Overview
A list of all of Half-Life’s weapons. I don’t know how to see the damage dealt by them, so i just won’t include that in the guide.
Notes
The damage that I say the weapons will deal is the same on all difficulties. The damage is also per bullet, not damage per second.
There will be some inconsistency with the background, because I forgot to take screenshots of some of the weapons. Sorry!
There will be spoilers for this 20 year old game.
The order you get the weapons will be the order that they are displayed in. First at the top, last at The bottom. It will be the earliest you can get them, including secrets.
Later I might write a guide on Half-Life: Opposing Force.
Crowbar
First acquired in the chapter Unforeseen Consequences.
Gordon Freeman’s Excalibur. The Crowbar is the only melee weapon in the game. If you hit something then it will swing faster than just using it in the air. The Crowbar deals 10 damage.
Pistol
First acquired in the chapter Unforeseen Consequences.
The Pistol is modelled after the Glock 17.
A basic 9mm pistol. Most useful at medium ranges with the primary fire, or more useful at close ranges with the alternate fire, which shoots faster but has worse accuracy. The Pistol deals 8 damage on all difficulties. It can shoot underwater.
Grenades
First acquired in the chapter Unforeseen Consequences.
Your average fragmentation grenade. Can be thrown at enemies and after a short delay, will explode, dealing more damage if the target is closer to the grenade or less damage if the target is further away from the grenade. If the fire button is held down, you can cook the grenade to shorten the delay for as long as you hold it down. If you hold down the cook button for too long then the grenade will explode in your hand, dealing damage to you.
Also, the game files call a hand grenade a ‘Hand Grendade’ which i thought was funny.
Shotgun
First acquired in the chapter Office Complex.
The Shotgun is modelled after the SPAS-12.
It’s a basic shotgun. Useful at close ranges but less useful at long ranges. The shotgun has an alternate fire which shoots two shells at once, double the spread but double the damage if all the pellets connect. Each pellet deals 5 damage on all difficulties
Sub-machinegun
First acquired in the chapter We’ve Got Hostiles!.
The Sub-machinegun is modelled after the MP5.
The Sub-machinegun (SMG for short) is basically a less accurate pistol that that fires faster. The SMG shoots 9mm bullets, like the pistol, and therefore consumes ammo from the same reserve despite dealing 5 damage instead of 8. The SMG has an alternate fire that shoots grenades that explode on impact.
Revolver
First Acquired in the chapter Blast Pit.
The Revolver is modelled after the Colt Python.
The Revolver is a handheld sniper rifle that shoots .357 rounds that deals 40 damage on all difficulties. The revolver is useful at all ranges and is very powerful, but has scarce ammo.
Tripmines
First acquired in the chapter Blast Pit.
The Tripmine is a weapon that, when placed, will shoot a blue laser from itself. If something crosses the blue laser, including you, it will explode and deal damage to any things nearby the tripmine.
Satchel Charges
First acquired in the chapter On A Rail.
The Satchel Charge is a weapon that can be dropped and then remotely detonated. If you press the alternate fire button while there is already a satchel charge then you will place another one, and if you use the primary fire button then you detonate them both.
Crossbow
First acquired in the chapter Apprehension.
The Crossbow is basically the sniper rifle for Half-Life. Primary fire to shoot a projectile bolt that deals 50 damage and alternate fire to use the scope. Accuracy doesn’t degrade while not using the scope. The scope is there just to zoom in. The Crossbow can shoot underwater.
Snarks
First Acquired in the chapter Questionable Ethics.
These burritos with eyes are, once again, one of the more exotic weapons that Gordon encounters. Snarks can be thrown and once they are, they will run towards something and attack it until either the enemy or the snark dies. Snarks will attack by biting their target, dealing 10 damage. Snarks will attack the closest living thing, including you. For some reason, Snarks also explode after about 10 seconds. This explosion will deal 5 damage to whatever is close enough.
Tau Cannon / Gauss Gun
First acquired in the chapter Questionable Ethics.
The Tau Cannon is one of the more exotic guns in the game. The Tau Cannon is a gun that uses magnets to accelerate a projectile that deals 20 damage. The projectile can reflect off of walls and pass through Alien Grunt armour without sacrificing any damage. The Tau Cannon has an alt fire that charges up a shot to deal between 25 or 200 damage depending on how much you charge it, but if you overcharge it then it will blow up in your face. It has a bit of kickback with a full powered shot.
RPG
First acquired in the chapter Surface Tension.
It’s a Rocket Propelled Grenade launcher but with a twist; it has a laser guiding system that can be toggled with the alternate fire button. But yeah, not much else to say. It’s just a Rocket Launcher.
Hivehand
First acquired in the chapter Surface Tension.
The Hivehand is a weapon issued to the Alien Grunts of Xen. Primary fire for a homing projectile, alternate fire to shoot the projectiles faster, but dosen’t home and can destroy metal enemies like tanks or turrets.
Gluon Gun
First acquired in the chapter Lambda Core.
The Gluon Gun is a weapon that shoots a beam of concentrated energy to where you are looking at. Absolutely devastating. Can destroy an alien grunt in less then five seconds.
Outro
And there you go! all of the weapons in Half-Life. Do you think that this guide is terrible and should be removed from steam? Did i miss any weapons or get them in the wrong order? Do you wish that next time I make a coffee it comes out too weak? If yes to the second question, you can tell me in the comments, or not. I don’t really care.
This is the fourth guide i have made. If you want more guides by me then you can click on my profile and go to the ‘guides’ section.