Editing Glassing

{{Status|Canon}}{{Status|Featured}}
{{Center|Were you looking for the [[Halo 5: Guardians]] campaign level titled [[Glassed]]?}}
[[File:Glassed Reach.png|thumb|300px|[[Reach]] being glassed by the Covenant.]]
{{Quote|You are, all of you, vermin. Cowering in the dirt thinking, what, I wonder? That you might escape the coming fire? No. Your world will burn until its surface is but glass!|The [[Prophet of Truth]], to [[human]]s regarding [[Earth]]<ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', campaign level ''[[Crow's Nest]]''</ref>}}

The term '''glassing''', more formally known as '''plasma bombardment''',<ref name="Strike">'''[[Halo: First Strike]]''', ''page 105'' (2003 edition); ''page 136'' (2010 edition)</ref> is used to refer to the act by which the [[Covenant]]'s ships [[Orbital bombardment|bombard a planet from orbit]] by using heavy [[Energy Projector|plasma weaponry]]. [[Human colonies]] destroyed by this process would come to be referred to as the "glasslands".<ref name="glasslands">'''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''', ''page 295''</ref>  Multiple worlds have fallen with this fate.

==Doctrine==
[[File:Ritual Glassing.png|thumb|250px|A [[Unidentified Shipmaster (Righteous Vigilance)|shipmaster]] during the ritual destruction of Kholo, overseen by the [[Prophet of Conviction]].]]
The process of glassing a planet begins when a [[Covenant fleet|fleet]] has achieved air and space superiority on an enemy-controlled world. The specifics of the glassing process vary depending on the strategic significance of the planet or the orders of the [[Fleet Master]]. A [[Minor Prophet]] or [[Minister (title)|Minister]] is typically assigned to most [[Covenant]] fleets to oversee the destruction of a human world. In some or possibly all instances, before the fleet is permitted to destroy a planet, the Prophet performs a religious ritual—the Prophet declares by which religious ideal of the Covenant, marked by a glyph, will the world be destroyed. There is currently only one known instance of a human world, [[Kholo]], having a glyph burned into its surface.<ref>'''[[Halo: Evolutions]]''', "[[The Return]]", ''pages 494-496''</ref> 

Before bombardment commences, all Covenant ground operations cease and local forces are evacuated. The Covenant will then begin glassing the planet from orbit by moving their large warships close together, proceeding to blanket the world's population centers and the surrounding areas with a series of crisscrossing orbits to ensure that the planet is rendered uninhabitable.<ref name="fs130">'''Halo: First Strike''', ''page 130'' (2010 edition)</ref>{{Ref/Note|According to earlier media, such as the original printing of ''Halo: First Strike'', the Covenant glassed every square centimeter of a planet. However, later media show a more practical approach to glassing in which only part, perhaps most, of a planet is glassed in order to render it uninhabitable; the 2011 re-release of ''Halo: First Strike'' was [[List of rectified inconsistencies in the Halo series#Halo: First Strike|modified]] to accommodate this.}} The glassing of a planet by the Covenant is a very taxing process, and requires a massive amount of energy even for a [[Technological Achievement Tiers#Tier 2: Interstellar|Tier 2 civilization]];<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Return", ''page 495''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|data10}} Nevertheless, the Covenant are able to accomplish this feat in an effective manner.

