Halo Wars: Difference between revisions

**[[SPARTAN Group Omega]]: SPARTAN-IIs are individual units who are superior to Marines. They can receive the ability to dual-wield weapons and can hijack enemy vehicles, so the player can control them. They can also be outfitted with [[AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun|chainguns]] and Spartan Lasers as well as AIs which can increase their speed, much like Cortana does for John-117 in ''[[The Fall of Reach|Halo: The Fall of Reach]]'', and help them hijack vehicles faster.  <ref name = "IGN E3 2008: ''Halo Wars'' Hands-on">[http://au.xbox360.ign.com/articles/890/890357p1.html E3 2008: Halo Wars Hands-on]. ''Alex Simmons''. Accessed on 2008-17-07</ref> When a SPARTAN hijacks an enemy vehicle, their rank is added to the vehicle's rank and the captured vehicle's stats are increased. Only three SPARTANs can be deployed at a time. It has been confirmed that their health will regenerate over time; They are outfitted with the MJOLNIR Mk. IV, meaning they should not be capable of supporting AIs or shields, a fact which has apparently been overlooked.

**[[Hellbringer|Flamethrower Marine]]:<ref name="Forum">http://www.halowars.com/forums/thread/242938.aspx</ref> Called the ''Hellbringers'', these Marines are specialists equipped with heavier armor and flamethrowers which can be used to torch entire infantry units. They can be upgraded with Flash Bang Grenades, which stun enemies when hit, napalm ammunition that will most likely increase the damage they caused, and oxide tanks, which also increase damage. <ref name = "IGN E3 2008: ''Halo Wars'' Hands-on"/>

**[[UNSC Marine Corps|UNSC Marines]]: Marines are the basic infantry of the UNSC who are armed with [[MA5 Series]] rifles and have the special ability to throw [[M9 High-Explosive Dual-Purpose Grenade|grenades]].<ref name = "CES 09">[http://www.g4tv.com/ces2009/hdvideos/36151/Halo-Wars-CES-09-Cam-Footage.html Halo Wars CES 09 Cam Footage]. ''G4''. Accessed on 2009-01-20</ref> The squads can be upgraded to include a [[Rocket Launcher]], making them more effective against vehicles<ref name = "IGN E3 2008: ''Halo Wars'' Hands-on"/>. They usually operate in teams of five but may add another member to their squads via "new blood" upgrade.<ref name = "CES 09"/>

**Machine Gun teams: These are Marines who carry about an [[AIE-486H Heavy Machine Gun]] that can be deployed and fired.{{Verify_source}}

**[[Medic]]: This is a unit capable of healing injured infantry. These are gained when the respective upgrade is purchased from the barracks. They are equipped with the MA5B assault rifle. <ref name = "IGN E3 2008: ''Halo Wars'' Hands-on"/>

**[[Orbital Drop Shock Troopers]]: An available upgrade for infantry. It can be upgraded at the [[Field Armory]]. <ref name = "OXM">January 2009, ''Official Xbox Magazine'', pp 38-43</ref> The upgrades effects allow the player to substitute standard marine squads with ODST teams (armed with M90 shotguns), as well as the HEV drop, tying in with the Helljumpers theme. Note that ODST squads can still use the rocket launcher ability. They are only available when the player chooses Captain Cutter before the match.

**[[Warthog|UNSC "Flaming" Warthog M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle]] (Warthog) : Only available if game is pre-ordered.

**[[Rhino]]: The Rhino is a heavy tracked unit that has a greater defense but lower attack than the Scorpion. It has been confirmed that the Rhino is a separate vehicle to the Scorpion, not the grade before.

**[[Wolverine]]: The Wolverine is a specialized anti-aircraft vehicle that uses guided missiles to shoot down enemy aircraft, such as Banshees. While powerful in this aspect, it is especially weak to infantry and anti-armor vehicles, and must be heavily protected.

**[[Cobra]]<ref name=Forum/>: The Cobra is a heavy anti-building vehicle armed with a pair of Rail Cannons, which can easily tear apart enemy armor. It can be upgraded to have stronger armor and make its rail Rail Cannons to pierce through multiple enemies, damaging them. It can also be deployed to fire a Bombard Rail Cannon, at the cost of mobility<ref>[http://www.halowars.com/GameInfo/vehicledepot.aspx#Cobra]</ref>.

**[[Cyclops|Cyclops Exoskeleton]]<ref name=Forum/>: The Cyclops is a re-appropriated support exoskeleton, usually used for construction and ammunition-carrying purposes, that can crush enemies in close combat. It is the UNSC equivalent to the ''Hunter'',but was not initially intended for combat duties so it remains unarmed. It is available if the player chooses Seargent Forge before the match.Can also repair damaged vehicles.

