Brute

Brutes are large, stocky creatures appearing in Unreal and Return to Na Pali, as well as later in the Invasion gametype. Wielding dual rocket launchers with a fast firing rate, they pose quite a threat at close to medium range. Although usually quite slow moving, on various occasions Brutes will attempt to attack the player by charging at them. There are 3 sorts of Brutes: The weaker Lesser Brute, the regular Brute, and the large Behemoth.

In Unreal and Return to Na Pali, they are sometimes referred to as "Killing machines of the Skaarj", that means that they are either mercenaries of the Skaarj or a product of genetic engineering. They are usually found in Skaarj occupied places. In Dasa Mountain Pass Behemoths are found co-operating with the Krall, slaves of the Skaarj. Krall don't like Behemoths as it is hard to deal with them. In Foundry, Brutes help Skaarj, but sometimes tends to kill Skaarj instead of the player, usually when an accidental Skaarj projectile hits the huge brute.

Lesser Brutes
Lesser Brutes are the Brutes encountered in the first levels of Unreal. Lesser Brutes are the first opponents Prisoner 849 encounters on Na Pali (as soon as she escapes the Vortex Rikers prison ship). They can be recognized by their broad appearance, their brown skin with yellow armor and the 2 large arm-mounted rocket launchers it wields.

Of the 3 classes of Brutes, the Lesser Brute is the smallest (only 1 head taller than the player), and it wears the least amount of armor, wearing not much more than shoulder pads and ammo around its arms/chest. It uses different (and less harmful) rocket launchers than the other brutes, and it's not resistant to any kind of damage (due to its lack of armor). It has one small advantage over the other Brutes though, as it is slightly quicker than the other Brutes.

Because these opponents are found in the earlier areas of Unreal, the player does not have a large arsenal of weapons to choose from. The Automag is slightly more effective, but it is a good idea to use the Dispersion Pistol, as it does not use up ammunition like the other weapons. It would take 11 shots with the Automag to take Lesser Brute down, where the Dispersion Pistol's ammo will simply regenerate.

Lesser Brutes re-appear in Unreal on several occasions, but as the player reaches more important (and more heavily defended) areas, the task of guarding these parts will be passed on to the other Brutes.

Brutes
These Brutes are the most common of the 3 classes. They first appear in the Depths of Rrajigar and will be found guarding a lot of the Skaarj's facilities throughout Unreal, including the Mothership Core, making them a crucial part of the Skaarj's defense. In Return to Na Pali Brutes appear less frequent, as most of their duties have been taken over by Behemoths.

Brutes are the "middle class", but have more in common with the large Behemoths than with the Lesser Brutes. They wield different rocket launchers than the Lesser Brutes (dealing more damage). They also move a bit slower and wear more armor. Not only does this improve their health (Brutes have almost twice as much health as Lesser Brutes), but it also makes them more resistant to explosions. Weapons like Rocket Launcher and Flak Cannon (usually the strongest weapons in the player's arsenal) now do 30% less damage. It's still possible to take a Brute down using these weapons, but it will cost more ammunition. As Brutes are slow moving, they are relatively easy to hit with projectile weapons. It is wisest to keep one's distance from them as much as possible and to look for (and duck behind) cover to avoid getting hit by its many rockets.

In combat, Brutes (as well as Lesser Brutes and Behemoths) will immediately fire rockets when it spots its target. When the target is within range, the Brute will stand still to rapid-fire its rockets, when it's not it will walk towards the target (possibly while firing its rockets). Brutes will also charge on occasions, but only when they need to cover large distances.

Behemoths
The Behemoth is the strongest and largest of the Brutes, and can be recognized easily by its full set of blue armor. These Brutes are very rare though: There are only 2 of them in Unreal, and they are fighting alongside the Krall and Skaarj in Dasa Pass. Conflict between these species starts to grow as the Behemoths keep on breaking the drawbridge (which the Skaarj then have to repair) and "live like slobs". Prisoner 849 encounters, and puts an end to, these Behemoths at the end of the Cellars at Dasa Pass, where she fights both of them at once.

In Return to Na Pali Behemoths appearances are a lot less rare. Especially in the Skaarj tarydium processing plant in Foundry Tarydium Plant and Bounds of Foundry, where a total number of 8 Behemoths guard the different parts of the facility. There are 2 more to be fought in the campaign, including one in the opening level.

Defeating these Behemoths will prove to be challenging. Their health is vastly superior to that of the other Brutes, and their size, though making it easier to hit them, will make the fight even more difficult because it will now often block entire passages with its body (which makes the first encounter in Dasa Pass particularly more difficult). They also can lead enemies with their rockets, causing them to become even more of a threat then Brutes.

Just like the other Brutes, the Behemoth will rapid-fire rockets while walking towards the target. And just like the Brute, the Behemoth is resistant to explosions. However, where the Brute could still be defeated using... more explosive weapons, the Behemoth has 1.5x more health. Using heavy fire from the Rocket Launcher or Flak Cannon will take loads and loads of ammunition. It's crucial to use other weapons (such as the Bio-Rifle or Shock Rifle, to prevent wasting large amount of ammo.

Trivia

 * The Brute was originally/internally called "Big Man".
 * A 2D pop-up Behemoth is one of John Dalton's targets in Unreal 2's weapon training.
 * The Brute's growling sound originates from a recording of Elliot 'Myscha' Cannon snoring away on one of the couches.