Water Hazard

Half-Life 2 guide · Navigate the canals and sewers to Black Mesa East.

Gordon Freeman pilots an airboat through the industrial canals, waterways, and drainage basins of City 17 while evading Civil Protection forces. Along the route, the craft receives an upgrade in the form of a mounted pulse gun provided by a Vortigaunt at a rebel outpost. The chapter concludes when Gordon destroys a pursing Hunter-Chopper and opens the final floodgate leading into Black Mesa East.

Don't miss 0/3

Supply Crates: Found inside a suspended pipe that drops them when a counterweight basket is filled with cinder blocksLambdacache achievement progress | Several yellow Lambda supply caches are scattered in hidden pipes, alcoves, and under bridges along the canal route and can be easily bypassed at high speed."Vorticough" achievement | In the contaminated drainage area with radioactive waste, find an obscured pipe entrance high on the cliff wall containing a hidden singing Vortigaunt.

Items

0/1

Mounted Airboat Gun: Attached to the airboat by a friendly Vortigaunt at an underground rebel camp

Secrets

0/1

The All-Knowing Vortigaunt | In the radioactive canal section with shipping containers, look for a partially opened drainage grate high up on the wall; climb up to access a hidden cave where a lone Vortigaunt roasts a headcrab and speaks cryptic dialogue.

Enemies

Hunter-Chopper

Weak to Its own dropped proximity mines (launched back via physics), mounted airboat gun

Constantly pursues the player throughout the waterways and drops cluster mines that carpet the water.

Civil Protection

Weak to Headshots

Armed with pistols or submachine guns; often fires from bridges, towers, or barricades along the canal banks.

Barnacle

Weak to Crowbar, pistol shots, explosive barrels

Clings to bridge underbellies and ceilings; pulling an explosive barrel into its tongue will cause it to detonate.

Manhack

Weak to Crowbar, airboat gun

Deployed in swarms to harass Gordon in tight sewer tunnels and bottlenecks.

APC

Weak to Mounted airboat gun, environmental hazards

Fixed vehicles on embankments that fire rockets or pulse rounds at the airboat.

Tips

You do not need to fight every CP barricade; early in the chapter, running through obstacles at full speed is often safer than dismounting to clear them on foot.
The mounted airboat gun has infinite ammunition, but it will briefly overheat if fired continuously for too long.
When fighting the Hunter-Chopper in the final basin, keep moving in wide circles to avoid its bomb carpets while steadily returning fire with the mounted gun.

Not listed for this area: shops and people.

← Previous

Route Kanal

Black Mesa East

Stuck somewhere in Half-Life 2?

Quest Compendium sees your screen while you play: ask about exactly where you are, and keep this guide open right beside your game.

Get live help while you play