Overwatch Nexus

"There's an old building up ahead, a bank or museum or something like that. Whatever the hell it used to be, now it's a nexus for Overwatch in City 17."

- Barney Calhoun

The Overwatch Nexus was an important building in City 17 which appears to have been a political building, a bank or a museum before the Seven Hour War, after which it was abandoned and eventually taken over by the Combine.

The Combine had apparently been using the building as a headquarters for some time before the uprising, but after the Rebellion it became the Combine's main base of operations in the city and the primary rally point for Combine forces. The Nexus is also home to several Combine generators, which power the Suppression Device atop the building. This weapon, also known as the "suppressor", is a powerful weapon which functions much like a mortar, but instead of shells it fires beams of concentrated Pulse energy capable of disintegrating living things. Despite being a Combine headquarter, the building is heavily damaged, with half of its circular dome gone. This forced the Combine to fortified it with Combine walls.

Given its importance, the Nexus was well guarded by Overwatch Soldiers and an extensive electronic security system, consisting of floor turrets (triggered by laser tripwires), ceiling turrets and forcefields.

The battle for the Nexus
In the Half-Life 2 chapter "Follow Freeman!", Gordon Freeman and Barney Calhoun led a Resistance assault on the Nexus. After heavy fighting, they breached its defenses and destroyed all of the generators, disabled the Suppression Device and opened the gates that were blocking access to the area, allowing reinforcements to flow in. When the Combine's reinforcements arrived, the fighting reached its peak as Resistance forces engaged several Striders in fierce combat on the steps of the Nexus. The Battle for the Nexus proved a decisive victory for the Resistance, and it turned the tide of the Battle of City 17 in their favor. After the events of Half-Life 2 and Episode One, the abandoned Nexus was probably destroyed when the Citadel exploded, along with much of City 17. It can be seen in the far distance at the beginning of Episode One, right after Dog lifts up the wrecked Gunship.

Behind the scenes

 * The building design was inspired from the Parliament of Serbia in Belgrade, Serbia. In the Half-Life 2 texture files, several files containing the word "parliament" can be found, tightening the similarities between the two buildings.
 * In the playable 2003 Half-Life 2 Beta, the Overwatch Nexus is clearly identified as a former bank.