The Complete Evolution of Halo's Hunters

In today’s Episode of the Evolution of Halo, we will be taking a look at perhaps Halo’s most exotic Alien race, the Hunters.
#haloinfinite #Halo #halomcc
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[@Xanshil]

The fact that Hunters are a worm hive mind inside of a giant suit just shows how creative Bungie was with their overall world building.

[@Spartan-sz7km]

Took it to another level with scarabs

[@Falloutgamer347]

@@Spartan-sz7km hunters are lower class lekgolo citizens in their tiny mobile homes. Meanwhile the scarabs are the 1% who "made" it and have a really large mansion

[@lightningmonky7674]

Indubitably! Bungie was (I repeat *was*) a crew full of geniuses

[@TheTuttle99]

​@@lightningmonky7674Bungie is 'was' in every sense :(

[@connortollit6120]

It’s always so weird to go back to CE and hear the hunters laughing when they killed you, to be fair it’s kind of weird that they can make any noises at all considering they’re made of a collection of worms.

[@remnantgaming716]

Seeing as those hunters in Halo Wars 2 speak by vibrating their worms, it would make sense that sounds from other hunters could occur unintentionally just by the worms reacting to their environment. Like a significant number of the worms in the hunter takes damage, the others vibrate out of pain, fear, anger or whatever and accidentally make a sound. The "laughter" could just be an auditory coincidence from the hunter worms vibrating from the stimuli of a kill or something. Obviously not Bungies original intention, but I really like the concept.

[@ebomb1133]

I think in expanded lore, it mentions the individual worms "vibrating" to mimic sounds/speech. So you feel it more than you hear it, at least that's how I remember it being described in one of the books.

[@bubbajoe117]

The hunters can actually grumble/mumble words to the Arbiter in Halo 2, it's just extremely rare given how there's only one instance in the game this can occur.

[@speedyazi5029]

@@ebomb1133 yup, and in physics sound is just a wave of strong vibrations

[@tanorgilbert9183]

I think it's important to keep in mind; at CE's time, they WEREN'T designed as a collection of worms. In the video it was said that originally they were designed like a crab; soft flesh within a hard shell, completely one singular creature. It wasn't until Halo 2 that the idea of them being a bunch of worms was actually IMPLEMENTED. In the LORE, those hunters are still worms, but thinking purely about how the enemy was designed FOR THE GAME, AT THE TIME.. they are not.

[@torakandwolf6786]

Am I the only one who noticed in Halo Infinite how the Hunters never give you the opportunity to shoot them in the back? Made it genuinely frustrating to fight them.

[@TheKsalad]

Yeah, the Infinite Hunters were nearly impossible to take down without serious Power weapons on hand

[@JayPlusForerunner]

​@@TheKsalad use a needler

[@Catnippy]

i kinda love them for that tbh

[@wearsjorge55]

Yeah the hunters near that skull in the tree stump made my life hell on legendary for this reason. I like to challenge myself but even cheesing them with a banshee or hornet was difficult

[@stefans4562]

Use the trusters with those you can easily get beging them and stress there for a while.

[@Riflery]

I remember when I was 7 years old, watching my brother play HaloCE he was on the silent cartographer, delving deep into the depths of the foreunner installation, and I heard the music, the hunter theme began to play. "there are gonna be hunters here" "How did you know that?" "The music...."

[@evansutton6760]

I think that's from Library Suite

[@_yoshivolts_115]

Your mother

[@erasyl05]

@@_yoshivolts_115 ?

[@meowstic5924]

I really liked the whole hunter bonding thing from the lore. One time while i was playing odst on mombasa streets i found a hunter patrolling around by itself. I quickly hid and snuck around while I was thinking to myself "where is the other one, I've never seen an alone hunter before" untill I found the other one's corpse laying there while the alive hunter was marching around desperately looking for the murderer as vengeance. I didn't attack nor did it spot me, but witnessing that was one of the most heartbreaking moments in my gaming history and made the hunters gain my respect.

[@Remnant197]

I remember seeing a hunter alone, but I never looked around for it's dead brother. That's cool

[@rookie_6667]

You can actually board the hunter you just need to knock of their back plate

[@ALLMINDmercenarysupportsystem]

​@@rookie_6667 That's only in Reach with the MCC-exclusive Bandana skull.

[@itwasntme8667]

Thank you LNG for another delayed bedtime...

[@jovan.fitilj8491]

That's why he's called Late Night

[@code0662]

Current time: 10:50pm

[@Harbingeruprisingofficial]

Me too! …. Worth it ;)

[@sickosl1me]

Current time 11:55pm lol

[@Camera-Guy_ODST]

What is Sleep?

[@Arbiter1414]

I like what infinite did with the 2 types of hunters, I think it could be expanded though, perhaps blue hunters have a more bungie combat rhythm, able to be used as heavy infantry, and have the red hunters be miniboss ones, really tough and threatening? Should make fans of both happy, I enjoy both for different reasons, so I'd like to see both in future games or dlc

[@dakotamack1886]

Bro I was thinking the exact same thing

[@staryoshi06]

I mean I think it was the intention that the red hunters be more powerful so that makes sense, but they'd have to have their AI redone still because several red hunters appear in the open world and their behaviour makes it basically impossible to actually engage with them. The current solution is basically just shooting them in the knees from a distance while dodging projectiles. Also, I think myriad should have their red fuel rod cannon replaced with the special cindershot that you get from killing them. Currently, they don't feel any different from other red hunters.

[@TheShadowFox1]

There is actually 3, dont know why people aren't talking about it, the ones guarding the skull have different markings and are crazy as.

[@badideagenerator2315]

generally i think giving higher ranking enemies tougher AI instead of bigger health pools is a very good idea, it gives the feel of the high ranking enemies being more skilled.

[@staryoshi06]

@@badideagenerator2315 They should still have increased shield value though. If all elites were killable with one sniper headshot it could be a little too easy

[@Exponaut_R-01]

The sound of Halo 2’s Hunters firing is embedded in my mind permanently, and it doesn’t help that the first three levels are my favorite part of the game, so I heard it often as a kid

[@alanbacon186]

I really miss that sound

[@DangerVille]

Infinite’s Hunters are GORGEOUS to look at, but yeah their gameplay loop is definitely flawed. You cant flank them to get a shot from the back, they’re so reactive and defensive. Great video dude!

[@Spartan-sz7km]

Yeah they look great but play badly. Said this in the original community post of LNG. Got flamed for liking their appearance

[@mariobadia4553]

I don't see the issue with the hunters not having the IQ of a wet walnut.

[@calsalitra4689]

@@mariobadia4553 Let me ask you this simple question: Why did previous Hunter's stop firing when you get too close? The answer should be obvious, since their weapons were either explosives that they can't afford to use at close range, or slow beams that just aren't responsive enough. If a Spartan gets into close range the only option left for them it to charge. That isn't called being a dumbass, that's called having a sense of self preservation. Infinite's Hunter's on the other hand just fire anyway and don't take damage for no apparent reason. EDIT: To be clear, my only issue is with Red Hunter's, not Blue Hunter's. Blue's were generally ok, Red's were just frustrating or boring to fight.

[@Gecko69420]

DV?!

[@paperclip6377]

​@@Spartan-sz7kmI mean to be fair though liking anything 343 is literally heresy

[@Vexonia_Music]

Hearing what you said regarding Halo Infinite's hunters now makes way more sense. I always felt like they were one of Infinite's weakest aspects, and now knowing how late in development they were added, I can see why.

[@remnantgaming716]

Doesn't that hurt as well. Like, Hunter's, an enemy that has been a staple of the franchise, were added late in the development of the game, after the devs originally attempted to remove them entirely....

[@buddmetroliner200gaming3]

2007 was the best year

[@LordGlacier7]

@@remnantgaming716 Yes but no. This isn't the Covenant or a fraction of the Covenant we are fighting anymore it's a new faction which brings new enemies. It will be nice to fight a different enemy than the same one as before.

[@Spartan-sz7km]

@@LordGlacier7 halo wars 2 which introduced the banished has an added leader which is colony and unique hunter units in the game. Groundwork was already laid out but they squandered it anyways

[@LordGlacier7]

@@Spartan-sz7km That is very true, I would just be fine with a new enemy that can fill the role of the hunter but still be different while still being fun to fight. I don't mind if the hunter gets temporary replaced if the enemy isn't just a reskin hunter or just isn't fun.

[@ToxicCoffeeTM]

Hunters are easily one of the coolest Scifi aliens. Simple as.

[@HLRaven]

Man I love the covenant design in combat evolved, there is just something in their artstyle that no other halo game can match

[@Phantom_Aspekt]

100% The animations from CE are still my favorite, they compliment the look of each enemy perfectly and look the most natural in the series. And the simpler designs are more pleasing on the eyes than what you see from Reach onwards, the CE Elites and Jackals are perfect 👌

[@deewhale]

Halo 2 has my favourite covenant design and the high charity aesthetic is perfect

[@HLRaven]

@@deewhale true and real

[@raizenr2387]

The CE and H2 designs are definitely classics for a reason. I do find myself personally gravitating towards the Reclaimer Hunter design but that in no way means i don't love and respect the classics

[@bennettfender9927]

I like 3s art style the most overall though 2A has my favorite elites and brutes.