Glassing a planet can take a great deal of time, dependent upon both the tonnage and class of the vessels involved and how many ships are within the fleet. It could take as little as two days<ref>'''[[Halo Legends]]''', ''Halo: The Story So Far''</ref> or as much as two weeks<ref>'''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]''' (2010), ''Adjunct - page 389''</ref> or longer to complete the process. While partial glassing can be accomplished in a matter of days, covering the entire surface area to the last centimeter would take a prohibitive amount of time. The [[The Assembly|Assembly]] believed that, were the Covenant to commit thousands of ships to the task, it would have taken them around thirty years to completely glass [[Earth]] alone; Earth's relatively small size, along with a myriad of other factors, would likely cause the thorough glassing of larger planets to take even longer.{{Ref/Reuse|data10}}{{Ref/Note|While the Assembly asserts in Data Pad 10 that glassing a whole planet is a feat too impractical for the Covenant to feasibly achieve, the rest of canon contradicts this. Numerous instances are listed in the novels where glassing and glassed planets are observed, as well as in ''Halo: Reach'' where the data pads are from, since Reach's burnt surface is the opening shot of the game. Possible reasons for this discrepancy may be that the Assembly had only observed low-altitude bombardment, which is much slower and precise, or that they had misjudged the size of the full Covenant fleet, since they had based their figures on a fleet the size of the UNSC's. While the Assembly never explicitly retracts its statement, it does however state in Data Pad 14 that terraforming on the first eight colonies lost could take up to 3 centuries, an unusually long figure if those planets' full surfaces were never scorched. Based on the sum of the canon, it is thus assumed here that glassing is indeed a true method of attack by the Covenant.}}

The alternate way to use this doctrine is for a last-ditch method or the best effective way to deal with a more dangerous threat such as [[Flood|The Flood]]. Due to imminent action required and should the Flood spread out of control, glassing is the only viable option.

The Covenant has been known to utilize two methods of glassing.

===Orbital bombardment===
[[File:Reach 13943058 Full.jpg|thumb|250px|Covenant orbital bombardment as viewed from space.]]
Typically, when fleet actions require no deployment of ground forces, the Covenant will glass the planet from orbit; this is accomplished by their larger warships gathering close together, aiming their plasma batteries, located along the lateral lines of their warships towards the surface and firing them.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 8'' (2001 edition); ''page 22'' (2010 edition)</ref> Once discharged, the plasma rounds are guided towards the surface, contained in a magnetic bubble and controlled by the ships automation through miles of atmospheric interference until it strikes its intended target. Resembling gigantic fireballs,<ref name="strike2">'''Halo: First Strike''' ''page 32, 46''</ref> these plasma lances are a hundred meters across,{{Ref/Reuse|strike2}} and strike the surface with tremendous speed and force.

The impact of the plasma lance is similar to that of a nuclear detonation, though on a much different scale. When the plasma bolt impacts the surface, the magnetic field sustaining and guiding the plasma collapses, and, depending on how powerful the release of energy is, the initial zone of impact is obliterated instantly. The areas outside of the initial impact zone are affected by the heat wave generated by the blast; depending on the range, those closest outside of the blast zone are instantly killed by the intense heat. The topsoil in the impact zone and other surface geology become molten and are converted into a mineral called [[lechatelierite]], which is similar to glass. The surrounding areas are blasted with intense heat and are burned.<ref name="Scar">'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Return", ''page 505''</ref> The blast is accompanied by intense radiation, measured in tens of millions of [[Wikipedia:Roentgen (unit)|roentgens]].<ref name="hr na">'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''[[New Alexandria]]''</ref>

Subsequently, the atmosphere is saturated with millions of tons of ash, debris, and soot that are thrown up from the initial impact, blocking sunlight and dramatically lowering the amount of sunlight reaching the planets surface, subjecting it to an impact winter. As the ground zero area cools, the surface is covered by extensive areas of molten soil.<ref>'''Halo: Glasslands''', ''page 153''</ref>

===Low-altitude bombardment===
[[File:H2A Terminals - Human city.png||thumb|250px|A human city on Reach being glassed.]]
When ground engagements are in effect, the Covenant will resort to low range bombardment, bringing their ships closer to the surface to destroy the area in question. This is accomplished by either building up or focusing plasma though a magnetic envelope from the [[energy projector]] located on the underside of the ship, and then discharging the plasma as a narrow beam. A single {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} can glass approximately one acre of a planet's surface in fifteen seconds of sustained fire, with desert taking less time and deep ocean taking much longer to glass.<ref name="data10">'''[[Halo: Reach]]''', ''[[Data pads#Data pad 10|Data pad 10]]''</ref> The Covenant use low-range bombardment in many battles where major ground engagements are occurring; smaller warships use this method specifically to deal with human armies and low-level structures during campaigns, while larger Covenant warships use this to level cities while engagements are occurring. 

