Metroid Prime Hunters Multiplayer Walkthrough: Playable Hunters

Rather than taking the Samus palette-swap approach, the team at NST and Andrew Jones went out of their way to make six distinct parallels to the famous Bounty Hunter. With their own unique designs, weapons, and abilities, each Hunter serves for a unique gameplay experience. So find a character you like, and go behind the HUD with this guide to help you be the ace Bounty Hunter in the arena!

Samus

The poster woman herself, Samus, knows the job and brings an arsenal of tactics and abilities to be effective on every map. It can be easy to label Samus as a jack of all trades, but this elite Chozo Warrior has a highly rewarding skill ceiling with her heat-seeking Missiles and Morph Ball tricks alone.

• Samus is the only Hunter that spawns with her Affinity Weapon. You can quickly take a kill or two with a charged heat seeking missile into a Morph Ball or Power Beam rushdown play.
• Because the Boost Ball has an active hitbox, Samus’s mobility is highly rewarding in making progress for both item retrieval and dealing damage. This also accounts for vertical tricks with Bomb Jumping.
• Because the Affinity Weapon orb gives her five Missiles, Samus has a plethora of areas in each map to quickly replenish these to continue streaming Charge Prepped lock-on pressure towards her opponents.

Morph Ball Bomb Damage: 16

Boost Ball Damage: 20

Kanden

The rogue super soldier, Kanden, brings his one-man army status to the battlefield with high burst damage potential with great consistency to always fall back on. With lock-on Stinglarva Bombs and Volt Driver charge shots, Kanden creates many opportunistic openers to finish opponents off right after.

• Kanden’s Volt Driver is the fastest-firing weapon in the game. With near hitscan levels of speed, Kanden players will be able to hone their HP melting skills from any range on any standard map.
• In addition to Bomb Jumping, the Stinglarva provides great mobility for Kanden to gather resources for the Volt Driver’s high ammo capacity. Because the Stinglarva Bombs lock on to nearby opponents, Kanden can easily turn retreating and resource gathering opportunities into kills.
• Charge Prep works well for Kanden and his Volt Driver. As the heat-seeking charge shot travels to an opponent, you can barrage your opponent with uncharged headshots. Once the charge shot hits, their vision will be scrambled, adding to the chaos while you finish them off.

Stinglarva Bomb Damage: 20

Spire

Wall climbing, lava proof, and a drive to uncover truths in the universe, Spire is well fit for Metroid’s iconic terrains and challenges. With his Fire Blades and burning Magmaul, Spire creates a constant threat for close to mid range while taking unique routes to close in on the opposition.

• As a flare gun grenade launcher, Spire’s Magmaul rewards a unique skill in leading your shots with tricky wall bounces and gravity drops. Whether it’s trapping your opponent in a 1v1 or taking multiple kills with its splash damage in 4-player free for all, this Affinity Weapon makes for tremendous game-winning progress.
• The Dialanche allows Spire to climb walls, creating custom routes to take the high ground or get to an item before others. This pairs well with the Magmaul’s properties to drop damage onto the opposition. With Alt-Form Dropping, you can ambush your opponent with Spire’s Fire Blades or create fast escape routes.
• With Charge Prep, Spire can turn on the death clock with the Magmaul’s afterburn. You can often predict when the opponent will want to retreat while burned (often going into Alt-Form), allowing you to lead a Magmaul shot or swapping to other weapons like the Power Beam or Missiles for a longer-ranged finisher.

Fire Blades Damage: 32 (all hits land)

Trace

The red-sharp shooting menace, Trace, has the ambition and abilities to quickly climb up the ranks of the Kriken Empire and the PVP scoreboard. Armed with the instant killing Imperialist and a deadly cloaking ability, Trace is the frontrunner as both a long-range threat and jumpscare king for Metroid.

