After crossing an ominous set of platforms in a black void and entering a red portal, players will encounter the final boss of Half-Life: Nihilanth. While the game normally doesn't explicitly name the enemies, Nihilanth gets its name revealed as the title of the final chapter.
However, Half-Life is a thoughtful FPS, and this extends to the way players must deal with the final boss. Nihilanth is both deadly and annoying, but a good strategy can make fighting the final boss a walk through the park.
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Nihilanth Boss Fight Tips and Tricks
Attacks
- Nihilanth's primary attack is a fan of electric balls that zap Gordon if he gets too close. Players can outrun these balls, or they can duck behind a spike. A single hit can drain a lot of Gordon's health and energy, so avoid them as much as possible.
- Nihilanth's secondary attack is a green portal that teleports Gordon to one of three side areas. Players can't outrun this portal, and it tracks them across the arena, but they can shoot the portal to destroy it or make it hit a spike instead. If the portal doesn't teleport Gordon, it'll spawn an alien in the arena instead.
Defenses
- The orange orbs that orbit Nihilanth's head are effectively its hit points. As players shoot the boss, these orbs disappear. Once they're all gone, its head will permanently split open, and it'll only have the strength to fire one electric ball at a time. A bug (like in the video) may cause some orange orbs to stick around even after they have all disappeared.
- The three orange crystals along the sides of the arena will replace any orange orbs players destroy, unless players destroy the crystals first.
- To destroy Nihilanth's last bit of health, players must attack the crystal that sits where its brain should be.
Strategies
- During the Interloper chapter, players should save up ammo for the RPG and at least one high-damage weapon like the magnum or the crossbow. Two hits from the RPG will destroy one crystal, and then players can hide behind a spike and shoot Nihilanth in the head repeatedly with the high-damage weapon.
- There are three ledges in the arena players can reach by using the jump platforms along the base. To get a clear shot at Nihilanth's brain crystal, players must jump up to the highest ledge and then use the jump platform there to get above the boss. If Nihilanth is down to a single lightning ball, just about any blow to the crystal will kill him (including from the crowbar).
- If players are low on health or ammo, it may be a good idea to get hit by the teleportation ball. Each side area holds several health and ammo pickups.
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The Side Areas
Players who get teleported by Nihilanth will end up in one of three areas. These areas appear in the same sequence every time.
The first area is a deep pit, and players must jump up onto several ledges to reach the portal at the top. Along the way, players will encounter several pickups and alien controllers. The trick to avoid falling is to start each jump from far away.
The second area has several enemies and pickups along the bottom, and to get back up, players must jump onto a floating orb and then jump off when close to the portal.
The third area has an underwater layer and a surface layer, and the surface layer has several jump pads players can use to reach the teleporter. If players get hit by a fourth teleportation orb, they'll return to this area, but instead of regular enemies, they'll find Gargantuas and Ichthyosaurs. Players should avoid them and get out as fast as possible.
