Rizsheda-pattern Shade

The Type-26 Anti-Infantry Stationary Gun, abbreviated as Type-26 ASG and known as the Shade, is the Covenant's standard stationary gun turret and anti-infantry weapons platform.

Design and Operation

The Shade is a Covenant stationary gun, commonly operated by Unggoy. The Shade gun fires two bolts (three in Halo: Combat Evolved) of slow moving, high powered plasma encased in magnetic fields. The accuracy of a Shade's weapon is fairly low, as the bolts of plasma fired can hit anywhere within the aiming reticule.

Since the Shade is designed with infantry combat in mind, it is highly effective against Unggoy and Kig-yar, and has exhibited limited effectiveness against Sangheili (especially at dropping their shields). However, due to their high intelligence, Sangheili will often find cover and escape the Shade's range of fire. On this same note, the bolts fired lack the required punch to damage Mgalekgolo, whose armor and combat shield can withstand most Covenant and UNSC small firearms, causing the plasma bolts to have little to no effect on them.

The Shade offers a wide field of fire and a 360 degree traversal mount. The Covenant use the Shade's field of fire to their advantage and place them at strategic points where they can do the most damage. It is highly effective at combating light infantry, has shown good defense against light vehicles such as the Ghost, and in desperate situations, can serve as anti-aircraft defense, requiring only a few direct hits to destroy a Banshee.

Advantages

As with its recognizable human counterpart, the Shade is very effective against both enemy ground forces and light vehicles. Some of its advantages over its human counterpart are that the plasma bolts are accurate and effective at longer distances and it is easier to see where shots are actually going than it is with the HMG’s tracer rounds.

Disadvantages

As with the human counterpart, the player will be exposed to enemy fire. While it is useful against enemies in light vehicles, this is not a weapon of choice when facing an enemy armored vehicle. Also, as is the case with the HMG, players are unprotected from the rear, although this is lessened by the ability to completely rotate the turret. Additionally, the Halo 3's version of the Shade has an extremely slow turning rate, making it a detriment to the user.

Models

There are four models encountered so far in the Halo universe.

Shade (Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars)

Main articles: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo Wars

The Shade was first seen in the E3 demo atop a Spectre and made its first gameplay appearance in Halo: Combat Evolved's Template:Levelname. The Shade also makes an appearance in Halo Wars and is identical to the Halo: Combat Evolved Shade.

The Shade in Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo Wars consists of a sturdy base of three legs and a floating, mobile, turret-like seat with control systems for its "nozzle".

Shade (Halo 2)

Main article: Halo 2

The Shade returned in Halo 2, and is referred to as the Shielded Plasma Cannon. Similar to the Phantom of Halo 2, this turret fires slow moving red plasma bolts. To protect the gunner, this turret is equipped with an energy shield, similar to the Kig-yar Point Defense Gauntlet. These turrets are featured in the highway tunnel in Outskirts.

The turret on the Shadow is very similar in appearance to the Shade in Halo: Combat Evolved. In addition, these turrets seem to be more powerful than the standard Shade in Halo 2, and offer more protection as they are fixed to the armored personnel carrier and, as such, are mobile. The rate of fire is also considerably faster by as much as three times.

Shade (Halo 3)

Main article: Halo 3

The Shade returned in Halo 3 and had major visual and technical updates from its predecessors; the Shade now is in the shape of a ball-turret, has a higher rate of fire, and provides excellent front and side protection for the gunner. Like all Shades that have appeared in previous games, it is elevated on a small gravity lift that hovers the turret in the air, and so has a full 360 degree field of view.

The Shade is seen in the Halo 3 campaign missions Template:Levelname, Template:Levelname, and Template:Levelname. Interestingly, the Shade's aiming reticule was similar to a Needler's, except with a circle of lines at the center. The Shade was in multiplayer only in Halo 3 Epsilon, as it was removed from the final version, even in Forge.

Shade (Halo 3: ODST)

Main article: Halo 3: ODST

In Halo 3: ODST, the Shade seems to rotate quicker than it did in Halo 3. It is also worth noting that in Halo 3: ODST, the Shade lacks a plate of armor in the top middle, in between its guns, exposing the operator to enemy snipers.

The Shades are not found in the hub world in the game, but are often present during campaign missions set earlier. Many are set up in the Uplift Nature Reserve, where the Prophet of Regret's Assault Carrier had formerly been docked. Others can be found in the city during Mickey's journey through the city center to link up with Dutch, again on the rooftops of the New Mombasa Police Department Headquarters, and during the ODST's withdraw across the Coastal Highway. It does not appear on any Firefight map.

Tactics

Campaign

• Heavy weapons, vehicles or grenades are perfect to get rid of Shades.
• In Halo 3: ODST, Automags and snipers can be used to kill the gunner if no heavy weapons can be found.
• Ramming it with any vehicle at speed is an instant kill.
• In Halo 3 if you shoot a Shade from a distance and in the middle between the two pieces that jut out, the operator might jump out.
• In Halo 3, if you stand right in front of the turret, in between the guns, the operator will not turn the turret to make you slide in front of it, making you a harder target.
• An overcharged Plasma Pistol bolt in Halo 3 will prevent the turret from turning.

Multiplayer

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• Buddy up. Having someone to cover your dead zone is a guaranteed way to prolong your survival.
• Bail out when faced with superior fire power.
• When combatting a Shade, most forms of explosive weaponry tend to disable the turret quickly.
• A Shade's Plasma Cannons fire slow-moving projectiles, which means the farther you are, the better chance you have of eliminating it.
• Due to the slow rotation of the turret, a good strategy is to rapidly circle the gunner, then fire at their exposed flanks.
• Rushing a gun turret on foot is discouraged.

Trivia

• The Shade in Halo: Combat Evolved was originally intended to be movable, explaining why it has actual legs. However, it looked unrealistic, so the feature was canceled, although the animation is still there.
• The Power Drain and an overcharged Plasma Pistol shot cannot disable the Shade, though you can still see the electric blue sparks on it when is hit with either of the weapons.
• The Shade does not appear in any Halo 3 Multiplayer map. That is to say, it cannot be used in Multiplayer without modding. Tags for the Shade do exist in several maps, however, including Snowbound and Guardian. As with most normally-inaccessible Forge Objects, the Shade has no name, cost, or maximum limit, and it does not respawn.

Gallery

• 

  A close up of a Shade's Plasma bolt in mid-flight in Halo 3.

• 

  Shade Plasma bolts in mid-flight in Halo: Combat Evolved.

• HCE Shade.jpg

  Shade in Halo: Combat Evolved.

• 

  Shade in Halo 2.

• ShadowH2.png

  A Shade on top of a Shadow.

Related Pages

• Type-42 Directed Energy Support Weapon
• Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon