HRUNTING Mark III (B) Cyclops

The Cyclops is a bipedal exoskeleton used by the UNSC Marine Corps during the early years of the Human-Covenant War. While it was originally intended for construction and other non-combat purposes, it was repurposed for combat against the Covenant for deconstruction proficiency on Covenant building structures. The modification for combat included additional armor plating around the operator and joints, and specialized equipment for demolishing enemy fortifications.

History
After the Mark I MJOLNIR powered exoskeleton was found impossible to control, all units were decommissioned, with the majority of them being thrown into the titanium mines of Reach. Bitten by the failure of Project ORION and suspicious of the Office of Naval Intelligence, the UNSC Marine Corps under the UNSC Marine Special Operations division started their own power suit research division. They needed a form of shock deployment troop to fight the continuing rebel uprisings throughout the Outer Colonies, often in harsh environments such as the Eridanus Asteroid Belt, where Colonel Robert Watts hid after the rebels fled to the asteroid belt following Operation: TREBUCHET in 2513.

These powered suits, often called “coffins” by those who wore them, performed well in field tests. However, severe power problems and issues with the propulsion systems led to them being mothballed. Most of the power suits were assigned to support vessels, where they were deployed alongside base pods to construct the buildings once they were on the ground. The Cyclops were used extensively in 2531, during the battles on Harvest, Arcadia, and a Forerunner Shield World. The power problem was eventually solved directly as a side effect of Project ORION and the suits were updated. However, the deployment of the SPARTAN-III supersoldiers in 2536 took the Cyclops out of operation completely; the remaining units were mostly scrapped alongside the Mark I MJOLNIR suits on Reach.

Combat
In combat, the Cyclops deals heavy melee damage, using its powerful arms, once used to carry heavy machinery and equipment, to deal devastating blows against enemy units and structures. It also possesses the ability to tear apart a destroyed vehicle and throw the pieces further at any other unit, including air units which they have no other offensive capability against. If upgraded with specialized tools, the Cyclops can repair vehicles and buildings.

In-game information
In the campaign, the Cyclops appears only in the level Repairs. In skirmish and multiplayer, the Cyclops is available only if Sergeant John Forge is the player's selected hero unit.

The Cyclops requires 125 resource units, a tech level of one, and one population slot. It has two upgrades.
 * "Repair Kit", which allows the Cyclops to repair buildings and mechanized units. The upgrade costs 400 resource units and requires a tech level of two.
 * "High-Torque Joint" which improves its movement speed. The upgrade costs 900 resource units and requires a tech level of three.

Development
Originally, Ensemble designed the unit as a MJOLNIR Mark I suit; however, the developers deemed it too visually similar to the SPARTANs to easily distinguish at a glance. The Cyclops was therefore rebuilt from the ground up as a unique unit, both larger and bulkier than the MJOLNIR Mark IV that the SPARTANs wear. At one point in the game's development, the Cyclops lacked the reflective visor, instead having only a bare crash cage over the wearer.

The Cyclops exoskeleton is based on the Cyclops unit from Ensemble Studios' game Age of Mythology, which is an actual Cyclops. It is similarly a large unit that deals heavy melee damage. Their alternate attacks are also similar; when secondary ability bar has charged, the AoM Cyclops will lift a nearby infantry unit and hurl it at the enemy forces for additional damage. In Halo Wars, the Cyclops' secondary ability allows it to tear a vehicle apart and hurl the chunks at enemy forces in a similar manner.

Trivia

 * The Cyclopes are a race of one-eyed giants in Greek mythology.
 * The Cyclops and the Gremlin are the only known UNSC vehicles named after mythological creatures. Most atmospheric UNSC vehicles are named after real animals, (i.e. Warthog and Scorpion), and most space-based vehicles are named after bladed weapons, (i.e. Longsword and Sabre).
 * The Cyclops' design changed drastically during the game's development: its helmet was once similar to that of the MJOLNIR EVA and SPI armor and its body was bulkier and shorter.
 * The back of the Cyclops is glitched, allowing the player to see through it.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars