Forum:Halo 4 discussion

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Since Halo 4 is around the corner, I guess it is fitting to have a formal discussion page for things related to the game. Feel free to share your opinion/criticism about the game!

Have fun discussing about the game! — subtank 04:50, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Other threads

• Forum:Halo 4 Celebration - Want a countdown timer for the launch of Halo 4? Check out this thread.
• Forum:Halo 4 armor opinions - Put your opinions about the armor design in this thread.
• Forum:Forward Unto Dawn Impressions - Saw it yet? We want your insight. Check out this thread.

About the weapon sandbox

Still finding it odd (and disappointed) that the Forerunners, more specifically the Prometheans, use such archaic weapon designs considering that they are described being so advanced in the Bear's Forerunner Trilogy. Was expecting something like the Republic Commando's DC-17m blaster that can be configured to three different weapon setups.— subtank 04:50, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Yeah, indeed. Weak weapon strength also seems off. If you're going to use light as a weapon, why use hard light bullets when it'd be cheaper to use lasers? But hey, that's been as far as Halo 2 when they gave Enforcers a shield that only covers part of their body.

While I'm unsure as to how 4's plot will turn out (though I expect to be alright), I'm more excited for Forward Unto Dawn. The Halo movie has finally come! Take that, Harvey Weinstein! Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 11:27, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

I guess it has something to do with 343i wanting the weapons to look "familar" and function similarily, which explains why the Lightrifle performs like the BR & DMR in one. However this causes some redundancy; 4 different weapons that essentially function the same. It may also have something to do with balancing. Nonetheless I do like the way they sound and "form" in the player's hands. Also I love the ARC-920, Sticky Detonator, & SAW, and how we have both the BR and DMR in the game. Really spices up the gameplay. Although one of my wishes wasn't fullfilled...a UNSC energy weapon other than the Spartan Laser. :(--Killamint [Comm|Files] 12:45, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

To be honest, I think I'm more hyped for the FuD than the game itself! But about Halo 4, I really hope they bring back Arbiter. At least a honorable mention. Something like "I thought the Arbiter resolved the conflict" would be nice. Also, anyone else find it interesting that the Storm uses a color scheme of both the Brutes and Elites (purple + green)? I think gameplay will be something really new and foreign to me, considering that the Promethean weapons having different firing modes and . The fact that Promethean weapons resemble human weapons is somewhat weird and disappointing to me. We never had a human counterpart of the Sentinel beam, and I think that's one thing 343i didn't do right: Forerunner weapons should be less "human". —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 12:52, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

@Killamint: The direction for the weapon design is not focused; they are more of "How can we make a shotgun futuristic and sci-fi?" (as stated in the latest dev-podcast) than "How can we nail down this ancient alien close-quarter weapon?". ^{The latter is more of how Bungie normally approach things: For example, when asked to Marty for a music sample for the Halo announcement at Macworld 1999, they simply wanted "an ancient, epic alien" feel).} I am worried about the franchise... too many similar gameplay elements.

This is out of topic but a fun read: click! — subtank 13:11, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Not sure how the weapons seem "human", but I guess that's your opinion. As for the change in multiplayer, I am excited for the change, as multiplayer hasn't had much change over the years. I think it will be a nice refresher to multiplayer.--Spartacus, Halopedia Administrator ^Talk 13:21, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Not sure how to word it out correctly but I think what Killamint meant was the using the Forerunner weapons feel more human, albeit more futuristic/sci-fi ish, than being Forerunner weapons. Prior to Halo 4, most would imagine the weapons would be alien to them based on what they read and saw throughout the Halo franchise (like me for example, hoping for a one weapon configurable into various roles since they use one source of energy/ammunition).— subtank 13:29, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Yup, you nailed it. Familar meaning "Human-like" (adaptable), both in function and aesthetics. The Scattershot is essentially a shotgun, both in looks & function (including the reticule & reload action). I like it but I was hoping for something more unique that, like S331 said, was alien & not familar, but still adaptable. However the weapons do resemble Forerunner design to a degree w/ those sharp angles and whatnot.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 16:58, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Yep, I was hoping that weapon we saw in Origins would appear for the sake of continuity, but I guess 343i didn't want to add a weapon that operates like the Power Rangers. @Spartacus: Forerunner weapons operate like human weapons (what's the difference between the AR and Suppressor other than different clip size?), hence the term "human". @Subtank: It does worry me about the gameplay. They included grenade indicator, different weapons that operate in the same way (I miss the good old days with the Sentinel beam), sprint part of gameplay. Next thing you know, we are gonna get the annoying bloody screens, and that would suck. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 04:45, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

Another factor to consider is that the Forerunners were so advanced that they would routinely alter their very shapes to better perform the many tasks required by their Rates. Therefore, it makes sense that the tools (and weapons) they used would be equally capable of adapting themselves to the user. Based on what we've seen in the videos, it seems logical to me that a Scattershot would have looked a lot different in the hands of a Builder than it did in the hands of a Promethean or other Warrior-Servant... Therefore it's not altogether surprising to me that, in the hands of a human, it would configure itself into a shape more familiar to us... It's just doing what it was designed to do. How hard could that be for a race that considered moving stars around to be a routine activity? In the hands of a Forerunner, it probably wouldn't have had limited ammo, because it would have integrated itself directly into their Combat Skin, but we're not advanced enough to ceate a sufficiently powerful source of energy on the fly, so it makes sense that the weapon would self-assemble some sort of limited-use capacitor when it detects no available power supply to tap into. As for the weapon in Origins, if you squint real hard and suspend disbelief a little, you can imagine that the Boltshot might look like that in the hands of a Forerunner... Maybe...? DJenser 09:20, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

Nitpicker alert: Spartan331, ARs do not use clips. Smoke^{Sound off!} 19:13, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

