Boarding (gameplay mechanic)

This article is about the gameplay mechanic. For the naval tactic, see Boarding.

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An example of boarding with two Spartans

"That first time he jumps on, the crowd just, you know, goes into this really loud cheering."

— Zach Russel

Boarding is a technique featured in Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo Wars, Halo: Reach. and Halo 4. It is a unique and interesting way of neutralizing an enemy vehicle by stealing it from its current pilot, and then taking it over.

Summary

Boarding, also called carjacking or hijacking, is the process of forcibly ejecting a vehicle's pilot and proceeding to take over the vehicle and use it against them. It is accomplished simply by holding X in Halo 2, Halo Reach, and Halo 4 or RB in Halo 3 (default controls) when near an enemy vehicle and the message "Hold [action button] to board Vehicle" appears. In Halo Wars, you may board by pressing Y when targeting an enemy vehicle, but only if a Spartan is selected and there is not already a Spartan in said vehicle.

The main difficulty in boarding a vehicle is getting close enough to board it: a player attempting to board a vehicle can get splattered or killed by the vehicle's gunner. If the player succeeds, however, they will have disarmed their opponent and earned a free vehicle for their trouble, thus making it worth the risk. Players who succeed at boarding should be careful, as the other player may be able to re-board the vehicle.

In Halo 3, when ejecting an enemy driver, the melee attack that takes place as you eject them severely damages the enemy and may even kill them if their shields are down. After being successfully boarded, there is a brief period of time when you are stunned and your moving speed is greatly decreased. In Halo 3, if you are being boarded it is impossible to dismount the vehicle and try to escape—you are trapped inside until you are killed, ejected from the vehicle, or until you kill the hijacker (by destroying the vehicle or forcing the hijacker into an obstacle).

Boarding Certain Vehicles

Ghost/Banshee/Brute Chopper/Hornet/Falcon

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Concept art of John-117 boarding a Ghost for Halo 2.

Boarding is most often done on Banshees, Ghosts, Brute Choppers, Hornets, and Falcons. The act begins with an animation in which the attacker jumps on top of the victim's vehicle and forces the victim out. The attacker then enters the vehicle and takes control over it. Ghosts and Choppers are the easiest to board because they only have forward firing guns, leaving them vulnerable from all other directions.

Warthog/Spectre/Prowler/Revenant

Boarding a Warthog, Spectre, Prowler, or Revenant is different in that an attacker will still eject their victim, but without taking his or her seat. This can be dangerous as the player that was boarded can start shooting the attacker while the attacker is still returning to first-person view.

These vehicles, within the exception of the Revenant also have turrets, making it difficult to get close enough to board them, and leaving an attacker vulnerable to fire from the turrets while boarding. These vehicles can still be neutralized by boarding them, however; ejecting the driver leaves the gunner a sitting duck, and ejecting the gunner makes the vehicle less dangerous.

In battle, it is possible to board the passenger seat of a Warthog, emptying it; from there, you can enter the Warthog and melee the driver to death. You will, however, have to hop out and circle around the vehicle to take control of it after you kill the driver.

In Halo: Reach, when boarding a Warthog/Revenant, the boarder takes place of the Driver/Passenger/Gunner which makes it easier to take control of the vehicle. However, in campaign, boarding these vehicles will forcibly eject all characters from it if there is another enemy manning another part of the vehicle.

Scorpion/Wraith

Boarding works quite differently on Scorpions and Wraiths. The attacker does not eject the victim or take their seat. Instead, the boarder jumps onto the target vehicle. From that position, they may melee the vehicle—exposing and eventually killing the driver—or they may plant a grenade, killing all occupants, destroying the vehicle, and, in Halo 2, endangering themselves.

A Scorpion or Wraith's gunner can fire upon any players that attempt to board the vehicle; for this reason, attackers should make sure to kill the gunner before boarding the tank.

Scorpion/Wraith boarding is different in every game. In Halo 2 you have to melee the hatch off before planting a grenade and the person being boarded can jump out. In Halo 3 both attacks are much faster, the grenade can be shoved through the hatch, and the occupant is trapped in the vehicle. Halo 3: ODST is the same as Halo 3, although the distance from which you can board seems to be larger.

Wraith boarding in Halo 3: ODST

In Halo 3: ODST, Wraiths can be boarded like in Halo 3 and the player can still melee or use grenades against the driver, however the wraith is rigged to explode when the driver dies or exits. There is a method to overcome this and capture a wraith, however.

Mongoose

Halo 3's Mongoose cannot be boarded; however, a player may melee the driver off as they pass by. Alternatively, an attacker can enter the rear passenger seat of a target's Mongoose and then kill the driver with a few quick melee attacks or shots to the back of the head, although such a maneuver would take almost perfect timing and precision.

