The Banshee

Look! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… another Banshee crashing into the map. If you haven’t had the chance to see a Banshee in action, you are missing out. The fast hovering bright purple blur of destruction. This is a very well known hovering vehicle  in the Halo 3 game.

Halo 3 is a Microsoft Xbox 360 game title where you can play either as a human (Spartan) or a alien (Covenant) character.  In  multi player game types you play as a Spartan or a Covenant character. Depending on who you spawn as, you have certain vehicles and weapons that pertain to only to your race . If you spawn Covenant you get the chance at first dibs on the Banshee. Spawning on the alien side of the map doesn’t mean you won’t get a chance to pilot one of these saucy air-crafts.

The Banshee is a one manned aircraft vehicle. It is armed with plasma cannons and a fuel rod cannon that can destroy anything in it’s path. There are many “medals” that can be achieved for interacting with a Banshee.

The most important thing to use a Banshee for is getting kills. Yes, you travel across the map much faster than on foot, but you can run into it’s counter-part the “hornet” and other vehicles that can take you down.

One of the most frustrating things that comes with the Banshee is watching a noob get into it before you. Have you ever seen someone attempt to fly one? It’s a rarity that a player can actually fly one with out running into a wall or in-game object. Vehicles have spawn timers and there have been endless amounts of wasted time waiting for a new one to spawn.

With any in-game vehicle, learning how to properly use one is important. The disadvantage of someone piloting one as an inexperienced pilot in a competitive setting can greatly hurt your team. Sure, the cannons shoot plasma and look awesome… You actually flew half way across the map so you think you are a pro Banshee pilot now. No walls have been hit, you’ve made a circle around their base, and you actually killed someone with the cannon. You are excited and proud so you move on to your next target.

Your flying low to the ground… you see someone you want to kill… you are moving faster than you thought… screw it. You run them over. Congratulations. You have now figured out the easiest and cheesiest way to get a kill. Getting run over by a Banshee is embarrassing and frustrating. It is also one of the most known effective ways of getting a kill.

Banshee Fail Video:

Tiger Tip: Master the art of “Halo jumping” and work on maneuvering over it when it starts to pummel your way. Throw some sticky bombs at it, or even try jacking it from the other player and using it at your disposal.

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