Type-29 Close Support Fighter

Vampire

The Vampire is a Covenant aircraft seen in Halo Wars. It is primarily designed for engaging enemy air units and could be the closest Covenant unit to be equivalent to the UNSC Hawk. It is armed with a heavy needler turret which it fires at an extremely fast rate. When upgraded, it can drain energy from hostile aircraft using a stasis field, making them crash to the ground, whilst simultaneously regenerating itself. Also, once it has been researched, it can make drained aircraft explode with the stasis bomb, causing large area of effect damage.

Appearance
It consists of a V-shaped hull, with a cockpit/weapon attached to the rear, similar to the Spirit dropship. In crude terms, it looks like a Covenant plasma rifle on its side with a needler attached to the rear. Though lacking artificial gravity generators, it can develop a stasis field between the booms. It can host up to two pilots, whose cockpits are placed on its wings. Its is much larger than a Banshee. The 'eye' shape on the front appears to have an upside-down Marathon symbol upon it.

Combat
An excellent anti-air unit, the Vampire boasts high firepower against aircraft, but it is not as adept at defeating ground units, limiting its tactical ground support usefulness. It is not as fast as the Banshee, but it is considerably more resistant to damage. Due to its heavy needler turret and wing-mounted plasma cannons, it is able to engage multiple targets at the same time. Its turret can turn and keep shooting at flanking enemy aircraft, making them ideal for hit-and-run attacks against enemy aircraft. . When upgraded it becomes even deadlier, being able to regenerate its health once the Stasis Drain is researched, and making drained units explode with the Stasis Bomb. While its stasis ability is in effect, the Vampire's heavy needler is disabled. It is extremely effective against Hornets, Hawks and Vultures. However it can easily be shot down by Wolverines or by Marines' rocket launchers. It is also capable of being hijacked by Spartans. It is very useful as an escort, as it can clear the skies of any incoming hostile aircraft, but may need an escort of its own to protect it from enemy ground-based anti-air units.



Halo Wars Stats
Resources: 250

Minimum Tech Level: 2

Population Count: 2

Upgrades:


 * Stasis Drain: Allows the Vampire to regenerate itself when using the Stasis Drain (Y ability) against enemy airborne units draining their health.
 * Stasis Bomb: Drained aircraft no longer crash to the ground but explode causing large area of effect damage.

Trivia

 * The stasis ability can affect the Prophet of Regret if he is upgraded with flight capability. It prevents him from attacking and calling down cleansing beam strikes.
 * This vehicle greatly resembles the Protoss Corsair from StarCraft I and II, both in appearance and in role.
 * Like most Covenant vehicles, the Vampire is named after a supernatural entity. The Vampire's name reflects its ability to drain its enemies' energy, much like a mythical vampire does to a creature's blood.

List of appearances

 * Halo Wars