List of humanoid and synthetic Combine in Half-Life 2

This is a list of fictional humanoid and synthetic forces employed by the Combine empire in Half-Life 2, a 2004 first-person shooter, and its episodes.

Humanoid Combine
The primary arm of the Combine occupation forces on Earth is the humanoid Combine Overwatch. Referred to by Doctor Breen as the "Transhuman Arm of Sector 17 Overwatch," they are humans who have been captured, brainwashed, and modified into "trans-human" or "post-human" cybernetic creatures. They are the most frequently encountered foes faced by Gordon Freeman in his fight against the Combine.

The system itself provides insight into the policies dictating tactics used by humanoid Combine forces. They treat whole cities as a single organism, with insurrection as an infection and their role as that of white blood cells. They frequently use terms like "contain," "sterilize," "clamp," "amputate," "parasitics," (for headcrabs) and "necrotics" (zombies). When a squad is reduced to a single trooper, he can be heard crying "Outbreak, outbreak, outbreak!"

Civil Protection
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter One - Point Insertion
*Health total: 26 (before Chapter 11 - Anticitizen One), 40 (during & after Chapter 11 - Anticitizen One)
*Weapon damage: Stun Baton (40 without the HEV suit, 5 with the HEV suit), H&K USP Match (3), H&K MP7 (3-7)
*Special abilities: Fire flare (calls for reinforcements), release manhack, melee attack
*Entity: npc_metropolice

Civil Protection personnel are humans who join the Combine of their own free will in return for privileges and basic amenities like adequate food and living accommodations. Also known as CPs and Metro Cops, they are charged with keeping the local populace in line via intimidation and physical force. Interrogation, questioning, inspections, random beatings, and even outright murder are sanctioned as a means of policing their respective jurisdictions. Civil Protection personnel also patrol the canals outside city limits looking to apprehend escapees. Unlike s, they do not appear to be biologically enhanced, though they wear masks containing vocoders which alter the sound of their voice. The harsh, metallic character of their speech is used as a means of psychological intimidation, making their vocal utterances sound inhuman.

Each Civil Protection officer is clad in a dark hunter green uniform and leather boots, long-sleeve flak jacket, bulletproof vest and a rigid white head cover resembling a biohazard gas mask that completely obscures their human features. Depending on the player's progress, they are either armed with 9mm pistols and stun batons or MP7 sub-machine guns. They have also been observed carrying deployable manhacks. Protection personnel assigned to also have the ability to call in reinforcements by launching flares. Civil Protection officers are generally kept separate from Combine military units like Overwatch Soldiers or Synths.

Civil Protection officers are fairly competent soldiers: they will strafe to avoid damage, take cover when wounded, and advance when the player ceases firing. When killed, their suit emits a sound similar to that of an EKG flatline, which typically provokes nearby allies. This suggests that their uniforms have technology related to Gordon's H.E.V. suit, which also monitors his medical conditions. A brief report from Overwatch over their com links recedes this, presumably because they have not yet been cybernetically enhanced, and therefore basically practicing. Low radio chatter typically betrays the presence of officers in any given area, an exploitable weakness which allows resistance fighters to slip by them virtually unnoticed, as well as making it slightly easier for the player to avoid ambushes.

Civil Protection officers are in constant communication with a female voiced dispatcher known as the . It keeps them apprised of current mission objectives, rewards, reminders, downed units, emergencies and any other relevant information during their duty patrols. Certain CP radio transmissions heard in game suggest that they are rewarded with "non-mechanical reproduction simulation" as a reward for good job performance. Along with the exploitation of humanity's capacity for cruelty to help them conquer Earth, it is probable that the Combine use sexuality as an incentive. This theory is lent additional credence in light of the Combine's , which has proven an effective means of repressing the libido of the general populace. Other chatter has suggested that additional privileges are gained if the personnel have their memory replaced. As such, it is inferable that the Combine has a promotion system in place wherein Civil Protection personnel rise up through the ranks via the gradual surrender of their humanity.