• The Imperialist will kill any Hunter with a zoomed-in headshot. As Trace’s Affinity Weapon, paired with his Jump Strike, the ability to quickly get this weapon and take out your opponents is to not be understated.
• Knowledge on headshot hurtboxes will reward smart Imperialist play and make the difference between damage and a kill. With Trace’s Affinity Ability to cloak while having it equipped, there are precious seconds potentially given to you to line up for a headshot. 
• The Jump Strike will not stop when you get a kill. This allows Trace to both pursue and retreat from fights while maintaining game-winning momentum with more kills and power ups. In addition, his ability to cloak when you stand still allows for ambush kill opportunities.

Jump Strike Damage: 50

Noxus

Protector of justice and peace in the universe, Noxus is an enforcer on the battlefield with threatening freezes and burst damage capabilities. New Metroid fans will attest to the anxiety of an E.M.M.I. walking around a corner, while veteran players will share horror stories of Noxus ambushing with a charged Judicator.

• The Judicator is an omni range sharp shooting weapon with great wall bouncing trickshot capabilities. As Noxus’s Affinity Weapon, his charge shot creates a wave of ice that will freeze any target in its range (with no vertical hitbox limit thanks to Shadow Freezing.) In 1v1, you can often just line up some Judicator headshots for a kill. In 4-player free for all, it’s important to gauge the remaining health of the target and choose your weapon accordingly, before the target might get killed by an opposing hunter.
• Hurtboxes are literal for the hunters. This includes as they transform in and out of their Alt-Forms. You cannot headshot a hunter while in their Alt-Form, but you can otherwise. Learning and practicing headshot hurtboxes will greatly reward a Noxus player’s overall game winning efficiency. 
• The Vhoscythe has amazing wall-bouncing momentum that does not get halted whatsoever when using the Spin Attack. Because there is basically no downside (aside from the dangers of Alt-Form Dropping), it’s favorable to almost always use the Spin Attack while transformed.

Spin Attack Damage: 50

Sylux

Slick and crafty to a tee, Sylux sweeps into the Metroid battlegrounds with swift efficiency and sly traps to press the advantage against enemy hunters. Thanks to his high mobility, Sylux can blitz close range kills with the Shock Coil and Lockjaw Bombs while fetching other weapons to cover mid to long range with ease.

• Sylux plays like a trap-setting grappler in fighting game terms, and he is exceptional at it. With his Affinity Bonus, Sylux’s Shock Coil siphons life from the opponent, creating a stream of healing while you get a kill. The speed of Sylux’s Lockjaw paired with Bomb Jumping aids in quickly approaching and cornering opponents within close range.
• Not only does Sylux’s mobility allow him to swiftly get mid- to long-range weapons and health with ease, but his Lockjaw Tripwires can punish opponents that get crucial pickups like gold health and affinity weapon orbs. Switching to missiles can help if the opponent goes into alt form to change their hurtbox against Shock Coil plays.
• Electric Bomb Tripwires allow Sylux to Bomb Fly when used in fast succession (or easily on low gravity maps).  You can quickly approach while finding triangle trap setups for kills.

Tripwire Damage: 40

Tri-Bomb Damage: 180

Weavel

When it comes to arena control and item denial, this Special Ops Space Pirate General shows his authority. Weavel brings his cybernetics and battle hardened experience to the versatile terrains of Metroid with a toolkit that can take kills and lock down the pace in duels.

• Weavel is the king of Orb Control. By using both the Halfturret and the Battlehammer’s Affinity Weapon bonus for pushback splash damage, Weavel will nab health orbs as they respawn to further replenish his health while negating opponents from healing as they take chip damage.
• Weavel’s Halfturret transformation and beam sword slice can serve as extra jumps for unique maneuvers and map routes for him. You also can create immediate damage in a duel while making space for resources.
• The high ammo and splash damage from Weavel’s Battlehammer allows for a less punishable weapon for firing over and over while potentially taking kills from multiple player fights. Getting used to the fire rate while tracking and predicting your opponents movement greatly adds to Weavel’s pressure game.

Halfturret Slice Damage: 36

Turret Shot Damage: 12

PRO-TIP: Audio is King

Each Hunter has a distinct sound for their jump, Alt-Form transformations (in and out), Alt-Form traversing, taking damage, and dying. Pair that with every weapon making its own distinct sound, and you’ll be able to train and hone your ears to detect where the enemies are throughout the fight.