Covenant Citadel
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
The citadel, sometimes known as occupation citadel[1] or a forward operations citadel,[2] is a Covenant base structure, and the Covenant equivalent of the UNSC Firebase or Banished outpost.[3] It contains a command center, seven modular building sites, and four turret foundations. They serve as the central base of operations for Covenant commanders during planetary warfare.[4]
Overview[edit]
Design details[edit]
The citadel is a basic command structure deployed during interplanetary warfare or occupation campaigns. The citadel provides field command facilities for the commander of invading or defending Covenant forces to issue orders; it employs a modular system to build structures that support aggressive colonization as well as rapid deployment of troops and armor. Whereas UNSC Firebases and Banished Outposts are prefabricated and airlifted into the battlefield large transport craft such as the D20 Heron, D81 Condor or Lich, Covenant citadels and their supporting sub-structures are teleported into the battlefield whole. From here, supplies are driven into the base via gravity lift and stored in the Warehouses.[3] Once established, a large gravity lift pad is established in the front of the base, which can be used to move troops and vehicles to the front lines of the battle. The citadel does not appear to have any physical openings for which to enter or exit the base—troops simply use teleporters to enter and exit the base. When threatened, the base can lock down, which will establish a shield around the teleporter into the base to prevent unauthorised entry or exit into or out of the base.
The interior of the citadel is fairly standardised, allowing personnel familiar with the layout of one such installation to be instinctively familiar with others. They consist of a well-lit and welcoming primary antechamber from which personnel may enter or exit, with doors that slide open to reveal further chambers. The centre of the structure consists of a courtyard and garden with walkways running along the circumference of the structure, held aloft by alloy pillars. The central courtyard has various doors that can be used to access the sub-buildings attached to the base, the number varying depending on the specifics of the deployment. The garden at the heart of the structure contains a small pond with stepping stones, a patch of grass, and a sacred tree. The base also contains an intercom for internal communications, which can be used to relay announcements and sermons.[4]
Citadels may be carried as part of "watchtower" space stations such as the Ninth Watchtower of August Attendance. It is unclear whether the citadel is itself a part of the station superstructure, or simply a resource carried by it. Such stations can be disassembled and reconstructed as citadels on the ground of a given world.[4]
Minibase[edit]
The Covenant also made use of Minibases, smaller outposts only capable of supporting one additional structure. They were notably employed during the Battle of the Trove, where they were used as forward airbases with which to construct Oghal-pattern Banshees and Bkowe'nei-pattern Vampires.[5] Unlike their UNSC counterpart, there is no structure for the building of the Covenant minibase to attach to; simply a teleporter pad on the ground for troops and supplies to use to enter the lone building.
Expansions[edit]
The citadel is capable of hosting up to seven modular structures, alongside up to four turret slots.
History[edit]
Covenant citadels were employed by the Covenant during several battles in 2531. One was employed during the Harvest campaign, in which it was used to defend the relic.[6] Several were later used in the Battle for Arcadia; one was deployed in Pirth City to defend a Emp'seam-pattern Antlion that was shelling the city,[7] while another was deployed in the city's outskirts.[8] Several citadels and minibases were deployed under the protection of a massive Covenant dome, though they would eventually be destroyed by an Orbital bombardment.[9] The Covenant also made extensive use of citadels during the Battle of Trove; UNSC forces from the UNSC Spirit of Fire destroyed four citadels to establish a stronger foothold on the surface.[5]
At some point before the Battle of Line Installation 1-4 in 2552, Spartan-II Black Team destroyed a citadel.[10] Shortly following the end of the Human-Covenant War, a citadel being used as an airbase on the swamp-moon of Kostroda by shipmaster Let 'Volir would be attacked by Atriox and his Banished forces.[11] One was also a part of the Ninth Watchtower of August Attendance in orbit of Atropos, and later reassembled on the ground by the Governors of Contrition to serve as a cultivated hive for the Flood. The Flood assimilated the base before proceeding infect the rest of the planet.[4]
In-game information[edit]
Halo Wars[edit]
- "Use this to construct a new Outpost Base. Eventually, it can be upgraded to a full Citadel, increasing your ability to crush the evil enemy filth."
- — In-game description
In Halo Wars, a default Outpost costs 
500 resources to be built, and only provides three construction slots and no turret foundations. A gravity lift is automatically placed at the front of the base; units (other than the Scarab) can be sent to the gravity lift which transports them to the Leader unit's location. The gravity lift can also be used to recall the Leader unit to the base instantaneously for the cost of 100.
The Outpost has two upgrades, Keep and Citadel.
- The Keep is an upgraded version of the Firebase, retaining the command center, but adding two more building sites (for a total of five) and four turret foundations.
- The Citadel upgrade allows two other building sites, totaling to seven building sites and the same four turret sites from the station. It also features a self-destruct sequence allowing it to destroy itself for other allies to make a base in its spot and damage any enemy units nearby. The Citadel also allows for a lock sequence that will not allow any newly trained units to leave the base when done training/being produced.
Each building slot and turret slot can accommodate one additional structure.
| Name | Type | Cost | Description | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Population | Tech | Resources | |||
| Gravity Lift | Teleport Units to Leader | N/A (Free; built with the Citadel) | N/A | ||
| Turret | Base Defense | N/A |  0 |
||