Hellhound

"Fetch me their souls!"

The Hellhounds are an aggressive and murderous new enemy first encountered in Shi No Numa. Then become recurring in Der Riese and Kino der Toten. They are essentially zombie-dogs that are believed to be the mutated version of Samantha's pet, Fluffy and her offspring. They randomly spawn throughout the map (a ball of lightning will usually indicate whenever they spawn) every 4 to 7 rounds and their sole objective is to kill the player by streaking towards them and either attacking with tooth and claw or by exploding. The ground shakes whenever they spawn. The variant of the Hellhound is the Flaming Hellhound, which on top of being perpetually on fire, explode on death.

History
It is possible they have something to do with Element 115, as they have only appeared on maps that contain it or have contained it. It is also possible they are controlled by a single entity as at the start of a Hellhound round, a Demonic Announcer says ''"Fetch me their souls!" (which is supposedly the voice of Dr. Maxis's Daughter,Samantha).''

On Der Riese, there are a series of radios that can be turned on, two of them have the sounds of dogs in them. One of them is a recording of an experiment on a dog, using one of the experimental teleporters. The people who are experimenting sound German (maybe Nazi Scientists that are experimenting on teleportation who started the zombie outbreak). After the experiment, one of the scientists (known as Doctor Maxis) tells his assistant to open the door (Dr Edward Richtofen a playable character in the game), the assistant hesitates, Maxis snaps back to him and the assistant opens the door. The sound of electrical swirls and a Hellhound can be heard, afterward a little girl can be heard saying "Father, what are you doing with Fluffy?". Maxis replies with "Dammit, Samantha, I told you never to come in here!", shouts to his assistant to remove Samantha from view of the dog. Samantha screams at the sight of her dog (formally known as Fluffy). She says "What is wrong with her? Daddy, what did you do? Fluffy!", Before running off. Maxis replies "Come back here Samantha. Stop Her." Maxis runs after her, while saying "Easy, come here Samantha. Good girl. Gently Samantha, thats not Fluffy anymore, we must get out of here" (all through that sentence, the Hellhound seems to have got out of the chamber and is destroying equipment and windows.) Before Maxis and Samantha have a chance to get out of the room, the assistant seems to have locked the door behind him as he came out. Maxis shouts "Edward! what are you doing! Open the door! Edward! Open this door now!". Samantha cries "I'm scared". Maxis says to Edward "Damn you, stay by me Samantha". Then the assistant speaks "Goodbye, Doctor Maxis!". A teleporter activating seems to be heard before Edward laughs in an evil tone. After that, the message cuts out into static. It is possible that Dr Richtofen helped create the hellhounds. Dr Richtofen seems to have been sent there for one main purpose to kill Dr Maxis but it doesn't seem to have worked as there is strong evidence in later zombie maps that he is still alive along with Samantha.

Supposedly, Samantha's dog, Fluffy, was pregnant when she was sent through the teleporter which mutated her. In one audio clip, "You know she's going to have puppies?" is heard, presumably referring to Fluffy. It is also possible more tests were continued by Edward, they multiply or that the first teleport test also cloned them. Sometimes it will appear as if a teleporter is being powered up as the dog spawns, possibly stating that the dogs come from the teleporter. They could be able to spawn on Shi No Numa because when some test subjects (Possibly other dogs) disappeared after teleporting they were stuck, and are starting to reappear. Another theory is that Element 115 could have something to do with the teleportation as hellhounds only appear on the maps that are related to the element (Shi No Numa, Der Reise and Kino der Toten). They also might be intelligent enough to understand what the teleporters in Der Reise (their believed place of origin) do and the flash of lightning and ground shaking might just be the effect of teleporting.

