On lower difficulties, one can easily sustain fire and be able to outrun the cops to reach and defeat Captain Winters. However, on larger maps, such as The Diamond or The Big Bank, heisters will need to travel across a significant portion of the map to reach him if the gang is currently doing a late-stage objective, such as securing the Diamond or gathering the Benevolent's loot respectively. For example, on Jewelry Store, the map is compact enough that going outside the store is enough to find him and shoot him off. The severity of Winters' effectiveness varies depending on the capacity of the heisters to reach his designated location.
The formation will dissolve if there are not enough members to maintain a square (i.e. However, they are programmed to always try to form into a closed circle with their shields pointed outwards, covering as many points of entry as possible, while flexibly adjusting depending on the amount of casualties taken and the number of units left. On the other hand, the Phalanx squad is not immune and can be killed. Upon being "defeated", the assault wave will eventually return to being normal and will end. Winters and his men are scripted to move towards a specific part of the map and will set up a testudo-type shield formation, where they will stay stationary unless a heister interrupts so, in which they can defend themselves using their CMPs.Īdditionally, Winters cannot be killed after part of his squad dies, or he is critically injured down to 20% of his total health, he will cease to take damage and retreat off the level, leaving behind the other Phalanx units, and will not return again for the duration of the heist.
Winters and his Phalanx squad will not actively pursue the heisters through the map the way regular enemies do. Winters and his Phalanx squad will only appear if the heist allows to do so, as not every heist supports Winters' spawn logic.Ĭaptain Winters and his shields are, in fact, amplified versions of their sister variant, Shields, although with increased durability, a passive team-wide buff, and restricted to certain conditions. Ĭaptain Winters is deployed once per heist day exclusively on difficulties Very Hard or higher, and if playing in Online, alongside a squad of 10 other elite shield-wiere "Minions" during a police assault his presence is announced through a loudspeaker-like line. Having served his country for eight years, Winters further advanced his expertise in urban warfare and counter-insurgency by joining GenSec’s highly classified “Advanced Equipment and Tactics” division.Ĭaptain Winters has previously served with Commissioner Garrett, being awarded the Public Safety Officer Medal of Valor, the highest decoration for bravery exhibited by law enforcers, during the Boston campaign for, as Garrett described, “putting a little iron in the glove”. Berkeley’s prestigious Military Police Officer program.
A LIVING HELL" -Captain Winter's introduction by Solomon Garrett.Ī Bay Area native, Winters is a graduate of U.C. " These special operatives have a set of very specific skills, tailored to make these criminals lives.