Achievement Breakdown: (23)
Story Related: (8)
Missable: (1)
Secondary Objectives: (3)
Collectibles: (4)
Slay: (6)

All Achievements of Half Life 2 – Episode #2 can be earned in one playthrough. In this Episode we have to squish Antlion Grubs for an Achievement, there are A LOT of them, so be patient. Grubs can be killed by the Gravity Gun so save the ammo when you can. Some Grub are far out of range & having spare ammo for the Handgun is essential for success. The good news is these are only found on two Chapters. The bad news is these are only found on two Chapters... which means these first Chapters are going to take the longest to complete.

Unfortunately, that will not be all our tedium. Another important Achievement will be the Little Rocket Man Achievement. In the first Chapter we will find a garden gnome. We must then carry this gnome aaaalllll the way to Chapter #6 & launch him into space. Save often as redoing sections because you forgot him a long way away will become a real pain. There is no Achievement associated with Difficulty, so play on whichever setting you like.


Half Life 2 has now been merged with Half Life 2 Episodes 1 & 2. If you owned the separate copies of the Episodes, they will no longer be visible in your Library however they can still be found in the Tools tab of it; your Achievement progress for those games will remain intact as well & can still be earned separately.

For those interested, here is an organized list of all the Achievements/Secret Achievements. This is how I derive my Achievement Breakdowns & the first reference I create before I begin my 100% journeys.
https://steamhost.cn/steamcommunity_com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=3378873640

This guide contains minor spoilers.*

1. Episode #2: To the White Forest
2. Antlion Grubs: 30/333
3. Achievements: 3/23
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Achievement #1 – Gnome Alone: If you are reading this Achievement, Gabe Newell has successfully launched Gnome Chompski into space. If you did not also receive the Achievement 'Manufacturing Ascent', Newell has abandoned his plans to shoot Noam Chomsky into space.
I am a little fuzzy on the lore behind this Achievement, but all we have to do to unlock it is load into the Half Life 2 – Episode #2 Main Menu & the Achievement will unlock as easily as that.

Once again, there is no Achievement associated with Difficulty so play on whichever setting you like. Episode #2 will pick up right where Episode #1 left off, on our escape train from City 17.


Achievement #2 – Grave Robber: Steal a Zombine’s Grenade.
Exit the train & we will need to enter into a mine tunnel to progress onwards. Drop down further into the shaft, & we will begin encountering Zombies. Before carrying on outside the tunnel, make a Save! Immediately when we exit the tunnel, we will see a group of Zombies fighting some Antlions – there will be a Zombine amongst them. Zombines more often than not will whip out Grenades & blow themselves up using them; whenever you see this happen, quickly use the Gravity Gun to yank the Grenade out of their hands to unlock this Achievement.

Gnome Chompski: After the first encounter with the Zombies, we will enter the communications room. Inside, we can find Gnome Chompski underneath a wooden shelf to the right of the exit of this room – he will look like your typical garden gnome. Carry him in your hands or with the Gravity Gun, & prepare to take him on a journey no gnome has been on before... For the Little Rocket Man Achievement, we have to take this garden gnome all the way to Chapter #6 – Our Mutual Fiend & place him inside a rocket to be shot into space.

While he can be used as a projectile, it can be very dangerous, & there is a high chance you will lose him. Save often, as so much can go wrong…

Entering the Mine: With Gnome Chompski in hand, make your way through the mine exterior & we will encounter a Combine Hunter. After it leaves, we will need to escort a friendly Vortigaunt to a safe place below the surface & we will acquire the Crowbar in the process.

As something to note, we will need to kill 30 enemies using objects thrown by the Gravity Gun for the Bone Breaker Achievement; I recommend working towards this Achievement straight away & getting it done first before using other Weapons to kill enemies.

With the Gnome, carefully remove the Crowbar from the elevator & immediately pick the Gnome back up before we start to descend; it is very easy for the Gnome to fall off & get stuck under the elevator…

Antlion Grubs #1-5: Take a crank wheel elevator up a shaft, & quickly drop off with the Gnome where we will collect the Handgun. Carefully drop down through a few holes in the next shaft & we will fall into some water… & so our struggles begin. As of now, we will start encountering Antlion Grubs. They are white & glow yellow while also making an audible screeching sound which can be useful for locating them; if you are ever unsure if a Grub is actually dead, just use your Handgun to “double tap” it. With that said, I also recommend conserving all your Handgun ammo for shooting down Grubs off hard to reach places as well!

While in the room with the water, look back up where you dropped from to see the first 5 Grubs along the walls.

Antlion Grubs #6-8: From these Grubs, begin making your way down the tunnel ahead to find 3 Grubs along the walls before we reach a web wall.

Antlion Grubs #9-11: The web wall in our way will have 1 Grub attached to it, with another 2 Grubs on the ground directly below it.

Antlion Grubs #12-14: After the web wall, enter the next chamber & we can find 2 Grubs off our left with 1 Grub across the small pond near some webbing higher up.

Antlion Grubs #15-19: Leave this chamber & enter the next tunnel to find 3 Grubs on the ground in our way with another 2 Grubs further down.

Antlion Grubs #20-23: Blocking the tunnel ahead will be another web wall that will have 1 Grub inside it with another 2 Grubs on the ground below it & 1 Grub on the wall up to the left of the web wall.


Achievement #3 – Acid Reflex: Kill an Acid Antlion Worker.
From the previous Grubs, drop down the hole ahead & we will be attacked be a glowing green Antlion. These guys fire toxic goop at us & more often than not will kill Grubs making it irritating finding them afterwards. Kill the Acid Antlion Worker to unlock the Achievement.

