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Hunters are one of the most irritating enemies in Helldivers 2 but you’ll be facing them a lot in your campaigns and often in large swarms. So whether you’re hunting them for a personal order or just looking for ways to avoid being jumped, here’s how to find and defeat Hunters in Helldivers 2.
Where to find Hunter locations in Helldivers 2
Hunters are one of the basic, mid-sized enemies that you’ll often find as part of patrols or reinforcement waves on Terminid-infested planets. On the very lowest difficulties, you might only see a few, or even only their smaller Pouncer variant, but believe me, from about difficulty level 3, it’s the Hunters that will find *you*.
On higher difficulties you will sometimes find Stalkers, a larger varient that can become partially invisible, though in certain weather conditions this can actually make them easier to spot. Stalkers will keep spawning until you hunt down and destroy their unique nest locations, so if you spot one, inform your team and try to follow where came from to get rid of the threat early.
How to defeat Hunters in Helldivers 2
Despite having little more health than your average bug, Hunters can be incredibly irritating to take down due to the combination of their size, speed, and tendency to spawn in large numbers. These factors all combine to make a close-quarters fight inevitable, which is also where the Hunter is most deadly due to their ability to slow you down with their probing tendrils. However, there are a few ways you can make it easier on yourself and your squad.
Sticking together with everyone isn’t always possible, especially when some of the larger foes force you to perform a delta split, but if you can keep relatively near to a buddy, you can help cover each others’ flanks where the Hunter likes to sneak in. If you’re having real trouble hitting them, shotguns are your friend since they fire a spread and can often knock them out of their jumping animations. The SG225-Breaker, beloved by many and available in the free battle pass, is excellent at dealing with Hunters due to the spread and rate of fire, allowing you to take out large swarms at close or medium ranges.
Grenades tend to be less effective, unless you’re using the Impact variant, as they will often just run past them before they go off or even bounce them back onto you if you hit one mid-leap. Sentry turrets can mow them down at range like any small bugs, but since Hunters can close the gap so quick, you may find that your turret will end up hitting you in the crossfire.
The Tesla Tower stratagem is similarly dangerous but so great at frying them that it may be worth trying as long as you can either stay out of its range or keep prone. Additionally, the energy shield backpack is able to block a few of the slowing attacks, allowing you to keep mobile and avoid getting mobbed. And remember, the bigger bugs are often easier to avoid than the smaller ones, so it’s never a bad idea to focus on add-clear before turning your guns on those Bile Titans and Chargers.
