The Mongoose

Introduction

The M274 Mongoose ULATV is the fastest and most maneuverable ground vehicles in the arsenal of the UNSC Marine Corps, other than the Warthog. It is a highly effective vehicle for reconnaissance, rapid transportation, swift tactical versatility, and for shooting between positions. It's the smaller cousin to the ubiquitous M831 Troop Transport, and is a small ATV with a driver located in the front seat and features a rear platform that can be used to carry one additional passenger. Because it carries no armament of its own, having a passenger is most likely essential if engaging in a combat zone. Due to its smaller size, the Mongoose has become a difficult target for the enemy, as opposed to the Warthog, whose size is somewhat substantial. It's a common misconception that it is faster than any other vehicle, though the M12 LRV Warthog is actually faster. (This is due to the different camera angle between the two, as well as the Mongoose' faster rise to top-speed.)

The Mongoose's high speed and light mass and armor makes it unwieldy and difficult to control at high speeds and over unstable terrain, making the ULATV vulnerable to destabilization, crashes, and flips. The driver and passenger are also completely exposed, and the Mongoose's design has extremely little if any vehicular armor, making Mongoose operators extremely vulnerable to fire. Furthermore, the Mongoose does not incorporate any offensive or defensive capabilities, making the Mongoose's sole defensive capability an armed passenger. However, whatever defenses the Mongoose lacks, it compensates for in sheer acceleration. Thus, standard UNSC Marine Corps operating protocol in engagements against Covenant forces place a M41 Rocket Launcher-armed Marine in the passenger position to fire rockets against slow-moving hostile vehicles while the driver uses the Mongoose's superior speed to evade enemy return fire, and also a marine could be wielding a Spartan laser and be deadly accurate. In a last resort, the Mongoose can run over nearby enemies, but this is usually not an effective plan because of the low width and height of the vehicle make it very difficult to get an enemy kill, but if you do get a splatter in a ranked free for all playlist you will unlock the Mongoose Mowdown achievement. Oftentimes, newer or less experienced players will want only attempt to get this Achievement, or in the case of team games, just the splatter. This rarely works out well as they often try to drive right into enemy fire, essentially signing their death-warrant.

The Mongoose can be transported by the Pelican Dropship or the Behemoth-class Troop Transport (Elephant). The AV-14 Attack VTOL does seem to have a winch also capable of transporting the ULATV, but it is not used during gameplay.

Furthermore, the Mongoose is believed to be analogous to the Covenant Type-32 "Ghost" Rapid Assault Vehicle, though the Ghost has a built-in weaponry system, has a boost ability, is less agile and maneuverable but much more resistant to fire.

Operation

The lack of weaponry mounted on the Mongoose makes the presence of an armed passenger often essential in combat zones. Engagements with enemy infantry or vehicles are often inadvisable in the absence of a passenger armed with heavy weaponry; the Mongoose's extreme speed and maneuverability makes it best zoom through enemy lines. The Mongoose's speed and acceleration makes it almost impossible to hijack

It has a top speed of 60 MPH, which is a vital advantage while trying to "splatter" enemies. However, the Mongoose's excessive maneuverability often makes it quite difficult to splatter enemies, and all but a head-on full-velocity impact on a shielded enemy will not splatter the enemy. Going top speed and landing on an enemy will most likely kill them.

The Mongoose's lack of personnel-protective armor, however, makes the driver, and especially the passenger, vulnerable to enemy fire, especially from medium-long range weapons such as the BR55HB SR Battle Rifle. Although the Mongoose's maneuverability makes it difficult to destroy with heavy weapons such as the M41 Rocket Launcher, the Mongoose is vulnerable to the Spartan Laser; even the Mongoose's high speeds still make it extremely easy to track with the Spartan Laser since not even the Mongoose goes fast enough to make tracking difficult. The Brute Shot is also very effective, if you hit the Mongoose, it will send it about two of three meters flying the direction you shot at. Furthermore, in close-range engagements against a Mongoose, it is easy to stick or melee the operators.

Despite the Mongoose's acute vulnerabilities, its light mass and small profile give it interesting applications: it is possible to launch the Mongoose safely off of a Man Cannon (albeit with mixed results), and the Mongoose can allow a driver "lowride" in one; to drive by balancing on the back two wheels. Unfortunately, this light weight can also be the player's downfall. Explosives as weak as the explosion from some equipment are strong enough to flip it, and when fighting Flood Infection Forms a gunner is required, as apparently the Mongoose isn't heavy enough to "POP" them (the Mongoose will simply drive over the Infection Forms, leading to a bumpy ride that usually flips the player). An example of this is the final run on the level "Halo', there are many Infection Forms and Flood with Brute Shots here, making the final run quite a chore on a Mongoose.

Fighting the Mongoose

Probably the best way to destroy a Mongoose is to shoot it with a Rocket Launcher.

A Gravity Hammer is also very effective against the Mongoose with a few well-timed hits.

Players who love challenges can stick the Mongoose with a Plasma or Spike grenade. However, this may backfire as the rider can easily dismount and send the Mongoose hurtling towards the player.

For trigger-happy players, shooting the passengers on the Mongoose is another tactic as the passengers are completely exposed.
 
If you boost into a Mongoose with a Brute Chopper the Mongoose will be destroyed instantly, along with any unlucky inhabitants of the vehicle.

Another tactic is when after shooting the driver to the point that his shields are down, if he is coming at you head on, simply take a step out of the way and melee. However, this tactic is very difficult due to the speed of the Mongoose and the timing required and so should not be attempted unless at a loss of ammo or during reloading.

Trivia

If the player manages to splatter an enemy player with the Mongoose in a ranked free-for-all Xbox Live playlist in Halo 3, the player will earn the Mongoose Mowdown achievement and 5 gamerpoints.

Due to its susceptibility to explosions and even the smallest bumps and obstacles, the Mongoose often flips, rolls, etc. Through a basic knowledge of vehicle movement and some luck, players can earn prestige by being the few who "almost never flip over."

Like other UNSC vehicles, the Mongoose closely resembles the animal of its namesake. "Ears" jut out on each side of the front and "eyes" are in the windshield. Its agility, speed, and small size are also characteristic of the real-life mongoose mammal. Despite the Mongoose being touted as "the fastest UNSC land vehicle", this description, ironically belongs to the M12 LRV Warthog. Despite being 3 times heavier, it is faster overall.

The Mongoose has a yellow instruction sticker on the deployable passengers seat, stating the maximum weight for the driver and passenger. It is interesting to note that the driver can weigh about 500 kilograms, the average weight for an actual Spartan-II soldier. The passenger can also weigh up to 450 kilograms. A Spartan weighs around a half-ton, which translates to around 454.5 kilograms, so carrying around another Spartan-II soldier as a passenger is possible; however it would seriously damage the Mongoose's suspension under hard acceleration or braking and even the smallest bump or drop would render the Mongoose useless.

Fans often refer to multiple mongooses as mongeese or mongi, although the correct collective noun for mongoose is mongooses.

A Snow camouflaged version of the Mongoose is available in the Legendary Map Pack map Avalanche, which was released on the 15th April 2008 and is known as the "Snow-goose", due to it being snow-camouflaged.
 
Some early renders showed the Mongoose in many forms: Three wheeled, more heavily armed, or with slightly larger seats. The final version of the Mongoose was chosen before the Beta version of Halo 3 was released, despite its numerous makes and models.[citation needed]

On the last level of Halo 3, "Halo", it is possible to splatter a Tank Form and kill it.

In Red vs Blue: Reconstruction the Mongoose is often referred to as the "Cycle".

If you hold RT long enough, you will eventually wear out the horn, making it silent for a while.

Bungie was planning to put the Mongoose in Halo 2, but it was considered useless because it was only one seat at the time.

Its first, and only appearance in a book was "The Cole Protocol".

Shooting the back wheels with a battle rifle is an easy way to knock the Mongoose off course.

On the level The Covenant, if an Elite gets on the back of your mongoose on the way to the citadel the Chief is not visible