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The Combine Dropship, often simply referred to as the Dropship, is a support and deployment Synth used by the Combine to quickly send in and deploy units by air to areas they are needed.
Overview[]
A Combine Dropship offloading troops.
The Dropship has a whale shark-like head and a eurypterid-like body. The front and two rearmost pairs of "legs" on the craft contain engines that give the Dropship lift and movement. The front two legs also hold retractable wings used for maneuvering. The middle four legs end in large suction pads which are used to carry various forms of cargo.
Dropships by themselves are unarmed and as a result, they don't attack the player. However, the containers typically carried by Dropships sport a mounted pulse turret on the front, designed to suppress any opposition in front of the synth, allowing the occupants to deploy safely.
Application[]
Dropships are very useful aircraft for the Combine, being able to quickly transport Combine Soldiers, APCs, Striders, and Civil Protection officers to where ever they may be needed. Dropships are also seen dropping Rollermines along the coast, making it evident that the Combine also use them as minelayers. The Scout Car was also taken away by a Dropship at the end of the battle at Lighthouse Point.
Container[]
A Dropship carrying a Container.
The Combine Dropship Container is a large, streamlined container used to transport Overwatch and Civil Protection soldiers. It is used in conjunction with a Dropship, which picks it up and carries it wherever it is needed. These containers are equipped with a powerful and accurate pulse turret mounted on the front of the container, designed to provide suppressing fire for the troops as they disembark.
A Dropship carrying Freeman's Scout Car at Lighthouse Point.
Though the Containers are heavily armored, they can still be destroyed with enough explosives (4 RPG rockets in Normal mode). However, Dropships rarely stay in one place long enough for the container to sustain that much damage, so containers are rarely lost to enemy fire. During the Water Hazard chapter in the Canals, however, firing at the container from the airboat's pulse cannon will destroy it within seconds. The Dropship itself is completely undamaged. The cargo at that time, though, is actually an APC.
It should be noted that in Half-Life 2 Episode 2, several dropship containers are seen lying on the ground with dead soldiers and supplies strewn about, suggesting that either the Resistance somehow managed to bring them down, or that the Combine can manually detach them from the Dropships.
Players are unable to destroy Dropships, however one is seen flying towards White Forest in Half-Life 2: Episode 2, and seen later destroyed, right before the Dog VS Strider scene.
The container of a Dropship can hold up to six Overwatch soldiers per unit.
In Half Life: Alyx, the container is much smaller and features the combine logo on its front.
Behind the scenes[]
- The early model, based on concept art by Dhabih Eng, depicted it as red with bright blue apparent circuits.[2] The bright blue apparent circuits can still be found in the Crab Synth and the Mortar Synth.
- The Dropship as seen in retail was originally supposed to be able to walk on land with its legs.
- Although never fully displayed in-game, close examination in Garry's Mod or the Source Model Viewer reveals that the grasping surfaces of the Dropship's suction appendages bear a design modeled after the mouths of terrestrial sea lampreys.
- In some cases, if the player destroys the container attached to a Dropship (with cheats) where it was not supposed to be destroyed, the Dropship will become stuck in one place and will fly in a circle.
Gallery[]
Concept art[]
Screenshots[]
Models[]
List of appearances[]
- Half-Life 2 (First appearance)
- Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- Half-Life 2: Episode One
- Half-Life 2: Episode Two
- Half-Life: Alyx
References[]
 The Half-Life Wiki has more images related to Combine Dropship.
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- ↑ Half-Life 2: Raising the Bar
- ↑ Playable Half-Life 2 Beta files