[@valen9835]

The CE hunters are my favorite. I think they're a good balance between being fun to fight and easy to take down if you just wanna get a move on. I usually fight them instead of insta killing them.

[@pluto3194]

I like Reach's hunters the best personally. CE's hunters are quite weak without support, even on legendary. Their lack of a fast turn is just way too easy to exploit

[@Skyfoogle]

i wouldn't say the having the option to instakill them is a very balanced approach lol

[@jiffbombastic3694]

Yeah, I’d say the insta-kill was the only thing I didn’t like about them.

[@ShamSoap]

@@pluto3194 True, the one shot pistol mechanic of CE made they too weak once you know the trick!

[@pluto3194]

@@ShamSoap You don't even need a pistol to make them very easy to deal with. They lack the backwards melee attack that every other game's hunters have so you can just walk circles around them while beating them to death. I'd only recommend doing it after you've killed one of the hunters but it's a great way to save ammo if you're low on pistol shots or just don't have one going into the fight.

[@olezaku3469]

I really love that Halo owes some of its design aesthetics specifically to Gundam. They're both awesome franchises after all.

[@raizenr2387]

Thats why i actually love the Gundam armor MCC got

[@ClonedGamer001]

One of my favorite Halo memories is with these guys. I didn't even take part in it, but during the Hunter encounter in The Storm, one marine who survived up to that point just ran in with a shotgun and somehow killed both of them while I was busy dealing with some Brutes. I have no idea how he did it, but goddamn that man was a hero.

[@an_egg_cultist]

That's one hell of a spartan IV

[@watermelongaming3698]

that marine was just built different

[@OblivionSoldier]

Should be noted (in CE at least, got no idea in the later games), with the boom skull, also increases melee radius on the hunters.

[@robertharris6092]

CE didnt even have skulls originally.

[@OblivionSoldier]

@@robertharris6092 I'm talking about CE:A, and my point still stands.

[@Freaksmanfooter]

@@robertharris6092

[@VainerCactus0]

I'm glad you mentioned the Halo 3 ODST Hunters, I don't see many people talking about them, I personally like the idea of having these two different kinds of Hunters, one for fighting vehicles and the other for fighting Infantry.

[@Mazzi2457]

Once you posted a hunter picture, I already knew what we had in store. Thank you “Pastmybedtime” gaming, for bringing life to our “koopa troopa” lookin hunters :)

[@Bossaru9000]

one detail i've always loved, is that in the book "fall of reach", they describe the hunters as a massive warrior clad in plate armor almost like a knight. Then in halo CE, the sounds of the hunters moving around is actually the sounds of a person moving in a knight's plate armor.

[@MrNeutral]

Right as you mentioned the "Hygogg" from Gundam, I almost leaped out of my seat. It's insane that one of the coolest aliens from one of my favorite sci-fi franchises started out being based on one of my favorite Mobile Suits from my OTHER favorite sci-fi franchise. Thank you so much for highlighting all these anime influences in Halo, they always catch me off guard and are just too cool to me!!

[@Yukikazehalo]

Wang used alot of sci fi anime for inspiration, the Art of Halo books have original concept sketches with notes highlighting "gundam-style weapon" or "Eva-style uniform".

[@Seolisti]

I still remember the first time my sister and I fought the Hunters in Halo 2. I tried the old bait and strafe… and we were horrified when it didn’t go down immediately. Getting caught up off-balance is something I really miss from those first games.

[@CountyJelly]

I had an idea back when reach came out of meeting up with Spartan II Jorge in the later halos, but he’s completely silent, you only realise later on that he was killed during the warp and the wormy bois have been using his suit as a shell in order to survive.

[@theapocalypticfish]

Can you imagine how messed up that would be if in the lone wolf level you see this and noble 6 dies to a hunter using their friends dead corpse as armor

[@remnantgaming716]

@@theapocalypticfish We need to see this concept explored in some sort of visual manner. It is so friggin badass

[@raizenr2387]

That's some god damn Dead Space shit

[@calsalitra4689]

I had a thought similar to this, that theoretically speaking there should be no reason Lekgolo worms can't assemble themselves into a human shaped form and walk around disguised with skin. They wouldn't be very good spy's since they can't emote, but considering how lethal even a smaller Lekgolo gestalt can be, the simple ability to close into firing range without alerting your enemy is a big deal.

