Category:Vehicles

The vehicles from the Halo universe are transport vehicles usually designed for use in combat situations. Many vehicles exist in the Halo universe, and some of them can be used in the Halo games. Vehicles are a very important part of the gameplay, and can be used in both Campaign and Multiplayer.

Vehicles have distinct tactical advantages. Most vehicles have powerful weapons with unlimited ammunition. Their firepower can be used to damage or destroy enemy forces or placements. Vehicles can also be used to transport troops swiftly, and can provide essential support in skirmishes.

Due to their size, vehicles can't enter some tight areas like buildings, where infantry can enter. However, Warthogs, Mongooses or Ghosts can often be driven in corridors, and even up and down stairs. Vehicles can be clearly seen and destroyed by enemy artillery or explosive small-arms fire. Vehicles can also be hijacked, which either results in the hijacked vehicle being destroyed, or the driver being ejected and the hijacker taking control of the vehicle.

Gameplay
In gameplay, only a small number of very unique vehicles are drivable, and controllable, most operating in a similar fashion, allowing driving (navigation) and control of mounted weaponry (attack), though some allow one to do both simultaneously or only provide one of the two. Such weapons usually have unlimited ammunition available, whether they are human (ballistic-based) or Covenant (plasma-based).

When the player enters a vehicle by climbing into driving, weapons or passenger seats, the camera switches from a first-person to a third-person view. This improves peripheral vision and the bird's eye view makes it easier to drive around, with nearby terrain easily fitting into view. When the player has control of weaponry while being driven around in a vehicle, either hand-held weapons (usable while in passenger seats) or mounted weapons (usable while in turret seats), a stylized aiming reticule is displayed much like when in first-person view, locked to the center of the screen and replacing the typical arrow cursor.

The player is allowed to use vehicles from either of the two primary races, Human or Covenant, often turning the Covenant's usually superior firepower against itself. Playable human vehicles are typically grounded, and unable to fly. Almost every playable Covenant vehicle has the capability to overcome gravity to some degree, and hover or even fly around. The majority of spacecraft and aircraft can be seen in cutscenes, though the player cannot control or affect them in any way.

UNSC vehicles are usually named after animals (such as the Warthog or Pelican), while Covenant vehicles are mostly named after supernatural beings (such as the Ghost or Phantom); with the exception of large land units being named after insects (such as the Scarab or Locust). Halo: CE is the only game where vehicles cannot be destroyed unless its part of the game (campaign) or glitches/mods. However, Ghosts and Banshees can be destroyed in Halo: CE's campaign, albeit only when the Ghost or the Banshee is occupied.

Allied
UNSC and Covenant vehicles are made available in Campaign levels (depending on which side the player character is on, UNSC/Covenant), when the player needs to infiltrate or cut through enemy-held territory.

Either kept unused, waiting for a driver or allowing the player's character (Master Chief, The Arbiter, The Elites, or the ODST's.) to switch with a friendly unit, the player may enter it without meeting any resistance and take control of it. Alternatively the player may enter unoccupied mounted turrets.

Enemy
Since UNSC Vehicles are rarely available within Campaign levels, it is a common practice to kill the driver of Covenant vehicles in order to hijack them. Although it is relatively easy to kill its driver from afar with careful sniping, the preferred approach is known as "boarding", and consists of:


 * 1) Boarding an enemy vehicle when near its rear or seating area.
 * 2) Cutting through its defenses by throwing frag grenades, sticking plasma grenades/spike grenades onto its armor plating or burning your way through with some fire grenades.
 * 3) Killing the driver with melee attacks (available with any player character), or more grenades.
 * 4) Jumping down from the now disabled vehicle, which automatically grinds to a halt without its driver.
 * 5) Climbing into its driver seat as usual, since the fallen driver's body would have fallen out of the vehicle by that point in time.

This procedure may also be followed while in multiplayer gameplay, to take control of UNSC or Covenant vehicles controlled by members of opposing teams.

Vehicles that have been stopped by sheer firepower by destroying or disabling them cannot be taken control of. With vehicles such as the Ghost and Banshee, the boarding procedure is simpler. You can board it, throw the driver off, and in most cases automatically assume control of the vehicle, all in one quick action.

Multiplayer
Certain vehicles can be driven in Multiplayer levels. Vehicles can be very useful in Slayer and Skirmish gametypes. In Capture the Flag, once the player character has picked up the flag, the character cannot drive a vehicle or take control of its weaponry, though the character may ride in a vehicle driven by another character.

Trivia

 * Most of the names of Covenant vehicles are names of (or synonyms) ghosts, and a direct example is the Ghost. Other examples include Spectre, Spirit, Wraith, and Phantom.
 * Most of the [UNSC] vehicles are named after some kind of animal, for example, the Warthog, where a warthog in real life is a species of boar. More examples include the Mongoose (a mammal that is related to a weasel), Elephant (a large, grey animal with a trunk - which bears some resemblance to the crane), Scorpion (an arachnid with eight legs, a pair of pincers, and a venomous stinger), and Hornet (a flying insect related to a wasp).
 * The UNSC fighters and bombers, The Longsword, Shortsword, and Sabre, are named after sword types.
 * In Halo 3, when enough friendly infantry are betrayed, your allies will turn against you and all their vehicles will appear as enemy vehicles and can then be boarded.