| |
| Gladiator (Q2) | |
| Health |
400 |
| Will gib when health is |
-175 |
| Attack Damage |
Railgun: 50 |
| Drops | |
| Found in | |
| [Source] | |
| “ | With two massively mechanized legs and one shoulder-mounted railgun, the Gladiator is the daddy of all the adapted humanoids. | ” |
—Quake II manual | ||
The Gladiator is an enemy encountered in Quake II. It is one of the more powerful Strogg. The Gladiator is a humanoid cyborg battle machine with a powerful shoulder-mounted railgun and a giant clamp for close range attacks. The Gladiator is fast moving and possesses armor above that of the Gunner, Iron Maiden and Berserker but not as good as the likes of the Tank and the Tank Commander.
The Gladiator first appears in the Main Gate of Unit 3, and they continue to be encountered in many levels of the various Quake II single-player campaigns, although generally only a small number of Gladiators on each level in which they appear.
Behaviour and attacks[]
Railgun: The Gladiator's railgun is a powerful hitscan weapon with a reasonably good rate of fire. The Gladiator will aim at the player and fire at that same spot less than a second later, dealing 50 damage if it hits. To avoid the attack, a player may strafe to either side, causing the Gladiator to miss.
Melee: If it finds itself in melee range, the Gladiator will swing its clamp twice in succession, dealing 20-25 damage with each strike.
Strategies[]
- The best way to defeat a solitary Gladiator in the original game is by "dancing" with it, i.e. moving into its melee range to provoke it into swinging its clamp at you, then stepping back so it hits nothing, then moving back into its melee range again, and repeat. All the while, firing with a powerful weapon. With practice, the Gladiator can be killed in this way without taking damage. The Super Shotgun is a very good option for this tactic - due to the Gladiator's large size you will easily score a high-damage hit, four of which will kill the Gladiator - or you can use the Chain Gun, Hyperblaster or Railgun instead. However, this strategy is considerably less viable in the 2023 remaster; the Gladiator is much more likely to fire its railgun at close range after being hit by the player's weaponry. It's possible to provoke the Gladiator into performing its melee attack once, but if you attempt to repeat it a second time then the Gladiator is very likely to fire its railgun at point-blank range instead.
- If you can't get close enough to perform the "dancing" tactic, or if there are other enemies nearby that would make such a tactic too risky, then the Gladiator should be dealt with at range with your most powerful weaponry available, and continually strafing to avoid its return fire. Your own Railgun is probably the best option here, requiring three shots to kill the Gladiator, or four in the 2023 remaster. The Chain Gun, Rocket Launcher or Hyperblaster could be used as well. When encountered alongside other enemies, the Gladiator should be treated as a high priority target.
Appearance statistics[]
| Campaign | Easy | Medium | Hard/Nightmare |
|---|---|---|---|
| Quake II | 41 | 49 | 59 |
| The Reckoning | 33 | 38 | 45 |
| Ground Zero | 48 | 59 | 69 |
| Quake II 64 | 26 | 35 | 46 |
| Quake II PSX | 16 | 25 | 36 |
| Call of the Machine | 30 | 35 | 35 |
Death Messages[]
- Player was mangled by a Gladiator's claw (Claw)
- Player was railed by a Gladiator (Railgun)
Sounds[]
| Sounds | |
|---|---|
| The Gladiator spotting an opponent | |
| The Gladiator being injured | |
| The Gladiator being killed | |
Trivia[]
- When a Gladiator spots the player, they will shout something that sounds like "Intruder!"
- It seems Gladiators are sometimes tasked with carrying or recovering specialist battlefield equipment. Specific Gladiators are known to drop a Quad Damage, a Power Shield and an Airstrike Marker at various points.
Gallery[]
