Combine Elite

• Health total: 70
• Weapon damage: Weapon butt (15), Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle (3), Pulse Rifle Energy Orb (15)
• Entity: npc_combine_s (Elite Soldier model - cannot be spawned during play, unless in Garry's Mod)

Sporting a distinctive white uniform with a single red ocular lens, the Elites are the deadliest of the Combine Overwatch infantry, and are theorised to be altered even further than standard soldiers. They use similar combat tactics as regular Combine soldiers, but their abilities have been enhanced in a few important ways.

Their body armour is upgraded, which is evident by the the protection it offers (i.e. lifespan of the Elite). Their helmet also differs drastically from the ones regular soldiers are equipped with, and possibly improves senses, as evidenced by the two miniature domes located where the ears of a human would be.

The Elite soldiers are tougher, have better accuracy with weapons, and inflict more overall damage than regular soldiers do. They are always armed with an Overwatch Standard Issue Pulse Rifle, and are the only units who seem to have access to the weapon's secondary-fire energy orb. They use this advantage without hesitation and with deadly accuracy. The orbs they fire, however, can be caught by Gordon Freeman's Gravity Gun, to be used as he sees fit. The orb, though, will explode after a set amount of time (depending on the player's difficulty level), whether flying freely (it is not affected by gravity, and can bounce off anything it doesn't kill instantly) or if left in the Gravity Gun's field.

Armpatch seen on Elite uniforms

Elites typically fight in squads of their own kind, but will occasionally lead squads of regular soldiers. Elites are fewer in number than their more common brethren, and are thus reserved for the more critical combat missions, where deadly tactics are required. They also serve as Doctor Breen's personal guards.

Early conceptual work on the Combine Elite had emphasized their alien features: early Elite concepts had them as more ambulatory versions of the Combine Advisor, a Strider synth grafted down into the proportions of a human (which in turn may have been repurposed into the Hunter synth), and an asymmetrically proportioned cyborg synth, typically with a human face visible. The more conventional looking Elite, partly based off the concept for the unused female Combine Assassin, was chosen over the early concepts to avoid overshadowing the remarkable nature of the Citadel and to keep the Combine as a more elusive and transparent enemy.