Zurdo-pattern Wraith

Wraith The Wraith Type-25, or more commonly known as just the Wraith, is a Covenant ground assault vehicle.

Introduction
The Wraith Self-Propelled Artillery is the Covenant's main assault vehicle for ground engagements. It fires large bolts of super heated plasma contained in a magnetic field into the air. These bolts then rain down on enemy troops from above with tremendous force. Because the Wraith fires in an arc, rather than line-of-sight, this vehicle's attacks are very dangerous. The indirect fire is capable of catching many off guard with tragic consequences. The mortar can bypass most defenses that its enemies can muster. It is equipped with anti-gravity plates underneath its mainframe similar to those of the Ghost but on a much larger scale, allowing it to hover over any anti-vehicular mines that have been placed in its path as a deterrent. The pilot is completely encased within the armoured hull of the tank and thus protected from all small-arms fire. The vehicle can only be incapacitated by heavy weapons, artillery or internal explosions. The Wraith's engines can be pushed to provide an excellent boost in speed, but at the cost of maneuverability and weapon power, mimicking the Ghost once again. however as a result of the Wraith's much greater weight the increase in speed is marginal, and only temporary.

The Wraith is the main heavy vehicle of the Covenant army and can be seen as a counterpart to the UNSC M808B Scorpion Main Battle Tanks. However, the two tanks are considerably different. The Wraith weighs approximately 55-75 tons, and can move much faster. It's main gun is slightly weaker than the Scorpions 90mm cannon, and moves slowly as it must arc through the air before contacting the target.

Its main weapon, a short barreled Plasma Mortar, can be tilted vertically but remains in fixed position horizontally, meaning that the whole vehicle has to turn to aim the weapon. The mortar can be withdrawn inside the chassis whilst not in use. Be careful, though - hiding behind things may not always protect you, as it shoots in a arc.

The Wraith moves in the same fashion of the Ghost, hovering above ground. Its armor is unevenly divided similar to modern tanks; the bulky front skirt can take more punishment than the flanks or rear, making frontal assaults both fruitless and a waste of ammunition if you don't possess sufficiant Anti-Armor weaponry.

Halo: Combat Evolved
In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Wraith tank can not be piloted by the player, only by enemy Elites and is a very tough adversary, it can take as many as 3 direct rocket hits, even on normal difficulty, before being destroyed. It explodes in a different fashion than in the other games. This version of the Wraith has no anti-personnel weapons. The first time a Wraith is seen on the game is in the Grav-Bay of the Truth and Reconciliation. Some are also seen in the storage and shuttle bays of the ship. The only two levels they are used in combat are Assault on the Control Room and Two Betrayals. Also of note is that the mortar is not as detailed in Halo Combat Evolved, looking more like a tube. It is worth noting that the player can flip the Wraith, should it be knocked onto its back. Like all vehicles, the Elite driver will fall out when the vehicle is initially flipped. This is easiest to see by using the Early Banshee trick in Assault on the Control Room and pushing the elevated Wraith off the small cliff.

Halo 2
In Halo 2, the Wraith has two weapons: the standard plasma mortar and two automated Plasma Cannons.

The secondary plasma defense weapons are almost identical to the portable Plasma Cannons used as squad support weapons by the Covenant. The turrets will attack any enemy which comes within range, though they are not very accurate. They appear to be automated as they have no visible space for a gunner since the Wraith is a single pilot vehicle. They can take down energy shields relatively easily. This makes boarding a Wraith slightly more difficult. Oddly, the auto-cannons cannot be used by the player. Only Computer A.I. players, such as Brutes, Elites, or even marines, can take advantage of them. This makes them entirely useless when a player is controlling the Wraith.

This Wraith also includes a booster engine, capable of tripling the tank's speed for about one second. Once it is used, it takes about five seconds to recharge. Though this can be used to travel more quickly, it is commonly used to run over enemies who are getting too close. It can also flip small vehicles, such as Ghosts or Warthogs. A bug in Halo 2 makes it possible to boost a Scorpion Tank up in the sky.

Halo 3
The Wraith reappears in Halo 3, and is slightly more powerful.

