Hunter

"So... How did you handle Hunters in the city?" White Forest Rebel

The Hunter, originally known as the Mini Strider, is a fast and efficient synth used by Combine forces as a scout and escort. The Hunter is first seen in Episode One,  but not encountered directly until Episode Two, in which they are a prominent enemy.

Physical Traits
The Hunter's body is somewhat rounded in shape with a shiny, metallic green exoskeleton encasing it and three muscular legs attached to the sides and back of the body. On either side of the Hunter's body are what appear to be three pairs of compound eyes and pair of vertically aligned fléchette launchers on the Synth's front. Located directly underneath the launchers are two small limbs tipped with metal blades for impaling targets, behind those and on the back are two oval shaped orifices possibly for breathing, vocalizations, or both.

Like all Synth, Hunters possess a number of vocalizations, of which are shrill, fierce, and slightly electronic sounding.

Combat Behavior
Although possessing less firepower and armor than their larger tripodal cousin, Hunters are much more agile and speedy. A Hunter will normally attempt to engage opponents at medium range, allowing it to fire fléchette rounds with great accuracy. If targets should take cover, Hunters will fire their fléchette's in such a way that their targets will be caught in the splash damage when the fléchette's explode. If a target is too far away, the Hunter will often charge to both ram it and close the distance.

It is assumed that Hunters are not particularly well suited to urban combat situations as most of their tactics (which rely on speed, range, and maneuverability) are strongly impaired in close quarters.

Appearances
The Hunter is first seen in Episode One, as part of the force seen attacking the base where Judith Mossman recorded her transmission.

Gordon Freeman himself encounters Hunters in combat for the first time in the forested open spaces outside of City 17. Hunters are first met when one manages to pounce upon Alyx Vance and severely wound her. Later the tripodal Synth are encountered scouting or patrolling areas, as well as being part of various Combine forces attempting to intercept Alyx Vance and Gordon Freeman on their way to White Forest.

Hunters where later used during the second Combine offensive against White Forest. Here, the Hunters acted as escorts for the larger Striders, clearing out smaller targets and firing upon any Magnusson Device launched at the larger Synth.

Counter Tactics
While Hunters are quite resilient to gunfire, they are considerably more vulnerable to blunt force. Two well aimed hits from a Gravity Gun-launched tractor tire or propane tank is sufficient to kill one. The Muscle Car can also be used to kill a Hunter if used to ram the creature with sufficient force.

Failing this, Hunters can be brought down with the RPG or SMG1 grenades. A direct hit from the AR2 Pulse Rifle's secondary fire (the Energy Orb launcher) can disintegrate a Hunter as well. If explosives or the Combine AR2 Pulse Rifle's secondary fire are not available, firearms such as the Shotgun or the Magnum can also be used. .Five or six shots at point blank range from the shotgun's secondary fire should be enough to kill one, though this is not an effective tactic as it consumes large quantities of ammunition very quickly and requires that the player stop fighting momentarily to reload.

In addition, a direct shot to either of the Hunter's launchers from the Crossbow results in a one hit kill.

Trivia

 * Players can gain an Orange Box Achievement "Payback", by killing a Hunter with its own flechettes. As the flechettes cannot be handled directly with the Gravity Gun, achieving this involves holding a physics object when a Hunter is shooting at the player. The flechettes will then stick to the object, which must then be tossed at the Hunter.
 * Hunters were originally intended to be vulnerable only to blows from objects launched at them with the Gravity Gun. Later, Valve made them vulnerable to all weapons as the Hunter design changed, but they are still more vulnerable to blows than gunfire.
 * In the Our Mutual Fiend chapter of Episode Two, a rebel exaggerates his combat ability by declaring that people in the city fought Hunters with their bare hands. This indicates that the residents of City 17 may have been aware of Hunters but had not encountered them directly. On the other hand, the rebel may not have even known what a Hunter is since he only mentions bare handed fighting after being asked "how ... city folk kill Hunters".
 * In 2007, Valve made a plush version of the Hunter available for purchase on the Valve store.