Surviving the Hunt: A Helldivers 2 Guide to Dealing with Hunters

Introduction

Helldivers Two has taken the cooperative gaming world by storm, plunging players into a desperate intergalactic war against terrifying alien threats. Among the swarms of Terminids that threaten Super Earth, one enemy stands out as a particularly lethal and frustrating foe: the Hunter. These agile predators are notorious for their ability to close distances rapidly, delivering debilitating melee attacks, and generally making life miserable for even the most seasoned Helldivers. Their relentless pursuit and uncanny ability to appear from seemingly nowhere have left many a squad wiped out and demoralized. This article serves as your comprehensive guide to understanding, countering, and ultimately eliminating these persistent threats. We’ll delve into their behavior patterns, exploit their weaknesses, arm you with effective combat strategies, and equip you with recommended loadouts to ensure your survival against the Helldivers Two Hunters.

Hunter Overview

Picture this: you’re holding the line against a tide of Terminids, feeling relatively confident in your team’s ability to repel the assault. Suddenly, a blur of green leaps from the swarm, its chitinous body gleaming under the harsh alien sun. That’s a Hunter. Helldivers Two Hunters are relatively small, insectoid creatures characterized by their vibrant green carapace and elongated limbs. Their lithe build hints at their primary strength: agility. They aren’t armored behemoths, but rather swift ambush predators designed to disrupt formations and sow chaos.

The primary role of the Hunter within the Terminid Swarm is to harass and flank. They rarely engage in direct, head-on assaults. Instead, they prefer to circle the periphery of the battle, waiting for an opportunity to strike at vulnerable targets. Watch out, as the Helldivers Two Hunters have also been known to call in reinforcements by screeching and alerting other bugs in the area to your presence. Their tactics commonly involve:

• Ambushes and Flanking Maneuvers: They excel at using terrain and the chaos of battle to their advantage, appearing from unexpected angles to strike at distracted Helldivers.
• Rapid Movement and Pouncing Attacks: Hunters are incredibly fast, capable of closing distances in a matter of seconds with their signature leaping attack. This pounce not only deals damage but can also stagger Helldivers, leaving them vulnerable to follow-up attacks from other Terminids.
• Pack Hunting Tendencies: Hunters rarely operate alone. They often hunt in packs, coordinating their attacks to overwhelm individual Helldivers or disrupt team formations.

Their strengths lie in their ability to close the gap quickly, deliver staggering melee attacks that can interrupt reloads or stratagem call-ins, and evade incoming projectiles with surprising ease. This combination of speed, agility, and disruptive attacks makes them a formidable threat, particularly in close-quarters environments.

Exploiting Weaknesses

While Helldivers Two Hunters present a significant challenge, they are far from invincible. Understanding their weaknesses is crucial for turning the tide of battle in your favor.

• Minimal Armor: Unlike heavily armored enemies like Chargers or Bile Titans, Hunters possess relatively thin armor. This makes them vulnerable to a wide range of weapons, allowing you to make them a pulp with a well placed shot.
• Susceptibility to Specific Damage Types: Certain damage types and status effects are particularly effective against Hunters. Explosive damage can often stagger or knock them down, while fire damage can quickly incinerate them. Status effects such as stun or slow can also significantly reduce their mobility and effectiveness.
• Vulnerability During Attacks: Hunters are most vulnerable when they are actively attacking. Their leaping attacks leave them exposed in mid-air, providing a brief window of opportunity to land a critical hit. Additionally, their attacks often leave them momentarily vulnerable after landing, allowing for a quick follow-up strike.

These weaknesses can be exploited to give you a leg up in dealing with these creatures.