Combine Soldier and Nova Prospekt Prison Guard
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Six - "We don't go to Ravenholm..." (soldier) and Chapter Eight - Sandtraps (Prison Guard)
*Health total: 50
*Weapon damage: melee attack (10), H&K MP7 (3), Franchi SPAS-12 (3 per pellet), AR-2 Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (5),Grenade (75 (splash damage))
*Entity: npc_combine_s (Regular Soldier model) - (Prison Guard model - Can only be spawned in mods like Garry's mod)

Combine Soldiers are biomechanically enhanced humans who fight for the Combine; versatile ground forces charged with a variety of guard, patrol and combat responsibilities. The backbone of the Combine military occupation force, they are the true enforcement face of the Combine to the general populace, as their ubiquitous deployment via dropship puts them squarely in the public eye. Typical soldier duties include staffing Combine outposts, patrolling the highways for resistance activity, guarding high-security areas, serving as pilots and gunners of Combine hunter-choppers, monitoring s in the Citadel and serving as staff in the Nova Prospekt facility. They can also be rapidly deployed anywhere the Combine requires direct military action.

Each Combine soldier is clad in olive drab/dark blue camouflage and black combat boots. A heavily padded long-sleeve flak jacket protects their torso from neck to groin, with additional pads protecting the thighs, upper arms and forearms. The right upper arm pad is emblazoned with the Overwatch insignia, with the left exhibiting the trooper's assigned unit designation. Their combat uniforms are topped by a full facemask more advanced than those issued to Civil Protection officers. It affords protection against all forms of hazardous environmental conditions, and possesses built in night vision capabilities, as evidenced by its eye lenses which exude a pale blue glow. Nova Prospekt prison guards wear a dark blue jumpsuit with light blue pads with the words "Nova Prospekt" on back, and have facemask eye lenses which glow yellow. Their right pad Overwatch insignia also has the facility name under it, while the left exhibits the 'Universal Union' patch logo. Combine soldiers are armed with either an MP7 submachinegun, SPAS-12 shotgun or an Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse rifle. The unit patch is a yellow variant of that belonging to the 7th Infantry Division of the US Army. Soldier uniforms were originally conceived with different camouflage designs over yellow undergarments and dark orange goggles. Their insignias were intended as electronic displays of randomly generating alphanumeric unit numbers. Due to gameplay, hardware and programming issues the design was reworked.

Combine soldiers are humans conscripted from the general population which have undergone extensive psycho-biomechanical "enhancement." Several in-game Half-Life 2 sources have revealed that these modifications include memory replacement and extensive surgery throughout the body to implant various mechanical devices. The cybernetic conversion procedure is performed at Nova Prospekt and the Citadel. Dr. Kleiner has described Combine soldiers as "post-human."

Despite the extensive surgical modification, they nonetheless retain some semblance of humanity. When injured they grunt in pain, and can be heard shouting expletives in the heat of battle. They communicate via radio, but unlike Civil Protection officers, are not directly addressed by the Overwatch. The Overwatch announcement system can be heard 'motivating' soldiers with the possible threat of 'permanent off-world assignment' should they fail to complete mission objectives. Such could be indicative of a small amount of independent thought if threats are used to keep the rank and file in line.

In the field, Combine soldiers can be deadly at full strength. In squads of four, they will utilize squad tactics and procedures to neutralize their enemies. They take cover often and emerge only to fire short bursts. They frequently attempt flanking maneuvers to surround enemies. If a grenade is thrown into their midst, one trooper will use hand signals to warn nearby troops to spread out. Likewise, they will often toss grenades at hiding opponents. In close combat situations, they will use their gun-butt to knock an enemy into firing range.

A new variant of the Combine soldier is introduced in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, having brown/light reddish camouflage with orange glow eye lenses and the Combine Elite symbol on orange armbands. Only one will accompany any given group and they always wield shotguns, suggesting that they are specialized units. They are also the only units capable of using the shotgun's double-barrel secondary fire. They appear in the updated versions of Half-Life 2 and Half-Life 2: Episode One, making it more likely that they're used to distinguish shotgun wielding soldiers from the normal ones.

Combine Sniper
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Six - "We don't go to Ravenholm..."
*Health total: 125
*Weapon damage: Combine Sniper Rifle (20)
*Entity: npc_sniper

Overwatch snipers are biomechanically enhanced humans who fight for the Combine; specialists charged with both elimination and real-time intelligence recon of enemy troops. Performing a close ground support role for Combine infantry at long range, they typically conceal themselves in high vantage points near Combine outposts, entrenchments, advancing lines, or anywhere their skills might be required.

Combine snipers are typically armed with a battery powered sniper rifle, whose telltale blue laser targeting sight betrays their position. Playing the beam around their scoped area, they take a shot immediately upon locking onto their desired target. They appear to take the directive of "shoot anything that moves" literally; with the exception of fellow Combine troops, they will fire upon headcrabs, headcrab zombies, friendly rollermines, friendly aircraft, and even local wildlife (pigeons and crows). They also blast anything breakable near a hidden target, in an effort to reduce the available cover. Although well-entrenched, they are quite easily killed since they can't move. A single crossbow bolt aimed at or below the origin of the targeting beam will kill them, as well a well-thrown grenade, RPG rocket, or a reprogrammed rollermine.

