Equipment

In Halo 3, Spartans, Elites and Brutes can carry one extra item of equipment (deployed using the “X” button on the default setting of the Xbox 360 controller). The type of equipment varies dramatically in its purpose, functionality, and appearance, but all can be used with deadly or strategic force. Click on the links below to find out what each one does, and where each could be found. There may be more to find and their availability is subject in matchmaking rules. The philosophy of equipment is simple: to add a variety to the combat in Halo 3 without unbalancing the game. The simple fact is that Equipment items, once deployed, can be used by both attackers and defenders. Someone on your team might accidentally activate your Trip Mine, and a Bubble Shield which is a geometric spherical shield – while they can’t shoot in, you can’t shoot out either. Suffice to say that equipment can turn the tide of battle if used correctly. To make it more balanced, it takes longer to deploy equipment than in the Halo 3 Beta, but you can launch it further. It is not entirely clear which faction - Human or Covenant - manufactures each piece of equipment in the first place without doing research on the specific equipment, as both are seen utilizing it in the single player Campaign.

List of Equipment

 * Bubble Shield
 * Power Drain
 * Radar Jammer (Has been removed from Matchmaking)
 * Gravity Lift
 * Trip Mine
 * Flare (Has been removed from Matchmaking)
 * Regenerator
 * Deployable Cover
 * Automated Turret (Campaign Only)
 * Cloaking (Campaign Only)
 * Invincibility (Campaign Only)

Equipment Abilities
Bubble Shield - The Bubble Shield releases a spherical shield around a center point. No bullets or grenades can pass through the shield either way. However a clever soldier can place a bubble shield and position a sniper rifle so only the end protrudes. Therefore you can snipe people without getting hurt.

Power Drain - This emits a blue orb which attracts any living creature or vehicle and pulls it close to the center, where the object will lose their shielding and become vulnerable.

Radar Jammer - When deployed, phantom contacts will appear on the motion sensors of anyone within the area of it, causing confusion. When moving away from the Radar Jammer, the contacts will begin to slowly disappear and eventually completely disappear.

Flare - This creates a blinding light, which results in players losing their sight for a matter of seconds.

Deployable Cover - Once deployed, this creates a large shield, which can temporarily protect those hiding behind it. In Matchmaking, it will disable itself over time, whereas in Campaign, it can last indefinetely, although it is easily destroyed.

Regenerator - This creates a large green field, which, when you step into the field, will regenerate all shielding. It doesn't last very long but long enough. It differentiates from the Bubble Shield as, unlike the Bubble Shield, it just creates a field of energy, whereas the bubble shield can shield you. Its effect is also the exact opposite of the Power Drain.

Trivia

 * Though many of these are available in Multiplayer, the Automated Turret, Cloaking and Invincibility are exclusive to the Campaign for balancing reasons.


 * In splitscreen mode, if you throw a Flare, you and your enemy will be blinded.


 * In the January 2008 issue of EGM, in an interview with Brian Jarrard and Tyson Green, it was revealed that there was a piece of equipment cut from the final game known as The Vortex. It was said to be deployed the same as a Power Drain, but would instead create a mini black hole that would "suck in any object within range, and diverting its course into the black hole, and away from your face." It was even able to affect nearby objects such as the Fusion Coil and even other players. The design was cut due to the fact that it was too "expensive" from a networking and performance standpoint.


 * When you try to drop a piece of equipment on a vehicle or an object (like a crate on Forge), the equipment will go through the object and end up underneath it. This happens to prevent players from driving around in vehicles with bubble shields and/or other equipment mounted on them.
 * Drivers of vehicles cannot use equipment (with the exception of the Invincibility and Cloaking); however, passengers can, which can be useful to certain and peculiar situations.


 * While using Active Camouflage, an Auto-Aim Turret can still detect you.


 * While using Active Camouflage and mounted on a Warthog turret, you can shoot and your Camouflage is not disturbed at all, unlike firing normal weapons in Campaign and Multiplayer.


 * In Campaign, the Deployable Cover lasts forever until it is destroyed. In Multiplayer, it lasts for around 30 seconds before self-destructing.


 * Grenades technically are listed as equipment items. In Forge, you can clearly see that.


 * There are pieces of equipment that appear before they are said to first appear in the Halo 3 Official Guide, such as the two Cloakings in Crow's Nest.


 * A Deployable Cover can also be destroyed by putting enough damage to its source which is located in the center on the ground.


 * All equipment can be destroyed by destroying the source, including Regenerators, Bubble Shields and Grav lifts.(Regenerators spin, and if stuck with spike grenade, it will spin on it.) Grav lifts can be Forge-spawned as deployable or as already activated.


 * You can jump on top of the barrier emitted by the Deployable Cover. It also works to make a single or double box float is spawned inside one.


 * Try not to put down an Auto Turret while or after activating the replacement Halo ring. It will fire at you instead of your enemies. This could be because it is a Forerunner technology.


 * The Flare and Radar Jammer were recently cut from matchmaking, due to a glitch causing you to jump to a secret location.