The Hunters (DS3)

"Aw shit, this one's regenerating!"
"How are you going to kill it!?"
"I'm not!"

—Ellie Langford and Isaac Clarke

The Hunters are Regenerator-type Necromorphs that appeared in Dead Space 3. They bore a significant resemblance to the Hunter created by Dr. Mercer and Ubermorph, and shared the same regenerating abilities. From various logs and game clues, it was implied that the Regenerators are the former members of the Deep Dig Team on Tau Volantis.

Overview

In basic body shape, the Hunters resemble the Hunter more closely than the Ubermorph. However, they maintain the same smooth skin as the Ubermorph, although they have large gashes in their abdomens and appear to have Unitology markings inscribed on their bodies. This latter trait suggests that they are former members of the Deep Dig team, whose logs state that when they had no surface to scrawl marker symbols on, they would use their own flesh. The Witness RIG, which was confirmed to be the suit worn by the Deep Dig team, is covered with the same symbols.

History

The Hunters are created sometime during the S.C.A.F. expedition to Tau Volantis when the members of the Deep Dig Team are digging into the surface of Tau Volantis. They are eventually subjected into dementia and madness due to all the markers, and claim to be witnesses of the truth scrawling marker symbols on flesh when no other surface is present, they eventually mutated into Regenerators and they are contained in small transfer boxes and delivered to the CMS Terra Nova and some warehouses on Tau Volantis. But, the Scenario Five order was initiated and the captured Regenerators are left to be undisturbed on Tau Volantis.

Two hundred years later, during Chapter 5: Expect Delays, Isaac Clarke and Sgt. John Carver cleared the cargo on the Terra Nova's tram tracks, accidentally letting the Regenerators loose on the ship. When they reached the Terra Novas cargo hold, the first of these creatures freed itself from it's tube, initiating a chase. Not long after the first encounter, a second Regenerator came out of a vent and also gave chase to the duo. They reached the tram station and activated the tram's services, but until it arrived, they fended off the assault of the Hunters and their allies. Even at the Aft station, the Hunters still gave chase, especially after Ellie accidentally began the launch procedure and knew no way how to undo the action. As the Crozier proceeded to launch out of the station, hordes of various Necromorphs and Hunters appeared and attacked Isaac and Carver in their attempts to end the launch sequence. The duo finally went to the engine room and found explosives jarred in the gears. They made use of the auto-cannons set in place there and began unjarring the gears. As they did so, the Hunters along with the Slashers as backup made their final attempt at killing them. The beasts met their ends at the hands of the auto-cannons, however and Isaac and Carver unjammed the gears and are sucked out into the vacuum of space, directly under the tram's road.

On Tau Volantis, Isaac encountered the Hunters in the Marker Containment areas underneath Tau Volantis. They appeared to be locked in their boxes, but more appeared from the ventilation ducts and attacked Isaac and Carver. When Isaac reached the small room containing the Suit Kiosk, Bench and an elevator, three Regenerators appeared and chased Isaac and Carver in a gauntlet run until they both escaped and returned to the underbelly of Tau Volantis.

Combat Strategy

Due to their regenerative abilities, killing them with regular weapons is outright impossible. The best you can hope for is to temporarily slow them down by blasting off their legs or disarm them in the same fashion. The Line Gun, Shotgun, Hydraulic Bayonet, or any weapon utilizing one of those three attachments are most effective, especially when paired with a Stasis Coating attachment. Much like the Übermorph and original Hunter, the best thing to do is completely dismember the Necromorph before putting it into stasis. If you are out of stasis and/or low on ammunition, concentrate on the legs of the Regenerator, as this forces it to crawl towards Isaac, greatly slowing it down, albeit for a short period of time. If there are multiple Regenerators, then stay calm and use a powerful, area damage weapon to stay safe.

Weapons with Stasis Coating and rapid fire effects are very useful. Shotguns with Stasis Coatings are probably the best, dismembering, knocking back, and slowing down the Hunters all at once. Automatic weapons, such as the Bullpup Rifle, with Stasis Coating attached to it, will dismember them in no time.

The only real way to destroy Hunters for good is by using stationary turrets, such as the auto-cannons in the room where Isaac and Carver must unjam the gears. Interestingly, the Regenerators can withstand the fire from the shuttle engines in the CMS Terra Nova, unlike the first Hunter in Dead Space. It is possible that the older design of the shuttle accounts for the discrepancy.