Low-range bombardment is not performed solely by energy projectors; smaller Covenant ships like [[Covenant corvette|corvettes]] are equipped with bombardment guns that fire smaller, less-powerful lances than those utilized by capital ships.<ref>'''[[Halo: Reach Official Strategy Guide|Halo: Reach Legendary Edition Guide]]''' ''page 440''</ref> Capital ships and some smaller ships are equipped with excavation beams to excavate areas of interest for the Covenant, such as unearthing the [[Portal at Voi|Portal]] to [[Installation 00]] during the Battle of Earth.

The Covenant sometimes glassed areas while their ground forces were still in the vicinity, ruthless as they were to eliminate humans.{{Ref/Reuse|hr na}}<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''[[The Pillar of Autumn (Halo: Reach level)|The Pillar of Autumn]]''</ref>

During the [[Great Schism]], the Sangheili-led fleet uses Low-altitude bombardment for maximum efficiency to scorch the Flood down to the ground. This method is the last-ditch effort should the Flood spreads uncontrollably and to quarantine the area to prevent further outbreak.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', ''page 186'' (''"Having been cauterized and quarantined by the [[Sangheili]] fleets, 05 now sits dormant."'')</ref><ref>'''[[Halo 3]]''', Campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref>

===Aftermath===
{{Quote|The brittle black shit on the outskirts of the huge swathes of destruction the Covenant leaves behind isn't actually glass, of course. It's what you get when you melt everything in the area into a chemical soup and let it cool and harden on its own—more like obsidian from a volcano than anything else.|[[Edward Buck]], on the aftermath of a planet's glassing<ref name="nb103">'''[[Halo: New Blood]]''', ''pages 103-104'' (Google Play edition)</ref>}}
[[File:Glassland Hunt the Truth.jpg|thumb|275px|A glassed planet's surface.]]
[[File:GlassySurface.png|thumb|left|275px|The "glass" seen on the surface of a planet after being melted by a [[Energy projector|plasma beam]].]]
The destructive process of bombarding the surface of a planet with plasma leaves the surface unable to recover to its former state without re-[[terraforming]]. During the glassing of a planet the Covenant focus on destroying the ecosystem of a planet, and will spend a considerable amount of time vaporizing any bodies of water the planet may possess, or at least reduces the remaining water to small, ash-choked pools. The deeper the body of water is, the more time it will take to vaporize it.{{Ref/Reuse|data10}} Once the Covenant have finished, the surface is dead, devoid of any life on the surface. From orbit the world is simply a series of grays, blacks, and reds,<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''' ''Bonus Content page 417''</ref> everything on the surface is charred and the air is littered with ash and dust. The ash and material left behind from the glassing resembles [[Wikipedia:Obsidian|obsidian]]. The glassing process does not render a world completely smooth; typically, internal scaffolding from structures can be found poking out of the "glass". The glass takes an extended period of time to cool down—as was the case with [[Draco III]], where portions of the partially glassed planet was still hot [[2554|nine years]] after its [[Battle of Draco III|bombardment]].{{Ref/Reuse|nb103}} It is even possible for the atmosphere of a planet to boil away, or more correctly, suffer atmospheric escape from the process.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''', ''page 8'' (2001 edition); ''page 23'' (2010 edition)</ref> Glassed planets with an intact atmosphere often experience extreme weather phenomena, namely enormous storms.<ref>'''[[Hunt the Truth]]''', ''Episode 11: DOWN TO THE BONE''</ref>

Because of the extensive destruction brought by the Covenant, the only way the world could recover is by re-terraforming efforts. The undertaking of such an effort would be massive and time consuming, ranging from a conservative 110 years to over 300 years given the manpower and technology at the time of such estimates.<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', ''[[Data pads#Data pad 14|Data pad 14]]''</ref> However, these estimates were made in [[2530]], and human technology took drastic leaps forward in the wake of the Human-Covenant War over 20 years later, particularly due to advances brought forth by the discovery of Forerunner technology. It is apparent that such figures do not hold true in the post-war era, as Reach was at least partially reterraformed within thirty-seven years.<ref>'''Halo: Reach''', campaign level ''[[Lone Wolf]]''</ref>