The appearance of the newer Wraith is also slightly different, featuring what appear to be rudimentary headlights. It is now a 2-user vehicle with the driver being inside the cockpit, while the gunner is exposed and has a 270 degree view around him. The turret is used for antipersonnel defense, providing a possible defense against hijackers. The mortar blasts from the Wraith travel slightly faster now, and can fire at a lower trajectory. The turret fires energy blasts resembling the shots of the Plasma Rifle instead of a beam the Spectre fires, but the sound effect that was used for the Spectre turret is now used here. A new single propulsion jet similar to the one the Spectre uses has been added on the back, in addition to the regular ones, and its speed boost seems to have increased accordingly. The tank has a subtle greenish shine to it and has a sort of latticework of material embedded in it that glimmers when light hits it. An extremely vulnerable spot has been added, the aforementioned propulsion jet. This addition to the Wraith now makes it possible to destroy a Wraith with three melee attacks. This jet is partially open, but the cover for it can be knocked off and, if the jet is hit by a single melee attack, causes an extreme chain reaction that causes the Wraith to explode violently, with both propulsion "fins" exploding and the turret exploding with such force that it is warped outwards along the line that the plasma emitter rests in when not in use. Also, Pressing and holding down the A button will cause the two fins on the sides to bend downward, raising the front of the wraith up off the ground. You can gain control of a wraith by first boarding onto it (press RB), then hitting it (melee - press B) two or three times to kill the pilot and the gunner. Then get off the wraith and walk up to its front, and press RB again to pilot it. It is important not to totally destroy the wraith (explode), and don't plant a grenade when you board it! This will render it unusable.

Type 52 AA
Instead of the standard Plasma Mortar, the Type-52 Anti Aircraft Artillery variant of the Wraith features larger versions of the Fuel Rod Cannon, two racks with three mounted on each, six in total. It fires 6 fuel rods in rapid succession. The color of its body is more brownish blueish than the standard Wraith.

Click here to watch.

It is possible to steal an AA Wraith if you jump onto, but to not hijack, and melee the front a few times. Then, a Brute's head will be exposed. Melee one more time to knock off his helmet, and then crouch. Hold RB where it does not say to board, and (while still holding RB)shoot his head with a sniping or semi-sniping weapon (Pistol, Carbine, Battle Rifle, Sniper/Beam Rifle, etc.) to kill him. When you kill him, you get in the Wraith! With two players it is even simpler. 1) Have one player (let's call him Fred) board the Wraith. 2) Have the other player (let's call him Bob) jump on top of it. 3) Have Bob hold RB. 4) Have Fred melee attack the Wraith, slowly. 5) After enough times, Fred should kill the driver and Bob should jump in! Note: If you get out, it will automatically destroy itself.

Deployment
The Wraith can be ferried to and from the battlefield and deployed in a combat ready state by either Spirit or Phantom dropships. This allows for devastating firepower to be delivered to the field rapidly, a common bane of UNSC soldiers.

Character Compatibility

 * Elites
 * Spartans (Halo 2 and Halo 3)
 * Marines (Halo 2 and Halo 3)
 * Brutes (Halo 2 and Halo 3)
 * Flood Combat Forms (Human, Elite, Halo 2 Only)

Tips and Tricks

 * This vehicle is slow and easily boarded, a good tactic is to have a Ghost as back up, not only to kill the boarders, but to stop any other Ghosts getting a kill by going around the Wraith (plus the Ghost is also protected by the Wraith).
 * This vehicles Mortar Shot can actually flip the Elephants on Sandtrap if fired into the Vehicle and done correctly.

Trivia

 * When a player boards a Wraith in Halo 2, and then plants a grenade, it kills everyone on board besides the planter. This includes other boarders that may be in the back.
 * If the driver of the Halo 2 Wraith exits the vehicle to evade attack from a boarder, and the boarder stays on, the driver may board the back of the vehicle. The driver cannot plant a grenade in attempt to kill the other boarder though.
 * In Halo 3 Forge, if you enter a Wraith, then exit by entering Monitor Mode, the main turret will stay out instead of retracting into the vehicle.

Related Links

 * Scorpion Tank - UNSC equivalent of the Wraith
 * Type-52 Anti Aircraft Artillery - An anti-air variant of the Wraith
 * Unknown Wraith - A new form of wraith that has no known purpose yet