Carrier

"They don't call this guy, the Carrier for nothing. Make sure to concentrate your fire on it first and then take care of those pesky Flyers."

- Ground Zero Manual

In Ground Zero, the Carrier is the first of two bosses introduced in the game. The Carrier is found in the Research Hangar at the end of Unit 3, guarding the Experimental Strogg Fighter.

Railgun
The Carrier will launch the Railgun every so often, although not as commonly as it uses its Chaingun. Because the player will be focused on avoiding the bullet spray and grenades, it is very difficult to know when the Railgun is about to be used. However the player will normally be moving to avoid the other attacks and so most of the time when the Railgun is used, it will miss anyway and so is not cause for concern. The Railgun blast does 50 damage on contact.

Twin-Chaingun
The Carrier's most common attack. The Carrier will lay down almost constant fire and even a fast moving player will have difficulty avoiding the very accurate gun fire. If the player gets caught in the spray for a few moments at a time their health and armor will be cut down very quickly (even when wearing Body Armor). Each bullet does 6 damage so with two Chainguns each shot is 12 damage.

Grenade Launcher
The Carrier will launch 4 grenades in an arc formation, spreading them out around the player's location. This will temporarily hinder the player's movement as they will be surrounded. Keep a mental note of where the grenades land around you so that you can continue dodging the Carrier's other attacks while avoiding running into the explosions. Each grenade does 40 damage, equaling a total of 160 damage (not that the player will ever get hit by all four grenades).

​Quad-Rocket-Launcher
The Carrier shoots 4 rockets from its back mounted chassis. Each rocket does 50 damage, equaling a total of 200 damage, more than enough to kill an unarmored player.

Spawn Flyer
The Carrier has the rare ability to spawn Strogg into battle. Although similar to that of the Medic Commander's, the Carrier is only able to spawn Flyers. This may not seem too bad however the Carrier can spawn up to 6 Flyers at any one time and having all those extra Enemies attacking while you are fighting one of the most difficult enemies in the game makes this a nightmare.

Spawn Homing Flyer
As well as spawning Flyers into battle who attack the player like normal, the Carrier will occasionally spawn a Flyer that will instead spin violently towards the player, acting like a homing missile and exploding on contact, dealing a hurtful 50 damage. While the homing Flyer is difficult to dodge, it can be easily shot out of the sky. Be careful when using explosive weapons as the player will get hurt if they hit a homing Flyer when it gets up close and in the way.

Preparation

 * The Carrier is easily one of the most difficult enemies in Quake 2 and one of the most difficult enemies in all of Quake. Defeating it will secure the Strogg Prototype Fighter which is used to escape the area after the player destroys the Gravity Well in Unit 5.


 * Throughout Unit 3 there are a number of armor pick ups and it is a good idea to save at least one Body Armor pick ups for the Carrier, as facing the Carrier without armor is not recommended. Also keep a mental note of any ammo pick ups, especially Cells, that the player has left behind throughout the Unit. Having 300 Cells makes your job much easier and shouldn't be too difficult to accumulate thanks to the amount of Cell dropping enemies in the Unit. Nevertheless, be stingy about using Cells during Unit 3, and try to substitute with other weapons if you normally use the Hyperblaster in certain situations. The BFG is very useful for dealing with Medic Commanders (and the enemies they continually resurrect), but again, be sparing and try to rely on other weapons as much as possible.
 * Do not go back to the hangar to face the Carrier until you are ready, as you will not be able to return to the previous level once you do, and there are essentially no supplies provided for your upcoming battle with the Carrier in the hangar itself. You will not want to use any Quad Damage or Double Damage powerups either, especially if you do not normally hunt down secrets, because they are very rare and you will need them for your final battle at the end of the game. Fortunately, if the player has the BFG with a full load of Cells and sufficient armor, these powerups are most likely unnecessary.


 * The Hangar is a medium sized room with a balcony that wraps around one end. At the other end of the room there is a corridor leading outside however the door will be locked until the Carrier is defeated. The player can choose whether to fight the Carrier from the balcony or on the floor although it is best to make use the whole room when needed. There are some pick ups in the room however none are exactly useful and are not worth seeking during the battle.

The Battle

 * When you enter the hangar, you can either stand in the doorway and take out the two Flyers or run into the room and ignore them. With the BFG equipped, keep your eye on the ceiling whilst moving to the left and as soon as you see the ceiling explode, pull the trigger. There is a Plasma Beam on the balcony to the left so pick it up straight after the first attack to get an extra shot with the BFG.


 * Keep strafing to avoid the Carrier's armament of attacks whilst continuing to fire BFG blasts. Try to make each shot a direct hit to deal the maximum amount of damage. Ignore the Flyers as you'll mostly dodge their attacks whilst dodging the Carrier's and they will all be destroyed without effort by the power of the BFG.


 * You'll get a total of 7 shots with the BFG but even if all of them are direct hits, the Carrier will still be alive but heavily damaged. Once the BFG is exhausted, equip the Chaingun and blast the Carrier away with bullet spray. Again do not pay any attention to the Flyers. It will take most of your bullets to deal the fatal hit.


 * As soon as the Carrier falls to the ground and starts exploding, turn your attention to any remaining Flyers and the battle will be over, then.