Gladiator (Beta Class)

 

Gladiator (Beta Class)
Health	Original game: 800 health plus 400 Power Shield 2023 remaster: 250 health plus 250 Power Shield
Will gib when health is	-175
Attack Damage	Phalanx Particle Cannon: Two projectiles per volley, or three on Nightmare difficulty. 100 per projectile (original game) 17-35 per projectile (2023 remaster) Melee: 20-25
Drops	Mag Slug
Found in	The Reckoning Call of the Machine
[Source]

“	Persistence is the key in defeating this powerhouse. You must first deplete his Energy Armor, then you can move in for the kill.	”
—The Reckoning Manual

The Beta Class Gladiator is an enemy introduced in The Reckoning. It is a modified version of the original Gladiator, wielding a Phalanx Particle Cannon instead of a Railgun, and with a power shield giving it much more durability than the original Gladiator. In the original release of The Reckoning its total durability is somewhere in the region of the Super Tank and the Hornet. Its Phalanx Particle Cannon is actually more powerful than the player's Phalanx in the original game, firing a volley of two shots (or three on Hard+ difficulty) each dealing 100 damage if it connects.

However, the 2023 remaster significantly nerfs the Beta Gladiator - sensibly reducing its health, the cells of its power shield, and the damage inflicted by its Phalanx. In the 2023 remaster it has a base health of 250 plus 250 cells for its power shield. The remaster also tweaks the way power shields work, making energy weapons more effective against them - see the Power Shield section for details.

They first appear in the Strogg Freighter, and continue to be a common foe for the remaining few levels. When killed, Beta Class Gladiators may drop Mag Slugs.

Beta Gladiators are frequently encountered in the Call of the Machine expansion, although some of them are not equipped with their usual Power Shield.

Behaviour and attacks

Phalanx Particle Cannon: The Phalanx fires two rocket-like projectiles in succession (or three when playing on Nightmare/Hard+ difficulty). In the original game, each projectile deals 100 damage on a direct hit, for a potential 200 damage (or 300 on the hardest difficulty). In the 2023 remaster, however, the weapon's damage output is drastically reduced with each projectile delivering 17-35 damage. Unlike the Phalanx used by the player, both projectiles will fire directly towards the target with no spread. The projectiles can be avoided by strafing.

Melee: If the Beta Class Gladiator finds itself in melee range, it will swing its large clamp twice in succession, dealing 20-25 damage per hit - the same as the original Gladiator.

Power Shield

The Beta Gladiator's power shield works in the same way as the Power Shield available to the player. Essentially, it causes the bearer to suffer less damage from incoming attacks, at the cost of consuming some cells. The Beta Gladiator has 250 cells for its shield.

When struck by a non-energy weapon, one-third of the incoming damage will be suffered by the Beta Gladiator's health, one-third will be suffered by its cells, and the remaining one-third will go to waste. For example, a shot from your Railgun - which normally deals 125 damage - would deal 41 damage to the Beta Gladiator's health and deplete 41 of its cells, with the remaining chunk of damage going to waste.

Energy weapons are more effective against a shielded target, depleting the cells twice as quickly. In this case, one-third of the incoming damage is suffered by the Beta Gladiator's health, and the remaining two-thirds are suffered by its cells, with none of the damage going to waste. For example, a volley from your Phalanx - normally dealing 150 damage - would deal 50 damage to the Beta Gladiator's health and deplete 100 of its cells.

Energy weapons are those which use cells for ammunition, as well as the Phalanx Particle Cannon and the Blaster.

Strategies

• In the original version of The Reckoning, the popular strategy of "dancing" with the Gladiator (i.e. moving close enough to provoke its melee attack, stepping back to dodge it, then stepping forward again, repeating this process while firing your own weapon) works against the Beta Class Gladiator as well - however, great care is advised, because a single mistake could result in being hit by the Phalanx and suffering catastrophic damage. If you do feel confident enough to employ this tactic, then the same weapons you'd use against the Gladiator should be used here too - the Super Shotgun, Chain Gun or Hyperblaster. The "dancing" strategy is less effective in the 2023 remaster, because the Gladiator is more likely to fire its weapon at point-blank range after being hit. It's possible to provoke the Gladiator into performing its melee attack once, but if you try to repeat it then it is likely to fire its Phalanx instead.
• If you prefer to fight at medium-to-long range, then there are various worthy choices of weapon - Railgun, Chain Gun, Rocket Launcher or your own Phalanx. It is wise to have your own Power Shield activated in case you take a hit. Against multiple Beta Gladiators - which occurs at one point on the Strogg Freighter and again in the Command Center - consider using a Quad Damage or Dualfire. There is a large outdoors area in the Command Center containing three Beta Class Gladiators as well as several Icaruses; this is a good time to use the Quad Damage, even though you will fight the Jorg and the Makron a little later in that level.
• The Trap can insta-kill a Beta Class Gladiator, despite their prodigious durability - and this is the most powerful Strogg the Trap works against. However, when laying the Trap you must be careful to avoid the powerful attacks of the Beta Class Gladiator - and, of course, stay clear of the Trap yourself - so it's best to use it against Beta Class Gladiators who are not yet aware of your presence. Helpfully, the act of throwing a Trap is silent, like throwing a grenade. Another strategy could be to retreat from the Beta Gladiator and throw the Trap between you as it pursues.
• In the 2023 remaster, energy weapons deplete a power shield twice as fast as non-energy weapons - see the Power Shield section above for details, and so the Hyperblaster, Ion Ripper, Phalanx Cannon and BFG10k now work substantially better against this foe. For example, it takes six Railgun shots to kill him, or seven shots from the Super Shotgun or Rocket Launcher - any of which options would normally be inflicting a total of 750-800 damage to achieve the kill. Energy weapons, however, do the job much more efficiently, only needing to deal around 500 damage to achieve the kill; only 4 Phalanx volleys are required, or 26 Hyperblaster shots, or 11 Ion Ripper shots. A single well-placed BFG10K shot can also kill this foe.

Appearance statistics

Campaign	Easy	Medium	Hard/Nightmare
Quake II	-	-	-
The Reckoning	13	21	23
Ground Zero	-	-	-
Quake II 64	-	-	-
Quake II PSX	-	-	-
Call of the Machine*	54	62	64

*Many of the Beta Class Gladiators in Call of the Machine are not equipped with their usual power shield.

Sounds

Sounds
The Gladiator (Beta Class) spotting an opponent
The Gladiator (Beta Class) being injured
The Gladiator (Beta Class) being killed

Trivia

• Like the original Gladiator, the Beta Class Gladiator will shout something that sounds very much like "Intruder" when spotting the player.
• Beta Class Gladiator's Phalanx Particle Cannon is one of very few instances in Quake II where a weapon is available for both the player and the Strogg, but the Strogg version is more powerful. However, this is only true in the original game, not the 2023 remaster.
• The Phalanx wielded by the Beta Class Gladiator emits the same sound made by the player's Phalanx when equipped, which might alert a wary player to the Gladiator's presence.

Gallery

Beta Class Gladiator's texture map

Beta Class Gladiator's texture map when injured

Remastered model