A possible reason why Hellhounds are replaced by the Thief is because, as the known theory how Samantha controls the Hellhounds and is after Richtofen, and survivors, for what he has done to her and Maxis. Since Richtofen and the survivors are not in the new map "Five", there is no reason for Samantha and the Hellhounds to be there, and also since Hellhounds are in Germany/Japan and Five takes place in America it would be unknown how they got there like the Zombies and Gas Zombies. Otherwise the Teleporters may be a reason but it is unknown if they are connected to the other teleporters in Germany. There is also the reason there might not be any or enough Element 115 to attract the hellhounds to the Pentagon. Another reason is to that they (Treyarch) wanted to give the players a harder game because of how 6 or so Hellhounds require 1 shotgun shot with a Trench Gun/Stakeout or a stab with the Bowie Knife to finish them while the Thief requires loads of ammo to kill him and if you don't he will get away with one of your weapons and leave only a Max Ammo, the need to replace your lost weapon, and the need for an upgraded if on higher levels leaving the player needing 5950+ (+ if the first try isn't a good weapon). All that the Hellhounds will do is require the players to regroup to their camping location and replace lost Bouncing Betties or Claymores. Another theory is that since Ascension and "Five" occurred at the same time it would have been impossible for her to be in two places at once. Since Samantha seems to have good control over the dogs and seems to be at the Cosmodrome where the Gersch Device (made to be a portable teleporter but mainly used as a zombie black hole) is being created it makes sense that the dogs don't spawn in that map. Also the supposed reasons why the Space Monkeys replace the hellhounds in Ascension is because of the lack of Element 115 and Teleporters.

