Hunter

Hunter
Overview
Focal world(s):	Solar System
Average height:	Various
Average weight:	Various
Distinctions:	More experienced in Solar System exploration
Average lifespan:	Immortal
Notable group(s):	Dead End Cure ; Icarus Drifters ; Shadowjacks
Notable individual(s):	Cayde-6 ; Anastasia Bray ; Eris Morn ; Andal Brask ; Lord Gheleon ; Lady Efrideet ; Perun ; Shin Malphur ; Tallulah Fairwind ; Shiro-4

"What does it mean to be a Hunter? I say, it’s all about where you belong. The Warlocks have their libraries, the Titans have their walls...But Hunters belong in the wilds."

— Cayde-6

The Hunter is a type of Guardian who uses stealth and long ranged weapons to kill their enemies. Hunters tend to be taciturn, mostly keeping to themselves and using lightweight throwing knives and smoke to disorient their enemies. Hunter Cloaks provide a sense of mystery and excellent camouflage when they are in the wild.^[1]

Overview

"Our old worlds have grown feral - rabid beasts with teeth of rust and ruin. But such beasts are meant to be tamed. Or broken."

— Grimoire Description.

Through manipulation of the Traveler's energies, Hunters learned how to survive in the wild, assassinate their prey, and reclaim lost secrets of the Golden Age. They are daring scouts and stealthy killers, experts with knives and precision weapons. Hunters blaze their own trails and write their own laws. Though some fear them as being dangerous, their bravery has saved many lives and led to many discoveries dating back to the Golden Age.^[2]

Among the culture of Hunters, Hunters who become close friends are expected to take up the cloaks of their fallen comrades to finish business that they started.

Class Description

"Hunters once prowled the wilderness and wastelands, taking big risks for even bigger rewards. You're no outlaw – at least not any more – but making your own luck has always meant bending the rules. Your unique brand of daring and ingenuity is needed now more than ever."

— Class description

Abilities

Hunters are focused on damage dealing from short and medium range.^[3]

All Guardians have certain abilities, some of which are granted by the Traveler, others which may appear more mundane in nature. All Guardians have a double jump ability and a grenade ability whose effects vary by class.^[4]^[5] All these abilities can be upgraded over time and can be used in competitive PvP.^[6]^[7]

Subclasses

Gunslinger—"A lone wolf who lives for the perfect shot." A medium to long distance Solar class suited for engaging single or sometimes multiple targets with precision shooting and large amounts of damage.
- Super—Golden Gun: Summon a flaming pistol which disintegrates enemies with Solar Light
- Grenades—Incendiary Grenade, Tripmine Grenade, Swarm Grenade
- Melee—Throwing knife: Throw a knife from a distance.
- Jump—Double Jump; Triple Jump

Bladedancer—"(Destiny 1) Beautiful lethality, relentless style." An Arc-powered class suited for close-range crowd control. Unlocked at level 15^[8].
- Super—Arc Blade: Charge your blade with Arc Light and consume your foes with lightning.
- Grenades—Flux Grenade, Skip Grenade, Arcbolt Grenade
- Melee—Blink Strike: A powerful melee attack with extended range.
- Jump—Double Jump; Blink^[9]

Nightstalker—"Draw from the Void. Light the way." A Void-based support class suited for weakening enemies while strengthening Fireteams as well as featuring crowd control, stealth, and tracking. First made available in The Taken King.^[10]
- Super—Shadowshot: Tether foes to a Void Anchor, slowing, weakening and suppressing them for you and your allies.
- Grenades—Spike Grenade, Voidwall Grenade, Vortex Grenade
- Melee—Smoke: Throw Smoke to slow and disorient those within its cloud. There is an option within that column to alter smoke and make both disorient and damage enemies over time whils they are in your smoke cloud. Using a smoke and grenade at the same time is often referred to as a "wombo combo".
- Jump—Double Jump; Triple Jump

Arcstrider—"Flow like lightning. Strike like thunder." An Arc-based subclass suited for close-combat and mobility. First made available in Destiny 2.
- Super—Arc Staff: Charge your staff with Arc Light and consume your foes with lightning.
- Grenades—Skip Grenade, Flux Grenade, Arcbolt Grenade
- Melee—Pressure-Point Punch: Deliver a precise, Arc-charged punch to enemies.
- Jump—High Jump; Strafe Jump; Triple Jump

