Sangheili Ranger

The Sangheili Ranger is a Covenant Sangheili rank, a specialty class like Special Operations Sangheili. They are suited for zero-gravity battlefields.

The Ranger corps is a special forces branch that conducts its operations in unusually dangerous battlegrounds, particularly the vacuum of space. Usually deployed for Zero-Gravity environments, it is they who are ordered by their superiors to seek and destroy a certain target or targets. Experts in low gravity combat, they are capable of posing a threat to ships, as well as many other types of aircraft.

Rank
While not distinctively a rank, Sangheili Rangers fall somewhere between Sangheili Minors and Special Operations. These units do not command troops but can be seen working together with one telling the others what to do, so there may be sub-ranks within this class of Sangheili. They have the shielding of Minor Sangheili, but the rank does not apply, and of course the lack of more powerful shielding could be due to the energy being diverted to the mounted Antigravity Pack.

Equipment
Rangers use something between the Flight Harness and the Assault Harness, an oddity considering that the use of the Assault Harness was restricted by treaties between the San 'Shyuum and the Sangheili at the close of the Sangheili-San 'Shyuum War, as it gave the latter an advantage in combat.The fact that it was equipped by Ranger units may indicate a willingness by the Sangheili to ignore the Prophets' decree, or it simply could have been allowed by the Prophets as an exception, as a zero-gravity specialty troop would need an airtight helmet. Now that the Sangheili have left the Covenant, the armor that makes Rangers so distinctive on the battlefield is to be introduced into wider service. The Assault Harness allows activity even in exo-atmospheric environments, allowing Rangers to operate even in space for insertion, demolitions tasks and protecting their wearers in areas where Flood infection is a threat.

Rangers also use an anti-gravity pack that allows flight, giving the user unparalleled mobility through the air and also allows the user to bypass traditional defenses. They also appear to use plasma cannons to defend positions in space, probably because they could easily carry heavy weapons in a zero gravity environment.

In Halo: Reach, Rangers appear to wear vacuum suits. They have a bluish visor, in which their face can be seen. Additionally, their armor is colored silver, instead of the original blue.

Appearances

 * Fall of Reach - Many Sangheili Rangers were deployed to Gamma Station to capture unsecured navigation data.
 * Operation: FIRST STRIKE - Some Rangers were present at the Unyielding Hierophant, where they tried to kill John-117 and his team.
 *  - Ranger Sangheili were used by the Covenant in an attempt to prevent John-117 from reaching the bomb on board the station, usually in groups of three to five. One group was stationed near the docking clamps where the was docked and another tried to suppress the Spartan underneath the station's "Super" MAC gun.
 *  - A pair of Rangers were used in atmospheric operations against John-117 and his small unit of Marines as they attempted to assassinate the Prophet of Regret, using gondolas to get near the group before using their thrusters to take to the air in an attempt to leverage their maneuverability.
 *  - Ranger Sangheili throughout High Charity battled the Covenant Loyalists. They were found in places such as Hanging Garden A.

Combat
Ranger Sangheili are a type of Special Operations Commando Unit, though not necessarily connected to the traditional Spec Ops Sangheili, as they are specialists in anti-gravity combat. In Halo 2, Rangers will use their thrusters to great effect in battle, using them to strafe while firing their weapons. They are most often seen in Halo 2 when dual-wielding plasma rifles, firing in prolonged bursts. Rangers sometimes also set up portable plasma cannons to provide heavy support fire against human space-capable forces. Their energy shields are of about the same strength as a Minor Sangheili's and, although their tactics differ, they require the same amount of firepower to lower, rendering the wearer vulnerable. Rangers are susceptible to Plasma Pistols and Needlers, which use their tracking ability to great effect, lowering their shields, or in the Needler's case, killing them outright. However, for long-range combat a Battle Rifle, Covenant Carbine, Beam Rifle, or the UNSC Sniper Rifle can allow the player to kill them from long ranges, preventing them from becoming a threat at close range.

Background
Ranger Sangheili have been observed at the Fall of Reach, Operation: FIRST STRIKE, the Battle of Earth, the Battle of Installation 05, and at 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.

The Rangers are apparently an entirely volunteer unit, with its members joining either for personal glory or because of ancestral duties to the unit. They are used as an expeditionary unit in limited naval engagements, deciding which are to be boarded and which destroyed.

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

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo: Reach

 * They appear bulkier, with heavy armor around the chest and back. They also sport a new helmet, similar in appearance to the MJOLNIR EVA helmet, with a transparent faceplate.
 * They are a playable class in Multiplayer and Matchmaking.
 * Their armor is greyish white, while in Halo 2 it was cyan.

Trivia

 * In Halo 2, Rangers' eyes can be seen through their helmets' eye pieces.
 * Sesa 'Refumee was wearing a modified Ranger suit when he was killed by Thel 'Vadamee.
 * If you shoot a Sangheili Ranger in their Antigravity Pack while they are flying, they will fall a bit on Heroic and Legendary, and fall to the ground or their deaths on Normal and Easy.
 * Sometimes while firing, a Ranger's empty hand will bounce with the gun hand as if he was holding two guns. This is probably because they are often seen with two Plasma Rifles and the game might assume they are wielding a second, causing the animation.
 * Sangheili Rangers will make a reappearance in the Halo: Reach multiplayer as a Loadout class.
 * Sangheili Rangers in Halo: Reach wear a new type of helmet, that bears some resemblance to the EVA helmet. This helmet may be the type worn by Ranger Elites in Halo: The Fall of Reach, as the novel novel describes them as having transparent visors.

Related Links

 * Kig-yar Ranger
 * SpecOps Standard Sangheili
 * Jump Pack Jiralhanae