The Hunter



The Hunter is an agile Infected who can leap off of walls and jump over rooftops, similar to Half-Life 2 ' s Fast Zombie. Hunters are primarily identified by a distinctive growl, or the screams they emit when pouncing or when they have sighted a Survivor. This boss infected has two attacks: a claw attack which does about 10 (6 in the latest update) damage (making it a viable tactic to use in the right situations), and a pouncing attack, which pins down a helpless survivor while the Hunter claws at them. The Hunter will not stop until finished, killed, or knocked off. Also, the actual pounce will cause damage from the impact with a comment coming up telling how much damage was caused by the impact. The max pounce damage that can be caused is 25, which makes it arguably the most powerful attack in the game when used correctly, taking off a whopping 1/4 of the survivors health. However, the Hunter is very weak, and it can only take a few bullets before dying. Up to three Hunters are allowed on the Infected team while playing, Versus, however, there is a very slim chance of a team getting four Hunters.

When a player takes control of the Hunter in Versus mode, the Hunter's pounce ability is measured by a meter that is started when the player crouches down. This was chosen instead of the Hunter becoming invisible once backed up against a wall or a similar piece of cover, more than likely to balance gameplay. The Hunter's power should not be underestimated, however. Two Hunters can incapacitate a Survivor with full health in about five seconds, though they should stay behind the Survivor so they don't take any damage themselves.

Extent of Mutations
The Hunter has been heavily mutated under this strain of the Infection. It has gained an increase in strength that, while not creating massive muscles as in the case of the Tank, has granted it the ability to jump long distances and rapidly scale the sides of buildings with ease. Despite its empty eye sockets, it has developed far sharper senses than typical infected, allowing it to hunt with far greater efficiency. Though its mentality is similar to that of the typical infected, it's not distracted by such things as the flashing lights of pipe bombs nor is it apparently attracted by such things as car alarms going off. It should be noted that the Infection enhanced the Hunter's lung capacity for its trademark screech.

Tactics
Fast and agile like the Hunters of Resident Evil, this boss-infected will whisper dark phrases and growl to alert you of his presence. The Hunter is often used as a distraction by both AI and human Infected. Solo players fare especially badly against Hunters since their attack is often much harder to avoid than the tongue of a Smoker or the bile of a Boomer. Without timely intervention, Hunters kill very quickly. While Hunters are hurt by being on fire and will eventually die, any Survivor pounced on by a flaming Hunter will suffer much more damage from the attack (as of the last game update, only dynamic fire sources such as those created by molotov and gas cans add to the damage bonus).

Survivors
General strategy:
 * Always have at least one buddy close at hand.
 * Listen for the distinctive growl the Hunter makes when crouched and ready to pounce. Once you hear the cues remind the other survivors of the Hunter's presence to keep everyone on their toes. This may sound useless but it often prevents survivors from taking unnecessary damage from Hunters.
 * Remember that the Hunter won't usually pounce as soon as he sees a Survivor, be it an AI controlled one or a player controlled one. Even the AI waits and bides its time. The cry does show you it is close by, though.
 * On expert the Hunter AI seems to be much smarter than the other difficulties and will often claw survivors rather than pouncing on them. This does an extremely deadly amount of damage and should be avoided at all costs. Be careful as the Hunter will also sometimes try to blend into the Horde and claw survivors instead of pouncing.

Before pounce: After a Hunter has pounced your fellow Survivor:
 * Be warned, when on expert, even if you have full health it takes about 9 seconds to kill you.
 * If the Hunter is outside pounce range, open fire. Head-shots are particularly effective.
 * Otherwise, throw a melee attack just as the Hunter starts his pounce. This will knock it back, stunning it, and you can finish it off with your choice of two additional melee attacks or weapon fire.
 * If you manage to stop the Hunter mid-pounce keep hitting him as this keeps him from doing ANYTHING. Definitely use this tactic when he is close to other survivors to avoid friendly-fire.
 * You will receive a visual notification that a fellow Survivor has been pounced on.
 * Shoot at the Hunter if you are far away and melee if you are close to it, friendly fire does not hurt a player while they are pinned down (although once the Hunter is off, they are then vulnerable to such).
 * If too far away AND there is no Survivor closer than you are, go ahead and shoot.
 * A well placed head-shot can instantly kill the Hunter.
 * Don't let walls stop you. If the only way to save a fellow survivor is to shoot through a wall or ceiling, do it. The Hunting rifle is particularly effective at this, although even pistols can punch through.