If what you say is true than why do the Promethean weapons look and perform the same when in the hands of a Knight? @S331: I do see what you mean, too many changes can make the game feel not so original but honestly I don't think 343i will stray that far or they will catch alot of heat. Although I'm fine with the grenade indicator (although it seems unnecessary) & sprint. Regardless of those features, its still gonna require skill to kill (or live). I'm still getting Halo 4 regardless because my primary concern is Campaign and Spartan Ops, I'm more story driven than anything. Wargames comes last for me mainly because its intimidating playing against other people who have more skill than you.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 12:29, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

They perform the same because the weapon has a basic function regardless of who uses it. The difference lies in how the weapon behaves when grafted to the arm of a Knight or, say, a Forerunner wearing a Combat Skin. Granted, I haven't played War Games or Spartan Ops yet, but I'm pretty sure that Knights don't have reload animations when they use their weapons, because they don't have to reload. The Scattershot is still going to fire a bunch of bouncy projectiles that incinerate, the Suppressor is still going to fire a silly number of hardlight rounds & the Binary Rifle is still going to disintegrate you if it hits the tip of your big toe, but when they're attached to a Knight, they don't run out of ammo. When a player picks it up, it automatically reconfigures itself to allow the same sort of basic function, while making allowance for the obvious limitations of the wielder (ie: no power supply to tap into means that it runs off of its onboard capacitors until they run out, and it configures itself in a manner that will allow these to be replaced/reloaded) DJenser 16:01, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

The problem is that all AI units in the games do not have any reload animation because they are given bottomless clip. While they do have infinite ammunition, they are programmed to fire their shots at a specific rate to avoid being overpowered. There's a nifty dialogue of allies shouting the need to reload but they don't really do it. This won't change in Halo 4, safe to say. Nice theory but I'm not sure if it holds any water. — subtank 10:33, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

Sorry, I was attempting to offer an in-game (and, apparently, less cynical) explanation, whereas I now realize that you were looking at it from a strictly gampeplay/mechanics perspective. In that case, you're right: the "advanced" Forerunner weapons have been nerfed all to h311 and back in order to balance gameplay, much like any of the weapons/powers/spells/etc that have been introduced in every other game out there with a multiplayer component. It's a sad fact of the gaming industry that, if there's even the slightest bit of imbalance or an exploit, someone's going to spam it... After all, written into the genes of every living thing on Earth is an evolutionary imperative to take the quickest path to advancement. Besides, speaking from a strictly gameplay/mechanics perspective, if there were a truly advanced Forerunner weapon in the game that could convert itself to a number of other weapons, it would make weapon drops kinda pointless. Situations like that force the designers to compromise between real creativity and balanced play, which I'm sure has frustrated them to no end, going back to the early days of 8-bit Atari... DJenser 12:12, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

Well, you mentioned "reload animation" which caught my "gameplay" attention. :P

Your theory on "adaptable configuration" sounds plausible, but surely the Forerunners, being advanced as they are, would include a safe-option (or an off-switch) to prevent the weapon from being used by the enemy (since they are made to fight off the Flood) or any Reclaimers should they become unruly.— subtank 13:01, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

Touché... I did walk right into that one.

As to the safety option, this is exactly what I was referring to regarding the tightrope that the designers have to walk between "cool" and "balanced". If they don't allow the players to use the new toys, then "the game sucks because it teases us with stuff we can't have". However, if they allow it in-game in a manner that truly represents the advanced nature of Forerunner tech then "teh g@m3 $uxx0rz cuz the ubern00bs are sp@mmin teh OP gunz"... Their solution is to make the new stuff look different (self-assembly & orange glowy bits), but generally perform at the same level as the rest of the gear. Sure, logic dictates that it should be a LOT more powerful than it is, & it should disintegrate upon the death of its user like the Plasma Sword did in HCE, but they also know that making the multiplayer content unbalanced & holding back the new toys will likely drive down sales, so they must overlook "logic" to a certain extent in order to try and please as many people as possible. Like anything that markets to the public, video game design involves a fair amount of butt-kissing and crow-eating. DJenser 13:57, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

@S331 Different weapons that operate the same way aren't only found in CoD, but in a lot of other competitive games, like Counter Strike. Why does everybody compare everything to CoD these days? Also, the grenade indicator is incredibly useful when used with the thruster pack (don't diss it just because it's similar to something in CoD...), and sprint makes the game much more dynamic (and is actually balanced this time around since you can't just get away while getting shot). 92.84.48.50 12:35, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

No one mentioned about CoD or even compared anything to it specifically. :/ — subtank 10:33, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

I quote "They included grenade indicator, different weapons that operate in the same way (I miss the good old days with the Sentinel beam), sprint part of gameplay. Next thing you know, we are gonna get the annoying bloody screens, and that would suck." So yeah, he did mention CoD...92.84.44.25 13:19, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

You obviously missed the picture Subtank linked to. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 13:29, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Gotta love that strawberry jam filter. --KillerCRS 18:52, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Subtank: Not necessarily. The cheat "bottomless clip" would mean that they never reload. I'm not sure about later games, but I know the Marines did reload their weapons in Combat Evolved. If they had an energy weapon of some sort, then no, you wouldn't see a reload animation; technically speaking, they are not firing magazine-fed weapons. They do, however, have infinite ammo; otherwise, you could simply get behind cover, let them expend all of their ammunition trying to shoot at you, and then move out and kill them with little to no resistance. Smoke^{Sound off!} 19:13, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Just checked out Combat Evolved and you're right. Will try to check out this in Halo 2 but I can say for sure that "bottomless clip" is used for all AIs in Halo 3 and Reach.— subtank 12:20, 3 October 2012 (EDT)

I know the Spartan IIIs in Reach definitely have bottomless clip. Jun fires that sniper rifle like a madman. --KillerCRS 12:29, 3 October 2012 (EDT)

This is probably wrong but maybe the Promethean weapons are so weak has something to do w/ the stuff being on it's own for so long. Have you ever read "The City of Ember"? It'd be kinda like the generator in that. They can patch it up, but they don't know how to fix it, but they don't know how to completely fix it, so over time it languishes. In this scenario, for some reason the AI that run Reqium only have rudimentary knowledge of the weaponry. This would be a hard thing for the Forerunners to miss, but hey, they've been known to miss things do to being otherwise occupied. (I don't know how to link crap yet so I'll just say it: sheild worlds for missing things, and forerunner flood war for otherwise occupied.) Who knows, it's plausible. This is craZboy557, signing off. 18:58, 8 November 2012 (EST)

