Equipment

In Halo 3, Spartans, Elites and Brutes can carry one extra item of equipment (deployed using the “X” button on the default setting of the Xbox 360 controller). The type of equipment varies dramatically in its purpose, functionality, and appearance, but all can be used with deadly or strategic force. Click on the links below to find out what each one does, and where each could be found. There may be more to find and their availability is subject in matchmaking rules.

Overview
The philosophy of equipment is simple: to add a variety to the combat in Halo 3 without unbalancing the game. The simple fact is that equipment items, once deployed, can be used by both attackers and defenders. Someone on your team might accidentally activate your Trip Mine, and a Bubble Shield, which is a geometric spherical shield – while they can’t shoot in, you can’t shoot out either. Suffice to say that equipment can turn the tide of battle if used correctly. It can be useful in multiplayer and campaign if you know how to use it.

To make it more balanced, it takes longer to deploy equipment than in the Halo 3 Beta, but you can throw it further. It is not entirely clear which faction, Human or Covenant, manufactures each piece of equipment, as both are seen utilizing it in the single player Campaign.

List of Equipment

 * Bubble Shield
 * Power Drain
 * Radar Jammer
 * Gravity Lift
 * Trip Mine
 * Flare (No longer usable in Matchmaking)
 * Regenerator
 * Deployable Cover (Never usable in Matchmaking)
 * Automated Turret (Campaign Only)
 * Cloaking (Campaign Only)
 * Invincibility (Campaign Only)
 * Active Camouflage (Multiplayer Only)
 * Overshield (Multiplayer Only)
 * Custom Powerup (Multiplayer Only)

Equipment Abilities

 * Bubble Shield - The Bubble Shield releases a spherical shield around a center generator. No bullets or grenades can pass through the shield either way, but vehicles and players (ally AND enemy) can pass through. However a clever soldier can place a Bubble Shield and position a Sniper Rifle so only the end protrudes, therefore being able to snipe people without getting hurt. Another clever method is to drop a bubble shield at an approaching enemy in possession of a missile pod or Spartan laser, possibly resulting in the enemy committing suicide. An extremely good tactic during a Free for All game is to get the Energy Sword and the Bubble Shield and deploy the Shield right in the middle of the map, and those foolish enough to attempt to kill you will soon be respawning. Bullets can't go in or out. Vehicles can still try to splatter you. Another is to throw a grenade of any sort in (Plasma, or firebomb grenades both work well), then run away. Hopefully the person in the shield is killed, because the shield contains explosions as well.
 * Power Drain - When deployed, the Power Drain produces a blue field that will generally drain everyone's shields within range and if thrown near a vehicle in motion an EMP effect occurs (similar to the EMP effect of a charged Plasma Pistol shot) which causes the vehicle to stop. The vehicles weapons systems are still functional. However, if you stay too close to the power source, the explosion can come close to killing you. If you know how to use you can use it to disable vehicles and you can board them. Power Drains are also effective when placed next to a Bubble Shield, which they destroy.


 * Radar Jammer - When deployed, ghost contacts will appear on the motion sensors of anyone within the area of it, causing confusion. When moving away from the Radar Jammer, the contacts will begin to slowly disappear and eventually completely disappear.


 * Flare - Similar to the radar jammer, but the opposite, instead of making the radar useless, it makes your sight useless. This creates a blinding light, resulting in all players within range losing their sight for a matter of seconds. Turning away from the power source or blocking it out some way lessens the effect. The flare also messes up radar. You shouldn't use it on Campaign because Brutes can still see you when you deploy it. It was used in online matchmaking, but now cannot be used. Used with the radar jammer, it can make a person bascially blind as a bat.


 * Deployable Cover - Once deployed, this creates a large shield, which can temporarily protect those hiding behind it. In Custom Games and Forge, it will disable itself after approximately 30 seconds, where as in Campaign, it can last infinitely, although it can be easily destroyed by shooting the base unit. Hitting the shield itself three or so times will work too, and doing this saves ammo. Also, when you have deployed a Deployable Cover, your allies/teammates and yourself can shoot from the inside of the cover with a Battle Rifle, but cannot be shot back because of the cover.


