Master Chief (gameplay)

This article documents its subject as it pertains to the gameplay of the Halo games, rather than the lore.

Master Chief John-117
Gameplay role
Faction:	Player (Human)
Unit type:	Hero
Character stats
Weapons:	any

The Master Chief is the primary playable protagonist of every mainline Halo video game.

Universe and lore

Main article: John-117

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Overview

Main article: First-person shooter

Master Chief controls similarly to other early sci-fi FPS protagonists, including Bungie's prior game Marathon, but with concessions made that facilitate better gameplay having the Xbox controller in mind. The combat of Halo is also slower paced and more methodical than its contemporaries. Compared to fast paced arena shooters such as Quake and Starsiege: Tribes Chief's movement speed is much slower and he can only carry a limited number of weapons. However compared to high risk tactical shooters such as Counter-Strike he also possesses recharging energy shields and very high jump height. This mix of different shooter elements combined with a unique sandbox of guns, grenades, and melee creates the resulting gameplay of the Halo series, sometimes referred to as the "30 seconds of fun" or "the dance".

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Halo: Combat Evolved

Master Chief
Player stats
Run speed:	2.25 wu/s
Character stats
Body vitality:	75
Body material (?):	cyborg armor
Shield vitality:	75 6s delay, 4s recharge
Shield material (?):	cyborg energy shield
Jump velocity:	2.1 wu/s
Actions:	vehicle use, grenades, melee, flashlight
Tag name(s) (?):	cyborg

Campaign

Players experience the entirety of Combat Evolved's campaign through the perspective of the Master Chief, incorporating first-person combat and third-person driving. Key moments and cinematics are depicted as third-person cutscenes, during which are the only times Chief speaks in game. The player is able to carry two weapons and switch between them, along with the ability to throw grenades and melee via their own respective inputs. Halo CE features 2 grenade types, frag grenades and plasma grenades. Players can carry 4 of each for a total grenade carry capacity of 8. This streamlined approach to FPS combat is often referred to as the "golden triangle" of Halo combat and serves as a basic template for many shooters developed after Halo.

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Halo 2

Master Chief
Player stats
Run speed:	2.25 wu/s
Character stats
Body vitality:	30 10s delay, 5s recharge
Body material (?):	hard_metal_thin
Shield vitality:	70 5s delay, 2s recharge
Shield material (?):	energy_shield_thin
Jump velocity:	3.08 wu/s
Actions:	vehicle use (hijacking), grenades, melee, dual wielding, flashlight, binoculars
Tag name(s) (?):	masterchief

Campaign

The Master Chief returns in Halo 2 now wearing Mark VI MJOLNIR Armor, which is responsible for several new gameplay changes. Energy shielding recharges more quickly but no longer scales with difficulty. Health automatically recharges after 10 seconds or upon reaching a checkpoint, and health packs no longer appear in missions. Lastly the integrated flashlight no longer has a depleting battery, however it will automatically turn off in areas deemed too bright. Starting with this entry Chief can now dual wield one handed weapons to allow for increased firepower at the cost of being able to throw grenades or perform melees. Unique from other shooters is the ability to mix and match weapons when dual wielding, allowing for more versatility without needing to switch weapons. All of these changes also apply to the deuteragonist of Halo 2, the Arbiter, whose point of view the player experiences and controls for roughly half of the game's campaign.

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Halo 3

Master Chief
Player stats
Run speed:	2.25 wu/s
Character stats
Body vitality:	45 10s delay, 5s recharge
Body material (?):	Generic: hard_metal_thin Specific: hard_metal_thin_player
Shield vitality:	70 5s delay, 2s recharge
Shield material (?):	Generic: energy_shield_thin Specific: energy_shield_thin_player
Jump velocity:	3.08 wu/s
Actions:	vehicle use (hijacking), grenades, melee (detach turrets), dual wielding, equipment, flashlight, binoculars
Tag name(s) (?):	masterchief

Campaign

The Master Chief once again appears as the main character of Halo 3, this time serving as the protagonist for the campaign's entire duration much like he did in Halo: Combat Evolved. He retains nearly all stats and abilities from Halo 2 in addition to dismounting turrets and using equipment. Two new grenade types were added to Halo 3, being the spike grenade and firebomb. Chief can still carry frag grenades and plasma grenades but now only carries 2 of each type, still resulting in a max total of 8 grenades carried.

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Halo: Reach

Campaign and Firefight

While not making a playable appearance in Reach, the Master Chief is present as an easter egg towards the end of game's campaign as well as appearing as a selectable Firefight voice.

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Halo 4

Master Chief
Player stats
Run speed:	2.2 wu/s
Sprint speed:	1.65x run speed (3.63 wu/s)
Character stats
Body vitality:	45 4s delay, 6s recharge
Body material (?):	Generic: hard_metal_thin Specific: hard_metal_thin_player
Shield vitality:	70 6s delay, 2s recharge
Shield material (?):	Generic: energy_shield_thin Specific: energy_shield_thin_player
Jump velocity:	2.36 wu/s * 1.29x (3.0444 wu/s)
Actions:	vehicle use (hijacking), grenades, melee (detach turrets, assassinations), armor abilities, sprint, binoculars
Tag name(s) (?):	storm_masterchief

Campaign

After a 5 year hiatus, the Master Chief returns as a playable protagonist with Halo 4. Much of chief's gameplay is built off of the series' prior entry Halo: Reach and thus is able to use armor abilities and perform assassinations. New to Halo 4 is sprint as a base ability which the player always has access to. With the absence of brutes and the addition of Prometheans to the sandbox, the types of grenades Chief can carry has been adjusted once more. Players are able to carry 2 frags, 2 plasma grenades, and 2 pulse grenades for a total of 6 grenades.

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Halo 5: Guardians

Disclaimer: all below statistics are derived from unofficial tools and may be inaccurate

Master Chief
Player stats
Run speed:	2.6 wu/s
Sprint speed:	1.3x run speed (3.38 wu/s)
Character stats
Body vitality:	45 3s delay, 3s recharge (w/ armor mod)
Body material (?):	Generic: hard_metal_thin Specific: hard_metal_thin_player
Shield vitality:	70 3s delay, 1s recharge (w/ armor mod)
Shield material (?):	Generic: energy_shield_thin Specific: energy_shield_thin_player
Actions:	vehicle use (hijacking), grenades, melee (detach turrets, assassinations), spartan abilities (sprint, clamber, slide)
Tag name(s) (?):	spartan_masterchief

Campaign

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Halo Infinite

Disclaimer: all below statistics are derived from unofficial tools and may be inaccurate

Master Chief
Player stats
Run speed:	2.6 wu/s
Sprint speed:	1.11x run speed (2.886 wu/s)
Character stats
Body vitality:	90
Shield vitality:	140
Actions:	vehicle use (hijacking), grenades, melee (detach turrets), equipment, sprint, clamber, slide, flashlight
Tag name(s) (?):	spartans

Campaign

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Production notes

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Trivia

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Gallery

Concept art

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Renders

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Screenshots

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List of appearances

• Halo: Combat Evolved (First appearance)
  • Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary
• Halo 2
  • Halo 2: Anniversary
• Halo 3
• Halo: Reach (Easter egg-only)
• Halo 4
• Halo: Spartan Strike (Easter egg-only)
• Halo 5: Guardians
• Halo: Fireteam Raven (Easter egg-only)
• Halo Infinite