Combine Hunters (Half-Life 2)

First introduced in Half-Life 2: Episode 2 (2007), Hunters are a tripedal Synth deployed by the Combine. These scouts are often deployed in groups of three or more, employing squad tactics such as suppressive fire, flanks, and charges.

Hunters stand approximately 3 meters height. Their bodies appear encased in a blue-green waxy carapace. Two vertically-aligned optical sensors dominate the front of the head, giving the Hunter a wide field of vision and situational awareness. Their secondary appendages, the sensory antennae and prehensile limbs, hang underneath the head, with the fléchette launchers flanking the lower optical sensor. A large communications array protrudes from the back of the head, likely used for coordination between individual Hunters in a squad.

The Hunter’s primary armament is a pair of high-speed explosive fléchette launchers. The projectiles embed themselves into targets before exploding, vaporizing biological matter. The effect is similar to the Energy Spheres fired from Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifles. If the need for melee arises, Hunters use their taloned legs and prehensile raptorial forelimbs to attack, the latter being sharp enough to gouge and impale targets.