This is unrelated to anything, but is anyone amused by the initials of the boltshot if you split apart the compound words? heheheh. This is craZboy557, signing off. 09:13, 8 December 2012 (EST)

Vehicles

The Mantis is one very interesting addition to the sandbox that kinda changes gameplay, at least for that segment of the campaign. It will be fun to annihilate everything in your path and stomp your enemies. But seriously, I can't wait to see it in action. I also hope the Mammoth is drivable. But I'm still waiting to see what else 343i has in store for us. I'm sure there's a Forerunner vehicle waiting to be revealed.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 16:58, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Saw some Ragnorak (Valhalla remake) gameplay. Apparently, the Mantis is also a multiplayer vehicle. Dammit Frankie, stop telling us lies! Missing Mandible 19:52, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Please list the link to that if you can. I want to see that.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 21:18, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Sure. [1]. This was at the Eurogamer Expo (Or whatever they call it).Missing Mandible 10:24, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

WTF??! So the Mantis will be useable on that map? let alone War Games?? That should be interesting. I honestly don't remember Frankie saying that the Mantis is a campaign exclusive vehicle. I wonder what other "exclusives" will be in War Games.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 12:29, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

Is it just me or is anyone else dying for the Elephant 2.0, er excuse I totally meant to say "Mammoth", to be in War games? Weeping Angel 12:13, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

Nope! It looks awesome. As long as I can drive it! Having a larger vehicle than an elephant, and having missile pods on the sides is definitely going to have its advantages! :D --TentacleTornado 13:34, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

Definitely not a strong as one would've thought. Brought right down by an EMP and a jack. The tank has the advantage because it's primarily an OHKO. This is craZboy557, signing off. 14:51, 26 November 2012 (EST)

Forward Unto Wrong

I'm sorry but this is a good opportunity to bring this up. I love 343i and the progress they've made with Halo 4 but I have one small problem. Why in the world did they change the look of the Forward Unto Dawn? I know everything else in the game has pretty much recieved a facelift including MC's armor, and I have no problems with that, but the FuD is beyond that by a long shot. It has pretty much been turned into an axed up UNSC Destroyer, more so the Heracles in my opinion. Did they do this because of the Dawn mission layout? Or just because they wanted it to look better? It kinda messes up canon- both visual & regular. For instance, we saw the Arbitor take a ride in the bridge that, now all of sudden, still exist attached to ship. It just doesn't make any sense to me. I understand retcon but this is kinda pushing it in my opinion.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 17:23, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

If I had to guess, it would be more gameplay and artistic license rather than canonical.--Spartacus, Halopedia Administrator ^Talk 19:38, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Gameplay indeed, hence why the cryo chamber was also changed. Likely the original frigate design could have been too cramped and lack the room for wider battles. Looks like they're going more this as opposed to this. Let's just pretend a Precursor changed it for the funnies. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 19:45, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Looking at the end cutscene of Halo 3, I didn't see the bridge falling down to Earth. I can only see the MAC and a small portion of the side parts.Missing Mandible 19:49, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Looking at some images, I believe that Arby would not have been on the bridge. At least, without A) dieing from suffocation, and B) bringing MC back to Earth. File:FUD-04-00.JPG There's one of the images I was looking at. Missing Mandible 20:09, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

I just took a look at the cutscene here and if you look carefully at 5:31, you can see the bridge is still attached to the back half. Additionally, this image shows Arby's half didn't have the bridge. He must have moved last minute. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 20:17, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

Arby on the bridge.

The bridge isn't there anymore.

@Tuckerscreator: I stand corrected. But now I'm thinking Halo 3 messed up canon by not keeping the bridge on the front half. Arby's in the bridge one minute, the next he's back on Earth w/ the front half but the bridge isn't present on the front half. Talk about inconsistencies in the Halo universe. This should be added to the list. If Arby moved at the last minute, that would've meant the portal closed at a slow rate giving him time to climb several stories to reach the MAC gun section. @Missing Mandible: Okay I don't understand what you mean by B). A) The FuD's doors could have easily been sealed once the ship (or Arby) detected atmospheric leak & vacuum pressure, or may have already been vacuum sealed b4 the ship was cut in half.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 20:46, 27 September 2012 (EDT)

The redesign of the Dawn, as others before me have pointed out, is essentially for gameplay purpose. The Dawn's width, in canon, is no more than ~150 meters but as seen in this image, the width has been exaggerated to accommodate the gameplay space. It would be an easier (and better) design choice by having John/Cortana waking up and invade into a CSS-class from the Fud as Storm forces inspect the ship, commandeer a working Seraph from the hangar bay and crash land that into Requiem. Would be more dramatic, not to mention fun to revisit the insides of a CSS-class. — subtank 02:37, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

That mission design would have been very cool, Subtank. Talk about double déjà vu. Anyway, I'm glad that Halo 4 begins with a thematic tribute to The Pillar of Autumn and Cairo Station. Despite looking so much different from frigates in previous games, I like the new design; as Killamint has mentioned, it reminds me quite a bit of the Heracles. I do wonder, however, whether 343 will treat the Charon class' nearly doubled size as a retcon or simply keep it ambiguous. The aft half alone looks as big as the entire ship did in Halo 3, though maybe that's a matter of forced perspective. --Courage never dies. 11:14, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

@Everyone: Thanks for providing a better understanding of this. Let me sum it up in my own words. The change is essentially a "design repurposed for gameplay" on the "Dawn" mission and doesn't serve to be retcon for the Charon class of Frigates, or Frigates in general. That's my conclusion on the matter. If that's the case, I'm gonna assume that 343i will not have an explanation for the Frigates change in the story. That seems like the most plausible way to approach such a drastic change, cause as far as I'm concerned, there is no "realistic" explanation. It does look bigger too. Now the idea Subtank came up with sounds beast. That would really be fun, that would bring the best of both worlds in one mission. And yes, it looks like the Heracles with the latter Destroyers "side wings" and bridge placement.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 12:29, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

By following this conversation and taking all the points into account, I am still reminded of the FuD assembly that will be released by Megabloks. One thing that is notable from most of the images of the wreckage is that it gives no indication of how the front portion of the vessel would appear with the changed ship model, if that vessel was not severed by the Ark's portal.