Although explosives typically eject the sniper from his hiding place, revealing that they are standard Combine Overwatch soldiers, the sniper rifle itself cannot be used by the player. Alyx Vance wields a sniper rifle to cover Gordon Freeman during their flight from City 17, and again on the outskirts of the ruined city mounted in a window ledge. Her report on both rifles showed the former to be slightly more advanced, as the latter sounded less powerful and slightly quieter, with a brief reload period heard between each shot. The sniper rifle was dropped as a playable weapon during the development of Half-Life 2 in favor of the resistance crossbow. Early sniper concepts included a robotic, streamline like enemy, and also a combine soldier in a "Ghillie" suit that also used active camouflage (much like the predator in Predator). This version wore a more streamlined aspect of the white body armor seen on Combine Elites. Interesting, when you use the console to spawn an NPC combine sniper, what apears is a combine soldier in a permenant "Idol" stance. He apears to be gripping a gun, but he isn't holding one. On top of that, the telltale blue beam is emmitted from the snipers crotch, in a simmilar way that the stalkers lasor is fired from their feet due to a glitch in the first game.

Combine Elite
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Nine - Nova Prospkt
*Health total: 70
*Weapon damage: Weapon butt (15), AR-2 Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (5), energy Ball (15) (or instant death if a direct hit against other npcs)
*Entity: npc_combine_s (Elite Soldier model - not spawnable during play, can only be spawned in mods like Garry's mod)

Overwatch Elite are, as the name suggests, the elite of the Overwatch soldiers. They are special forces who are charged with critical combat operations where special tactics are required. Fewer in number than the typical Combine soldier, they are normally deployed in squads with other Elites, but can also be observed leading squads of lesser Overwatch soldiers. They also perform VIP and other high level security, and they act as a personal guard to Doctor Breen. They undergo even more psycho-biomechanical modification than Nova Prospekt Guards, as evidenced by their unswerving loyalty, assigned missions importance, and their unique cyclopean visor plates and prominent eardomes.

Each Elite trooper is clad in a distinctive white bodysuit and black boots. A heavily padded white flak jacket protects their torso, with additional padding protecting the abdomen, thighs, upper arms, forearms and neck. The right upper arm pad is red, signifying their elite status, with the left white pad showing the cracked skull set within the Combine logo insignia unique to Elite troops. The Skull harkens back to the "Totenkopf" or Death's Head badge worn by the SS, the elite German soldiers of WW2. Their combat uniform is topped by a full helmet, whose most prominent feature is a single glowing red ocular lens set dead center, affording the Elite with a biomechanically enhanced visual acuity. Two flat eardomes on either side of the helmet give the soldier an auditory sense greater than that of a typical Combine soldier. Typically armed with the powerful AR-2 Overwatch Standard-Issue Pulse Rifle, they are the only units who have access to the weapon's energy orb fire mode. Fired from the pulse rifle's lower barrel, these orange energy spheres ricochet off inorganic material (including a Strider's carapace), but cause instant vaporization of organic matter. Though Elites are very accurate with these spheres, the player can catch the orbs and fire them back using the gravity gun. Unlike the lower ranks, Elite soldiers never use grenades.

In battle, Elites are tougher, exhibit better marksmanship, and inflict more overall damage than a typical Combine trooper. On average, they can usually take twice the amount of damage of a typical soldier. Owing to biomechanically augmented sensory input, their general alertness and expert marksmanship is unmatched among Combine ground forces.

Early Elite trooper designs emphasized their alien features, with them appearing either like more ambulatory versions of the Combine Advisor, a Strider synth grafted down into the proportions of a human, and an asymmetrically proportioned human visaged cybernetic synth. The final Elite design, while partly based on the concept of the rejected female Combine Assassin, was chosen over the alien concepts to avoid overshadowing the remarkable nature of the Citadel and to keep the Combine as a more elusive and transparent enemy.

Combine Synths
"Synths" are the current evolutionary generation of enslaved races gathered and assimilated into the Combine Empire during their interstellar travels. This has led to two schools of thought regarding the nature of the Synth: either they are biomechanical creatures genetically engineered by the Combine from the DNA of assimilated races, or are the descendants of creatures enslaved long ago by the Combine.

