Arbiter (Killer Instinct)

Arbiter
Personal details
Species:	Sangheili
Gender:	Male
Eye color:	Amber
Political and military information
Titles:	Arbiter
Notable info:	Is an amalgamation of Thel 'Vadam with traits from other Arbiters.

This article contains information about a non-canonical subject that, while official, is not part of the established Halo universe.

This article is about the Killer Instinct guest character. For other articles including "Arbiter", see Arbiter (disambiguation).

"I have faced the Flood and silenced Truth. I will quell your thunder and douse your flame."

— The Arbiter's intro quote

The Arbiter is a guest character in the third season of the 2013 fighting game Killer Instinct.^[1]

Overview[edit]

"I have fought with honor, endured the brand of shame, dealt out vengeance, even at the threshold of oblivion, I stood against false Truth and the all consuming flood, but now new foes have arisen"

— This Arbiter shares the same history as Thel Vadam^[2]

Though Killer Instinct's developers regard the character as an amalgamation of themes and traits from various Arbiters,^[3] he is clearly intended to be a stand-in for Thel 'Vadam, the Arbiter introduced in Halo 2. His default and alternate skins are recreations of 'Vadam's Halo 5: Guardians and Halo 2: Anniversary appearances, respectively. The Arbiter claims to have encountered the Flood and killed the Prophet of Truth, both key elements of 'Vadam's history. In his reveal trailer, he even uses 'Vadam's Halo 3 catchphrase, "Were it so easy."^[4]

Regardless of the skin used, the Arbiter is equipped with a Covenant carbine, an energy sword (the Prophets' Bane, the Domotos-pattern energy sword, or the unidentified energy sword pattern) and Anskum-pattern plasma grenades, and active camouflage. Using the default Halo 5: Guardians Kaidon skin arms the Arbiter with Thel 'Vadam's personal energy sword, Prophets' Bane, though the Halo 2: Anniversary skin uses a standard Type-1 energy sword. The player can also outfit the Arbiter with the combat harness from Halo 2: Anniversary, the Ascetic armor from Halo 3, the Ranger and Zealot harnesses from Halo: Reach, and the Storm and Commander armors from Halo 4.^[5]

Gameplay[edit]

Arbiter is a strong mid-range character, excelling at safe pokes and having a formidable arsenal of normal and Special attacks. His large and imposing size contrast many smaller characters in the roster, boasting high health and an additional energy shield by spending meter. However, his slow movement and large hurtboxes make him susceptible to quick punishes, and poor management of his limited Carbine ammo can invalidate a lot of combo routes, requiring players to employ clever usage of his command grabs and resources for terrifying offense.

Similar to Nicole-458 from Dead or Alive 4, many of Arbiter's moves and traits are named after elements of the Halo franchise.

Terminology[edit]

Symbols and abbreviations are commonly used to describe motion inputs and specific buttons part of the Killer Instinct control scheme.

LP, MP, HP - Light, Medium, and Heavy Punch
LK, MK, HK - Light, Medium, and Heavy Kick
PP (or) KK - Any two Punches or Kicks
QCF (Quarter-Circle Forward) - Motion input indicated by the movement ⭣ ⭨ ⭢ or Down > Down-Forward > Forward when facing right.
QCB (Quarter-Circle Back) - Motion input indicated by the movement ⭣ ⭩ ⭠ or Down > Down-Back > Back when facing right.
+ (and) > - Simultaneous and consecutive inputs, respectively.

Traits[edit]

Combat Trait: Combat Evolved - After performing a throw or any Ender, Arbiter can follow up by sticking a plasma grenade to the opponent or firing his carbine to deal additional damage and extend the combo slightly.
Instinct Mode: Judge and Executioner - By pressing (HP + HK) with a full Instinct bar, the Arbiter summons an energy shield that extends his health meter slightly and removes all hitstun against projectiles but not their damage. The shield is self-regenerating and begins recharging if not attacked for three seconds, roughly amounting to 20% extra health if used wisely.
- Combat Elite - While in Instinct, pressing (HP + HK) again makes Arbiter raise his hand and enter a brief Parry stance. If the opponent attacks in this duration, Arbiter will parry and leave them open to a quick counterattack. This move parries both high and low attacks, has no start-up, and can be performed in-air as well, but the parry window is tight and mistiming it leaves him vulnerable.

Unique Moves[edit]

Plasma Grenade (LP + MP + HP) - Arbiter can throw up to three sticky Plasma Grenades that detonate after three seconds, damaging any player caught in his blast. Holding Forward or Back changes the trajectory of the grenade, which staggers grounded players and recaptures airborne ones. Holding Down however detonates it instantly in front of Arbiter, causing a hard knockdown on airborne opponents. This attack has an invincible start-up and the grenades replenish after some time.
Type-51 Carbine (HK) - Arbiter fires his Covenant Carbine straight ahead, but holding Forward shoots it diagonally upward as an anti-air, while pressing it in-air fires it diagonally downward. The Carbine can be fired in three-round bursts, and once all 18 rounds are depleted this attack is replaced by Interrogator and No Regret.
Interrogator (Forward + HK) - Arbiter slams the stock of his Carbine as an overhead attack. After spending the Carbine's ammo this replaces the default HK on the ground.
- No Regret (Forward + HK) (AIR ONLY) - Arbiter hits with the stock of his Carbine downward as a jumping strike. After spending the Carbine's ammo this replaces the default HK in the air.
Particular Justice (Down-Forward + HK) - Arbiter brings the stock of his Carbine up and above, making it a decent anti-air attack.
Cloven Kick (Forward + MK) - Arbiter steps forward with a straight kick, causing a wall-splat upon contact.
Slayer (LK) - Arbiter's standard Light Kick is a standing knee strike, and hitting airborne opponents with it causes a flipout, making it great for left-right mixups.
Throw (Forward/Back + LP + LK) - Arbiter grabs the opponent and slashes twice with his sword, and both throws launch the opponent.

Target Combos[edit]

Mark of Shame (MP > MP)
Honor and Respect (HP > HP)
Blood of our Fathers (MP > HP)
Blood of our Sons (HP > MP)
Negotiator (LP > LK)

Except Negotiator, all these Target Combos involve quick slashes with the Energy Sword, differing in their damage, speed, and range. All of them can be cancelled into Special Moves or Shadow Moves.

Special and Shadow Moves[edit]

Mercy's Demise (QCF + P) - Arbiter lunges forward into a devastating uppercut with his Energy Sword. Punch Strength determines the attack's range, with all of them being unsafe on block. Hitting an opponent off the ground launches them high into the air.
- Shadow Mercy's Demise (QCF + PP) - This version consumes one stock of Shadow Meter, with Arbiter performing five separate sword slashes after the initial lunge instead of just one.
- Shadow Counter (MP + MK) - While blocking, pressing this right before the last hit of the opponent's attack will perform Shadow Mercy's Demise as a counterattack, consuming one stock of Shadow Meter.
Truth Seeker (QCB + P) - Arbiter hops off the ground before spinning into a powerful downward slash with his Energy Sword, hitting overhead. Punch Strength determines the range and start-up speed, with Light version being fastest and unsafe on block and Heavy version being slowest but safe on block.
- Shadow Truth Seeker (QCB + PP) - This version consumes one stock of Shadow Meter, with only one slash hitting five times. Notably, this move is projectile invincible.
Prophet's Bane (QCB + K) - Arbiter activates camouflage and dashes forward. Upon contact, he grabs the opponent and stabs them in the chest before throwing them away. Kick Strength determines distance traveled while invisible, and since it's a command grab it cannot be escaped, forcing the opponent to jump to safety.
- Shadow Prophet's Bane (QCB + KK) - This version consumes one stock of Shadow Meter, with extra damage and the ability to hold the buttons and keep Arbiter invisible up to three seconds. He is completely invincible in this duration, and upon releasing the buttons he will grab the opponent no matter how far they are as long as they're grounded.
Energy Shield (QCF + KK) - A Shadow-only move, it consumes one stock of Shadow Meter and gives Arbiter an energy shield, roughly amount to 7% extra health. This energy shield negates all hitstun from projectiles, and upon activation causes a soft knockdown with no damage on contact with the opponent.

