Combine Suppressor
| |
| Combine Suppressor | |
|---|---|
| General information | |
| Faction | |
| Type |
Transhuman soldier |
| Individual information | |
| Weapon(s) | |
| Equipment |
|
| Game information | |
| Entity |
npc_combine_s |
| Voiced by | |
- "Antibody Protection Force active on."
- ― Combine Suppressor[src]
The Combine Suppressor, referred to as APF or Antibody Protection Force in Combine terminology, is a specialized transhuman soldier class of the Combine Overwatch featured in Half-Life: Alyx.
Contents
Overview[edit]
The Suppressors' name comes from their tactic of suppressing the player with heavy firepower to keep them pinned down while other units flank them. They carry a Heavy Machine Gun that has a very high fire rate and deals heavy damage and wear a large armor vest that is capable of effectively withstanding most forms of attack. Combining both a formidable amount of health and lethal power, Suppressors are extremely dangerous and difficult to take down, so they can be a serious threat to an unprepared or exposed player. They are easily identified by their iconic elongated masks and metallic vocoder voices, and are usually deployed one at a time as key support units in squads. Sometimes they also carry SMG power cells on their back.
Tactics[edit]
Suppressors are hardly ever combated at close range, as they tend to stay back and find elevated strategic positions, from where they can act as sentinels to lay down covering fire. They fire their machine guns in long strafes, usually aiming at the player's cover. Even when their enemy is completely out of sight, Suppressors will still continue to fire near the target's last seen location. Moreover, they are adept at dodging gunshots and hiding behind cover so they can ambush the player unexpectedly. This trait is most notably demonstrated in Alyx's first encounter with the Suppressor.
Behind the scenes[edit]
In the first released screenshots of Alyx, the Suppressor's mask eyepieces were shown to be blue, much like most other Combine units. However, in a later released version of the same screenshot, their eyepieces were changed to orange which remained into the final game. This screenshot also shows the Suppressor using the Heavy Shotgun and Combine Grunts wielding Pulse Rifles, different from their default loadouts.
The unused Combine Soldier model includes placeholder texture variations for several different soldier classes, among these being a "Suppression" class in a green suit which is likely an early form of the Suppressor.
The texture of the device that Suppressors wear in front of their vests is named "Suppressor_v2_torch", suggesting it's some sort of incendiary tool.
Trivia[edit]
The name "Antibody Protection Force" is another example of the Combine’s tendency to use medical terminology.
Gallery[edit]
Pre-release[edit]
Concepts for Combine characters showing a final Suppressor-like mask.
More concepts with a Suppressor-like unit on the far right.
Ditto.
Early screenshot showing blue eyepieces.
Later version of the same screenshot showing orange eyepieces.
Another early screenshot showing blue eyepieces.
Unused Combine Soldier model with placeholder "Suppression" texture.
Retail[edit]
The first encountered Suppressor ambushes Alyx.
Laying down suppressing fire.
A Suppressor fires on Zombies.
Standing near the Processing Plant and Distillery.
The logo seen on the Suppressor's arms, later seen on Combine Soldiers.
