M831 Troop Transport Warthog

The M831 Troop Transport, abbreviated as M831 TT and commonly known as the Troop Transport, is a United Nations Space Command ground vehicle based off the chassis of the M12 Force Application Vehicle.

Design details
The M831 Troop Transport is essentially the troop transport variant of the M12 FAV. It contains no armaments of its own, and instead features an extended tray covered in a protective rollcage which provides supplementary room for several personnel in the rear section along with one driver and a passenger in the front seat. Unlike other M12 FAV variants, it has a SLED spot light on top of the roll cage.

The Troop Transport relies on its passengers for defense and offense. Armed with standard weaponry, such as assault rifles or battle rifles, this provides the vehicle with reasonable firepower, though less than the standard M41 LAAG and a wider field of fire, and the occupants can also carry heavier armaments, such as Fuel Rod Cannons, [M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon|rocket launchers]], and so on, allowing the vehicle much firepower almost on par with the Gauss cannon. The usage of a troop compartment instead of a turret is both an advantage and a disadvantage: more allies will die should the vehicle be destroyed, but multiple targets can be engaged at the same time, albeit with less overall force).

Operational history
In July 24, 2552, SPARTAN-B312 was transported into a UNSC camp to join Noble Team by a M831 TT. Two days later, when the Covenant attacked the ONI facility SWORD Base during the opening actions of Fall of Reach, UNSC Army troopers from 3 Echo utilized a M831 TT to return to their base, but were killed by Wraiths before approaching SWORD Base's gates.

On October 20 in the same year, UNSC Marines fighting in New Mombasa made use of numerous M381 TTs on the city's waterfront highway. While their operators were killed, the M381 TTs remained intact until the city was glassed on the next day by a Covenant fleet.

As the Battle of Earth drew to an end, UNSC military base Crow's Nest was attacked by the Covenant. John-117, after detonating a bomb in the base, drove a M381 TT with a group of surviving Marines out of the destroyed base and managed to get back into contact with Lt. Commander Miranda Keyes. Another M381 TT was dropped by a D77H-TCI Pelican for John-117 and his Marines to fight past the Covenant defense and clear a path to Voi.

Production notes
The M831 Troop Transport vehicle was originally slated to be in Halo 2 along with two other Warthog variants, the Snow Warthog and the Jungle Warthog. Time constraints prevented Bungie from adding it to the game; the only new variant that made it into Halo 2 was the M12G1 LAAV "Gauss" Warthog. In Halo 2, the Troop Transport Warthog's personnel compartment seems to use a roll cage with roll bars similar to that of modern vehicles.

The M831 TT was sighted in the Halo 3 E3 2007 Trailer. In the final game, it can be spotted in multiple levels, including Tsavo Highway, The Storm.

The M831 TT returns in Halo: Reach, first viewable in the cutscene Noble Actual, then later in the level, ONI: Sword Base, making a scripted drive before being destroyed. Occasionally, however, the vehicle will survive, or the script will not work properly, resulting in an undamaged, fully-functioning warthog spawning nearby.

Tactics

 * This vehicle has practically no offensive capability other than the ability to run over enemies, and whatever firepower its passengers have at their disposal. However, in Tsavo Highway, it is possible to arm every Marine riding your 'Hog with a Fuel Rod Gun. The fact that each Marine has infinite ammo and a 360-degree arc of fire makes a Troop Transport Hog very effective when engaging Wraiths.
 * On the campaign level The Storm, the Troop Transport Warthog found in the first lakebed area can be carried through to the next Traxus factory, where there is a rack of rocket launchers that the player can give to the Marines. This is helpful against the Anti-Air Wraiths and the Scarab.
 * The only campaign level the Troop Transport Warthog made an appearance in Halo: Reach gameplay is "ONI: Sword Base" when the player finds the 2 Wraiths they are attacking a "Troop Hog", which will explode, but it is possible to acquire it by using sprint and stunning it several times with a Plasma Pistol. This requires a few tries, especially because the "Troop Hog" is programmed to explode, even if the player gets it away from the Covenant into cover.

Trivia

 * It can be confused with the Warthog armored personnel carrier, an improvised Insurrectionist vehicle with an armored cab attached between the front and rear ends of the standard Warthog, giving many extra seats.
 * On the Halo 3 multiplayer level The Pit, a Troop Transport Warthog rests outside the level boundaries. A player can spawn a Grav Lift in Forge and use it to push the 'Hog into the level; however, only the Connection Host can drive it.
 * Players can actually get the Marines out of the back seats even though they themselves cannot sit back there. Simply walk to a Marine and aim at them; when the reticule turns green, press RB, and they will jump out.
 * There are several reasons why this vehicle was not added to Multiplayer:
 * As mentioned above, only the front seats are usable by players. The three additional seats in the back are only usable by NPCs.
 * The ability to have five players in the vehicle at once would allow too many members of a team to be transported quickly across a map. Also, it would provide easy multiple-kills for enemy players, turning the vehicle into "a Killtacular on wheels".
 * Despite being the same size as normal marines, players cannot enter the rear seats in Halo 3: ODST. This may have been overlooked by Bungie or simply done for gameplay reasons.

List of appearances

 * Halo 3
 * Halo 3: ODST
 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Uprising
 * Halo: Evolutions - Essential Tales of the Halo Universe
 * Palace Hotel