Jiralhanae Jumper

The Jump Pack Jiralhanae is a Jiralhanae rank.

Description
On their dorsal sides, they carry jump packs for increased mobility. They are the Jiralhanae counterpart to Sangheili Rangers, but unlike the Rangers whom were met in a low-gravity environment, they are not capable of complete aerial tactical maneuvering; rather, their jump packs propel them on an immense jump to a greater distance.

They most commonly use Radar Jammers, Flares and Trip Mines, flying in and dropping them near their opponents. Their jump packs do not break down with the rest of their Jiralhanae power armor when heavily damaged, so they may continue their airborne assaults until they are killed. They replaced the Ranger Elites of Halo 2 after the Elites formed the Covenant Separatists and are able to jump much higher at the cost of lacking maneuverability.

Appearances
They utilize jump packs on the battlefield and wear a strikingly obvious dark blue armor, similar to the Ranger Elites of Halo 2. Jump Pack Brutes made their first appearance in the level Crow's Nest and appear in most Halo 3 levels. They also appear in Halo Wars, as an upgrade for standard Brutes, but are only available if the Jiralhanae Army Commander is the selected leader. They also appear in Halo: Uprising, onboard the Forerunner Dreadnought.

In Halo 3: ODST, there appears to be different Jump Pack ranks. There are red and gold colored armor, with the ranks being red for major and gold for captain. During Campaign, Gold Jump Packs appear on harder difficulties or with the Thunderstorm Skull enabled.

Combat
Jump Pack Brutes will often use their high mobility to get behind and out-flank the player. As such, it is imperative to listen for the sounds of their jump packs and quickly locate and eliminate them. However, as the player often fight large groups of Jump Pack Jiralhanae, it can be difficult to keep track of all of them. One of their main weaknesses is they generally stay in the same position upon landing and before take off. The large number of blue lights on their chest can betray a jump pack Brute's position and are a good aiming aid for a player, particularly when one is using a more accurate weapon, like the Battle Rifle, or Covenant Carbine. Also, when flying, they appear unable to fire their weapons. It can occur, however, that they begin throwing a grenade before lifting off, completing this action when airborne.

Jump Pack Brutes normally use such weapons as Spikers, Brute Shots, and more often than not, Carbines. It would be smart to bring mid-to-long range weapons, such as a Carbine or Battle Rifle. Even better is to obtain a Sniper or Beam Rifle, and then kill as many as you can before entering the area.

Upon being defeated, if the final shot or melee attack made contact with the jump pack, the jump pack will malfunction and rocket the Brute forwards a short distance. This also works when they are sniped out of the air, and when assassinated.

Tips
Jump Pack Brutes are not extremely challenging in small numbers, though they can be overwhelming in large forces, especially with the catch skull on meaning that all they have to do is fly, land, spam some grenades and fly off again so quick reflexes and decent sniping skills are required to counter that. However, their jump is very predictable, so the player can easily look up and run under the Brute, then assassinate him when he lands. It is recommended for you not to use an automatic weapon while they are soaring through the air. However, turrets are very useful in taking them out. Precision weapons are much more effective. Also, on the level Crow's Nest, Jump Pack Brutes have Trip Mines, and placing one down under the spot where they are about to land is usually an instant kill. However, players can accidentally step on their own activated Trip Mines.

Trivia

 * If one is infected by the Flood, it will lose its jump pack. This is because there aren't separate models for the different types of Combat Forms. However, a Combat Form would most likely be able to use such technology, if the Flood had absorbed enough Brutes that know how to operate the jump packs.
 * If a Jump Pack Brute goes berserk, it will fly at the player and try to hit the player on the head, killing the player upon impact.
 * In Halo 3 ODST, Jump Pack Brutes seem to have a ranking structure more similar to that of the Elites then to the other Brute ranks.

List of appearances

 * Halo 3
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo Wars