Halo Alpha
Register
Advertisement
Halo Alpha
35#.png


Were you looking for the M290 Mongoose, featured in Halo 5: Guardians?
“
Speed is the only protection this vehicle provides; it is unarmored, noisy, and prone to roll-over. It demands a level of skill from its operator that is impossible to expect…during combat conditions.
”
— Anonymous E2-BAG/1/7 serviceman[1]

The M274 Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle[1][3] (M274 ULATV), commonly known as the Mongoose, is a United Nations Space Command light ground reconnaissance vehicle designed by AMG Transport Dynamics. The Mongoose lacks weapons, but can carry a driver and a passenger. The passenger can fire their weapons, but they will not be able to zoom in.

MONGOOSE PROFILE WIREFRAME

A wire frame profile of the M274 Mongoose ULATV.

The Mongoose ULATV is one of the most maneuverable ground vehicles in the arsenal of the UNSC. It is a highly effective vehicle for reconnaissance and rapid transportation. The Mongoose is a difficult target due to its smaller size, but its high speed and light mass make vulnerable to crashes and flips at high speeds and over unstable terrain. To make matters worse, the design of the vehicle and its lack of armor leave both the driver and passenger completely exposed.

The standard UNSC Marine Corps operating protocol in engagements against Covenant forces is to 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. For quick and practical deployment, the Mongoose can be transported by Pelicans and Elephants.

Halo-3-mongoose-3 01D1015400056144

A close look at the Halo 3 Mongoose

A modified version of the Mongoose, the M274-M Ultra-Light All-Terrain Vehicle, appears in Halo 2: Anniversary.

Strategies[]

Campaign[]

  • Due to its high speed, and unreliability, it is usually not the best idea to take one for use. The only time this is suggested is if a marine is found wielding a Rocket launcher.
  • In Halo 3: ODST, look for supply caches unlocked by obtaining audio logs. These will appear as the Superintendent's avatar on your VISR's NAV. Some of these supply caches contain Mongooses, which will greatly increase your travel speed and could turn 5 minutes of on-foot combat to one minute of cruising through streets.
  • Because of its unique attributes (compared to other vehicles), it is best used for rushed transport and escaping the enemy rather than attacking or defending.

Multiplayer[]

  • Never use the mongoose for combat unless you have a teammate with a power weapon, like the Rocket launcher or Spartan Laser. If your passenger has a Plasma Pistol it can become a powerful anti-tank weapon.
  • Use the Mongoose to transport flag or bomb carriers.
  • Use the Mongoose to reach areas more quickly, such as a power weapon's spawn.
  • Grenades and other explosives easily flip over the Mongoose.
  • Avoid hilly terrain in order to not flip.
  • In the Halo 3 map Sandtrap, the Mongoose can outrun the mines triggered by the towers around the outside perimeter. Use the Mongoose to circle around the outside of the map and flank the enemy.
  • Use the Brute Shot to make the Mongoose fly into the air and into enemy territory, allowing the driver and passenger to catch enemies off guard.
  • In CTF gametypes, place the Mongoose on top of the flag's spawn. Enemy players may inadvertently get into the Mongoose instead of grabbing the flag.
    • Beware that the enemy may use this Mongoose to escape with the flag.
    • A quick way to get rid of a Mongoose on a flag spawn is to throw a grenade to send it flying.
  • Explosives such as the Brute Shot and fusion coils can send an enemy Mongoose flying.
  • At close range, enemy Mongoose riders can be melee attacked, even with an Energy Sword.

Changes from Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST to Halo: Reach[]

  • The Mongoose handles better over rough terrain.
  • The chassis is slightly larger.
  • The windshield is absent, being replaced by a metal plate which features a mirror on either side.
  • When the Mongoose makes jumps, there is an effect that making the Mongoose appear as if it is traveling through the air very fast.
  • It is now possible to hijack a Mongoose.
  • In Forge mode, it is now possible to give the Mongoose red, blue, green, brown, yellow, pink, or purple decal.

Changes from Halo: Reach to Halo 4[]

  • The color cannot be changed during Forge.
  • It has better traction.

UNSC Remarks[]

  • "[The M274] is pretty nimble for its size; add to that the fact that it can do ninety plus kilo papa hotel over uneven terrain and you’ve got the ultimate commando hot rod."
  • "Speed is the only protection this vehicle provides; it is unarmored, noisy, and prone to roll-over. It demands a level of skill from its operator that is impossible to expect from the rank and file during combat conditions. Those not qualified as expert need not apply."
  • "That thing will go from zero to thirty in three seconds on anything short of snow-covered ice."
  • "The M274 doesn’t have a radio of its own, isn't equipped with GPS, it doesn't even have any gauges. The only piece of equipment more primitive is the crate it ships in."
  • "The first thing everybody does is yank the front cargo cage - if you were to carry anything on it your forward visibility would be obstructed out to about six meters - that and less weight equals more speed… anyway it's the first thing everybody does."
  • "It's a super versatile ATV in the tradition of the Sperry FCMMagLEV and Willys Jeep; without the former’s vulnerable drive train or the latter's innards-rupturing suspension."
  • "If they're not gonna give us armor they should at least give us a mounted weapon. And you should be able to tow a trailer with it. And, God forbid, you try to ford bodies of water more than seven feet deep."
  • "The M274's range is excellent, and that's even before you consider that you can double or triple its range that without severely impacting its max load - just a couple of jerrys of slop and a carbon feeler."
  • "Some fellas piss and moan about the M274's lack of offensive capability, but it's not meant to be an AFV! Still; with a brave fella riding pillion you should be able to put out enough discouragement to break contact with all but the most bloodthirsty bravo kilo."
  • "The (M274) is definitely the most Buddhist land-based motive system in the UNSC's arsenal…I'll just let that sit with you for a while."

Trivia[]

  • In Halo 3, if the player manages to splatter an enemy player with the Mongoose in a ranked free-for-all matchmaking playlist, the player will earn the Mongoose Mowdown achievement.
  • You can change the color of the Mongoose in Halo: Reach's Forge.
  • The Mongoose was originally intended to be put into Halo 2, but was cut. The Mongoose prototype did not fulfill Bungie's expectations for Halo 2, and although Bungie attempted to add dual coaxial machine-guns to it or an armed passenger, it remained imbalanced and didn't fit into the gameplay. Bungie at the time could not figure out a way to implement it into the campaign, and had trouble getting the physics for it right, stating that the whole thing had a tendency to flip very easily, and gameplay wise, had no purpose.[4]
  • In Halo 3, the Mongoose has a yellow instruction sticker on the passengers seat that states the maximum weight for the driver and passenger.

Gallery[]

Appearances[]

Sources[]

Advertisement