Assault cannon



The Assault Cannon is a variant of the standard Fuel Rod Gun utilized only by the Hunters.

The weapon is incredibly heavy, making it suitable for the extremely strong Mgalekgolo or "Hunter". The only known instances of it are fused directly to the Hunter's armor, located on the right "arm" of the colony, built into the Lekgolo that make up the limb.

The ammunition it uses is similar to that of the Fuel Rod Gun; tubes of radioactive incendiary gel. Tubes can be fired individually, which detonate on impact and have an arcing trajectory, or have the gel sprayed out of the weapon in a 'beam'. The weapon itself can switch between these two modes by the Mgalekgolo using it. However, before firing, the weapon must be charged up. This "charge" makes it extremely obvious that the hunter is attempting to shoot you, and it also makes it fairly easy to dodge the cannon's blast in Halo:CE.

In terms of gameplay, the Assault Cannon has changed in each version of Halo, in terms of operation and aesthetics.

In Halo: Combat Evolved, it was only able to fire single shots, and appeared to contain its gel supply in a drum mounted underneath the arm. In Halo 2, there were minor changes to its appearance but the weapon fired a continuous stream rather than individual blasts while the "drum" reloaded and fired. Also, in Halo 2, the assault cannon gains the three "claws" around the circumference of the gun barrel. In Halo 3, the assault cannon is aesthetically very different, but operates much the same as it does in Halo 2. The cannon in Halo 3 can be cut off instantaneously if the target has gone to cover, which stops it from wasting ammunition, but it also has a "force" effect where it blows away movable objects such as supply crates. Also, in Halo 3, the "claws" seem to have hinges, although they are never seen moving in gameplay.

Trivia

 * In Halo:Combat Evolved, the Assault Cannon fired single fuel rod shots, whereas in both Halo 2 and Halo 3 it was capable of firing a continuous "beam".
 * Some people believe the Scarab's main gun is just an enlarged version of the Assault Cannon due to the similarities of the charge-up and the color of the beam.
 * In Halo: Combat Evolved, Hunters will not continue to track you once the cannon has started to charge, making the Hunters inaccurate with moving targets.
 * In Halo 3, if you look closely at a Hunters Assault Cannon when it is charging up, green electricity protrudes from the three parts jutting out of the weapon and they form together to make the beam of energy.
 * Though it is generally accurate, the projectiles are slow and can be dodged easily.
 * In Halo 2, the assault cannon looks like the one from Halo CE but with claws on the barrel.