While a variety of Synths have been brought to Earth, other types are believed to exist, the total number of which are currently unknown. It is likely they were the primary forces used by the Combine during the Seven Hour War, as evidenced by newspaper clippings taken from tabloids printed at the time, showing the blurry photo of a Combine Gunship. It has become painfully clear that once the Combine attains planetary foothold, they transform its dominant lifeform into synths, which soon upgrades the invasion to stranglehold status — an insidiously efficient way to conquer.

Stalker
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Nine - Nova Prospekt
*Health total: 25
*Weapon damage: Welding Laser (estimated 2 per second sustained fire)
*Entity: npc_stalker (Functional only in Episode One and Episode Two)

Stalkers are human beings which have undergone extreme psycho-biomodification and serve as slave labor for the Combine within the central citadel. They perform tasks ranging from general maintenance to advanced technical operations. Though their numbers are unknown, it is presumed that the Combine keeps enough on hand to staff each city's citadel. It is stated by Alyx Vance that "This is what happens to you if you resist... or if you're just in the wrong place at the wrong time."

The conversion, performed at Nova Prospekt, is extensive. Although some cranial and facial stubble is evident, all body hair and secondary sex characteristics are removed, while nanodevices are implanted into the skin. Their hands are severed at the wrist at a 45 degree angle, and a binder is wrapped around each forearm. The legs are removed six inches below the knee and replaced with short metal stilts, secured in place by three bolts drilled straight through the tibia and out the opposite outer epidermis. Their ears are removed and a convex metal plate with side laser emitters is installed from upper lip to mid forehead, completely obscuring the face. A round port plug of unknown purpose is situated between the left 5th and 6th thoracic ribs, while a binder belt with a front securing hook is wrapped tight around the waist such that the hips and lower ribcage protrude prominently. Internally their higher brain functions, body fat, 11th and 12th false rib pairs, reproductive organs and digestive tract are excised, replaced with a simple nutrient distribution array that requires a saline solution provided by the Combine to sustain their organic systems. A surgical scar running from the jugular notch of the sternum to pubic bone evidences their extensive vivisection. The entire process results in severe muscular atrophication, giving Stalkers a gaunt, emaciated appearance. In Episode One, the player can hear them wheezing loudly, which could be indicative of a constant state of pain. Also, during Gordon Freeman's second pod ride, a Stalker situated in one going the other way, banging its head on the back, can be heard emitting a loud, phantom-like screech, indicating that their vocal systems have been tampered with. Further evidence that the Stalkers have knowledge of their former existence is provided by the statement by Alyx in which she says, "God, I hope you don't know who you were."

After surgery, the new Stalkers are transported inside metal convalescence pods via to the Citadel. The Stalkers likely perform a variety of tasks in the Citadel, such as repairing gunships and maintaining forcefields. They are rather docile, and will only attack the player if they interfere with their current task.

It appears that the citizenry of City 17 have a full knowledge and understanding of who and what Stalkers are, including how they are "manufactured." Eli Vance's daughter Alyx once commented that Nova Prospekt " used to be a high-security prison. It's something…much worse than that now."

The original (incomplete) code for Stalkers spawned using the Half-Life 2 console shot lasers from the feet. Also, if a stalker was killed the game crashed, as the model did not have an associated "ragdoll" state. Some mods like Garry's Mod successfully avoided these problems. Valve rectified the issue in the release of Episode One, where the lasers shoot from the head emitters as originally conceived and killing a stalker reverts it to a proper ragdoll configuration.

Combine Advisor Pod
*First Seen: Half-Life 2: Episode One, Chapter One - Undue Alarm
*Health total: 500 (as seen in EP2s console sk_advisor_health "500")
*Weapon damage: Unknown
*Entities: Cycler (spawn malfunction in Half-Life 2), npc_advisor in EP2, although spawning in any way causes a crash.

The Combine Pod is used by as a means of emergency escape transport. Approximately fifteen feet long by seven feet wide, they consist of a heavily armored, featureless white hull with a ventral surface resembling that of a Combine gunship. Two short sensor antennae extend back from its aft section, with two double-jointed, tapered limbs extending forward half the length of the craft along its port and starboard flanks. A large Combine emblem covers its aft dorsal surface, along with a much smaller emblem next to what appears to be a registration number inscribed along the starboard ventral edge. Large enough to fit one fully grown Advisor, the passenger chamber has a retractable opaque canopy shield, which when open allows the creature a view of its surroundings. It is unknown whether the transparency revealed, with the canopy in the open position, is material or force field in nature. Armamentation is unknown, although it appears to be equipped with a blast muzzle similar to that of the matter disintegration cannon possessed by gunships.

