The Combine

Combine Ordinals are the commanding officers of the Overwatch Commando forces stationed within the Quarantine Zone, tasked with the protection and secrecy of The Vault. They have authority over other Combine forces and typically act as team or squad leaders in command, usually heading a squad of Combine Grunts alongside Combine Charger or Combine Suppressor units for support.

They are visually distinct to Combine Grunts, and more similar to Combine Soldiers in standard-issue armor and gear. They wear a dark blue heavy fatigues-like outfit with body armor over the upper-body sections with paddings on their arms, thighs and knees. They carry a backpack with what appears to be a portable radio transceiver. Ordinals can deploy Manhacks to flush out hiding enemies. If an Ordinal is killed in combat, his remaining squad members will report to Overwatch over the radio that their leader is down, rendering their team tactics disordered and disorganized from then on. They carry what seems to be a predecessor of the Pulse Rifle, the IR1. (Although the Ordinal seen during the safehouse raid wields an SMG), Manhacks, and a pistol magazine on their vest, indicating they carry a sidearm, however they never use it. An Ordinal is seen equipped with a grenade in the announcement trailer however they are not equipped with them in-game. Their armament and armor make them threatening foes, but they are still weaker than Chargers or Suppressors.

The Combine Grunts are the most common type of soldiers found within the Overwatch Commando branch, usually seen in squads led by a Combine Ordinal with additional Combine Chargers and Combine Suppressors for support stationed within the Quarantine Zone. Grunts typically work in groups of two or three, rarely working alone. Unlike the rest of the Combine military, they are not wearing the standard-issue combine body armor, instead sporting a white hazmat-type bodysuit with relatively light armor. These light-armored bodysuits have the Combine insignia on their right sleeve and another insignia on their left, which appears to be a rectangular box with some letters below it, along with a circular line going around, which isn't the traditional insignia of standard Overwatch soldiers, most likely indicating that it is the symbol of the Overwatch commando branch. They are also sometimes equipped with an air canister, which provides oxygen to the wearer. Combine Grunts use the Pulse SMG as their primary weapon rather than the Standard Issue AR2 Pulse Rifle or the MP7.Interestingly, unlike other Overwatch military units such as Combine Soldiers or Overwatch Elites, who all maintain a strict, professional, and military-like manner, grunts can be seen "joking about" while still maintaining a strict fashion. In Chapter 10, in the aftermath of The Vault's crashing into the ground, two Grunts can be seen inspecting a fallen Strider. While one is radioing in and inquiring with Overwatch Command about repairing or extracting the Strider, the other is kicking it until the first tells them to stop. They show disgust when spotting enemies like zombies or Headcrabs, saying "I hate these things," or "Gross."

Civil Protection officers are the first enemy encountered in Half-Life 2 and are the main enemies throughout the first three chapters, though they make a few more appearances in later chapters set in City 17. They are armed with basic weapons and tend to attack in squads or groups. They can occasionally deploy Manhacks to flush the player out of cover; though they can easily be destroyed by a few hits.

A Civil Protection officer's uniform includes a bullet-resistant vest, leather boots, and grey coats and green slacks, both with a matching silver stripe on the limbs. An armband with "c17:i4o," emblazoned on it is worn on the right arm, and "C17" is printed on the back of the collar. Officers also wear white masks that conceal their faces, with built-in vocoders to disguise their voices. These masks contain a radio and air filters and are visually similar to a Soviet PMG gas mask. The mask is also able to display images such as pictures taken by Scanners for immediate facial recognition. Civil Protection officers carry USP Match pistols and Stun Batons.

Suppressors are similar to Combine Chargers in that they are very heavily armored; however, while Chargers attempt to get close to enemies, Suppressors stay at a distance and provide covering fire with the Pulse Minigun. Like Chargers, they are extremely hard to kill and can be a serious threat to an exposed or unready player.

When the Suppressor sees an enemy, they will begin to fire and will stop at nothing until their target is dead. They will stand their ground from a distance, occasionally relocating in case of grenades or other immediate threats. However, they are vulnerable when reloading, and for a couple seconds between minigun bursts.

Suppressors wear a very large flak jacket with the Combine logo on the left side of the chest. Their name comes from their strategy of keeping a target pinned ("suppressed") with their minigun while other soldiers (mainly Combine Grunts) flank them.

Combine Ordinal 9867M:

As 9867M is a Trans-human he is the best human possible, tall and buff with tan skin and short brown hair and deep brown eyes. 9867M doesn't necessarily have a personality of his own.

Combine Suppressor 1085M:

Similar to 9867M he's the best human possible. But his skin is a deep chocolate brown with brown eyes that almost seemed gold. But an odd thing about him is that he seems to have more of a personality than 9867M but doesn't seem to show it.

Joan Kato/CG-8958F:

Joan is slightly taller than average height with a muscular build. Her skin is a soft caramel with splotches of paler skin and short curly black with pink ends hair, as if the pink was dyed but grew out. Her eyes are a soft hazel.

While Joan is more calm and quieter than Liam her personality is quite similar brass and stubborn.

Joan joined the Combine alongside Liam Ronan back when they were young adults and have worked together for many years now.

Liam Ronan/CG-8956M:

Liam is of average height and build with pale skin and deep Auburn hair cut into a shaggy mullet that reaches just to his shoulders. His eyes are bright green.

Liam is quite brass and stubborn while he does follow orders he tends to do it in his own way.

Liam joined the Combine alongside Joan Kato Back when they were young adults and have worked together for many years now.

Ciel Cipher/CP-7856M:

Ciel is below average height and build as he didn't need to be too muscular or tall. His skin is quite pale with short blonde hair. He has a deep scar running along the length of his face and across his chest.

Ciel is prim and proper with deep seriousness to everything he says or does.