Strategies

 * Shinonuma2 screenshot 600.jpg.]]In Black Ops, a Bowie Knife+ Ballistic Knife combo is a rather effective tactic past the third hellround. Beware that the player would get downed easily if they don't have Juggernog. This combo is very effective because all Hellhounds max out on 1600 health, so two fast hits with the Bowie Knife+ Ballistic Knife combo could take them out easily, assuming the player has Juggernog. It should be noted though that camping with a Ballistic Knife+ Bowie Knife is not a good idea as the player can get overwhelmed quite easily, even with Juggernog.
 * The best gun for Hellhounds is the Trench Gun, as it is always a one hit kill (Depending on range), so at least one person should hold on to one in a group. This has been tested up to and over round 300. The PPSh-41, the Browning M1919, the FG42 and the MG42 are also extremely effective, and can also be used to hold off the Hellhounds indefinitely. The .357 Magnum and the PTRS-41 also work just as well as the Trench Gun, especially in early rounds, although they can be harder to aim at the fast-moving Hellhounds; as for the Double Barreled Shotgun, it works just as well, but frequent reloads make the Trench Gun preferred by most players, as for the Ray Gun, while it always is a one hit kill against the Dogs just like the Trench Gun, using it is quite dangerous as the Hellhounds get close to the player very quickly, causing Splash Damage to kill oneself. The Stakeout shotgun is an effective weapon against the Hellhounds in Black Ops.
 * Despite the weapons above are extremely effective against the Hellhounds, a majority of other weapons in the game are extremely ineffective, Semi-automatics, Bolt-action rifles and the starting M1911 pistol are the worst choices for a Hellhound round, because they are simply too weak, have slower rates of fire than an automatic, and have agonizingly slow reload times. The Flamethrower can incinerate entire crowds of Hellhounds, but low mobility and cool-down periods prevent it from being a reliable weapon against the Hellhounds as the rounds progress. Explosive devices like the M7 Grenade Launcher and the Panzerschreck are quite dangerous to use as Hellhounds get really close in order to attack, and, unless taken out from a distance, splash damage will kill both the player and the Hellhound. The 4 other Automatic weapons in the game (StG-44, MP40, Type 100, and M1 Thompson) will take 1 magazine to kill a single Hellhound by round 20.
 * If on a Hellhound round, running around the map is the best solution, either in pairs or a group of four.Hellhounds need to stop for a second to lunge at you and attack. While running you are less likely to get hit if you keep jumping and shooting. Shotguns and MGs are equally effective, while the Ray Gun is quite dangerous to the player's self, as the dogs will often get very close and cause the player to kill himself with the Ray Gun's splash damage, though this is an insignificant flaw and can still be used on a Hellhound. Note that the DG-2 should be saved for Zombie rounds instead, as the area effect has little bearing on Hellhounds (although this is nullified by the fact that the player gets a max ammo power-up at the end of the round, so as long as he keeps a full magazine when the max ammo is taken, he can kill the hellhounds effectively with the Wunderwaffe). If the players have an MG or Trench Gun yet in the first Hellhound round, knifing them is rather easy (blindly tested, survived) the player will get damaged, but if he continually knifes in a while running, he should survive.
 * A fairly good camping spot on Shi No Numa is at the first mystery box spawn, just around the corner where the dogs can only come from one direction.
 * Another good spot is the little island to the left of the Comm Room (if facing the Comm Room) if the Comm Room isn't open, then there will be a good 3–4 seconds between dogs. If all the other rooms are open, there is around 10–30 seconds between each individual dog, giving time to reload, which is especially good if using the Browning M1919.
 * It is sometimes good to move from one place to another.
 * The Hellhound picks a random target upon spawning, and will not deviate from that target unless it is downed. Because of this, if someone is standing with people blocking the Hellhound from attacking them, it will simply get stuck.
 * On solo, there is never more than 10 Hellhounds per round. Because of this, Bouncing Betty's (if all are placed during rounds between dogs and none are destroyed) can be used to complete a whole Hellround.
 * Dogs will usually not go into the water if they don't have to. The player can use this fact to funnel the Hellhounds. (although this only works on Shi no Numa since that this the only zombie map that contains water and hellhounds simultaneously.)
 * Another strategy is to have a Submachine Gun (e.g. PPSh-41 ideally) or a Ray Gun, and basically run and jump frequently around and shoot at the Hellhounds. This makes it very hard for the Hellhounds to get the player because one, if he keeps on jumping, it makes it hard for the Hellhounds to line up an attack, and two, if they do attack, they will likely miss since the player has jumped out of the way. Also, when a Hellhound attacks and misses, it will usually stay still for a second before attacking again. the player can use that precious second to his advantage and get an easy kill.
 * In "Der Riese," there are a few good camping spots, the first one is the tunnel near the teleporter at the end of the factory, another good spot is the Catwalk next to the tunnel, Hellhounds can't spawn on the catwalk giving time to reload, both can funnel Hellhounds and Zombies alike.
 * Another good strategy (only works with at least 3 people) is to back all teammates against a wall with three solid sides and unleash on the Hellhounds with fully auto weapons.
 * Get out of the starting room as soon as possible, if no doors have been opened, the Hellhounds are very likely to come at round 5-6.
 * In "Der Riese," the Bowie Knife will kill a Hellhound in one attack up to the 3rd Hellhound round, afterwards it is a two-hit kill for the rest of the game.
 * In Kino Der Toten, a Bowie Knife will kill a Hellhound in one hit up until the second hellhound round.
 * In Kino Der Toten, a good camping spot is in the corner of the screening room, beside the Juggernog machine or next to the Quick Revive machine, in the lobby, as the player can move around the counter if he must reload.
 * In World at War, Hellhounds would only attack one random player and if you blocked the way for the Hellhound to get to that player it would look for a way around you. In Black Ops, if you block the way of a Hellhound it will stand there until you move out of the way of its target. As seen if your are downed and in the way of a dog coming after another player it will stop and you can easily knife kill it from where you are. This also can work if you are downed to.
 * If your weapons are not good, it might be useful to run in big circles as then the Hellhound will not be able to hit you as easily as it will constantly miss.
 * Hellhounds will on come after you once they see you, before they do they will just walk to where you are searching for you. If you camp on the gangway in 'Der Riese', the dogs will only start running when they get about halfway up the stairs, or earlier if you shoot them. This gives you a chance to 'lock on' to them, as they are walking and make easy targets.
 * On "Kino Der Toten" a great place to camp is by the Speed Cola machine, as you will have a great visual of the dogs before they get to you as they have to usually come down the stairs. Most important is that the dogs that do come down the stairs will always walk until they see you about 3–5 meters away from you, making them easier to kill.
 * On "Kino Der Toten", back up and camp in the gap between the right of the teleporter (so you can see out into the theater) and the wall. The Hellhounds seem to struggle to get in the gap and it gives you some time to pick them off and do some damage to them.

