Shuul'se-pattern Kraken

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"The Kraken's on the move!"

— Edward Buck

The Type-55 Ultra-Heavy Siege Tower, colloquially known as the Kraken is a large excavation walker that was used by Jul 'Mdama's Covenant faction in late 2558.

History

Some human records indicate that the Kraken may have been encountered early in the war with the Covenant, but none survived to confirm it. In his effort to return the Covenant to prominence, Jul 'Mdama managed to secure several weapons caches belonging to the old guard. This included a number of Krakens. Although early on he utilized them sparingly, wanting to avoid tipping his hand, in October 2558, the Covenant deployed them en masse.

During the Battle of Kamchatka, Jul 'Mdama ordered a Kraken deployed to hold off Promethean forces that had rebelled from his control. However, the Promethean resistance turned out to be too much for it, and it was forced to fall back, leading to 'Mdama's death shortly thereafter.

His remaining troops attacked the Vadam lands of Sanghelios with another Kraken. Though powerful, it was held off by the Swords of Sanghelios's Banshee squadron until it was cornered in a narrow canyon. There Fireteam Osiris boarded it using Phaetons, navigated to its central core, and then overloaded it to destroy the Kraken.

Specifications

Design details

The Kraken is an ultra-heavy siege tower, a massive Covenant sky fortress with three powerful grappler arms capable of physically crushing and moving mountain-sized objects. The shape of the Kraken is very similar to real life squid. This, along with its massive proportions, has given rise to its UNSC nickname, after the mythological creature. The Kraken is comprised of a large hollow structure that allows large aerial vehicles such as the Phantom to fly and even land inside of it. Throughout the Kraken, there are several Shade turrets deployed for defense. The area above the hollow section is solid, capping it off. Below the hollow section there are several more Shade turrets and docking bays that can house Banshees.

The core is housed in the bottom-most section, where the 3 limb-like mechanisms protrude. The core is susceptible to heavy ordnance such as the Fuel Rod and goes critical after a few hits.

The Kraken is able to hover via a Forerunner gravitational core, which also serves as its power source, but can also support itself on its limbs if needed.

It's commonly held that these siege towers were originally based on a variant of Forerunner Sentinels used during their war with the Flood, discovered in a reliquary of mothballed ordnance before being created by the Covenant.

Armament

The Kraken features several Type-26 Shades located all over it. Each of these, however, must be piloted individually.

Its limbs can also be used offensively and are capable of massive structural damage.

Trivia

The Kraken was codenamed "Sentry Ship" during development of Halo 5: Guardians to reflect on its role as a watcher overseeing the battlefield.

Gallery

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  Concept and design inspiration of the Kraken showcasing textures based on crab exoskeletons and blue whale skin.

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  Floor-plan of a Kraken.

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  The Kraken preparing to smash.

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  A Kraken crushing structures.

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  The Kraken pausing briefly beyond the edge of a cliff.

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  Fireteam Osiris preparing to assault the excavator with Phaetons.

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  Another view of the Kraken.

Browse more images in this article's gallery page.

List of appearances

• Halo 5: Guardians (First appearance)