In Halo: Reach the Mongoose can be boarded. If the Mongoose being boarded has both a driver and a passenger, the hijack counts as a melee attack on both of them at once.

Mantis

The Mantis is one of the more difficult vehicles to board, due to its sheer offensive capabilities, height, and shielding. There is no game prompt for boarding if a Spartan simply stands at ground level with the Mantis. The boarder must jump or be suspended in air in order to reach the cockpit. Dropping down on the Mantis from an elevated height or being level with the cockpit also works and is preferably safer. However, due to its size it is also prone and vulnerable to EMP shots from Plasma Pistols. This brings it to a crouched deactivated state and thus makes boarding much easier.

Boarding Tactics

A simple tactic to boarding an enemy is to have it crash into an immovable object or a wall. The vehicle will then have limited movement, allowing it to be boarded. However, this is more difficult against a Ghost, a Spectre, or a Reverant since it can move in all directions.

The best way to board a vehicle is to halt it with an electromagnetic pulse created from a charged Plasma Pistol shot or a Power Drain. The vehicle is then left completely vulnerable to boarding. However, this tactic does not work in Halo 2.

Counter-Boarding Tactics

A player can indisputably avoid being boarded simply by constantly moving at full speed, sometimes even scoring some splatters along the way. However, if a player voluntarily exits the vehicle before they are ejected, they may be able to re-board the captured vehicle. Additionally, if you are boarded while inside a Banshee, a maneuver called "The Great Banshee Switch" can be used to recover the vehicle.

If you are willing to sacrifice the vehicle, simply throw a Plasma Grenade right when you are boarded. It will destroy the vehicle and kill your attacker, but you will also die in the explosion. Alternatively you can drive off the map before your opponent hijacks you(works on maps like Standoff and Avalanche, causing your would-be hijacker to fall to his/her death as well as yourself.

In Halo 3's Campaign, if a Brute boards your Wraith, you cannot leave the vehicle to escape being beaten to death. However, you can just fire the main cannon, which will damage the Wraith but kill the Brute.

In Halo 3, if your Warthog's driver seat is boarded, turn your view 90 degrees to the right. If timed correctly, you will face the boarder and can easily melee him/her. If you board a Warthog, turn 90 degrees to the left to melee the stunned driver.

If an enemy boards a small vehicle such as a Ghost, you can boost toward a cliff. If you time it right, you will be kicked off your vehicle and the enemy will go off the edge.

It is possible to splatter a boarder after they are on your vehicle. Simply smash them against a wall.

List of Characters able to Board

Here is a list of characters that can board vehicles:

• Spartans
• ODST's (only in Halo 3: ODST)
• Elites
• Brutes
• Drones (can only melee)
• Flood combat forms (can only melee)

Trivia

• SPARTAN-IIs can hijack vehicles in Halo Wars.
  • They can do this to an enemy vehicle to commandeer it, or make one of your units more powerful.
  • Strangely, if they hijack an enemy Warthog that has a passenger or turret, they only hijack the driver and the turret and passenger will become theirs also.
• In Halo 3 when an Elite boards a Prowler turret from the left side, the Elite will do a backflip, and then proceed to kick the gunner out.
• In Halo 2, if you board any vehicle that is being shot at by any AI-controlled allies, they will keep shooting and you will take damage until you kill or eject the driver. This is extremely annoying if one of your teammates has a Rocket Launcher or a Sniper Rifle.
• In Halo 3, if you are playing a FFA matchmaking playlist, and can re-board a vehicle you have been kicked out of within ten seconds, you will earn the "Maybe Next Time Buddy" achievement.
• In Multiplayer, a successful boarding of a ground vehicle will award the player the Carjacking Medal. If the player boards an aircraft, the Skyjacker Medal is awarded instead.
• In some machinimas, boarding positions are another place for a person to ride as passengers. For example, the machinima Marlin the Elite has used this often.
• As mentioned above, in a free for all match, boarding positions are an effective way of transporting extra people, but keep in mind, in Halo 2, on smaller vehicles such as Ghosts, Banshees, and Warthogs, hijacking rips the player out of the seat instead of manually meleeing.
• If you betray your Marines and they turn on you, you will be able to board their vehicles.
• Elites in Halo: Reach may board vehicles, including campaign essential ones such as the Falcon ridden in Tip of the Spear. However, they will be very bad at flying it, and the hijacking will result in the level being disrupted and the player unable to continue, at which point they must reset at a checkpoint.
• Strangely, a Banshee cannot be boarded if disabled with an EMP burst.

Gallery

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  An Elite prepares to hijack a Spartan.

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  A Spartan getting ready to eject a Ghost's pilot.

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  A Spartan hijacks another Spartan from a Ghost.

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  A Spartan ejects a rival Spartan in the Halo 3 Beta.

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  A SPARTAN-II boarding a Wraith.

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  An Elite boards a Mongoose in Halo: Reach.