Guardian (Q2)

The Guardian, also known as the Strider, is a powerful Strogg unit assigned to defend the A-M Bomb, found in a massive chamber below Defense Command and the Gravity Booster. It appears to have been constructed from a Tank Commander's torso, wired into a massive pair of mechanical legs. Two large weapon assemblies extend from its shoulders.

Combat Analysis
The Guardian must be destroyed for the player to retrieve the A-M Bomb, which is needed to destroy the Gravity Booster. Aside from the Makron it is the hardiest foe in the game, with a set of powerful weapons and extremely high health. Its only real weaknesses are its low movement speed and limited maneuverability.

Light Blaster
Commonly, the Guardian launches continuous four-round bursts of hyperblaster fire in the player's direction from its right weapon mount. These shots are incredibly well-aimed, meaning a stationary or slow-moving player can easily be hit by each of them.

Laser
Rarely, the Guardian will use the laser mounted on its left shoulder against players who are a greater distance away. This weapon fires in continuous bursts of two shots each, and as a hitscan weapon cannot be easily dodged. Players should endeavor to remain in or near cover in order, or at a medium distance from the Guardian, to avoid it.

Melee
If the player gets too close to the Guardian it will attempt to kick or stamp them, dealing massive amounts of damage. One or two attacks can easily kill even a fully armored player, so getting into close proximity with the Guardian should be avoided at all costs.

Strategies
There are two main strategies that can be easily employed against the Guardian; circle-strafing at close range allows the player to deal near-continuous damage with non-splash-damage weapons such as the Super Shotgun, chaingun, hyperblaster and railgun, while ducking in and out of cover behind the room's pillars allows them to use heavier weapons while minimizing exposure to its powerful weaponry. The room's size allows the player to keep the Guardian at a distance, with each pillar far enough from the last that several hits can be landed with the Grenade Launcher and Rocket Launcher before moving is necessary again.

In theory the Guardian can be danced with in the same manner as the Gladiator and other enemies with melee attacks, but this is inadvisable simply due to the massive damage dealt by its melee attack.