Flood tank form

Tank form
General overview
Distinctions:	Mutates to/from Stalker forms and occasionally to/from ranged forms;
Method of attack:	Very powerful right hook melee attack; Reproduces Infection Forms;

The Flood tank form is a type of Flood pure form.

Description[edit]

Flood tank forms are not unlike the similar thrasher forms, encountered on Trove. Unlike the thrashers (and all other combat forms), the tank form does not consist of a host controlled by a pod infector, but is instead a type of Flood pure form. Like all pure forms, the tank form is composed of raw Flood biomass, created only when an outbreak reaches the Coordinated Stage. The Flood pure form is capable of mutating whenever it chooses to match the situation at hand, resulting in the tank form being created when under heavy fire.

When a stalker form is cornered or confronted with well-armed opponents, it will often undergo a rapid transformation into a tank form to better defend itself. Most of the stalker's body mass shifts to the frontal body section, forming a muscular torso. The rear limbs are augmented with muscle to serve as legs, while the forelimbs become bulkier and rapidly extrude bone structures to form blade or club-like appendages. In this state, the tank form is more resistant to conventional weaponry and possesses more devastating melee capabilities, but moves at a far slower pace.

Tank forms are quite slow in comparison to combat forms, but they make up for it with relative resilience and devastating melee attacks. They can run on all fours for a short period, allowing a short burst of speed to overtake a target. Tank Forms can spew a torrent of Infection Forms from their 'mouth' as a form of short ranged attack, or in order to infect nearby corpses.

On rare occasions, a Tank Form will mutate directly to/from a ranged form.

History[edit]

Flood tank forms saw use in the Forerunner-Flood war.^[1] Following the firing of the Halo Array, Flood tank forms were held aboard Halos Installation 04 and Installation 05^[2] for research and testing.^[3] In 2552, many tank forms were able to break containment on Installation 04, and were let loose onto the ring. Several found their way to the ice canyons surrounding the ring's control room, where they were engaged the Covenant and the ODSTs of Fireteam Raven. One tank form was almost able to kill the team, before it was killed by John-117.^[4] The fireteam continued to engage tank forms across the ring, before its eventual destruction.^[5]^[6]

Following the large Flood outbreak on Installation 05 and subsequent Fall of High Charity, the Flood had billions of beings' worth of mass with which to create an army. They began creating massive amounts of new pure forms, including tank forms. Many were encountered by UNSC forces during the Battle of Voi, carried by the Indulgence of Conviction.^[7] Later on, tank forms were used by the Gravemind as puppets through which to speak to John-117 and Thel 'Vadam to secure a temporary truce to kill the Prophet of Truth and prevent the firing of the rings. These tank forms assisted the human and Sangheili warriors, guiding them through the loyalist Jiralhanae before turning on them once the crisis was averted.^[8] Many Flood tank forms resided within the remains of High Charity following its crash on Installation 00 and attempted to stop John-117 in his mission to rescue Cortana,^[9] before later being dropped onto the newly-constructed Installation 08 to to stop the attempted firing of that ring.^[10]

In-game information[edit]

Stalkers and ranged forms have a high chance of shifting into a Tank form when approached by a player. Tank forms are rather slow, but can make temporary bursts of speed by running with their arms alongside their feet.

When attacked from afar, a Tank form will protect its weak spot (the tendrils) with its left arm. Plasma and explosives are recommended against Tank forms from a distance, as they deal considerable damage even through this protection. Tank forms primarily attack by swinging their right arm at the player, which deals considerable damage and is sufficient enough to instantly kill them on Legendary difficulty. Tank forms may also spit out pod infectors as a "ranged" attack and they should be quickly eliminated if any corpses or intact and inactive attacker forms are nearby.

As with all pure forms, Orgudam Workshop firebombs and the M7057 flamethrower are highly effective against tank forms, killing them in a matter of seconds. The energy sword and Jovokada Workshop brute shot are good melee weapons against tank forms, especially the latter as it guarantees an instant kill regardless of difficulty and where it hits. If using melee with other weapons, try to ensure the weapon hits the tendrils on their mouths, as this also guarantees an instant kill regardless of difficulty. However, hitting anywhere else will not deal much damage and likely get the player killed on higher difficulties.

Production notes[edit]

The Flood Juggernaut, a Flood Form cut from Halo 2, was an early concept of the Halo 3 Pure Form.^[11] The Sharquoi, another deleted species from Halo 2, may have served as the inspiration for the Tank form. This is further proven by a piece of concept art in The Art of Halo 3 that appears to be three Flood Juggernauts engaging several Marines and the Master Chief in combat.
The design of the Tank Form is reminiscent of the Drinniol (or "Hulk") enemies from Marathon, one of Bungie's earliest games.
When a Tank Form takes a hit from a Gravity Hammer, the spike platform can be seen for a few seconds when the Tank Form jumps up.

Gallery[edit]

Profile of the Tank form in Halo 3
Tank Form in the Halo 3 Bestiarum.
An image of a Flood Tank Pure Form in Voi.
The Gravemind speaking through a tank form to John-117 in Halo 3.
Two tank forms following John-117 and Thel 'Vadam in Halo 3.
Two tank forms approaching Covenant troops in Halo 3.
A tank form on the exterior of the control room of Installation 08 in Halo 3.
A tank form blocking weaponfire in Halo 3.
Two tank forms on the surface of Installation 08 in Halo 3.
The Tank Form Avatar in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
An ODST fighting a tank form in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection version of Halo 3: ODST.
A tank form in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's terminals.
Concept art for Halo Wars 2 depicting a tank form.
Flood tank forms on Installation 04 in Halo: Fireteam Raven.
Victor Ramos fighting a Tank Form.