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Forerunner automated turret: Difference between revisions

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(This would be classed as a weapon wouldn't it?)
 
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{{Era|Forerunner|HCW}}
{{Status|Canon}}
{{Center|Were you looking for [[M3063 Deployable Turret]] or [[Z-2500 autosentry]]?}}
{{Disambig header|the equipment in ''Halo 3''|other types of automated turret employed by various factions|Automated turret}}
{{Weapon Infobox
{{Weapon infobox
|name=Automated turret
|name=Automated turret
|image=[[File:H3-ForerunnerAutoTurret.png|300px]]
|image=[[File:H3-ForerunnerAutoTurret.png|300px]]
|manufacturer=[[Forerunner]]
|manufacturer=[[Ferrarius Assembler Vats]]{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22|Enc22|Page=395}}
|series=
|series=
|type=Weapon
|type=Automated turret
|cost=
|cost=
|variant=
|variant=
|service=[[Flood-Forerunner War]] <br> [[Human-Covenant War]]
|service=[[Forerunner-Flood War]] <br> [[Human-Covenant War]]
|affiliation=[[Forerunner]]
|affiliation=[[Builder Security]]
|weight=
|weight=
|length=
|length={{Convert|42.5|in|cm|disp=flip|sp=us}} {{C|while inactive}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}
|ammotype=Plasma beam<ref name="Encyclopedia">'''[[Halo Encyclopedia]]''', ''page 339''</ref>
|ammotype=[[Plasma|Superheated plasma]] beam{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc09|Enc09|Page=339}}{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc11|Enc11|Page=353}}
|capacity=
|feed=
|feed=
|operation=
|operation=
|rate=Continuous (three seconds to charge)  
|rate=Continuous (three seconds to charge)  
|velocity=
|velocity=
|optics=
|range=
|range=
}}
}}
The Forerunner '''automated turret''', sometimes referred to as the '''autoturret''' and '''auto-turret''', is a [[Forerunner]] construct that was used by the military forces of the [[Ecumene]] during the [[Forerunner-Flood war]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}}


The Forerunner '''automated turret''', sometimes referred to as the '''autoturret''' and '''auto-turret''', is a [[Forerunner]] construct similar in design to a [[Sentinel]]. As its name implies, the autoturret acts as an automatic antipersonnel weapon.
==Overview==
===Design details===
The automated turret is essentially a stripped-down [[Sentinel]] in design,{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} with a weapon analogous to a [[Sentinel beam]].{{Ref/Reuse|Enc09}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc11}} They were designed late in the war with the [[Flood]] to be easily-mass produced in widely-available [[Ferrarius Assembler Vats]], using easily-obtained frontier resources and lacking most complex components.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} When deployed, they act as an automatic antipersonnel weapon. It is typically deployed by a user in a single location to act in a defensive measure. The turret hovers in place above the ground and will fire upon any enemy targets that come within range of its sensors. It fires blue, beam-based [[plasma]] projectiles that are naturally hot enough to melt steel.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc09}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc11}}


==Overview==
===Usage===
This small, robotic turret is a defensive piece of Forerunner technology that resembles a stripped down [[Sentinel]].  When deployed, it hovers in place above the ground, and will fire upon any enemy combatant who comes within range of its sensors with a deadly blue beam. The plasma-based projectiles are hot enough to melt steel. <ref name="Encyclopedia"/>
Automated turrets were a relatively late entry into the Forerunner arsenal during the war with the Flood, and were primarily used to lock down key chokepoints behind the lines.{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22}} These autoturrets were encountered and used by [[John-117]] during the [[Battle of Installation 00]] and [[Raid on Installation 08]].{{Ref/Level|H3|The Ark (level)|The Ark}}{{Ref/Level|H3|The Covenant (level)|The Covenant}}{{Ref/Level|H3|Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo}}