Hunter groups

Dead End Cure (D.E.C.)
Icarus Drifters^[11]
Shadowjacks^{[citation needed]}
Shadowsmiths

Known Hunters

In-Game

Anastasia Bray—A member of House Bray who fought at the Battle of Twilight Gap and later returned to Mars to research her past. Finished the Polaris Lance.
Cayde-6—Hunter Vanguard representative. Killed by Uldren Sov during a prison break at the Prison of Elders.
Eris Morn—Resident expert on Hive lore and aid for Guardians in the battle with the Hive and the Taken.
Lady Efrideet—Former Iron Lord who disappeared after the group's initial attempt to claim SIVA. Currently resides in a hidden location among a faction of pacifistic Guardians.
Shiro-4—Vanguard scout and trusted friend and advisor to Lord Saladin. Built the Tresspasser.
Tevis Larsen (voice only)—deceased Nightstalker and close friend to Cayde-6.
Shin Malphur (Voice Only)-Second wielder of The Last Word who ended the rampage of Dredgen Yor. Adoptive son and protege of Jaren Ward.

Mentioned

Ain Suhu-ässä
Andal Brask - Former Hunter Vanguard who was murdered by Taniks, the Scarred and was succeeded by his friend Cayde-6.
Anahera-3 - A Hunter who thought they might fall in love with their gun if it got smarter.^[12]
Anna Law - Mentioned by Cayde-6 on the Tower P.A speakers in the Plaza, said to be missing in the Manhattan Nuclear Zone.
Boaz - A SRL racer.
Caliban-8 - The second Hunter to inherit Hunter Vanguard after the death of Tallulah Fairwind, during the Great Ahamkara Hunt.
Chalco Yong - A member of The Hidden and a friend of Ikora Rey.
Dax Etono
Dredgen Vale - Member of the infamous Shadows of Yor group.
Gemma Nixx
Lord Gheleon - An Iron Lord known for his selflessness, analytical skills, eccentricity, and pessimism. Also known to craft the bones of his foes into armor.
Himura Shinobu - A citizen of Coyote who became a Hunter after she died and was brought back by a Ghost.
Jaren Ward - The original owner of The Last Word. Adoptive father to its second wielder, Shin Malphur.
Josef
Lisbon-13 - A member of the Kentarch 3.
Kauko Swiftriver - A Hunter Vanguard who was declared dead after going missing for two years.
Kit Ali Ameir - A Hunter known for somehow drawing images of Cabal a century before Guardians had first contact with them.
Lush - A Hunter whose Ghost was destroyed by Taniks, the Scarred and died his final death a year later.
Lee-4 - A member of the Six Coyotes.
Marcus Ren - One of the stars of the SRL and creator of the Fr0st-EE5 and St0mp-EE5.
Micah-10 - A member of the Six Coyotes.
Nadiya - A member of the Six Coyotes.
Nian Ruo - A associate of Cayde-6 and Shiro-4 who was killed by Taniks, the Scarred.
Omar Agah - Member of Eriana-3's fireteam to assassinate Crota. Felled in the attempt by the Heart of Crota though later revived.
Pahanin - A hunter who was the only survivor of Kabr's raid on the Vault of Glass and creator of the Super Good Advice Machine Gun.
Lady Perun - Field Commander of the Iron Lords. Famous for her talent in anticipating enemy actions.
Ramos
Quantis Rhee - A Nightstalker who explored Nessus.
Sai Mota - Member of Eriana-3's fireteam to assassinate Crota and almost escaped with Eris but was killed by Omnigul.
Seong-Do Whiteclaw
Shun Endo - A racer in the Sparrow Racing League.
Tallulah Fairwind - The first Hunter Vanguard.
Uzoma Vale - One of the creators of the Zen Meteor sniper rifle.
Vyhar

Trivia

Destiny marks the third time a group of entities in a Bungie game has been named "Hunters", the other two being Marathon and Halo. It also marks the first time that Hunters are not an enemy class.
The Hunter's outfit is shown to have a 50:50 fabric to armor ratio. Its visual design is meant to look like they scavenge the wilderness for gear, with torn capes and gear based on HAZMAT material.^[13]
So far, Hunters are the only Guardians that do not have any orders within the Last City, unlike the Titans and Warlocks. It is possible that due to the "lone wolf" mindset of the Hunters and their desire to explore, the Hunters do not tend to have orders bound to the city.
- However, some Hunter's organize themselves into Groups, mostly for exploring and assassination missions.