Suspa Al-pattern Assault Carapace: Difference between revisions

During the empire's height, the ''Suspa Al'' [[design pattern]] was rarely employed, as [[artisan]]s allied with the Covenant's [[Sangheili Zealot|Zealot]] orders jealously guarded the secrets of their construction.  Only the most pious of commanders were granted the honour of requisitioning their use, and only their use in battle guaranteed replacements.<ref name="WF66"/> Many of the Sangheili troops selected for such orbital drops were themselves taken from the Zealot order, or otherwise aspired for membership in their chapterhouses.<ref name="WF66"/>

Following the [[Great Schism|collapse of the Covenant]], the usage of the ''Suspa Al'' remains largely similar to how they were employed during the empire's reign, though the Zealots are now divided in loyalty amongst a large number of [[Covenant remnants|successor factions]], and exercise less discretion in judging the worthy.<ref name="WF66"/>

The ''Suspa Al'' pattern of drop pod was first seen in the [[E3]] [[2010]] [[Halo: Reach E3 2010 Trailer|trailer]] for ''[[Halo: Reach]]''. The drop pods were seen used by the Covenant troops attacking the [[Sabre Program Launch/Research Range]] at [[Farkas Lake]] in an early build of the level "[[Long Night of Solace (level)|Long Night of Solace]]", but were later replaced by an alternate visual variant in the final game release. The final design is notably sleeker and rounder, effectively rendering the original E3 model cut content. The later [[2017]] release of ''[[Halo: Warfleet – An Illustrated Guide to the Spacecraft of Halo]]'' featured a high-resolution image of the ''Suspa Al'' pattern, with a great deal of information provided about its usage by the Covenant empire - effectively bringing the drop pod back from non-canon status.

*''[[Halo: Reach E3 2010 Trailer]]'' {{1st}}