How to Kill a Hunter on Halo 3

Last Updated: October 21, 2021

Hunters are some of the hardest, ugliest and baddest enemies in the Halo 3 campaign. They fire their devastating assault cannons at you, chase after you with their deadly attacks and can take some serious punishment before they go down. So it would be understandable if you didn't know the easiest ways to take them down. Here's how to kill a Hunter easily on Halo 3.

Note - Hunters are large Covenant creatures found in the Halo 3 campaign, and are comprised of armour and small orange worms. They carry large assault cannons and a shield for melee attacks and are almost always found in pairs. They have different weaknesses and strengths from the Hunters in previous Halo games, so be aware.

Steps

1
Sneak up on the Hunter you wish to kill. If the Hunter is unaware of you, they are much easier to kill. This may be hard if you have allies with you, but if you have weapons such as fuel rods or sniper rifles, sneaking up is essential.
2
Learn their vulnerable points. Hunters are generally quite impenetrable on their front side, but if you can attack them from the rear or sides, they are much more prone to damage. Their head, neck, back, and any other areas not covered by armour, are great spots to aim at.

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3
Dodge their attacks and keep your distance. Their assault cannons can be very powerful and even kill in one hit on harder difficulties, so keep behind cover. Their assault cannons lose their power once you damage the Hunter enough, so take your time. Keeping your distance also means the Hunters can't get you with their powerful melee attacks.
4
Be aware of the other Hunter's movements at all times if there are two - quite often you will be shooting at one while the other loops around to get you from behind.
5
Decide how you want to kill them, whether it is from preference or due to the weapons you have. If you have a sniper or beam rifle, a quick few shots to the back of the head is quite effective, as too are brute shots. Spartan lasers and rockets are usually an instant kill, while fuel rod guns and plasma cannons or machine gun turrets are good if you are aiming at their back. Any of these weapon combinations are a good choice, and if their armour begins to fall off, they're even easier to kill.
6
Stick them. The Hunters in Halo 3 are much more susceptible to grenades than in the previous two installments of the game franchise. In fact, one well-placed spike grenade can kill a Hunter instantly if it's stuck to the Hunter's head with the spikes going into its body.
7
Melee them. The Hunters have always, and even more so in Halo 3, been vulnerable to melee attacks and a few hits to the Hunter's back will remove its armour and leave it exposed. However, this tactic will involve you getting in close to the Hunter, risking their powerful melee attacks.
8
Run them over! If you are traveling fast enough or using the vehicle's boost feature (if it has one), one hit from a ghost, prowler or warthog will be enough to kill them out-right. Of course, if the vehicle has a gunner on the vehicle you are driving is a tank or wraith, their guns will be sufficient to kill a hunter provided it doesn't shoot you down with its assault cannon first.
9
Use a combination of shooting, grenades and melee (or even splattering) to finish the hunter off. A few sniper shots followed by a spike grenade and a round of melee will most likely kill any Hunter, so keep your options open. Just shoot him in the back with a sniper and he'll die. Shotguns are also effective when shooting a hunter. Note that shooting a Hunter in it's back is easier than shooting its head, but it does less damage.