==Gameplay==
==Gameplay==
The autoturret is a very useful suppressive equipment capable of taking out individual Covenant unit and Flood form with relatively short burst. Its only drawback is its slow target acquisition system: the autoturret takes a few second to lock onto a target. Because of this design flaw, the autoturret can be easily destroyed by a squad of Covenant soldiers or a swarm of Flood forms.
===''Halo 3''===
The autoturret appears in ''Halo 3'' as a useable piece of [[equipment]]. In the initial launch of the game on [[Xbox 360]] and ''[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]'', the turret is only found in the [[campaign]] mode in the levels [[The Ark (level)|The Ark]], [[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]] and [[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]]. With the changes introduced to [[Forge/Halo 3|Forge]] via the game's release on PC, the autoturret was added into the Forge inventories of a handful of multiplayer maps as a useable equipment piece.


Its [[heads-up display]] symbol is a silhouette of the equipment itself, and slightly resembles the symbol for the [[Power drain]].
====Campaign====
The autoturret appears sporadically throughout the ''Halo 3'' campaign on the levels The Ark, The Covenant and Halo. When deployed, it fights on the side of the [[Sentinel]]s, targeting any enemies the Sentinels would otherwise target - primarily [[Covenant]] and [[Flood]] forces. On the final level, however, the player can deploy two autoturrets outside the [[control room]] of [[Installation 08]] to assist in fighting Flood. Following the boss fight against [[343 Guilty Spark]] inside the control room, the player can exit the building to find that - like the Sentinels - the autoturrets are now hostile and will fire on the player. Similarly, the turret will fire on Flood forces even when they are allied with the player during the level The Covenant.


===Advantages===
When deployed, the turret hovers in place in a stationary position, and cannot move under its own power - requiring it to be placed facing enemies for it to be able to fire. The front of the weapon has a small lens that can rotate to aim the beam slightly to give the weapon a limited cone of fire. When firing, the weapon has a short three-second charge time before emitting an extremely powerful laser similar to that of the [[Sentinel beam]]. This beam fires for a short duration, during which time it is able to kill most infantry enemies or strip the [[Jiralhanae power armor|armor]] of more deadly enemies such as [[Jiralhanae Chieftain|Chieftains]]. The beam has a large knockback effect on flying enemies such as [[Jiralhanae Jumper|jump-pack Brutes]]. As it is an AI type, the turret does get stronger as the game's difficulty is raised. When the player is declared as an enemy, the turret is noticeably more powerful, able to acquire targets much quicker and kill the player extremely quickly.
*The auto-turret has enough power to remove a [[Jiralhanae|Brute's]] power armor, kill a [[Kig-yar|Jackal]] and a [[Unggoy|Grunt]] with a single shot, and kill a Brute Chieftain within three shots. Also, the auto-turret's beam is powerful enough to push back any airborne enemies.
*Even with its poor targeting and low damage resistance, the auto-turret can still often provide kills without considerable player support.
*The auto-turret's firepower increases significantly as the game difficulty increases.


===Disadvantages===
The turret's lack of mobility and slow fire rate make it extremely vulnerable, as it can be quickly overwhelmed by larger groups of enemies - it is defenseless when approached from behind or the sides. The turret has a small health pool, and can be destroyed in a few [[melee]] strikes - a potential issue when fighting Flood forms. When meleed, the turret can be sent flying far into the air, resulting in the turret landing in a different place facing a different direction.
*The turret has a warm-up time of about three seconds. The turret also has problems picking out targets, often tracking allies with its targeting system (and occasionally shoots at the player).
*When the turret is the player's enemy, the AI skill level is greatly increased. As with AI-controlled Marines, it will pick out targets faster, fire more accurately, and will rarely turn away from you on higher difficulties if you are in its sight.
*It is rather fragile, easily being dispatched by enemy forces. Additionally, its sight is very narrow and can only attack enemies in front of it.
*If bumped by the player or an enemy, it may go flying up into the air in an erratic manner.


