The Nazi Storm Elite is one of the most dangerous enemies in Medal of Honor: Airborne.
They are first introduced in the mission "Young Fools" during Operation Varsity after you open the entrance to the railyard. The only other mission they appear in is "Flying Through Hail".
General description[]
Nazi Storm Elite loading screen
The Nazi Storm Elite is a highly trained SS special soldier, recognized by their all-black uniforms and the SS cuffband on their left arm.
They are prepared for all situations by wearing a helmet, gas mask and upon closer inspection an orange button up shirt and black tie. They have a considerable strength, capable to wield easily an MG42 as a man-portable weapon and control its fire. They wear a heavy body armor that allows them to survive more than a dozen assault rifle shots to the chest or a few headshots. They have 850 points of health, and even a shot from the most powerful weapon in-game, the M18 recoiless rifle, will not be enough to kill one of them. But, if you shoot him directly in the eye with the Springfield rifle it is possible to kill one with a single shot.
Nazi Storm Elites are extremely dangerous; their MG42 have a high rate of fire and high stopping power, they can seriously injure you on Normal difficulty, and can cut you down in a second on Expert. Also, unlike every other enemy in the game, they cannot be brought down by a burst or two of gunfire, and can even shrug off a direct hit from a rocket launcher or a grenade.
Because of their stature and heavy body armor, they are slower, cannot run and don't take cover or throw grenades. They simply walk steadily towards the player while shooting. Also, the player cannot pick up and use their MG42 after killing them.
Weapons[]
- MG42 (handheld version)
Common tactics[]
A Nazi Storm Elite in action.
Nazi Storm Elites make a slow but steady advance while laying down a thick field of fire with their MG42. They will not attempt to dodge anything, and will not utilize cover, but will focus solely on the player.
Fighting against them[]
These soldiers will not move to cover or dodge grenades, something which can be very advantageous for you. If it is a lone Nazi Storm Elite, such as the one in the lower levels of "Flying Through Hail", the player would be best off by spamming Gammon grenades, as they can kill a Nazi Storm Elite with just two near-enough grenades.
However, if the player is also suppressed by normal enemy infantry, it is best to move quickly from cover to cover with an anti-tank weapon while spamming grenades. The player can peek over cover with the launcher and take shots at the Elite with minimal exposure, although the extent of the normal infantry's grenades may determine how long the player can stay in one place at a time. The only way you can get a chance to take the Troopers down is to take a sniper rifle and shoot them in the back. Another good way to kill them is to ambush them at close range with the shotgun, as it only takes two or three point blank body shots to kill them.
The best ways to kill them are either by sniping them in the head or by unloading one or several entire clips on them. It takes two headshots from the Springfield rifle or just one shot to the eye which you can zoom right on to at a distance and four from the Gewehr to bring one down. Otherwise, the Panzerschreck or recoiless (Hidden weapon in Flying Through Hail) can also kill them in two hits. The other method is to get either an StG-44 or a BAR and unload the clip into his torso. Its best to remove the ZF4 tactical scope from the Stg when fighting these soldiers. Depending on your level of upgrading this should be the quickest most effective way to dispatch him. The time to attack is when he reloads. This gives a useful, but short window of opportunity. Always remember they are slow and bulky.
Trivia[]
- The Nazi Storm Elite is the only fully fictional type of soldier in the Medal of Honor series.
- The idea of the character, however, is not completely fictional as at the end of the war the Nazi government was producing a drug, D-IX, that could give day-long bursts of energy to the user. This combined with extreme training and a heavy (albeit fictional) suit of body armor could have made this soldier a very possible and dangerous threat in reality.
- In the whole game, the quantity of Nazi Storm Elites is 22 (2 in Young Fools, 20 in Flying Through Hail)
- At the end of Flying Through Hail, it is possible to run past all the Storm Elites while sprinting, although this is practically impossible in Expert difficulty. Doing this may knock you down to 2 or 1 health bars, and in rare cases, 3. However, on very rare occasions, it is possible to make it out with all 4 health bars if one is quick enough.
- Like any other character in-game, if you melee one of them while sprinting, it will kill it instantly even on Expert, but it's hard to do so and the easiest way to do it is taking them in the back.
- Like the other Waffen Elite (black coated) characters in game, these storm elites belongs to the 3rd SS Panzer Division Totenkopf (Thüringen) (this name can be seen in all SS soldiers shirts' cuffs), mostly known for commiting several war crimes all over Europe during WWII.
- The golden medal with swastika and sword on the storm elites left chest is a gold sports badge. It requires an individuals holding the Silver badge for Six years and successfully participated in the annual requirements. Recipient had to be over the age of 40.
- The Storm Elite's appearance as well as their strength are very similar to the Venom Gunners from Return to Castle Wolfenstein, and the Special Unit/Kerberos Unit from the Kerberos Saga.
- Promotional Artwork by Artist EmeraldEon as well as the loading screen depict the Nazi Storm Elite wearing black gloves, although they do not wear them in-game.