Antlion Grubs #24-26: With the Acid Antlion dealt with, turn around from where we dropped down from to see a dead end made up of webbing – there will be 3 Grubs to the right of this webbing on the ground.

Antlion Grubs #27-28: Carry on further & we will collect the Shotgun after dispatching another two Acid Antlions. In the room with the Shotgun, we can find 1 Grub directly across from the hole we have to drop down next.

Do not drop down the hole yet though! Before we do, walk around the hole towards where Grub #27 was, & there will be a blue locker; open it up to find 1 Grub.

Antlion Grubs #29-30: Remove the wooden boards from the hole now & we can immediately see 1 Grub near the top along the wall. Before dropping down, make sure you have the Gnome!

Drop down the hole & we can find another 1 Grub at the very bottom.

1. Episode #2: To the White Forest
2. Web Cache: 1/9
3. Antlion Grubs: 91/333
4. Achievements: 3/23
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Antlion Grubs #30-32: Start heading down this next tunnel & we can find 1 Grub in our way inside some webbing on the ground with another 1 Grub at the tunnel exit on our side of the rubble blocking the way ahead.

Antlion Grubs #33-34: Up ahead will be a massive chamber that will be full of Antlion Grubs. There are also some Acid Antlions you will want to deal with asap before they kill off Grubs without us knowing; Grubs killed by Antlions still of course count towards the Achievement, but it can make tracking your count & missing some very likely. Do your best.

For simplicity’s sake with how many Grubs are in this chamber, don’t kill them until you are directly below them; focus on how I’ve listed them in their clusters.

The first 2 Grubs of this room will be right in front of you on the first rock slab leading up.

Antlion Grubs #35-49: Progress along the slab & there will be a web wall in your way with 1 Grub on it. Another 2 Grubs will be on the floor directly in front of you with 4 more Grubs on the wall to your right – below a hole in the wall.

Look above that hole in the wall now, & we can see another 3 Grubs just below some long webbing along the ceiling.

Turn around & drop down into the water now to look even further up the same wall beyond that hole to see 2 more Grubs below a second hole & a final 3 Grubs above it near more webbing; you will need to shoot these ones down.

Antlion Grubs #50-56: Head back up the ramp where you were previously & jump over into the water to access the second half of the chamber. Where we drop down, we will see 2 Grubs on the ground near the water. Look back where we jumped from & we can see another glowing hole in the wall with 4 Grubs around it & 1 Grub a little ways inside it.

Gnome check! Do you have Gnome Chompski with you?

Antlion Grubs #57-60: Drop over into the third section of the chamber now & we can find 2 Grubs in the second alcove on the left beside the water. Across from where we are here, we can find 1 Grub inside an underwater tunnel we need to pass through to continue, & 1 more Grub on the wall above it.

Web Cache #1: While we are still in the same room of the large chamber, drop down into the water pool in front of us & swim down to the left. Down here we can find a glowing web with corpses behind it; smash it open, then swim down & bust a second web wall to raid our first Web Cache.

For the Piñata Party Achievement, we need to raid all 9 Web Caches.

Antlion Grubs #61-64: Swim through the underwater tunnel we found one of the Grubs in to enter the fourth section of the chamber. Where we emerge from the water, there are 2 Grubs immediately on the wall off our right, with another 2 Grubs on the ground ahead of us.

Antlion Grubs #65-67: Further past the previous Grubs, we can see some Barnacles hanging from the ceiling & a small aluminum rowboat. To the right of the rowboat, we can see 2 Grubs up in a small alcove in the wall. To the left of the rowboat a little ways further, we can see 1 Grub in another small alcove beside the water.

Antlion Grubs #68-70: Carry on to the back of this room now, past all the Barnacles, & we will have to deal with another Acid Antlion. Once it is dealt with, we can find 2 Grubs on the ground near a wooden crate with 1 more Grub on the wall to the right of the chamber’s exit.

Antlion Grubs #71-72: Leave this large flooded chamber now & we will encounter 2 Grubs on the ground in our way just past the final Barnacle; watch out for an Antlion ambush…

Antlion Grubs #73-77: Enter the next part of the tunnel & there will be more water here along with another Acid Antlion. Close to where we enter the flooded portion of the tunnel, we can find 4 Grubs in a web along the wall. We can find 1 more Grub at the far end of this flooded tunnel at the back on the ground though it is likely it may have been killed by the Acid Antlion…

Antlion Grubs #78-80: Head down the next tunnel & we can find 2 Grubs in our way on the ground. We can find 1 more Grub shortly afterwards off our right on the ground before entering the next large chamber.

Antlion Grubs #81-87: In the next chamber, you will want to quickly dispatch the three Acid Antlions before you do anything else. Once they are dealt with, return to where we entered to find 1 Grub off our right on the ground.

Directly across from this Grub, look up to your left to see a small side tunnel where 1 more Grub will be on one of the walls.

In the main section of the chamber will be a large stone pillar. On the opposite side of it, we can find 3 Grubs on the ground (that may have been crushed by the Antlions). When you go to leave this chamber, we can find 2 more Grubs near the exit beside a ribcage in the tunnel.

Antlion Grubs #88-91: To progress through the tunnel, we will have to destroy another web wall where we can find 1 Grub on the web & another 2 Grubs just below it. We can then find 1 more Grub on the ground just past the web wall.

1. Episode #2: This Vortal Coil
2. Web Cache: 5/9
3. Antlion Grubs: 156/333
4. Achievements: 5/23
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Continue through the tunnel & we will take a small drop that we cannot get back up to enter into Chapter #2.

Gnome check! Do you have Gnome Chompski with you?

