Rizvum-pattern Revenant

The Rizvum-pattern Swift Tank is a Covenant mobile artillery vehicle manufactured by the Merchants of Qikost.

The Rizvum is a one of a number of examples identified as part of the Revenant line of light vehicles, other examples including the.

Design details
The Rizvum is a lightly armored vehicle that is designed to provide artillery support for infantry forces. It is manufactured by the Merchants of Qikost, who derived the design from a primitive Sangheili vehicle. The original design of the Revenant was produced as a utility vehicle for Sangheili frontiersmen who traveled the vast wilderness of Qikost's hunting preserves. However, because the line between civilian and military application is thin on Sanghelios and other Sangheili colonies, it was easily modified into a military vehicle. Due to its sleek contours, speed, and sturdiness, it is a well renowned product of the Covenant's private manufacturing sector. This stands in contrast to most Covenant military vehicles, which are designed and manufactured en masse by the Assembly Forges. The driver is seated in the vehicle's left seat, while a passenger can "ride shotgun" in the right seat, similar to the jumpseats on the Spectre. The driver and the passenger are highly exposed—either due to a vestigial attribute of the Revenant's original design or due to a Sangheili effort to display fearlessness. However, the Revenant's speed and firepower compensate for this relative lack of safety. Regardless, adept pilots keep their Revenant out of sight and use its mortar to indirectly attack enemies who are hidden behind cover.

The Revenant holds a niche between the Ghost and the Wraith, a "functional gap" that has been filled many times during the Covenant's history, usually by infantry support vehicles such as the Spectre and the Prowler. It has traditionally been considered the most successful vehicle in this regard. Unlike the former vehicles, however, the Revenant is designed to provide fire support rather than direct force deployment. The Revenant is very fast and maneuverable, well armored, and well armed. Like most Covenant vehicles, the Revenant owes its mobility to a boosted gravity propulsion drive.

Armaments
It is armed with a Class-2 medium plasma mortar that is implemented behind the operator; this weapon is similar to the heavy plasma mortar utilized by the Wraith, featuring a much faster rate of fire though considerably lower firepower. The Class-2 medium plasma mortar is typically found on weapons emplacements and much larger vehicles, but the Revenant is an exception. The weapon's quicker rate of fire and short range reflects upon the aggressive combat style of the Sangheili operators, allowing them to provide devastating close artillery support for infantry and other vehicles, such as Ghost squadrons, and then redeploy without stopping.

Variants

 *  - a slightly heavier modification of the base Revenant design sometimes termed the "Scout Revenant". Unlike the standard Revenant, it lacks a passenger seat and plasma mortar; instead, it features a separate gunner-operated plasma repeater turret on the aft.

Operational history
The Rizvum design pattern of Revenant was first observed by forces of the United Nations Space Command forces in 2530, though it was not officially catalogued by the Office of Naval Intelligence until 2548 - gaining the designation of Type-48. Although the Type-48 Revenant was quite popular among Sangheili soldiers, the Merchants of Qikost were unable to mass-produce the vehicle quickly enough to satisfy demands, and as such, it was rarely encountered by human soldiers until the infamous Fall of Reach; often, when it was encountered, its operators used the vehicle to leave effectively no survivors to record its presence.

During the Reach campaign in 2552, Covenant forces deployed Revenants at an attack on the ONI facility Sword Base, one of which defended the nearby Covenant-occupied Farragut Station while others were holding their positions near the Sword Base's gate. They were all destroyed by Catherine-B320 and SPARTAN-B312 from Noble Team. About three weeks later, during the engagement at Szurdok Ridge, Revenants were deployed to defend several emplacements, and when the Covenant had taken over the majority of Reach, they, once again, placed multiple Revenants near Sword Base. Along with the Covenant troops accompanying them, however, the Revenants were eliminated when SPARTAN-B312 and ODSTs made their way to Sword Base.

Revenants made a resurgence following the Human-Covenant War's end, due to their ideal use in fast-attack runs on fortified positions and scorched earth raids. In 2553, Revenants made up the majority of Covenant ground vehicles that remained operational on Sanghelios. Sangheili warlords quickly acquired Revenants, either by favor or by force. Thousands of these scarlet-hulled vehicles were used in the attempted coup against Thel 'Vadam, and many Sangheili lives, homes, and keeps were destroyed by them during the war.

Trivia

 * In folklore, a revenant is a visible ghost or animated corpse that terrorizes the living.
 * The Revenant is erroneously listed as the Type-32 RAV on Bungie.net's career stats section. This is actually the designation of the Ghost.
 * In Forge, the player may render a Revenant turretless by briefly placing it in a Kill Ball and quickly removing it.
 * The Revenant can still fire and rotate its gun 360° while EMPed, and it is often easier for the driver to pick off unsuspecting hijackers. Be wary of this in Multiplayer.

List of appearances

 * Halo: Reach
 * Halo: Glasslands
 * Halo: The Thursday War