**[[Hawk]]: The Hawk is the upgraded version of the Hornet. It is a tank busting aerodyne armed with laser beams and can be obtained only with [[Anders]] in charge.

***[[Field Armory]]: A Combination of Machine Shop and Laboratory that provides high tech upgrades for the UNSC.

**'''[[Cryo Bomb]]''': A Bomb that freezes even Scarab walkers, allowing them to be easily destroyed with conventional weapons. <ref>http://www.gametrailers.com/player/41104.html</ref>

**[[Unggoy]] (Grunts): Fight in lances consisting of a Sangheili Minor or Major (or, possibly depending on the player's selected leader, a Brute Minor or Major) and several Grunts. They have the secondary ability to throw plasma grenades. Can be upgraded with needlers, additional members, a fuel rod gun, and better armor. <ref>http://halowars.com/images/cov/covenant_grunt_squad.jpg</ref>

**[[Sangheili]] (Elites): In addition to leading Unggoy lances, several specialties of Elites may be fielded. It is unknown if Elite groups may be purchasable in the Covenant faction, but it might be possible as it is shown in a video of the Halo Wars demo.

***[[Honor Guard Elite]]: Serve as powerful anti-infantry units. They can be upgraded with energy shields and active camouflage They are the leader-specific unit of the [[Prophet of Regret]].

**[[Mgalekgolo]]  (Hunters): Hunters are heavily armored and armed with fuel rod-launching Assault Cannons, like they are in ''Halo: Combat Evolved''. They are the Covenant's primary anti-vehicle infantry. It is unknown if they will be able to melee enemy units in close combat, but it is confirmed they have a charge ability that can knock enemy infantry into the air.Also, when upgraded, can shoot a more powerful beam form there Cannons.<ref>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rjS8PnT-ESw</ref>

**[[Kig-Yar]]  (Jackals): Jackals fight in pairs in Halo Wars and provide decent defense against Marines armed with conventional weapons but little defense against grenades, explosives or vehicles. They are originally armed with carbines and can be positioned in Covenant Watchtowers to provide a higher range of view. They are initially trained without shields but can be upgraded to incorporate personal energy shields and use beam rifles with the shields in the later stages of the covenant tech tree.

***Jiralhanae [[Brute Chieftain|Chieftain]]. (It is possible that the only usable Brute Chieftain is the same Chieftain that can be selected as a leader, making him a 'hero' unit for the faction like the arbiter.).

**[[San 'Shyuum]] (Prophets): Prophets fight from their [[Gravity Thrones]] and can attack enemy infantry with their destructive plasma weapons. (It is probable that the only usable in-game Prophet is the [[Prophet of Regret]], who can only be used if he is chosen as a 'leader' before the start of the game.)

The [[Flood]] have been announced to be a faction within the game, though the player is unable to use them. The [[Flood]] gain bases and units by taking over [[Human]] and [[Covenant]] bases and troops, and most likely growing flood biomass around it to signify that it is under Flood control.

What has been shown in one of the more recent ''Halo Wars'' demos was that [[Flood]] [[Infection Form]]s, [[Combat Form]]s, [[Carrier Form]]s and what look remotely like [[Gravemind]] tentacles will be the Flood's main attack force. Its unknown if any [[Flood Juggernaut]] forms will be in the game, but in the February issue of GamePro it is confirmed that there will be new flood forms in Halo Wars.

**[[Flood Growth Pods]] now function as a double-edged knife: shooting them will sometimes releases precious resources for weapon and vehicle upgrades. But other times, they will release a swarm of [[Infection Form]]s that can destroy your squads in seconds.

**Unknown Form: It is confirmed that there is a even bigger Flood form than the others and it is airborne, though this hasn't been confirmed yet. If the rumors are true this could possibly be a boss creature, or a unit with functions similar to a [[Scarab]]..

The tech tree will be a different experience for both factions. When playing as the [[UNSC]], the player advances by building reactors, upgrading buildings, and purchasing upgrades in a fairly standard, though streamlined, manner. For instance, infantry units can graduate to shotguns and later ODSTs, and Warthog units upgrade to a Gauss cannon. The [[Covenant]] moves through the tech-tree in [[History of the Covenant|Ages]] rather than small steps.

The Flood will most likely not have any tech tree because they are an unplayable faction. They possibly might be encountered using UNSC and Covenant Vehicles.