Antlion Grubs #92-93: 2 Grubs are found right in front of you in the tunnel as soon as the Chapter begins.


Achievement #4 – Deadly Harvest: Kill an enemy by planting a Hopper Mine.
When we drop down the hole ahead of us, we will find two Resistance fighters defending the Vortigaunt healing Alyx. We are about to be assaulted by Antlions so prepare; find somewhere safe to stash Gnome Chompski where he will not get in the way...

There are two crates off to the side full of Hopper Mines near the tunnels. Plant some down all four of them, & you should be guaranteed in killing at least one Antlion with the Hopper Mines.


Achievement #5 – Into the Breach: Help Griggs & Sheckley hold off the Antlion invasion inside the mine shaft.
Story Related. Hold off the initial nine waves of Antlions assaulting us & eventually we will be aided by three more Vortigaunts. Complete the final stand against the Antlions, & we will unlock the Achievement.

Leaving Gnome Chompski Behind: For the rest of this Chapter, we will be leaving & returning back to this central area to revive Alyx. If you leave Gnome Chompski somewhere close to Alyx (or just somewhere you will remember him) he will stay here for when we return. This takes a lot of hassle out of this Chapter, as we can just focus on killing Grubs.

Before you leave Gnome though, make sure you make a Save & do not Save over it until we return back just on the rare chance something happens to him while we are gone!

Antlion Grubs #94-98: Follow the Vortigaunt down the tunnel & into the side passage where we can find 3 Grubs right in our way. Another 2 Grubs will be found a little ways further ahead.

Antlion Grubs #99-102: Blast open a web wall, & we can find 1 Grub just outside of Web Cache #2; open up the Web Cache to find another 3 Grubs inside the it.

Web Cache #2: We will break open Web Cache #2 to destroy Grub #99.

Antlion Grubs #103-105: Just to the right of the Web Cache, will be a web wall in the tunnel; there are 3 Grubs just to the left of it on our side of the web.

Antlion Grubs #106-111: Destroy the web wall & we will enter a large chamber. There are 3 Grubs on the ground in front of us as soon as we enter with another 1 Grub below us. Follow the path along left to find 2 more Grubs hanging off the wall to the left; we will soon be attacked by some Acid Antlions.

Antlion Grubs #112-114: Carry on further down the path to find 1 Grub on the ground with 2 more Grubs ahead of us on the wall to our left; we will be ambushed by more Acid Antlions from behind us.

Antlion Grubs #115-118: Continue on to the exit of the chamber, around the backside of a large stalactite & look directly up from here to find 2 Grubs on the ceiling. Go to exit the chamber now & we can find 2 Grubs on the ground at the tunnel entrance.

Web Cache #3: Head down the tunnel out of the large chamber & we can find a Web Cache off our right containing some Grubs.

Antlion Grubs #119-120: 2 Grubs found inside Web Cache #3; one can be hard to see as it is on the ground over the lip of the hole.

Antlion Grubs #121-130: Enter into the next large chamber & fight off an Acid Antlion. From where we enter, we can find 2 Grubs on the ground. Continue along the upper left path of the chamber, fighting off more Acid Antlions, & we can find 4 Grubs clinging to the wall just above where the path starts dipping down; one of the Grubs is hidden in webs here & can be hard to see!

Follow the path along a narrow ledge where 1 Grub will be in our way with another 1 Grub on the ground where the path switchbacks.

Another 2 Grubs can be found at the entrance to the tunnel leading out of the large chamber (these may have been killed by Antlions).

Antlion Grubs #131-134: Continue down the tunnel ahead to find 2 more Grubs on the ground just before we reach a Web Cache (these also may have been killed by Antlions).

Carry on & we can see a blood spatter on the ground near a skeleton with a glowing Web Cache up in the wall to our left – it will have 2 Grubs behind it.

Web Cache #4: On the ceiling up to the left after leaving the latest large chamber.

Antlion Grubs #135-139: From the Web Cache, continue down the tunnel to find 3 Grubs in our way. Another 2 Grubs can be found on the wall to our right further down.

Antlion Grubs #140-142: Walk down the tunnel until you see a red blood spatter on the ground. Look up to your right to see 2 Grubs on the wall below a Web Cache with 1 Grub inside it.

Web Cache #5: Web Cache #5 is found above a blood spatter in the tunnel near Grubs #140 & #141; it will drop a live Grenade when it is opened!

Antlion Grubs #143-148: Leave the tunnel & we will drop back into the mine. Where we land, we can find 3 Grubs off our left on the ground. Ignore the Grubs behind a fence ahead of us for now, & remove the wooden boards off the gate to let us into the room with the Zombies. Eliminate the Zombies (remember to try killing as many as you can with Gravity Gun objects for the Bone Breaker Achievement), & we can find 3 Grubs clumped up together near a red fuel can.

There are two Antlion Grubs that are pinned to the wall here as well, but they are already dead, & do not count for us…

Antlion Grubs #149-156: Continue to ignore the Grubs in the other room, & use the weighted elevator ahead of us to reach a room lower down. At the bottom of the shaft, look back up & we can spot 3 Grubs clinging to the side of the wall above our heads.

Step off the elevator, & we can kill another two groups of 2 Grubs & 3 Grubs here.

1. Episode #2: This Vortal Coil
2. Web Cache: 5/9
3. Antlion Grubs: 256/333
4. Achievements: 6/23
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Antlion Grubs #157-165: Leave the elevator room, & we can spot 3 Grubs in behind a fence ahead of us.

Go into the next room & there will be 1 Grub on the ground to our left, 1 Grub underneath the elevator, & another 2 Grubs across from us past the elevator. Before we activate it, stand on the elevator & look up the shaft to spot another 2 Grubs stuck to the wall.

