Hivehand

The Hivehand, also called the hornet gun, is an organic weapon used by Alien Grunts, which is actually some sort of insect hive, biologically engineered into a living assault rifle. The weapon's primary attack releases alien 'hornets', also known as 'thornets', at a steady rate. These creatures will hone in on any targets in the general direction in which they're traveling. Their means of target identification, if any, are unknown, but Alien Grunts never seem to have problems with friendly fire while using these weapons.

Tactics

 * The Hivehand's rate of fire is quite slow and the hornets do not do an impressive amount of damage, but the Hivehand's chief advantage is its hornets can be fired around corners and will chase after retreating enemies. The secondary attack fires hornets more rapidly (depleting its reserve in seconds), but they will not hone in on enemies. This mode can be useful for unleashing a large amount of damage in a hurry at close range, or for destroying stationary objects such as explosive barrels (since hornets unleashed via primary fire won't damage non-organic objects, they'll just bounce off looking for an organic target to chase).


 * The Hivehand can be used to eliminate enemies such as Standard Headcrabs and Barnacles, to preserve ammuntion from other weapons.


 * The Hivehand has an infinite ammo supply as it can produce an unlimited number of hornets; though it can only hold up to eight hornets ready for firing at any one time, insects that are fired are quickly replaced. Also, when all hornets are depleted, the Hivehand shakes violently before regenerating, as if it lost its breath.


 * Due to its infinite ammunition and the hornets' homing ability, the Hivehand is an exceptionally useful weapon at range in multiplayer games, where players spawn with very little ammunition and targets rarely stop moving.

List of appearances

 * Half-Life
 * Half-Life: Opposing Force
 * Half-Life: Blue Shift
 * Half-Life: Decay
 * Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar