Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle

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The Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle^[2]^[3]^[5] (abbreviated Type-25 RAV), colloquially known as the Brute Chopper or Chopper by UNSC personnel, is a Covenant Loyalist ground assault vehicle used exclusively by the Jiralhanae.

Overview

Chopper Render — A render of the Brute Chopper

The Brute Chopper is a heavily-armored, dual-wheeled assault vehicle, kept aloft by a gravity array on its rear seating and a massive double wheel in the front (which supports the vehicle's balance by its axis of gravity). The Chopper is best described as an "anti-anything" vehicle. Its powerful 35mm auto-cannons can take down most light ground vehicles with ease, and the large blades on the front can instantly destroy any light armored vehicle by ramming into it.

It is sometimes used in conjunction with a Ghost, due to the Chopper's superior firepower and the Ghost's superior maneuverability. The Type-25 RAV was rarely used before the Great Schism, as the Jiralhanae were not actively deployed on most battlefields. With the Jiralhanae's resurgence onto the battle lines as replacements for the Sangheili, their species' vehicles became more prevalent.

Origin

The very first choppers were built by an engineer named Lighter Than Some, as a misguided peace offering towards the human population of Harvest. Ironically, the pacifistic Huragok built them in imitation of the colonists' mechanized JOTUN plows, intending them to be used in the same way as their human-made counterparts, using parts from a Covenant dropship damaged when he and the Grunt Dadab were brought aboard. However, when he presented the four prototypes to the crew of the Rapid Conversion, a young Captain Tartarus misinterpreted the claim "for the aliens" to be for use against the humans. Having feared that Chieftain Maccabeus would kill him for the Huragok's actions, Dadab, the only one who could communicate with Lighter Than Some, went along with the misconception, utilizing them as vehicles of war. The Brutes customized these prototypes by mounting pairs of Spikers to their bodies. As time progressed, the armament mounted on the vehicle was replaced with two pairs of powerful 35mm autocannons, and the replacement of blades with grinding wheels.

Design

The Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle is a heavily armored vehicle, though it is surprisingly fast. Its primary assets lay in its capability to temporarily accelerate to twice its speed through rocket thrusters and its armament.

In the prow is a massively swelled cyclical engine array, which appears to be the source of the vehicle's power. Directly connected to it at the back is a small, exposed cockpit that provides the rider little protection from combat fire. The only defense is offered by the sheer bulk of the wheels, which are large enough to protect a pilot from frontal fire. The engine is also fitted with a ramming targe, allowing the pilot to shred anyone in its path. The blades on the wheel are strong enough to take down and cut through any vehicle with the boost except large ones like the Wraith, Scorpion tank, and Elephant. Even if it does not destroy the vehicle, a boosted impact may inflict severe damage to the target.

When activated, the vehicle moves around by the use of two massive wheels on the front of the vehicle. To turn, the whole frontal portion of the vehicle rotates to the left or right. However, the pilot's seat is kept aloft by anti-gravity technology similar to that of the Ghost. The anti-gravity technology makes the Chopper difficult to be flipped by anything, as the wheels turn instantly when they are on their sides, which keep the driver afloat with the thrusters in the rear.

Advantages

The autocannons can damage all but the most heavily armored vehicles with relative ease, its powerful impact sending targets reeling. It is similarly effective against enemy infantry, killing more fragile enemies, such as Yanme'e with a single shot.

The Chopper's heavily armored chassis and boost allow it to destroy small or medium-sized vehicles (including other Choppers) through ramming them. However, ramming another Chopper head-on risks destroying both vehicles. With proper skill, it is possible to destroy Banshees and Hornets while in the air. It is a misconception that the Chopper would have any difficulties in performing sharp turns as it is the fastest vehicle to execute such a maneuver; this makes getting behind a Chopper is a very difficult task.

Choppers can fit through many doors; on the the Ark, the Chopper can be taken through to the end of the level, making many of the battles significantly easier.

Disadvantages

Choppers lack the ability to strafe; they can only turn while moving forward or backward. Other factors, like a wide turn radius add to their overall relative lack of maneuverability, as compared with Ghosts and even Warthogs, among others. The rounds of the cannons fly at a relatively slow velocity and have a tendency to arc; at longer ranges it is necessary to lead targets and aim high to compensate. The auto-cannons shoot nearly straight out of the front of the vehicle, so it can become difficult to destroy more maneuverable vehicle targets or fast moving opponents. Chopper drivers are extremely vulnerable from the back, which offers almost no shielding from enemy fire. The lack of maneuverability and low speed make the Chopper a hard vehicle to drive for inexperienced players. The boost function on a Chopper is also limited in the amount of time it can be used, and requires a rest period before it can be used again. Lastly, the Chopper has a very slow reverse speed, making it difficult to retreat.