Antlion Grubs #166-171: Activate the elevator (use the steel girders to weigh it down so we can get on in time) & take it up to the next level. Defeat the Zombies up here, & we can find 1 Grub on the wall behind the elevator & a set of 3 Grubs & 2 Grubs along an old railway track.

Antlion Grubs #172-176: The Vortigaunt will open up the path for us to go forward & we will reach a junction. To the right, we can see 1 Grub inside a minecart that will fall off of the edge when bumped. Walk to the edge where the minecart falls, & we can see 4 Grubs across from us to the right around a glowing hole.

Antlion Grubs #177-185: Return to the junction & take the path straight ahead along the rail line. Break some wooden boards in our way, & we can find 9 Grubs along the track ahead. Not only will a minecart detach & crush 7/9 of the Grubs, but we will also be attacked by Zombies & Acid Antlions. Be sure to double check the track & beside it to make sure all the Grubs were killed.

Antlion Grubs #186-197: Climb up a ladder, & drop down through an ore chute to land inside a minecart… that will begin to move. We will pass a lot of Grubs; do not try to kill them yet. We can walk back up the track to kill them accordingly.

From where we fall into the water, climb up the ladder & we can see 3 Grubs on the wall just above the water. At the top of the ladder, we can find 3 Grubs along the wall at the top of the pit with another 1 Grub just over the edge near the ladder.

Looking down into the pit, we can see another 2 Grubs along the wall to our right with 3 more Grubs on the same wall further down.

Antlion Grubs #198-209: Now turn around & begin heading up the tracks; note that any number of these Grubs may have been killed by the minecart or the Vortigaunt fighting off the Zombies. At the bottom of the tracks, there are 3 Grubs hanging off the ceiling in a small alcove to our left with another 3 Grubs beside the tracks on a red fuel can.

Further up the track we can find 3 Grubs on the ceiling along with another 3 Grubs beside the track.

Antlion Grubs #210-216: Head back down the rail track near where the pit is, & we can enter into the next large chamber through a hole in the wall. From where we drop down, we can see 3 Grubs off our left, 2 Grubs in a small crevice in the wall to their right, & another 2 Grubs near the ledge above the trench ahead.

Antlion Grubs #217-226: Walk across the small land bridge to the other side of the trench, & look up above us to see 4 Grubs inside a glowing hole with 1 Grub on the wall just above it.

Stay standing where you are, & look all the way to the chamber’s ceiling above that glowing hole to spot 5 Grubs way up there near another glowing hole; you’ll have to carefully snipe them.


Achievement #6 – Bone Breaker: Kill 30 enemies with thrown physical objects.
Drop down into the area with the Antlions & the “vibratory device” & we will be in another great location to earn more Gravity Gun kills. If you have been chipping away at this when you could, you may unlock this Achievement here. If not, there are so many opportunities to earn this Achievement over the course of Episode 2 so do not fret.

Note that thrown Exploding Barrels, Propane Tanks, or Fuel Cans do not count as physical objects for the Achievement as they are explosives.

Antlion Grubs #227-230: After holding off the Zombies & Antlions waiting for the elevator, take it up to the top & wait for the Vortigaunt to open up the path ahead. Carry on ahead & we will encounter the Ancient Guardian… it couldn’t be easy now, could it?

Drop down through a hole in the floor & break down a barred off section of the mine to progress. Just past the wall we knock down, we can find 2 Grubs on the wall in front of us with 2 more Grubs on the ceiling above them.

Antlion Grub #231-236: The path forks here. First, look down the tunnel off our left to find 2 Grubs on the wall; the rest of this tunnel is a dead end.

Take the path off our right next & break down another barred off section of the mine tunnel to find 4 Grubs beside a rail track.

Antlion Grubs #237-240: Continue down the mine tunnel & leap across a gap near the elevator shaft to reach a lower level that will take us to the inner chamber. Unfortunately, we will become separated from our Vortigaunt friend here…

Get passed the vent turbine & follow the duct along to encounter 1 Grub in front of a hole in the floor. Before dropping through the hole, we can kill another 2 Grubs on the opposite side of the hole along with 1 Grub down the hole along the wall lower down.

Antlion Grubs #241-246: Drop down the hole & there will be 2 Grubs immediately below the web we break through. Break through two more webs, & there will be 4 Grubs below the last web. Most will die when we break it through it, but some may not; be sure to look back up at the hole to shoot any you may have missed.

Antlion Grubs #247-248: In the water, we can find 2 Grubs on a large stalagmite in the center of the cavern.

Antlion Grubs #249-256: Swim down under the water & break through a web wall to be able to swim over to the far side that has some Barnacles hanging from the ceiling. From where we emerge, we can find 2 Grubs on the ceiling of a small alcove off your right. Further down the cavern in another alcove near some Barnacles, we can find 4 more Grubs. Lastly, we can find 2 Grubs on the ground near the cavern’s exit.

1. Episode #2: This Vortal Coil
2. Web Cache: 9/9
3. Antlion Grubs: 333/333
4. Achievements: 8/23
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Antlion Grubs #257-259: Enter a yellow & bloody tunnel to leave the cavern & there will be 1 Grub in your way upon entering, another 1 Grub further down in some blood, & a final 1 Grub around the corner on the side of the wall.

Antlion Grubs #260-263: Drop down into a new tunnel & we will have to dispatch some Acid Antlion. When they are dead, we can go left or right; it is a big circle. Take the path to the right & you will see another yellow tunnel off your left. Inside, there is 1 Grub on the wall near the entrance with 3 more Grubs at the back of the cave.

