Sangheili Ranger

"Glory and honor guide our ascension."

- Sangheili Ranger's mantra

The Sangheili Rangers are a specialized Sangheili unit in the Covenant and its post-war remnant factions. Within the first Covenant Empire, they were organized under Fleet Security, a division of the Covenant Special Warfare Group. Experts in extra-vehicular space and aerial combat, the Rangers are a threat to ships, stations, as well as many other types of flightcraft.

Role
As part of the Covenant's Fleet Security, the Rangers were tasked with the security of a fleet. This placed the Rangers in a defensive role, such as removing foreign forces from entering and/or commandeering the ship. The Rangers can also perform offensive roles such as space insertion and demolition tasks.

Sangheili Rangers are combat experts in environments with little or no gravity. However, they are commonly deployed planetside during engagements. A Ranger's ease of mobility poses the greatest threat to his opponents on a world's surface.

Operational history
The Rangers have been observed in various combat theatres such as the Fall of Reach, Operation: FIRST STRIKE, the Battle of Earth, the Battle of Installation 05, and the Battle of High Charity. The Rangers were also seen at the planet Reach when John-117 returned to the planet aboard the Ascendant Justice.

With the Sangheili's departure from the Covenant, the Rangers were replaced by the Jump Pack Jiralhanae and Yanme'e as aerial infantry units.

After the war, Sangheili Rangers continued to serve within various remnant factions of Covenant.

Equipment
The Rangers wear hermetically sealed combat armor that would allow them to work in the vacuum of space or other similarly hazardous environment. In addition to this, the Rangers are equipped with either an antigravity pack or a thruster pack, providing them greater mobility. The armor of a Sangheili Ranger allows them to operate in gravity and oxygen-free environments, but the thrusters on their armor are specifically designed for mobility in gravity-intensive environments.

Like most Sangheili units, the Rangers utilize plasma rifles and plasma repeaters as their standard armament. On some occasions, Rangers within the original Covenant would use the focus rifle and the needle rifle.

Gameplay
The Rangers will use their thruster packs to great effect in battle, using them to strafe while firing their weapons. In Halo 2 and Halo: Reach, their energy shield strength is similar to that of a Sangheili Minor. For combat, they are often seen dual-wielding plasma rifles (Halo 2) as well as using suppression rifles such as the focus rifle and the needle rifle.

Appearances
In Halo 2, the Rangers' combat armor design was a combination of the Flight harness and the Assault harness. This design was changed significantly in Halo: Reach where they now have their own unique armor design to distinguish themselves from the rest of the Sangheili units. This was carried on in Halo 4.

Rangers in Halo: Reach wear a new type of helmet, bearing some resemblance to the MJOLNIR EVA helmet. This helmet may be the type worn by Rangers in Halo: The Fall of Reach, as the novel describes them as having transparent visors. It is quite possible that the armor types featured in Halo 2 and Halo: Reach are used synonymously by Rangers, as the one in Halo 2 seems more for low-altitude combat, whilst the armor seen in Halo: Reach appears to be designed for high-altitude and exoatmospheric combat, with a vacuum-sealed helmet and suit similar to the MJOLNIR EVA equivalent.

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo: Reach

 * They now have their own armor design, capable of distinguishing them from the rest of the Covenant units.
 * They are a playable class in multiplayer and matchmaking.
 * They now use a wider range of weapons, including plasma repeaters, needle rifles, and focus rifles.
 * They are now equipped with thruster packs, restricting them to low-altitude flight.

Changes from Halo: Reach to Halo 4

 * Rangers have less bulky armor with larger gaps between pieces
 * Their visors are transparent, leaving the face fully visible.
 * Their armor comes in blue, white, and gray.
 * They are often seen leading Kig-Yar Rangers and Unggoy Rangers.
 * The armor has four extra thrusters above the wrists and kneecaps.

Trivia

 * In Halo 2, the Rangers' eyes can be seen through their helmets' eye pieces.
 * In Halo 2, while firing, a Ranger wielding one weapon will have both hands affected by recoil, as if holding two weapons. This is probably because they often wield two plasma rifles,and the game does not support an animation with only one weapon.
 * In Halo: Reach, dead Rangers (or a player with this armor permutation) will have their mandibles protruding from their faceplate.
 * In Halo: Reach, there are special gold/yellow-armored Rangers known as BOBs. In the post-game carnage report, they are listed as Covenant vehicles.

List of appearances

 * Halo: The Fall of Reach
 * Halo: The Flood
 * Halo: First Strike
 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo 4
 * Spartan Ops
 * Halo: Escalation
 * Halo: Broken Circle
 * Halo 2 Anniversary
 * Terminals