Mantis

The **HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defence System**, also known as the **Mantis**, is a mostly cut armoured fighting vehicle from *Halo: SPV3*. It was developed as a prototype to be an alternative to the Grizzly tank in appropriate areas, but it was left unfinished and removed from normal gameplay. This was due to the SPV3 Dev Team being handicapped by the technology that was available to them, meaning they were unable to get it to the working standard they desired.

However, it does exist in the mod as an Easter egg and can be found if certain conditions are met, and is even drivable.

## Overview & Background

The Mantis, first seen in *Halo 4* and again in *Halo 5: Guardians*, is a powered exoskeleton armour defence system similar to the Cyclops. However, where as the Cyclops was designed only for labour and modified to function in combat, the Mantis was created specifically for combat, as an evolution of an earlier model. It is equipped with several weapons and defence systems, including armour plating, energy shielding, two weapon pods on either side of the cockpit, and a stomp ability. The weapon pods typically contain a machine gun on the right pod and a five-shot rocket launcher on the left pod, but these can be replaced with other weapons.

## Gameplay Information

Although the Mantis is absent in *SPV3* through normal means, it can be brought to life in its unfinished state if the Mantis Skull is found and picked up, which is only available on Legendary or Noble in Assault on the Control Room. The Mantis has a working rendered model with many animations, but with no textured detail. It appears as a bright green blank canvas in the shape of the recognisable Mantis from *Halo 4* and *5.*

If the Skull is activated, the Mantis initially spawns as an enemy. Several of them appear, allied with the Covenant, at the bottom of the first canyon in battle with Fire Team Zulu. They will usually stay in the middle of the first area and not advance, meaning they can be dealt with after the majority of the Covenant. For whatever reason, a destroyed enemy Mantis will drop an Overshield powerup. Afterwards, two drivable Mantis's can be found in the level, one with each of the crashed Pelicans, as alternatives to the Grizzly tanks.

Despite being unfinished, development on the Mantis was clearly in its late stages in terms of functionality. Though visibly erratic and jerky, it pilots smoothly and its weapons and health system are in full working order. It handles like a walking variant of the Sparrowhawk, being armed with a chain gun and missile launcher, except they are singular as opposed to the Sparrowhawks dual armaments. The missile launcher can be fired singularly or as a volley if one holds the trigger for a few seconds, also like the Sparrowhawk. Being a walking vehicle, it can also jump. The stomping function from the official *Halo* games is absent.

There is no animation for if the Mantis is destroyed; it will visibly explode, then it will simply stand and remain motionless, similar to the Flood Juggernaut of *Halo 2*. The option to pilot it will no longer be present. Interestingly, if the Mantis is destroyed while piloting it, the player will not be killed in the explosion. The Mantis HUD will remain onscreen, despite not being able to move or shoot anymore, and the player can exit the vehicle and will be completely unharmed.

### Advantages

* Effective at long to medium range.
* Is great at dealing with infantry or light armour.
* Enemy Mantis's will drop an Overshield powerup when destroyed.

### Disadvantages

* Has low health.
* Does not fair well against heavy armour.
* It is an unfinished vehicle that can only be seen and used through finding the Mantis Skull.

## Developer Information

It was planned alongside the Grizzly. There was going to be a section on T&R where the player would have been able to use it at the gravity lift. Eventually, the developers weren't able to get it to the quality bar that they wanted during the prototype phase. There were also weird issues with trying to save the game, like the game would say that the area wasn't safe even though it was.

## Trivia

* The Mantis first appeared in *Halo 4*.
* The Mantis shares its name with the Type-27 Anti-Aircraft Cannon.
* There was going to be either a Flood variant or a Flood controlled Mantis in The Commander.
* Hrunting was a sword given to Beowulf in the ancient poem "Beowulf."
* Yggdrasil was the mythical tree of life that connected the nine worlds in Norse mythology.
* The Mantis was going to appear in The Truth and Reconciliation.
	+ It was also supposed to play a part in the cut level The Library: Evolved.
* When piloting the Mantis, it has the HUD icon of the Sparrowhawk.
* Interestingly, though the Mantis's weapons are functional, visibly, the chain gun fires the missiles and the missile launcher fires chain gun rounds, which can be graphically amusing.
* If unlocked, there is no HUD display text for the Mantis when the option is present to pilot it, it simply reads: *"Press E to enter the driver seat of "*. Furthermore, one must jump to get the option to appear.
* It is likely that the Mantis was included as an Easter egg, despite being unfinished, because of the hard work and time it took from the modders to get it to the state that it's in. Similar remarks have been said by Masterz1337 about the Sparrowhawk, a vehicle that was able to be finished in the final game in spite of the time consuming work necessary to bring it to life.