdullah entered the lab to mix the poisonous compound, Mrs. Morga awoke the creature in an attempt to kill Abdullah. Abdullah eventually escaped after learning about the creature's regenerative abilities. The creature stalked Abdullah throughout the chapter as he attempted to complete his objectives. Abdullah finally faced it down in the Cryogenic Lab where he managed to freeze the creature inside a cryogenic tube, supposedly taking care of the problem once and for all.

However, as the game progressed, it was hinted that the creature was thawed and was once again stalking Abdullah as Abdullah heard the creature several times and even saw it once while in the main elevator in Chapter 7. In Chapter 8, shortly before the first Store, the Hunter could be heard growling and sharpening it's claws.

The Hunter reappeared in Chapter 10, just after Abdullah collected the third Navigation Card. Immediately after grabbing the card, Mrs. Morga contacted the player and revealed that he thawed the creature. Right after this transmission, the Hunter burst out of a ceiling vent and attacked, forcing Abdullah to retreat.

Toward the end of the chapter, when Abdullah went to test fire the engines of the shuttle in the Executive Shuttle Hangar Bay, the Hunter once again revealed itself and attempted to kill him. To defeat it, Abdullah lured it toward the back of the shuttle, stalled the Hunter via either Stasis or dismemberment and test fired the engines again, completely incinerating it. It dropped a Power Node where it died.

## Strategies

* **Use your environment to your advantage.**

Look for ways to stop or, at the very least, slow the Hunter. If there are points where the Hunter could get caught up on (low ceilings, doors with Node locks, barricades), use them! If there are throwable objects you can use to dismember limbs (Blades of Slashers, sawblades, etc.) or to stun it (exploding canisters, heavy objects, etc.), then use those, too. For example, in Chapter 10, after you collect the third navigation card, lure the Hunter to the room with the movable bunk beds. You can create a barricade to simply protect yourself. But note, there are a series of ceiling vents that the hunter will use if blocked, so plan your movement.
* **Dismember, then Stasis.**

Cut off the limbs of the creature, most effectively done with a Line Gun or Ripper, and then put it under stasis once its limbs start to regenerate. This will buy you a **lot** of time to attempt to leave the room.
* **Do what the situation requires.**

If you can exit the room immediately, do so. In some situations, you will be locked in the room with the creature until Ritsu unlocks the door. That's the only time you should confront the creature.
At the end of Chapter 5, when you confront the Hunter in the Cryogenics room, lure it to the end of the room with the stasis recharge. Make it follow you into the middle section, then take out its legs and / or stasis it, and run into the small room at the other end, which will be unlocked. Make sure the Hunter is in the middle section, then use the holographic panel to freeze it. Likewise, near the end of Chapter 10, the Hunter must be lured to the back of the shuttle and then put into stasis and/or dismembered. There, you should activate the engines to incinerate it for good.
* **Do not waste your ammo.**

The Hunter does regenerate, but under serious pressure you may not think about that. Use your ammo efficiently by removing its arms to avoid its heavily damaging attacks; slice off its legs to knock it onto the ground and slow it down. An alternate solution to dismemberment is by using the Force Gun or the Contact Beam's secondary fire, which can knock down and briefly stun the creature. This tactic also gives you time to escape.
* **The Hunter is relatively slow.**

Knocking out its legs to slow it further is a great tactic. Save your stasis ability for after you've taken down a few of its limbs, then stasis it and run. In a crowded room however, do not simply think stasing it will cripple it. Watch out for any movement it makes as it can score a few hits on Abdullah if he's too distracted even when slowed down, which can be fatal on Impossible.
* **Use Your Stasis.**

Keep a Stasis Pack or two handy when in chapters encountering the Hunter. Also, make sure that you upgrade your Stasis Module so that you have more shots AND that the shots have a longer effect. A quick way to escape is to take off most limbs (i.e. leg + arm) while it enters its regeneration stage. Freeze it and run! This is also useful in situations when it needs to be in a certain place (quarantines, the shuttle hangar, etc.).
* **Avoid, Avoid, Avoid.**

When other enemies are near while confronting the Hunter, it's a relatively good idea to eradicate them instead of focusing on the major threat. This tactic is especially useful when there are Twitchers around, as the Twitchers can kill you quickly if you choose to ignore them. Keep moving, take out a limb or two, and freeze it, then attack the remaining enemies and repeat if necessary. This strategy is wonderful for those of you who collect items.
* **Lace up your running shoes!**

If all else fails, you can conserve ammunition and health by simply avoiding the confrontation (most of the time) when things just seem too dark to handle! Remember, this is a "survival-horror" title.
* **Selective Dismemberment**

If you're low on Stasis energy and Kinesis isn't effective enough, you can slow it down by blowing off its legs (or one leg to save ammo). Don't forget to watch out for its support. The Hunter will only regenerate its legs when you are far from it, so running around can prevent it from regenerating.
* **Snub it**

While it is the "boss" of the level, the Hunter's primary threat is being a bullet sponge. If there is enough room, ignore it,
kill any other Necromorphs and outrun it until you're in a position to defeat it.

## Dead Space 3 Remastered Combat Strategy

Due to their regenerative abilities, killing them with regular weapons is outright impossible. The best you can hope for is to temporarily slow them down by blasting off their legs or disarm them in the same fashion. The Line Gun, Shotgun, Hydraulic Bayonet, or any weapon utilizing one of those three attachments are most effective, especially when paired with a Stasis Coating attachment. Much like the Übermorph and original Hunter, the best thing to do is completely dismember the Necromorph before putting it into stasis. If you are out of stasis and/or low on ammunition, concentrate on the legs of the Hunter, as this forces it to crawl towards Abdullah, greatly slowing it down, albeit for a short period of time. If there are multiple Hunters, then stay calm and use a powerful, area damage weapon to stay safe.

Weapons with Stasis Coating and rapid fire effects are very useful. Shotguns with Stasis Coatings are probably the best, dismembering, knocking back, and slowing down the Tau Volantis Hunters all at once. Automatic weapons, such as the Bullpup Rifle, with Stasis Coating attached to it, will dismember them in no time.

The only real way to destroy Evil Hunters for good is by using stationary turrets, such as the auto-cannons in the room where Abdullah and Kotobuki must unjam the gears. Interestingly, the Hunters can withstand the fire from the shuttle engines in the CMS Terra Nova, unlike the first Hunter in Dead Space Remastered. It is possible that the older design of the shuttle accounts for the discrepancy.

## Trivia

* If the Hunter is somehow trapped and unable to reach Abdullah, he will stand still and remain looking at Abdullah while growing and scratching his claws, apparently trying to intimidate Abdullah. This can be seen right when the Hunter first appears in Chapter 10; the player can move a shelf that completely blocks his path with no alternative routes for him.
* There is a glitch in Chapter 10 in the room where you have to wait for Ritsu to open the door. If you see the Hunter coming through the door into that room, if you shoot it with the Force Gun and the door closes, the Hunter will be unable to enter the room. It will still reappear later in the Chapter.
* It is unclear how Morga manages to avoid being killed by her own creation while he guides it through the ship - although the same could be said of how Morga seems to evade all the other Necromorphs on the *Ishimura*.
* The actual, and possibly only invulnerable point on its entire body is its torso. Any and all regenerations seems to stem from it (an arm/leg severed in half will regenerate a WHOLE new limb to replace it). Killing it by the shuttle engine's test fire is actually obliterating its torso, thus preventing any further regeneration.
* The Hunter's severed arms, like those of the Slasher, can be used as weapons when launched with Kinesis.
* The Hunter appears at the end of the Dismemberment Demo for *Dead Space Remastered,* appearing much earlier than it does in the full game. The Hunter only appears to kill Abdullah and end the demo, its appearance triggering an unavoidable cutscene.
* In the *Dead Space Remastered* Dismemberment Demo, if Abdullah has the Pulse Rifle equipped, then during the cutscene when the Hunter is supposed to kill Abdullah, if the player has their gun drawn, they can stop the Hunter from killing Abdullah. However, even though Abdullah will reload when he needs to, he will stay in place, no matter what you do, and when your gun is out of ammo, you can't switch, and you'll be stuck like that until the Hunter kills you.

## Death Scene

Hunters has a special attack that will be signaled by it rearing their blades back. If Abdullah is hit by this attack, Hunters will sink both of their blades through his torso, lifts him up, then violently stab him two times. Hunters then slices off his legs and left arm, and lowers Abdullah. Abdullah struggles to hold up his right arm, almost as if pleading to Hunters. It then cuts his head off and finally slices him in half. Hunters will perform this move if Abdullah's health reads yellow or lower.

If Abdullah is slashed with Hunter's blade while he has moderately low health, whatever part of him is hit will be torn off as he dies.

## Appearances

Dead Space Remastered
Dead Space 2 Remastered
Dead Space 3 Remastered
Dead Space 4 Remastered
 Dead Space 5 Remastered

## Notes

1. ↑ Brief glimpse of the Hunter's silhouette can be caught as the cargo elevator descends past the closed gates to the mining sub-deck for the first time.

## See also

* Slashers
* Morga
* The Ubermorph
* The Regenerators
* Regenerators