Recap / Quake II: Ground Zero - Mines Unit

Recap pages are Spoilers Off by default, so in all these pages all spoilers are unmarked. Proceed with caution. You Have Been Warned

After the destruction of both Makrons and most of the Strogg equipment (including the Interplanetary Defense Systems and the Strogg Counterfleet), the TCM operations send another attack wave to Stroggos... naturally, a single marine, callsign "Stepchild", is the sole survivor of the attack force. His objective? The destruction of the Gravity Well, the Strogg's newest mechanism against their adversaries.

The levels of the unit are "Lower Mines", "Thaelite Mines", "Tectonic Stabilizer" and "Mine Engineering", and the overall objective is the destruction of the Strogg Tectonic Stabilizer to de-stabilize the foundations of Stroggos.

Followed by the Base Unit.

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These levels show examples of:

• Ability Required to Proceed: "Thaelite Mines" requires you to get a Security Pass (located in a room with a Tank Commander and many other Strogg types) in order to unlock the entrance to "Tectonic Stabilizer".
• Book Ends: The Unit starts and ends in the level "Lower Mines", with the exit being right next to the lava cave the player starts in.
• Broken Bridge: Access to the Base Unit/Eastern Warehouse is locked by an elevator near the starting point which is activated once the Tectonic Stabilizer has exploded.
• Death from Above:
  • Right after crossing the first locked door in "Lower Mines", a Gunner will begin shooting a rock above a platform on the water, it intends to let it crash into the player.
  • The entrance to the room with the Commander's Head in "Thaelite Mines" has two big rocks that are shot by enemies once they spot the player in an attempt to make them fall on the player.
  • There will be tons of falling debris in addition to the rising lava and random earthquakes in "Mine Engineering".
• Death Trap: "Thaelite Mines" has a drilling machine akin to the one found in the base game's "Lower Mines" that activates as soon as you approach it, and will crush you between it and a wall, provided you aren't quick enough.
• Guide Dang It!: Two secrets in "Lower Mines" require the player to hold their fire and NOT damage a specific item until the platform that moves it reaches its destination: the secret IR Goggles require the player to NOT damage the ore in the moving platform, and the secret Bandolier/Health Pack in the cargo room require NOT to damage a specific black box that's transported by a crane between levels.
• Monster Closet:
  • "Thaelite Mines":
    • Two located on the descending platform in the three-levelled room, revealing two pairs of Flyers.
    • Entering the Tank Commander area will open a hidden room, adding two Berserkers to the many enemies you already have to face.
• New Weapon Target Range:
  • "Lower Mines":
    • The player finds a new device, the Tesla Mine, before taking the first elevator. The area also contains low-level mooks that go down instantly once in the range of said mines.
    • After crossing the first locked door, the player obtains the Prox Launcher in an enclosed area swarming with air and ground enemies that can still become easy prey for the mines.
  • "Tectonic Stabilizer":
    • The ETF Rifle is located in a room with Gladiators, Gunners and Berserkers, units with quite the armor.
    • The Defender Sphere is located in a secret chamber with several weapon guards, Berserkers and Gunners in the area said chamber is located.
  • "Mine Engineering": The Chainfist is located in a small room with a Light Guard. Said room has its entrance blocked once the weapon is picked up. Afterwards, only weapon guards (with the occasional Technician) will be found on your way to the exit.
• No Fair Cheating: The "God" Classic Cheat Code won't save you from the overall level explosion in "Tectonic Stabilizer".
• One-Time Dungeon: You can only go through the secret level "Mine Engineering" once. After escaping, the level becomes inaccessible.
• Permanently Missable Content:
  • Two secrets in "Lower Mines" require you to be careful with both your fire and the enemy's: the secret IR Goggles in the ore mover room require you to hold your fire until the steedium ore is placed near the crack. The other is a room that requires a specific exploding box operated with a mechanism to be put in a specific location; this secret chamber holds a Bandolier and some health and ammo items. Failure to protect the unstable elements until they reach their intended destination will make you permanently lose access to these two secrets.
  • The "Tectonic Stabilizer" level can be revisited until all of its objectives are completed; afterwards, not only you're given a 30-second timer to escape the level; and after escaping, the player can't go back.
  • The entrance to the Secret Level "Mine Engineering" (where the player can first find the Chainfist) is only enabled after completing all of the objectives in "Tectonic Stabilizer" and going through for a certain broken pipe; which can be easily missable considering you're escaping from an area about to implode. It's a "race against the rising lava" level, and players can't go back to it once they exit to the "Thaelite Mines" level.
• Rewarding Vandalism:
  • "Lower Mines": Destroying a Steedium crystal near the starting point reveals a hidden chamber with a Double Damage power-up. The fact that you have access to a Power-Up too early is an indication of the overall difficulty of Ground Zero.
  • "Thaelite Mines": At one point in the cave road to the room with the Tank Commander there will be a bunch of Thaelite crystals blocking a passage that can safely be broken.
• Suspiciously Cracked Wall:
  • "Lower Mines":
    • Right after entering the main building, turning to the right and taking the elevator, the player will spot two things: an ore platform on the lower level and a cracked wall on the upper level. Unlike previous examples, this wall can only be destroyed with an ore explosion.
    • Near the exit of the level there's a chamber with two rotating gears. One of the gears has a broken section hiding a secret Adrenaline.
  • "Thaelite Mines":
    • The room with the Commander's Head has a broken gate in its top level which cannot be crossed, however, there's a crack at the left which can be shot and reveals an exit from the area.
    • The button-triggered elevator in the third room after the starting point eventually reaches a point from where two Monster Closets reveal four Flyers. Behind one of these pairs is a broken wall that can be shot to obtain a secret Megahealth.
• Secret Level: "Mine Engineering", a "race against the rising lava" where you'll be able to find an early Chainfist.
• Teleporting Keycard Squad:
  • "Lower Mines":
    • After establishing the communication uplink, a Flyer will spawn right above the computer and attack the player.
    • After returning from "Thaelite Mines" after completing the unit's main objectives, several Berserkers, Weapon Guards and Flyers spawn along the whole passage to the Eastern Warehouse exit.
  • "Thaelite Mines" has enemies which cover the two possible returns from the player:
    • From "Tectonic Stabilizer", there's a Gunner at the entrance.
    • From "Mine Engineering", there's an Enforcer in the cave with the Thaelite Crystals, a Light Guard on the way to the machine, and two Flyers in the lava cave.
    • At the intersection, there's a Light Guard, and in the two rooms returning to the Lower Mines, a Gunner and a Berserker.
  • "Tectonic Stabilizer": After disabling the wall node forcefields, a Berserker spawns in the upper bridge.
• Tide Level: "Mine Engineering", the Secret Level, has rising lava as a hazard.
• Timed Mission: The "Tectonic Stabilizer", after shutting down the coolants. Keep your eyes open and you'll see an entrance to the secret level "Mine Engineering", another timer-based mission but without any timer outside of the raising lava.

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