[@UnholyWrath3277]

Cool idea but man literally nuked himself. There isnt anything left of him

[@vulpinitemplar5036]

You know for a company that regrets not refining the Hunters they sure aren't bothering to invoke the live service way of fixing post launch, that's like one of the few benefits of the system :( Reach's are my favourite, they don't *turn up as much as I would have liked however but they are typically enjoyable when they do, especially in smaller arenas.

[@TheLastArbiter]

It needs to be said that your camera work and editing in this series has been phenomenal. Love the b roll. Looks so clean, crisp, and professional

[@austinmessi1999]

The aim at 1:11 I felt like I was watching myself play Infinite’s multiplayer

[@ArnieMcStranglehold]

When I was about 14 or so, my friend had a PC that could run the now infamous port of Halo CE, and REALLY well.. Hanging out at his house, playing that game, was lifechanging honestly. So the first time he made me play it, he set me on Silent Cartographer. I of course had the battle with the hunters outside the security room, the amazing encounter around the entrance port for AotCR, but then... deep inside, the battle around the crates with the Hunters. More than half of my love for Halo was built in that first encounter on the flawed PC port. Later on down the road, I got an Xbox, and the Platinum Hits version of Halo CE. My younger sisters and I played the game co-op, but I made them play that level without me. They got to that room, and had a similar experience. Multiple deaths, but a sense of overwhelming victory when they completed it. Good times.

[@germguy6884]

Dude LateNight is out here making his own cutscenes. The editing here is top notch, i mean it usually is, but it like extra shows here lol. Good job man!

[@mikegaruda4270]

The work and result of Halo 2 (considering the time and resources) was brilliant. A masterpiece of gaming.

[@scizorlord5126]

I never really compared the Hunters to the Hygogg, but now that I hear it it just kinda clicks in my mind.

[@ZeRoyalBubbles]

My favorite covenant enemy is the Hunters. I loved them as a kid and even now they still hold up as my favorite. Being able to fight alongside them for the first time in Halo 2 was certainly an iconic moment in my youth playing

[@logan_jp3]

Grunts: ME GONNA DIE Elite: Wort wort wort! Brute: You call those teeth, plant eater? Hunter: *UNHOLY GURGLES*

[@BladeCrossEXE]

I had no clue the Hunters were based on the Hy-Gogg! Gundam 0080 is such an under appreciated series. Glad to see it got some love!

[@christopherbrown6523]

Mjolnir armor is based on the GM Sniper II.

[@Destroyah5000]

Probably the most memorable enemy from the first time I encountered Halo in my life. A relative of mine played Co-Op on Assault on the Control room, where he showed how to down the Hunters by sniping them in the neck, which I feel was some major style points considering how they're intended to go down.

[@lichguard]

24:31 never knew I needed to hear a hunter laugh. Thank you

[@UnseenBubby]

Something I love about HW2 and Infinite is the Hunter pairs becoming more individualized and integrated into the post-Covenant galaxy. In the lore, Lekgolo and the Mgalekgolo pairs are often secretive and introverted among other members of the Covenant, opting to stay in their massive colonies and rarely interacting with any other species, except for the Sangheili and San'Shyuum. Colonies that served the Banished or smaller splinter factions have begun to express more interest in the affairs of the galaxy. They have taken on colony unit names (Like Myriad and Colony in the Banished), learned speech to better coordinate with the other species, and taken on more leadership roles in faction hierarchies. It's seen that certain Mgalekgolo pairs exercise greater authority to other pairs, hence the Swarm Lords.

[@mercy3765]

The hunters were my first favorite NPC in Halo. I even made them from Legos when I was younger. They have a special place in my heart

[@condsy]

I just want to say how much I appreciate the extra effort you go through on all videos but these videos especially. The re-shade, panning shots, shots from different perspectives etc. The use of classic sounds in Infinite footage was definitely a highlight for me.

[@javelin_if]

9:15 Gotta love the shoutout to one of halo’s most prolific concept artists

[@uknlogic2924]

I think it tells you how impactful hunters are and how loved they are when 343 adds them as a hero/commander pair. Its amazing. Easily my fav enemy in gaming

[@codylaurence3423]

Great video celebrating Halo’s big boy quiet achievers. Honestly with the vibe that’s floating around the Halo community having a video series like this just talking about aspects of the series is awesome. Reminds me how much I truly love these games.

[@79bigcat]

Reach has my favorite take on the hunters; Powerful, but manageable. That said, a little disappointed Infinite didn't utilize some of the banished troops introduced in halo wars. I think skitterers could have been the support enemy that engineers and watchers failed at being. Could have some novel bosses like hunter captain healing itself by shooting you with its beam cannon or goliaths rushing you down forcing you to use your equipment creatively to escape.