Glitches

 * in Kino der Toten in the MP40 room if you go between the mystery box spawn and the tables the hellhounds will sit there and do nothing unless you move away. (confirmed on PS3 on the Wii)
 * In Kino der Toten the dog will chase the player but stop right by them until shot and return or will stick in that position but can still hurt the player if gets to close but this rarely happens.
 * Sometimes, when killed, a Hellhound will not fall down as normal, but instead will freeze in the standing position. This can look awkward and cause a problem during particularly intense Hellhound rounds because players might reflexively shoot at a seemingly live Hellhound that is actually dead, wasting ammo. It is also possible for a Hellhound to continue bounding or running after it is killed, thus tricking players even further. (confirmed on PS3, Xbox 360, and PC)
 * (Shi No Numa) In the 'Warning room' there is a pallet and barrel to the left of the gate, if the player is standing in the correct place next to the pallet and in front of the barrel, the Hellhounds will run up to the player, but will be unable to attack them. This can help, especially if the player needs to reload a large capacity gun, such as the Browning M1919.
 * (Der Riese) After opening the teleporter room behind the electricity generator, go past the teleporter and into the underground alley. If the player goes in the corner at the end, the Hellhounds will attack the wrong area. Give them enough time and they will figure out where the player is exactly and attack. But if you stay in the corner and only one Hellhound is there the Hellhound will stand there until it dies, which can allow the other players in multiplayer to complete other activities (explore the map, use the random box, upgrade weapons/perks, etc.). This can't be considered a barrier glitch with Hellhounds because if another Hellhound comes down the stairs, the hellhounds will attack, which can down the player if they're not careful.
 * (Der Riese) After reaching the first random weapon room, If the player faces the random weapon box and look north-east, then there is a corner. Run and jump into that corner, and the hellhounds will just attack empty space in front of him. However, this doesn't work for hellhounds going around the side, and the other hellhounds will eventually start attacking the player if he gives them time, resulting in the maneuver being repeated. (Xbox 360, unknown if it works on the PS3 or PC)
 * (Der Riese) Sometimes when the last Hellhound is killed, it will not drop a Max Ammo for some unknown reason, but when the next round starts the first Zombie will drop a Max Ammo (this can be quite problematic because if the player may have Bouncing Betties at a distance or shoot the first Zombie in a window, they will lose the chance of getting a Max Ammo). This is frustrating on much higher waves.
 * (Kino der Toten) If one stands on the top corner (closest to the podium) of a staircase coming down from the stage, hellhounds will all stand in one spot, not attacking the player. This is useful in the later rounds while equipped with Mustang and Sally and the Zeus Cannon, as precious ammunition can't be spent on single hellhounds.
 * In Kino der Toten, If in the room with the room with the MP40, and you shoot a hound on the stairs closest to the MP40, it might fall down and stay there. If you kill this hound last, you will NOT be able to get the Max Ammo Power-up that falls. Confirmed on Wii.
 * (Kino der Toten) If you stay by the stairs in the middle of the map where you have to turn on the power to, the dogs will be unable to attack you or run to where the Juggernog is. This glitch is only for the Wii