===Behavior against foes/allies===
====Multiplayer====
After the player has defeated [[343 Guilty Spark]], if the player deployed any Auto-Turrets outside the [[Control Room]], they will turn against the player and fire at him/her. This could be due to the fact that a [[Forerunner]] construct has been destroyed, and any other Forerunner constructs in the immediate area must kill the construct's destroyer. Or that, as Guilty Spark betrayed you, he added you to the Sentinels "hostile list", making any Forerunner creation try to kill you. Another theory of why they behave in that manner is because the Monitor of the Installation has been destroyed, and without any protocol to follow, they fired at anything that moved. This includes the Master Chief and the Arbiter. When they are against the player, their shots are incredibly dangerous, strong enough to kill you in one shot on [[Easy]].
[[File:H3 ForerunnerAutoTurret Foundry.png|thumb|A Spartan deploying an autoturret on Foundry.]]
The autoturret was not available for use in ''Halo 3'' multiplayer in either the game's initial launch or launch as part of the ''Master Chief Collection''. However, it was added into [[Forge]] as part of the [[Forge/Halo 3#Changes for Halo: The Master Chief Collection|changes]] brought by the game's release on PC in [[2020]]. Up to 8 autoturret equipment pieces can be spawned on the maps [[Avalanche]], [[Foundry]] and [[Sandbox]]. In multiplayer, the turret is hostile to ''all'' players (including the player/ team that deployed the turret) in the game, and will attempt to fire upon anyone who comes within its range, and can kill a player in around one second. Such kills are accredited to the player who deployed the turret, as are betrayals and suicides.  


On the level [[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]], if you use an Auto-Turret during the part where you are allied with the Flood, the Auto-Turret and the Flood will try to kill each other. A canon explanation for this is that the Forerunners programmed their creations to kill the Flood, period. So it attacks the Flood and when the Gravemind sees this hindrance and tries to destroy. Or it might be that the Auto-turret is encoded into the level as a 'Forerunner team member', meaning its allegiance lies with [[343 Guilty Spark|Guilty Spark]]. When Guilty Spark, a member of the 'Forerunner team', becomes your enemy, it follows a script to break the team allegiance between the player (the Master Chief, and on [[Campaign#Cooperative|Co-op]], the Arbiter). This is also why the Flood and Auto-turrets fight each other, because while the player's allegiance is aligned with the Flood, the Forerunner and Flood teams remain enemies.<ref>By using HMT to exam the <tt>actor</tt> tags of an AI, the different allegiance flags can be seen and altered. For ''[[Halo: Combat Evolved]]'', these teams are 'Flood', Sentinel', 'Covenant', 'Human', and 'Player', as well as several others, which are never used. The allegiance of a unit is determined by the team flag selected for that unit. No one unit of a team can ally with another team without the use of scripts, or that specific unit relocating to another team, but the former is much easier.</ref>
The autoturret was not intended to combat vehicles, as its main appearances in the ''Halo 3'' campaign are in areas predominantly defined by infantry encounters. As such, the turret has an inconsistent behavior when firing at player-operated vehicles. The [[Elephant]] is completely immune to the turret's beam, as with all weaponry, and for the most part the [[Scorpion]] tank does not take health damage when fired upon. The Scorpion does lose armor plating from being fired at by the turret, but will only take health damage when fired at from specific angles. Vehicles such as the [[Prowler]] are also seemingly immune to the turret when fired upon from the front, though the hovering nature of the Prowler does mean it will be knocked back intensely by the turret's beam. When firing at vehicles, the turret's beam will fire indefinitely without pause.
 
However, on the same level, when you get to the Separatist Phantom that arrives to pick up the Arbiter, if you destroy the Phantom (thus preventing Guilty Spark from departing) and you pick up and deploy an Auto-Turret, it will fire at Guilty Spark for unknown reasons.