 * Regenerator - This creates a large green field, that is similar to the power drainer's, which regenerates the shields of anyone within its radius. It is wise to note that everyone within range will benefit from it, not just the person who deployed it. It differentiates from the Bubble Shield as it just creates a field of energy, instead of protecting you like the Bubble Shield does. Its effect can be described as the exact opposite of the Power Drain; however, if a Power Drain is placed next to a Regenerator, the Power Drain will overcome it. Please note that the Regenerator does NOT protect against anything that can kill in one or two hits. A sniper headshot or point blank shotgun shot, for instance, will kill you, even if you are in a Regnerator. Two melees performed immediately will also take you out, as your shields will not regenerate fast enough.
 * Gravity Lift - Once deployed, the grav-lift projects a bluish-purple anti-gravity beam which can propel players or light vehicles into the air, much like The Covenant's Ghost, Banshee and Wraith lifts but on a much smaller scale. Useful for getting to higher places you would otherwise not be able to reach. It dissipates after about 45 seconds.


 * Trip Mine - Once deployed, as said in its name, it is an explosive charge which reacts and explodes to movement near itself or if it is shot, effectively taking out your shields, even not doing anything to you if you stand directly on it or run over a vehicle or other object vulnerable to explosion. Luckily, when deployed, it lets out a beeping warning signal and an orange light to let you know if you are near one of these, and the signal gets louder as you get closer. The trip mine in the Halo 3 beta, though, is much more powerful and sticks on to vehicles. A safe way to walk over Trip Mines is to walk so slow that you cannot be detected on radar; at this speed, the Trip Mine will not detonate, but you will be doomed if an enemy spots you trying this.


 * Active Camouflage - Like Cloaking, the Active Camouflage or Active Camo will give its user invisibility for a short time. Like the Cloaking weapons fire or radial damage will lessen the effect of the camo, making the user more visible. Invisible players are still visible on the motion tracker.


 * Overshield - The Overshield gives the user a extra layer of shielding which will slowly dissipate over time or will weaken when exposed to any form of damage. The overshield also makes you invincible (note that players can still be assasinated) while it is charging.


 * Custom Powerup - A Custom Powerup cannot be found in any maps by default, and must be placed in the map on Forge. It gives the user a number of things: faster speed, lower gravity, one-shot kills, invisibility, invincibility, etc... These settings can be activated or deactivated in the custom powerup settings area in the game variant settings area. This also can be used for the long rumored agility powerup.

Tips

 * Try not to activate an Auto Turret while or after activating the replacement Installation 04 in Halo 3, in other words, after you kill 343 Guilty Spark on the last mission it will kill you. This could be because of the absence of the Monitor as without it, the Constructs within the installation would go rampant and when it shoots you for a few seconds on legendary, you will die.
 * You should deploy a Trip Mine in a close quarters area, or near or under explosive items like vehicles, for these both increase the chance of killing your foe and/or seriously hurting multiple players. Be sure to warn your team when and where you have deployed a Trip Mine to prevent a possible needless betrayal. Also deploy the Trip Mine in an area that is hard to see as the trip mine has lights on it making it easy to avoid. Trip mines also make a ticking noise the closer you are to them.
 * You can use a Deployable Cover to help you get to higher places by using it as kind of a step stool, like for getting skulls in Campaign.
 * Use Invincibility in packed areas such as a group of Brutes to keep you from dying and getting through more easily.
 * Use Cloaking to be stealthy and maybe try to get a few assassinations on some enemy troops.
 * Use the Flare to blind people to easily get from one place to another.
 * If you deploy a gravity lift just before a speeding vehicle is about to hit you, the vehicle will simply fly over you in most cases.
 * If you have been seen by an enemy, run to some cover and throw a Radar Jammer to confuse the enemy and you can either run or fight them while they are not looking at your direction.
 * Use a Bubble Shield if you have been shot or you are getting shot to take cover and recharge your shields, but be warned that they can still enter it and finish the job.
 * If you deploy a Trip Mine at the indent of an enemy Man Cannon, enemies might step on it as they go through, thus depleting their shields. The flying enemy is now vulnerable to a quick Magnum shot or Battle Rifle burst to finish him/her off. Note: If playing a team based game, be sure to alert your allies of the trap set intended for your enemies.
 * Use Auto Turrets to help defend youself from enemies such as the Flood.
 * Use Regenerators if your shields are depleted and you quickly need recharge your shields very quickly.
 * If an opponent has a Rocket Launcher, a Spartan Laser or a Fuel Rod Cannon, and they are at close range and are about to fire at you, deploy a Bubble Shield, if done correctly the enemy will hit the shield while very close and end up committing suicide.
 * Throw a Power Drain at an enemy who has deployed a Regenerator, and it will overpower the Regenerator and instead drain their energy bar, shoot at them then to kill them with ease.
 * Deploy a Trip mine at a rapidly approaching vehicle to destroy it or flip it over and stop it from killing you.
 * On the level Crows Nest a Cloaking equipment can be found in a blue control room that is seen in the cut-scene before that level.
 * Remember, most and possibly all equipment can be deactivated by destroying the source that emits the power, the shield or light.
 * If you can tell that a grenade is coming your way, then deploy a Bubble Shield. Odds are that the grenade will bounce off of the shield and back to the owner of the grenade, damaging him/her, and leaving them with weak shielding, allowing you to take them out very quickly.
 * A little known fact about the Trip Mine is that it is very similar to a real player using radar. If you crouch or move slowly, as long as your dot does not show up, the Trip Mine will not recognize you. Use this tip to pass tight areas where one was deployed, or if you happen to be in the wrong place at the wrong time.
 * The power drain can kill the enemy if it explodes very close to them.