Another factor that in my opinion should be considered is the FuD's toy, when it is put together as a complete object. From that, the extent of the redesign becomes very apparent. While it maintains some aspects of the original design, such as the angled plates on the sides of the engines, to the parts of the ship containing the MAC gun, as well as that part having another extended structure below it, along with armor plates sloping down on either side of the weapon, it is still a dramatic redesign.

Oddly enough, from the E3 trailer, the Paris-Class Frigates still look the same as they did in 'Halo: Reach', while the Halycon-Class Light Cruisers share the same model for the PoA from Anniversary.

From the facts that I have noted, perhaps the redesign of the FuD is more than just game play and artistic license. The reason I suggest that is because from way things worked in the past, particularly regarding UNSC cruisers and frigates, is this; all vessels look the same as the aesthetically most recent model, regardless of model, class, etc.

That would mean that the In Amber Clad would be identical to the Forward Unto Dawn, which would likely in turn look like the frigates in Reach, despite being entirely different types of frigates. There was even a bit of that in Halo 2; in one of the early cinematics, when the soon-to-be Arbiter is on trial, recalling the PoA's escape from Reach, the model for the ship is the same model for the Marathon-Class heavy cruisers, rather than being designed to indicate the difference between the two respective cruiser classes.

While the above obviously has to do with practicalities, etc., it does bring me to my main suggestion: the redesign could be an effort on 343I's part to show a starker distinction between different classes of frigates. Just as they didn't want John's redesigned armor to be known as mere artistic license for the sake of it, but rather the outcome of a genuine, in-universe change, perhaps they felt it would be appropriate to show that different ship models, even within the same categorical range, can still be physically distinct from one another without being largely identical in shape. --Exalted Obliteration 20:13, 28 September 2012 (EDT)

Forerunner

I found this video today. Its the full mission "Forerunner" played by Frank O' Conner. You will have to listen to the presentation or promptly skip part of it in order to get to the part where he plays the level. Its quite intriguing and also there's a new Forerunner/Promethean turret like unit/structure that fires a beam but it has to charge up between shots. Enjoy & feel free to share your opinions of the level.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 14:25, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

That turret looks strange, similar to the Oculus from Mass Effect. I'm looking forward to learning more about it. I'm not looking at the rest of the level, trying to maintain a spoiler-free policy when it comes to campaign. --TentacleTornado 16:20, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

For the record, that's not the entire mission. If it looks a bit short, that's why. Frankie begins the gameplay at Rally Point Charlie, and at the end of the gameplay, a new chapter begins, called "Almost Home". If past Halo games are anything to go by, that was indeed a sizeable chunk of the middle section of the mission. Looks like some very long missions, hopefully. --MuteNRS 04:37, 24 October 2012 (EDT)

Absence of flood

The flood will not make an appearance in Halo 4's campaign. Would you prefer to encounter the flood in Halo 4 or it's absence is something good? Generally, would you like to see the flood returning at some point in the new trilogy? Personally, I like that Halo 4 will be flood-free, not because I disliked the flood, but because of the Prometheans. One of the main reasons I love this franchise is the Covenant and the new faction is much similar to the Covenant in many things. --ShadowDancer ^|contribs| 15:22, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

I was done with the Flood after Cortana. So their absence is fine by me.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 15:45, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

I'm really glad Halo 4 is Flood free, they've always scared the hell out of me (And the Flood models in the gametype are bad.. D: ). Plus, like you said, having them appear alongside the Prometheans wouldn't make any sense. I'm pretty sure we'll be seeing them later on, if not 5, then 6. If the Reclaimer trilogy is going to have as good an ending as Halo 3 then we will have to tie up all loose ends, meaning the Flood as well. I'm hoping 343 won't just forget about one of the major factions in the franchise. --TentacleTornado 16:04, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

I'm happy there's no Flood and a bad poetic Gravemind. I had enough of them at the end of Halo 3. However, I've always wanted Infection to be Flood infecting other players, as it makes sense that way. Can't wait to play Infection!--Spartacus, Halopedia Administrator ^Talk 16:55, 29 September 2012 (EDT)

Didn't expect so much hate against the flood xD. Library and Cortana have scarred all of us, apparently.--ShadowDancer ^|contribs| 04:08, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

Actually, at one point of my Halo career, I enjoyed fighting the Flood, and kept playing 343 Guilty Spark, Two Betrayals, Keyes, The Maw, The Oracle, The Sacred Icon, Quarantine Zone, and High Charity (I won't include Halo 3 Flood levels since they were fun in general, and yes, even Cortana was fun for me). But right now, I hate the Flood just like anyone else, so I'm glad they are out of the campaign. Once again, someone making a mention of the Flood would be great, just for the sake of continuity. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 04:51, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

Honestly I enjoyed fighting them in Halo: CE more than the other games. They just got too complicated and tacky in the other games.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 11:37, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

Quite surprised at the amount of hate for Library and Cortana. :O
Both have that nice change of pace. Halo 2 remains to be the best game for Flood-environment levels. The atmosphere, the growling/screaming(?), even the deadly rocket-wielding Flood combat form. — subtank 23:01, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

Also, the universal "oh crap" moment when you first see the Flood combat forms driving vehicles. I missed that. Bungie could have done that in Halo 3, but I guess the Warthog Run in the end would be too hard. I don't think the Knights can board our vehicles in Halo 4, but I remember there was a scene in the documentaries in which a Knight swiftly slashed the driver of a Ghost off his vehicle. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 05:41, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

