by the time the combine had discovered and conquered Earth they had already perfected the art of breaking down a planet and its population through fear paranoia and forced Evolution as the years passed they studied our biological structure and used their findings to make us better transhumanism became a standard practice and was used to either enhance collaborators or reduced those who rebelled into nothing more than a disposable Cog in their brutal machine these Transformations extended into the human arm of the combines military where those at the highest rank endured extreme augmentation to become the ultimate soldiers who were these units before their transformation what made them so effective and what did the fall of the Citadel mean for their future in this video we explore the law and story behind the OverWatch Elite after the dust settled from the 7h hour War Earth's population had to adapt to a new normal they were rounded up Senter settlements and monitor constantly for any signs of rebellion or resistance one of these settlements City 17 was developed over an Eastern Europe in what the combine called sector 17 of Earth over the years of combine occupation many practices were putting place to ensure compliance the water was drugged to make the humans forget why they hated the combine food was restricted and distributed in rations to enforce control and housing was assigned so that Earth's benefactors knew exactly where each citizen was everything was monitored everything was controlled these factors pushed the citizens into one of three paths the first a life of submission in a world in which food water and safety was offered only through compliance and injury and death was promised through resistance the large chunk of the population bowed down to the combine and obeyed every command the second a life of resistance although the combine had broken down Humanity well there were still those who wanted to fight and they did a small group was established and over time they developed secret Labs raided combine strongholds for weapons and information and sparked a symbol of Hope for a possible future without combine occupation the third was to become a part of the OverWatch the combines military force to collaborate was pushed to the masses as something thing good and it came with lucrative rewards and benefits additional rations better food and purpose in a new world order this path was chosen by those who were truly desperate wanted to keep their friends and family safe and most interestingly those who believed in the combin regime and wanted to play their parts run by the OverWatch AI the human arm of the combine Army was structured in a way to not only get Humanity to govern themselves following their regime but to spread mistrust and paranoia of neighbors and Friends anyone could be a part of the OverWatch and there were rewards for turning in those who spoke or acted against the regime now the OverWatch had several tears and as the units Rose through the ranks additional privileges responsibilities and assignments were offered however each promotion came with change through their experiments on the human body the combine believed they had perfected the process of turning us into weapons using extensive biological and mental augmentation just as they had with the Strider and gunship at the entry level a completely unchanged metrocop in the Civil protection and at the top a drastically modified OverWatch elite soldier something that resembled a a human on the outside but underneath the armor was something so much darker the population of City 17 was aware to a degree of what it meant to become a part of the OverWatch a metrop was just a normal human they clocked in for their shift patrolled the streets and local regions beat down those who disobeyed raided suspected resistance members question them and then tuck off their uniforms at the end of the day but for those who wanted more those who wanted to help the combine well there were options available Nova Prospect was once a human prison and just like everything they touched it was enhanced into something better a place to store those who worked against them and most notably a place of transformation only those dedicated to the combine's cause willingly went to Nova Prospect as for those who did not well they went through a darker transformation a punishment for their Rebellion the Welling transition from metrocop to OverWatch Soldier was pretty extensive this came in two stages mental and physical from what the vagon and resistance were able to share during the operation the throat was opened up and a Voda was implanted to improve their communication through a radio in their helmet with other units their lungs were enhanced to ensure longevity resilience and durability this meant that they could run for much longer and hold their breath for extended periods of time during an assignment their abdomen were extensively altered with a plated material that offered protection against anything that were able to make it past their armor in a similar manner to the stalker a feeding hole was grafted to ensure they required minimum upkeep and downtime from other Arts it appears that augmentations and devices were also installed into the brain itself that connected directly to their masks from these it appears that the mask was never intended to be removed after it had been installed and as a result each over watch Soldier became identical just like the stalkers gunship and drop ships another number in the combine Army through the process of mental reprogramming their memories were adapted emotions reduced and in their place OverWatch codes and combat techniques were in a way uploaded this meant that each unit was at the same level of practice when on a mission and they all acted the same way the OverWatch soldiers were perfectly crafted and enhanced by the combine each variation of combined Soldier went through their own changes to be the best they could be for the task they were assigned for each had their own weapons equipment and orders to follow in different locations across the Wasteland on one occasion a resistance fighter managed to take out a combined Grunt and after the mask came off they saw just how extensive the surgery was their eyes and ears had been removed and in their place wires connected directly to visual and audio outputs in The Mask in a way their senses had been heightened but it came at the cost of their Humanity it was also clear that at least after the metrocop rank the uniforms became permanent this was a willing decision a True Believer in the combine for those who truly believed in the combine's agenda and wanted to give in completely they were given the opportunity to become an OverWatch Elite they were the strongest fastest and most intelligent of OverWatch units the peak of what the combine believed a human could be these units were as mysterious as they were deadly the OverWatch elite were rarely seen by the masses and deployed only on specific assignments and locations marked by their single red lens and pristine white armor these units were engineered for absolute efficiency in combat The Mask itself tells an interesting and darker story of what was hidden behind it the grunts in the rank below had their eyes and ears removed so that their vision and hearing could be enhanced through the combines biological technology with only a single centrally placed lens their field of vision would have been severely restricted unless their Optical nerves were wired directly into the mask providing an augmented calculated view of the battlefield a way for the soldier to attain perfect