Unggoy

Template:Covenant Species Infobox The Unggoy (Latin, Monachus frigus) are a species of subordinate warriors in the unified conglomerate races of the Covenant. The Humans have termed such warriors Grunts, because of their speech patterns and their status in Covenant society.

Grunts are the lowest-ranked species of the Covenant, forming the bottom-most of all the castes. They are often pressed into combat and manual labor, although they are typically poor and overall cowardly warriors. They are physically diminutive, wear minimal armor, and most of them are tactically inept and are poor shots. However, what they lack in ability they make up for with sheer numbers.

They are unusual in that they breathe methane rather than oxygen. Their combat armor is even integrated with a methane rebreather system, as Grunts appear to be unable to survive long without methane.

These strange creatures who breathe methane, also resort to rape if they cannot have sex. They will rape male or female victims. I find this slightly funny for they are fucking skank little fuckers who will shag anything. People often mistake the grunts for gordon brown and they will often hunt for hours looking for gordon or even ian bill if they cannot find gordon.

my personal opinion of them is that we rape them before they rape us

HA

Homeworld

Main article: Balaho

The homeworld of the Grunts, Balaho, is a cold, swampy planet with a methane atmosphere and naturally occurring pillars of fire. The cold nature of their planet makes them highly covet of any source of heat they can find.

File:BestiarumGrunt.jpg

A Grunt, as depicted in the Bestiarum.

Since their natural environment is methane-filled, they have to carry tanks of methane in their environment suits to breathe. Without this breathing apparatus, they will suffocate in a "normal" atmosphere. They have also been seen inhabiting large environment domes that have airlocks and methane filters for them to breathe while not in armor or restocking their methane reserves at Battlefield Methane Tanks. Grunts also have high-pitched and squeaky voices, possibly due to acclimation to prolonged methane gas exposure. These voices are commonly regarded as humorous by other races.

Grunts also have thick, luminescent, light-blue blood, possibly a result of methane-based binding proteins in the blood to facilitate methane-based respiration.

Furthermore, Grunts are known for their frequent naps, even sleeping in high-risk combat environments, sometimes even in open daylight or immediately after an enemy has retreated. Whether this is a product of their methane-based metabolism is unknown.

Rank

File:Grunts.jpg

A Major Grunt leads a pack of Minor Grunts on Installation 04.

File:Grunt.jpg

A Minor Grunt without his mask, showing the species' sharp teeth.

Overall

The Grunts are the lowest tier of the Covenant rank hierarchy, and are bitter rivals with Jackals as they are both on the bottom of the social hierarchy, and by a political standpoint, are expected to obey the commands of Elites without hesitation. This unwavering faithfulness is enforced by the threat of punishment, although on the battlefield, such social protocols are often ignored. They are, in comparison to other species in the covenant hierachy, useless and weak, especially individually. They are easy to overpower, and runaway when leaderless or overpowered

The Grunts are subdivided into sub-rankings. Lower-ranked Grunts are typically poor combatants, while higher-ranked Grunts may be formidable adversaries in combat and show signs of leadership capability.

Rank Structure

Grunts have several classes, which are easily identifiable by the color of their armor:

Rank	Image	Description
Grunt Leaders
Grunt Ultra	File:GruntUltra03.jpg	Grunts that appear to be field commanders for other Grunts, and wear distinctive pearlescent white armor reminiscent of the Ultra Elites. While they appear to have some authority over lesser-ranked Grunts (besides Special Operations Grunts, who are of a different jurisdiction), they have no control whatsoever over the other Covenant races. Ultra Grunts are also stronger opponents than their subordinates, and are more accurate with firearms, throw plasma grenades often, and have heavier armor, making them able to sustain more damage than most other Grunts. They never run, and, when present, other Grunts do not run either. Ultra Grunts mostly sided with the Covenant Separatists.
Grunt Specialists
Special Operations Grunt	File:Spec-Ops grunt.gif	Experienced and specially-chosen Grunts that wear distinctive jet-black armor and are commanded by the Special Operations Elites. They are part of the Covenant Special Operations division of the Covenant Special Warfare Group. Special Operations Grunts are extremely skilled in warfare compared to the Grunt species, and rarely panic in combat situations, if they do at all. They are sometimes seen wielding Fuel Rod Cannons, and they throw Plasma Grenades more often than lesser Grunt ranks, as well as throwing them more accurately. Almost all, if not all of the SpecOps Grunts sided with the Arbiter and Covenant Separatists during the Covenant Civil War.
Grunt Heavy	File:Heavy grunt.gif	Specialized Grunts wearing green armor often deployed in defensive actions whose primary purposes are to deploy Plasma Cannons and man them, but occasionally wield Fuel Rod Cannons as well. Additionally, they also have been seen operating/driving Ghost vehicles.
Grunt Infantry
Grunt Major	File:Major grunt.gif	Veteran Grunts that wear crimson armor. They sometimes command several Minor Grunts and are slightly more skilled in combat and courageous than Minor Grunts, though this difference is not substantial.
Grunt Minor	File:Minor grunt.gif	The lowest-ranking Grunts, and wear orange armor. They are often times the least threatening and most cowardly, and are often inaccurate shooters, and when their commanding Elite is killed, will often break formation and flee.