The Ancient Guardian: Progress further down the tunnel, & we will be ambushed by the Ancient Guardian. We cannot kill it, & we must flee!

Antlion Grubs #264-272: Flee from the Guardian, & it will chase us into another yellow tunnel. Here, there will be 2 Grubs right in the entrance which you will probably crush when you enter. There are 3 more Grubs a little bit further inside.

Drop lower down in the tunnel & you will crush 1 Grub when you land; there will be 1 more Grub hanging off the wall to the left before a web wall.

Break the web wall, & before you rush out of the tunnel, we can kill 2 Grubs clinging on the wall outside the exit.

Antlion Grubs #273-278: Evade the Ancient Guardian again, & quickly rush down the tunnel to find another yellow one off our left a short ways along; there will be 2 Grubs on the wall outside it. Inside the yellow tunnel, we can find 1 Grub in our way on the ground with 3 more Grubs further down before a drop.

Antlion Grubs #279-286: Drop down in the yellow passage & there will be 3 Grubs immediately on the ground in front of us with 3 more Grubs close by them. Once again, we can also find 2 Grubs hanging on the wall just outside the yellow tunnel exit.

Antlion Grubs #287-292: Exit the yellow tunnel, but take the path to our right this time to run over to the next yellow tunnel; there are another 3 Grubs hanging on the wall outside it with immediately 3 Grubs inside.

Antlion Grubs #293-295: Take the drop in the yellow tunnel, & there will be 1 Grub on the wall beside a web wall. Destroy the web wall, & we can find 2 more Grubs hanging on the wall just outside of the tunnel.

Antlion Grubs #296-300: Leave the tunnel, & we will have to maneuver around the Ancient Guardian to get through the tunnel it is protecting. Rush down the tunnel, & we can find another yellow tunnel refuge a little ways down off our left; there will be 2 Grubs outside it. Inside the yellow tunnel, we can find 3 more Grubs.

Antlion Grubs #301-311: Unlike the other yellow tunnels, this one leads nowhere & we will have to leave it. Continue rushing down the tunnel away from the Ancient Guardian & we will drop down at crossroads. Take the path to the right & we can find another yellow tunnel with 3 Grubs outside it. Inside the tunnel we can find 3 Grubs immediately in front of us with another 3 Grubs near the web wall at the tunnel exit; 2 Grubs will be outside on the walls past the web wall.

Web Cache #6: Exit the yellow tunnel & take the path off our left where we can find a boarded up doorway we can break through. Do just that, & we will drop down into a mine passage. At the end of the rail track, break through a web wall to enter a massive chamber… we will work our way around it counterclockwise.

Immediately to the right of were we entered, we can find a Web Cache inside the wall close to some Grubs.

Antlion Grubs #312-316: We can find 1 Grub inside the Web Cache we just looted along with 3 Grubs in the corner beside us.

Continue to follow the room around counterclockwise, & we another Web Cache with 1 Grub in front of it.

Web Cache #7: Destroy the Web Cache where we found the previous Grub; be careful as there is a Poison Headcrab hidden inside it.

Antlion Grubs #317-322: From the Web Cache, keep going right along the wall; there will be 3 Grubs on the ground in our way. From here, look across from us to see a Barnacle hanging down in between some steel beams. Beside it, there will be 2 Grubs around another Web Cache in the ceiling; there will also be 1 Grub behind this Web Cache.

Web Cache #8: Close to the Barnacle in the ceiling; destroy it.

Antlion Grubs #323-328: Head across the room towards the elevator now & we can find 3 Grubs near the back wall behind it.

Lastly, head towards the center of this chamber & we can find another Barnacle on the ceiling with the final Web Cache beside it. There will be 2 Grubs on the ceiling outside the Web Cache & 1 Grub inside it.


Achievement #7 – Piñata Party: Find & break all 9 Web Caches in Episode #2.
If you have been following along with this guide, you will unlock this Achievement after breaking all 9 Web Caches.

Antlion Grub #329-332: Locate the missing gear & activate the elevator to let our friend Vortigaunt down. Follow him down the tunnel where we can find 1 Grub beside the generator he powers up to let us through. On the other side of the gate he opens, there is a group of 3 Grubs.

The Larval Extract: We have finally reached the inner chamber of the Antlion hive & can collect the Extract sample. With it, return to Alyx & revive her. After you catch up, you will be able to take the central elevator up to start, leaving this cavern system, & end this long Chapter.

Before you go: grab Gnome Chompski!

Antlion Grub #333: Take the elevator up with your companions, & begin walking down the path until the Ancient Guardian tries to break through a wall off our right. When it leaves, look through the holes in the wall to spot the final 1 Grub on the side of an Explosive Barrel.


Achievement #8 – Get Some Grub: Squish all 333 Antlion Grubs in Episode #2.
If you have been following along with the guide, then you should unlock this Achievement after destroying the final Grub. If it doesn’t… that means you have missed one somewhere. Unless you specifically know where, & have Saves throughout the Chapter, you unfortunately will have to replay the entire Chapter & re-squish all 333 Grubs.

1. Episode #2: Freeman Pontifex, Riding Shotgun
2. Achievements: 12/23
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With Gnome Chompski in hand, drop down in the mine shaft to exit it entirely & we will begin Chapter #3. When we leave, we will witness a large Combine army transporting an anomalous Advisor towards White Forest. We must beat them to it!


Achievement #9 – Twofer: Defeat both Antlion Guards outside the White Forest.
Story Related. Make your way across a valley bottom using “vibratory devices” to evade some Antlions trying to harass us. At the end of the valley, the Ancient Guardian will bust out of a sealed up entrance to the mine & attack us. Shortly after the Ancient Guardian, a “regular” Antlion Guardian will also emerge from the tunnel across from it.

