Grunts on my Falcon
Posted November 13th 2011, updated later
All aboard!
After stealing Jun's Falcon you can have some great fun taking Grunts and Elites for a ride on top and doing stuff with them. You can pick them up at the evac zone for the missing troopers - I suggest using the lower zone as it's more open. Hover low near a dropship door where troops will be jumping out - any of the ships can be used - and it's pretty easy to end up with multiple 'riders' on top of the Falcon. Grunts are the most fun and look cute as hell up there. They're pretty funny because they put their paws over their eyes sometimes when you fly them about, as if fearing for their lives. Getting four up top is quite easy.
Pick-up tips
I recommend using a low difficulty level to minimize assorted hassles (I used Normal when investigating, but Easy might be an even better choice). For one thing you won't need to be so concerned later when having fun on foot with covies you've dropped off. For another it'll help minimize the amount of fire heading up to the Falcon after the pick-up, which could kill riders before you get away with them, and which in the case of a plasma ball could bring you down. The Mythic skull would help keep riders alive too, though I've not bothered with that myself.
Preferably eliminate Carter and Jorge at rally point alpha with the truck retreat method, to stop them being any threat to your riders or a nuisance in other ways. It's not critical but it does make life easier.
To further reduce danger to riders I suggest killing the troopers, though if you do have any Spartans aboard, you may want to be careful to avoid getting declared a traitor (do the killing while the fight rages). Troopers can be picked up instead, but not until the reinforcement ships have been triggered. I prefer killing them, as they can be frustratingly slow to board and I want to be able to concentrate on the incoming ship.
It helps to blow the ship's cannon off as it flies in, so it doesn't disrupt you as you try to position yourself nicely for the pick-up. However, it's not all that important. Or at least, it's not if you've got Cowbell off. If you have Cowbell on, the buffeting would presumably be more severe.
Having altitude locked can free you up to concentrate on positioning, if you've learnt in advance what sort of altitude is good for a given ship (they have various hovering heights), but fly without lock if you prefer.
If you're trying to pick up Grunts on a side of the ship which includes an Elite, you need to be a bit careful about the Elite. If your positioning is bad, he can jump straight onto the side of the Falcon's nose to eject you.
Once you've got one or more riders, move clear promptly to lessen the danger of them getting hurt or killed by ground fire, be it from covies or any of your allies still on the ground.
Relay outpost too
You can also get riders at the relay outpost, but there's a very low ceiling there so you won't be able to climb to any decent height. Also it may be a good idea to keep moving about, lest an Elite jump up to eject you.
Transportation
For the most part riders are quite stable and you can veer around and fly at top speed without much trouble, but when it comes to losing altitude you have to take care or they'll fall off. I'll expand on that important aspect in a moment. You also need to be careful not to bump into things.
Riders are liable to fire on you most of the time, but you're protected so that doesn't matter unless someone happens to loose off a plasma ball, in which case the whole lot of you will be heading for a nasty accident. Playing on Normal, that only rarely happened though. It was usually one of those grunty stormtroopers - the guys in white.
Grunts can be a danger to themselves in another way too. One time a Grunt decided to stick a plasma grenade to the canopy. Idiot! Needless to say, it didn't end well for him. Another time there was a Grunt on the left rotor. Nipple-crazed insanity took over and he lobbed it straight into the spindle area. Briefly I could see the grenade spinning around before the bang. I didn't have this trouble very often, but it might be a different story if you have Catch on. I haven't tried things with Catch yet.
Elites seem considerably less stable than Grunts, perhaps because they're more actively oriented. They can lose their footing just though adjusting their stance or whatever, quite unlike Grunts who show no desire to move about on top. That could make them more frustrating to work with.
Adjusting a rider's position
If you ever want to adjust a rider's position, perhaps because he's looking a bit precarious, you can potentially do it with a short bit of freefall while moving the Falcon underneath him. It requires a delicate touch though. Anything clumsy and you're likely to lose him. A good way to do the freefall is to unlock then relock your altitude. Riders can be supported even on top of a rotor, right out past a wing tip.
Position can also be adjusted by spinning, causing a rider to gradually move out from the centre. This can be used as a way of getting him to an extremity with the aim of making a tricky drop-off easier. Obviously you have to be a bit careful though. Spin too much and he'll fly off.
Descending
The trickiest part of transport lies in losing altitude. Descending slowly enough that a rider keeps his footing takes patience and fairly careful control of the left trigger. If you see him starting to bump up and down, either squeeze the trigger a bit more or engage altitude lock (consider that your panic button).
However, there's also a freefall method. Descend vertically with successive brief spells of freefall. During each freefall he'll bounce, potentially quite high, but as long as you stop soon enough he'll typically end up pretty much where he started, still intact. It's much faster than steady descent but does carry a few dangers. One is that he may get a bad bounce off the front of the two nacelles, deflecting him forwards and off, and another is that if you have two close covies, one might deflect off the other. However, it's pretty reliable and I use it a lot. You may feel more secure with a rider in the middle, so you might want to adjust his position first.
