Close-Quarters Combatant

Close-Quarters Combatant is an Order-aligned humanoid combatant encountered as a creature-type enemy. They commonly appear patrolling fixed routes or standing guard at specific points. When they detect a target they will slowly advance toward it and open fire from range; like other members of the Order they will engage living entities, robots and the player.

Close-Quarters Combatants are armed with a Romag shotgun and are optimized for short-range engagements. They walk at a steady, predictable pace rather than sprinting, which makes their movement easy to anticipate and manipulate. They can fire while moving, and their firing cycle in confined or interior encounters is shorter than that of similar overworld variants, making them dangerous at close range despite their deliberate approach.

Combat and tactics:

• Prioritize ranged weapons. Avoid melee confrontations because the shotgun makes them lethal at close distances. Well-aimed ranged shots often neutralize them before they close.
• Exploit predictable movement. Their constant forward walking speed lets players kite them, maintain safe distance, or funnel them into traps and hazards.
• Use shields and timed blocks. Shotgun blasts can be blocked; there is a recovery interval between shots that can be used to block an incoming blast and counterattack during the pause.
• They are less resilient than Breacher-class enemies. A single accurate shotgun round or even a Scrapshot may be sufficient to defeat a Close-Quarters Combatant.
• Expect shorter shot cycles indoors. Their firing cadence in interior/close environments is faster than the overworld counterpart, so increase spacing or fire more rapidly when engaging in corridors or rooms.

Loot and recoverables:

• Standard equipment always found on a defeated Close-Quarters Combatant includes the Romag Shotgun. Ammunition commonly dropped is 12g Buckshot (guaranteed at a base quantity; additional quantities may appear with lower probability).
• Salvageable components include Magnetic Alloy (guaranteed) and Military Electronics (commonly), with occasional light armor parts such as Cracked Shoulder Light or CQC Helmet.
• Rare consumables and low-probability items may include Military M.R.E. and minimal Cloth Scrap.

Harvestable biomaterial:

• Harvesting the remains yields human skeletal and limb components with varying chances: Human Skull is obtained reliably, Human Arm (Military) with moderate chance, and a small chance to recover Mountaineer armor pieces (armguards, chestplate, leggings).

Lore note: Close-Quarters Combatants share visual and behavioral similarities with Exulum units but do not have a dedicated Compendium entry, suggesting they represent a distinct rank or a specialized alternative within Order forces.