[@watermelongaming3698]

I'm confused, how did engineers and watchers fail? I mean, engineers were rarely there that's true (I haven't really played ODST, so forgive me if they were more common there), but they did their job didn't they? I personally think that watchers were good support enemies if that was their role, throwing back grenades (one at a time though, so not too op I guess?) and providing shields. Heck, reviving Promethean Knights or summoning crawlers made them a priority. I find it fun trying to kill a watcher ASAP the moment I see its blue beam trying to revive/summon an enemy. Though I like the Prometheans as a whole (not the soldiers or Halo 5 Knights though, so I'm more of a Halo 4 Promethean fan), so that may explain why I don't think the watcher failed.

[@79bigcat]

@@watermelongaming3698 In ODST, the overshields they provided lasted a lot longer, refreshed really fast on Heroic or above, and they could overshield each other. So if had a grouping with two or more engineers, it effectively turns every grunt and jackal into a bullet sponge on par with Hunters. It's why they're much more rare in Reach. As for the watchers, it's more the fact that they do all that and run away. And I agree, the Halo 4 Prometheans were an interesting foil to Covenant enemies. The trick to them is that your save the biggest threats for last. Knights without the support of other troops are just bigger Elites. If you kill an Elite first, Grunts panic and let's you clean up the rest easy enough. If you take a Knight out first, the watcher revives it while crawlers swarm. So they're a high priority target that really doesn't like being targeted . All in all, I'm talking about the community's reception to support enemies, Not my personal opinion of them.

[@watermelongaming3698]

@@79bigcat Ohhh, okay. Just FYI, the watchers were slightly annoying to shoot down on my first playthrough, but my aim has improved drastically since then and now I only need 3 scoped-in shots from a Lightrifle to take one down. So while yes they do run away, they're perfectly vulnerable since they don't shoot when they run away.

[@SerathDarklands]

I've been looking forward to this! Mgalekgolo are my favorite Halo creatures!

[@salamanda550]

My favourite thing by far about them, bar the rad idea, the idea of the bonded pairs, and...well, all the cool design, is that Scarabs are *ALSO* Lekgolo.

[@dynestis2875]

The scarabs seen in Halo 3, ODST and Reach are *piloted* by a colony of lekgolo *

[@jittercritter]

I like how almost every one of these evolution videos has a “*sigh* and then 4 and/or 5 came along 😑” moment haha

[@Goji938]

I absolutely adore this series, and I love all the design tidbits you got in here! This series just keeps getting better and better!

[@LateNightHalo]

Yay, thank you!

[@vladtomuta3008]

The hunters are easily my favorite members of the covenant, both through gameplay and lore. It was great to finally see you make a video on them. I like the H3 ODST iteration the best because it gave us the fuel rod hunters alongside the beam hunters

[@JamesGorman]

Great video, so well put together and very well researched & I was so happy to hear you do an impression!

[@danielleighton4161]

It should also be noted that the hunters in Halo take a LOT of their inspiration from the hunters in the Marathon games.

[@AFinnGundam]

i never knew the hunter was inspired by the Hy-Gogg which makes me love it even more

[@revanii8791]

The Hunters are incredible and the lore is amazing, especially now that they've become more self aware and can think outside the hivemind. MCC has really done an awesome job too.

[@ItsTacosDude]

I played infinite on legendary first playthrough and yeah definitely the hunters in most encounters were pretty damn frustrating and required a lot of me cheesing a fight as best I could. However one moment I remember fondly was when I ran into 2 of the red bond brothers in between a canyon cliff where we had to pick up a skull at. That fight with them was just straight terrifying. Having to hide behind rocks and on top of mountains and make use of grappling to dodge their sheer aggression made for (in my opinion) a very tense and fun fight. Combine that with the terrifying sounds they made (which I feel you should have gone over in this video) and the echo of their cannons through the hills, it really made me feel like I was actually being "hunted".

[@SpencerButlerVA]

Love the video, it really helped put a lot of my weird disparate thoughts about our space worms into context I think Reach probably has my favorite take on the Hunters? From design to animation to gameplay it definitely seems like the most refined and best used Hunters in the series. It strikes the balance of feeling like you're dealing with a massive threat with a massive weakness. I had so much fun fighting em I used to make whole Firefight modes where it was basically nothing but Hunters.

