Spectre

The Spectre is a medium Covenant ground vehicle, first made playable in Halo 2.

Universe and lore
The Spectre are a set of Covenant vehicle patterns. The in specific was seen as early as the Battle of Sargasso in 2546, during the War of Annihilation. The however was a much rarer sight on the battlefield due to it's design.

The following is a list of all vehicles known by the "Spectre" moniker in Halo lore that have appeared in the games:

Counterparts
Several vehicles act as counterparts to Spectre in gameplay. On the Covenant side, the Revenant and Prowler both act as a medium sized, passenger capable weapons platform. The Prowler even makes use of a plasma cannon itself. From the UNSC is the Chaingun Warthog, which acts in the same manner albeit with a kinetic based weapon.

First-person shooters
The Spectre differs slightly depending on the game. In Halo 2, it features a rear-mounted, rapid-firing plasma cannon which provides 360 degrees of fire and can hold three others after the driver.

Campaign
The Spectre is a usable vehicle in Quarantine Zone, Uprising, and The Great Journey in Halo 2's campaign.

Multiplayer
The Spectre can spawn on the maps Burial Mounds and Coagulation.

Advantages

 * Stable firing platform thanks to its flat and heavy design and evenly-placed propulsion drive.
 * Its plasma turret is very accurate with high rate of fire, delivering a reasonable amount of damage to its target; it is ideal for taking down Banshees, and can be used with success against infantry.
 * It is capable of carrying a gunner and two passengers in addition to the driver.

Disadvantages

 * High vulnerability of passengers to small arms fire and splash damage from nearby explosions.
 * The gunner must also lead their targets when firing at medium to long range, as there is a noticeable travel time for the plasma projectiles.
 * The turret performs poorly against armored vehicles such as the Scorpion, as the plasma cannon's bolts will be reflected by the tank's armor.

Tactics and strategies

 * Its 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. On Legendary, a Spectre can be very irritating to a Banshee as it is not easy to hit.
 * The Spectre, whilst disadvantaged in speed compared with other vehicles, has its 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 fire support, giving the Spectre defense on all sides-especially if the occupants are armed with weapons like Rocket Launchers or Fuel Rod Guns (giving the Spectre a better chance against vehicles).
 * The Spectre is the likely choice for getting to the top of multiplayer maps such as Coagulation and Burial Mounds, thanks to its indefinite boosting ability.
 * Similar to the Ghost, the Spectre is an ideal vehicle for splattering enemies
 * One excellent tactical strategy is to use the Spectres and other vehicles as a combination like the Warthog and Ghost, for more firepower and protection which is quite effective against groups and a small number of enemy infantry and vehicles.
 * Spectres hold one extra player as opposed to the Warthog, a usual favorite 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.

List of appearances

 * Halo 2
 * Halo: Combat Evolved