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Half-Life 2 Hints
Balcony Perch Strategy
1 of 9: First, find a good balcony to go for.
2 of 9: I recommend the one that's directly above the barred gate that has health and armor rechargers on the wall just past it.
3 of 9: As for getting up there, there are just enough crates in the area (if you don't bash any) to make a 3-2-1 staircase. By that, I mean pile three crates in a stack near the balcony railing, then put a two-crate stack in front of it, then put a single crate in front of the two-crate stack.
4 of 9: If one or more crates got busted, try substituting an upright barrel for each missing crate.
5 of 9: After stacking the crates, use the gravity gun to throw everything you'll want up to the balcony except the last sentry gun from the nearby storage containers.
6 of 9: When you're ready, quicksave your game and then set up the last sentry gun on the floor near the crates to cover you while you jump your way up to the balcony. (You could shoot it up there with the gravity gun, but then you'd have to hurry up your crate stack faster, and they fall down very easily.)
7 of 9: Once you're up on your balcony with the soldiers attacking, quickly set up your sentry guns near the railing and then stand way back (or in the little side room) so you won't get hit by any enemy fire or grenade explosions.
8 of 9: When a sentry gun gets knocked over, pull it in with the gravity gun, crouch-walk forward to where you want it placed, drop it, and quickly retreat.
9 of 9: Mike Nerone wrote in with an interesting variation on this strategy that has you use a crate staircase to get back up to the office area you dropped down from.