Throughout the Human-Covenant War, areas of interest to the Covenant were left intact for reasons of study or retrieval; however, this was not common, as only a handful of planets were partially glassed and only when a Forerunner artifact was discovered.<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''' ''page 122'' (2003 edition); ''page 150'' (2010 edition)</ref> After the Covenant glassed a planet, a shard of glass was removed and was placed in the [[Sanctum of the Hierarchs]] within [[High Charity]].<ref>'''Halo: First Strike''' ''page 338'' (2003 edition); ''page 405'' (2010 edition)</ref>

===Limitations===
While glassing is devastatingly powerful as an offensive tactic, doctrinal limitations prevented the Covenant from applying it indiscriminately in any combat situation. For example, "sacred" Forerunner artifacts, most notably the [[Halo Array|Halo installations]], could not be targeted by glassing lest they are damaged by the bombardment. It was this reluctance to damage holy sites that allowed the {{UNSCShip|Pillar of Autumn}} to land on [[Installation 04]], and its complement to eventually score a victory against the Covenant forces. During the [[Raid on Reach]], survivors from [[Battle of Installation 04]] saw a certain area where the Covenant has yet to glass, due to their high interest in the Forerunner crystal. This allows them to rescue the remaining trapped UNSC survivors and salvage the {{UNSCShip|Gettysburg}} from Reach.<ref>'''[[Halo: First Strike]]'''</ref>

Glassing a planet even partially requires an enormous investment in time and resources, sometimes taking several days and necessitating the use of hundreds of Covenant warships that could have been used for other purposes.<ref name="Return">''[[Halo: Evolutions]]'', "[[The Return]]", ''Motion Comic Adaptation''</ref> If population centers are numerous and spread out across a planet, even a fleet of over one hundred warships may need more than two weeks to eradicate the local population via glassing. This was the case with the [[Fleet of Inexorable Obedience]]'s [[Attack on Etalan|attack]] on [[Etalan]], prompting [[Nizat 'Kvarosee|the]] [[fleetmaster]] to find an alternate way of destroying the world's inhabitants.{{Ref/Novel|Id=HSS9|HSS|Chapter=9}} Incompletely glassed planets can still retain living biospheres complete with standing structures and vegetation, as is observed on [[Kholo]].{{Ref/Reuse|Return}}

==History==
[[File:H2A-Glass shards.jpg|thumb|300px|A chamber within the Sanctum of the Hierarchs containing shards from every world glassed by the Covenant.]]
Since the formation of the Covenant in [[852 BCE]], the Covenant have used their ship-borne plasma weapons to threaten lesser species into a truce and their eventual induction into the Covenant. The [[Lekgolo]] were the first to be threatened with such destruction because of their transgressions against Forerunner technology before becoming the first outside species to join the Covenant in [[784 BCE]].<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''' ''page 270''</ref><ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''' ''page 114''</ref> The [[Unggoy]] almost faced orbital bombardment for their [[Unggoy Rebellion|rebellion]] in [[2462]] CE, or the 39th [[Ages of Conflict|Age of Conflict]] by Covenant records.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''', ''page 151''</ref><ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe''' ''page 142''</ref> Although the [[Kig-Yar]] were not threatened with orbital bombardment, they were quick to realize the Covenant had such a capacity to destroy them and thus chose to join the Covenant for the far greater wealth that the Covenant would provide.<ref>'''Halo Encyclopedia: The Definitive Guide to the Halo Universe''' ''page 121''</ref>