The levels are okay, up until you decide to beat the games on Legendary. Cortana is a high level nightmare on Legendary. If the Halo campaigns were a galaxy, then Cortana would be a black hole. Library is better, although the parts where you had to hold your ground until the oracle comes back and the low lighting contribute very negatively to the whole experience.--ShadowDancer ^|contribs| 08:29, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

for me the Halo 2 levels were a nightmare. They all kind of blend together too. just a bunch of flood with Arby, then brutes with M.C. Quarantine Zone was the worst. Scary as HELL to me. But I'm just a big scardy cat, so maybe you guys liked them? Weeping Angel 09:54, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

God, Library was awful.. In a scary way. The way the Flood would come up behind you, jump from any available space really freaked me out (I've still not done it on above normal.. xD ). Cortana was Ok, somehow less of a nightmare than Library. Although Quarantine Zone was awful as well. --TentacleTornado 12:31, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

The Library was the worst Halo levels I have played. There was basically no variation, both in level design and enemy spawning and attacking. Bland level, bland and predictable enemies to fight, huge amounts of them spawning so cheaply...If they had only added a vehicle to the level, or just given you more fun power weapons to use.92.84.79.171 12:47, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

To be honest, Cortana on Legendary was relatively easy for me, until the escaping part that is. It's easy as long as ya take yer time and snipe yer enemies. Out of all the infamous Flood levels, Cortana was the easiest. Library was too linear, you can barely see the combat forms running at you, and if one of them wields a rocket launcher, kiss that achievement good-bye. In Halo 2, Sacred Icon and Quarantine Zone were too dark. The first time I played them, the biggest problem was not running away from the Flood, but navigating. I hope 343i won't mess up designing levels, keep them hard to fight, but easy to navigate.—S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 13:29, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

The worst thing with the new flood is that they aren't even like flood. There's no infection form in the chest cavity, the flesh is white instead of brown, they're way faster than they should be, and what the HELL is up with that frikkin' MOUTH CLAW THING?! Honestly 343, If it's going to be canon multiplayer, make it seem like a realistic simulation, and not just a game. Sorry for the rant, it's a fun gametype, it just isn't accurate. This is craZboy557, signing off. 15:05, 26 November 2012 (EST)

Lack of Sangheili in Multiplayer

The Elites are not playable in multi-player. I know that this affects a small minority within Halo, but for me this is a terrible loss. I have always been a Sangheili since Halo 2, and have carried this on all the way to Reach, without fail. The loss of customization in Reach was bad, but at least I could play as one in Forge and custom games, I was ok with that. But not being able to play as one at all in 4 is really bad, and has tainted my view of 4s multi-player completely.

I must bring up the reasoning for the change; 343 stated (I can't remember when or where) that elites will not be playable to add to the "multi-player canon" 343 so adamantly wants. This is, in my eyes, a load of crap. 343 has added a helmet used only to fulfil its running unicorn gag, grifball (Hmm.. canon grifball?) and playing as a monitor in forge (unless Infinity somehow managed to pick up quite a few monitors to help build environments.. Which I highly doubt), but no elites?

</rant> Anyway, what are your thoughts on the change? Has this affected anyone else? --TentacleTornado 07:54, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

I don't have any problems with the change. It pretty much takes us back to Halo: CE days when we played only as Spartans, just like how they are making the campaign mysterious like it was in Halo: CE. So I'm fine with that classic play style. Also I was never fond of playing as an Elite especially when I discovered I had to do it in Halo 2's campaign. I just preferred being a Spartan. Even my friend said that he played better as John-117 than Arbiter (despite there not being any real differences in gameplay).--Killamint [Comm|Files] 11:37, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

Awww.. But playing as the arbiter was great! Strangely they were my favourite parts in Halo 2, apart from the flood parts D: . --TentacleTornado 11:41, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

I've never liked playing as or against Sangheili, as they had less armor customizations and are hard to snipe in Multiplayer.--Spartacus, Halopedia Administrator ^Talk 17:07, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

Enjoyed it for role-playing ("Wort wort wort?!"). Will miss it. — subtank 23:01, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

I will miss the Elites... Fighting only Spartans in multiplayer is dull. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 13:29, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

I gotta agree with you there. Invasion is my all time favorite game type, partly because of how the objectives are done, but mostly because of the elites. If only Bungie had made the repeater a better counterpart to the AR. I hate the plasma repeater, but don't worry I won't rant about that right here.—This unsigned comment was made by Weeping Angel (talk • contribs). Please sign your posts with ~~~~

Well, that went better than expected. But I have to ask, did 343 give any other reasons for the lack of Sangheili apart from their "multiplayer canon" excuse? I seem to remember something about memory space.. --TentacleTornado 12:36, 14 October 2012 (EDT)

This wil undeniably adversely affect Machinima. I mean, tons of them use Elites in them, so taking them out will certainly cause problems. Insert anti-343 rant, and now bye. This is craZboy557, signing off. (willhascolorseventually) 09:04, 5 November 2012 (EST)

You don't need to put space before your signature. :) —SPARTAN331 09:06, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Bigger Elites

Noticed a while back that the Elites are larger than their usual size in Halo 2 and Halo 3. Way larger. Seems like the developers are using the same skeleton previously used in Reach, forgot to change it and went along with it since it's late in the process. Either that or I've been spending too much time looking things at a technical perspective. Bigger is menacing though, that's a given.— subtank 23:01, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

I like them bigger because it gives them the feel of a formidable opponent. Certainly an upgrade from their "hunckback" look in Halo 3.--Spartacus, Halopedia Administrator ^Talk 23:07, 30 September 2012 (EDT)

I definitely like them bigger. They should be intimidating like they are in the books. if they're just a little bit taller than the player then meh. they just aren't formidable like that. Weeping Angel 09:58, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

I can't tell if I liked being bigger or not.. It was certainly great for intimidating other players! :D

