Lekgolo

The Lekgolo (Latin Ophis congregatio ) are a species of small colonial worm like creatures that can join together to form purpose specific assemblages called Mgalekgolo. They are commonly referred to by Humans as Hunters. Lekgolo take a hulking bipedal form in the Covenant military which is, in truth, the least common assemblage of the creatures. In this form, they are the strongest species in the Covenant. These forms stand anywhere from nine and a half to twelve feet tall, but when in their combat state they crouch to approximately eight feet, making their weak spots smaller. Hunters fight with Fuel Rod Guns (Halo: Combat Evolved) or modified Fuel Rod Cannons (Halo 2 and Halo 3) integrated directly into their armor, and they carry an enormous and nearly-impervious metal shield made of an unknown alloy, which they sometimes use as a melee weapon. The modified Fuel Rod Cannon used in Halo 2 is more beam-like, similar to that of the Gravity Cannon. The fire is more sustained, and more devastating.

According to Halo 2 the Hunters needed to be "tamed." An Arbiter played a significant role in this event.

During the Civil War of the Covenant, most of the Hunters took the side of the Elites.

Culture
The Lekgolo's religious, political and philosophical affiliation with the Covenant was based on their need for viable space travel and see little need for religion. When their homeworld of Te was visited by an advanced alien culture who were intent on mining the world, they faced heavy resistance from the Hunters whose physiology gave them a tremendous advantage in combat. Hunters were later forced into the Covenant by the superior starship technology of the Elites - on the ground they were mostly, if not always, victorious. Faced with extinction by orbital bombardment, they joined the Covenant. It is assumed that this is when an Arbiter was killed, that this was the time of the Taming of the Hunters. Terms for the Hunters induction into the Covenant were eventually met despite communication difficulties which hampered the process. As part of joining their conquerors, the Covenant would use local labor and expertise to mine resources from rare metals to minerals. In exchange for this, the Hunters were given free access to the Covenant's spaceways.

Hunters almost never associate, or even communicate, with other Covenant client races, save for the Elites. They are dismissive, scornful, and arrogant to the "lesser" Covenant races, and are utterly contemptuous of their foes.

Hunters have three names: personal name, bond name, and line name. The personal name is given at birth. The line name represents the genetic heritage, being the name of the most successful Hunter of his ancestors. If a Hunter reaches a certain level of status, his offspring will have his personal name as their line name. The bond name is taken between bonded pairs, a relationship about which little is known, but it appears to be something like a lifelong brother, and a Hunter that has lost its partner can and will become extremely aggressive. Bonded Hunters consider themselves brothers and are fiercely protective of each other. Examples of Hunter names include Igido Nosa Hurru, and Ogada Nosa Fasu.

Hunters seem to be a warring species, though some are known to recite poetry and meditate in their spare time.

Hunters are never seen alone, and are very dangerous as they work and live in pairs.

During the Covenant Civil War, most Hunter pairs sided with the Elite Separatists. No reason for this is yet confirmed, but it is likely due to their deep respect for the Elites, or possibly because the Brutes struck the Hunters first, betraying them. Sadly, the Hunters do not follow the Elites into battle against the Brutes, perhaps because Lekgolo have some sort of hatred for humanity. The Halo 3 trailer at E3 2007 featured a clip of two hunters firing their fuel rod cannons and in turn being shot by something that resembled a human rocket or possibly a Brute Shot from offscreen, which confirmed the possibility of at least some Hunters remaining as enemies. In the September 2007 issue of EGM, it was stated that there is one part of the level The Storm, where Hunters fight alongside a Brute Chieftain. Given these facts, it is possible that the Hunters have divided loyalties to the Prophets and their religion and to the Elites. It has been noted in the Halo 3 Manual that the Hunters' political motivation is unknown. In Halo: Uprising a number of Hunter pairs are shown both fighting the Master Chief in space and patrolling the city, reinforcing the fact that some Hunters are still with the Covenant. Also, in the Diorama commercial and 3-d tour on halo3.com, a hunter pair is clearly seen taking on a marine fireteam. This is supported by the fact that the information supplied above the hunter still lists it as an enemy combatant. During the Battle on Onyx the Hunters have command of lower ranking Elites.

In a Bungie Weekly Update, Frank O'Connor said: "Hunter society is complex and we have seen but the tiniest fraction of it. There are some fundamental facts about Hunter biology that mean the combat type is just the tip of the iceberg." This means, or at least implies, that there are other kinds of Hunters that simply have yet to be seen.

