Gekk

"A lightning-fast amphibious creature that lives and hunts in the planet's proto-swamps."

- The Reckoning Manual

Gekk is a new enemy introduced in The Reckoning mission pack for Quake II. They are found mainly in the swamps and mountains of Stroggos. They're uncommon in the game and are comparable to gunners in defense, but guards for attack.

Gekks are notable for being one of only three known examples of native Stroggos fauna (the others being the Barracuda Shark and mutant, both encountered in Quake II, the former also turning up in The Reckoning) to have survived the global industrialization program of the Strogg, which have heavily polluted half of their home planet and killed off so much of its native fauna.

Gekks have yellow blood and their gibs are bioluminescent (they glow). It's unknown if this is a natural development or a result of Strogg experiments.

Attacks

 * Light Beam: The Gekk shoots a Light Beam out of its mouth and mandibles, much like the Light Guard's attack. It does the same damage as a light guard, but they almost always attack in packs, so being hit by many of these attacks will add up the damage and can become deadly.


 * Claw: A melee attack which deals 18 damage. This attack can be deadly when facing a pack of gekks. The Gekks jump at the player much like a fiend or mutant and deliver the attack instantly when at point blank range. If the player gets surrounded and multiple gekks attack this way, the player's health will drop quickly and he/she can easily be killed.

Strategy

 * As stated above, gekks travel in packs and so, the player will most of the time be fighting these creatures of Stroggos while outnumbered. Close the gap between the pack whilst dodging their light beams and then gun them down with a shotgun or machine gun.
 * They are tougher than enforcers so it will take some firepower to kill them, thus do not stop moving to avoid damage during the length battles. As the player only has a blaster and shotgun to begin with, the closer he/she is the to gekks the better, but be careful not to get surrounded and listen out for new arrivals attacking from behind as the player is confronting other gekks.
 * They work like pack animals and will surround the player and move in for the kill. Never stop moving, it only takes 3 direct shotgun blasts to kill one.
 * Gibbing them may be useful in dark caves, as their gibs are glowing.

Trivia

 * Sometimes when having low health, a Gekk will "dance" and burst into gibs.
 * It's possible, though unlikely, that Gekks are creatures created by the Strogg as experimental animals, which may explain why their yellow blood glows and why they are able to shoot lasers from their mouths.
 * Gekks seem to not know that laser fences are dangerous, as they often attempt to jump through them, resulting in their deaths.
 * Gekks are also mentioned in Strogg & Peeker lore scrolls in Quake Champions.