M808B Scorpion

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

The M808B Main Battle Tank, commonly known as the Scorpion, is a United Nations Space Command armored fighting vehicle.

Overview

Scorpion Blueprint.

The M808 Scorpion is a armored attack vehicle that has been in service for more than 30 years, and serves as the UNSC's main anti-vehicle platform. The M808B is considered light by standard definitions but has served as the UNSC's main battle tank well before the Human-Covenant War. Its separate four track tread design allows it to traverse any terrain with little to no difficulty, this design also keeps the vehicle from being easily disabled. The rest of the body is very simple in design, with the tanks main weapon located at the back of the vehicle. The M808B only requires a crew of one, however variants of the M808B exist with a required crew of two, one to pilot and operate the main weapon, and the other to provide support with the tanks machine gun. The Scorpion's chassis is covered with heavy titanium-ceramic armor plating, making it incredibly resilient to small-arms fire; however, it's still possible for infantry-portable anti-armor weapons to inflict catastrophic damage.

The Scorpion is equipped with two weapon systems. The 90mm High Velocity Cannon is the M808B's main weapon, it fires a 90mm Tungsten Armor Piercing Ballistic Capped Round at an incredible speed, each round can be fired every three to four seconds. The M808B's second weapon system is the 7.62mm AP-T, Medium Machine Gun, used for dealing with infantry that may be out of the main cannons range, or if attempting to charge at the vehicle. The 90mm cannon although the standard weapon on the M808, could be considered "light", compared the 105mm cannon that can be mounted for greater offensive power^[1].

Advantages

The M808B battle tank, has proven itself to be the workhorse of UNSC armored attack vehicles. Its 90mm cannon is able to deliver a devastating blow to anything it targets, infantry, or armor. Its thick titanium-ceramic armor can withstand a direct hit from a Covenant Fuel Rod Cannon and continue on with enough armor to keep fighting. Its one man crew servery limits human casualties; along with its main offensive capabilities, four Marines can sit on the tracks of the tank and fire their weapons, using the tank as a transport and jumping off the tank when reaching their destination. Along with its offensive capabilities as an anti-vehicle platform, the M808 also fulfills the role of anti-infantry; its machine gun can effectively take down heavy armored and shielded targets at medium range.

Disadvantages

The M808B is not without its weaknesses though, the main cannon on the tank must be reloaded after every shot and takes between three to four seconds, which may give the enemy enough time to react against the tank, its deep dead-zone, or the area within which fire from the tank's guns cannot hit targets, puts it at risk from enemy anti-tank infantry. Although the Scorpion can carry up to four passengers, any Marines sitting on the tread covers of the Scorpion are vulnerable to small-arms fire, and any explosions near the tank can kill all personnel riding on the treads, while leaving crew members relatively unscathed. Its slow speed also puts the Scorpion at a disadvantage as other more nimble vehicles like the Ghost can out maneuver the tank and get within its dead-zone.

Changes

File:HW4.jpg

The Halo Wars'-era Scorpion tank.

The M808B Scorpion Tank makes its first appearance in Halo: Combat Evolved, in the game the tank is only drivable in the campaign level Assault on the Control Room (Level), it is available though in the multiplayer levels Blood Gulch (Level), and Sidewinder (Level). The appearance of the tank is a dull gray, and the tank moves at a decent speed, and has a lightly protected canopy. Because of this, it is easy for a sniper to kill the driver of the tank, effectively disabling it. Players also have the option of riding on the tanks tread covers in Multiplayer.

Changes from Halo: Combat Evolved to Halo 2

The color of the tank has now changed from brownish gray to olive green, and the textures have also been updated.
Players can no longer ride on the tank's tread covers.
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 campaign, preventing the driver from being sniped while it is intact.
The main cannon reloads twice the speed, from 4 seconds to 2.

Changes from Halo 2 to Halo 3

The tank has once again received a graphical overhaul, the color of the tank remains the same.
The tanks speed has been increased.
The machine gun has now been moved to the front of the cockpit area and now requires another player to operate the gun.
The splash damage of the main cannon has been reduced slightly.

Tactics

Campaign

When you first acquire the tank on Assault on the Control Room, and clear out the Wraith tanks, the best way to take out the Banshee is to turn the tank around look right up to the structure where it takes off from, and backup until you receive the checkpoint. Once the Banshee takes off, start moving forward and do not open fire until the Banshee has fired its Fuel Rod Cannon, after the round hits the ground, take aim and take it down.
Later on after you move into the valley with the second set of Hunters. Be sure as soon as you get to the bottom of the slope, to quickly turn around and head back up the ice ramp to take out the Covenant attempting to flank you from behind in the dropship. Be sure to watch out for your Marines as they will also follow you up the slope.
In Halo 2 ditch the tank completely on Delta Halo (Level) when you proceed into the structures. Just use the Warthog, as your mistakes will be limited especially when you must take on the Ghosts in the later part of the level.