[@caboose3191]

Always thought the hunter looked familiar! It's always so cool to learn new things that Gundam inspired. Especially Halo. Thinking about it a lot of Halo things are inspired by Gundam and other late 80s early 90s anime

[@chiefbeef5906]

Ah yes, Hunters. The armored oodles of noodles, of Halo.

[@Whole_Note]

I actually found the Infinite hunters to be a lot of fun. The grapple shot integrated into my fights with them in some of the most fast paced, frantic, and bombastic combat I've ever had in Halo.

[@newon2014]

Once you fully upgrade the grappleshot they definitely get more fun to fight, using them to bounce off with the melee attack combo is fun too. Also just bringing a bunch of marines in a truck with sentinel beams works pretty well too lmao.

[@watermelongaming3698]

@@newon2014 I pulled up to Myriad with a Razorback filled with 5 rocket launcher marines. Crap was crazy.

[@Lonewolf360gaming]

Honestly love the camera work with this video something about how it slightly shakes and moves with the hunters attacks feels so organic

[@PosthumanHeresy]

One of my favorite things about the Hunters is that they both naturally teach the player about strafe combat mechanics and are only beatable using them, so you have to get good with them. And then they kept bumping up the skill set, so by Halo 3 on the harder difficulties it was bunny hop or bust.

[@DGCpicturesEntertainment]

I love the Hunters. I will always remember the first time I saw them knock down that door in Halo 2. Great vid and... Evolution of Drones please?

[@tsunderemerc2963]

Even if an all Hunters level in Halo 2 wouldn't have played well, it would have been a really cool full circle moment when they later join forces with the Arbiter. Makes me wish some form of Heretics were included as allies later in the game. I also think they were at their best in halo 2 and 3. For me, I always felt like the Reach hunters were just a little too quick in how they could turn around and hit you from behind them

[@alexYAMTZR]

I like how infinite hunters are a huge threat. I just feel like maybe little tweaks here and there and they're perfection. Like less shy to use melee and little melee speed diminution. I feel lots of complaining about them forgot that we have new abilities as player hunters have to deal with. And omg what an artstyle and a sound design

[@YingoftheYang]

Late night is one of the few things in the world that relaxes me and makes me feel emersed in a world that is less nihilistic, more beautiful,despite its tradegys, and I thank @latenightgaming for it

[@averywho6430]

Something I remember from one of the books is an elite talking about a Hunter pair as one moment they're slaughtering their enemies then they stop in pools of blood to recite war poetry. So Hunters are a very unique and intellectual species, more than just heavy brutes.

[@AuroraWolf655]

I’m loving these videos, with the detail and content behind, can’t wait for the next one

[@maddit_line]

I love the hunters, they’re really fun to fight. Especially in multiplayer, someone can distract it while someone else shoots a shotgun at their back. (Specifically in Reach, idk about the other games.)

[@watermelongaming3698]

That's usually how my Co-op vs Hunters ends up. Though, playing with infinite ammo definitely opens up more "strategies". For example: spamming grenades until they die.

[@imperialguardproductions]

I personally always loved the Reach hunters. They were the most intimidating for me. Btw LNG I'd love to see you do an 'evolution of' video on Jackals.

[@Sythll]

Hunters to me used to be some of the scariest enemies in the games when I was a kid, solely because I had no idea how to fight them. They were just large towering armoured meat men who had every intention to kill me and all I could do was try and survive long enough to figure out how in the hell I topple these behemoths. My favourite hunters would definitely have to be reach and halo 5 (even though I haven’t played halo 5 in a long while and only ever played it once, they were the most memorable part of the entire campaign)

[@thenormie]

22:30 I love this incarnation for what it is because it’s a new incarnation, and it doesn’t exactly mean the old combat loop doesn’t exist, because you can still have that in the other games. Very different though.

[@jasondahfolf4325]

I love Reach’s hunters, especially because they often give you shotguns to use for the dance

[@SirSpanxALOT1]

not me making a full course dinner to watch latenight.

[@Pigpen_YT]

I really don't think we'll ever get hunters as good as the Halo 3 hunters. They're just the peak

[@TheShadowFox1]

Hunters guarding the skull in infinite are unique too, they are super strong. Also surprised you didn't mention the games that you could blow their armor off and their other weak spots, and ones that can take damage with the sniper.

[@sillentgamer64]

Hunters lost a lot of mobility starting with Reach. I know in the video H5 was cited as being the game where they're noticably more sluggish, but ODST was the last time they actually jogged around to charge the player. Hunters in the later games just sort of shuffle around and play way more campy than they did before. I also personally didn't appreciate the sponginess of their health that Reach introduced, as it removed the last remaining bit of CE behavior that was retained across the trilogy with the 1 shot sniper kill to their backs for a sandbox-oriented shortcut to defeating them. You don't get that in the later games as it's more about dumping ammo into them until they go down. While H3's Hunters were certainly too easy to take down, I feel like the later games overcorrected them a bit too much. H2 still has the best hunters to date, imo.

