User:Pinsplash/HL2 weapon analysis

For curiosity, I've done playthroughs of HL2 on hard only using one single weapon each time. These are my thoughts after completing the game each time.


 * Crowbar & Grenades: Melee enemies are simply a matter of timing inputs right. Hitscan enemies are easy to manipulate into your range with some tricks. Enemies will always try to make sure you have a good LOS on them to keep things fair, so running around a corner will force them to follow you around it. Enemies also try to not shoot through their friends, so you can isolate targets by making the most ridiculous-looking movements to use an NPC as a shield in combat against pairs or even trios of enemies. Also, metrocops can go completely stupid in melee range, and soldiers have a bug where if they're hurt while doing their melee attack, they start their attack again, which means you can crowbar them to death while taking ZERO damage. Even with all this, some larger groups of enemies are just impossible to overcome. Grenades help, but even they can't carry you through everything. I have 2000 hours on this game and obviously a newer player wouldn't know any of this junk. Manhacks are terrible to fight. Hoppers are fun! I'd describe this set of weapons as "a fun challenge only for your millionth playthrough". Problem areas are frequent.


 * Gravity Gun: Most of the game is doable with the gravity gun, and it should be! There's a lot to say about this gun, but I'm certain I'd just be parroting other people out there.


 * Pistol: I never want to do that again. The reserve ammo is as ludicrous as you think. You can go pistol only for very long stretches of time if you so desire, but the DPS is so bad it's just not very enjoyable or relatively viable. You will run out of ammo at times, as you should. Even the crowbar is a better option against small enemies. The pistol really is meant to be a last resort and even then, the gravity gun kinda overshadows it. Still can't justify how this weapon can be quicker and more accurate when firing manually. It annoys me still how much ammo you're lent for this gun instead of much more useful things like health. I want to stress that it's not bad that it's as strong as it is, and it should not be weaker.


 * .357 Magnum: Apparently, you're meant to pull out this gun maybe four times total during Half-Life 2. The magnum is treated by players and designers as a "get out of jail free" card, but given that the crossbow actually beats it in damage, reload time, accuracy, and ammo abundancy throughout the game, I don't see much point in it. Ironically, false perceptions lead to the gun actually being more viable than normal against hunters, because video games are all lies.


 * SMG: The SMG is HL2's "staple" gun. You will basically never run out of ammo on this gun, for better or worse. Allies drop SMGs to pick up AR2s. Enemies drop them constantly on death. The three challenges the SMG-loving player faces are occasionally being outgunned, having fun, and not going deaf.


 * AR2: With double the SMG's damage output, a good secondary, and a sufficient ammo capacity and abundancy, the AR2 is basically the only gun you need from Highway 17 onward. The AR2 is simply the best gun on the field, aside from shotguns in enemy hands.


 * Shotgun: *THQ Sound Effect* This is yet another gun that widely suffers from false preconceptions, but unlike the other guns which do, the shotgun is actually better than believed. Even on hard, a close-range (risky) single-shot headshot can kill instantly (and might I say, that's super satisfying), and on lower difficulties... it boggles my mind how overpowered it is. The shotgun isn't just for close quarters combat! It works reasonably well in medium range, and has an altfire basically designed to be a range-extender of some sort. Now, here's the saucy part: it works long range too. It wouldn't if it wasn't for this one weird trick: one pellet is always perfectly accurate. If you can aim this single shot on an enemy's head, it's the same damage as an ar2 bullet, but you know, with perfect accuracy every single time. Move over, pistol, this is the real sniper rifle! This lets you kill extreme long distance targets in a single clip while they're helpless due to their accuracy being garbage. That guy on the crane in d2_coast_04? Four shots. That is NOTHING when the gun can hold 36 shells and has ammo everywhere. The shotgun is also a good way to repel grenades and is arguably better at it than the gravity gun.


 * Crossbow: You can't even come close to full-gaming the crossbow, even if you were perfectly ammo-efficient. Still, the crossbow beats both the magnum and the shotgun with its ability to kill almost anything in one shot, at any distance, without having to worry about where it hits on the body. Since the gun's output is more or less utility instead of numbers, the gun is interestingly about as strong on any difficulty. It's basically the AWP of HL2, except it shoots a fast-moving projectile that can also bounce of surfaces at grazing angles, and has a sensible ammo capacity. The weapon suffers one issue at medium range: getting shot will viewpunch you enough to mess up shots, and you don't have too many shots to work with. This issue is shared with the magnum (and the shotgun to a degree) and is the worst way to balance anything ever.


 * RPG: You can't do this at all, but it's fun.