Unggoy

The Unggoy are a diminutive race of subordinate warriors in the unified conglomerate races of the Covenant. The Humans have termed such warriors Grunts, because of their speech patterns and their status in Covenant society.

Rank

Overall

The Grunts are the lowest tier of the Covenant rank hierarchy, and are despised by Jackals, and in a political standpoint, are expected to obey the commands of Elites without hesitation. This unwavering faithfulness is enforced by the threat of punishment, although on the battlefield, such social protocols are often ignored.

The Grunts are subdivided into sub-rankings. While most Grunts overall are incompetent in fighting and unintelligent, higher-ranked Grunts often can be formidable adversaries in combat and show signs of leadership capability.

Rank Structure

Grunts have several classes:

• Heretic Grunts: are Grunts who defected to the Heretic faction. They have more health than an average Grunt, and typically wield Needlers, Fuel Rod Guns, and Plasma Cannons.It has also been noted that the Heretic Grunts never flee in combat even when gravely outnumbered.

• Minor Grunts: wear orange armor and are basically used as cannon fodder.

• Major Grunts: wear crimson armor and are veterans that are sometimes seen commanding a few other lesser Minor Grunts. They are more skilled in combat than Minor Grunts, but are still cannon fodder all the same.

• Gunner Grunts: wear green armor. Their main purpose seems to be to set up and man Plasma Cannons, and sometimes the occasional Fuel Rod Cannon

• Special Operations Grunts: (SpecOps) wear jet-black armor and are commanded by the Special Operations Elites. They have been known to wield Fuel Rod Guns more frequently than the other Grunt types. It should be noted that these are highly-skilled in combat (relatively) and that they are less likely to panic in combat situations than other Grunts.

• Ultra Grunts: wear white armor and seem to be field commanders for other Grunts, but have no control whatsoever over the other Covenant races. Like the Ultra Elites of matching opulent armor, they are strong opponents. Furthermore, Ultra Grunts seem to throw Plasma Grenades more profusely than their subordinates.

Combating Grunts

Grunts are no real danger to any player, but can be annoying, as they damage you very slightly, but they can knock your aim off, or generally distract you. It is easiest to shoot their back, as it is roughly on eye-sight level (the level where the cross-hairs automatically return). Curl-backs do not have such a feature, so they are harder to dispatch of quickly. As in pure shooting terms, the SMG, and other automatic/semi automatic rifles are efficient. Grenades are useful, as Grunts tend to stay together. In most levels, if you are not careful, the grunts will try to find a mounted weapon and take advantage of it, so be sure to take them out. Low level grunts when hit with a plasma grenade in Halo: CE will sometimes flee to the nearest elite for comfort, injuring the elite and usually killing the grunt. In the books, when a grunt's methane tank is hit by a bullet, an explosion usually ensues. It is yet unknown whether this will be in Halo 3.

Vehicle Compatibility

• Ghost (Halo 1 & 2 only)
• Shadow (Seen in Halo 2 E3 demo, have animation but not used)
• Shade (Halo 1 only)
• Shielded Plasma Cannon (Halo 2 only)
• Plasma Cannon (Halo 2 only)

Physiology

File:Grunts.jpg

Pack of Grunts in Halo

File:Ultragrunt.jpg

Pack of Grunts in Halo 2

Grunts bleed a blue blood

File:Grunt2 halo.jpg

An unmasked Grunt.

Grunts are approximately 5' tall and are relatively weak when compared to other Covenant species. However, they are quite strong for their size. They can easily walk either upright on two legs, or on all fours. While carrying arms, they are forced to walk upright so that they may support their weapons with their hands, but while trying to flee, or while patrolling without a weapon drawn, they will use their oversized arms as forelegs to add speed or stability to their gait.

Grunts have hooves on their three-toed feet, their skin is leathery and purple-gray, and they have thick, luminescent, light-blue blood (possibly because of the methane they breathe and the chemical reaction within their bodies). If you look at a Grunt's blood on the floor with a flashlight, you'll see that it's completely transparent. They have a single claw that protrudes from each elbow, but its function is unknown, since there are no known instances where it was used in combat. Even though they are small and not very agile, they are surprisingly strong -- they can carry and fire a Fuel Rod Gun or a Rocket Launcher on their shoulder without toppling over.

Grunts have average eyesight and hearing, but they seem to have a very well developed sense of smell, discovered from in game dialogue. This excellent smelling capability is, however, hampered by the Grunt's methane mask over it's face.