===Human-Covenant War===
{{Main|Human-Covenant War}}
After the [[Hierarchs]]' declaration to exterminate humanity, the Covenant put all of their destructive methods to use. The first planet to suffer this fate was [[Harvest]], glassed by the [[Jiralhanae]]-operated [[Ket-pattern battlecruiser|battlecruiser]] ''[[Rapid Conversion]]''.<ref>'''Halo: Contact Harvest''' ''page 285''</ref> Prior to the war, the territory of the [[Unified Earth Government]] comprised over eight-hundred planets; most of these worlds were glassed during the war.<ref>'''[[Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition)]]''', "Chapter 1", ''page 33''</ref><ref>[http://web.archive.org/web/20080424150226/www.xbox.com/en-US/games/h/halo/storyline.htm '''Xbox.com''': ''The Halo Timeline'']</ref>

The term "glassing" was coined by the [[artificial intelligence]] group known as the [[The Assembly|Assembly]] in 2526. The group at the time estimated that it would take 30.3801 years for a Covenant fleet of comparable size to that of the UNSC's to glass Earth. The Assembly chose the term to magnify the horrible act in the hope that it would galvanize humanity into action.{{Ref/Reuse|data10}}

Throughout the rest of 2525 and 2526, the Covenant continued their campaigns in the [[Outer Colonies]], glassing a number of worlds and human establishments including Biko, Green Hills, and Bliss. Admiral Cole and his fleet continued fighting for these colonies but they were lost causes, the Covenant with their determination, superior firepower and technology continued their ruthless campaign until the majority of the Outer Colonies were glassed by [[2535]]. Each battle human forces face with the Covenant were brutal ground forces were often deployed first, but as UNSC forces were routed in space, the bombardment would commence resulting in either loss of life or retreat.<ref>'''Halo: The Fall of Reach''' ''page 173''; ''page 199'' (2010 edition)</ref>

[[File:LC 002 Doc Recon.png|thumb|300px|The Covenant glassing East Africa as viewed from an ONI orbital surveillance probe, unearthing the Portal to the Ark.]]
The Covenant's bloody campaign continued as they moved into the [[Inner Colonies]] and began glassing major worlds. Throughout the 2540s, the UNSC continued their attempts at slowing the Covenant. Although some of their tactics succeeded, the Covenant continued to swarm human-controlled space, glassing every world they found. After the apparent death of Admiral Cole in [[2543]], the Covenant briefly halted their advance, then renewed their bloody tenacity and attacked human-controlled worlds with even more ferocity. After the [[Fall of Reach]] in the summer of 2552, which saw much of humanity's greatest stronghold glassed, the Covenant leadership believed that humanity would lose the will to fight.<ref>'''Halo: Evolutions''', "The Return", ''page 499''</ref> However, this was a miscalculation, as humanity's disastrous defeat at Reach caused them to fight to the last breath, scoring a crushing victory at [[Installation 04]], which would indirectly lead to the [[Great Schism]], and with the crucial help of their new-found Sangheili allies, humanity would turn the tide in the Human-Covenant War. 

The [[Battle of Earth]] culminated in the glassing of [[Mombasa]] in [[Africa]] as the Covenant, led by the [[Prophet of Truth]] uncovered the portal to [[Installation 00]] buried beneath the city. This effort resulted in catastrophic and widespread devastation to the Kenyan landscape and forced the UNSC to regroup before their new allies arrived in force to thwart the Covenant's plans. The subsequent counterattack resulted in the glassing of the city of [[Voi]] by [[Fleet of Retribution|the Sangheili]] in an effort to contain a [[Flood]] infestation which had come to [[Earth]] only hours earlier.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level ''[[Floodgate]]''</ref> [[Fleet Admiral]] [[Terrence Hood]] accused [[Shipmaster]] [[Rtas 'Vadum]] and the [[Fleet of Retribution]] of glassing half of the continent, but later views of Africa's surface showed only a relatively small area was scorched.<ref>'''Halo 3''', campaign level, [[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]</ref><ref>[[:File:PortalOrbit.png]]</ref> Given Hood's distaste for his former enemies, he probably exaggerated about the extent of the glassing. Concurrently, the Sangheili-controlled fleet established a perimeter around [[Installation 05]] to prevent further spread of the Flood, completely glassing the installation's surface. [[Monitor]] [[000 Tragic Solitude]] would later state that the surface of Installation 05 had been "scorched to char and ash" by the Sangheili ships.<ref name="HITD272">'''[[Halo: Hunters in the Dark]]''', ''page 272''</ref>

