
The Lightning Gun may be used to overpower the shield generators, and disable the shield for a brief amount of time, giving a chance to attack. With the shield disengaged, it is a good opportunity to hit the Gladiator with a rocket or a spray from the Nailgun. The Gladiator only puts up its shield after being hit, so the first shot will almost always hit and cause damage.They are fairly tough and can take more damage than most other Strogg, requiring 40 to 50 Machine Gun or Hyperblaster shots, 4 to 6 point-blank Shotgun blasts, or a handful of direct grenade hits to kill. Although rarely seen compared to other Strogg units, Gladiators are still reasonably common (at least for heavy strogg units), with two or three appearing in many of the game's levels. Gladiators are always encountered one at a time, although they are usually accompanied by a few Guards or Tactical Strogg units, thus they are considered supporting strogg unit.

Gladiators put their shield up as soon as they take damage, and will only drop it just prior to firing off a railgun shot, after which they will put it up again. The shield is large enough to cover most of the Gladiator's body, although its head and shoulders and lower legs are still partially exposed. They also have a powerful, arm-mounted circular energy shield, which completely deflects any and all projectiles fired at them (including explosive damage from a direct rocket hit). They can also fire plasma blasts while their shield is still up. Their plasma shots are very large, but do an average amount of damage (about the same as a Gunner or Light Guard's nails). In addition to their railgun, they can also fire a handful of shots from their arm-mounted plasma blaster at medium range. Gladiators disengage their shields and lean forward just before firing their railgun, which is a good signal to dive for cover. Gladiators primarily attack with their shoulder-mounted railgun, which they fire once every several seconds or so. Despite their large size making them slower than average, Gladiators can still stalk forward at a decent speed, and will pursue you if you retreat to a different room. Additionally, despite having somewhat less health than a Light Tank or Stream Protector, the Gladiator's damage-deflecting energy shield can make it an even more challenging opponent. Gladiators are some of the heaviest Strogg units in the game, second only to Light Tanks and the "minibosses"-like Stream Protectors and Heavy Hover Tanks.