Trivia

 * The Hellhounds have several different appearances just like the zombies. Some are large and intimidating while others look frail and badly burned.
 * The Hellhounds appear approximately every five rounds, although they are guaranteed to appear somewhere from rounds four to seven. Note that if teams complete a Hellhound round, it cannot happen again for three rounds, at which point it returns to the 50/50 probability.
 * The Hellhounds are most likely based on the mythical Hellhound.
 * The last Hellhound will always drop a Max Ammo when killed.
 * Hellhounds will attack certain players and don't switch between targets until the one they're after is downed.
 * In Der Riese, if a player shoots at them they will lock on to the player that shot at them regardless of the distance.
 * In Der Riese, there is a door with a warning sign and a Hellhound head nailed to it. Inside on the floor there is a lot of blood; this is possibly where Dr. Ludwig Maxis and his daughter, Samantha, met their supposed demise.
 * If the player does the glitch on Vendetta to get the Flammenwerfer 35, go on the second window and let the patrol go past, burn the dog. When its dead, it resembles a Hellhound.
 * When playing on Der Riese, if a teleporter is nearby (when camping in the balcony by Teleporter C, for example.) during a Hellhound round, many Hellhounds will spawn out of the teleporter.
 * Also, on Black Ops DS, there is no specific Hellhound round. Hellhounds can appear from round five and have increasing likelihood of appearing each round. These Hellhounds will knock down barricades with their teeth.
 * Only in Der Riese, they can appear in normal zombie rounds.
 * Hellhounds were originally going to appear in Five, since there are character response quotes for them in the game's files. This can be seen here.
 * There was originally going to be music playing during a dog round when Map Pack 3 was released, but Treyarch scrapped the idea.

Quotes

 * Four legged freak-sacks! Just more shit to blow up! - Tank Dempsey
 * Ahh... Shit!... Here come the dogs! - Tank Dempsey
 * The Devil's Dogs, no match for the U.S Marines! - Tank Dempsey
 * Man's best friend? I don't think so! - Tank Dempsey
 * I hear some angry fucking dogs! - Nikolai Belinski
 * The air hangs heavy with stench of dog shit! - Nikolai Belinski
 * Oh man, it's another fucking dog show. - Nikolai Belinski
 * A storm approaches - Takeo Masaki
 * The spirits are toying with us! - Takeo Masaki
 * Die! You diseased dog! - Takeo Masaki
 * My flesh will not be consumed! - Takeo Masaki
 * No Samantha, call them off! - Doctor Richtofen
 * Fluffy? Is that you? - Doctor Richtofen
 * Poor puppies, zey know no better. - Doctor Richtofen
 * I do not like killing dogs. - Doctor Richtofen
 * Something is coming through! - Doctor Richtofen
 * Ze vorlds, zey break in two! - Doctor Richtofen
 * Fetch me their souls! (repetitive) Demonic Announcer
 * When I find your master I'm kicking his ass! - Tank Dempsey
 * Those don't sound like freakbags!- Tank Dempsey
 * Shouldn't these guys be on leash?- Tank Dempsey
 * Here puppies! Got something for ya!- Tank Dempsey
 * Time to put you down puppy dogs! - Tank Dempsey
 * They're trying to fetch our souls again! - 'Nikolai Belinski
 * You don't want my soul probably tastes like vodka! Mmmm... vodka. - Nikolai Belinski
 * I think the dogs are back! - Nikolai Belinski
 * I got fur in my mouth! - Nikolai Belinski
 * Nein not the puppies! - Doctor Richtofen
 * I ain't gonna be any puppy's chew toy! - Tank Dempsey
 * Fuck you Fido! - Tank Dempsey
 * Let's play fetch the grenade, demon-spawn! - Nikolai Belinski
 * What have you done to ze poor puppies?! - Doctor Richtofen
 * Mommy told me to stop hurting animals. - Doctor Richtofen
 * You cannot take what is not yours! - Takeo Masaki
 * Hell has sent its Hounds!- Takeo Masaki
 * My poor little accidents.... STAY AWAY! - Doctor Richtofen
 * I do not like it when they lick me!- Doctor Richtofen
 * Freak dogs, bring it on! - Tank Dempsey
 * Let's play fetch the grenade! - Tank Dempsey
 * That's the last leg you're gonna hump! - Tank Dempsey

Appearances

 * Shi No Numa
 * Der Riese
 * Kino der Toten
 * Dead Ops Arcade

Адские гончие