A disadvantage which does not appear in-game is the vehicle's travel range. The Chopper can drive a total of 271 km (169 miles) before it needs to refuel, which is just over a third of the range of the Warthog and Scorpion, and close to a quarter the range of a Ghost.^[4]

Combat

Campaign

As in all vehicular engagements in Halo 3, going bumper to bumper against a Chopper is not to be taken lightly. The heavy guns on this vehicle will rip through all light-armored vehicles with ease. On higher difficulties, the Chopper's cannon will kill Marine passengers very quickly. Therefore, your best bet in nearly any light vehicle is to stay behind or beside it since the Warthog and Prowler turrets can turn 360 degrees and all angles.
If you are playing on a mission like Tsavo Highway,where there are multiple choppers, you get in one and if you boost at the right time while one is boosting at you, you can "splatter" it and not be harmed.
Near the middle of the level "The Ark", just before the area with the Anti-Air Wraiths, there is a short tunnel the player goes through to get to the AA Wraith area. If the player is using a Chopper, and stalls before exiting the tunnel, they have an excellent vantage point of the next area, which contains a regular Wraith and two Covenant lookout posts. If the player sustains fire on the Wraith from that vantage point, even on Legendary, it will destroy the Wraith, making that area easier. It can also be used to destroy the lookout posts.

Multiplayer

Since it has a decent agility, it should be fairly easy to get splatters with when playing online. It is also near impossible to flip a Chopper, so you should rarely be flipped upside down, even while taking hard corners.
As intimidating as the Chopper's massive bulk is, it is actually a fairly narrow vehicle. This allows the Chopper to navigate small spaces, and even venture inside of buildings in multiplayer mode. The Chopper also is far more durable than the other light/medium Covenant ground vehicles. A plasma grenade to a fairly undamaged Chopper will typically not result in the destruction of the vehicle; however, the lack of armor for the driver's seat counters this, making it important to keep the massive grinding wheels between you and the enemy.
Following behind the Chopper and shooting out the driver is an effective strategy, since they are less maneuverable than other vehicles and will take a much longer time to turn around and return fire.
The Chopper's autocannon attack is stronger than the attack of the Ghost's plasma cannon, but it's firing rate is slower than the Ghost. This can be offset by double firing, which is performed by pulling the trigger multiple times, as if it were a semi-automatic weapon.
The only major drawback is an exposed seat in the back, which only allows protection in the front, as well as taking some time to perform a complete turn around.

Halo Wars

The Chopper makes an appearance in Halo Wars as a unique unit for the Brute Army Commander, replacing the Ghost. It also has three upgrades:

"Auto Cannons" - Equips all Choppers with a pair of autocannons.
"Stabilizers" - Increases the autocannons' damage and accuracy.
"Ramming Targe" - Greatly increases ramming damage and vehicle armor.

UNSC Remarks

“D’ya think they’re compensating for something? I mean, look at the size of the damn thing—it’s bigger than my first apartment.”
“It doesn’t have the room to accommodate a single passenger—and what do they do with their gear? Lash it on to the fenders?”
“They don’t have a lot in the way of places you can stow your gear—it’s basically a huge engine with a little bucket tied to it for you to stick your ass in. And big golf delta blades bolted to it, can’t forget about the blades.”
“All the markings are hand-painted. Well, at least they were on all the ones I’ve seen close up. I think the Type-25 is more of a status symbol for the Brutes—or maybe a mount—than it is a just another piece of equipment.”
“Yeah, N’tho ‘Sraom basically confirmed that—said the riders held specific ranks outside the Covenant military hierarchy structure—that they’re more of a traditional unit like Cossacks or something.”
“They’re not very fast, but they’re like zombies—every time you turn around there they are breathing down your neck! Don’t help that they’re built like tanks, either.”
“With that big damn motor you’d think they’d really fly, wouldn’t you? I wonder if the Covenant romeo echo mike foxtrots slapped a governor on ‘em like our do with the warthog?”
“I never thought I’d see somethin’ that could tear up a Warthog so completely short of an eight-oh-eight just by runnin’ into it—are Choppers put together out of old battleships or something?”
"Whatever kind of engine those Kongs put in there, it's heavy! You actually gotta pull the entire front end to one side to turn it!

