Why Don’t Rebels Use Combine Soldiers/Elites Vests?



Ever wondered why the resistance in Half-Life 2 doesn’t just loot Combine Overwatch and Elite gear? In this short, we explain the in-universe and lore-based reasons why rebels stick to Civil Protection weapons and avoid Combine armor and tech. From transhuman soldiers to battlefield logistics, there’s more to it than just gameplay.

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46 Comments

  1. I'm more thinking of why no one wears the vest and helmets before 7 hr war, I know I know… Actually reason is they were a bit hurry and they did scrap the human army thingy.

    But like I know some mod in Gmod did give them more variety of armour and gun from before the 7 hr war and O always think that's pretty cool.

  2. Also the civil protection armor looks like it can fit under clothes. The biggest advantage a rebellion has is they can hide amongst civilian populations a little hard to do that while wearing big white body armor

  3. It's moreso because the armor itself is built specifically around the soldiers and would be dangerous for anyone who isn't transhuman modified. There's a warning label on the textures of the vest IIRC, specifically on the back collar.

  4. That, and don't forget: The resistance is actually hella skilled consideringmit only took 7 Hours for the Combine to conquer Earth, but the Resistance took down the combine in a few days.

  5. They probably don't loot corpses, Civil Protection have depots around the city, Overwatch is armoured and armed outside the city at guarded facilities.
    No undamaged armour to loot.

  6. Thing is, it’s also super heavy.

    They have layers upon layers of kevlar, imagine trying to get it off let alone having to put it on.
    It was made FOR Overwatch Soldiers alone, because they are constantly pumped full of stimulants and are augmented with cybernetics.

  7. What would be the point? You're only acquiring armor that you shot up, and from what we can tell, there's not much of a difference. It doesn't seem like their armor stops bullets all that well, and you have to worry about friendly fire. Unless everyone is aware of what you're wearing and equipped for, and what your mission is, people from outside of your group, like entirely different groups, may not have access to that information, therefore making it confusing on the battlefield if you come across each other. This has happened in conflict for example, there have been troops in World War I and World War II that have taken helmets off of the dead and wore them briefly, whether it's because they thought that helmet was better or maybe it was funny at the tim This would sometimes end with Joe Schmo being confused for an enemy by some private and shot because he was half alert and now startled. And we haven't even discussed the confusion that both sides already have the same weapons, so imagine the paranoia of gunfire: "Is that yours? Is that theirs?"

  8. Another reason possible reason, but one the devs didn't think about at the time. Is because bullet proof vests loose their integrity after sustaining damage. So all this vests worn by combine soldiers and elite are basically junk after a battle, granted they're probably made from some sort of advanced combine material, but if its sustained enough damage for the wearer to die. its probably not good to use anymore.

  9. The key issue with looting overwatch armor is: the only time you see those fellas is in a firefight, which means if you survived long enough to loot them, it means their armor is no good.

    But if a few vests go missing from civil protection, that's a bill someone gets stuck with.

    It is near impossible to get a hold of overwatch armor and have it still be useful.
    Your best chance is the arms and legs which some rebels are seen wearing in game but a vest? Good luck.
    As for the helmets, they're not built for regular troops, and offer minimal view to someone it wasn't meant to be worn by…

    You can organize an offensive/ defense against overwatch soldiers in a way that reduces chaos, but they will never give you that chance.

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