Energy shield test station

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Description

File:Screen007.jpg

John-117 in a Shield Tester on the Pillar of Autumn.

The Shield Tester is a small piece of machinery used by UNSC engineers to bring online inactive MJOLNIR armor shields, usually after a long time of inactivity. It appears in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, respectively in the Pillar of Autumn and The Armory. Both times, it is used to bring online the MJOLNIR energy shields, although it seems more a mere tester in Halo 2.

Function

First mentioned in the Halo: The Fall of Reach novel, during the MJOLNIR Mark Vs very first mission, this device gave charge to the armor's shield before they were actually activated by John-117, like a battery. However, it seems that in both games, they are only dormant, and are only brought back online. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the tester makes the same noise as a Plasma Pistol overcharge impact, possibly hinting that they were made using scavenged Covenant technology.

Since the MJOLNIR Mark V has an attached fusion pack on the back, it is unknown why the games require you to charge shields. Cryostasis may be a logical explanation to Halo CE, but the MJOLNIR Mark VI in Halo 2 had no such reason. In fact, the Mark VI variant didn't even have a fusion reactor.

The shield tester is thought to be used by Bungie as a small in-game tutorial for training basic control of vision.

The tutorial function of the shield tester was replaced in halo 3 by a marine holding a lighted pad that must be centered in the screen in the same way as the shield tester from Halo CE and Halo 2.

Trivia

• The real reason of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn's tester having the same noise as a Plasma Pistol, could in fact be Bungie's lack of sound effects during the period of the making of the game Halo: Combat Evolved where the tester is present.
• It is possible to be standing out of the sheild tester area in Halo: Combat Evolved and in Halo 2 however you wont be able to move while the sheild tester is active.