Armored Personnel Carrier


 * "Gordon, take out the APCs." - Barney Calhoun

The Combine APC is used by Combine Overwatch and Civil Protection units to deploy in an area quickly. The APCs are used extensively in the canals to help Civil Protection patrol the area. They use guided rocket launchers and a mounted Pulse Rifle to attack enemies. The missiles are fired through tubes which can be seen in between the two front platings. It is unknown how they operate the mounted pulse rifle, as there seems to be no trigger for it and there are no drivers seen through the windshield. It should also be noted that, should a player attempt to lift an APC in the earlier sections of the game while using the Super Gravity Gun (which can be done by using the console to acquire the gun), the game will crash.

Usage


The Combine APC is first seen in combat on the Canals, and the only way to destroy them is to use a mounted Hunter Chopper gun on the Airboat or the rocket launcher. APCs are also used by Combine Overwatch in The Coast to patrol and transport Combine Soldiers to areas in need of maintenance (such as reactivating Antlion restricting devices).

They can also serve as an electrical generator, seen on Highway 17 powering a transparent wall which prevents the player from advancing with the buggy until the APC has been pushed far enough away, either with the gravity gun or explosions, or its parking wedges are pulled out by the former, to be disconnected from the power cable going into the wall, and the APC falling off a cliff; exploding. APC's are generally equipped with a rapid fire chain gun for killing at close range, and a rocket launcher (which a combine soldier would re-load from the inside).

Tactics

 * Although powerful, they are vulnerable to damage from certain weapons. Hand grenades, SMG grenades, rockets, and the pulse cannon (salvaged from a Hunter-Chopper) that is mounted on the Airboat in Water Hazard all damage the APC to varying degrees. As the APC takes damage, pieces of its armor start to fall off, until it eventually disintegrates.


 * APCs can be seen being airlifted into areas by dropships. Like the Troop-Carrier, they can also be destroyed before the dropship reaches its destination.


 * Much like how a gunship can shoot down your own missiles, the missiles the APC launches can be shot down with the Airboat's pulse gun.

Trivia

 * "The APC was originally a player driven vehicle. Playtesters found that the slow movement wasn’t as satisfying as the Buggy, and the APC was recast and used by the Combine forces only." - Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar


 * The APC is also a Land Troop Carrier for Metrocops and Soldiers.