Note: I also talk about freefalling later in the 'Things to do' section, because it makes for great entertainment too. See Freefall fun-ride.
Paws over eyes
I mentioned earlier that Grunts sometimes put their paws over their eyes. Getting even a small amount of speed up in any lateral direction tends to make them do that, and it's pretty much guaranteed if you veer about, but you can get exceptions. In particular, you can be flying forwards at top speed and a Grunt may be completely unworried. Possibly it depends on his positioning or angle of stance, or maybe there's some randomness involved, I'm not sure. They also get scared when when your rate of ascent reaches a certain threshold; something around 1400 feet per minute (about 23 feet per second) according to some testing I did with vertical ascent.
Elites sometimes do something similar except it doesn't look so much like being scared. It looks more like crouching for protection.
Checkpoints cancelled
While carrying covies up top, their proximity delays and then cancels any checkpoint you'd be due. So if you were hoping to get a handy checkpoint while laden with alien cargo, tough luck.
Offloading
When you're sufficiently low down to an inviting surface, riders will usually take the opportunity to hop off (so if you don't want to lose them yet, be careful not to pass too low over things). But there are some surfaces they're not interested in, and in that case you'll need to do something to get them offloaded.
Freefall method
One way is to do a short freefall, moving the Falcon out from underneath, either wholesale or with a bit of rotation. Freefall is ideal if the target area isn't very specific - very quick and easy - but not so good if you need to be more precise. However, with care it can be done in a relatively controlled fashion, especially with a rider out on an extremity; so it could be used as a way of getting a rider onto a small area.
Easing method via nose or rotor
For the best precision though, I'd recommend first getting your rider onto the nose or the edge of a rotor then easing him off, letting him feel the support of the target. To some extent he may sense that he'll have better support by transferring, so he may not need much encouragement. The nose can be good but the rotors are perhaps even better. If he's not already on a rotor, you can get him up by freefalling and moving the rotor underneath him (he can't just slide onto it as it's a significant step up from the fuselage). Once he's there, you can get him to the edge of the rotor by spinning, or by flying so he gets dragged the way you want him to go.
Collision method
One other method is to collide with something sufficiently violently to get riders shaken off. Could be handy if there's some sort of wall near the target area.
Things to do
Ok, so now you've got one or more covies up top, what can you do with them other than giving them a good ride about the place?
Stranded high up
One thing you can do is drop them way up high on a hillside or something - they'll look funny up there, and they'll be stranded too. Or maybe on top a pinnacle? Could be tricky if it's really small on top. Get some nice snapshots!
Grunty up a tree
For a challenge - and another nice snapshot - see if you can get a covie in a tree. I initially got a Grunt in one when bumping into it by accident, but later I got one up by easing him off a rotor. Doubtless some trees will be more obliging than others, so it might be worth looking around for the most promising options.
On the other Falcon
Here's something you've just got to do. Get a covie on top of the other Falcon. It flies in to hover near the evac zone about 80 seconds after "Noble leader be advised, I have visual on inbound Covenant dropships" (and at the same time, Jun appears in your rear right seat if it's empty). It's just below the invisible ceiling of normal bounds. I got a Grunt on it by easing him off a rotor, and likewise with an Elite. When you've done the transfer and admired things enough, destroy the Falcon with cannon fire. Nice! Or bring it down with a plasma ball from the ground and see if the covie survives the impact. Next project: get two covies on it!
Note: If you get your covie on that other Falcon's rotor, you can actually pick him up again by bringing a rotor of your own up underneath him. Nifty!
Freefall fun-ride
Here's another essential activity, quite hilarious with Grunts. Ascend high then let the Falcon freefall straight down. Riders 'bounce' on top, coming off the top a short way at first but then bouncing high. Come to a stop - e.g. by engaging altitude lock - and they're likely to end up pretty much in the same place as before, except there's maybe a tendency for riders on the nose to get moved back towards the centre. Best thing is, Grunts scream on the high bounce. But hey, that just means they're having fun, right? So do it again! Top-notch grunty entertainment; don't miss it. Try different camera angles for amusing views.
Elites do some yelling too and take shield damage, so be sure to give them a go. We don't want them missing out on the fun. They may get mad and wave their arms a bit, but hey, that's Elites for you. Something else: you can combine the freefall with spinning if you want to get fancy. It's possible to do a complete 360 before coming to a stop and catching your riders again.
It took me a few days to realize you could do this freefall business, and I was surprised to find that you could, as I would've thought riders would just fall off. It was only after enjoying this fun that I realized it could also be used as a practical and fast descent method. Previously I'd thought you could only descend very slowly.
