Half-Life 2 Walkthrough - Chapter 7: Highway 17 - Thumpers, Antlions, and Gunships

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Finding Highway 17

Walk forward and jump into your little buggy that’s ahead. Just wait for the magnet to start carrying you across. Since nothing is ever easy for Gordon, the magnet will fail and drop you into the mess of hungry antlions below. Jump out of the car and do not try to fight them. Just switch to the gravity gun and start blasting the car to flip it upright. The gunners on the docks should keep the antlions suppressed. Then jump in and start driving away.

Look for the gray road running through the area. Get on it and start heading toward the red boat. There is a road up a steep hill next to it. You need to take the road and get to the blown out bridge. Use the turbo by hitting “Shift” to jump the gap. Then drive along the road and stop by the little shack with the dead rebel. Pick up the supplies and then drive through the tunnel. Once the loading screen stops, you need to stop your moving car. The road is out and flipping here isn’t a good idea. Turn to the right and take the detour toward the beach. Just keep driving and along the beach for a little bit and watch for the big blue thumper up ahead.

First Thumper

This thumper will keep most of the antlions away and give you a breather. The house here has a blocked door, but an open basement. You can use the gravity gun to move the tires and blow off the doors. There is a poison headcrab carrier on the main floor and another loose poison headcrab around. Kill them both and grab the supplies if you want. If you have enough supplies, then the house can be safely skipped.

Second Thumper

Drive straight through the white fence and down to the beach. Go past the ship and look for the second thumper by the abandoned garage. Park here and look inside the garage for a supply crate. Then grab your shotgun and storm the house through the open door. Kill the three Combine inside and look through their little telescope to see the G-man talking to the rebels up ahead. Grab the supplies and go back to the car.

Third Thumper

This is an easy to see thumper just around the bend. You don’t even have to stop here if you don’t feel like it. There isn’t anything but a health pack inside the boathouse. There are three Combine fighting some antlions near it. Just drive past the soldiers or run them over. You just need to head a little further along the beach. Go past the docks and look for a fourth thumper right next to a rebel base.

Gunship Battle at the Base

Park your car by the blue van and listen to the rebel. A gunship is coming and you need to kill it. Look to the right to see a big red house. Go down to the basement through the access on the side. Look for Colonel Cubbage and listen to his little speech about how to use the rocket launcher. Wait a second for him to hand it over to you, then head outside.

Go take cover in the white shed and wait for the gunship to come along. Then crouch behind the truck and fire off rockets when you aren’t under fire. The best tactic is to do little circles with the rocket until you can hit the gunship. I’ve heard that it can take only three shots to kill one, but the average seems to be five. Once you’re first three are gone, you just need to grab two more from the white shed. There are also rockets inside the house, in the basement, and in the garage. One of the rebel soldiers outside will also hand you more rockets. This should be more than enough.

Once the gunship is destroyed, just head back and report your victory. Go back outside and hop into your car. When you approach the white gate, one of the rebels will open it for you. Just drive right through. Go forward a bit and then take the only route available down the grass hill.

This post is part of the series: Half-Life 2 Walkthrough - Chapter 7 - Highway 17

This walkthrough covers all of the driving and fighting that takes place as you fight your way down Highway 17 on your way to Nova Prospekt. If you are having trouble killing any of the gunships or the Combine, then just look inside for a little help.

  1. Half-Life 2 Walkthrough - Chapter 7: Highway 17 - Antlions and Gunships
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