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M808B Scorpion

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Revision as of 22:26, April 19, 2015 by Sith Venator (talk | contribs)

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"This here is 66 tons of straight-up, HE-spewin', dee-vine intervention!"
Avery J. Johnson

The M808B Scorpion, formally the M808B Main Battle Tank[1][2], is a variant of the M808 Scorpion. The tank features a coaxial-mounted M231 machine gun and lacks a gunner compartment.[3]

Design details

The M808B differs from base model in such that its secondary armament has been moved from a pintle-mounted M247T Medium Machine Gun to a coaxially mounted M231 Medium Machine Gun. The machine gun is mounted beside the primary weapon and thus points in the same general direction as the main armament, relying in the turret's ability to traverse in order to change arc.

Operational history

An older variant of the Scorpion, the M808B saw use throughout the Insurrection and later the Human-Covenant War.[3] It served alongside other models of the Scorpion as well as the M850 Grizzly.

In 2531 the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire utilized multiple M808B Scorpions during the end of the Harvest Campaign. Later many would be used to defend the evacuating civilians when the Covenant invaded Arcadia. When the Covenant attempted to conceal a Type-36 Scarab underneath an energy dome several Scorpions were dispatched in order to protect the M145D Rhinos assigned to take down a portion of the dome. Some of those same Scorpions would help Sergeant John Forge and his men later destroy the same Scarab. During the Battle of Shield World 0459 many Scorpions were used by the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire to not only combat Covenant forces but the Flood and Sentinels as well.

A D77-TC Pelican dropping off a M808B Scorpion during the Battle of Mombasa.

Towards the end of the war in 2552 the UNSC Pillar of Autumn carried a few M808B Scorpions in preparation of Operation: RED FLAG. Subsequently with the Fall of Reach the UNSC Pillar of Autumn was forced to flee and ended up arriving at Installation 04. Met by Covenant forces the ship's MAC was damaged forcing the crew to evacuate and for Captain Jacob Keyes to crash land the ship on the Halo array. UNSC Marines would later arrive at the crash site and managed to salvage four Scorpions for the battle against the Covenant. Spartan John-117 would utilize one of these Scorpions during his assault on Installation 04's control room. The other Scorpions were used to defend Alpha Base. All Scorpions were destroyed, along with Installation 04, when John-117 overloaded the UNSC Pillar of Autumns reactor.

During the Battle of Earth some M808B Scorpions were used by Marines while engaging Covenant within the city of Mombasa. John-117 utilized a Scorpion given to him by Sergeant Major Avery Johnson in order to cross a Covenant held bridge while another was destroyed by a Type-47 Scarab. Later the UNSC In Amber Clad deployed multiple M808B Scorpions across Installation 05 in an effort to help John-117 assassinate the Prophet of Regret and locate the Activation Index. Later in the battle Flood combat forms used multiple Scorpions against Covenant forces led by Arbiter Thel 'Vadam, remaining UNSC troops, and Sentinels.

Variants

  • M808B2 Sun Devil: Anti-aircraft modification with two pairs of twin-linked 40mm autocannons. Used in an anti-personnel capacity during the Insurrection.[4][3]
  • M808B3 Tarantula: Heavy fire support variant. Armed with twin Scimitar 40x178mm hypervelocity rocket pods. Mostly reequipped as M808Bs due to ineffectiveness against Covenant forces.[4][3]

List of known units

Gameplay changes

Changes from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 2

  • Players now cannot ride on the tank's tread covers. Standing on them is much easier with the revamped physics engine.
  • The reticule for the tank has also changed and is a lot smaller, for increased accuracy.
  • The tank now moves a lot slower, further limiting its movement and its evasive capabilities.
  • The tank's canopy has been replaced with a solid metal cover like in Halo: Combat Evolved's Campaign, preventing the driver from being sniped while it is intact. However, vehicle damage has been added to human vehicles, and so the player is in danger of the tank exploding if too much damage is taken.
  • The main cannon reloads twice as fast, requiring only a two second delay. The dots during the reload time are now removed. It is also more accurate.
  • The machine gun is now much more accurate. Previously, the machine gun fired in a very wide area.
  • Driving and aiming controls are now completely divorced allowing for greater maneuverability when firing. Previously the aiming and steering controls were linked, meaning the player had to steer more or less in the same direction they were aiming.

Halo Wars

Renders of the M808B Scorpion and its upgrades.
From left to right: the Scorpion from the least to the most upgraded variant in Halo Wars.

The Scorpion is the mainline UNSC vehicle, and can be produced from the Vehicle Depot.

Requirements
  • 500 Resources
  • Tech Level 2
Upgrades
  • Canister shell
    • A special attack with a blast radius which is devastating to infantry.
  • Power turret
    • The turning speed of the turret is doubled.
  • Grizzly

Trivia

  • In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Scorpion tank's cannon was a solid object, but in Halo 2 and Halo 3, the player will go through if they try to walk on the barrel - the character's legs will separate from their body.
  • In Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the M808B uses the M808's model from Halo: Reach, with the machine gun and its operator's compartment destroyed. Because the model was recycled the main turret lacks machine the M808B canonically features. As such gunfire simply appears from beside the cannon. The Wraith experienced a similar idiosyncrasy when its model was carried over to Anniversary.

Gallery

List of appearances

Note

  1. ^ The Halo Encyclopedia claims that these unit numbers (except 030569) actually refer to variant models of the M808B. However, these numbers clearly refer to individual, unmodified tanks in-game and the claim that they are variants has never been reiterated. As such these variants should not be considered canon. They are as follows:
    • 12-9F5: Painted brown, this version has a wider-set track and an enhanced undercarriage, and is designed for urban warfare.
    • 957-A3: Painted gray, the 957-A3 has enhanced electronics for a more accurate cannon shot.
    • UE8-14: Painted olive green, this variant has thinner armor, is lighter, and is designed for medium-armor warfare.
    • TB-SB-1: Painted black, the TB-SB-1 has thicker armor than the standard Scorpion and a sturdier chassis.

Sources

  1. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named H1man
  2. ^ Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named H2man
  3. ^ a b c d Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named Waypoint
  4. ^ a b Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named ENC

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