[@HelMask]

I had fun fighting all versions, but halo ce’s 1shot to the back (while at times made for some hilarious moments) was by far the most fun to pull off imo. I used to think of hunters to be like mini wraith tank mortar people that would crank up aggression at close quarters. interesting how wraith tanks also ended up having the boardable weak spot on its back so i can see how that feature being applied to hunters would have made sense during reach’s development. When halo 2 came along they def became more scarab rather than wraith so it’s kinda funny how hunter worms did turn out to actually power scarabs.

[@HelMask]

This fr?

[@astralsoul3216]

There was also the interesting fact among others that Halo Wars and Wars 2 were the only games where the Hunters could have their cannons upgraded to be an incredibly powerful beam weapon. Imagine how much deadlier they would have been to face if that thing kept blasting consistently near you. Otherwise they were always interesting to face before newer games even if you learned how to get around them.

[@carlopaez3380]

Didn't play Halo 5, but that Hunter setup sounds great. I love how they're game breakingly lethal, they deserve it lol.

[@angelmin8819]

Let's take a moment to appreciate the excellent editing of this awesome video

[@brothaMan84]

Halo infinite hunters were scary to approach. I think it worked out very well!! Especially in legendary

[@Grunt0066]

Man I always knew something about the Hunters looked familiar, I had no idea they where inspired by the Hygog. I can totally see the influence.

[@jurassicarkjordanisgreat1778]

Honestly I wish that 343 was more faithful for the CE:A and H2:A Remasters art styles. I would have loved to see the Halo 2 version of the hunters upscaled properly instead of reusing reach models. I really wish the iconic Halo 1 to 3 art style would return. All we have gotten in recent years for the "classic art style" is a amalgamation of reach, 3 and Reclaimer saga assets and I personally miss the way hunters and elites looked before reach.

[@assistantmagus5213]

Good video, it's nice to have a showing of how their visual designs improved and to highlight the issues with 5's hunters, honestly it didn't click until you said it that they straight up didn't want to allow you to sidestep them as is tradition, no wonder I felt frustrated and that their close quarters attacks were so OP, its cause you're just NOT expected to get near them. If that was the case though they really shouldn't have ALSO made them OP with ranged attacks and gave them a minigun that TRACKS YOU, the one saving grace is that you have the other 3 AI but they're glorified bait and had their own issues. One thing I'm curious about though is you said halo 3 was first to introduce the mechanic of the remaining hunter becoming enraged when you kill one, initially I thought halo 4 was first to do this because of the lack of animation (or clear display of one anyway) in the bungie games, in my decade of playing them I never knew there was always an enrage mechanic, but the question is how long exactly has it been there? I ask because I remember seeing someone say a few years back that not only was it present in the bungie games but that it had always been there, like from CE, and that the last hunter would always rush your position more and favour melee outside of halo 5's absurd difficulty spike they definitely did the hunters far better than everything else and the clear visual and attitude based enrage was always a good addition to me, so I wonder if CE and 2's hunters also display enrage behaviour but just too subtle for me to have noticed

[@assistantmagus5213]

As a side note unrelated to hunters, it's sad they played around with the idea of that "heavy sentinel" that the monitor pilots being an actual open world or miniboss enemy but scrapped it, when the idea of more sentinel forms would be probably accepted with open arms They did give us a few variants, mostly giving them new banished weapons, but man, the enforcer was sitting there gathering dust since halo 2 and we've all been desperate to see it back, I remember the first look at infinite when we saw the sentinel look at the sunken warthog or whatever, and people got excited thinking it might be an enforcer or even a retriever, which HW2 made into a thing (also that one with the shielded front which was sort of like an enforcer but as an RTS concept), I'm holding onto the hope that since HW2 they're aware of this stuff and might add in some enforcers or similar stuff in the later infinite expansions cause man, the prometheans just weren't it and the two times we fight the bigger sentinel as a boss fight it was super underwhelming, especially the first time

[@watermelongaming3698]

@@assistantmagus5213 I'm curious, what didn't you like about the Prometheans? I liked them a lot, at least in Halo 4. The only part I didn't like was the Halo 5 Knights and the Soldiers, but I thought the rest were fine/great.

