Editing War sphinx

{{Status|Canon}}
{{Vehicle infobox
|name=War sphinx
|image=[[File:Enc22 WarSphinx.png|300px]]
|manufacturer=[[Minoris Assembler Vats]]{{Ref/Book|Id=Enc22P388|Enc22|Page=388}}
|line=
|model=
|cost=
|length={{Convert|20|m|ftin|sp=us}}<ref name="c43">'''[[Halo: Cryptum]]''', ''page 43''</ref>{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P388}}
|width={{Convert|12.2|m|ft|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P388}}
|height={{Convert|10|m|ftin|sp=us}}{{Ref/Reuse|c43}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P388}}
|mass={{Convert|53|MT}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P388}}
|max speed=
|engine=
|hull=
|armament=
|crew=One operator{{Ref/Reuse|c43}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P388}}
|complement=
|consumables=
|othersystems=
|firstuse=
|service=
|role=
|affiliation=*[[Forerunner]] [[ecumene]]{{Ref/Reuse|c43}}
**[[Warrior-Servant]]s{{Ref/Reuse|c43}}{{Ref/Reuse|Enc22P388}}
}}

'''War sphinxes''' were immensely powerful war machines used by [[Forerunner]] [[Warrior-Servant]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|c43}} Classified as midsize [[Combat skin|fighting suits]],{{Ref/Reuse|c43}} war sphinxes were versatile combat vehicles that allowed an individual Warrior to operate seamlessly in space, air or a planetary surface. Their roles ranged from acting as capital ship escorts,<ref>'''[[Halo 4: The Essential Visual Guide]]''', ''page 123''</ref> overwhelming enemy ships in large numbers,<ref name="c163">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 163''</ref> or being deployed from orbit and conducting large-scale bombardment operations, boasting firepower to level entire cities.<ref name="c95">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 95''</ref> In addition to their predominant air and space roles, they were also equipped with arms and legs, enabling them to operate on the ground as bipedal combat vehicles.<ref name="c66">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 66''</ref>

==Description==
The war sphinxes were described as being ten meters high and twenty meters long, with an elongated tail that provided lift and power. From the "tail" rose a large rounded torso with a command cabin perched on top. The command cabin was designed to resemble a Forerunner face, with features arranged in an angry or stern expression and two viewports serving as "eyes". The joints of their limbs were composed of [[hard light]].{{Ref/Reuse|c66}} Much like [[Onyx Sentinel]]s, two sphinxes could also merge to create a larger unit, which still retained a similar "face" at the forward surface.<ref>'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 76''</ref>

War sphinxes were programmed to [[Mind transfer|contain]] samples of their wearer's mental patterns and personalities before they were killed in battle. These preserved personalities were less complete than [[Durance]]s, but could still be studied by a commander to gain useful information. The [[Ur-Didact|Didact]] kept the final impressions of his children, who were killed in battle, within their war sphinxes.<ref name="essences">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 138''</ref>

Ten thousand years after the human-Forerunner wars, [[Builder Security]] utilized a comparable type of machine known as the [[Seeker (vehicle)|Seeker]]; these machines lacked the ornate design of the war sphinx and were easily capable of overpowering the Didact's ancient war sphinxes.<ref name="c195">'''Halo: Cryptum''', ''page 195''</ref>

