HUMAN VEHICLES INTRO

While the Covenant like hovering around in their fancy purple future-mobiles, men and women of Earth get around just fine in vehicles that live to be dirty. No slouches on inhospitable terrain, human vehicles can mostly match their Covenant counterparts for speed and firepower. Human vehicles also have to be svelte enough for aerial drop-off and resupply.

M12 WARTHOG LRV

AVAILABILITY: Medium
STARTING ROUNDS - DEFAULT: Unlimited
RATE OF FIRE: NA
RELOAD TIME: NA
MAX SPEED: 55 mph
MAX SPEED REVERSE: 24.5 mph
ROLLOVER DANGER: High
MAX PASSENGER CAPACITY: 3 including driver
HIT DAMAGE: 15-24 DU per round (LRV)

LRV stands for Light Reconnaissance vehicle, but in practice, the Warthog is equally at home in the heat of battle as it is on scouting missions. The rear-mounted gun platform provides an unlimited radius of fire with an inexhaustible supply of ammo. It will carry three marines at any one time, and the passenger can provide covering fire along with the gunner. The vehicle's turning radius and speed are dependent on terrain and acceleration, so mastering the tail-swing is an essential part of Warthog driving.

The Warthog's high-mounted independent suspension does make it prone to rollovers either from optimistic driving or explosions. However, its speed, armament and carrying capacity makes it the ideal getaway vehicle for CTF matches.

Mounted atop the trusty Warthog, the gun turret features three electrically driven barrels, and a linkless drum-fed ammo system. Firing 12.7x99mm armor penetrating rounds is a liberating experience, since a Warthog carries a seemingly limitless supply. The gun is powerful, but its range is limited by your driver's skill and parking abilities. The Warthog is also a relatively vulnerable and visible target.

INSIDER TIP:Short bursts from the gun are more accurate over distance, so pump the trigger rather than jamming it down. Also, you can still fire effectively from an upended, falling or flying Warthog. So don't give up 'til you feel the grass on your ass.

M12A WARTHOG LAAV

AVAILABILITY: Multiplayer Specific
STARTING ROUNDS - DEFAULT: Unlimited
MAX ROUND CAPACITY: 3
RATE OF FIRE: 1.2 rockets/second
RELOAD TIME: 4 seconds
MAX SPEED: 55 mph
MAX SPEED REVERSE: 24.5 mph
ROLLOVER DANGER: High
MAX PASSENGER CAPACITY: 3 including driver
HIT DAMAGE: 800-300 DU per rocket (LRV)
SPLASH RADIUS DAMAGE: 20 feet

Another multiplayer-only addition, LAAV stands for Light Anti Armor vehicle, and apart from a slight weight difference, the LAAV is identical dynamically to the original Warthog. However, in place of the Warthog gun turret is a triple-barreled rocket launcher. That's right. Triple-barreled rocket launcher.

INSIDER TIP: Firing an average of 1.2 rounds per second, with three rockets per load cycle, the LAAV can seem slow, so save shots until they're absolutely necessary and try to enter a reload cycle before engaging the enemy.

M808B SCORPION MBT

AVAILABILITY: Rare
STARTING ROUNDS - DEFAULT: Unlimited
MAX ROUND CAPACITY: 1 (Cannon) Unlimited (Machine Gun)
RATE OF FIRE: NA
RELOAD TIME: 4 seconds (Cannon) NA (Machine Gun)
MAX SPEED: 28.6 mph
MAX SPEED REVERSE: 24.5 mph
ROLLOVER DANGER: Minimal
MAX PASSENGER CAPACITY: 5 including driver
HIT DAMAGE: 80-351 DU (Cannon) 10 DU/round (Machine Gun)
MAX EFFECTIVE RAGE: 1.8 miles
SPLASH RADIUS DAMAGE:

The Scorpion Main Battle Tank is designed as an anti-vehicle weapons platform and shielded by heavy duty ceramic-titanium armor. The driver of the tank is also the weapons operator, and must master the use of a 90mm High Velocity gun as well as a secondary coaxial 7.62mm AP-T "machine" gun. The High Velocity 90mm explosive rounds will knock out anything they hit and are not to be underestimated.