===Post-war===
Even after the culmination of the [[Human-Covenant War]], several [[Covenant remnants|remnants]] of the former Covenant resumed the use of glassing against human colonies. The colony world of [[Cleyell]] was one such victim of glassing, with the entire planet being glassed in [[2556]] by a Covenant remnant with the exception of a single city.<ref name="HE17">'''[[Halo: Escalation]]''', ''[[Halo: Escalation Issue 17|Issue #17]]</ref>

In [[2558#September|September 2558]], the [[Jiralhanae Chieftain]] [[Hekabe]] and his faction glassed the area outside of the city of [[Suraka]] using the {{Pattern|Varric|heavy cruiser}} ''[[Foebane]]'' in order to access the [[Sharquoi]] hive underneath. Though the [[Surakan Militia Volunteers]] eventually managed to destroy ''Foebane'', Hekabe was able to successfully access the hive and unleash the Sharquoi.<ref>'''[[Halo: Envoy]]'''</ref>

During the [[Second Ark Conflict]] in [[2559]], the [[Smart AI]] [[Isabel]] fired the [[energy projector]] of the {{Class|CAS|assault carrier}} ''[[Enduring Conviction]]'' at the surface of [[Installation 00|the Ark]], effectively glassing a small area of the installation. Isabel's objective was to incite the Ark's defending Sentinels to destroy the [[Banished]] [[flagship]] by damaging the Ark. The tactic worked and the Sentinels responded in force, cutting the assault carrier in two and destroying it.<ref name="Under the Dark">'''[[Halo Wars 2]]''', campaign level ''[[Under the Dark]]''</ref>

==List of known glassed worlds==
{{Scrollbox
|
'''2462''': [[Balaho]] {{C|partially}}

'''2525''': [[Harvest]] {{C|partially}}, [[Green Hills]], [[Redstow VI]]

'''2526''': [[Biko]], [[Bliss]], [[Circinius IV]], [[Etalan]], [[Mesra]], [[Second Base]]

'''2528''': [[Madrigal]]

'''2529''': [[Asmara]], [[Cote d'Azure]],[[Verent]]

'''2530''': [[Eridanus II]], [[Dwarka]], [[Endymion]], [[Lostwithiel]]

'''2533''': [[Hat Yai]], [[Paradise Falls]]

'''2534''': [[Harvest]] {{C|final}}

'''2535''': [[Jericho VII]], [[Charybdis IX]], [[Eirene]], [[Groombridge]]

'''2537''': Two out of three of the colony worlds in the [[Leonis Minoris system|Leonis Minoris]] star system

'''2538''': [[New Harmony]]

'''2539''': [[Kholo]], [[Amadora]], [[New Harmony]]chel]], [[New Constantinople]]

'''2540''': [[Cyrus VII]], [[Persia IX]]

'''2541''': [[Hellas]]

'''2543''': [[Alluvion]]

'''2544''': [[Miridem]]

'''2545''': [[Draco III]] {{C|partially}}, [[Actium]]

'''2546''': [[New Llanelli]], [[Camber]], [[Sansar]]

'''2547''': [[Skopje]], [[Hardscrabble]]

'''2548''': [[Bounty]], [[Reynes]], [[Ruthersburg]]

'''2549''': [[Arcadia]], [[Paris IV]], [[Cleyell]] {{C|initial}}, [[Estuary]], [[Greydowns]], [[Iota]], [[Kroedis II]], [[Mesa]]

'''2550''': [[Minab]]

'''2551''': [[Meridian]], [[Imber]]

'''2552''': [[Troy]], [[Harmony]], [[Reach]] {{c|partially}}, [[New Jerusalem]], [[Coral]], [[Installation 05]] {{C|partially}}, [[Tribute]] {{C|partially}}, [[High Charity]] {{c|partially}}, [[Earth]] {{c|partially}}, [[Fumirole]], [[Tantalus]]