The Combine Pod is first seen at the beginning of Half-Life 2: Episode One in a control room, as it prepares to evacuate the Citadel. In Half-Life 2: Episode 2 the player, along with Alyx Vance, encounters a Combine Advisor in an abandoned farmhouse. It survived a crash from a nearby crashed pod and seems to have been moved there to continue its incubation.

Crab Synth
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Thirteen - Our Benefactors
*Health total: N/A
*Weapon damage: N/A
*Entity: cycler (has no AI and has the same entity that Advisor, also spawn malfunctioning in HL2). It has been given its own model in Half-Life 2: Episode Two, npc_crab_synth (found in Valve Hammer Editor).

The Crab Synth is a synthesis of technology and crustacean-like biology, seen lumbering along a Citadel catwalk as Gordon Freeman's pod passes through. Prima's official strategy guide indicates that they serve a heavy infantry role as the backbone of the Combine's ground forces. Possessing self-replicating, limb-regenerative qualities, they resemble a large crab in appearance. Employing a high caliber belly mounted chaingun for ranged attacks (which has a power-up animatic as per a check of its model in the Source SDK viewer), their sharp forelimbs act as a devastatingly effective, natural melee weapon. Additional information remains unknown, as they have never been observed in a combat scenario in either Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, or Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

Mortar Synth
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Thirteen - Our Benefactors
*Health total: N/A (If spawned in Garrys mod, they are said to have 8000 health, but cannot be damaged. 25 or so in the beta)
*Weapon damage: N/A (40 or so in the beta)
*Entity: monster_generic (has no AI, game crashes when spawned, because monster_generic can have any model ). In Half-Life 2: Episode Two, it has been given its own model, npc_mortar_synth (found in the Valve Hammer Editor).

The Mortar Synth is a biogenetically engineered synthesis of technology and mollusk-like biology seen on a conveyor belt during Gordon Freeman's second pod ride through the bowels of the Citadel. They serve a close air support role as the backbone of the Combine's air forces. Possessing self-replicating, limb-regenerative abilities, their tentacle appendages and clawed limbs give them the appearance of a modified squid or cuttlefish. Multiple rotating tendrils resembled a minigun and it also had a small "catapult" like structure, presumably to fire large shells or explosives over long distnaces with. Additional information remains unknown, as they have never been observed in a combat scenario in either Half-Life 2, Half-Life 2: Episode One, or Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

However, in some beta's of half life 2, Mortar synths were observed moving and attacking like other NPC's. They would slowly hover around and if they spotted the player, would send a charge of electricity between their two green tendrils and fire a bolt of explosive energy from the resulting shock. This impact was very powerful, and only took about three hist to kill the player. However, they were seen as very vulnrable, as only a few pistol shots could take them down. When the died in the beta, they exploded violently releasing a shockwave of energy like that they attacked with. It never attacked with its "Minigin" or "catapult." Interestinly, it moved "Tendrils first" rather than using them as prepulsion like the animals they were based from.

The Mortar Synths are curiously similar to another creature that appear in the original Half-Life. These sported a blue outer shell and were observed deploying Xen Grunts, shooting green energy beams (like the one that destroyed a helicopter at the beginning of Half Life: Opposing Force) or being pursued by Air Force fighters. Whether they are related in any way is unknown.

Combine Dropship
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter Four - Water Hazard
*Health total: 100 (the Hunter-Chopper gun mounted to the airboat can down a Dropship, however no other weapons do any damage)
*Weapon damage: Pulse Turret (only on soldier carrier) (3)
*Entity: npc_combinedropship (only stays in one spot if spawned during play)

Combine dropships are bulky, lobster-like creatures with ten limbs and a heavily armored outer epidermal shell. They serve as the primary aerial transport unit of the Combine military effort, used for any situation requiring fast troop or material transport. They can also function as minelayers for rollermine deployment.

The fore and aft leg pairs are engine pods, which provide initial lift and aerial maneuverability. Both forelegs also contain retractable wings used for stability and directional piloting. The four smaller central legs are cargo grippers, ending in broad pads whose central slit resembles the mouth of a lamprey.

