Combine SPAS-12
Production information
Affiliation	Combine
Manufacturer	Luigi Franchi S.p.A.
Model	SPAS-12
Type	Pump-action / Semiautomatic shotgun
Technical specifications
Damage	56 pts max (single), 84 max (double shot)
Magazine/reload type	6 rounds internal tube magazine, shells reloaded individually
Maximum Ammunition	30 rounds
Ammunition Type	12-gauge buckshot shells
Rate of Fire	Slow
Accuracy	Poor
Range	Short to medium, effectiveness decreases with distance
Usage
Used by	Father Grigori Gordon Freeman Isaac Kleiner Alyx Vance Overwatch Soldiers Rebels
Counterpart(s)	HECU SPAS-12
Game information
Entity / spawn codes	weapon_shotgun (weapon entity) item_box_buckshot (ammo entity)

 

The Combine SPAS-12 is a powerful pump-action shotgun that fires buckshot in a cone-shaped pattern. It is used by various characters and NPCs in Half-Life 2 and its episodes.

OverviewEdit

• The SPAS-12 is first given to Freeman by Father Grigori in the sixth Half-Life 2 chapter "We Don't Go To Ravenholm...".

• The SPAS-12 fires one shot if the main fire key is pressed, and will fire two shots at once when the alternate fire key is pressed. The alternate fire uses two shotgun shells at once. However, when Gordon pumps the shotgun, only 1 shell is ejected.

• This weapon is used by both Rebels and Overwatch Soldiers, who have a different uniform than regular soldiers.

• When the gun is reloaded, Freeman inserts one shell at a time. The reloading process can be interrupted at anytime by hitting any of the fire keys.

• After the Nova Prospekt chapter, Kleiner greets Alyx and Gordon with a SPAS-12, mirroring a scene from Half-Life.

• In Episode One, the SPAS-12 is found in the chapter Lowlife, along with the USP Match.

• In the Episode One Hospital, Alyx picks up a SPAS-12 that she effectively uses against opponents. Just like with her gun, it appears to have unlimited ammo.

• In Episode Two, it is found in the chapter To The White Forest, while trekking through the Victory Mine.

TacticsEdit

• The SPAS-12 is very effective at close range against most targets. However, its effectiveness decreases significantly with range because its pellets spread more the farther they go.

• The SPAS-12 is one of the most effective weapons in the game, as the single shot's spread is tight enough to hit enemies at up to medium range, and it does a lot of damage per pellet. Its ammunition can be found very often as well.

• The double-shot is very powerful, but its large spread means that it should only be used at short range.

• The SPAS-12 should not be used against weak enemies such as Headcrabs, but against stronger ones such as Overwatch Soldiers and Zombies.

• It may be desirable to enter a firefight with the SPAS-12 and, once the supply of shells has been exhausted, switch to a backup weapon instead of reloading.

• A common tactic when using the SPAS-12 is to reload every one or two shots if possible to avoid the long reload time. However this is generally not recommended if multiple enemies are at close range.

• Compared to its Half-Life counterpart, this weapon has less ammo that can be carried, making it less useful in firefights.

• While dealing with Zombies, aim for the head to avoid fighting the Headcrab, two round burst is the guaranteed kill.

• The SPAS-12 is the most effective weapon against Antlions.

Behind the scenesEdit

• The SPAS-12 in the leaked Half-Life 2 Beta has a completely different model and completely different firing sounds. The sounds can still be found in retail sound files. The model appears in the E3 2004 trailer and in the retail game files as a "DirectX 7" model, although its textures are missing.

TriviaEdit

• Combine NPCs appear to use the SPAS-12 semi-automatically, as there is no pumping sound between shots, and the rate of fire seems to be slightly higher than the player's. Also, when a Combine soldier is shooting, it appears as though they discharge four shells through both barrels, and then a single shell due to the fact that they only fire five shells before they reload.

• The Nova Prospekt Prison Guards seem to use the SPAS-12 more frequently than normal Overwatch Soldiers, perhaps due to the shorter combat ranges and therefore enhanced shotgun effectiveness.

• As with the original SPAS-12, artwork often depicts Gordon Freeman with it, making it the only weapon besides the crowbar he is depicted with in concept art.

• In real life, the SPAS-12 cannot fire two shots simultaneously, as it only has one barrel. In the case of Half Life 2, the ammunition tube on the bottom becomes the second barrel. It's possible that the gun was modified to have both barrels use the Metal Storm system (which multiple projectiles loaded nose to tail in a single gun barrel with propellant packed between them) to fire both barrels simultaneously. Another (and more practical) possibility is that it is modified to fire a two-round burst, but the rounds come out so fast that each burst acts as if it is a single round in gameplay, making the weapon's secondary fire technically burst-fire, but functionally semiautomatic (although the first round ejects semiautomatically and the second round ejects by pumping the gun). This could attribute to the gun's select-fire ability as in real life it can switch from pump-action to semiautomatic.

• Left 4 Dead 2 by Valve also features the SPAS-12, in the form of the Combat Shotgun. The Combat Shotgun from Left 4 Dead 2 features the SPAS-12 with its stock folded up. It also fires semi-automatic, as opposed to the SPAS-12 in both Half-Life games' story arcs, which fires using the pump-action mode.

GalleryEdit

Pre-releaseEdit

Leak worldmodel.

Leak viewmodel.

Leak SPAS-12 aimed at an early Zombie model in the first Half-Life 2 trailer.

RetailEdit

HUD icon, a vector glyph used in-game through the font "HalfLife2.ttf".

Worldmodel.

Viewmodel.

Pumping the SPAS-12. Note the shell ejecting.

Reloading the SPAS-12.

Box of shotgun shells.

Ammo crate model.

Nova Prospekt Prison Guard with shotgun.

Kleiner greeting Alyx and Gordon with a shotgun, mirroring a scene from Half-Life.

Gordon's weapons being taken away and destroyed in the Citadel, among them the SPAS-12.

Gordon wielding the SPAS-12 on the "game of the year edition" cover for Half-Life 2.

Shotgun Soldier in an early Episode One screenshot.

Alyx aiming at Zombies with her SPAS-12 in the Hospital.

Alyx wielding the SPAS-12 during the evacuation.

Shotgun Soldier.

List of appearancesEdit

Half-Life Wiki has more images related to Category:Combine SPAS-12 images.

• Half-Life 2 (First appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Deathmatch (Non-canonical appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
• Half-Life 2: Lost Coast (Non-canonical appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Episode One
• Source Particle Benchmark (Game files only) (Non-canonical appearance)
• Half-Life 2: Episode Two

External linksEdit

• Franchi SPAS-12 on Wikipedia