But from a campaign perspective, It made elites more intimidating, more alien somehow. That made Reach more challenging. But I won't enjoy fighting them anyway. Its a shame 343 didn't create a new skeleton, a half-way between Reach and 3 would have been nice, a conversion if you will. But I understand the reasoning behind the decision. --TentacleTornado 12:18, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Personally I wouldn't have liked them to resemble the Halo 3 Elites in any, shape or form. The Halo 3 models were incredibly ugly.92.84.79.171 12:43, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Racism! xD I preferred 3 Sangheili completely. Probably because of my overall bias, coupled with the fact that they were not menacing in any way. --TentacleTornado 12:46, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Elite in 3 were human, and that's why I liked them best (2 and CE were too lifeless). But since they were so human in 3, Bungie had to make them intimidating and alien again in Reach (and they did a pretty damn good job). I think 343i made them even more alien in 4, and I guess that's fitting. I'm really looking forward to the scene in 4 in which John gets really close to an Elite and throws him down an elevator shaft. I bet that scene will really give us that intimidation feel again. —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 13:29, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

I think the Elites in H2+H3 were similar to humans because they were an option in the multiplayer. If Elites were significantly bigger, they would be an easier target in multi and nobody would pick them. Bungie could give them more health/better shields but this would make balance unnecessarily complicated, so they decided to make them smaller. In H4, however, Elites will be exclusive in campaign and that gives the freedom to the devs to make them larger than humans. Personally, I'd like to see larger Elites in the future games, they are supposed to be a warrior more formidable than humans after all. Aside from that, is it just me or 343i has a tendency of making the enemies look more menacing than before?--ShadowDancer ^|contribs| 06:30, 4 October 2012 (EDT)

They do, The grunts used to be great! But don't get me started on jackalzillas. D:

The Elites were larger, had different shield/health, and were playable in Halo: Reach. Your points do not excuse 343's decision (linking to the above section), unfortunately. Personally, I would prefer small elites, we will (as long as kilo-five goes well..) be seeing more allied elites in campaign in later games, so I would prefer elites to look more personal, less intimidating. Larger elites would make the arbiter/any other allied elites more intimidating than likeable. --TentacleTornado 17:58, 4 October 2012 (EDT)

I kinda expected my assumption to be wrong, since I have 0 knowledge on HR aside from the campaign events. I have faith that 343i will be able to introduce new Elite characters who will be interesting while keeping the whole "menacing Elites" thing. Will be interesting to see how much Arbiter will differ from the old one if he reappears in the new trilogy. --ShadowDancer ^|contribs| 04:27, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

The Mantis

In case you haven't seen the new trailer, here's a link: [2]

When I first saw this, I thought the Mantis was overpowered. Upon rewatching it, I've decided that 343I was only showing the mech in a golden light.

Sure, it shows the Mantis demolishing vehicles, but I would like to point out a few things about the enemy vehicles: The Ghost was far too close to a heavy vehicle(It should be only used against other ghosts and infantry, anyways.), the first and the third Banshees were taking a vehicle head on (Which you shouldn't do for anything, really), the second banshee was refusing to do tricks and was following a redictable path, and the Scorpion battle was only in the lat few moments (Who knows what was happening before that).

Further, it doesn't show what would happen when you would fire a heavy weapon (Such as the rocket launcher or Splaser) at it. It does show that it is quite susceptible to Plasma Pistols and boarding, however. Even further is the fact that the video doesn't show what the overheating rate is for the chaingun or the reloading time for the rockets. The high profile can also be quite a disadvantage.

Right now, the Mantis is a wild card for me. It can be overpowered (It has a chaingun and fires rockets), underpowered (Don't know much about its stats), or be balanced. Missing Mandible 13:01, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Okay, found a gameplay vid from the European Expo: [3]

It has energy shielding and is capable of taking a Splaser shot when they are up. Looks like it has to reload its chaingun, and is fairly slow. The energy shielding looks like they take a long tme to fully recharge, but are quite easily taken down. It might very well be a balanced vehicle. Missing Mandible 13:36, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

To me it seems to be the land version of the Hornet. Due to the chaingun and rockets, but mainly due to how overpowered it looks, however this has been proven otherwise. I can't tell whether I like it or not, too similar to many other game franchises for my liking. I would have preferred a more original vehicle. But I'm sure the Mantis will add an interesting new variable to multiplayer. For me, like you say, it will be the wild card for 4s multiplayer. --TentacleTornado 17:37, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

Hot diggity damn. Mechs in Halo.
Never though I'd see the day. --KillerCRS 18:49, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

• Cough* Halo Wars *Cough* *Cough* Missing Mandible 23:15, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

I think he meant in the main FPS Halo games.--Spartacus, Halopedia Administrator ^Talk 23:45, 1 October 2012 (EDT)

This looks like a beast of a vehicle. I think that at close range it will dominate other vehicles, but in a ranged fight against the scorpon of gauess hog, it might lose. Thats just my opinion however. However, as stated ubove, it might be a fairly balenced vehicle. Siphon 117 09:10, 3 October 2012 (EDT)

Got a couple of weird looks from my cube-mates after I laughed out loud at 1:19 on the demo video... Mantis teabag FTW!! DJenser 13:27, 4 October 2012 (EDT)

I saw someone on the youtube trailer comments section mention that he hated it because it was a "cliche", and that cliches shouldn't be in Halo. My response was that Halo is practically built on cliches - the Chief is the most well known example of the Space Marine trope in current popular culture, but nobody complains about that! A cliche doesn't have to be bad, and only becomes so through over-use. Regarding the Mantis itself, I really like the look of it! I liked the original Cyclops, which was accused of looking too "Japanese" at the time, but this looks far less stylised and more practical. And even complaints about legged locomotion are drying up, with machines like BigDog being developed. And lastly, it's science-fiction: a bit of a fantastical element is usually encouraged! -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 18:03, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

Agreed. Its the 26th century, why not have mechs? Anything is possible during this time period; you can't limit your imagination to just one thing. The Mantis looks like it'll be fun to use, especially in that corridor level using the stomp feature to push aside your enemies. It also appears to be a balanced vehicle in war games, so honestly I have no problems with it being in Halo 4.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 19:46, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

I guess. But by the 26th century I was expecting laser guns. ;D

But it does make sense that the UNSC would employ a mech like the mantis. If you can create powerful power armour that layers thinly over the body, a mech would be almost child's play. --TentacleTornado 19:57, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