The Grunts' homeworld is a cold, swampy planet with a methane atmosphere and naturally occurring pillars of fire. The cold nature of their planet makes them highly covet any source of heat they can find. Since their natural environment is methane-filled, they have to carry tanks of methane in their armor to breathe. Without this breathing apparatus, they will suffocate in a "normal" atmosphere. They have also been seen inhabiting large environment domes that have airlocks and methane filters for them to breathe while not in armor. Due to their bodies' acclimation to breathing methane gas, their voices are high-pitched and squeaky, sounding comical to many other races.

Grunts aren't ones to skip a nap, and are found sleeping around the Control Room on Installation 04 during daylight hours. If you are playing in Legendary and you run away from Grunts, sometimes they go back to sleep.

Resupply Tanks

Main article: Battlefield Methane Tanks

Grunts are obviously hampered by their need to breathe methane, and so the Covenant have had to ship resupply containers filled with methane. They are positioned wherever Grunts are stationed, and UNSC personnel can use the explosive methane to their advantage.

Culture

File:Groupofgrunts.jpg

Grunts never operate alone. Note the Curl-back design on one of them.

Grunts were one of the original races of the Covenant, serving as soldiers and laborers in all different fields, and their original culture has been all but erased by their incorporation into the Covenant. They are obedient, loyal, and hard working, though not overly intelligent or creative. They are one of the most sociable of the Covenant races, possessing a strong pack mentality, which causes them to present a formidable danger when encountered in large numbers.

Grunts are essentially a slave race, who obey the other Covenant races out of fear, because they have no political power in Covenant society. However, within the Grunt community there is a strong hatred of other species, especially Jackals (this excludes the Elites because they might be the only race in the Covenant that treat them with a certain amount of respect and dignity), and a belief that someday a dynamic Grunt leader will lead them to freedom on a methane-rich paradise world.Template:FactIt has been indicated that at some time in the Covenant's history, there was a Grunt Rebellion, which was quelled, thanks in part to an Arbiter who was named during that period for that purpose.

Due to their low status, Grunts are not permitted by the Elites to possess family names. They do value their ties to their offspring, but are usually separated from their families at an early age by the requirements of their service to the Covenant. The Grunts resent this greatly, but are unable to muster any response.

A pack of Grunts in Halo 3

In the meantime, the Grunts generally follow a few short, simple guidelines given to them by the Elites; namely "When in doubt, shoot" or "Stay out of the way, live another day."

Grunts feel safe when in large numbers or led by an Elite, though if the Elite or most of the squad dies, or if a superior enemy gets too close, they tend to panic and flee. This exposes a vulnerable backside, where a single melee attack with any weapon will kill them.

It should be noted that the Heretic Grunts, unlike its brethren, will not flee in combat if the enemy approaches, which is likely due to the fact that when heretic Grunts are faced, you are playing as an Elite, which is a race they know about. It is unknown how they would react to the Master Chief, an enemy they know very little about.

Trivia

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A "curl-back" Grunt.

• In Tagalog, the language spoken in the Philippines, "unggóy" means "monkey".
• In Halo: Combat Evolved, there was a "curl-back" design for the Grunt life support system that occurred on all ranks. This variation is not in Halo 2. It could be said that the curl-back design is chosen by some grunts to reduce the impact the methane tanks has on weight carried, or it could have been a traditional difference between male and female grunts. Possibly a suit was made by the time of Halo 2 that accommodated both sexes. There is also another possibility of a sign that the Methane tank's gas is being used up
• In Halo: The Flood, a group of Grunts coordinate a well timed attack against the Master Chief. A group of them dropped onto him and tried to remove his helmet while another lit a Plasma Grenade. Their goal was to drop the grenade into the Chief's suit, though they failed. This is particularly noteworthy as Grunts are typically shown as unintelligent canon-fodder; incapable of functioning like a military unit without the presence of a higher ranked Covenant race.
• A nod to Star Wars is made when grunts say, "Me have a bad feeling..." A play on the famous quote, "I've got a bad feeling about this."
• It has been speculated that the Grunts join the humans along with the Elites, however early Halo 3 gameplay footage released by Bungie shows them fighting alongside Brutes. This is because the Jiralhanae threaten them, and they fight with the covenant. It is speculated that if you kill a group of enemies in Halo 3 and leave the Grunts alive, they will join your cause, their captors having been slain.
• What they lack in power and size they make up for it with great numbers and sheer tenacity.
• Somehow, Grunts may be stronger then some Marines as they can carry Fuel Rod Guns. When Corporal Locklear tried to lift a Fuel Rod Gun in Halo: First Strike, it was to heavy but grunts in game carry Fuel Rod Guns with no problem.

Sources

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