Hunter

First Seen: Episode One, Chapter Two - Direct Intervention
 * Health total: 300 (In Episode One)
 * Weapon damage: Pulse-Turret (2), built in suppression device (instant death, or large splash damage if not direct hit) (In Episode One)
 * Entity:  (spawned in Episode One only)

Suggested by its entity name to be a smaller variant of the Strider, the Hunter (as named in a GamesRadar article ) is seen twice in Half-Life 2: Episode One: first when one breaks into a snow-covered facility during the recording of a message by Dr. Judith Mossman, and then again in the closing Episode Two teaser, in which a pack is seen dashing through a forest.

Unlike the standard Striders, which walk about one step at a time, Hunters can gallop with a powerful gait similar to a gorilla's. They also have visible eyes or eye-like devices and are more agile than their enormous cousins. They are clearly well-suited to the forest environment of Episode Two. When spawned in Episode One, they attack with a minigun-like weapon similar to the one used by the larger Striders. In the second Episode Two trailer, it is revealed that the Hunters fire a weapon similar to the Combine Turret or Overwatch Pulse Rifle from both of their "eyes". From what is seen in gameplay videos, they seem to only use this weapon when the target is unreachable or a considerable distance away, preferring to charge and violently kick their enemies most of the time. Animations also suggest that the Hunter mounts its legs to the ground before firing, (something suspected to also occur in Episode Two's trailer). This "mounting" animation may also suggest a more powerful weapon in the future, similar to the Strider's singularity cannon. When spawned in Episode One, the Hunter may activate a cannon that fires a pulse shot similar to those shot from the suppression device atop the Overwatch Nexus.

Despite being fast and armored, a pre-release gameplay footage of Episode Two indicates that a Hunter can be defeated by hitting the creature with objects using the Gravity Gun or being rammed by vehicles. Spawning Hunters in the in-game console in Episode One spawns it as completely gray, with no color or detail; the bullets of its weapons are not seen, only the spots where they hit are visible; and standard firepower does little damage to the Hunter, but grenades thrown with the gravity gun and rockets can down them much easier than they can down a full-sized Strider.