Combat Strategies Against Hunters

Defeating Helldivers Two Hunters requires a combination of individual skill and coordinated teamwork. Here are some essential combat strategies to employ:

Individual Tactics

• Maintaining Awareness and Position: Constantly scan your surroundings and listen for the distinctive screeching of Hunters. Maintain a safe distance from potential ambush locations and avoid getting isolated from your team.
• Dodging and Evasion Techniques: Master the art of the dive. Proper timing can mean the difference between life and death when a Hunter leaps towards you. Use dives to evade attacks, reposition yourself, and create distance.
• Prioritizing Hunter Elimination: When faced with a mixed horde of Terminids, prioritize eliminating Hunters. Their mobility and disruptive attacks make them a high-priority threat.
• Targeting Weak Points: Aim for the head. Headshots deal significant damage to Hunters, often resulting in instant kills. If you don’t have a clear shot at the head, focus on landing shots to their backs.

Team Tactics

• Effective Communication is Key: Call out Hunter positions to your teammates. Use voice chat or the in-game ping system to alert others to approaching threats.
• Covering Fire and Flanking Maneuvers: Work together to provide covering fire while teammates flank Hunters. Concentrated fire can quickly eliminate them before they have a chance to attack.
• Crowd Control Techniques: Utilize weapons and Stratagems with crowd control effects to slow or stun groups of Hunters. This can buy you valuable time to reposition, reload, or eliminate other threats.

Recommended Loadouts

Choosing the right loadout can greatly improve your chances of success against Helldivers Two Hunters. Here are some recommended options:

Primary Weapons

• Shotguns: Shotguns are highly effective at close range, delivering devastating damage to Hunters. Their wide spread also makes them forgiving if you miss your initial shot.
• Assault Rifles: Assault rifles provide a good balance of range, accuracy, and damage output. They are versatile enough to handle both Hunters and other Terminid threats.

Secondary Weapons

• High-Damage Pistols: A pistol with good stopping power can be invaluable for quickly dispatching Hunters in close quarters or when you’re caught reloading your primary weapon.

Stratagems

Offensive Stratagems

• Grenades: Impact grenades can knock Hunters down and deal significant damage, while stun grenades can temporarily disable them.
• Orbital Strikes: Precision orbital strikes can be used to eliminate groups of Hunters from a distance.
• Eagle Airstrikes: These are great for clearing out groups of hunters but may need to be timed well for moving targets.

Defensive Stratagems

• Shield Generator Pack: The Shield Generator Pack provides a crucial layer of defense, absorbing incoming attacks and protecting you from Hunter leaps.
• Sentry Guns: Gatling or machine gun sentries can provide valuable covering fire and automatically target Hunters. Consider the EMS Mortar Sentry too as it stuns and slows them for other divers to take down.

Advanced Tips and Tricks

Beyond basic combat strategies and loadout recommendations, there are several advanced tips and tricks that can give you an edge against Helldivers Two Hunters:

• Exploiting Hunter AI: Use terrain to your advantage by creating chokepoints or funneling Hunters into narrow corridors. This can make them easier to target and eliminate.
• Recognizing Hunter Spawns: Pay attention to the environment and enemy behavior. Hunters are more likely to spawn in areas with dense vegetation or near Terminid nests.
• Adapting to Different Difficulty Levels: Hunter behavior and spawn rates change at higher difficulty levels. Be prepared for more aggressive tactics and larger packs of Hunters.

Conclusion

The Hunters of Helldivers Two are a constant threat, demanding your respect and tactical prowess. They challenge Helldivers to be aware, be quick, and be cooperative. Mastering the art of countering Hunters is essential for surviving the Terminid onslaught and ensuring the continued safety of Super Earth. By understanding their behavior, exploiting their weaknesses, employing effective combat strategies, and equipping yourself with the right loadout, you can transform these agile predators from a deadly threat into a manageable nuisance. Practice these tactics, experiment with different loadouts, and never underestimate the cunning of Helldivers Two Hunters. Remember, the key to victory lies in adaptation, coordination, and unwavering dedication to the principles of managed democracy. Now get out there, Helldiver, and show those Hunters who’s boss! The fate of Super Earth depends on it.