Shade

The Shade is the Covenant's standard stationary gun turret and anti-infantry weapons platform.

Overview
The Shade is a Covenant stationary gun turret and anti-infantry weapons platform, manned in third person like a vehicle. It consists of a sturdy base and a floating, mobile, turret-like seat with control systems for its gun. In Halo 2, the Shade was replaced with a new Shielded Plasma Cannon, which has energy shields around it, similar to a Jackal's. A similar gun to the Shade can be found as a defensive weapon on Spirit and Phantom dropships. It returned in Halo 3, this time the base is now firmer, and the shade has a much heavier reinforced front to protect the gunner.

The first known encounter with Shades was in 2535 during the Battle of Jericho VII.

Operation
The Shade gun fires three (two in Halo 3) slow moving, high powered bolts of plasma encased in magnetic fields. The accuracy of a Shades weapon is fairly low, as the bolts of plasma fired can hit anywhere within the aiming reticule. Since it is designed with infantry combat in mind it is highly effective against Grunts and Jackals, and has exhibited limited effectiveness against Elites (especially at dropping their shields). But due to their intelligence Elites can often find cover and escape the Shade's field of fire. Its shots lack the required punch to damage Hunters, whose armor and combat shield are immune to it. It is also fairly ineffective against the Flood, like most other plasma based weaponry.

The Shade offers a wide field of fire and a 360 degree traversable mount. It is highly effective at combating light infantry, has shown a good ability against light vehicles such as the Ghost and in desperate situations can serve as anti-aircraft defense (a few direct hits is all it needs to destroy a Banshee).

Models
There are 2 models encountered so far in the Halo universe

Shade (Halo: Combat Evolved)
The shade first appeared in Halo:CE, and was mostly feared because of its devastating anti-infantry bolts. But however, there were many weaknesses:
 * It is possible to snipe a Shade gunner off its turret, but one must aim above the center (which the red reticule usually denotes) and at the user itself, since the Shade protects the user.
 * It is also possible to melee attack a foe off of a Shade.
 * The gunner is highly exposed atop the Shade, with cover only available via the gun mechanism itself. This leaves the operator open to flanking maneuvers and attacks from multiple angles. This poses a serious disadvantage to the gunner.

The turret is not permanently fixed to the ground, supposedly for movement/deployment purposes. As such, explosives are an ideal way of uprooting the Shade and ensuring it is subsequently out of action. If the Shade is turned over, then it is possible to flip it back upright.

Type-26 ASG
In Halo 3, the shade now has a model name, which is Type-26 ASG. It is often operated by the Grunt Race, specifically the Green-armored Gunner Grunt. Much like the Shade in Halo: Combat Evolved, it uses a Gravity Field to lift the battery off the ground and giving it free 360 degree field of view and a better deadzone. The Shade is seen in the Halo 3 campaign missions The Ark, Tsavo Highway, and The Covenant. The Shade was in multiplayer only in Halo 3 Epsilon. As it was removed from the final version, even in Forge

Advantages
As with its human counterpart, the AIE-486H HMG, the shade is very effective against both enemy ground forces and light vehicles. Some of its advantages over the HMG are that the plasma bolts are accurate and effective at longer distances and it is easier to see where your shots are actually going than it is with the HMG’s tracer rounds. In a multi-player game a well-placed observer can help you place hits from the other side of some of the largest maps. The shade is also capable of rotating 360 degrees so that you can fire on enemies trying to sneak up behind you.

Disadvantages
As with the HMG, when you are using the shade you are extremely exposed to enemy fire and become a target that any good commander will want to eliminate immediately. A single hit by a rocket or well placed plasma grenade will destroy the turret, as will a direct hit from a M68 Gauss Cannon or the main cannon of a Scorpion Tank. While it is useful against enemies in light vehicles, this is not a weapon to use when faced with an enemy tank; you will be dead long before the tank is. Also, as is the case with the HMG, you are unprotected from the rear, although this is lessened by the ability to completely rotate the turret. It is advisable to have a teammate nearby to help cover you when you are using a turret.

Design
When the shade was introduced in Halo:CE, it took the shape of a bowl with a gun at its front. This version of the shade was the most vulnerable to enemy fire to the front, as the front wasn't reinforced well. This version of the shade fires 3 purple plasma shots.

The shade returned in Halo 3. In contrast to the shielded plasma cannon from Halo 2, the Halo 3 version seems much better defended, with physical armor encompassing the turret's user. While the cannon hovers on a small gravity lift like the Shade from Halo:Combat Evolved, the base looks entrenched, and so the device isn't mobile. However, much like the Shade in Halo: Combat Evolved it is probably highly vulnerable to grenade or explosive strikes due to its stationary nature. Also it can be noted that the plasma bolts were alot stronger in Halo: Combat Evolved then those of Halo 3.

Comparison
Here is a table comparison of the different shade versions in the Halo trilogy:

Similarities

 * Both are used against vehicles and personnel.
 * Both are turrets designed by the Covenant.
 * Both turrets float on an anti-gravity "cushion" projected by their bases.
 * Both fire almost equally damaging plasma bolts, though they are different in appearance
 * Both turrets are extremely vulnerable to explosives

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Brutes
 * Spartans
 * Grunts
 * Marines (Have animation, but not used in-game).

Related Links

 * Plasma Cannon
 * Shielded Plasma Cannon