Put Gnome Chompski near one of the vibratory devices to keep him safe, & begin unloading your Weapons in the Guardian; it is time to finish this! Neither Guardian will breach the safe zone the vibratory devices give us, so we can use them as a haven. When both Guardians are defeated, we will unlock the Achievement.

Leaving Gnome Chompski Again: With the Antlions defeated, we will press on to a section where we must leave Alyx & the Vortigaunt to grab the Car found quite a ways down from us on top of a bridge. Before we leave them, look to the left of the nearby console to see a steel bay door that appears to have chopped a Zombie in half. When we collect the Car, we will arrive on the other side of this bay door & will open it for Alyx & the Vortigaunt. The problem, is that the bay door closes behind them almost immediately giving us very little time to collect Gnome Chompski if we leave him here.

Make a Save while facing the bay door, pick up Gnome Chompski with the Gravity Gun & launch him over to the other side as safely as you can. When you can confirm he is somewhere on the road behind the bay door, make a different Save again for due diligence. When we arrive at the other side of the bay door with the Car, Gnome will already be waiting for us & we do not have to worry about him getting trapped.

Finding the Car: Now to grab that Car. Navigate through the Zombie infested lower level, & get up to the bridge where the Car is located. To use the bridge as a ramp, we need to knock some ruined vehicles at the far end off with our Gravity Gun to tilt it down towards. Once it is angled, boost off of it to return back to our friends… & Gnome.

Driving With Gnome Chompski: The next two Chapters will incorporate us using the Car to travel around… but we also need to transport Gnome Chompski; we cannot drive & hold him at the same time. Place Gnome in behind the seats of the Car, & drive very slowly. Due to physics clipping & bouncing, Gnome will regularly be ejected from the vehicle for one reason or another; constantly be checking to make sure that he is still in the vehicle. Save frequently as well as you progress (with Gnome still in the Car) so if things go wrong, you do not lose a bunch of time…

For me personally, I just like having Gnome on the floor right at my feet where the gas/brake pedals (or in between Alyx) so I can drive & have him always in view at the same time; this way I can use the Car to bounce him around if I see him getting too close to one edge or the other. On sharp turns, he is prone to falling out… but he is bound to fall out eventually anyways regardless of where you put him.

After you & Alyx drive the Car through the tunnel, we will enter into the next Chapter.


Achievement #10 – Payback: Kill a Hunter with its own Flechettes.
Drive along with Alyx… & Gnome, & we will eventually come across a radio tower. Power up the radio tower, & we will be attacked by not just one but five Combine Hunters.

The Hunters will fire Flechettes that will stick to whatever they are shot at before exploding. With the Gravity Gun, pick up a medium sized object like tires, wheelbarrows, steel barrels, etc., block the Flechettes with the object then fire it back at the Hunter. It may take a few tries but if you can kill one this way with the explosion you will unlock the Achievement.


Achievement #11 – Meet the Hunters: Survive the Hunters ambush with Alyx.
Story Related. Defeat all 5 of the Hunters during the ambush at the radio tower to unlock the Achievement.

The Advisor: Leave the radio tower & continue to drive along slowly with Gnome until you reach an abandoned farm with a barn & house. Leave Gnome in the Car, & we will encounter an Advisor inside the ruined barn.


Achievement #12 – Hot Potat0wned: Kill a Combine Soldier with his own Grenade.
After driving off the Advisor, the barn you are in will be stormed by Combine. This is a good time to try for this Achievement. Kill the first three Combine Soldiers then head down the hall from where we collect the Crossbow & Save.

Walk about halfway down the next hall towards the outside to trigger the next set of Combine Soldiers then run back through the doorway you walked through. Wait for Alyx to get behind you (so she doesn’t kill them), then watch the soldiers run towards you.

Wait for a Combine to throw a Grenade; grab it with the Gravity Gun & kill him with it to unlock the Achievement. If the quarters are too tight & you keep shooting the Grenade past him, grab it with the Gravity Gun & charge him while holding it. Killing him this way also counts. This may take a few tries getting him to throw the Grenade…

The Hunter-Chopper: Deal with the Combine attacking us at the farm, & a Hunter-Chopper will soon arrive; we are ill equipped to deal with it. Locate the Car & make sure to check if Gnome Chompski is still inside; if you parked too far away from the farm, the Car will be teleported closer, & Gnome will be on the ground where the Car originally was!

Get in the Car, & very carefully drive along with Gnome while evading the Hunter-Chopper. The Hunter-Chopper can not only kill Alyx extremely fast, but can also shoot Gnome Chompski right out of the Car; this is a terrible combination. Inch by inch, make your way along, & Save as often as you can (when it makes sense to).

1. Episode #2: Riding Shotgun, Under the Radar
2. Radar Caches: 5/5
3. Achievements: 17/23
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Evading the Hunter-Chopper: When you reach the train tracks, they will lead to a tunnel. Make a Save, & leave Gnome Chompski at the end of the tracks then boost the Car as fast as possible to the very end where a tunnel will be. Drive through the tunnel until you hit the Loading Screen, then immediately turn around & drive back the way you came to re-collect Gnome where you left him; the Hunter-Chopper will not be around!

Return back through the tunnel with Gnome Chompski, & very carefully make it over the jump ahead of us. Slowly navigate along in the Car & eventually, we will reach a wooden wall with a Lambda symbol painted on it. Boost through it with the Car… & it will be destroyed… the Car I mean.

Make sure you have Gnome Chompski with you before continuing!


