Prototype Combat Guide: How to Kill Hunters and Leader Hunters

Prototype Combat Guide: How to Kill Hunters and Leader Hunters
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Tossing Cars for Fun and Profit

Combat is a big deal in Prototype. While the game includes stealth elements, there are numerous boss fights during which anything but brute force is generally not a valid strategy. Plus, with strike teams and super-soldiers hounding Alex’s every move and viral detectors engulfing the city, it can become nearly impossible for Alex to make his way from point A to point B without getting into a fight.

Fortunately, Alex is equipped for a fight. This guide provides some general pointers for those who have had trouble getting a grip on how to deal with strike teams, Hunters, super soldiers, and other common foes found in Prototype.

Hunting for Hunters

The Hunter is a common foe in Prototype. During the early portions of the game they are easily the most frustrating enemy that Alex will encounter. I’m sure that anyone who has played Prototype remembers well the first military base encounter in which a rather poorly armed Alex is forced to fight multiple Hunters in close quarters. Hunters do become much easier to kill as Alex becomes more powerful, but they’re always a threat.

While extremely fast, the Hunter actually only has one attack move which is of any real threat. This is the charge attack where the Hunter will move forward while hitting Alex with hay-makers from the left and right. Take time to understand this attack. It can be predicted by watching for when the Hunter begins to move forward and swing his arms one after the other in a consistent attack animation. The animation is always the same for this attack. Even in the later portions of the game, this charging attack can knock a big chunk out of Alex’s hitpoints if Alex does not move out of the way.

Because Hunters have only one attack which is dangerous, fighting them becomes a matter of watching for the attack and getting out of the way when it’s launched. It is usually advisable to fight Hunters using either the Claws or the Blade and the Shield defense. Armor is not a good defense because the mobility reduction makes it difficult to get out of the way of the Hunters when they begin their attack.

Leader Hunters

Alex will also occasionally run into Leader Hunters after the first Leader Hunter is introduced during a mission. Leader Hunters are a lot like regular Hunters but they are stronger and can take more damage from Alex.

Leader Hunters have a jumping attack which is powerful and can be quite hard to dodge if Alex is not already on the move when the Leader Hunter springs into the air. Taking out Leader Hunters in melee is certainly possible, but it is probably best done with the Whipfist rather than the Blade or Claws. The Leader Hunters are simply too powerful to risk getting pinned down. If possible, attacking a Leader Hunter with a gunship or a tank is best.

Hydras

See this tactic for killing Hydras? Don’t use it.

Another infected enemy, Hydras are big worm-like enemies which emerge from the ground. They have two attacks - a melee slam and the ability to fling nearby objects.

The melee slam is extremely deadly, particularly for any tank which Alex may be using. Engaging Hydra with at close range is, in fact, never a good idea in or out of a vehicle. This means that Alex will need a tank or gunship and need to keep at range. Fighting a Hydra requires dodging skills no matter which vehicle is selected. Hydras will throw cars at any tank or gunship Alex is using. These cars move rather slowly through the air, but do a great deal of damage - three or four are enough to take out most vehicles. Alex will need to stay a fair distance away from the Hydra and pluck away at it while dodging the incoming cars. This is really the only method of killing a Hydra, but it is simple once Alex is familiar with the controls of the various vehicles in the game.

Strike Teams

Strike teams are an extremely common enemy in Prototype. They will come in to take out Alex whenever a military member calls them in, which is almost any time that Alex is revealed to the military. Strike teams consist of helicopters, although those helicopters will sometimes drop off soldiers. The helicopters, however, are the big threat.

Once a strike team is called in, it will arrive quickly. The first thing Alex is going to want to do is take cover. The gunships in strike teams love to lob guided missiles at Alex, and those missiles can do a significant amount of damage. They can also hit with virtually no warning. Stay out of the open, particularly if Alex is already low on health.

The bane of strike teams is the Muscle Mass power. Alex can try to attack strike teams by jumping up and hitting them with a melee assault, and he can also attempt to attack them by capturing a helicopter and using it to destroy the other gunships in the strike teams. These methods can be unreliable, however - the most direct and safest method is to lob cars. With the Muscle Mass power active, Alex can destroy gunships quickly. Also make sure to keep the armor power active, if Alex has it. The armor power keeps the gunship’s missiles from taking away too much health when they do hit.

Super Soldiers

Encountered in the later half of the game, super soldiers behave in many ways like Hunters. They are fast and can pursue Alex even when he is performing acrobatic tricks or climbing the sides of buildings. They are also strong, and capable of doing quite a bit of damage if Alex is not careful.

Super soldier’s difference from Hunters in the way they do damage, however. While Hunters only have the one powerful charging attack, super soldiers have a slam attack which is their primary method of hurting Alex. This attack is simple, and it involves the super soldier grabbing Alex and then performing some manner of WWF-style bodyslam. Alex can counter these slams, however, by quickly pressing the correct button when prompted. If successful, Alex will counter the super soldier and do a significant amount of damage. This is in fact the main way of killing super soldiers, so get used to the grab animation and be ready to press the correct button as soon as prompted.