Dropships can transport a wide range of Combine forces, including APCs, Striders, rollermines, Civil Protection personnel and Overwatch soldiers. Soldiers and Protection personnel are typically transported in large troop carrier bays equipped with a high caliber, sniper accurate pulse turret. They can transport other material or similar objects, as evidenced when the player's dune buggy is snatched by a dropship after the battle at Lighthouse Point. The metallic property of these objects suggest a possible magnetizing component engineered into the dropship's outer epidermal layer, resulting in a more efficient cargo carrying ability.

In and of themselves, dropships are not directly hostile, with their thick bioengineered armor making them virtually invulnerable. One is able to be shot down with the gun on the airboat during the chapter "Water Hazard" in Half-Life 2, but other than that dropships usually arrive and leave too quickly to be harmed. Anything within their transport cavity, however, is unshielded and thus vulnerable to damage. In episode one on returning to the Citidael, the player witnesses a dropship go down inside the building, proving that they are not invulnrable. Human resistance sentries are also able to shoot down a dropship transporting a Strider unit near the White Forest base in Half-Life 2: Episode Two.

Combine Gunship
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter One - Point Insertion
*Health total: 3 (Easy) 5 (Normal) 7 (Hard) RPG hits. Grenade/Pulse Rifle orb hits do half the damage of RPG hits. Generator orb hits in the Citadel do 1.5 times that of an RPG hit.
*Weapon damage: Pulse Turret (3), underside-mounted downward-firing suppression device
*Entity: npc_combinegunship (hovers in one spot if spawned during play)

Combine Gunships are the Combine's primary aerial unit, consisting of a sturdy but light flexible frame covered by a protective exoskeletal carapace. Approximately 40 feet long from turret muzzle to rear feelers and 10 feet wide with a 17 foot wingspan, their bioengineering is a unique fusion of airplane, helicopter and synth technology. A rear mounted hoverfan unit with six blades resembling dragonfly wings allows for VTOL and helps in keeping the craft aloft during flight. It sees via a compound eye cluster pair mounted just behind the main pulse barrel mount, with a pair of large eye mounds located amidships on the port and starboard sides, just forward of the hoverfan unit. It has a pair of wings that resemble flippers just forward of the eyemounds, which it uses for in-flight stability and maneuverability. To sense its environment it has 10 foot long feeler antennae extending diagonally back from where the fuselage meets the hoverfan module; it probably works as a sensory organ for echolocation, because it constantly emits low frequency "pings", barely heard in-game because of the noise produced by the hoverfan (during the first pod ride, when the Gunships exit the Citadel, the ping can be heard, but just barely). They are typically housed within the central citadel of any given city, as evidenced by the hangar repair bay racks observed by Gordon Freeman during his first pod ride through the City 17 citadel.

Essentially flying gun turrets, gunships function in an aerial guard and infantry support capacity. On the battlefield they pursue their targets with relentless tenacity, performing deadly strafing runs and swinging back around until their prey is destroyed. Their speed and maneuverability is so precise that they can outrun an RPG, destroying it even within terminal range. Gunships working in pairs will even pick off incoming rocket fire shot at one other, behavior which is a tactical weakness that can be exploited. They can be deployed singly for guarding wide open spaces or in pairs when protecting high yield targets like the Citadel's dark fusion reactor or the Nova Prospekt facility.

A gunship's primary weapon is a nose mounted, high caliber rapid-fire automatic pulse turret, whose long rifled barrel ensures sniper level accuracy. An inertial compensation organ in the nose allows for target lock even if the rest of the craft is in motion relative to the turret. The ball mount configuration of the nose turret allows for it to track and maintain fire on target while the rest of the craft is in motion. They are also equipped with a matter disintegration cannon, similar to that of the suppression device, mounted dead center amidships in the belly of the gunship. Analysis of maps show that Valve deliberately set the gunships not to use this weapon in any of the Half-Life 2 games.

Gunships are powered by an array of biomechanic thrust engines, whose components exude a blue bioluminescent glow from its white underbelly. They cruise with their aft hoverfan higher than the nose module, at an approximate 40 degree angle to the normal - which makes it easier to bring the main turret to bear on ground targets. Although lacking the Combine hunter-chopper's explosive mines and intelligent pilots, the gunship nonetheless surpasses it in maneuverability and target accuracy.

Like most Combine Synths and vehicles, the gunship is invulnerable to small arms fire and can only be damaged by heavy weapons such as RPGs. Although difficult to accomplish given the nature of their speed and unpredictable flight dynamics, gravity gun-launched grenades and Combine energy orbs can also be used to bring down a gunship.