Achievement #13 – Puttin’ On A Clinic: Defeat the Hunter-Chopper in Episode #2 without any misses.
With the Car destroyed, we now have nowhere to run. Take Gnome along with you & you will discover a group of Resistance fighters; here we can finally take this thing down!. Save… & put Gnome somewhere safe/you will remember!

Now we have to fight the Hunter-Chopper, but for this Achievement, we cannot miss any of our shots. To make the situation worse, we will not get a Rocket Launcher! Instead, we must use the Gravity Gun to throw the Hunter-Chopper’s own Mines back at it. If you made a Hard Save where Gnome is, make a Quick Save after each successful hit to the Hunter-Chopper with it’s Mines. If you miss, reload your last Quick Save.

On Easy Difficulty, it should take three direct hits using the Hunter-Chopper’s Mines to destroy it & we will unlock the Achievement.

With the Hunter-Chopper destroyed, we now need our Car repaired before we can continue on to White Forest. Fortunately, the Resistance here will oblige, & we will enter into the next Chapter…

Be sure to have Gnome Chompski with you before progressing!

Waiting For Car Repairs: While we wait for the Car to be repaired, we will be tasked with destroying a Combine Autogun that has been restricting movement to White Forest. We can leave Gnome Chompski here in the garage, but leave him in a corner or against a wall; do not place him on any physical objects like a table or there is a good chance he will completely despawn! Before we leave the garage, make a Hard Save!


Achievement #14 – Gunishment!: Destroy the Combine Autogun in the scrapyard.
Story Related. Sneak through the scrapyard until you reach the Combine Autogun building, kill the Combine Soldiers inside, then throw a Grenade inside the control console to destroy the Autogun & unlock our Achievement.

Back Behind the Wheel: With the Autogun destroyed, we will return back to the garage where the Car & Gnome Chompski are. The Resistance will have also equipped the Car with a Radar Beacon – this becomes important from here on!

As something to note, we need to kill 20 enemies by running them over for the Hit & Run Achievement. This is risky to do with Gnome Chompski in the Car, but it’s hard to avoid. If a good opportunity arises, smash the guy, but always make sure you collect Chomsky again afterwards…

As soon as we exit the garage, there will be a whole host of Zombies outside; this is a perfect opportunity to rack up some Car kills. Drive ahead, run over Zombies, collect Gnome Chompski to drop him off somewhere safe, then drive ahead to kill more Zombies… Our opportunities for Car kills are limited so take every chance you get!

Radar Cache #1: As we drive out of the scrapyard, Alyx will mention something on the radar. Stop the Car when she says so shortly after, & investigate the nearby van with an Explosive Barrel inside it. Destroy the Barrel, & we can loot the Cache inside.


Achievement #15 – Gordon Propelled Rocket: Unlock the Rocket Launcher Lambda Cache in Chapter #5 – Under the Radar.
Drive along past a large water tower, & carry on down the street. When you take a right from the water tower, you will pick up another radar signal coming from a warehouse off your left that has a white van lodged in its wall around the back.

Crawl through the van to get into the building & there will be a large metal plate inside we can knock down with our Gravity Gun. Use the Grenade Crate nearby to restock, throw a Grenade underneath the plate, & stand on it to be launched up onto the walkway. Flip the switch to unlock a fence gate, & we will unlock the Achievement.

Radar Cache #2: By completing the previous puzzle, not only can we now collect a Rocket Launcher, but we will also raid our second Radar Cache!

Radar Cache #3: Leave the warehouse, but do not go back to the Car yet. Instead, walk across the street towards the fenced in compound with all the C-Cans. At the back of the compound will be a small metal shed. Enter inside, & there will be a sawblade stuck into the floor; grab it with the Gravity Gun & it will reveal the Radar Cache underneath.

Radar Cache #4: Return back to the Car (with Gnome Chompski inside it) & continue to drive on through a tunnel up ahead. Take the switchback up towards the White Forest Inn, & after two switches in the road, we can see a fallen tree off our left with the road view going in between two rock faces.

Park the Car near the fallen tree, & walk around it towards the cliff wall. Search around here to find a cave in the cliff we can crouch through. Blast some rocks out of the way using the Gravity Gun, & we can find the Radar Cache inside.


Achievement #16 – Quiet Mountain Getaway: Survive the ambush at White Forest Inn.
Story Related. Drive up the hill to continue on, & we will reach the White Forest Inn; as you drive, we will eventually be trapped behind a Combine laser field. Fight your way through the waves of Combine & finish off the ambush force to unlock the Achievement.

Radar Cache #5: Leave the White Forest Inn & take the jump down below further along the road. Drive the switchbacks down past a flaming car & around until you get another signal from the final Cache. Head around some rocks, & you will see an arrow pointing up at a crate hanging from a tree. Grab a nearby rock with the Gravity Gun, & knock the crates down.


Achievement #17 – Cache Checker: Find all 5 Radar Caches in Chapter #5 – Under the Radar.
If you have been following along with the guide, we will unlock this Achievement after raiding the final Radar Cache.

1. Episode #2: Under the Radar, Our Mutual Fiend, T-Minus One
2. Achievements: 23/23
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------


Achievement #18 – Pedal to the Metal: Beat Dog in a race to the White Forest base.
Carry on along & we will eventually have to leave the road & follow a creek towards a sluice gate. Go to open the sluice, & we will be reunited with Dog!

After the pleasantries… Dog will open the sluice gate for us, & Alyx will challenge us to race Dog. Before entering the Car, make a Save just in case! There is no way we can keep Gnome Chompski in the Car with us & beat Dog, so place him somewhere safe on the ground & we will come back for him after the race.