Death Scenes

Dead Space 3 I Brutal Regenerator death I

The Tau Volantis Hunters have the same death sequences as the original Hunter and Übermorph. A Regenerator will rear its blades back, if Isaac or Carver is hit by this attack while low on health, the Regenerator will sink both of its blades through his torso, lift him up, then violently stab him two times. It then bisects him at the waist and cuts off his left arm, and lowers the victim. Isaac or Carver will struggle to hold up his right arm, almost as if pleading to it. The Hunter then cuts his head off and finally slices him in half.

If Isaac or Carver is slashed with the Hunter's blade while he has moderately low health, whatever part of him is hit will be torn off as he dies.

Trivia

Unlike the original Hunter but similar to the Ubermorph, there is no explanation as to what lead to the creation of the Tau Volantis Hunters as opposed to standard Necromorphs. However, in various hints and logs, it is stated that the Tau Volantis Hunters were once some of the S.C.A.F. deep dig team members, who ventured deep into the dark recesses of Tau Volantis and were directly exposed to the planet's Red Markers. Whether this has anything to do with the Hunters' transformation however is unknown.
The bodies of the Tau Volantis Hunters look sturdier and more muscular than that of the original Hunter or the Ubermorph's.
Dead Space 3 is the first game to feature more than one regenerating Necromorph at once.
The likely reason the developers have put multiple Hunters into a single play area is that it compensates for the powerful weapons the player is able to craft. It may also have been a test for co-op players, but this is easily overcome, as one could focus on one Regenerator, while the other keeps its partner busy.
What look like human thumbs can be made out on the creature's pincers.
If players look carefully as they remove the cargo clearing the tram on the Terra Nova, they can see one of the Hunters in a pod being lifted away by the crane clearing the cargo. Isaac later meets aforementioned Hunter on the Cargo Deck.
The Artifact Storage optional mission in Chapter 17 takes you into the anti-gravity chambers and later on a storage with four caged Hunters. As they shake and ruffle in their glass casing, they are unable to attack while Isaac and Carver are in the same room. Once the room is left, two Regenerators will pursue you until you leave the anti-gravity chambers. All four also appear on a small gauntlet-run to the elevator back to the surface.
- There also seemed to be an Enhanced variant of these creatures. In the same optional mission, what appears to be a black and green Regenerator with a be-tentacled lower jaw can be seen trapped in a tube, although it never attacks.
  - If that indeed was an Enhanced Hunter, then this would make the Tau Volantis Hunters the first ever Regenerator Necromorphs in the series to have an Enhanced form.
When you come across the first one in the cargo room, it shows they are willing to rip off their own limbs to escape captivity.
- However said Hunter may be glitched and the arms will not come off, giving the creature the opportunity to score hits on an unwary player.
This is one of the moments Isaac hints his memories and knowledge of the past, as when the first Regenerator found broke out of containment it lost its arms, and just by the way it moves and sounds Isaac says, "Aw shit, this one's regenerating!!". Ellie then responds with, "How are you gonna kill it?" Isaac, from his experience with the original Hunter and Ubermorph, just says, "I'm not!". And right after Isaac boards the tram to the Aft station he says while regaining his breath, "God I hate those things." remembering the first Hunter and Ubermorph.
There appears to be eight Tau Volantis Hunters in all, including those appearing on the gauntlet run.
If players look carefully, they could see a yellow pustule in the center of the Hunters' forehead and four more on the jawline. In total, like the Ubermorph, a variety of female Slashers and the Hive Mind, they have five eyes or fleshy bumps that resemble eyes.
Oddly, whenever the death scene plays out, it is cut short with the screen running red with blood just as the Tau Volantis Hunter cuts Isaac's or Carver's head off and the player can faintly see the creature proceeding to dismember his legs. It is unknown whether it is something on the game developer's part, and however many death scenes it has affected.
The Tau Volantis Hunter is first encountered in Chapter 5 of Dead Space 3. Just like the first Hunter, who appears in Chapter 5 of the first game.
If a player steps inside the tram once it is opened, the Regenerator(s) will begin walking around idly, a behavior shown by Necromorphs unable to identify any hostile targets in the area. Should one step out and in the tram, the Regenerator(s) will face the player and sharpen their blades, but never engage.
The regenerative qualities of the Tau Volantis Hunters makes them highly helpful in obtaining the "Then We Doubled It!" achievement/trophy. Simply cut their limbs off, then let it regenerate and repeat the process, though this takes a lot of time and usually results in tremendous ammo wastage.