Thargoid Hunter
The Thargoid Hunter is an alien vessel used by the Thargoids. It is assumed to have been made recently in response to humanities fight back against the Thargoids advance into the bubble. Only one subtype has been identified: The Glaive.
Overview
During the Second Thargoid War, these vessels were presumably manufactured directly to respond against humanity. They were initllay found only within the core of the Thargoid Maelstroms, defending the Titan, but in the weeks following the Titan's discovery they began appearing in other instances, such as AX Conflict Zones and interdicting ships from supercruise in Thargoid invaded systems. It has been confirmed that the reason for their creation is to combat humanities "cold-orbiting" technique, as they are able to maintain the ability to lead shots even when a human ship is at a very low temperature, and they are too fast to out-manoeuvre.
These vessels are deployed from small vent openings on the outer petals of the Thargoid Titan as well as its central Maw.
Capabilities
Variants
| Variant | Thargoid Hearts | USS Threat Level | Notes | Image |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Glaive | Zero | Unknown | Immediately hostile on detection. | File:Glaive Close.png |
| Scythe | Zero | Unknown | Appears to deploy smaller vessels dedicated to picking up Escape Pods |
Design
The Hunter is drastically different to the Interceptor in appearance. It has 8 Blade shaped petals and is a lot smaller, with an opaque canopy in the front. The Glaive has 4 Large Petals and 4 Small Petals that counter rotate and glow yellow when lightning is about to deploy. The other Hunter variant, the name of which is unknown, has 8 equal length petals, the same size as the Glaives longest, that all rotate the same direction. It also has a slightly raised cockpit with two large pincers on the front. It also deploys smaller vessels similar to Thargons, that fulfil the same job as a human limpet and are designed to pick up items, most commonly shown picking up Occupied Escape Pods.
Weaponry
The Hunter uses three weapons when in combat with human vessels, which it shares with the Interceptor. These are the typical laser fire, the enzyme missiles, and its lightning. However, the Hunter appears to to fire all of its missiles simultaneously from each of its larger outer petals, whereas the Interceptor fires its missile round sequentially from its rear. Furthermore, the Hunter can use its lightning at will, and not after a certain amount of damage has been done. Its cool down on all weapons appears to be shorter than an Interceptor too.
Capabilities
Much like Interceptor and Scout class ships, Hunters have been observed both emerging from Hyperspace and Interdicting human ships from supercruise. So far this has been witnessed around Maelstroms and systems actively under Thargoid Invasion.
Following their appearance outside Maelstrom systems, it has been confirmed Hunters are capable of generating a field that degrades nearby Guardian technology (including Guardian-Human hybrid modules), similar to the pulse produced by the Orthrus class Interceptor. This field can quickly render Guardian-hybrid weapons inoperable, making it advisable to equip Human AX weapons during encounters.
Vulnerabilities
The Hunter is a relatively weak vessel, with Enhanced AX Multi-cannons being sufficient to take one down. However, the Hunter will immediately start with its shield up, and will regenerate it rapidly when using lightning. It is quite weak to the Thargoid Seed Mines found in the vicinity of the Titan and one to two detonations within range can kill an unshielded Hunter with ease.
Combat Tactics
Since Hunters are able to rapidly degrade Guardian Weaponry (which is also entirely impractical within Maelstrom systems), one must strive to remove the Hunters shields quickly using conventional laser weaponry, then immediately switch to Multi-cannon Fire. The Lightning it uses is quite frequent, and since Guardian Module Reinforcements are useless, it is recommended to stay far away from the vessel if it begins to glow. Point Defence Turrets are recommended to be placed strategically across your vessel to have full coverage, as the missiles will inflict Caustic on your ship, and Caustic Sink Launchers will take away from Utility Mounts you can dedicate to more Point Defense or Shield Boosters. Rather counterintuitively, it is recommended to fly near Seed Mines within the Maelstrom and kite the Hunter into these, as with its shields down, a Seed Mine can instantly destroy, or seriously damage, an unshielded Hunter. A fast ship is recommended for this tactic in order to dodge getting damaged yourself.
Multi-cannons are recommended over AX Missiles due to the Hunters immense speed making acquiring missile lock extremely difficult.
Notes
- Files datamined from the Elite Dangerous: Odyssey alpha mention a vehicle by the name of the Glaive. This was thought to be a new Thargoid Vessel until Update 15 where it was confirmed to exist.