Talk:Hunters/@comment-37009211-20190319195706/@comment-11084328-20190403113450

I haven't finished the endgame yet, but I'm going to drop my theory.

The Hunters are actually a secretive elite unit of Black Tusk soldiers, created by President Ellis himself.

What leads me to this theory? While my information is somewhat incomplete, I'm going to lay out my theory of what happened according to the collectibles, pieces of dialogue, etcetera that I found in-game.

First off, the previous President didn't commit suicide. According to a collectible, two Secret Service members (possibly more, but only two are shown in the recording) killed him and made it look like a suicide. Curiously, this collectible was found in a Black Tusk hideout during a Side Mission, so it's entirely possible that in reality, those "Secret Service members" were actually Black Tusk infiltrators/allies. Not only that, but this incident also paved the way for Ellis to become President, which further cements the theory that Ellis might have given the order.

After the Air Force One was dropped out of the sky, only President Ellis survived. Coincidence? I think not. I think Ellis arranged for the Black Tusk to shoot down the plane with him inside; this would allow him to play the innocent victim, the hero, while those politicians who could oppose him died in the crash. A temporary wrench in the works was when he was kidnapped by the Hyenas, but in the end we rescued him, which unbeknownst to us put his plans back in motion.

After the Capitol Building Mission, Kelso mentions that Ellis disappeared without a trace. I think her exact words were "No signs of struggle". I seriously doubt the POTUS could be kidnapped from the White House, protected by JTF and Division Agents (not counting us players), without ANYONE noticing. So what does this mean? My theory is that he ran away, simply enough. He left the White House without anyone's knowledge and reunited with a Black Tusk squad that extracted him out of the area. This, combined with the Black Tusk's invasion of DC, created the illusion of a professional kidnapping.

That, in my opinion, is the missing piece that Callum Konstantin mentioned. President Ellis is the leader of the Black Tusk. Now everything falls into place. I will build more upon this theory as I progress through the endgame, but for now, that's what I have to say.

But going back to the Hunters, how does this relate to them?

I believe the Hunters are secretly a group of former Black Tusk soldiers, with abilities far above their brothers-in-arms and a special hatred for Division Agents. Since Ellis knew about The Division (since he was there when Directive 51 was activated) and (as per my theory) was the leader of the Black Tusks, he could've easily outfitted these elite soldiers with SHD tech such as Seeker Mines, Turrets, etcetera, along with a Smart Watch to control it all, which they decided to wear as a trophy; by doing that, not only do they hide it in plain sight, but they also create the illusion (later turned to reality) that they can kill Division Agents and take their Smart Watches, giving them a well-earned reputation of being vicious and brutal.

But why do I say they're former Black Tusks? Well, in-game, the Hunters are programmed to attack any other faction that isn't theirs (the Hunters have their own programmed faction). But I have two story related theories about that. I don't have evidence on any of them, they're just that. Theories.

1. Orders. Ellis told the Hunters to maintain their former allegiance to the Black Tusks a secret by any means necessary. Naturally, supporting Black Tusks in battle would go against this. So what's the simplest thing to do? Fight them. Not by actively seeking conflict against them, but if they run across a Black Tusk unit in combat, they engage them as hostiles.

2. Resentment. Being former Black Tusks, it's possible that some of them already possessed a brutal and vicious nature before becoming Hunters, which may have incited the higher-ups to discard them from the PMC before they became a liability. Fueled by resentment, they joined the Hunters when asked to by Ellis, and they consider the Black Tusks to be a personal enemy of theirs.

And that's how Ellis relates to the Black Tusk. But I know you're going to ask a very important question.

Why?

Again, this whole comment is nothing more than a big theory, but I'll lay down my answer below.

Because he's playing both sides.

On one side, he's the President of the United States. He's got the greatest legal power in the country after the Dollar Flu. He's now an icon, a symbol of order, thanks to The Division.

On the other side, he's the leader of the Black Tusk. He's got a literal army at his disposal, which gives him a LOT of military power.

The thing is, he's keeping a balance. He wants to use both The Division and the Black Tusk to secure his power in this post-apocalyptic world. And to do that, he needs them to be at war. He needs them preoccupied with something else in order to pull the wool over their eyes, to keep the deception going. And that's where the Hunters come in. Black Tusk's training with The Division's technology. Best of both worlds. So he uses the Hunters to keep The Division and the Black Tusk in a constant state of fighting. And once he's done, he'll use them to eliminate the two factions. And if he ever manages to do that? He'll probably use his Hunters as a militia of sorts, to keep the peace in his new world.

Anyway, that's my theory about how President Ellis is connected to the Black Tusk and the Hunters. Opinions?