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The gravity lift is a form of transport derived from Forerunner technology by the Covenant. A gravity lift can safely transport individuals or goods vertically 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.
Applications
The usage of gravity lifts is commonplace in many of the Covenant's structures or installations, including their holy city High Charity, where they serve as the primary form of vertical transport, often in form of long tubes that run inside the city's towers. Gravity lifts can also be projected from the underside of most Covenant starships, as they can be used to lift ground-based troops and equipment onto a ship, or to safely transport troops to a surface. Many smaller craft like Phantoms or battlefield equipment such as deployable lookout towers are also equipped with gravity lift technology. Small, infantry-portable versions of the gravity lift also exist.
Use 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. A Covenant Assault Carrier bombards the temple with a high-powered beam with the same color and constitution as a gravity lift beam, effectively disintegrating it with its force.[1]
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.[2] 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 Regret's Carrier 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 ship in Halo 3.
In Halo 3: ODST on the level Uplift Reserve the Gravity Lift Platform from Regret's Carrier can be seen in a certain area of the park. It appears very similar to the one for the Truth and Reconciliation, only more intricate, and much larger in size - this is probably due to the fact that it belongs to an Assault Carrier, not just a mere Cruiser.
Gravity lift in Forge
The gravity lift in Forge is essentially the same as the Portable Gravity Lift in both appearance and function. However, it cannot be picked up due to the fact that it is already deployed, unlike its portable counterpart which is collapsed by default.
Gravity lift in Halo Wars
In Halo Wars, each Covenant base automatically has a gravity lift right outside. Gravity Lift lets Covenant players to "Hot Drop". 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.