File:Gruntybomb.PNG

A suicidal Grunt charging his foes.

Combat

Weaponry

Grunts are often armed with the ubiquitous Plasma Pistol, although they are occasionally seen wielding Needlers or Plasma Rifles. Grunts are never seen equipped with two-handed weapons like the Covenant Carbines, Brute Shots, Energy Swords, etc., although Gunner Grunts can carry folded Plasma cannons and Special Operations and Gunner Grunts are occasionally seen bearing Fuel Rod Cannons.

All Grunts are equipped with plasma grenades, although only mostly Ultra Grunts and Special Operations Grunts throw grenades in combat. In Halo 3 Grunts who are startled, or possibly just saw their allies get killed, will arm 2 plasma grenades and rush the player causing a nice sized explosion after a few seconds. As mentioned earlier, most Grunts are inaccurate shooters, although Ultra Grunts and Special Operations Grunts are a threat with their very accurate marksmanship and their tendency to lob grenades accurately. They can also can carry the Fuel Rod Cannon.

The Weapon mostly used by Grunts seems to be the Plasma Pistol, however, the Needler is a close second. Usually giving a Grunt a weaker weapon than the one they are currently wielding will cause the Grunt to get very upset, sometimes almost to the point of crying.

Turrets/Vehicles

In Halo:CE, Minor Grunts were the primary operators of the stationary Shade turrets. In Halo 2, while it is the specific task of Gunner Grunts to man Plasma Cannons or Shielded Plasma Cannons, if no Gunner Grunts are available, Minor or Major Grunts will often man the turret.

In both Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, if a Grunt turret operator is killed, nearby Grunts will move to man the unmanned cannon.

Grunts are also surprisingly adept with vehicles, and can man a variety of Covenant ground vehicles:

• Ghost (Halo 2, Halo 3)
• Shadow (Seen in Halo 2 E3 Demo, have animation but not used in Halo 2)
• Shade (Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3)
• Shielded Plasma Cannon (Halo 2)
• Plasma Cannon (Halo 2, Halo 3)

Combating Grunts

Grunts are relatively lightly armored and lack any form of shielding, and are easily dispatched by most weapons. Headshot-capable weapons such as the M6D Pistol and BR55 Battle Rifle are very effective. Like most other unshielded enemies, a single headshot will kill them. They are also easily killed with brief bursts of automatic fire from weapons such as the Assault Rifle, SMG, or Plasma Rifle. In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Plasma Pistol is also very effective; one or two charged shots or a few standard shots are often enough to kill a Grunt. Ultra and Special Operations Grunts have stronger body armor and can withstand more damage than lower-ranking Grunts. Melee attacks can generally kill a grunt in one or two blows and is especially effective against sleeping grunts as it will not alert other Covenant troops to your presence. In Halo 3, some weapons will blow the cover of a Grunt's methane tank off and rupture the tank inside. The rebreather can also be knocked off. While this is probably fatal for the Grunts after a certain amount of time, they will continue to fight. A melee attack to a Grunt's back will also rupture the tank, but the blow will usually kill the Grunt outright. If a Grunt catches fire, the tank will explode.

Because Grunts are often in tight formations, grenades and rockets can be used to great effect. However, if stuck by a Plasma Grenade, Grunts will panic and start running in random directions, posing a threat not only to his Covenant allies, but to the player as well.