The guns, mounted on a swiveling turret are powerful and flexible, however the tank suffers from a deep "dead-zone" - an area close to the tank where it cannot direct fire. This can make it vulnerable to infantry and smaller vehicles.

INSIDER TIP: Don't forget that you can spray a withering suppression fire of 7.62mm rounds and use the High Velocity gun simultaneously, so if you're not sneaking around, keep that secondary fire pressed, it'll give the bad guys something else to think about.

COVENANT VEHICLES INTRO

Covenant vehicles rely on a faintly understood mode of anti-gravity propulsion, making them very good over rough terrain, and flexible in a wide variety of circumstances. However, the lack of available aerial friction means that handling of Covenant vehicles can be challenging for human pilots. And Covenant vehicles of course, use Covenant energy weapons technology for defense.

GHOST

AVAILABILITY: Medium
STARTING ROUNDS - DEFAULT: Unlimited
MAX ROUND CAPACITY: NA
RATE OF FIRE: ??
RELOAD TIME: NA
MAX SPEED: 46 mph
MAX SPEED REVERSE: ??
ROLLOVER DANGER: Medium
MAX PASSENGER CAPACITY: Since Occupancy Vehicle
HIT DAMAGE: 10-14 DU/shot

Anti-gravity levitators and high speed belie the Ghost's two and a half ton weight, but the sprightly, maneuverable vehicle is a force to be reckoned with. It's fast, accelerates brutally, turns on a dime and is armed with a directed energy weapon capable of firing twin bolts of superheated plasma in the 100-250kW range. Its weakness is it passenger capacity - limited to just you, yourself and thee. That said, apart from the Banshee, it's the single fastest way to get around on Halo (and actually a shade faster at ground level) and is nimble enough to be used as a missile of sorts. Don't be confused by the top speed vs. the Warthog. On a long flat stretch, the Warthog is in fact slightly faster. However, this is Halo; there are very few long flat stretches.

INSIDER TIP: If you exit a moving Ghost at full speed, you will be hurtled forward, while the vehicle slows gradually, but catches up behind you. Using this technique, you could leap off your Ghost, grab a flag and get back on it in just over a second. The enemy won't know what hit them, and the same technique can be applied to picking up weapons and power ups.

BANSHEE

AVAILABILITY: Rare
STARTING ROUNDS - DEFAULT: Unlimited
MAX ROUND CAPACITY: NA
RATE OF FIRE: ??
RELOAD TIME: NA
MAX SPEED: 45 mph
MAX PASSENGER CAPACITY: Since Occupancy Vehicle
HIT DAMAGE: 10-14 DU/shot (plasma) 40-75 DU/shot (Fuel Rod)

Added as a controllable vehicle in the Multiplayer sections of PC and Mac Halo, the Banshee is a new favorite for many players - and a new source of contention for others. A single-seat fighter-bomber, the Banshee can be used for suppression or attack runs. The use of air cover dramatically changes how games are played, and this is the most commonly deactivated vehicle in multiplayer game types. That said, mastering its use is an essential skill for the Halo completist.

The Banshee's 3.25 ton weight and sensitive lifters make it a bear to fly. It is maneuverable with practice, but the constant fight against gravity means cruise control is a no-no. Armed with light plasma cannons (similar to the Ghost) and a Fuel Rod Cannon (arcing bolts of explosive plasma) it can be a devastating air to ground vehicle. Dogfights between Banshees are common, since small arms fire from the ground has little effect, and heavier fire is often too slow to react.

INSIDER TIP: You can hover and strafe or bomb much more efficiently by pointing your nose down and using reverse to keep your Banshee aloft. If you start to come under fire, dive and swoop up to get a rapid boost out of danger.