'''2553''': [[Shaps III]] {{C|partially}}

'''2556''': [[Cleyell]] {{C|final}} 

'''2558''': [[Carrow]] {{C|partially}}

'''2559''': [[Installation 00]]{{Ref/Reuse|Under the Dark}} {{C|partially}}

}}
<!--Please note that some planets listed may not be fully glassed, as the Encyclopedia does not differentiate between fully glassed and partially glassed planets.-->

==''Halo Wars'' gameplay==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes}}
{{Quote|Burn, heretics!|Regret, when using his Cleansing ability}}
In ''Halo Wars'', the [[Prophet of Regret]] is able to call down a "Cleansing Beam" from an orbiting Covenant ship. Rather than a leader power, this is treated as the unit's secondary ability, using the left control stick to guide the beam at the cost of [[resources]] every second. It lacks the power of typical glassing maneuvers to balance gameplay, much like [[James Cutter|Captain Cutter's]] ability to fire a MAC blast at enemy targets. The upgrades ''Regret’s Sentence'', ''Regret’s Doom'', and ''Regret's Condemnation'' increase its blast radius, though they require a higher tech level to purchase.

In ''Halo Wars 2'', Glassing beam comes in variety for each Leader Power, such as '''Rain of Fire''' from [[Pavium/Gameplay|Pavium]], '''Eradication''' from Atriox, '''Hunter's Brand''' from [[Colony/Gameplay|Colony]], or standard '''Glassing Beam''' from [[Yapyap/Gameplay|Yapyap]], [[Let 'Volir/Gameplay|Let 'Volir]], [[Decimus/Gameplay|Decimus]], and [[Atriox/Gameplay|Atriox]]. The glassing beam is separated into three different colors based on each level of upgrade. Level one will be blue, level two will be purple, and level three will be red. The glassing beam will have a brief after damage effect when it dissipates. Hero unit [[Decimus]] allows him to use its glassing beam ability, which was a reversed version of Atriox's '''Eradication''' Leader Power.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:Halo3 E3 TRAILER 2007 720p30 ST 6300Kbps 002 0001.jpg|The [[Fleet of Retribution]] glassing [[Voi]] to contain the [[Flood]] infection on Earth.
File:HW Genesis back cover.jpg|Three [[Covenant destroyer]]s glassing Harvest in ''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]''.
File:Concept-HW-Harvest-Glassing.jpg|Harvest's surface set aflame by the glassing, as seen from orbit. 
File:Harvest Plasma Glassed.jpg|Harvest, partially glassed by the Covenant in ''[[Halo Wars]]''.
File:Covenant Destroyers Glass Harvest.jpg|Two Covenant destroyers glassing Harvest.
File:HW Screenshots E3 3.jpg|The Cleansing Beam in ''Halo Wars''.
File:Mombasa Glassing.jpg|New Mombasa being glassed in ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''.
File:Portal odst.png|The Prophet of Truth’s fleet uncovers the [[Portal at Voi]].
File:TR Kholo.png|Covenant ships glassing Kholo in ''[[The Return]]''.
File:Kholo 14.png|The Covenant ceremoniously carve the glyph for "Faith" into Kholo, permanently scarring its surface.
File:Glyph of Faith.JPG|The glyph for "Faith" carved onto Kholo's surface.
File:HR Video Game Awards Trailer glassing.png|A plasma lance impacts on Reach's surface.
File:Reach glassed.png|Reach's surface being bombarded in ''[[Halo: Reach]]''.
File:HR_ReachGlassed_Concept.jpg|The surface of Reach after being glassed.
File:Reach Glassed.jpg|An orbital view of Reach's surface after glassing.
File:HaloReach - Glassing.jpg|A {{Pattern|Ket|battlecruiser}} glassing New Alexandria.
File:NA Glassed.jpg|The glassed remnants of New Alexandria.
File:HR Highlands Glassing.png|The [[Military Wilderness Training Preserve]] on Reach is glassed by ''Ket''-pattern battlecruisers.
File:Halo Glasslands full cover.jpg|A glassed planet on the cover of ''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''.
File:FUD-Corbulo-Glassed.jpg|Multiple ''Ket''-pattern battlecruisers glassing [[Circinius IV]] in ''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''.
File:H2A Terminals - glassland.jpg|One of many worlds glassed by the [[Fleet of Particular Justice]] in ''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''<nowiki>'s</nowiki> [[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|terminals]].
