Wuzum-pattern Spectre

Spectre The Spectre is a Covenant ground assault/transportation vehicle. At first, it could be considered analogous to the Warthog or Prowler, though designed in typical Covenant style. It is exclusive to Halo 2, although it was originally designed for Halo: Combat Evolved.

Introduction
The Spectre is a multi-troop, armoured transport. It is a medium sized vehicle, but maintains the high maneuverability most Covenant vehicles are renowned for. While it's sluggish (slower than the Ghost, but faster than the Wraith), it can easily move while in confined spaces such as a tight box canyon (see The Great Journey). This vehicle can only be found in Halo 2. It is not prone to flipping, unlike its counterpart Type-32 Rapid Assault Vehicle, this makes it good for assaults.

The Spectre's main weakness is that its occupants are fairly exposed. The rear-mounted Plasma Cannon is very dangerous and can rapidly deplete an enemy's shield, and has a 360 degree firing arc. It has the capacity to hold two passengers besides a gunner and a driver.

Operation
The Spectre, like many other Covenant vehicles, has the ability to rapidly increase its speed with the aid of a booster. It can do this at the cost of great maneuverability. However, good pilots are capable of using the 'A' button to lift the Spectre's nose to improve it's turning ability, like a Ghost. It offers two seating positions for passengers and thus allows them to add to the vehicle's firepower with their own weaponry. However, these seats are completely exposed and as such the passengers are very vulnerable to small arms fire and splash damage from nearby explosions. A protective metal carapace shields the driver’s seat. It leaves the head of the driver exposed, however, and as a result leaves the driver prone to being sniped.

The Spectre is much larger than the Ghost and thus heavier, as a result it flips less often as a result of grenades and other explosions. It provides a stable, mobile gun platform for heavy anti-infantry fire and a method of delivering troops into the heart of a battle. Its main advantage is probably (like most other Covenant vehicles) it can turn 360 degrees while it's stationary, unlike the Warthog, which has to keep moving to turn.

Deployment
The Spectre, as with all Covenant land based vehicles, is delivered via dropship. So far only the Phantom has been seen to do this, however, Spirits may be equally capable but they have never been seen deploying Spectres.

Appearances
Spectres appear in Halo 2 at the begining of the level Quarantine Zone and can be used in many multiplayer maps. It is exclusive to Halo 2. However, early Spectres were seen in the Halo E3 2000 Trailer, but did not make it into the final version of the game. It is replaced by its Brute counterpart, the Prowler, in Halo 3.

Spectre in Combat
The Spectre offers one defensive weapon, a rapid firing Plasma Cannon placed at the rear of the vehicle offering 360 degrees of fire. It should be noted that unlike most plasma cannons, the Spectres cannon's fire is much more linear and accurate.

The weapon is devastatingly powerful and can cut through infantry with ease. However against vehicles it does not do so well. The rounds fired actually bounce off of Wraith and Scorpion Tank armour, doing minimal damage.

It's rapid-firing linear plasma cannon makes it very useful against Banshees, because it is more accurate and fast instead of the normal, slow plasma bolts.

The Spectre, whilst disadvantaged in speed compared to other vehicles, has it's advantages in combat. The Warthog can hold three people, where as the Spectre can hold four. This is a minor advantage, but can be useful as it provides extra support, giving the Spectre defence on all sides. This is also useful in Campaign, allowing the player to carry more allies further into the level.

Use in Multiplayer
It is generally unused in multiplayer. The Spectre is somewhat slow when compared to other vehicles in multiplayer such as the Ghost and Warthog, thus making the Spectre a so-so vehicle to run over enemies, giving them time to dodge or jump over. The Spectre is the most likely choice for getting to the top of Coagulation and Burial Mounds to glitch to the top of those maps, because it doesn't flip as easily, and can be boosted indefinitely. When on top of the map, they have almost a complete view of everything below and players have a great opportunity to snipe others.

Spectres hold one extra player as opposed to the Warthog, a usual favourite for teams. While the Spectre is less commonly used, the extra seat provides advantages for objective based games, such as Capture the flag. The Spectre is also suitable for rapid movement across a map. While players may obtain and stay in a Warthog, the Spectre can be used to carry a small team across distances to be closer to combat.

Advantages vs. Warthog
The Spectre has many advantages over its UNSC counterpart. First, the Spectre has a much more stable firing platform. Even when using a Frag Grenade, the Spectre can remain upright. It is very manueverable as well, it can turn around without moving, which can be useful in many situations. It also has very accurate Plasma Cannon in the back. It is ideal for taking down Banshees, and can be used in succession against infantry. The Spectre has the ability to carry one more passenger than the Warthog, giving it an advantage in CTF games. The Boost function that all Covenant land vehicles have is great when trying to escape from hotspots. Also, a metal cover on top protects the driver.

Disadvantages vs. Warthog
The one best argument against the Spectre is the exposure of the passengers and gunner. While the drivers seat is protected by a metal covering, the passengers are easy targets for snipers on all but one angle. This problem is worsened by the low speed of the Spectre. Unless boosting, it barely outpaces a Wraith, and is very unmaneuverable during a boost. Its turret, while effective against aircraft and infantry, is not useful when attempting to take down tanks.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Brutes
 * Grunts
 * Spartans
 * Marines
 * Flood Combat Form (Human)
 * Flood Combat Form (Elite)

Trivia

 * It seems that during the construction of Halo: Combat Evolved the Spectre was a vehicle that Bungie had in mind, but ended up on the cutting room floor. At the time it seems to have been called the Shadow. It can be seen in the Halo E3 2000 Trailer.
 * If you press and hold A while driving, the air brake will engage. The front end will rise, enabling you to climb some walls.
 * In Halo 3 it seems to have been replaced by the Prowler, which is a very similar Brute vehicle and thus, Bungie probably felt no point to bring the Spectre back in Halo 3 since there was already one slightly better replacement variant (The Prowler's armour is rather strong to withstand up to two rocket hits normally).
 * The turret shots bounce off of the heavy armoured vehicles like Wraiths and Scorpions.
 * A glitch occurs when two players in the passenger seats have Sentinel Beams. If one player fires their Sentinel Beam, then the other player's Sentinel Beam will appear to fire as well, though this will not drain the second player's battery, and it will not increase the damage. If the second player fires their beam, the only effect on the target will be from them.
 * The turret of the Spectre in the Halo E3 2000 Trailer probably gave the origin of the shade turret in Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * The Spectre has a weaker cannon and armour and lower stability than the Prowler, but is capable of boosting and manoeuvring faster, as well as offering more cover to its driver and passengers
 * It is possible that the Spectre was continued to be used by Covenant Separatists, as it is unlikely that the Elites would have used the Brute Prowler.
 * Like all the other Covenant vehicles, the Spectre is named after some sort of ghost-like creature.

Related Links

 * Warthog - UNSC equivalent of the Spectre
 * Prowler - Covenant Loyalist equivalent of the Spectre.