Klavrig Workshop Skitterer

Skitterer
Technical specifications
Armament:	Twin-linked beam cannons
Crew:	Lekgolo colony
Usage
Role(s):	Scout walker; Escort;
Affiliation:	Covenant; Banished

"These small mechanical units are considered “little brothers” of the Locust and what they lack in toughness they more than make up for in sheer numbers and symbiotic impact."

— Brian Jarrard on Skitterers.^[2]

The Skitterer is a fast scout walker used by the Banished. They are cheap, expendable vehicles, though their twin-linked beam cannons are surprisingly lethal given their size. Their most notable feature is that they can use a defend ability to set up a protective overwatch on other friendly units and act as a weapon turret and defense shield.^[1]

Operational history

Harsh restrictions on AI research in the Covenant limited the development of autonomous weapon systems, though clever San'Shyuum technicians did find that carefully selected and pruned Lekgolo colonies could substitute for artificial minds in some applications. Though never widely used, combat machines such as the Skitterer proved this approach had merit, though the risk of aberrant gestalts in small colonies meant it never saw widespread use. "Colony" later adapted and perfected this technique, which allowed for the integration of Lekgolo with the Banished Locust and mass production of Skitterers without the behavioral issues that plagued earlier work.^[1] Skitterers were deployed by "Colony" against the crew of the UNSC Spirit of Fire in 2559 during the Second Ark Conflict.^[3]

Gameplay

Halo Wars 2

Info: Mech Scout, Light beam attack, Can attach to other units as a turret
Tier: 1
Cost: Population 2, Supplies 150, Power 20

Skitterer upgrade: Focused Beam

Info: Weapon Upgrade, Increases Beam output, Increases damage and range
Tier: 2
Cost: Supplies 0, Power 400

In Halo Wars 2 Skitterers are exclusive units for "Colony" and can be made at Banished outposts once the leader power has unlocked them. Like other scout units the Skitterer can be used to gather resources. The number of Skitterers able to attach to a unit depends on the unit's size. For example a Scarab is able to have three Skitterers, a Mgalekgolo pair two Skitterers, and a Huragok one Skitterer. Once attached to the unit the Skitterer will only be destroyed if the host unit is destroyed. In addition to providing more health to the host unit the Skitterers will continue to attack enemies. Without a host unit Skitterers perform okay against infantry, vehicles, and structures, but poorly against aircraft. Once the Focused Beam upgrade has been purchased the Skitterer will perform well against infantry. In Blitz a Skitterer Mob, consisting of five Skitterers, costs 90 energy.

Skitterer Attachment

Core

Grunt Squad:1 Skitterer
Chopper:1 Skitterer

Infantry

Goliath:2 Skitterers
Suicide Grunts:1 Skitterer
Elite Rangers:1 Skitterer
Hunters:2 Skitterers

Air

Engineer:1 Skitterer
Banshee:1 Skitterer
Shroud:1 Skitterer
Blisterback:2 Skitterers

Vehicles

Marauder:1 Skitterer
Locust:1 Skitterer
Reaver:1 Skitterer
Wraith:2 Skitterers

War Council

Hunter Captain:2 Skitterers
Scarab:3 Skitterers

Trivia

Isabel could have Skitterers (or any vehicle or aircraft) if she Combat Salveged a hijacked unit that contained any Skitterer in it.
The Skitterer is the only unit that will still try to kill any Spartans hijacking any unit they attached themselves with.
In Blitz the Suicide Grunts is the only unit the Skitterer won't attach themselves to.
In Terminus Firefight, it is possible to receive units Colony can't build normally, such as Ghosts, from Reinforcement waves. Skitterers can attach to them regardless in the same numbers the normal equivalent supports.

Gallery

HW2 Skitterer.png

Concept art of the Skitterer for Halo Wars 2.
Skitterers in front of a Banished Banished outpost in Halo Wars 2
A trio of Skitterers on Installation 00.
A swarm of Skitterers fighting a M808S Scorpion.
A swarm of Skitterers take down a Shroud.
Skitterers guarding a Mgalekgolo Captain and two Goliaths.
Skitterers guarding a Banished Scarab.
Skitterers attached to a Scarab.
Skitterers attached to various units under the control of "Colony".

List of appearances

Halo Wars 2 (First appearance)

Sources

[LML-1] ^ ^a ^b ^c ^d ^e ^f Halo Waypoint Canon Fodder - Leggo my Lekgolo

[2] Halo Waypoint - Welcome Colony

[HW2-3] Halo Wars 2

[1]

[2]

[3]