[@Thunderman-2001]

If 343 did add back them back standing at their full height, I think it's an opportunity for a small, but amazing design idea. When the stand at their full height, the worms need to adjust for the body they have become, so the waste becomes more thin and small so they can stand at full height. And when slouched, their waste expands a bit. A way to show that since they are a mass of worms, they're bodies need to change shape for different body positions.

[@rcl8793]

The Hunters sided with the Elites until magically the next game, they are with the Brutes

[@StarFreighterPilotGothJesus]

Some did not all just like the grunts, that's why they have both and even the banished has them, colonies choose who they ally with

[@autumnstevens122]

I’m so glad we have a halo KZbinr that only complains about halo when he has to, and otherwise just makes banger videos!

[@jalakor]

Infinite’s Hunters genuinely were some of the most frustrating parts of the campaign on Heroic, alongside Brute Chieftains, they were just bullet sponges that were hyper-aggressive and sometimes nigh-impossible to escape without the sweatiest of movement and constant armor ability use and rotation thru them. Heavy weapons in general in Infinite seem like they just don’t *do* much, perhaps they’re too common or something, but I never felt like I had an appropriately-powerful weapon in access when it came to fighting tough enemies, so I’d always burn a ton of ammo.

[@watermelongaming3698]

I mean, Armor Abilities are kinda there for a reason. Pretty sure the Hunters are PARTIALLY like this because of the new movement options players have.

[@lordshmee13]

well Hunters are in pairs, LNG and Rebecca should of done the Hunter voices together 😂 wonderful video i binge all your evolution videos and a few streams while kicking back and playing Halo and waiting for that hopeful day 343i brings Infinite to promise with strings of hopium

[@oscaralbertopompazavala2055]

My personal favorite gameplay loop for the Hunters is in Halo Reach and the model is amazing, but my favorite model is probably the Halo Infinite Hunter, but in presentation I love the Halo 5 Hunters

[@theduckking5720]

I love the lore edition of the hunters almost evolving and becoming more intelligent as time goes on. In my opinion this makes them even scarier, and i can't wait to see where this goes next.

[@brau_bj2060]

Amazing direction! Love the camera anguls and the script, awesome job!!!!

[@jasonhahn8797]

In CE I used to do the bull charge dance in a fun way. Instead of dodging out of the way to the left or right, I would jump close to there shield and when they swung, it would throw me in the air and I would turn and shoot them in the back with the pistol. If I was lucky I'd get them both.

[@raizenr2387]

Hunters have, since day 1, been my FAVORITE Covenant species. I truly and honestly enjoy all their iterations. The Elder Hunters from Warzone are absolutely my favorite followed closely by H2A Hunters. The day I finally acquired my two Halo 3 Hunter Figures is one of my favorite collecting bits. I stand them proudly next to my 3 Prophets on my highest Figure shelf I'm slowly getting in to prop and cosplay armor creation. One day, i hope to build one of these Titans.

[@PsychoPatYT]

The editing in this is beyond legendary.

[@AnonymousCaveman]

I do think halo 3 not changing its style too much shows how solidified the silhouette of the hunter had become. Iconic was definitely the correct word for them for sure.

[@LeQuartermaster]

Really hope we can see the Crusher in a firefight style mode! The enemy looked pretty much finished too

[@philswift8793]

'No dude, it's my sleepover, I get to pick what we watch'

[@abrahammelendez5366]

No shit, I literally saw this before bed. I didn't realize it was called Late Night Gaming!!!! Awesome video. Cool to see someone put things in perspective!!! Whether to agree or not, I appreciate everything said and shown.

[@DBLProductionz]

DUDE I ALWAYS THOUGHT THEY LOOKED LIKE HI-GOG’s holy SHIT DUDE that’s actually insane Love your videos

[@crwydryny]

My favourite fight with hunters will always be CE when you're trying to board the covenant cruiser to rescue keys, after fighting through waves of elites and grunts you come up against 2 hunters. And if you're good you can get them to chase you to the edge of the cliff. Then wait for them to make one last lunge as you sidestep and they do their best whiley e coyote impression

[@mehemynxm6974]

CE was always my favourite aesthetic and design, but infinite and 5 made them actually threatening to fight and to see. With their anger when the bond brother died making the fight a lot more intense. In every other game, especially 2 and 3. I'd just walk around and shoot them, because they were very easy to dodge. Their guns just weren't threatening with the beam replacing the cannon.

[@seantracy276]

I've watched most of this series and just subscribed. I'm sure it's already been suggested so I'll just say it again, VEHICLES!

[@crylec6534]

Out of all the aliens, the hunters saw the least change in their design. Happy to know they are peak design that even during 4/5 they look no different to Reach's