Trivia

Because of observation of earlier Halo 3 builds, the Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle was first misidentified as a "Brute Ghost" (mentioned in the December 2006 issue of Electronic Gaming Monthly^[6]) or the "Mauler". At the time, the vehicle appeared to be similar in color and sound to the Covenant Ghost. However, the wings were folded up and the result was a much thicker, tube-like vehicle, giving some the idea that this was different from the original Ghost. They were proved correct by the unveiling of the Chopper, which in its final iteration bears little resemblance to a Ghost.^[7]
The heavy armor of the front of the Chopper allows it to take massive damage, even allowing the driver to survive grenade sticks with Plasma Grenades, as long as the driver's shields recharge to full power and withstand the attack, without full shields the driver will die in the explosion.
Commentary found on the Legendary Edition disk relates how the Bungie team tried to make the Chopper analogous to a human motorcycle, a vehicle for tough guys, in this case the tough ape-like Jiralhanae.
Choppers are a good vehicle to destroy for the We're in for some Chop achievement by destroying it with a trip mine.
The Chopper, the Locust, the Prowler, and the Scarab are the only Covenant vehicles not named after some sort of apparition. Brute vehicles and weapons, however, seem to have their own nomenclature system: being named after predatory or otherwise vicious acts, e.g. chopping, and mauling and so on. Like most Covenant vehicles, the Chopper has an anti-gravity system. However, this system only balances the rear of the Chopper and does not make the vehicle hover on the ground like the Ghost or Wraith.
In Halo Wars Choppers begin with no weapons, just like the Warthog. It can be upgraded to be able to use its autocannons. It can be further upgraded to where it has an extra layer of armor on the front wheel, lessening damage when the Chopper rams an enemy unit.
Type-25 Rapid Assault Vehicle, 2 and 5 add up to 7.
The Chopper, along with the Prowler and Hornet never returned for Halo: Reach.
The first model for the chopper was created by the Huragok Lighter-Than-Some as a peace offering to the humans before the battle of Harvest, however the brutes mistook this as a weapon to use against the humans and added auto-cannons to it.
It is very unwise to play chicken with a Chopper regardless of whether or not it is driven by an AI or a person.
A good tactic to use against an oncoming Chopper, be it in multiplayer OR campaign, is to slightly damage it, and then lob a grenade into the space between the front wheel. A carefully placed Plasma/Spike grenade (or a few, depending on how damaged the Chopper is) can easily kill the driver and the vehicle.

Gallery

List of appearances

Halo 3 (First appearance)
Halo: Contact Harvest
Halo Wars
Halo 3: ODST

Sources

↑ Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 31
↑ ^2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 ^2.7 Bungie.net: The Brute Chopper
↑ ^3.0 ^3.1 Halo Encyclopedia, page 242
↑ ^4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Halo Encyclopedia, page 243
↑ GamePro magazine: July Issue, page 50
↑ Halo.bungie.org: OK I Have all the Info YOU Need...
↑ 1Up: Everything we know about Halo 3's single-player mode!
... the familiar whine of a Covenant Ghost howls and Master Chief lowers the Gauss cannon. But this Ghost is unlike any Ghost we've seen before. Instead of the two small wings that normally frame a Ghost, this model is more tube-like in design. The sound is unmistakable, just like its bumpy hover. There's a much larger driver at the back of this new Ghost-type vehicle -- a Brute. This is the first vehicle we've seen from what Griesemer describes as the Brute Sandbox. As Master Chief lowers the Gauss cannon on the Ghost, the demo ends.

Related Pages

[EVG31-1] Halo: The Essential Visual Guide, page 31

[chopperfiction-2] 2.0 ^2.1 ^2.2 ^2.3 ^2.4 ^2.5 ^2.6 ^2.7 Bungie.net: The Brute Chopper

[ENC242-3] 3.0 ^3.1 Halo Encyclopedia, page 242

[ENC243-4] 4.0 ^4.1 ^4.2 ^4.3 Halo Encyclopedia, page 243

[5] GamePro magazine: July Issue, page 50

[6] Halo.bungie.org: OK I Have all the Info YOU Need...

[7] 1Up: Everything we know about Halo 3's single-player mode!
... the familiar whine of a Covenant Ghost howls and Master Chief lowers the Gauss cannon. But this Ghost is unlike any Ghost we've seen before. Instead of the two small wings that normally frame a Ghost, this model is more tube-like in design. The sound is unmistakable, just like its bumpy hover. There's a much larger driver at the back of this new Ghost-type vehicle -- a Brute. This is the first vehicle we've seen from what Griesemer describes as the Brute Sandbox. As Master Chief lowers the Gauss cannon on the Ghost, the demo ends.

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