- "Here piggy, piggy."
- —Nightcrawler Elite battle quote.
Nightcrawler Elite are an enemy that appear in F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate. They are voiced by Brian Bloom.
Vivendi Timeline[]
F.E.A.R. Perseus Mandate[]
The Nightcrawler Elites represent the veteran members of the Nightcrawler mercenary force. They commonly serve as squad leaders, and present a dramatically greater threat to the F.E.A.R. Sergeant than Light and Heavy Nightcrawlers.
Their appearance is largely similar to their lesser colleagues: their combat suits bear the dark overall armor typical of a Nightcrawler. The only notable difference is the absence of a helmet. The exposed upper half of their heads is not a weak point to be exploited, however.
Concept art of the Nightcrawler Elite.
Besides being heavily armed and armored, they possess superhuman reflexes very similar to those of the Point Man and the Sergeant, rendering them nearly impossible to defeat without using Slow-Mo. Moreover, they are also capable of briefly climbing ceilings and walls in a fashion similar to the Replica Assassins, which makes it all the more difficult to get a bead on them. Elites disorient their opponents' aiming and movement patterns even further by hurling a pair of frag grenades and/or AP-5 Deployable Turrets at them just before dropping back to the floor.
Behavior wise, Elites are intelligent and determined and are as vocal as any other combatant, though with a catch: unlike the rest, they are not above using trash talk to provoke the easily intimidated.
While most Elites are supplied with VES Advanced Rifles, they also can carry the most lethal weaponry that the Nightcrawler arsenal has to offer, ranging from K3-BT Grenade Launchers to the LP4 Lightning Arc.
Encounters[]
- One is briefly teased in Interval 01 - Underneath, throwing a knife at you from behind. They are not hostile and the knife does not damage you.
- The very first actual fight occurs in Interval 02 - Rescue and Recon, where one armed with the VES Advanced Rifle will drop down shortly after returning to the lobby.
- Two are fought in Interval 02 - Disturbance at the same time near the end, one armed with the VES and another armed with the G2A2 Assault Rifle.
- Four are encountered in the large server rooms in Interval 03 - Bio-Research, two in each sector. They are all armed with the VES.
- Three are encountered shortly after the Senator's phone is found in Interval 05 - Base Camp. One armed with a VK-12 Combat Shotgun, one armed with the VES, and the third armed with a LP4 Lightning Arc Weapon
- A total of five are encountered in Interval 07 - Clone Production, the first one is encountered earlier armed with a VK-12. Later on, a total of four must be dealt with (two per wave). Two armed with a grenade launcher, one armed with an Advanced Rifle, while the next two are armed with another grenade launcher and a Type-12 Laser Carbine.
- Lastly, on Interval 07 - Showdown, one final Elite is encountered during the later half of the boss fight against the Nightcrawler Commander armed with a VES. The Commander himself uses the same AI type as Elites, so he should be counted as one too.
Nightcrawler Elites do not appear in any of the bonus missions.
Tactics[]
- Nightcrawler Elites have very large health pools and armor, only beaten by the Replica Heavy Armor, Riot Armor, and Powered Armor variants. As such, try and avoid using weapons that are not great against armored opponents, such as the AT-14 Handgun, RPL Sub-Machine Gun as well as both assault rifles, their damage output will not be enough to match.
- The threat level of an Elite also depends on their armament, as throughout the game, they'll commonly use a large variety of gear, from G2A2 Assault Rifles, to VK-12 shotguns, to even LP4 Lightning Arc Weapons. Use cover when needed or be on the move incase they are boasting a grenade launcher.
- While not completely useless, the VK-12 Combat Shotgun and TG-2A Minigun should also be avoided. The Shotgun as it's very short range and slow rate-of-fire (especially with SlowMo, which you'll most likely be using) makes it very hard to kill an Elite without trading too much damage, while the Minigun simply has too low armor-penetration to be worth the trouble and could be better saved for other enemies. However, if no other great weapons are available, there are worse choices.
- Slow-motion is essential for dealing with Nightcrawler Elites, as their dodge capabilities make it incredibly hard to hit them without utilizing it. Consult here for all the Reflex Booster locations in Perseus Mandate.
- AP-5 Deployable Turrets are very useful as they can distract Elites to make them easier to run down, but use them sparingly as they are a rare commodity.
- Avoid using the K3-BT Grenade Launcher at all costs against them, it's damage output may be high, but you will very much struggle to land many of your grenades consistently versus an Elite, not to mention the threat they pose against yourself with their splash damage.
- When an Elite leaps up to a wall, take cover, as chances are they'll either throw two frag grenades, or a deployable turret, both of which can be a nuisance if you don't see it coming.
- The LP4 Lightning Arc Weapon is by far the best choice, as 2-3 well-aimed headshots will kill any Elite, making their threat to you minimal. This weapon is essential if you are playing on higher difficulties.
- Other weapons, such as the MOD-3 Multi-Rocket Launcher, Type-7 Particle Weapon, Type-12 Laser Carbine, ASP Rifle and MP-50 Repeating Cannon are all very much serviceable and recommended in the event you do not have an LP4.
- Setting up traps with AT-S Proximity Mines and M77 Remote Bombs can be useful, but caution should be exercised as the Elites can move quite fast, making it somewhat inconsistent when they'll set off mines or walk into your traps. Elites can also sometimes rush you, which can be bad news if you stuck a remote bomb on one.
Quotes[]
- Main article: Nightcrawler Elite/Quotes
Gallery[]
Trivia[]
- Nightcrawler Elites have unique dialogue reacting to active turrets, however in-game there is no section where they appear that the player controls a turret (they're allied to the turrets in Interval 03 - Bio-Research and Deployable Turrets do not play turret lines), rendering it unused. [1]