The SS is the powerhouse enemy in Wolfenstein 3D and appears in all of the Wolfenstein 3D family games.
Tactics
The SS has the highest hitpoints and packs the biggest punch of any normal enemy in Wolfenstein. He's also faster than the normal guard and the mutant, but not quite as fast as the officer. Because the SS uses a machine gun, he fires in volleys of 4 or more shots. Even on easier difficulties this quick succession of gunshots can quickly kill a player at high health, so in groups of enemies prioritizing an SS or attempting to isolate them from their group is a good tactic. Using many SS in a single room can create an environment which is not safe to stand in for any period of time, so a player may approach this situation by kiting the SS or door fighting. Also thanks to the SS's weapon, if the player is starting with a pistol but knows where an SS is on a map they may prioritize hunting down the SS so they can upgrade to a machine gun. Due to the SS's high hitpoint average, the player can expect to walk away from even an optimized battle with a reduction of ammo. Thoughtful mappers will be mindful of this, and either supply the player with more ammo in the map to compensate or will use the SS's ability to drain a player's ammo to force the player into a desperate situation.
Trivia
- The SS makes an appearance in the secret levels of Doom 2 as an enemy. They have higher definition audio recordings for their spoken lines and feature an entirely new animation for being gibbed by powerful weapons.