Hunter
*First Seen: Half-Life 2: Episode One, Chapter Two - Direct Intervention
*Health total: 300 (In Episode One) 210 (In Episode Two)
*Weapon damage: Explosive Flechette Launcher. Melee and charge attacks.
*Entity: npc_hunter (spawned in Episode Two only) / npc_ministrider (spawned in Episode One only, although nearly textureless)

Hunters are another type of bioengineered Combine shock troop, consisting of a white, rounded rectangular central hardened core protected by a hunter green, armored outer epidermal layer. Standing about 8 feet tall, they stand on three quadruple-jointed legs, and see via two bioluminescent, vertically aligned blue eyeports. Their footpads terminate in two sharp talons, which they can use for either slash or stab melee attacks. Present to the immediate left of their dorsal spine is a thick, almost two-foot long antenna used to sense their environment and track prey.

Hunters are typically deployed in harsh terrain and heavily forested environments unnavigable for a standard unit. Their relative diminutive size is well suited for infiltration of almost any human built structure. Hunters move in a loping gait similar to that of a gorilla by bracing their front legs and swinging their hind leg forward, which supports them as they bring their front legs forward to complete a full pacing movement. They can also gallop at speeds up to at least 25 mph in open terrain. Much swifter and more agile than a Strider, their tripedal configuration also allows for lateral (strafing) movement, jumping, and dodging.

On the battlefield Hunters typically travel in packs of three, using cooperative squad tactics to hunt down, corral and destroy their prey with relentless efficiency. Their characteristic grunts, roars and growls are used to both communicate tactical information with their pack brothers and intimidate intended victims. Hunter packs can be deployed in a support role alongside Combine infantry, and have also been utilized as effective close ground support escorts for Strider units.

A Hunter's primary weapon is a dual barreled flechette launcher, which fires two-pronged explosive darts in rapid, alternating succession from its eyeports. Each salvo consists of between three to nine darts, which exude a blue glow when armed, and explode after a short timed delay. If four or more darts embed in the target, their combined detonation results in a molecular vaporization effect similar to that of being hit with an energy orb. Flechettes also cause 'splash' damage to anything within a relative five foot radius of detonation. If their target is evasive or within terminal range, the Hunter may lower its 'head' module and charge like a bull, either butting the target away into point-blank range of their flechettes or knocking them down to fall victim to their deadly foot talons. Interestingly, when they miss at range multiple times, they are scripted to automaticaly use their charge attack, no matter the range or otherwise. Combine this with the sound the hunter makes when it uses the attack, which sounds almost like a growl of frustration or anger, it gives the impression that the hunter does have emotions.

Hunters can be defeated with any weapon, but are more efficiently dispatched with grenades, rockets, or by hitting them with Gravity Gun propelled objects. An instant kill may be achieved by ramming them with a vehicle, one shot from the AR2 Combine pulse rifle energy orb, or by throwing the creatures' own (object embedded) flechettes back at them with the gravity gun; the latter is not always effective on higher difficulties, and the size of the object affects the number of flechettes it can catch. They have exhibited dodge and strafe evasive maneuvers in the battlefield, but brace themselves before firing a flechette salvo, which leaves them momentarily vulnerable to ranged attacks.

In Half Life 2: Episode 1, a Hunter can be briefly seen at the end of the video Alyx and Gordon find. In this appearance, the Hunter is grey and lacks many details the later version does. In Episode 2, that same final clip is replayed on a large screen before meeting Eli, but it uses the updated Hunter model.

Spawning the unfinished version in-game in Episode 1 yields interesting results. It's "idle stance" is the same animation used when it spots the camera in the video, as it walks forwards slightly, bends town and looks to the right before bracing to attack, yet it then loops the animation again. If it spots the player, it seems to glitch, as it performs the attack animation that it uses in Episode 2, but doesn't actually fire any projectiles. It does attack you in melee if you come close however, but for some reason this does no damage. If placed in a wide open areas, it will manicaly run around searching for cover, and won't "attack" until it does, which is probably due to its unfinished AI.

In early teaser videos, the Hunter has a slightly different appearance. It lacks its large antenna, and rather than attack with explosive darts, attacks with bolts similar to that of the ones fired by the pulse rifle, but seem to do much more damage, as they are able to take down a resistance member in four hits. This same video also shows the Hunter knocking over a resistance member and violently beating her with both front legs before impaling her and tossing the corpse aside. It never does this in the finish game due to the disturbing violence of the attack.