Multiplayer

A popular tactic in multiplayer is to use a sniper in conjunction with the tank to spot out targets that the tank can't see. Then, the tank bombards said targets acting as a sort of "mobile artillery".
Although you cannot ride on the tread covers like you could in Halo: CE, a player who has taken the enemy's flag can still ride the tank by jumping on the tread cover and staying put, you will not fall off the tank like you would in Halo 2 and can ride all the way back to the base with extra firepower supporting you.
Another popular tactic is to use a tank tactic used by modern day tank crews known as "Hull Down". While in Hull Down, the tank is perched behind a hill or an embankment like the many hills on Sandtrap and Valhalla while the hull is behind the hill and the turret is above the incline allowing it to shoot at targets while not exposing its hull.
Firing a Rocket Launcher or a Fuel Rod Gun at the Scorpion generally inflicts damage on or kills the driver and gunner. In addition, the Spartan Laser is very effective against a tank. It kills the tank's driver in a single shot if the shot is properly placed, specifically in the driver's canopy, but the slow charging time and the faint red targeting laser may reveal the wielder of the Spartan Laser to the lethal fire of the tank's main gun.
In 'Halo: Combat Evolved', even small pieces of cover, such as the spires on the top of Blood Gulch's bases, can stop players taking damage. Taking cover behind these spires while the cannon fires and firing while it reloads is effective, just watch out for the machine gun, which, at close range, is quite lethal.
In Halo: Combat Evolved where the driver is exposed, it is possible to eliminate the driver with a single shot from the sniper rifle. But a player must be very sure that they can do a hit and kill on the driver. Otherwise if a player misses and is in the open, this tactic is suicidal.
Another tank or anti-tank vehicle is usually the most efficient method of stopping a Scorpion. The Wraith's high accuracy and speed make it ideal for this task. The Gauss Warthog is also quite effective, as long as the driver takes care to avoid the main gun. The Hornet's missiles can easily destroy the tank, but its slow speed and lack of maneuverability make such an undertaking risky, if not suicidal.
Using a Power Drain or a Plasma Pistol on overcharge will temporarily disable the movement of the tank and will greatly weaken its driver. While the tank's weaponry will still be functional, it will be unable to move and can be easily boarded.
Although risky, it is possible to take out a tank using two plasma grenades in Halo: Combat Evolved, as they are significantly stronger than in Halo 2/Halo 3. This tactic is especially useful if you have unlimited grenades.
The best way to jack a tank and use it, is to grab Active Camouflage and wait for the tank to pass by or get real close to you, if you are clever you will be able to jack it quickly without the enemy having enough time to move out of the way, this is a sound tactic on Avalanche (Level).

Known Scorpion Tanks

Trivia

Strangely, every Halo game manual describes the tank as the M808B. This is odd since the Halo 3 Scorpion is clearly a variant from the original tank.
In every Halo game the Scorpion's serial number is the Birthdate of Marcus R. Lehto Bungie's senior art director.
In Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 2, the Scorpion Tank is specifically cited in the manuals for each respective game as firing 90mm HE shells. Halo: The Flood claims that there are variants that fire 105mm shells. This is strange as the Rocket Launcher fires a 102mm shot, larger than either of those alleged HE-shots.
Underneath the turret of the Scorpion, there is a Jack-O-Lantern drawn in blood. This can be found by destroying the turret, then standing on the upside-down turret.
The Scorpion tank resembles an actual Scorpion with the front boogies being the pincers, the rear bogie's being the legs and the cannon being the tail and its stinger. However, this may refer to the FV101 Scorpion Light Tank used by the British Army in 1973. Ironically, the real-life British Scorpion tank is a light tank, compared to the Halo Scorpion heavy tank. However, later variants of the real-life Scorpion also featured a 90mm main weapon.
A popular sport in Halo 3's Forge mode is "tank dropping", in which players drop tanks on themselves seeing how far they can be propelled outside the map.
In Halo: Combat Evolved, the Scorpion tank cannon was a solid object, while in Halo 2 and Halo 3 the player will go through if they try to walk on the barrel and for an odd reason the characters legs separate from the body.
The Legendary Map Pack features the map Avalanche, a remake of the classic Sidewinder. For the remake, the M808B is adorned in full snow camouflage, along with all other UNSC vehicles. Avalanche is the first Halo 3 multiplayer map to feature a Scorpion Tank by default.
It is possible to do the turretless vehicle trick in a Scorpion. It is not possible to then attach another weapon though and still be able to drive; for some reason it automatically applies the parking brake.

Gallery

The Scorpion accompanied by a group of Spartans.
Scorpionturret.jpg

A view of the Scorpion's turret and emblem.
Scorpion being delivered to New Mombasa.
Snow Scorpion.jpg

The snow camo Scorpion.

Sources

^ Halo: The Flood, page 153