At ease, Corporal; take a seat.

I’m Captain Schafer. I've been in the HECU for years. This is the first of several lectures I will be giving, to prepare you for combat. Stick with me and you’ll come back alive.

During boot camp, Drill Instructor Sharpe taught you the basics of teamwork. I’m here to expand on that.

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In Half-Life 1, you fought the best of the best. The Hazardous Environment Combat Unit were some of the toughest enemies you faced. So, imagine your delight at the idea of working with them. To hell with those nerds and their skinny security guards! Finally, some firepower on your side. The aliens ain’t got a chance, right?

Yeah, about that..



Often, when new players fight alongside FGrunts, they get pissed. These are hardly the killers you fought back in ‘98. These men are idiots. They get stuck, or run into traps. You may find them shooting you instead of the enemy. They seem more like crayon-eaters than warfighters.

But this is far from the truth. These men, when properly motivated, can be your greatest asset in a firefight. Today, I’ll be teaching you how to effectively lead the FGrunts in combat. I’ll identify problems, their solutions, and tactics to help you survive your next mission.

I’ve decided to start with their shortcomings, and Lord knows there are a lot.

For one, your brother Marines have poor pathfinding. It takes some coaxing to get them moving in the right direction. Be sure to gib corpses, as they will often trip them up. Also try to move them in straight lines, like Rooks in chess. They move better when in your line-of-sight, or following a Marine who is. If all else fails, repeatedly run into the offending Marine until they move their ass in the desired direction.

…unless it’s up a ladder. Half-Life NPCs can’t do that.

They’ve also got a penchant for shooting their buddies. I chalk that up to their poor trigger discipline and a hatred for splash damage.

NEVER get between an FGrunt and his target, Corporal. Marines are single-minded in their pursuit of the enemy. They will shoot you and their NPC buddies if either are in their way. Spacial awareness is key: Either get out of their way, or DUCK.

I mentioned splash damage: Never piss these guys off. Be sure to keep explosives far away from friendlies, or the splash damage may make them mad enough to shoot you. On a related note, these Marines, like all Half-Life NPCs, cannot see tripmines. They will waltz right into them. Being in combat wears on everybody’s nerves, so give them a wide berth. Again, Shephard, be aware of your surroundings, because these guys sure aren’t!

Here’s the good news: Your brother Marines are tanky, accurate in their fire, and will recognize normal, thrown grenades. As long as you back them up, they can handle themselves in combat. Engineers will blow doors for you, your Corpsman- er, Medic-.. will dispense health if you hold E on him, and your SAW gunner will make quick work of anything short of a Shock Trooper. Normal squad members with the MP5, M4 Carbine or shotgun require no introduction. They’re almost as good as those boys who killed you in HL1- except they rarely throw grenades.. But, with how the FGrunts respond to them, that’s probably a good thing.

In combat, keep the SAW gunner and riflemen up front, while your Engineer and Medic assist from a distance. Your Engie has a propane tank strapped to his back, so don't let him get shot in the ass. If the tank blows, they’ll be pouring sawdust over what’s left of you.



What, you want more tips? Alright, fine. Here are some tips for specific combat situations. A man with a briefcase told me you might need them.

At the end of Missing in Action/beginning of Friendly Fire, you will be rescued by an Engineer and a random Marine. Did you know you can take them into the elevator? It just takes a little work. You’ll need their help in the offices above.

Later in Friendly Fire, you will find a Medic in a courtyard.

“Shephard, what the hell were you doin’ down there?!”

Him and his Engineer buddy normally die shortly after. They will cut open a door and meet a turret. If you act fast, you can frag the turret with a grenade and bring them into the transit system with you. You just need to fight their awful pathfinding. Between the Engie, Medic, SAW gunner and the Rifleman, you can make short work of the female assassins in the container yard. Flush those girls out with grenades and let your squad do the rest.

In Foxtrot Uniform, you'll fight two enemies in the Container Yards: Black Ops, and the aliens.

When fighting the Black Ops, the place will be rigged to blow with tripmines. Although NPCs see them in this sequence, DO NOT TRUST THEM. Scout ahead of your squad and kill the snipers yourselves. Your fellow Marines will cover you against flanking male assassins.

After you emerge from the Voltigore dungeon, you'll fight a mix of alien shock troops and Voltigores. As you know by now, Voltigores are tanks. For best results, keep the Marines away from them. Kill the armor support first, then mop up the shock troopers with your buddies.

In the choke points, let your buddies go first. Cover them with a sniper rifle, RPG, SAW or Spore Launcher. Shock troopers reuse bits of hgrunt AI, so they too will react to thrown grenades. Use this to your advantage and win the day!

In The Package, your men will almost certainly die. The open desert is a killing ground riddled with aliens, machine guns, mortar emplacements and attack helicopters. When they fall, understand it is not your fault. You did your best. All you can do is accept it and drive on.

That’s it for now. Just keep your men away from Voltigores, and they’ll be just fine. Follow those tips, Corporal, and you and your fellow Marines will move mountains.

Dismissed!

(Thank you to Bunny-Heels on Steam for the lovely HECU art. Thanks to Romka for those really old HECU models for Source that I love so much. You see two in the beginning of this guide.)