==Trivia==
==Trivia==
It is so far only encountered on the ''Halo 3'' levels [[The Ark (level)|The Ark]], [[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]] and [[Halo (Halo 3 level)|Halo]], and is not found on any [[multiplayer]] maps due to the issue of keeping the game balanced, and its inability to work with multiplayer netcode.  
If the player destroys a certain [[Fleet of Retribution]] {{Pattern|Ru'swum|Phantom}} during [[The Covenant (level)|The Covenant]], any auto-turrets deployed by the player will fire at [[343 Guilty Spark]].


==Gallery==
==Gallery==
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of Forerunner Auto-turret}}
<gallery>
<gallery>
File:Autoturrethud.svg|The Automated Turret HUD icon.
File:H3 ForerunnerAutoTurret Icon.svg|The Automated Turret HUD icon.
File:Automated Turret.jpg|An inactive turret on the [[Installation 00|Ark]].
File:ForerunnerAutomatedTurret-scantransparent.png|The autoturret.
File:At7.jpg|A deployed turret on the Ark.
File:H3_ForerunnerAutoTurret_Pickup.jpg|An inactive turret on the [[Installation 00|Ark]].
File:Auto Turret 2.jpg|A closeup of the Auto Turret firing its beam.
File:H3_ForerunnerAutoTurret_Active.jpg|A deployed turret on the Ark.
File:AutoTurret1.jpg|An Automated Turret attacking a [[Unggoy|Grunt]].
File:H3_ForerunnerAutoTurret_Firing.jpg|An auto turret firing its beam.
File:H3_ForerunnerAutoTurret_Firing_Unggoy.jpg|An automated turret firing upon an [[Unggoy]].
File:H3_ForerunnerAutoTurret_Suicide.png|Suicide by autoturret in multiplayer.
</gallery>
</gallery>
{{Linkbox|gallery=yes|gallerypage=Images of Forerunner Auto-turret}}
{{Clear}}


==List of appearances==
==List of appearances==
Line 67: Line 67:


==Sources==
==Sources==
<references/>
{{Ref/Sources}}


{{Equipment List}}
{{Forerunner|sentinel}}
{{Forerunner|weapons}}
{{Forerunner|weapons}}
{{Navbox/Pickups/Gameplay}}
[[Category:Directed-energy weapons]]
[[Category:Directed-energy weapons]]
[[Category:Forerunner weapons]]
[[Category:Forerunner weapons]]
[[Category:Equipment]]

Latest revision as of 20:22, October 15, 2023

This article is about the equipment in Halo 3. For other types of automated turret employed by various factions, see Automated turret.
Automated turret
H3-ForerunnerAutoTurret.png
Production overview

Manufacturer:

Ferrarius Assembler Vats[1]

Type:

Automated turret

Specifications

Length:

108 centimeters (42.5 in) (while inactive)[1]

Ammunition type:

Superheated plasma beam[1][2][3]

Rate of fire:

Continuous (three seconds to charge)

Service history

In service:

Forerunner-Flood War
Human-Covenant War

 

The Forerunner automated turret, sometimes referred to as the autoturret and auto-turret, is a Forerunner construct that was used by the military forces of the Ecumene during the Forerunner-Flood war.[1]

Overview[edit]

Design details[edit]

The automated turret is essentially a stripped-down Sentinel in design,[1] with a weapon analogous to a Sentinel beam.[2][3] They were designed late in the war with the Flood to be easily-mass produced in widely-available Ferrarius Assembler Vats, using easily-obtained frontier resources and lacking most complex components.[1] When deployed, they act as an automatic antipersonnel weapon. It is typically deployed by a user in a single location to act in a defensive measure. The turret hovers in place above the ground and will fire upon any enemy targets that come within range of its sensors. It fires blue, beam-based plasma projectiles that are naturally hot enough to melt steel.[2][3]

Usage[edit]

Automated turrets were a relatively late entry into the Forerunner arsenal during the war with the Flood, and were primarily used to lock down key chokepoints behind the lines.[1] These autoturrets were encountered and used by John-117 during the Battle of Installation 00 and Raid on Installation 08.[4][5][6]

Gameplay[edit]

Halo 3[edit]

The autoturret appears in Halo 3 as a useable piece of equipment. In the initial launch of the game on Xbox 360 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the turret is only found in the campaign mode in the levels The Ark, The Covenant and Halo. With the changes introduced to Forge via the game's release on PC, the autoturret was added into the Forge inventories of a handful of multiplayer maps as a useable equipment piece.