Certain characters belonging to both the [[Covenant]] and the [[UNSC]] have been confirmed to in-game be "leader units", all of which have unique in-game abilities. Currently known leaders are [[James Cutter|Captain James Cutter]], [[John Forge|Sergeant John Forge]], [[Anders|Professor Anders]], an [[Unnamed Arbiter (Halo Wars)|unknown Arbiter]], an unknown [[Brute Chieftain]] and the [[Prophet of Regret]]. Each leader has a number of unique features, as well as a hero unit and possibly faction owned units like the brutes owning choppers and squads of brutes. Sergeant Forge is his own faction's hero unit, and a Spartan called [[Alice]] is the hero unit of either Anders or Cutter. Captain Cutter's unique ability is to call down an [[Elephant]] from the [[Spirit of Fire]], which is a mobile barracks in the game. He can also upgrade marines to [[ODST]]. The [[Prophet of Regret]]'s ability is to glass enemy forces (known as the "cleansing beam" in Halo Wars), which causes significant damage to both structures and units. His unique unit are [[Honor Guards]] The Arbiter can go into a rage mode and wield two energy swords, but at the cost of draining resources for every second it's active<ref>OXM January 2009 article</ref>. Also, the Arbiter will also have the ability to summon Kamikaze/Suicide Grunts. It is reasonable to conclude that all unique abilities drain resources while active.The [[Brute Chieftain]] can use his [[Gravity Hammer]] to create a vortex which sucks in infantry, then you can press the A button to create a massive explosion.

Just like ''[[Halo 2]]'' & ''[[Halo 3]]'', ''Halo Wars'' will have the strong characteristic of online gaming. ''Halo Wars''' live gaming characteristics include Direct voice communication & Online leader boards. Unlike any of the other ''Halo'' games, now your vehicles' and troops' armor will change to the teams color so you can get red Hunters, purple Grunts, ect. There's no specific information regarding to the player ranking. As of now, multiplayer is said to be up to 6 players at a time in a match. Two player online Co-op for the campaign story will also be in the game.<ref>http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2008/04/18/halo-wars-alpha-spotted-on-xbox-live/</ref><ref>http://carnage.bungie.org/haloforum/halo.forum.pl?read=874562</ref>

*[[Labyrinth]] - A multiplayer map set on a open-bridge-like map in a Forest environment.

Halo Wars features a "Skirmish Mode", where the player can battle on multiplayer maps against an AI on the maps. There will be 14 skirmish and multiplayer maps at launch.<ref>[http://www.halowars.com/]</ref>

Editors of OXM's January 2009 Halo Wars article played on a multiplayer map called "'''Blood Gulch'''". It was stated that it's not the same map as that in Halo:Combat Evolved, but some elements have clearly been used in the design for the map.<ref>OXM January 2009 article</ref>

# Just Ad Nauseu

# Insignificantia (All Sloppy / No Joe)

On January 23rd, 2009 the first vidoc of Halo Wars has been released on Xbox LIVE marketplace, it tells how a different perspective can change the gameplay and the announcement of the demo planned on February the 5th. Note that the [[Spirit of Fire]] is at the Planet [[Arcadia]] in the Procyon system, making [[Harvest]] not the only location where you will be playing in the game.{{clear}}

On February the 3rd, 2009 the second vidoc was released, it tells about [[Spartan]]s, hero unit abilities and some new cinematic scenes can be seen. Again, this vidoc announces the demo on February the 5th. You can also see that the [[Elite]]s actually use the staff like weapons in combat, they may be early versions of the [[Honor Guard Pike]].{{clear}}

On the 5th of February, 3am PST, a demo for Halo Wars was released on Xbox Live for the first time for Gold Xbox Live Subscribers. Non-Gold Subscribers will get to play the demo on February 12. It has been confirmed that the player can play the first 2 levels of campaign, as well as play skirmish mode on the map [[Chasm]] where the player can play against an A.I opponent. You can play as the [[Covenant]] or the [[UNSC]] in the demos skirmish mode. The Covenant Leader Character in the demo is the [[Prophet of Regret]], and the [[UNSC]] Leader Character is [[Captain Cutter]]. The demos' campaign mode will let the player try and retake Alpha Base with Sergeant Forge as their first unit, picking up stranded Marines and Warthogs along the way, which will eventually help the player retake Alpha Base from the Covenant. The demo will also have an optional beginner and advanced tutorial.

Three units, the UNSC [[Cougar]],[[Covenant Air Artillery]] and Covenant [[Gorgon]] were under development early in the game. The developers later announced that they had been cut, as they had decided to focus on more recognizable ''Halo'' units. However, recent screenshots would seem to suggest that the Cougar may have been added back in.