Pnap-pattern Goblin

"The Goblin is a Balaho-born battlesuit that embodies the pillars that Unggoy themselves universally agree their species is known for: ruggedness, agility, and lethality."

- Jeff Easterling on the Goblin

The Goblin, also known as the Balaho battlesuit, is a battlesuit built for Unggoy by Unggoy on their homeworld of Balaho, with the Goblin's designers agreeing that it was the perfect embodiment of agility, lethality, and ruggedness, three pillars that Unggoy universally agree their species is known for.

Design details
A bipedal powered exoskeleton that serves as a battlesuit specifically for Unggoy, the Goblin is rugged, agile, and lethal. While the Goblin itself is shielded with thick plates of armor, the battlesuit's operator, known as a jockey, is protected inside the cockpit by a dedicated energy shield. The Goblin is believed to be able to operate even under the most dire of circumstances.

The Goblin's design is created in the likeness of the Forerunners' "pre-ascension" form, as popularized by famous Unggoy theologian Ang'napnap the Enlightened. The Goblin combines exotic engineering acumen, Covenant manufacturing technology allowing the battlesuit to be automatically assembled, and a user interface design built specifically for Unggoy operators. Personnel of the United Nations Space Command agree that a single Goblin is a greater threat than an entire combat lance of unsuited Unggoy, albeit a little less dangerous than a file.

Despite its size, the Goblin is incredibly mobile and capable of jumping up to two hundred feet into the air. The Goblin is able to use its "arms" to punch any opponent that draws too close, or utilize an electromagnetic pulse capable of disabling nearby vehicles.

Armament
Goblins are armed with a double-barreled heavy needle cannon capable of dealing significant damage to vehicles. The Needler can also be utilized as a multiple-launch system, capable of firing a barrage of blamite shards that can target up to eight different hostiles. This feature is powered by a device attached to the Goblin's backside, and is disabled when the device is removed or destroyed. Accompanying the power device is a Shardstorm launcher, capable of firing entire clouds of blamite needles. As a backup weapon, the Goblin is armed with a grenade launcher.

Variants
Two variants of the Goblin are present in the UNSC's War Games simulations; the default permutation and the Mythic-tier permutation. Both are said to function somewhat differently.


 * Beam Goblin: Developed in Balaho by Senior Science Commissioner Gablap and other top Balaho scientists, the Beam Goblin features a focus cannon.

Operational history
"Who's a big bad Grunt? I'm a big bad Grunt!"

- A Goblin pilot on Installation 00.

Jiralhanae Chieftain Hekabe's forces used Goblins during the Battle of Carrow to excavate the Vertex in September 2558. By October 2558 Goblins were used in Warzone simulations aboard the. During the and the Banished's stalemate on Installation 00 in 2559 Yapyap the Destroyer used at least three Goblins during his rebellion against Atriox.

Trivia

 * Like many Covenant vehicles before it, the Unggoy's Goblin is named after a supernatural creature. The Goblin is a legendary mischievous or evil dwarf-like daemon from European stories and accounts of the Middle Ages.
 * One can disable the Goblin's shield, however it is very hard to do. Once it is disabled, the Unggoy inside can be headshotted.
 * In Halo Wars 2 the Blitz card for the Goblin has one of the Goblins have the name Andy written on the bottom of its foot. This is likely a reference to Pixar's Toy Story, where many of the toys owned by Andy have his name written on the bottom of their feet.

List of appearances

 * Halo 5: Guardians
 * Halo: Envoy
 * Halo Wars 2