Macil

Macil is a character from Strife. He is the leader of The Front. Unlike a common front soldier, Macil wears a different uniform and no helmet.

Initially, Macil seems to be the type of person who fights for justice and freedom. First, the player has to complete a few missions for him, such as freeing the prisoners. Thanks to the player's efforts, Macil's forces are ready for an assault on the castle later on, and he will tell the player to join the assault and destroy the Programmer.

Once the Programmer is dead, the player has received the first Sigil piece and The Front has taken control of the castle, Macil will tell the player to find the other pieces and to seek the Oracle. When the player has followed the Oracle's advice and killed the Bishop to get the second piece, the Oracle will reveal Macil's true interests by saying that he is the one who holds the "third piece".

At the point, the player can choose to believe the Oracle's words over trusting Macil by killing him first, causing the worse ending to happen. Alternatively, the player may still trust Macil rather than the Oracle by killing the Oracle first, leading to the better ending.

If the Oracle is killed first, the third piece is received, and Macil will abandon the Sigil mission and instead tell the player about a factory that turns people into Acolytes. The factory is within the commons, and he will give the player the brass key so that the area can be entered. He wants the player to find the factory and shut it down.

After doing so, Blackbird will tell that Macil had sent two hundred people to their deaths, and the player will have to face him before progressing further. It is revealed that Macil indeed has captured a Sigil, and that it has driven him insane. When the player confronts him, he is no longer the man known before, and a battle begins. When he is dead, the player will get the fourth Sigil piece.

Until the Order's castle is captured, it is impossible to actually kill Macil, as he is invulnerable to damage. However, he can be killed any time after the player has got two Sigil pieces. Doing so will cause his spectre to come out and attack. Macil himself has 95 hit points when initially fought.

Tactical analysis
Killing Macil can be a smaller effort if the player has three Sigil pieces rather than two; the Sigil's enhanced, wide spread attack makes it easier to cause damage. One could also try to use the nearby rebel guards as temporary meat shields, though they probably will not last for long.