Trivia

 * Though many of these are available in Multiplayer, the Automated Turret, Cloaking and Invincibility are exclusive to the Campaign for balancing reasons.
 * In splitscreen mode, if you throw a Flare, you and your enemy will be blinded. However, your Motion Tracker is still viewable and if you manage to use it you can still kill your enemy, because the crosshairs still turn red if you have an opponent on target.
 * In the January 2008 issue of EGM, in an interview with Brian Jarrard and Tyson Green, it was revealed that there was a piece of equipment cut from the final game known as The Vortex. It was said to be deployed the same as a Power Drain, but would instead create a mini black hole that would "suck" in any object within range, and diverting its course into the black hole, and away from your face. It was even able to affect nearby objects such as the Fusion Coil and even other players. The design was cut due to the fact that it was too "expensive" from a networking and performance standpoint.
 * When you try to drop a piece of equipment on a vehicle or an object (like a crate on Forge), the equipment will go through the object and end up underneath it. This happens to prevent players from driving around in vehicles with bubble shields and/or other equipment mounted on them.
 * Drivers of vehicles cannot use equipment (with the exception of the Invincibility and Cloaking); however, passengers can, which can be useful to certain and peculiar situations.
 * Although covered by the Active Camouflage, an Auto-Aim Turret can still detect you, possibly locking to the heat signature of the Equipment.
 * While using Active Camouflage and mounted on a Warthog turret, you can shoot and your Camouflage is not disturbed at all, unlike firing normal weapons in Campaign and Multiplayer.
 * In Campaign, the Deployable Cover lasts forever until it is destroyed. In Multiplayer, it lasts for around 30 seconds before self-destructing. A Deployable Cover can be destroyed by putting enough damage to its source, which is located in the center on the ground. This can be done easily with a grenade or a swing of the gravity hammer.
 * There are pieces of equipment that appear before they are said to first appear in the Halo 3 Official Guide, such as the two Cloakings in Crow's Nest.
 * All equipment can be destroyed by destroying the source, including Regenerators, Bubble Shields and Grav lifts. (Regenerators spin, and if stuck with a Spike Grenade, it will spin on it.)
 * A grav lift can be spawned in Forge as deployable or as deployed.
 * You can jump on top of the barrier emitted by the Deployable Cover. It also works to make a single or double box float is spawned inside one.
 * After you have deployed a Trip Mine, it is immediately activated and any motion near its vicinity will set it off, be it from you, your team members, or your foe, and this does not exclude moving vehicles.
 * Shooting anything Plasma-related through a Deployable Cover will drain the cover's energy.
 * Some Human weapons such as the Assault Rifle can be fired through the Deployable Cover.
 * Shooting the center of the Bubble Shield will cause it to loose energy or be destroyed.
 * Radar Jammers and Flares are no longer usable in Matchmaking, due to glitches and cheap kills.
 * Enemies cannot detect you through a Deployable Cover even on higher difficulties, so you can just watch your enemies stand there while you pick them off with a Battle Rifle. This can be especially helpful on the part of Crow's Nest where you have to rearm a bomb guarded by Covenant troops, since there are plenty of Deployable Covers around.