Shua'ee-pattern Locust

"Destroy those Locusts wherever you find them. They're building killers!"

- Sergeant John Forge

The Locust is a repurposed quadrupdal mining vehicle utilized by the Covenant in a combat role. It is typically used to demolish structures.

Appearance
The Locust is a smaller, tank-sized counterpart to the Scarab assault platform, which is also a repurposed mining platform. It does not share the Scarab's spiked "feet", though it is capable of using its legs to climb over obstacles in a similar manner to its larger cousin. Unlike the Scarab, the Locust is seemingly controlled by a Sangheili or Jiralhanae pilot rather than by a Lekgolo colony. The Locust possesses one rotating turret, which is very similar in appearance to a Banshee's cockpit. The turret hosts a single plasma cannon that fires a straight purple-pink beam; this beam is powerful against ground and air targets and can outrange most equivalent weapons. The Locust has a regenerating bubble-shaped shield that is capable of protecting the vehicle from a limited amount of weapons fire; the shield is not capable of regenerating after it is destroyed.

Gameplay
The Locust has the longest effective range of any Covenant ground unit in Halo Wars. The Locust is specifically designed to take down static targets, and is only able to open fire when stationary. The Locust can be upgraded with the "Overdrive" attack as well as with the "Shield Amplifier" defensive ability. The former upgrade allows the Locust to divert energy from its shield generator to its main cannon, increasing its attack power; the latter upgrade makes the unit's shield regenerate faster.

As a long-range tool known as the "building killer", the Locust is largely used to attack an enemy's defenses from a safe distance. This is a useful alternative to a direct confrontation, which would result in casualties for the attacker. A small group of Locusts can be used to assist a force of smaller warriors, like Kig-yar, making it far easier for the group to destroy enemy buildings. Larger groups of Locusts can be used in a surprise attack against an enemy, and in such cases, the Locusts can often level the targeted base in under thirty seconds; however, the inherent vulnerability of the unit makes this a gamble.

Against non-structure targets, the Locust is fairly weak. Though able to do significant damage, the Locust is brittle, and falls quickly to concentrated fire. However, its beam can lure enemy units towards awaiting forces, allowing them to be quickly cut down.

Upgrades

 * 1) Overdrive is a special attack that drains the user's shield to boost its offensive power.
 * 2) Shield amplifier increases the Locust's shield regeneration rate. It is useful when used with Overdrive, and it also stacks with the "Shield of the Forerunners" upgrade from the temple, allowing an even quicker recharge rate.

Resource: 300

Minimum Tech Level: 2

Population Count: 3

Trivia

 * Like the Scarab, the Locust is named after an insect. Locusts are members of the grasshopper family that are infamously known for rapidly stripping fields of crops. The walker's similar "building killer" status may be the reason for the vehicle's name.
 * In the French version of Halo Wars, the AI may say "watch the skies, they've got Locusts" before getting attacked by Banshees. This is an error as the Locust is a ground vehicle.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars