HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System

The HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark IX Armor Defense System, also known as the Mantis, is an armored fighting vehicle. It appears in Halo 4's campaign, multiplayer, and in a few Spartan Ops missions.

Overview
The Mantis is a powered exoskeleton armor defense system similar to the Cyclops. However, where as the Cyclops was designed only for labor and modified to function in combat, the Mantis was created specifically for combat purposes as an evolution of an earlier model. To that end it is equipped with several weapon and defense systems: including armor plating, energy shielding, and two weapon pods on either side of the cockpit, along with a stomp ability.

The weapon pods contain a machine gun on the right pod and a five-shot rocket launcher on the left pod although  these can be replaced with other weapons. The Mantis is also equipped with energy shielding similar to the Sabre and the Mjolnir Armor. The Mantis is also powerful enough to withstand a single Spartan Laser shot with full shields. If enemies get too close to the vehicle for its weapon to target them effectively, the Mantis can overload its hydraulic systems to perform a devastating stomp, strong enough to defeat infantry and lightly armored vehicles.

Advantages
The Mantis is very heavily armed and very well protected. As such, it is very difficult to attack head on as the machine gun can shred infantry and the missile pod can demolish vehicles. The stomping ability will destroy almost every vehicle or personnel as long as direct contact is made with the leg, or if they are caught in its area of effect, which is roughly the length of a Warthog. The energy shielding provides protection against most small arms, and only heavy weapons or concentrated fire will be able to quickly take a Mantis down before it can retaliate.

Disadvantages
The Mantis is a slow vehicle and can be easily outmaneuvered by smaller, faster vehicles. The slow turning speed of the main body also means that a quick player can move out of a Mantis's field of fire. The Mantis is also susceptible to being boarded from the rear by enemy players in a similar manner to the way in which players board Scorpion and Wraith tanks. Like other multiplayer vehicles, it can be stunned for a few seconds using a plasma pistol; repeated charged shots are advised for such engagement. Also, after a stomp attack the vehicle is unable to move for a few seconds, but be aware that the head of the vehicle can still turn and shoot at the attackers.

Trivia

 * The Mantis cannot be flipped over in any way whatsoever. Trying to do so in forge will simply spin the vehicle 180° around.
 * It is the first drivable vehicle to have a ragdoll effect once destroyed.
 * When the Mantis has its rockets reloading and its machinegun cooling down at the same time, it is sometimes referred to as a "Praying" mantis.
 * Like most UNSC vehicles, the Mantis is named after an animal.
 * However, it is the only vehicle seen thus far to share its name with a Covenant affiliated piece of weaponry.
 * The Mantis is only the second drivable UNSC vehicle to have shields, after the Sabre, the third being the Broadsword.
 * It is possible to board the Mantis and plant a grenade, but doing so is only possible when the boarding player is behind the Mantis.
 * The Mantis' shields recharge at roughly 33% the rate of a Spartan's shields on foot.
 * It isn't affected by low gravity zones, highly intensified ones, or even fall damage, although it is affected by man cannons and teleporters. However, if you launch the Mantis off of a man cannon into a gravity volume, it will be affected.
 * If you stack two gravity volumes together, and then launch a Mantis into it as stated above, the Mantis will float in midar, whether or not someone is controlling it.
 * The ragdoll debris of the Mantis is also affected by gravity volumes.
 * If you use the Mantis' stomp ability while floating, it will have the same effect as if you were to use it while having contact with the ground (dust and dirt flying around the impact).
 * The Mantis apparently is able to haul cargo, as a scientist on Ivanoff research station in the Campaign level Composer is overheard saying he had only ever used it for that purpose and had never actually fired its weapons. It does not appear to however have any arms capable of moving cargo. However, it is possible that the arms are modular, meaning that the weapons could be swapped for something else.
 * A strange glitch can happen when you pick up a Mantis in Forge and lift it above the map. The Mantis will explode and will float down slowly. When it hits the ground, it will crumple in slow motion, and its remains will catch on fire if shot.
 * During Campaign and Forge, the Mantis' machine gun will eject round casings. However, during Spartan Ops or Matchmaking, it will eject far fewer. This is likely to prevent lag from the large number of excess objects the game would need to render.
 * The Mantis bears a visual resemblance to Metal Gear REX, a bipedal mech from the Metal Gear Solid series. This is especially notable on the former's leg and head design, along with the transparent radome on the left side of its head, which resembles REX's own radome.
 * In the popular web series, Red vs Blue, Caboose has a self aware Mantis he has named Freckles due to "the freckles on its nose."
 * It is named after a Real-Life Insect named the Praying Mantis, known for it's ability to stay absolutely still, stay hidden on leaves, Catch it's Prey and Bring it to it's mouth and bite it in 1/20 of a Second.

Appearances

 * Halo: The Thursday War
 * Halo 4