Campaign[edit]

The autoturret appears sporadically throughout the Halo 3 campaign on the levels The Ark, The Covenant and Halo. When deployed, it fights on the side of the Sentinels, targeting any enemies the Sentinels would otherwise target - primarily Covenant and Flood forces. On the final level, however, the player can deploy two autoturrets outside the control room of Installation 08 to assist in fighting Flood. Following the boss fight against 343 Guilty Spark inside the control room, the player can exit the building to find that - like the Sentinels - the autoturrets are now hostile and will fire on the player. Similarly, the turret will fire on Flood forces even when they are allied with the player during the level The Covenant.

When deployed, the turret hovers in place in a stationary position, and cannot move under its own power - requiring it to be placed facing enemies for it to be able to fire. The front of the weapon has a small lens that can rotate to aim the beam slightly to give the weapon a limited cone of fire. When firing, the weapon has a short three-second charge time before emitting an extremely powerful laser similar to that of the Sentinel beam. This beam fires for a short duration, during which time it is able to kill most infantry enemies or strip the armor of more deadly enemies such as Chieftains. The beam has a large knockback effect on flying enemies such as jump-pack Brutes. As it is an AI type, the turret does get stronger as the game's difficulty is raised. When the player is declared as an enemy, the turret is noticeably more powerful, able to acquire targets much quicker and kill the player extremely quickly.

The turret's lack of mobility and slow fire rate make it extremely vulnerable, as it can be quickly overwhelmed by larger groups of enemies - it is defenseless when approached from behind or the sides. The turret has a small health pool, and can be destroyed in a few melee strikes - a potential issue when fighting Flood forms. When meleed, the turret can be sent flying far into the air, resulting in the turret landing in a different place facing a different direction.

Multiplayer[edit]

A Spartan deploying an autoturret on Foundry.

The autoturret was not available for use in Halo 3 multiplayer in either the game's initial launch or launch as part of the Master Chief Collection. However, it was added into Forge as part of the changes brought by the game's release on PC in 2020. Up to 8 autoturret equipment pieces can be spawned on the maps Avalanche, Foundry and Sandbox. In multiplayer, the turret is hostile to all players (including the player/ team that deployed the turret) in the game, and will attempt to fire upon anyone who comes within its range, and can kill a player in around one second. Such kills are accredited to the player who deployed the turret, as are betrayals and suicides.

The autoturret was not intended to combat vehicles, as its main appearances in the Halo 3 campaign are in areas predominantly defined by infantry encounters. As such, the turret has an inconsistent behavior when firing at player-operated vehicles. The Elephant is completely immune to the turret's beam, as with all weaponry, and for the most part the Scorpion tank does not take health damage when fired upon. The Scorpion does lose armor plating from being fired at by the turret, but will only take health damage when fired at from specific angles. Vehicles such as the Prowler are also seemingly immune to the turret when fired upon from the front, though the hovering nature of the Prowler does mean it will be knocked back intensely by the turret's beam. When firing at vehicles, the turret's beam will fire indefinitely without pause.

Trivia[edit]

If the player destroys a certain Fleet of Retribution Ru'swum-pattern Phantom during The Covenant, any auto-turrets deployed by the player will fire at 343 Guilty Spark.

Gallery[edit]

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 395
  2. ^ a b c Halo Encyclopedia (2009 edition), page 339
  3. ^ a b c Halo Encyclopedia (2011 edition), page 353
  4. ^ Halo 3, campaign level The Ark
  5. ^ Halo 3, campaign level The Covenant
  6. ^ Halo 3, campaign level Halo