| The Covenant Empire | The Twilight Covenant |
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The Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage, more commonly identified as the Wraith by the UNSC, is the Covenant's main heavy assault vehicle for ground engagements.
Specifications[]
Design Details[]
The Type-26 Assault Gun Carriage, is the primary armored fighting vehicle used by the Covenant. The Covenant deploy the Wraith as a first-strike ground assault vehicle in tactical ground engagements, they use the vehicle as a weapons platform to bring down structures in the way of ground forces attempting to advance in a area, as well as to destroy enemy armor possessing a threat to their own infantry. In addition the Wraith is used to break infantry rank by both physical and physiological force.
A massive bulbous and thickly armored mortar tank, the Wraith is used by the Covenant as their main armored assault vehicle for ground forces. Like all Covenant vehicles the Type-26 AGC's design is a sleek winged vehicle design more akin to an insect or an aircraft then a ground vehicle. The Type 26 AGC is composed of four major components: The chassis, is the first and major component and consists of the cockpit, which contains the controls for the pilot, these include the controls that move the tank, the controls that align the mortar on target, and one in the center that arms and fires the main battery. Holographic control surfaces and displays show the pilot a 360-degree view outside the Wraith. Underneath is its propulsion system consisting of a Boosted Gravity Propulsion Drive, the chassis also contains the necessary systems that power all other systems on the vehicle. Two wide lateral fins are the second major component to the Type-26 AGC, the fins stabilize the vehicle on terrain, as well as provide the vehicle thrust to attain limited boost for enhanced maneuverability. The the third major component is the rudders which control the turning or yaw-axis of the vehicle, the rudders use two independent propulsion drives to help turn the vehicle in the desired direction. The forth major component is the gun carriage, this contains the Type-26 AGC's main weapon, the heavy mortar cannon. The huge bulk of the Wraith is well shielded by an armored shell that is nearly two feet thick and made up of a polymer that is not understood by human physicists.
Piloted by a single occupant, who controls all vehicle and weapons systems, the Type-26 AGC is a highly maneuverable vehicle able to traverse many different terrains. The Type-26 AGC like all Covenant vehicles uses a form of anti-gravity propulsion drive to cushion and absorb almost all of the recoil caused by the heavy mortar cannon. The Wraith's large size and its ability to provide covering fire it from the massive Plasma Mortar makes it an inestimably dangerous vehicle on the battlefield. The Wraith is the third largest Covenant ground force vehicle, after the Locust.
The Honor Guard variant of the standard Wraith utilized by the Twilight Covenant is significantly more powerful and resilient to harm, sporting its own personal energy shield as well as thicker armor plating. The armaments of the Honor Guard Wraith are also very different then its counterpart, for instance: Instead of a single Plasma Mortar, the Honor Guard Wraith is armed with a rotatable turreted railgun of 4 Light Plasma Mortars fired simultaniously for intense damage and a large blast radius. The single manual Plasma Cannon has also been removed from the Honor Guard Wraith to make room for a Shield Battery. Taking on the role of the removed Cannon are two Automatic Plasma Cannons situated on either side of the over-carriage, which can be transferred to manual control by the operator of the Wraith in order to prioritize fire.
| Variant | Image | Atmospheric Max Speed | Armament | Equipment |
| Honor Guard Wraith | 
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45 km/h, 132km/h with boost engaged | Light Plasma Mortar Railgun/2 Automated Plasma Cannons | Boosted Gravity Propulsion Drive, Light Shielding |
Armaments[]
The main weapon of the Type-26 AGC is the Heavy Plasma Mortar.Halo: Reach Manual page 9 The Type-26 AGC's plasma emitter is attached to a fixed mounting, in order to fire in a specific direction the vehicle must rotate to face the target directly. The plasma mortar works by creating a large, compressed, magnetically encapsulated blob of superheated plasma and fired at a high velocity, once fired, the bolt is magnetically guided in a ballistic trajectory until it strikes the ground or target. When the bolt hits, the magnetic bubble collapses and the plasma rapidly expands from its compressed state creating a superheated explosion, that will vaporize everything within twenty meters of impact. Titanium battleplate, concrete, or flesh is instantly obliterated by the superheated white fire. Anything just outside of the kill zone is at risk of injury or death — after the initial impact, the plasma begins to cool and thermal expansion takes over fanning out the resulting flames that can travel away from the initial blast zone, infantry caught in the flame can be burned alive and if not caught in the flames can suffer heat trauma, the concussive force released from the resulting explosion can splinter bones and destroy vital organs. Flammable materials are especially at risk of igniting due to the intense heat release and can cause further damage. As the resulting temperatures cool, the impact zone is nothing but a glass-smooth surface.
The secondary weapon is a medium plasma weapon that is used as a anti-infantry weapon. All Type-26 AGC's in service up to 2549 were equipped with two automated plasma cannons. These plasma cannons mounted on each wing, and are operated autonomously, it is not understood what method the system uses to designate and fire upon an enemy. All Type-26 AGC's in service after 2549 are equipped with a Type-52 Directed Energy Support Weapon fixed to a ring mount that is operated by a gunner, the role of the Type-52 DESW as a anti-infantry weapon means that the firepower produced by this weapon is considerably high, able to penetrate flesh with considerably gruesome results. The Type-52 DESW functions like most plasma based weapons used by the Covenant by rapidly cycling, loading, ignition, and release of plasma at high velocities. The plasma is contained and guided by a electromagnetic bottle which guides the plasma until it either travels too far away from the magnetic source and dissipates, or strikes its intended target. Against infantry, the lethality of the Type-52 DESW is severe as injuries inflicted to infantry with light body armor are severe fourth-degree burns, this level of injury completely chars all flesh, leaving only bone tissue. Body fluids along with moist tissue and flesh would be subjected to flash vaporization, and fluids trapped in organs or arteries in addition to the rapid expansion of heat would cause ruptures or small steam explosions causing additional damage to the body.
Advantages[]
The Type-26 AGC is the Covenant’s most destructive mobile armor. Its huge bulk is well shielded from small arms fire and is resistant to medium explosive weapons, its ability to provide covering fire to infantry and armor alike, in addition to dealing heavy damage to structures, infantry and armor makes it a inestimably dangerous thing to go up against in ground battles. Its ability to be deployed with the aid of dropships makes insertions into battlefield fairly easy — with a boost drive attached the Wraith can temporarily attain a speed boost for fast insertions, or to plow through enemy infantry, armor or obstructions in the way of the tank. Its mortar cannon provides devastating damage to anything in its ways and is known for its physiological effects on humans at the mere sight of one.
Disadvantages[]
The Type-26 AGC's main disadvantage is its slow speed, because of the vehicles massive weight. While the boost drive on the vehicle can propel the vehicle to high speed the maneuverability of the vehicle is compromised — because the gravity propulsion drive does not contain anything to counter the vehicles moving mass it is possible for the vehicle to run into anything from friendly vehicles to infantry to even propelling itself off a ledge or into a ditch. Like most tanks, the Type-26 AGC has a dead area, a zone in which the mortar cannon cannot fire without risking damaging or destroying itself. The slow speed and cumbersome nature of the Wraith makes it prone to boarding action — while the front of the tank is harder to board because of the Type-52 DESW, the rear is most susceptible to boarding because of a weak spot in the rear. A small rotating cylinder exhaust port in the back is a vulnerable spot that if hit with a medium explosive device can damage the tank severely. The gunner operating the Type-52 DESW is also an easy target for marksman and sniper fire; because of the massive cannon right behind the gunner the turret ring cannot traverse a full 360 degrees.
Operational history[]
The Wraith has been in service to the Covenant for over a century, and has served in countless engagements during the Human-Covenant War. After the retaking of Harvest in 2526 by Admiral Cole the Covenant, attempting to scout and recover an artifact deployed multiple Wraith's during the assault on Harvest.
Throughout the war the Covenant deployed Wraiths during ground campaigns against civilian and military targets, Wraiths would commonly target civilian evacuation transports still on the ground and platforms and structures leading to them, or would fire and kill large groups of civilians crowded together. In 2531 during the first assault on the colony world Arcadia multiple Wraiths were used in this situation to kill panicking civilians attempting to flee the Covenant invasion. The tanks assisted in destroying structures and platforms holding civilians waiting for evacuation. In addition the tanks were used against UNSC military forces attempting to assist with evacuation efforts.
As the war dragged on, ground campaigns conducted by the Covenant continued to employ the Wraith as their main heavy armored vehicle. During the assault on Algolis the Wraiths were called in to weaken military forces attempting to protect and destroy valuable data. The UNSC was able to hold off the Covenant just long enough and all ground forces were eventually destroyed with the detonation of a nuclear weapon attached to a prototype armor suit.
As the War with humanity was reaching its apex the Covenant began updating and building up their military campaign against humanity, a new model of the Wraith was introduced to help address some issues with older models. During the invasion of Sigma Octanus IV in July of 2552 the Covenant deployed numerous tanks to take out strategic areas on the planet including military bases and civilian structures. No sooner had that battle finished the Covenant launched a surprise assault on Reach, Humanity's heavily fortified epicenter of military and economic power outside of Earth. Multiple divisions of Wraith tanks were employed to inflict mass casualties on civilian and military forces alike. Their campaign was successful destroying major military and civilian transports, structures and killing countless in the process.
However when the UNSC Pillar of Autumn escaped, many Covenant ships followed to discover Installation 04, with its discovery the Covenant rushed to destroy the human ship as fast as possible, however when the Autumn crash landed the Covenant was forced to land on the ring and hunt down the humans, during the campaign on Halo the Covenant deployed Wraiths to protect structures and destroy human encampments. Their Campaign ultimately failed when Halo was destroyed by SPARTAN-117.
During the opening of the Battle for Earth Regret's carrier managed to land in the city of New Mombasa. In the short but bloody campaign the Covenant was able to land armor and troops into the city, Wraiths quickly moved in to cut off civilian evacuation by the City's rail system. With civilians cut off the Covenant began systematically destroying anything they could before the Prophet of Regret's ship jumped out of New Mombasa destroying parts of the city. In the aftermath of Regret's retreat the full scale invasion of Earth began, the Covenant laid waste to many parts of the planet and Wraiths were on the forefront of the ground assault.
As the Battle for Earth raged on, SPARTAN-117 with the full support of the UNSC In Amber Clad launched a counter-strike against Regret who had jumped to Installation 05, Wraiths were deployed in the same manner as they were on Installation 04, however with the threat of the UNSC attempting to stop regret the Covenant relied on more aggressive tactics against their enemy using Wraiths to do anything possible to stop the advance of SPARTAN-117. The subsequent outbreak of the Flood and Internal conflict that consumed the Covenant however left all involved to fend for themselves, after the conclusion of the battle for Installation 05 the Covenant reorganized and made a final push offensive on Earth.
With the uncovering of the Portal the Covenant moved all their troops and armor to prevent the UNSC military from getting close to it, they deployed Wraiths to dispatch military forces attempting to break through their formation. After the opening of the portal and the arrival at Installation 00 the Covenant deployed all their assets in a last ditch effort to stop humanity and activate the remaining Halo installations. Wraiths were front and center in this operation, although ultimately, lost to their human enemies.
Tactics[]
Campaign[]
- The Wraith's mortar is extremely powerful and will severely damage any person or vehicle it hits. However, it is slow to reload, so you do have time between shots to score some hits.
- In Halo 2 two small automatic weapons on the Wraith’s hood offer additional protection against nearby infantry. If, however, you manage to evade these and jump on the vehicle, you can assault the driver with melee attacks.
- A way to take out the wraith if no heavy weapons are availible and you are unwilling to try to board it is to get in a warthog and drive in a circle around it; your gunner, AI or otherwise, will do the work for you.
- While boosting, you can press A to have the front wings pull up into a wheelie. This is really effective at splattering hijackers and running over smaller vehicles.
- Because of the Wraith’s thick armor, the Spartan Laser, the Rocket Launcher, the Plasma Launcher, or the Fuel Rod Gun are ideal weapons against the massive tank. If you don't have any of these, jump in a Covenant Banshee or Ghost or Revenant, and fire away. Riskier methods are also avialable, one can destroy a Wraith with a few well-thrown Plasma Grenades, or by rushing the tank and meleeing the driver out, placing a grenade, or by going to the rear, and meleeing the rear engine compartment, or also placing a live grenade there.
- Keep your distance; the mortar shots are easier to avoid when they're lobbed at far-away targets, but watch out for the massive splash damage.
- In Halo:Reach, If you are able to get on top of a Wraith, you can actually take control of the Plasma Cannon, at which point the AI driver will bail out, allowing you to mow him down with the cannon and taking the wraith, all without needing to board it and damage it by meleeing the driver out. Blowing off the cockpit hatch and shooting the driver to death is also an option, especially effective with the Sniper Rifle's anti-material qualities in Halo: Reach.
Multiplayer[]
- If you manage to get close to it you can board the Wraith and throw a grenade in the cockpit or engine structure, which will completely destroy the tank. An alternative is to beat the driver out without destroying the tank, which instead renders it operational.
- The Wraith has different armor strengths at different points on their body. Aim the rocket launcher high up at the face of the tank near the mortar cannon. The bottom-front section of the tank is the strongest point. The tanks back is also the weakest point on the entire vehicle. If you aim at the right spot you'll save a rocket or two.
- When combating a Wraith, the method varies depending on your intents and your current position. If you are in a light vehicle (ex. Warthog, Ghost) and you want to destroy the Wraith, simply evade the massive shots. On your priority list, however, watch out for the plasma turrets-these will chip away your health and in Legendary, are more dangerous than the main mortar, as it can actually hit you. When dealing with a pair or more of enemy Wraiths, such as the entrance to the tunnel in Metropolis, you may wish to use the Ghost instead of the Warthog, because it lacks the equal amount of evasiveness and also does not have the boost feature. For the Ghost, concentrate on one vehicle at a time. If you are in a heavy vehicle and also wish to take them out, simply fire with the main cannon (ex. Mortar for the Wraith and the 90mm High velocity Main gun for the Scorpion Tank) from a distance, where you can easily move if you see them fire.
- When using the Wraith, it fires better on a vantage point rather then upwards. It does best at closer range eliminating smaller vehicles.
- If you have a spartan laser, and you encounter an ememy wraith, it would be un-wise to blast it's front armour, since it can survive 2 direct laser hits. (draining ½ of your laser's charge) Instead, aim for it's main cannon. It will survive the hit, but it's cannon will be destroyed, rendering it unable to shoot. This works good both ways, since the wraith wasn't technically "destroyed", meaning it won't respawn. (The enemy team will have a broken wraith until they destroy it)