Hunter Anatomy and Physiology
The Hunter is not a singular organism, but rather a hive creature composed of multiple small, orange, worm-like beings that form a singular collective consciousness and act as one, like a Portuguese Man O' War. The extremely strong armor that covers them serves the dual purpose of protecting the eels and keeping them together. Hunters also have very sharp, long spines made of the same worms that compose their body. Hunters have been known to impale careless Marines upon these spines when surrounded. However, in-game the spines serve no purpose besides decoration. The white streak on the Hunter's "head" is actually a visor or sensor screen.

The collection of worms that make up a Hunter's body are unintelligent at the most basic level, but can form complex thoughts and emerge as a conscious individual when they combine into larger masses that communicate through chemical and electrical means. Their society is predominated by this combination of being to create exponentially more intelligent creatures, and the actual "Hunter" organism is one of the rarer and smaller forms to be found, used primarily in interaction with the Covenant hierarchy. The worms that make up a "Hunter" only have one eye per worm. The worms that make up the arms and legs have the eyes located within the central thorax armor. The neural net that hunters develop enables them to be incredibly strong and sensitive to all things within a 1000 foot line pointing out from non-combat form, and a half sphere that extends 500 feet in combat form.

Many believe that the Flood Juggernaut is an infected Hunter, but this is false due to several reasons. The Hunter's physiology, being separated into many singular components, makes it immune to Flood infection, as no central nervous system or calcium stores exist for them to utilize, and single worms are too small to be used as the Flood's tool. Though Hunters are immune from assimilation into the Flood collective, the parasitic race will attack them on sight because their bodies are still viable as food.

Hunters generally growl during battle but will sometimes talk and make remarks like the other Covenant species. Instead of using vocal chords, they vibrate their bodies to make a low rumble that is described as "more felt than heard" to produce speech.

It is theorized that Hunters reproduce asexually; however, there is, as yet, no way to be certain. Although new information suggests that the Hunters can generate a worm, and then a worm from a large number of other hunters is needed to make a hunter.

The Hunters' gauntlets have three fingers, each bearing a sharp claw. It appears that they wear their distinctive arm shield by inserting their hand into a built-in gauntlet. Similarly, their Fuel Rod Cannon has a large hand slot, enabling the weapon to be attached securely to the arm.

Combat
A Hunter's armor is extremely resilient, and is immune to most small arms fire. However, they do have an exploitable weak spot: the exposed orange flesh located in their midsections and necks. While they keep the exposed areas on the fronts of their bodies well-covered with their shields, rarely giving the player an opening unless the Hunter tries to melee them, the creature's backs have a large exposed area that is extremely vulnerable. However, though firearms are incapable of penetrating a Hunter's armor, it cannot stand up to heavy weapons such as rockets and artillery.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, Hunters were rarely difficult to defeat; their AI was simplistic, their shots and melees were slow and awkward, and they could not move fast enough to run down even a back-pedaling Spartan. Furthermore, they could be killed by a single shot from the M6D Pistol, as long as it hit the exposed orange area in the middle of the body or the similarly unarmored "neck." Other weapons, especially the shotgun and sniper rifle for very short and very long distances, respectively, were equally deadly. The rocket launcher was always effective, but never particularly necessary. Grenades were only moderately effective, as the Hunter could withstand a half-dozen grenade blasts. Plasma weapons were often ineffective, as was the Needler, and the MA5B Assault Rifle took so long to make a kill that other weapons were far more useful. Still, no player with even a modicum of skill feared confronting a Hunter on open ground. On Legendary, some players regarded Hunters as the least challenging enemies in the game. However, inexperienced or careless players can fall victim to the Hunters' attacks, which, while easy to anticipate, are rather powerful. However, Hunters really gained the upper hand in the cramped hallways of the Truth and Reconciliation and the Pillar of Autumn, where there was little space to dodge the fuel rods or crushing melee blows, and no room to utilize the most commonly used anti-Hunter weapon: the rocket launcher. Still, these levels were full of shotgun ammo, and the shotgun is reasonably useful against Hunters at close range.

If you stood far away from the Hunter, it would use its fuel rod cannon. However, the shot was slow, and very easy to dodge if you could see it coming. It was also easy to anticipate, as the barrel of the weapon glowed bright green before firing. If you were in melee range of the Hunter, it would also use its arm shield in an attempt to crush you, resulting in serious injury, if not death. However, these attacks were simple to anticipate and dodge. On certain levels, it is possible to defeat Hunters by standing in front of a hole and then sidestepping them as they attempt a melee attack; if timed right, the Hunter will fall down the hole and die. The Hunters have undergone a number of changes for Halo 2. While they appear in fewer numbers, they are tougher and more dangerous. The most notable change is their new weapon: although similar to the old Fuel Rod Gun, the new Fuel Rod Cannon fires a continuous beam of green plasma rather than an arcing projectile. This new weapon is more damaging if not dodged carefully. In addition, the Hunters are over 25% larger and faster, making combat against them much more hectic. Fortunately, all these go towards your advantage when playing the Arbiter; the Hunters are then powerful and durable allies. They have gained a new move, too: the ability to attack an enemy behind them. This effectively makes the old strategy of "dodge-and-fire" far less effective.