Combo Components[edit]

Openers
- Mercy's Demise (Shadow OK)
- Truth Seeker (Shadow OK)
Linkers
- Mercy's Demise (Shadow OK)
- Truth Seeker (Shadow OK)
Enders
- Mercy's Demise - Causes hard knockdown upon finishing, opening up pressure options.
- Truth Seeker - Causes a ground bounce upon finishing, leading to further combo opportunities.
- Prophet's Bane - Causes heavy daamge but ends the combo and resets gameplay to neutral.

Finishers[edit]

Ultra Combo (QCF + LP + MP + HP) - A unique finishing move that can only be performed when the opponent is in Danger. Arbiter begins an unrelenting string of attacks involving punches, kicks, and slashes, delivering 31 hits to the opponent before ending the match in style accompanied by a musical rhythm
- Ultra Ender (MP + MK) - Used to end the Ultra Combo prematurely or right near its end with a pwoerful Energy Sword strike.
Stage Ultra: "Cratered" (QCF + LK + MK + HK) - Only available on the Arena of Judgment stage, the Stage Ultra is detailed in a separate section below.

Quotes[edit]

I have fought with honor, endured the brand of shame, dealt out vengeance - even at the threshold of oblivion, I stood against false truth and the all-consuming Flood. But now, new foes have risen, and I have become their prey. Strange in appearance, these warriors hunt me. I see courage and conviction in their eyes, but also questions - the same questions I ask myself. In a lifetime of war, is this the end? My final battle? Will this hunter be the end of me? Were it so easy. — reveal trailer narration
I have faced the Flood and silenced Truth. I will quell your thunder and douse your flame. — intro
Another victory, yes, but ... there is always another battle. — victory
Cleansing flame! — throwing plasma grenade
Pathetic. — performing throw

Stage[edit]

Main article: Arena of Judgment

The Arbiter's stage is the Arena of Judgment, a long-abandoned structure on Sanghelios. The stage background features a battle between the Swords of Sanghelios and Jul 'Mdama's Covenant. As the match progresses, the battle destroys the statues and other structures constituting the arena. At different stages of the match, a Mikpramu-pattern Phantom can be seen crashing into the scenery, or Sangheili belonging to both Jul 'Mdama's Covenant and the Swords of Sanghelios are spotted firing at each other; environmental destruction from either event reveals aerial battles between Sangheili warships in the distance.

When Arbiter triggers his Ultra Combo on this map, a Deutoros-pattern Scarab is shown to crash through the back wall, causing a lot of rubble to fall over. It attempts to shake and break free from being trapped but eventually it loses power and stops struggling in the background as Arbiter continues his 31-hit finisher move.

Arena of Judgement also features its own Stage Ultra called "Cratered". When activated, it resembles the beginning of Arbiter's Ultra Combo with the Scarab bursting through the structure as the winner begins their relentless offense. This is cut short as the opponent is knocked down and right as they get back up an Ultra D'nomlhe-pattern Banshee crashes on top of them, before the camera pans to the winner performing a victory pose.

Production notes[edit]

The Arbiter is portrayed by American voice actor Ray Chase,^[6] who would go on to voice Adjutant Resolution,^[7] along with multiplayer Spartan Voiceprint 1A76, in Halo Infinite.^[6]
The Arbiter sports a custom life bar compared to other playable characters in the game. Its appearance resembles the shield bar seen on the default multiplayer HUD from Halo 5: Guardians, except inverted.