The shardstorm launcher is a needle weapon employed by the military forces of the former-Covenant empire and its splinter factions.[1][2][3]
OverviewEdit
Design detailsEdit
The shardstorm launcher operates similar to other needle weapons, firing large shards of Subanese crystal (or "blamite") which track a given target and explode in a "supercombine" reaction. The launchers are mounted on the back of Goblin vehicles developed by/for the Unggoy, with eight large launchers for use. Unlike other needler weapons, the blamite crystals do not protrude out of the eight holes, only emerging once fired.[4][5]
In operation, the Shardstorm fires a large number of Subanese crystal projectiles at once, homing onto various targets and individually tracking them. Destroying the Goblin's backpack destroys the launcher, and prevents it from firing.[6]
UsageEdit
The Shardstorm launcher is a common fixture in the various iterations of the Goblin battlesuit - primarily the Pnap-pattern used by Covenant Unggoy forces.[2] The Eklon'Dal Workshop Goblins employed by the Banished do not fit this feature as standard, and must have it upgraded.[5]
Production notesEdit
The shardstorm launcher was first envisioned for inclusion on the Grunt Goblin Warzone Firefight boss in Halo 5: Guardians. The weapon was originally developed as a prototype for an unnamed then-future project and internally known as the Multi-Target Tracked Attack, and came to useable state around the time of a studio internal "hackathon" (a period of time in which developers are free to prototype potential new Halo franchise features). As such, the weapon was taken by Halo 5 Senior Systems Designer Chris Proctor and his team applied to their then-prototyping Grunt Mech enemy. Due to the vehicle being built to fight eight players in Warzone Firefight rather than a usual 1-4 players of campaign, the weapon was a unique consideration as no others in the game had the ability to target so many players at once.[7]
GalleryEdit
The Pnap-pattern Goblin's launcher, as viewed from behind.
The Pnap-pattern Goblin's launcher, as viewed from above.
The Pnap-pattern Goblin's launcher, as viewed from below.
The Pnap-pattern Goblin's launcher, as viewed from the right.
The Pnap-pattern Goblin's launcher, as viewed from the left.
A number of Banished Eklon'dal Goblins firing their Shardstorm launchers.
List of appearancesEdit
- Halo 5: Guardians
- Warzone Firefight (First appearance)
- Halo Wars 2
SourcesEdit
- ^ Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs: Grunt Goblin
- ^ a b Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 277
- ^ Halo Encyclopedia (2022 edition), page 466
- ^ Halo 5: Guardians, Grunt Goblin in-game enemy
- ^ a b Halo Wars 2, Grunt Goblin in-game unit
- ^ Polygon, Meet Halo 5's new boss, then kill it with this new vehicle (Retrieved on Jun 9, 2023) [archive]
- ^ Halo Waypoint, Warzone Firefight Preview (Retrieved on Jun 25, 2016) [archive]