File:Enc22 Glassing.png|Concept artwork of a glassed city on Reach for the ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' Terminals.
File:TFoR-as-concept 5.jpg|The members of [[Blue Team]] meeting up in Reach's glasslands in ''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]''.
File:Halo Waypoint - Meridian surface.jpg|The glassed surface of [[Meridian]] in ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]''.
File:HW2-Glassing.jpg|''[[Enduring Conviction]]'' glassing [[Installation 00]] in ''[[Halo Wars 2]]''.
File:HW2-Glassing1.png|A glassing beam in ''Halo Wars 2''.
File:HW2-Eradication.png|An eradication beam in ''Halo Wars 2''.
File:HW2-HuntersBrand.png|A Hunter's Brand in ''Halo Wars 2''.
File:HW2-RainofFire.png|A Rain of Fire in ''Halo Wars 2''.
File:HTV GlassedCity Concept 1.png|Concept artwork of a glassed city for ''[[Halo: The Television Series]]''.
File:HTV GlassedCity Concept 2.png|Concept artwork of a glassed city for ''Halo: The Television Series''.
File:HTV-S2Glassing.png|A human settlement getting glassed in ''Halo: The Television Series''.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
{{Col-begin}}
{{Col-2}}
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: The Flood]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: First Strike]]''
*''[[Halo 2]]''
*''[[Halo: Ghosts of Onyx]]''
*''[[Halo 3]]''
*''[[Halo: Contact Harvest]]''
*''[[Halo: The Cole Protocol]]''
*''[[Halo Wars: Genesis]]''
*''[[Halo Wars]]''
*''[[Halo: Helljumper]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 3: ODST]]''
*''[[Halo Legends]]''
**''[[Origins]]''
**''[[Homecoming]]''
*''[[Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe]]''
**''[[Dirt]]''
**''[[The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole]]''
**''[[The Return]]''
*''[[Halo: Blood Line]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Reach]]''
**''[[Data pads]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Fall of Reach]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Boot Camp|Boot Camp]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Covenant|Covenant]]''
**''[[Halo: Fall of Reach - Invasion|Invasion]]''
*''[[Halo: Glasslands]]''
*''[[Halo: The Thursday War]]''
{{Col-2}}
*''[[Halo 4: Forward Unto Dawn]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 4)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: Spartan Assault]]''
*''[[Halo: Escalation]]''
*''[[Halo: Mortal Dictata]]''
*''[[Halo: Broken Circle]]''
*''[[Halo 2: Anniversary]]''
**''[[Terminal (Halo 2: Anniversary)|Terminals]]''
*''[[Halo: New Blood]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Last Light]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: The Fall of Reach - The Animated Series]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Shadow of Intent]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Ground Command]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo Fractures]]''
**''[[Lessons Learned]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[What Remains]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Breaking Strain]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Into the Fire]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Smoke and Shadow]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo Wars 2]]''
*''[[Halo: Envoy]]''
*''[[Halo: Retribution]]''
*''[[Halo: Legacy of Onyx]]''
*''[[Halo: Bad Blood]]'' {{mo}}
*''[[Halo: Silent Storm]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Renegades]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Shadows of Reach]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: The Television Series Season One]]''
**''[[Unbound]]'' {{Mo}}
**''[[Allegiance]]''
*''[[Halo: The Rubicon Protocol]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Outcasts]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: Hippocratica]]'' {{Mo}}
*''[[Halo: The Television Series Season Two]]''
**''[[Sanctuary (TV Series)|Sanctuary]]''
{{Col-end}}

==Notes==
{{Ref/Notes}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources|2}}

47. [[Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition)]] pp. 50-51

[[Category:Military tactics]]
[[Category:The Covenant]]