As soon as Alyx says “step on it”, do just that! It is a short distance – head down the river then up the path on your right, around the corner, then you are pretty much there. Alyx will say “Better luck next time, Slow-Poke” if we were successful.

When the Achievement unlocks, make sure you turn around & drive back to collect Gnome Chompski!

When we arrive at White Forest, we will unable to continue with the Car. Exit it, grab Gnome Chompski, & we will carry on foot. Enter into the bunker, & we will start the next Chapter…


Achievement #19 – Little Rocket Man: Send the garden gnome into space.
Navigate through White Forest with Alyx & Gnome, & locate Eli. Once reunited, we will carry on to Silo 1 where we can find Dr. Kleiner & Dr. Magnusson. Dr. Kleiner will step down some stairs to come see us… & we will walk up them ourselves where there is an open hatch to the rocket.

Place Gnome Chompski inside (with Lamar apparently) & close the hatch. Make sure you close that hatch; just placing him inside the rocket & walking away will not unlock the Achievement! As soon as the hatch closes, we will have at long last unlocked this Achievement. Get in there you little (censored by Steam)… still no where near as bad as the Pizza Box or Purple Hat in Black Mesa…


Achievement #20 – Secondary Silo Secured: Secure the launch doors on missile Silo 2.
Story Related. While we are basking in the glory of being done with Gnome Chompski, alarms will sound, & we will be tasked with investigating what is going on at Silo 2. As we travel to it… White Forest will be breached by the Combine. They are here.

After fighting your way through Silo 2, close the overhead doors to the silo to unlock the Achievement.

Red Alert: Striders are on their way to attack White Forest. For the Neighborhood Watch Achievement, we cannot let them destroy any of the 3 buildings. There are 13 Striders total we need to defeat, & some will be escorted by 2-3 Combine Hunters; the Combine Hunters are great candidates to be killed by running them over in the Car for the Hit & Run Achievement if you still need to unlock it.

There are two types of Striders: building destroyers & base breachers. Building destroyers are the ones we need to pay the most attention to as they will, naturally, destroy a building as their primary objective; these Striders typically move extremely quickly. Base breachers on the other hand are heading all the way to the South to attack White Forest & typically move much slower. Always focus on building destroyers before attacking base breachers; granted, if a base breacher reaches White Forest it is still a “game over”.

Keep lots of Saves in case you Quick Save at a bad time & cannot make it to an area in time to save a building. The Striders must be killed with a Magnusson Device, but the Combine Hunters can/should be killed with the Car, RPG, Crossbow, Revolver, or Pulse Gun for best results.



Striders #1-2: Drive to the North end of the valley, & we will find the Sawmill. Briefly speak with the Resistance here, & the battle will commence. Strider #1 is a base breacher, & will arrive from the “cranes” Northwest of the Sawmill.

When it is defeated, Strider #2 will immediately arrive from the Northeast & sprint to destroy the Sawmill. You need to respond fast! If it is allowed to fire off its charged beam, it will destroy the Sawmill; if this happens, you need to reload.

Striders #3-4: The next two Striders will arrive, from the Northwest & the East, but they are base breachers. Catch up to each of them, & kill them.

Striders #5-8: The next four Striders will be coming in pretty quick succession. Strider #5 will come from the North & head to the Sawmill, but it is a base breacher. Shortly while we fight it, Strider #6 will arrive from the East, but it is also a base breacher fortunately, & you do not have to rush to destroy it.

After destroying Strider #5, Strider #7 will arrive from the Northwest & be b-lining towards the Western Supply Post to destroy. We must kill it before it reaches the building! Continue to ignore Strider #6 if you were not able to kill it, & rush to engage Strider #7!

With Strider #7 killed, you should have time to kill Strider #6 as it makes its way towards the base. Eventually, Strider #8 will arrive from the East & b-line towards the Eastern Supply Post to destroy. Ideally you killed Strider #6 close by, & can set up for Strider #8.

Make a Save after you defeat Strider #8 – the worst of this is over!


Achievement #21 – Hit & Run: Run over 20 enemies with the Car in Episode #2.
Ideally you have at least 15/20 kills earned towards this Achievement. Whenever possible, use the Car to ram Combine Hunters as, not only is it an efficient way to kill them, but it will net you the last few kills needed for this Achievement.

Kill any 20 enemies by running them over in the Car, & we will unlock the Achievement.

Striders #9-13: Fortunately for us, Strider #8 is the last of the building destroyers & the final 5 Striders are all base breachers. Use the Eastern & Western Supply Posts to stock up on ammo & take out the remaining Striders as they appear. They move slow, but we can still be overwhelmed by the Combine Hunters if we do not deal with them quickly enough.


Achievement #22 – Neighborhood Watch: Save all 3 buildings outside the missile silo from destruction.
If you successfully killed Striders #2, #7, & #8 without them destroying a single, we will unlock this Achievement!


Achievement #23 – Defence of the Armament: Save the missile silo from the Combine offensive.
Story Related. After defending White Forest from the Strider invasion force, you will also unlock the final Achievement of the game!

There are no Achievements found in this Chapter, enjoy the CLIFF HANGER for the rest of your life...

A very tedious 100%, if you made it this far, congratulations. If it wasn’t for the Grubs & Gnome Chomsky this probably would have taken you less than 3 hours to complete instead of the 10 it took me. A great end for the series however leaving you with one singular question… Why isn’t there a Half Life 3?!

If this guide helped you achieve 100%, rate the guide or let me know in the comments. Helps me know if I am doing things right!



100% Complete!
Thank you for choosing Cynical Guides, & I will see you in the next one!

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