Strider
*First Seen: Half-Life 2, Chapter One - Point Insertion
*Health total: 5 (Easy) 7 (Normal) 9 (Hard) RPG hits. Grenade/Pulse Rifle orb hits do half the damage of RPG hits. Energy orbs result in approx twice the damage of an RPG. The Magnusson Device, introduced in Episode Two, provides for an instant kill.
*Weapon damage: Pulse Turret (5), Singularity Cannon (instant death, or massive splash damage if indirectly hit), leg impalement (instant death)
*Entity: npc_strider

Striders are the terrestrial equivalent of a Gunship, consisting of a hardened core protected by an exoskeletal carapace. Standing approximately 50 feet tall, they travel on three single-jointed legs, and see via four compound eyes, located on the side of the forward pulse turret. Their legs terminate in sharp spikes, which can impale targets and clear debris. Essentially walking gun turrets, Striders function as an all-terrain anti-troop and hardened structure pacification unit. On the battlefield Striders hunt down and destroy their targets with an almost unmatched, lethal efficiency. They utter loud, metallic horn-like sounds — this is most likely meant to intimidate their targets, but may also function as a means of communication with other Striders and synth units. They have little regard for their own support infantry, and will keep shooting even if a Combine soldier steps into the line of fire. Alone they represent a formidable battlefield threat, even more so when in pairs or escorted by a pack of . Striders are deployed when the Combine lines are streched thin.

The Strider's primary weapon is a front-mounted, high-caliber, automatic, rapid-fire pulse turret, with a large bore warp cannon slung under its belly providing for a spectacularly devastating secondary attack solution. The firing sequence for the warp cannon begins with the emission of a thin blue targeting beam. As power feeds into the cannon's biomechanical circuitry, a faint blue aura surrounds the muzzle, followed by a visible warp distortion of the space around the barrel. An audible shrill report accompanies the subsequent discharge. Targets sustaining a direct hit are instantly vaporized, with massive collateral 'splash' damage sustained by anything caught in the initial blast radius. Warp cannon discharges are generally scripted and are mostly used to obstruct or enable progress, although Strider AI does have the capability to initiate unscripted warp cannon attacks against buildings and similarly hardened targets.

Striders follow specific routes, thus making them fairly easy to avoid. When Shield Scanners accompany a Strider they function as spotters, scoping out buildings and other places of concealment for targets that would otherwise escape Strider detection. By folding their legs completely over, Striders can be carried one at a time by dropships. They also have the ability to lower their carapace to ground level by bending their leg joints over 90 degrees, thus reconfiguring their appearance to that of a giant spider.

In Half-Life 2: Episode One a citizen comments: "I hear they put babies in those Striders," although this is unlikely in light of the Combine reproduction suppression field. In Episode Two, however, Dog gets into a fight with a strider. Dog tears off the Strider's top armor, then rips out its brain, causing it to rapidly bleed out before collapsing to the ground. Close examination of the brain reveals it to be similar to a human brain, but three times larger with blue pulsating lights.

Striders can only be damaged by explosives and pulse rifle energy orbs, although the former does roughly one-third the damage than that of an RPG or grenades. Killing a strider with energy orbs causes the strider to shatter into pieces, resembleing a less violent death from a Magnusson Device The gravity gun makes an attack with a standard grenade much more effective than a standard throw. In Episode Two this concept is expanded upon with the . Resembling a large spiked grenade illuminated from within by a blue power source, the devices can be picked up and thrown at the central core/carapace, upon which they stick. Once in place they drain the Strider's central power supply and flash with a radiant yellow glow. Hunter escorts try to disable the device before it can be subsequently detonated by direct hit via any projectile weapons fire, the result of which reduces the Strider to a pile of biomechanical junk. Even after it is attached, Hunters can shoot it off without destroying it.

The relationship between Hunters and Striders has caused some debate. Whether Hunters were just a recent development or a different "species" of Strider is unknown. One popular theory is that Hunters are baby Striders, since they only appear some time after the suppression field had deactivated, which could have applied to Striders as well as humans. This is reinforced by the method in which they travel. Hunters travel in groups with a single Strider, perhaps like a family group with the strider as "mother," gaurding its young. If you attack a hunter in a group like this, some times the main Strider will cry out and attack you, which could be a interpreted as a degree of maternal instinct.

Conceptually, Striders resemble the "Martian tripod war machines" described in H. G. Wells' The War of the Worlds, and may well have been developed in homage.

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