Overwatch Elite
From Combine OverWiki, the English Half-Life Wikia
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An Overwatch Elite is a specialized, and possibly higher-ranking Overwatch Soldier. Sporting a distinctive white uniform with a single red ocular lens, the Elites are the deadliest of the Combine Overwatch infantry, and are theorised to be altered even further than standard soldiers. They use similar combat tactics to regular Combine Soldiers, but with a few key differences.
[edit] Overview
Elites are equipped with improved body armor, made apparent by the larger neck guard and the increased protection it offers. Their helmet also differs drastically from those of regular soldiers, and possibly improves the senses, as indicated by the two miniature domes located where the ears of a human would be.
The Elite soldiers are tougher, achieve better accuracy with their weapons, and inflict more overall damage than regular soldiers do. They exclusively wield Overwatch Standard-Issue Pulse Rifles, and are the only units who seem to have access to the weapon's secondary-fire energy orb. They use this advantage without hesitation and with deadly accuracy. The orbs they fire, however, can be caught by Gordon Freeman's gravity gun, to be used as he sees fit.
Elites typically fight in squads of their own kind, but will occasionally lead squads of regular soldiers. Elites are fewer in number than regular soldiers, and are thus reserved for the more critical combat missions, where their deadly skills and efficiency are required. They also serve as Wallace Breen's personal guards.
Elites are first seen in Half-Life 2's ninth chapter, Nova Prospekt, on a video monitor. They are encountered firsthand in the following chapter, Entanglement, assaulting the teleport chamber only seconds before Gordon and Alyx teleport out.
[edit] Development
Early conceptual work on the Combine Elite had emphasized their alien features: early Elite concepts had them as more ambulatory versions of the Combine Advisor, a Strider synth grafted down into the proportions of a human (which in turn may have been repurposed into the Hunter synth), and an asymmetrically proportioned cyborg synth, typically with a human face visible. The more conventional looking Elite, partly based off the concept for the unused female Combine Assassin, was chosen over the early concepts to avoid overshadowing the remarkable nature of the Citadel and to keep the Combine as a more elusive and transparent enemy.
| Units of the Combine | ||
|---|---|---|
| Humanoid: | Civil Protection · Overwatch Soldier · Overwatch Sniper · Overwatch Elite · Nova Prospekt Guard · Shotgun Soldier · Stalker | |
| Synth: | Combat Pod · Crab Synth · Dropship · Gunship · Hunter · Mortar Synth · Shield Scanner · Strider | |
| Other: | APC · Hunter-Chopper · Manhack · City Scanner | |