==Operational history==
[[File:HM Bornstellar-Cryptum.jpg|300px|thumb|right|One of the war sphinxes (right) that were left to guard the Didact's Cryptum.{{Ref/Site|Id=CU-Entrenched|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/entrenched-endeavors|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Community Update - Entrenched Endeavors|D=28|M=05|Y=2022}}]]
Warrior-Servants utilized war sphinxes in large numbers during the [[human-Forerunner wars]]. During the [[Battle of Charum Hakkor]], war sphinxes were deployed in the thousands against the human fleet in orbit over [[Charum Hakkor]], swarming human vessels in spiraling cloud-like formations and forcing some to crash into [[Precursor]] [[star road]]s.{{Ref/Reuse|c163}} Twelve of the machines, once piloted by the [[Ur-Didact|Didact]]'s children, contained their partial essences after they were killed in battle.{{Ref/Reuse|essences}} These war sphinxes were left to guard the Didact's [[Cryptum]] in the [[Djamonkin Crater]] after he entered his first exile. By the time [[IsoDidact|Bornstellar Makes Eternal Lasting]] arrived in the Djamonkin Crater in the final decade before the [[Great Purification|Halos' activation]], these suits were considered antiquated and outdated.{{Ref/Reuse|c43}} The war sphinxes continued to serve the Didact, conducting their assigned duties after his revival, and accompanied him as he left Earth on his [[Didact's ship|newly-constructed ship]]. When [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]]'s forces attacked the Didact's ship over [[Janjur Qom]], the war sphinxes attempted to defend the ship and the Didact to the best of their ability, but were outmatched and quickly destroyed by the superior [[Seeker (vehicle)|Seekers]].{{Ref/Reuse|c195}}

Warriors continued to employ war sphinxes well into the [[Forerunner-Flood war]]. Several war sphinxes had been appropriated by [[Master Builder]] [[Faber]]'s forces on [[Installation 07]]; [[Chakas]] and [[Vinnevra]] observed these machines herding an enormous crowd of [[human]]s to a [[Palace of Pain]], overseen by the [[Primordial]]. Later, a war sphinx took a captured Chakas and a [[monitor]] housing [[Forthencho]]'s essence to the Halo's [[Cartographer]] where Chakas would be linked with the ring's control interface.<ref>'''Halo: Primordium''', ''page 316''</ref>

Around 100,000 years later, in the mid-26th century, the [[Office of Naval Intelligence]] retrieved several Forerunner artifacts from [[Halo Array|Halo]] [[Installation 03]]. One of them was the eye of a war sphinx variant.<ref name="fodder">[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/news/canon-fodder-have-s-moa '''Halo Waypoint''': ''Canon Fodder - Have S'Moa'']</ref> It was designated "Specimen 1534" and studied aboard ''[[Ivanoff Station]]''. The ONI scientists [[Halo 4 audio logs#Specimen 1534|speculated]] that it might have been an imaging component and weapon sight belonging to a Forerunner vehicle. They also required the help of SPECWAR in order to analyse the object. By [[2557|July 24th, 2557]], the sphinx's eye remained in [[Catherine Halsey|Doctor Catherine Halsey]]'s former lab aboard ''Ivanoff''.<ref>'''Halo 4''', campaign level ''[[Composer (level)|Composer]]''</ref> War sphinxes were found in relatively large numbers on [[Trevelyan]] by ONI. The enigmatic controls and complex operational systems plagued ONI scientists seeking to reverse-engineer the technology that powers them.<ref name="Mythos">'''[[Halo Mythos]]''', ''page 137''</ref>

==Production notes==
War sphinxes were originally concepted for and intended to make an appearance in ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', but were cut from the final game.<ref>[[:File:H5GC-WarSphinx.jpg|War sphinx concept art for ''Halo 5: Guardians'']]</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:H4 - Eye of Sphinx concept.jpg|Concept art for the sphinx's eye kept onboard ''Ivanoff Station'' in ''Halo 4''. 
File:War Sphinx Eye.jpg|The eye of a war sphinx on ''Ivanoff Station'' in ''Halo 4''.
File:H5GC-WarSphinx.jpg|Concept art of the war sphinx for ''Halo 5: Guardians''.
</gallery>

==List of appearances==
*''[[Halo: Cryptum]]'' {{1st}}
*''[[Halo: Primordium]]''
*''[[Halo 4]]'' {{C|Eye only}}
*''[[Halo: Silentium]]''
*''[[Halo Mythos]]''
*''[[Halo: Point of Light]]'' {{Mo}}

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Forerunner|technology|category=no}}

[[Category:Forerunner technology]]