accuracy through a likely interface displayed from OverWatch into their very Vision the hearing would have also gone through a similar process in which at the sight of the Mask were two audio domes these units possessed enhanced sight and hearing their extensive modifications granted them heighten reflexes reinforced durability and inbuilt plating to protect their vital organs even if they were injured they would not have felt it as for their armor it was Heavy plated and their Jack Boots insured their feet and legs were also safe this armor presented a human silhouette but beneath it lay a body scarred twisted and irreversibly altered with wires a complete mutilation of a human to be enhanced in the eyes of the combine and still these units had agreed to this along with a complete mental reprogramming to be completely subservient to their benefactors at this point they had no emotion no empathy no connection to humanity the instinct to fight a flight had also been Stripped Away only obedience remained they did what they were told the only instruction or entity they cared about was the OverWatch AI who commanded them every unit in the OverWatch had an Insignia to mark their place in the hierarchy and I would say that the elite was the most interesting their sector marked at the bottom of a combine claw that had trapped a cracked human skull a perfect emblem of the combined Conquest Humanity captured broken and in this case complicit as with every OverWatch rank the elite were given specific weapons to complete their assignments they wielded OverWatch issued pulse rifles a deadly Fusion of human and combined technology the rifles fired out shells of pure energy and with the Elite's incredible aim their targets were easily put down if there were a larger group of targets or an obstacle in the way the secondary fire of the rifle was perfect with the top of the trigger the rifle launched out a concentrated sphere of dark plasma an Unstoppable force that destroyed almost anything in its way after ascending through the brutal augmentations of the hierarchy of the OverWatch to reach the elite rank we have to ask what purpose did these units truly serve while the metrocops were seen within the cities OverWatch soldiers in zenan infested regions the Wasteland and assault on resistant strongholds Grunts ordinals and suppressors in the quarantine Zone the elites were given their own assignments and uses and on occasion took command and Order the units in the lower ranks only when necessary were they deployed to stop resistance activity that could risk the progress and safety of a combined stronghold or the future of their reign two were permanently stationed outside of Dr Wallace Breen's office the administrator of Earth to ensure his safety during the assault of Nova Prospect Elites were sent to deal with Dr Gordon Freeman but they missed him by mere seconds when the combine discovered that a small resistance team had traveled to the Arctic North OverWatch Elites were sent with OverWatch soldiers their mission was successful they not only captured Dr Judith Mossman but also discovered information about a lost research vessel with possible teleportation technology on board after the destabilization of the Citadel several OverWatch Elites were ordered to remain at the core to guard it the fall of the Citadel was the perfect opportunity to use the mass influx of energy to send a message to the combined Overworld and Trigger the formation of a super portal on this Mission specifically the OverWatch Elites knew that this would be their final mission they had to guard it until the core collapsed and exploded even though they were the best Soldiers the combine had they were still disposable and they obeyed their conditioning had taken away their natural instinct to survive and after the fall of the Citadel those who remained were ordered to secure the safety and transportation of combine advisers still in their pods each mission was chosen specifically for the talents and abilities now the OverWatch elite were not seen as frequently as the other OverWatch units this may have been most likely because they were only deployed when they were needed as this procedure was extensive and brutal there would have also been less of this rank than the rest it has been suggested however that Elites were sent to other worlds to conquer them if the changes were vast enough their respiratory systems and reduction of the needs of food and water would have allowed them to at least function on other worlds all the combin had to do was adapt their masks to endure the new atmosphere as the cycle began again just as Humanity had been terrified by The Strider and Hunter another species would have looked upon the combine Elite with the same fear just a new abhorrent creation of the combine a new warrior in their army after the fall of the and the dissipation of the super portal the combine Overworld was completely cut off from planet Earth this meant that every unit in that Army was alone left to govern themselves without orders from the advisers or whatever was above their rank the OverWatch elite were no longer human their mind sort out one thing their next order from their leaders if the resistance were able able to somehow break down every aspect of what remained of the combine's regime and returned Earth to a somewhat similar form it was before their arrival what did it mean for the transformed whether these biological and mental modifications are reversible is unknown yet it would take someone highly skilled to neutralize an elite to even try aside from the stalker the OverWatch Elite was the most graphic and brutal transformation performed on a human still they made their choice to join and upgrade to become a cog in the combine machine what is for sure is that they would not rejoin Humanity willingly they had Ascend it this is a short video this week the Fable video last week and research for a new valve game next week has limited my time the OverWatch has been requested quite a bit so I thought this was the perfect time to explore it I kind of felt bad for these guys but they knew what they were getting themselves into were they just desperate to avoid a tough life or did they truly believe in the combine agenda valve built an incredible world with so many different things to talk about I wish we had more games like this stories and laws that could be explored on a deeper level even 20 years years later valve are sitting on a gold mine of potential games maybe we could have a game and explore one of the other worlds bring back return to Raven home or find out what happened to Adrien shepher what I will say is that if you've not played entropy 02 go and do it now it explores the elite and what happened with Judith Mossman sadly it is not canon so I did not include it in this video the next planned half lifee video is going to be a big one a huge topic with so many different moving parts and stories to explore I cannot wait to show it to you that was everything I wanted to say if you enjoyed this video then I would love you to subscribe to the channel like the video if you liked it dislike it if you did not and let me know what you thought in the comments section below finally I would like to thank my goer patrons and channel members Queen Arby Lis or an X drakey Phoenix d Cal drawings 500 first clone boy ribber Mendoza Imperial Embers couns jimy average Soul ASU Jonas Yi Rodriguez and Detroit what did you think of this topic did you feel bad for the OverWatch Elite and what would you like me to cover next let me know in the comments below this is where our story ends check back soon for a new one