Infected

 * In versus, you will spend more time as a Hunter than any other infected, coincidentally, the Hunter also has the highest skill-cap of any special infected, so the extra time spent pouncing pays off.
 * Hunters have few hit points, so never attack a group of two or more Survivors on your own (unless they are distracted, such as by a Horde of Infected).
 * Lone wolves are the bread-and-butter of the Hunter; pounce them first.
 * DO however, as stated in the Boomer section, pounce over Survivors covered in Bile, huddled in a corner "Spamming Melee". You will land on their head and this will count as a pounce. Furthermore, if they are huddled tight, you will not be affected by their Melee Spamming.
 * The Hunter bonus pounce damage is based on the distance between your launch-point and the point where you hit the the Survivor, therefore launching straight up or down is not the most effective pounce. Instead, climb on top of a roof or chimney a bit away from the Survivors (such as on a rooftop on the other side of the street), and propel yourself up and forward at a 45 degree angle. You have some limited control in the air and can somewhat guide yourself to your target once airborne. Twenty plus damage pounces are not as hard as they seem once you become better acquainted with the pounce mechanic, 25 extra damage is the maximum.
 * A pounce that deals damage is a good way to instantly "incapacitate on pounce" a survivor who has less health than the damage dealt, even before he begins his ripping attack.
 * Look for survivors outlined in red. The red indicates that their health is low, making them easy targets.
 * Instead of pouncing on a weak Survivor, try clawing it. Once it quickly goes down, pounce on another Survivor to be even more effective.
 * "Hiding" behind or standing in front of cars with alarms and Witches is as malicious as it is effective.
 * As most average Survivor groups end up slightly splitting into pairs always try to team up with the other Hunter player to pin two Survivors at once with normally a gap between those pinned and the other pair that are normally distracted by something else giving a few more vital seconds for the Hunters to do extra damage. Also with the Hunters working in pairs this should ensure that if a group has fell to two Survivors that they wont get much further without them being incapacitated.
 * So long as you hold down the crouch key, you can pounce continuously.
 * To pounce continuously, all you need to do is make sure that as you hit a surface, you're facing into open space.
 * The "surface" can be a wall. In fact you can climb up to a roof by bouncing off walls (jump off walls by placing your back against the wall in your jump, and jump again).
 * If you mess up (i.e.: pounce forward while facing a wall), the pounce meter charges up quickly as long as you keep holding the crouch key.
 * On levels with Mini-guns, you can quickly teach the Survivors why manning the Mini-gun is a bad idea, especially if they are alone.
 * After getting knocked off your victim, immediately run for cover.
 * If the Survivors are distracted, you'll get away with it and gain a valuable second opportunity for pouncing on them.
 * If instead you stick around and try using the claw attack, you'll discover that it's actually quite effective, except on groups of survivors who have no distractions.
 * Go for people covered in bile. It will pin them down and leave them helpless for the Horde. The horde also serves as a meat shield in this case (don't count on it too much, however, as most weapon fire penetrates multiple targets if they are lined up)
 * If three people are 'slimed' it is better to pounce the clean Survivor as being 'slimed' decreases vision and the Infected meat shield will prevent them from getting to you. The Boomer's victims are unable to see the aura surrounding their teammates while they're covered, so they won't be able to see the pounced victim until the initial blindness wears off.
 * If the Survivors keep knocking you off before you can deal any damage, try silently running up to a Survivor and using the Hunter's melee attack.
 * Hitting them in the back does extra damage.
 * If the Survivors are in a defensible position (read: closet) and are spamming melee, claws are more effective than pouncing.
 * Set yourself on fire. A flaming Hunter will deal 10 (the March 11th update reduced this amount) damage per second, starting at 0, unlike a non flaming Hunter which doesn't start dealing damage as soon as it pounces. If a fire is nearby, pounce through the fire and hit a survivor. Even if you only stay on him for 2 seconds, with fire, you will have removed a large amount of his health but the Hunter will slowly burn to death so only set yourself alight for aggressive attacks on groups.
 * Don't melee people who are being strangled by a Smoker, as your claw will damage (and may break) the tongue.
 * Don't kill steal from Smokers (pouncing on a grabbed survivor). Protect them by pouncing would-be rescuers.
 * In versus mode, Hunters have a small knock back on their pounce. Try pouncing groups near ledges for hilarious results.
 * The Hunter will scream when it sees a Survivor. Keep this in mind, as the scream will cause the Survivors to be aware of the Hunter's presence.
 * A good tactic when playing as the Hunter, is to position yourself behind the Witch, and then duck. A Survivor or group of Survivors will approach. They either will not notice the Witch or think they can pull of shooting you, but once they've fired one shot, the Witch will stand up and attack the Survivor who shot you, and you can pounce on the other which is shooting the Witch.
 * As of a recent update (January 14th), Hunters can no longer anger the Witch into attacking by pouncing at her, however, they can keep her at her maximum anger level by swiping at her.
 * If you hold off on attacking players, they may become more spread out and placid, possibly enough to pounce and do more damage before their friends can assist.
 * Generally, there is usually a loose cannon in all Survivor teams, the person that runs ahead of the group and triggers a panic event or a Tank to spawn. Take advantage of this to either pounce on the loner or attempt to attack the 3 members left farther back as they attempt to rush up ahead.
 * The same rule applies to players that take their time or get lost. Or have to back track to get a First-aid kit or another useful item back at either a weapon cache or the safe room. Teach them the hard lesson of why going solo is not a bright idea.
 * It is faster to continually pounce up climbable surfaces, rather than climbing normally.
 * Pick your battles, wait for one or more Survivors to run off by themselves or accidentally get separated. Don't waste your life on attacking when they're in a tight group.
 * Ask for backup from your fellow Infected. This will often allow you to do massive damage while the Survivors are preoccupied with your teammates. Pouncing is best while your fellow Infected are alive.

