The Common Aludran Reptiloid is an enemy that appears in the Serious Sam series. They are often placed on top of pillars, rooftops columns or other high places, where they serve as support units.
Overview
The Common Aludran Reptiloid is a medium-sized, four-handed reptilian creature originating from the Aludran system, located in the constellation of Canis Major. Mental discovered this primitive race and they agreed to join his army, in exchange for magical powers that enables them to cast fireballs at their targets.
They evolved from a strange hexapodal branch of reptiles, which has resulted in the race having four arms. Their evolutionary origins provided them with scales that protected them to some extent, which enables them to survive multiple hits from some weapons.
Attacks
The Common Aludran Reptiloid has two attacks: conjuring a magic energy ball that will home in on the player, and punching or stomping on the player at close range. The homing energy ball will try to hit the player, and if it misses, it will turn around and try again. This projectile is destructible and will not be destroyed upon impacting with a surface or wall, unlike the fireballs tossed by the Fiendian Reptiloid Demon. The projectiles only last for a certain period of time before exploding in mid-air.
If the player gets too close to a Common Aludran Reptiloid, it will deliver a powerful punch. In Serious Sam 3: BFE and Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE, the Reptiloid will stomp on the player with one of its feet.
Occurrence
In early levels of Serious Sam: The First Encounter, the Reptiloid spawns a short distance away from the player, while as the game progresses, it spawns far away, such as on top of pillars, columns, roofs, and so on, to snipe the player.
They are more mobile in The First Encounter, compared to The Second Encounter, where they are usually stationary.
Reptiloids start out from the Valley of the Kings, where they are rather uncommon enemies, but in the following levels, more and more of them appear, until they become common. There are lots of Common Reptiloids in The Second Encounter as well, from the first level to the final level. Most of them appear at long distances and are usually located on rooftops, ledges, pillars and other elevated places.
In Serious Sam 3: BFE, the Aludran Reptiloid only appears in Jewel of the Nile, where they spawn on top of buildings or ledges, though sometimes they are mobile like they are in The First Encounter.
NETRISCA description
"This primitive race from the Aludran system in the constellation of Canis Major has agreed to fight for Mental in exchange for the spell-casting powers he gave them. Originating from a strange hexapodal branch of reptiles, this race has evolved to have four arms. The reptilian origins provided them with protective scales which come very useful in a firefight. They cast magical homing fireballs from their hands, but note that you can shoot those down mid-air."
Tactics
Serious Sam 1
- The XM-214-A Minigun and XL2 Lasergun are good weapons against a group of Reptiloids, as not only do these guns kill them relatively quickly but also help to shoot down fireballs as well.
- The XPML21 Rocket Launcher is also a good weapon for destroying Reptiloids from close-to-medium range. It's not very reliable for further distances, as the rocket may impact with the projectile instead. This has a smaller chance of happening at close range.
- The MK III Grenade Launcher is a strong weapon to use against the Reptiloid; three or so grenades will kill it, though this depends on accuracy and your distance from the Reptiloid. As it requires precision to aim far with grenades, it is recommended to fire grenades at them from medium to close range.
- The RAPTOR Sniper Rifle can dispatch a few Reptiloids easily, as three shots (two shots in SSHD) are enough to bring them down.
- The SBC Cannon can be used as a last resort against this enemy, but it is not recommended.
- With other enemies, common Aludran Reptiloids should be high-priority targets, at least on higher difficulties, as its projectiles can become dangerous if left unchecked. This is especially the case if rapid-fire weapons have not been obtained yet.
Serious Sam 3: BFE
- The RAPTOR Sniper Rifle is an excellent weapon to use against a Reptiloid, as it has a fairly high rate of fire and does a lot of damage against it per hit. Three or so shots should be enough to kill it.
- Reptiloids are slow and even usually stationary when located in elevated places. Thus a rocket launcher is a viable alternative for killing them. Note that the Reptiloid's projectiles can destroy rockets so more than 3 may be needed.
- The M29 Infantry Assault Rifle and XL2 Lasergun also work well against the Reptiloid. They not only can do a good amount of damage to a Reptiloid quickly, they can also destroy the Reptiloid's projectiles right or soon after they're tossed by a Reptiloid.
- A Reptiloid's projectiles can be dodged by simply strafing left or right.
- If a Reptiloid projectile is dodged, it will often try and hit the player again. It's best to turn around and destroy it as soon as it's avoided, or else the player may be in for a nasty surprise a few seconds later.
- When paired with other enemies, the Reptiloid should be one of the first enemies killed. It's easy to lose track of its projectiles in a heated firefight, which can lead to deadly consequences later on. It's best to eliminate a Reptiloid as soon as possible so that you no longer need to keep track of the green balls it's shooting while dealing with other things.
- When a situation requires to use rapid-fire weapons, Reptiloids should be medium-priority targets as rapid fire weapons can shoot down projectiles with ease.
Serious Sam: Next Encounter
- The Common Reptiloid isn't as dangerous as it first looks. Its green orbs are easy to dodge, and aren't as damaging as its larger counterpart, the Highlander Aludran Reptiloid.
- Zoomed-in sniper rifle shots are very effective against it, as one shot will kill a Common Reptiloid.
- If the player has to fight a Common Reptiloid close up, the double-barreled shotgun works very well. A point-blank shot is about as powerful as a rocket and lacks the rocket's splash damage. It takes about three shots to down a Common Reptiloid.
- Long-range Common Reptiloids can be taken down with a barrage of rockets if the player lacks a sniper rifle. About four should be enough to kill it.
Serious Sam Advance
- The Aludran Reptiloid's projectiles can be avoided by strafing either left or right in one direction.
- The Time Strike is very effective against Aludran Reptiloids, as it will always hit them, and it takes only two strikes from it to kill them.
- The rocket launcher in this game is not very effective against the Aludran Reptiloid because rockets will explode if they hit a projectile fired by the Reptiloid. Since the Reptiloid has a fairly fast rate of fire, this means most of the rockets fired at a Reptiloid will just explode before they hit it.
- Multiple Aludran Reptiloids should be dealt with by using rapid-fire weapons, such as the Thompson submachine gun or the minigun. These rapid-fire weapons are powerful enough to quickly kill each one if the player focuses on them one at a time. The minigun is better for dealing with Reptiloid groups than the Thompson because of its higher rate of fire, but the Thompson works just as well in a pinch.
- When paired with other enemies, the Aludran Reptiloid is a high-priority threat. Its projectiles are powerful, and it is placed so that it can easily hit the player while the player is distracted by other enemies. The player should eliminate it as soon as they get a chance to target it.
Trivia
- The HD version of the Aludran Reptiloid looks very similar to the Serious Sam 3 version, though the Reptiloid in Serious Sam 3 has more yellowish-green skin.
- They are called 'Beast' in the Serious Editor files.
Gallery
Serious Sam 1 & Serious Sam HD
Serious Sam 3: BFE
Serious Sam: Next Encounter
Serious Sam Advance
List of appearances
- Serious Sam 1 (First appearance)
- Serious Sam 3: BFE
- Serious Sam 3 VR: BFE
- Serious Sam Advance (non-canonical appearance)
- Serious Sam HD
- Serious Sam: Next Encounter (non-canonical appearance)