Karo'etba-pattern Ghost

Were you looking for the similarly named Ghost of Lockout?

Ghost



The Ghost was the primary Covenant light ground vehicle.

The Ghost is the Covenant's standard reconnaissance and rapid attack vehicle. It is equipped with two of what are now accepted as the standard light vehicle mounted weapons: a directed energy weapon capable of projecting a bolt of super-heated plasma in the 100-250 kW range.

Overview
The design was optimized for speed and maneuverability, sacrificing other attributes to achieve this. The low mass made it easily overturned. Lack of protection made it vulnerable to small arms fire, especially when directed against the exposed fuel tank mounted on the side. This low durability provided pilots, who otherwise had to rely solely on whatever personal protection they wore, with an incentive to keep moving.

The high sloped nose made the Ghost a challenging vehicle for short pilots since forward visibility was impeded.

The Ghost could be transported to and from the battlefield by a variety of other craft, such as dropships.

Propulsion
Propulsion was provided by a form of anti-gravity engine resulting in a vehicle that skimmed approximately a half meter over the ground when in motion.

Later Ghosts had their engines modified with a 'speed boost' feature that tripled its speed. In this mode the Ghost could easily run down enemy infantry or evade more durable foes. The boost increased the engine's power consumption and prevented the vehicle's weapons from being fired.

Judicious use of the speed boost could help prevent the Ghost from flipping over after skipping over a boulder or some other obstacle,

The Ghost has the capability to both hover and strafe using anti-gravity pods, making it very agile over any terrain, including ice. While the vehicle is fast and maneuverable, it's open design leaves the driver virtually unprotected.

The Ghost also has an overdrive that causes the engine to flare and give a dramatic boost in speed. While boosting, the Ghost becomes difficult to manuever, and cannot fire it's weapons as all the power is dumped to the engines.

Weapons
Armament on the Ghost consisted of two, forward firing, 100-250 kW plasma cannons. These were the standard Covenant light vehicular weapons The weapons were only accurate at short range but the Ghost's speed and maneuverability compensated for this and allowed it to engage a wide range of targets just the same. Nonetheless, the cannon were only effective against lightly protected targets.

While the speed of the Ghost allowed it to bring its weapons to bare on a wide range of targets, the cannons were effectively only against light infantry and other lightly protected targets. In Halo: Combat Evolved the plasma cannon could Stun enemy players in Multiplayer.

Trivia

 * It is also possible to do a wheelie with the Ghost. Simply press and hold 'A' on the Xbox version or the Space Bar in Halo PC while moving. Employing the air brake lifts up the nose. It is advised to do this while doing a jump, as you are less likely to flip.
 * If the player shoots the small metal circle on the left side of the Ghost, the Ghost will automatically explode, destroying the vehicle while sparing the driver.
 * The Ghost's appearance evolved noticeably between the pre-release and final versions of Halo:Combat Evolved.
 * The Ghost bears a striking resemblance to the large sea creature the manta ray. Its side wings look just like pectoral fins, while the twin plasma cannons take after the large, distinctive cephalic fins.

Related Links

 * Brute Ghost