Yeah I was really hoping for a UNSC energy weapon aside from the Splaser, maybe even an improvement on it. I guess the UNSC is like, "why make lasers when we have spartans".--Killamint [Comm|Files] 20:16, 5 October 2012 (EDT)

Haha, "Oh? You want a laser gun? They're so uncivilised. Here, let me show you a bomb that has 1.2 petatons of power, and a cannon that releases rounds at a fraction of the speed of light". xD

Back on topic though, when I first heard "mantis", I was thinking "Oh yes! A drivable locust!". Did anyone else imagine it as a covenant walker? --TentacleTornado 08:37, 6 October 2012 (EDT)

If any new elements of Halo Wars should migrate over to the FPS games, it is definitely the Locust! That thing was a real beast, and I think it would be extremely compatible with the change of game genre. The weapon would need a time limit, and be a precision weapon rather than a splattering "cannon" like the Scarab to balance it. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 04:13, 8 October 2012 (EDT)

They haven't released anything about covenant vehicles, so it might be next! :D --TentacleTornado 17:12, 8 October 2012 (EDT)

Skulls and Terminals!

So we got the Prometheans. We got the Flood. We got the Mantis. What about skulls and terminals? These achievements confirm their existence. 343i placed a lot of focus on the Anniversary's skulls and terminals before ''Anniversary'''s release, and yet here we are, knowing nothing about the Halo 4 skulls and terminals. Any idea why? Do you want 343i to bring back some of the skulls from the past games? What could be in the terminals? —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 09:10, 7 October 2012 (EDT)'

I'm really looking forward to the terminals, I just hope that 343's reasoning behind the lack of information is just to surprise us! I really liked the Anniversary terminals, the way they were presented as well as the story. I hope skulls from past games make a return, campaign wouldn't be right without 'Birthday Party! I'm hoping for more Precursor info, and their link to the Librarian and the Didact, and more than hints about their link to the Flood. But it will probably be just links that lead to Silentium. :D --TentacleTornado 17:10, 8 October 2012 (EDT)

I also miss the IWHBYD skull. The one in Reach doesn't seem to do much change. And of course, no campaign is complete without some happy children cheering! —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 05:39, 9 October 2012 (EDT)

Looks like you got your answer for the first revealed terminal of Halo 4. Kinda wished I didn't watch it...haven't finished reading The Thursday War.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 18:03, 9 October 2012 (EDT)

Yeah same here, I'm not even half way through, but I figured Jul would escape or die trying. File:Colonel Grade One.pngCol. Snipes450File:Colonel Grade One.png 18:12, 9 October 2012 (EDT)

Yeah I'm pretty much up to that point right after where the Infinity starts shooting MAC rounds. But that was a pretty interesting terminal, revealed a lot.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 18:21, 9 October 2012 (EDT)

Just watched it. For a moment there I thought the Elites were speaking in Japanese. 343i sure knows how we all feel. Just as I posted a forum about the terminals, they released a trailer for it. :P —S331 _{(COM • Mission Log • Profile)} 06:20, 10 October 2012 (EDT)

Looks like you got your answer for the skulls too :). Although so far they are carried over from Reach. No new ones yet.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 09:34, 20 October 2012 (EDT)

Yep, but since the skulls in Reach are the basically the same ones as 3, I have no complain. Anniversary skulls were... below expectations. —SPARTAN331 10:28, 20 October 2012 (EDT)

Armor Abilites

Hello fellow Halo fans, I want to know what you guys think of the Armor abilites featured in Halo 4. Me personally, I think that the new armor abilites mixed with the returning ones, think that they will be fun to use and very useful. Here's what I think.

-Invisibility: Obviously, it does what it's name implies, so I'll use this for stealthy things, or when I'm sniping.

-Hologram: While I don't use this much in Halo Reach, I have seen this used with great effect in Reach, so it'll probably function similar in Halo 4.

-Jetpack: This is my most used armor ability in Reach, so I can't wait to use it in Halo 4.

-Thrusterpack: This looks like a very usefull ability, and will make dodging ghost in Halo 4 easier. Looks fun to use.

-Hardlight shield: Yes, we finally get something like the Jackel gauntlets. Even though it can only be used for seconds at a time, will be very usfull when under fire, or covering a teammate.

-Promethean Vision: This is one I'll probably use on smaller maps, especially arond corners. This will allow me to finally find out where those campers are before they kill me, hooray.

-Regeneration Field: I was definitly friends with teh regenrater in Halo 3, so this looks liek a awesome thing to use, especailly if you just finished a fight, and your shields are low, and you see someone comeing, you can use this to recharge your shields real quick.

-Autosentry: In Black Ops, my most used kill streak is the Sentry gun, so I'll probably find a good use for this armor ability. Could use it to block doot ways perhaps?

Well, there you go, thats what I think. Now, I want to hear what everyone else thinks, I want to see.Siphon 117 10:27, 8 October 2012 (EDT)

If you insist.. Though be warned my opinion of 4s armour abilities is not very high..

• Invisibility - Well why not! It was always my favourite, I haven't seen any gameplay of it. Does anyone know if it has the radar jammer "upgrade" it had in Halo: Reach?
• Hologram - Yes! Its back! I loved hologram, the lack of use it had in Reach was a shame, it was really useful.
• Jetpack - I was never fond of it in Reach, but at least it looked cool. From what I've seen it looks really bad.. 3 tiny rockets attached to the back of a backpack? I can't see that being very stable, or even realistic if I'm perfectly honest.
• Thrusterpack - They replaced Evade with a rocket? Really? Very fuel efficient.. Evade was one of my favourites, I hope this lives up to its legacy.
• Hardlight Shield - I would have preferred Dropshield, I loved that ability.
• Promethean Vision - Hmm.. I don't know what to think with this. An ability to see through walls, hmm..
• Regeneration field - Regenerator was alright in 3, but there wasn't very many times to use it, I can't see it being used often.
• Autosentry - Again, I've not seen many playthroughs with this, but in theory it should be great. As long as it can follow you when idle!