Trivia

• In Halo: Combat Evolved, Grunts are seen walking like monkeys.
• In Halo: The Fall Of Reach, Grunts are described as being dog-like, with their barks, growls, and howls. Some even run on all fours.
• In Halo: Combat Evolved on the level The Maw you can find Talking Grunts while in the last bit of the level.

File:Halo-grunt2.jpg

A "curl-back" Grunt.

• In Tagalog, the language spoken in the Philippines, "unggóy" means "monkey".
• In Halo: Combat Evolved, there was a "curl-back" design for the Grunt life support system that occurred on all ranks. This variation is not in Halo 2. It could have been a traditional difference between male and female grunts. Possibly a suit was made by the time of Halo 2 that accommodated both sexes. Another possibility is that the 'curl back' design was an older design not fully phased out by the time of Halo 1 but fully replaced by the 'shark fin' tank design by the time Halo 2 took place. The differentiation between the two appearances has never been stated officially.
• In Halo: The Flood, a group of Grunts coordinate a well timed attack against the Master Chief. A group of them dropped onto him and tried to remove his helmet while another lit a Plasma Grenade. Their goal was to drop the grenade into the Chief's suit, though they failed. This is particularly noteworthy as Grunts are typically shown as unintelligent canon-fodder; incapable of functioning like a military unit without the presence of a higher ranked Covenant race.
• During the Covenant Civil War, Grunts, having the lowest status in Covenant society, were too afraid to openly pledge support for one side. Thus, Grunts in Halo 3 will fight for both sides however allied grunts are not present in gameplay.
• Somehow, Grunts may be stronger than some Marines as they can carry Fuel Rod Cannons/Guns. When Corporal Locklear tried to lift a Fuel Rod Gun in Halo: First Strike, it was too heavy but Grunts in-game carry Fuel Rod Cannons/Guns with no problem. However if a player hands a Fuel Rod Gun to a Marine in Halo 2 the Marine doesn't seem to have any issues carrying it.
• In the level Gravemind, a single Grunt is the protector of the hidden skull. This Grunt is one of the most dangerous enemies in the game because he is completely invisible and fires a Fuel Rod Cannon. Your best chance of killing him is a lucky Carbine headshot.
• In Halo 2, on the level Sacred Icon, there is a lone Grunt at the first piston. Let him go down the piston, then follow him. Then shoot at him, he cannot be killed.
• In Halo 2, it is mentioned by the Prophet of Mercy that an Arbiter was once needed in the past to quell a grunt rebellion, a major event in the history of the covenant during which time many grunts proceeded to secede from the covenant hegemony.
• Much has been made in the novels of the fact that the methane gas tanks are explosive but it is only in Halo 3 that they can be detonated. Grunt rebreathers are also able to be knocked off in Halo 3, revealing the face beneath. Halo Wars has Grunts being propelled many metres (even across maps) by exploding gas tanks.
• In Halo 3, enemy Grunts have mottled, greenish-black skin and red eyes, giving them a more menacing, hostile appearance.
• A Grunt was seen in the announcement trailer for Halo 3 on a crossing sign. This easter egg has been dubbed the "Grunt Crossing" Easter egg.
• It was revealed in Halo:Ghosts of Onyx that Grunts enjoy breathing Benzene.
• Monachus means monk. Frigus means cold, coolness, cold of winter/dullness, indolence. A rough translation would mean "Cold monk", perhaps alluding to their cold homeworld.
• After the Covenant Civil War, some Grunts sided with the Elites. However, most have stayed with the Covenant Loyalists. This may be because of the shift in the Covenant hierarchy. With Brutes taking the place of the Elites, some of the Grunts stayed out of fear.
• In Halo 3, when you use an M6G Pistol and shoot them in the back, their methane tanks will break off. But, the grunt will suffocate in a few minutes.
• In Halo 3, when you melee a Grunt in the back, it's methane tank will pop off along with a mist of aqua-looking methane. However, no matter what the color is of the Grunt you hit, it's tank will always show as orange.
• If you take a Grunt's plasma pistol and replace it with a rifle, it will throw a tantrum even though it is a better weapon.
• If you give a Grunt a Fuel Rod gun it will do a Cha Cha dance and say "Present from Arbiter?"

Sources

Halo 3 Easter Eggs