Right behind you (again)
If you drop covies somewhere which doesn't stop them heading for home, you can dismount and tail them all the way back to the evac zone, which is potentially quite a journey. Reminds me of the 'Right behind you' fun I enjoyed in H1. I think the furthest you can take them is somewhere near rally point alpha. In picking them up you'll have gone near the troopers, hence the game won't let you back past rally point alpha any more. It'll stop you even getting to the step.
Target practice
Fancy some target practice with the cannon? Take the Falcon up high then freefall while drifing backwards so riders fall off to the front, and use the cannon to kill them in mid-air.
Spinning around
If you spin the Falcon, covies gradually move out to an edge then fly off. Quite funny, especially if you've got plenty of riders, though it might make you dizzy.
Cargo challenge
It's not too hard to pick up four covies from a drop if you're well positioned, and you might even manage to get more by sweeping along a nice full compartment, but there's also the possibility of building up your load by adding covies from later ships. I don't say it's easy, and you'll have to be careful not to drop too low else your riders may hop off (might be best to keep altitude lock on throughout), but it makes a good challenge to see how many covies you can get up top. The most I've had so far was five, but I'm sure that could be beaten with a bit of effort.
Dropship impact
If you let a dropship smack into you it can send riders flying, especially Grunts. For example try hovering not far from where the ship will rise, so it'll hit you from beneath. Watch those Grunts go airborne (and maybe give them some cannon fire). Or, station yourself further off to let it hit you more horizontally. Course, that could be fatal for you as well!
Allied concerns
If you've got any allies aboard, they can be a nuisance when you dismount to have some sort of fun with covie riders you've just offloaded. If you get more than about 35 metres away from the Falcon they're liable to dismount, and could open fire. Also, someone aside from Jorge might hop into the pilot's seat, use the cannon and fly off (though you may not mind losing the Falcon at this point). For such reasons you'll probably want to avoid having any allies aboard. If you eliminate Carter and Jorge in advance as I recommended, and also avoid picking up any troopers, that leaves only one potential nuisance to cope with: Jun.
Keeping Jun absent
If the reinforcement ships have been triggered, Jun will be scheduled to appear in the Falcon's empty rear right seat about 80 seconds later, but you can prevent that by landing somewhere to occupy the seat yourself until his spawning opportunity has passed. The only thing is, you'll need to land some place where your cargo won't hop off. I found one convenient place not too far from the lower evac zone - close enough for you to reach in time if you picked up your cargo from ship 2 - but I'm going to keep it to myself and encourage you to go search for yourself. Hey, more fun for you, right?
If the reinforcement ships haven't been triggered, there's no danger of Jun appearing; so that's another way of making sure he won't be around. Get your covies from ship 1 and make sure no allies remain at the evac zone to do any killing there, else they could eventually trigger the reinforcements. If you've eliminated Carter and Jorge in advance, all you'll need to do is kill the troopers.
Countdown issue easily avoided
There's one other issue I'll mention in regard to allies. If any are left at the evac zone, particularly Carter and Jorge (being invincible), the enemy attack there could get wiped out, which would just leave your riders. Unless you've got three or more, the game would then start a countdown, after which any remaining covies from the attack would be killed (zap!) and the battle declared over ('OBJECTIVE COMPLETE' and checkpoint due). With 1 covie the countdown lasts about 2 minutes 40 seconds; with 2 it's about 7 minutes 40. Either way, you could end up having covies killed while you're in the middle of some fun with them.
However, the issue is easily avoided by eliminating Carter and Jorge in advance and killing the troopers, so there are no allies left at the evac zone.
Scooping up covies later
If a covie is on a decent slope (including cliff face) or is pushed back against something, it's actually possible to scoop him up on the nose of the Falcon. He might even clamber up onto the canopy voluntarily, which I guess is linked with aggression; trying to get closer to you or something. He really needs to be stranded though, so he can't run off to the evac zone. Even then, scooping him up can take a bit of perseverance. You especially have to be ready for grenades. When trying to scoop up a Grunt he may get a little tetchy and throw a plasma, but prompt rotation can get the blast clear of him.
The scooping method of pick-up can be used in a couple of ways to aid or augment the normal range of things you can do with covie riders.
Individual placement
If you've got multiple riders but want to do some precision placement one guy at a time, you could offload all but one of them in some suitable place, so you're then free to reposition him on the Falcon where you want prior to transfer - e.g. to the edge of a rotor. After placing him, you can then go back to scoop up the next guy for transfer, and so on.
Extra covies for placement fun
With any placement activity, i.e. putting covies in amusing places, you can form a larger collection there by adding extras you picked up and quickly put aside from one or two earlier ships. E.g. pick up covies from ship 1, put them aside, pick up covies from ship 2, put them aside, pick up covies from ship 3 and start placing. For the lower evac zone, one suitably close place to put them aside is the raised land (around roof level) behind the curved building across the stream, but there are plenty of other places too.