In The Division 2 there are mysterious enemies called “Hunters.” They hide behind challenging puzzles, and even weeks after the release of the Warlords expansion, one of these nasty endgame foes is still missing.
What are Hunters? Since the “Survival” expansion of the first part of Ubisoft’s loot shooter The Division 2, there have been strong and mysterious enemies in the game: Hunters. Very little is known about their identity or motivation, but it is clear: They do not like the Division.
Meanwhile, there are nearly 20 of these nasty agent-hunters lurking in the open worlds of Division 2, and all are hidden behind a clever puzzle. Players have been working on the solutions for weeks.
In Discord groups, on Reddit, and on social platforms, the “Hunter hunters” exchange ideas about the tricky puzzles and just yesterday (March 19) found the second-to-last Hunter from the Warlords expansion.
Hunter puzzles are more than just busywork
Why do the agents take so long to search? The Hunter puzzles do not solve themselves passively. Throughout exploration and loot tours through the cities of Washington and New York, smaller clues or objects related to them can be found.
However, those who do not intentionally search for clues will hardly be able to solve a puzzle, because:
- Some steps can only be solved at specific times of the day.
- Sometimes actions must be executed in a precise order.
- Some puzzles require objects that are hidden throughout the open world.
Thus, players may take weeks to understand the precise mechanics behind the puzzles, experiment, and then still fight against the strong enemies. For the engaged agents on the hunt, the Hunters offer more than just pure busywork.
What does such a search look like? Let’s take the freshly solved puzzle of the “New York Hunter” as an example.
Since players already had an idea of where the last hunter was lurking, they named him the “Pier Hunter.” Previously, there were clues to the Hunters in newspaper clippings or in cool graffiti and even with this mysterious enemy, the secret was hidden in a comic strip from a daily newspaper:
It turned out that almost the entire text of the comic was relevant to solving the puzzle:
- Image 1: From darkness into light you will find me in God’s eyes.
- Image 2: Something is rotten here.
- Image 3: You are late.
What was the solution? Together with the images, the texts give a hint about the location and time of the necessary interactions. From this, players then solved the puzzle through lots of experimentation and teamwork. Here, one had to interact with 2 objects and then shoot a church’s fuse box.
This all has to happen in the correct order and at the correct time of day, with step 1 only working between 5:30 – 7:00 in the morning.
Puzzling, experimenting, sharing – Together the community comes to the solution
What else have the agents tried? The players were clear from the clues found that it must have something to do with the pier and some clocks in Battery Park, one of the new zones of the NY open world.
The puzzle solvers tried everything. The objects to interact with were quickly found, and now they tested various times, orders, and searched in the newspaper clipping for further clues. They even solved the Sudoku on the bottom of the newspaper to learn anything new.
After more than 2 weeks of testing, searching, and experimenting, finally the solution. But one Hunter is still missing. A summary of the current progress can be found in this English reddit thread. The “Food Truck Hunter” is still eluding the agents, and the search remains exciting.
What rewards are there? Each Hunter drops a special mask that you can also put on your agent. The enemies provide an exciting fight since they are equipped similarly to the players and partially deactivate the strong skills. Without good equipment or strong exotics, the attack can quickly backfire.
The first Hunters before the Warlords expansion also gave players some “Ivory Keys,” which can open a chest that provides special rewards. Even now, players suspect a prize for completing all hunts – a special Hunter vest.
How do I get to the Hunters? For the hunts, we have two articles here on MeinMMO that show you the way to the tough Hunter battles:
- This is how you find the 12 Hunters that existed before the expansion
- Here you can find the new Hunters that have been around since Warlords
The Hunters are among the most exciting mechanics of the entire game, and many players passionately work on the solutions to these opaque puzzles.
What do you think of the puzzles and Hunters in general? Does this mechanic push Division 2 forward or is it just unnecessary play?
