HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Mantis

"WE'VE GOT A NEW CONTACT, UNKNOWN CLASSIFICATION!"

This article may contain information based upon upcoming, unreleased, or recently-released content, and may not be fully complete. Additionally, the information may be subject to change if it is based on pre-release material. Please update it as soon as any relevant and accurate material is available.

This article is about the powered exoskeleton. For the Covenant anti-air cannon nicknamed the "Mantis", see Type-27 Anti-Aircraft Cannon.

Template:Vehicle Infobox The Mantis is a powered exoskeleton/armored fighting vehicle used by the UNSC Marine Corps after the Human-Covenant War.^[1]^[2]

Overview

Design details

Standing roughly twenty feet tall, the Mantis is similar in appearance to the larger Cyclops Mark II. Its spindly legs and tiny "thorax" give the Mantis a passing resemblance to its namesake, as do its weaponized arms. There are two versions of the Mantis, both of which have a rotary cannon on the right arm and a missile pod on the left. One variant has a larger-caliber cannon and surface-to-air missiles; the other version has a smaller-caliber cannon and surface-to-surface missiles.^[2] Though it lacks the firepower and durability of the M808 Main Battle Tank, the Mantis is far more maneuverable and is equipped with energy shields.^[3]^[2]

Service history

The Mantis was first used by the Marines aboard the prowler UNSC Port Stanley.^[4] In 2557, the UNSC Infinity carried at least two Mantises. After Infinity was drawn inside the shield world Requiem, Spartan John-117 used a Mantis against Storm forces in the vicinity of the ship's crash site.^[1] Later that year, Infinity's SPARTAN-IV complement used a version with scaled-down weapons in War Games training.^[2]

Gameplay

The Mantis has two variants, both in canon and in gameplay. The more powerful model, featured in the campaign, is designed to provide the player an almost overwhelming advantage. To promote more balanced competitive play, the Mantis has less firepower in War Games and has anti-surface rather than anti-air missiles. The player may fire all five missiles by holding the right trigger, while tapping the trigger fires only one missile, similar to the plasma launcher in Halo: Reach. The player can stomp the ground with the Mantis' legs by pressing the melee button.^[2]

Production notes

During the early concept phase, 343 Industries considered implementing the HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL powered exoskeleton from the Halo Legends short Prototype. Later concepts derived from this design featured a larger exoskeleton that would cover the wearer's MJOLNIR armor. Designing the Mantis required months of playstesting, much of which involved tweaking the speed of the "stomp" move. One of the biggest concerns was making it clear when a player is reloading the Mantis' weapons; originally, the Mantis held its arms forward as the weapons were reloaded. Due to playtesters' feedback, the animation was changed so that the mech lifts its arms when new ammunition is being fed.^[2]

Given its turret profile, armament, and dimensions, the Mantis greatly resembles the Gekko biomechanical fighting vehicle from the 2008 video game Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots. A large, port-side, front-facing radar dome is reminiscent of the prototype metal gear REX first introduced in 1998's Metal Gear Solid and reintroduced in Guns of the Patriots.

Gallery

John-117 reviewing a Mantis aboard the UNSC Infinity.
Mantis Stomp.png

A Mantis stomping the deck near a group of Storm troops.
A Mantis engaging two Type-52 Phantom dropships.
A closeup view of an active Mantis.
A Mantis being boarded by a SPARTAN-IV in War Games training.
Two Mantises destroying each other on Ragnarok.
Concept explorations for a "UNSC mech" which would eventually evolve into the Mantis.