Magnusson Device

"We call it the Magnusson Device. Not my chosen label you understand, but it seemed to please the personnel."

- Arne Magnusson

The Magnusson Device, also known as Strider Buster, is a Resistance weapon developed by Arne Magnusson, the leader of White Forest.

Overview


Magnusson designed his self-titled Device with the specific aim of neutralizing Striders, whose deadly armament and heavy plating had confronted the Resistance with a near-insurmountable opponent. During the Battle of City 17, Striders slaughtered considerable numbers of Resistance fighters and Citizens, despite the Resistance's deployment of RPGs, the heaviest weapon at their disposal. Magnusson struggled to develop a successful launching system for the rugby-ball shaped Device, as the weapon needed to be attached to the towering Striders' body to be effective; however, this problem was immediately solved with the arrival of Gordon Freeman and his Gravity Gun to White Forest.

The Magnusson Device is only available to a user who has the Gravity Gun. The Magnusson Device is procured only by the gravity gun's field from a small portable Teleporter, the user must then aim at the hull of a Strider. After the user has taken aim, the user must fire the device at the Strider. The Magnusson Device will then stick to the Strider. The user must then use a ranged weapon (such as the Pistol) to shoot the attached Magnusson Device. Once the Device is hit by a projectile it will explode, completely destroying the Strider.

Tactics
The Magnusson Device is very effective at destroying Striders; however, the user must have precise aim with the Gravity Gun in order to attach the it. Striders are always accompanied by Hunters, who will fire upon a readied Magnusson Device as soon as possible. Therefore, it's advised to destroy all nearby Hunters before attempting to launch the Magnusson Device at a Strider. Magnusson Devices can also be used to damage Hunters. As soon as a Device is attached to a Strider it will immediately turn to attack the person who launched it.

Behind the scenes

 * As seen in the Half-Life 2 Beta source code, the Hopwire Grenade was originally to be the weapon of choice against Striders, replaced in Episode Two by the Magnusson Device. This is confirmed in the Episode Two commentary, in which Valve's Joshua Weier states that the Magnusson Device "started life as a Half-Life 2 weapon called the Hopwire".


 * Originally, Gordon Freeman was to be able to throw a smaller Magnusson Device with his hands like a regular grenade, whose probable entity was to be "weapon_magnade".


 * According to Richard Lord, the diagram explaining how to use the Magnusson Device against Striders went through several iterations, from highly stylized, to absurd, to something the team believed they could ship.

Trivia

 * A cut weapon, the Sticky Launcher, bears similarities.


 * The Magnusson Device bears striking resemblance to "The Gadget", the first nuclear weapon designed under the Manhattan Project.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life 2: Episode Two