Here is a video with a lot of helpful information and tactics for playing as the Hunter. Special thanks to Criken2 for the video.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDV_2w4NU_s&feature=channel

Survivors
Jump Shot Headshot a Hunter while he's leaping. - The easiest way to do this is in the Airport hallway in Dead Air. Camp at the end of the hallway and aim your crosshairs just under the roof, be sure to have an assault rifle. When the Hunter is about to pounce, open fire. You've got a good chance of hitting his head. Although, it is easier to get it while not even trying. Hunters will often hide behind corners in stages such as the sewers, and aiming down while checking around corners can allow you to get this achievement. it is NOT required to kill the hunter with the headshot, however.

Dead Stop Punch a Hunter as he is pouncing. - Again in Dead Air, at the escalators, kill all Common Infected and camp at the top. AI Hunters who pounce from the bottom of the escalator will land right in front of you, so just spam punch, they usually won't hit you.

Hunter Punter Shove a Hunter off of a pinned and helpless Survivor. - Simply enough, melee a Hunter who has pinned one of your friends.

Infected
Double Jump Pounce two different Survivors on one life as a Hunter. - You'll generally earn this achievement when a foolish Survivor shoves you off instead of shooting you, then forgets to finish you off. That's how most people earn it, just by the Survivors being in a panic attack and thinking too fast.

Trivia

 * Oddly enough, the Hunter always seems to have the same clothing combination, as opposed to other boss infected such as the Smoker who tend to have different clothes. The hood on the Hunter always hides its face.
 * The Hunter vaguely resembles the main protagonists from the game's Assassin's Creed and Thief.
 * It is widely considered that the Hunter is the hardest special infected to learn, but the most enjoyable to play as.