Finally, the Hunters have much more health. Most small arms do rather moderate damage against them, in contrast to the M6D's ability to kill them in a single shot. For example, on Normal difficulty, it takes 13 shots from the M6C Magnum Sidearm, 6 full bursts from the Battle Rifle, or 10 shots from the Covenant Carbine to kill a Hunter. On Heroic and lower difficulties, sniper weapons will kill a Hunter in a single shot. However, on Legendary, not a single weapon (except, of course, the Scarab Gun, which is never present during a fight with Hunters anyway) can kill them in one hit. Even a SRS99C-S2 AM Sniper Rifle or Beam Rifle will take two shots to kill a Hunter on Legendary. Often, the most effective weapon against them is the one that does the most damage: the Rocket Launcher is greatly effective, as is the Fuel Rod Cannon. While these weapons take two and three shots respectively to kill a Hunter on Legendary, they can damage one regardless of where it hits it.

Grenades still do little damage against Hunters, and it will usually take a large amount of them to take one down. However, grenades, handheld or fired from the Brute Shot, will disorient a Hunter, giving the player an opportunity to shoot at its exposed flesh. Perhaps the most effective method to defeat a Hunter would be to stick a plasma grenade to it and shoot it in its exposed back with a beam rifle or sniper rifle.

Hunters are equipped with an extremely devastating Fuel Rod Cannon melded into its arm. Unlike a normal Fuel Rod Cannon, Hunters with their cumbersome bulk and strength are able to withstand the recoil and produce a more lasting and lethal blast. If an enemy gets too close, the Hunter will attempt a clumsy but dangerous melee attack with its shield, severely injuring if not killing the enemy. Once its partner is killed, the Hunter becomes much more aggressive and will chase the player, attempting to avenge its partner's death by only melee attacks.

Hunters in Halo 3 became still more powerful. Even on Heroic difficulty, at least five shots from a sniper weapon are required to down a Hunter. In addition, their previously vulnerable stomachs are now covered with armor, quashing any chance at getting a shot in when the Hunter rears up to melee. On the other hand, their armor can now fall off in pieces (a feature best exploited with explosives) and their Fuel Rod Beams seem to do slightly less damage. In addition to blowing off a chunk of its armor, grenades also appear to overall do more damage to the Hunter than they do in the previous games. If you want some entertainment, it is possible to melee a hunter if it is stricken in its weak spots. This is difficult because you have to get behind them, but is possible. In short, defeating Halo 3's Hunters requires a large amount of patience above all else.

Trivia

 * "Lekgolo" is Tswana for "one hundred", probably a reference to their hive-like physiology.
 * Hunters were first seen by humans in 2537 in Operation: PROMETHEUS.
 * Hunters are responsible for security aboard a Covenant Warship. One of their duties is to protect the vessel's Ship Master, and, failing that, enact revenge on his assassin.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, if you look closely at a Hunter the orange fleshy parts glow in an on and off motion. This can be seen more easily in a dark place.
 * Lekgolo blood smells like burnt plastic.
 * It is a common mistake to think that Flood infected Hunters become Flood Juggernauts, but due to their physiology, that is impossible.
 * Halo 2's Hunters will flex their spines upon sighting the player as the Master Chief, unlike its Halo: Combat Evolved counterparts.
 * As of Halo 3, despite the Elites posessing Grunt and Hunter allies of their own, neither appear as anything but an enemy in the game.
 * It shares its name with a Pfhor enemy in Marathon which also has a very similar weapon and appearance.
 * In Halo: The Flood, it mentions that Hunters have skin and a spine. This was later retconned by the revelation they were a compound of worm like entities.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved on the Maw (only on Normal or higher), the Hunters that run out of the cafe room will occasionally have gray stomachs and grayed armor on their back and spines. And looks as either it's been chipped or burned. It is to us unknown if this is just a texturing glitch, a model mix up like the "councilor Honor guard" at the end of Gravemind (level), or to show that the Hunters have been in combat for a long time.
 * Ophis means snake. Congregatio means assembly, society, union. Translated it means "assembly of snakes", no doubt alluding to their physical structure.
 * One of the easiest ways to kill the Halo 3 hunters, is a direct hit in the exposed orange back area, with a sniper rifle. this physically weakens them, or kills them. This is a good strategy when your avaliable men are pinned down, or you are short of cover
 * Apparently, Hunters were meant to be included in the Heretic forces on the Gas Mine