Gravity lift
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
The Gravity Lift is a form of transport derived from Forerunner technology by the Covenant to lift ground-based troops and equipment onto a ship or platform, or to safely transport troops to a surface without the use of any mechanical device or mechanism. However, the polarity of the lift needs to be reversed in order to switch from the two different functions. They can be projected from both the underside of most Covenant ships, Phantoms and from the base of Deployable Lookout Towers.
Appearances
Gravity Lifts are seen at least twice in the game Halo: Combat Evolved. These scenes both involve the Master Chief and the Covenant CCS-class Battlecruiser: Truth and Reconciliation.[1] However, this Gravity Lift seems to change position between levels indicating the ship or at least the Gravity Lift changed locations. The Gravity Lift belonging to the High Prophet of Regret is also seen in Halo 2, in the background of the levels Outskirts and Metropolis, as it holds position and occupation over New Mombasa. Many gravity lifts are also seen in High Charity. A Covenant Separatist Phantom uses a smaller-scale gravity lift to extract the Master Chief and 343 Guilty Spark from a Flood-controlled area in Halo 3.
Gravity Lift as a Weapon
The Gravity Lift can also serve as a weapon that launches people or objects quite a distance in the air. It is primarily used to quickly scale high walls or defense. It can be seen in the cutscene after Master Chief kills the Prophet of Regret in the Delta Halo Temple Lakes. A Covenant Assault Carrier bombards the temple with a high-powered beam with the same color and constitution as a Gravity Beam, effectively disintegrating it with it's force.[2]
Gravity Lift in Halo Wars
In Halo Wars, each Covenant base automatically has a Gravity Lift right outside. Gravity Lift lets the Covenant's players to do "Hot Dropping". Hot Dropping allows Covenant players to transport any units directly to their Leader's location.
An additional twist is that the Covenant Leaders can be "recalled" back to a base via the Gravity Lift. The Covenant Leaders are very valuable, so the best players will rescue their Leaders right before death. The Scarab is the only unit that cannot be transported via the Gravity Lift[3]. Once a base is destroyed, its Gravity Lift automatically disappears.
Trivia
- It is strange that the polarity needs to be reversed to send an individual to the ground since this should catapult them into the ground with greater force than falling, although the lift may move people within a stasis field.
- Shade turrets float upon a weaker version of these lifts.