--TentacleTornado 13:38, 8 October 2012 (EDT)

Halo finally gets a riot shield! Weeping Angel 12:20, 15 October 2012 (EDT)

• Invisibility - Feeling meh about this one. The one in Reach lacked utility if you were facing more than one person as it tended to just end in grenade spams or getting shot in the back when you decloaked/attacked someone. Its radar jammer function was only irritating due to the fact it affected your team as well.

• Hologram - Really? This thing was worthless. Put a single DMR/AR/pistol/etc. shot into it and you could go back to your job. It was a one trick pony because as soon as someone knew you were using it, they'd know exactly how to counter you.

• Jetpack - Excellent, loved it in Reach, would have liked a little bit longer of a burst/faster recharge, but overall I'm happy to see it return.

• Thrusterpack - I'm on the fence about this one. On the one hand, my memories of Mass Effect 2 as a vanguard make me giddy, but on the other hand, I can see this being another hologram (hyped but worthless). It depends on the speed in the final build as well as your ability to cancel it/steer. The main thing I'm worried about is the double pummel strategy. Someone tries to rush you with this, you just smack them twice: once when they're at the end of their charge and once more when they attack back.

• Hardlight Shield - Seems like it'll be good as long as 343 implements some moderation on its use. Otherwise it'll just be a case of "I got this guy's shields down, time to- oh never mind, he's got a HL shield".

• Promethean Vision - This one is a good thing that has good intentions behind it, but I feel it will ultimately be abused much like armor lock was. On the flip side, accusations of wallhacks will go up 78.3% next quarter.

• Regeneration field - Depends on if it will affect all in its radius (which seems likely) as well as how much it protects from damage. The drop shield from reach was okay but was rarely used when armor lock was available as an alternative. I believe this was due to deploy time (aka, by the time you set the shield down the other guy was already up in your face or had killed you.

So that's my take on all this, sorry if I insulted anyone's favorite armor ability. Zimydoomy 08:12, 23 October 2012 (EDT)

Woot! This is my first post! That is also why I'm sure there will be numerous mistakes in this... but I digress.

• Hologram: Not great in an environment where combat is spread out, but in high action and cqc in the hands of a smart player this thing is beast. I hope to getting around to using it.
• Hard Light Sheild: Would've like to be able to fire sidearms while using it but I'll make do. Still should be able to do with it what I like to do sometime with a drop sheild, which is block enemy fire while I retreat. I suspect that coordinated teams whill get lots of use out of this.
• Regeneration Feild: Definitely seems to be a nerfed drop sheild but still will be cool. Certainly will make camping interesting, specifically w/ a shotgun or an oddball.
• Active Camo: Woot! this is my big one in Reach, though I do hope they buff it a bit. Maybe make it like in the campaign in Crysis. Either way, this will be in my main set. (currently planned as Acitve Camo, Pulse Grenade, Bolt Shot, and Carbine) There's sort of a catch 22 with how they should play this. With the jammer, you aren't as completely stealthy as it alerts enemies to your presence, and you can't use your radar as well. But without it, useing it in the middle of combat won't be as effective, as enemies will still pick you up on their tracker. The only way to counterbalance this would be to make you dissapear off trackers, but that would be OP. 343 would have to think this out a bit.
• Jetpack: functionally the same, but looks incredibly stupid. Not really my thing, but absolutely has it's uses.
• Thruster Pack: An interesting sequel to evade. I hope you can fire while using it. I Dont see myself using it a lot, but seems like a cool thing to spam. The flashbang effect seems like it could be our next pop and lock. (armor lock emp+melee)
• Promethean Vision: Seems tactically viable, but frankly it doesn't impress me.

Well, that would be my opinion. And Zimydoomy, you have insulted me. Ok, lets try and do this signature thingy. I'd assume I have to set it up somehow, but I never saw a thing for that, so lets just do it and see how it fails. CraZboy557 08:19, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Woot! It worked! Now how do I change it..... CraZboy557 08:19, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Avoid spaces: no need to create unnecessary spaces for your comment like you would in a standard forum system. Use the asterisk to create bullet points instead of dashes. Press the Enter key twice to create new paragraph, so that they don't become a wall of text. It's very easy to understand how to edit a wiki. :) — subtank 08:39, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Thx Sub! The reason I went to you with all my questions was cause I saw you a bunch on the forums. I think the first thing I'll do in terms of wiki edits is try to add a tips section for multiplayer maps. After all, if you go onto those pages, you probably will want to know how to dominate in a game. This probably should be in a different section by this point, shouldn't it? This is craZboy557, signing off. (willhascolorseventually) 09:11, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Okay, now that I've played the multiplayer I can give my after impressions.

-Invisibility: Definitely better in this one and while you'll still know someone's cloaked, the vastly improved implementation has made this far less likely to invoke a "spam grenades or spin in a circle" response

-Hologram: A distinct improvement over the reach variant, especially with the fact that it shows up as red in the reticle and doesn't flicker as badly. Still worthless if you see the person deploying it but given the new maps it feels much less of a waste.

-Jetpack: A little sad about the massive nerf they put on this one. The new appearance is "meh" for me. Not good, not bad. Honestly think it should've been renamed the Jump Pack because it seems more like a way to jump farther than a real flight mechanic. Admittedly, I can understand the nerf. People (see: snipers) would constantly use it to get to spots on the map they shouldn't be in (cliffs on hemmorhage, above the walkway on Uncaged, etc.) but overall it's still my choice of AA.

-Thrusterpack: Like it in "flood" but for some reason anywhere else I use it, it doesn't propel me anywhere. (likely my own fault so I'll keep my opinion to myself).

-Hardlight shield: Was fairly worried when I heard about this due to the whole Armor Lock fiasco back in Reach (didn't hate it personally, but I know a lot of people did) so I was pleasantly surprised about how balanced it was. Single side protection that won't save you if a Ghost decides to plow through your torso or a banshee shoots a fuel rod shot at you, but definitely useful when you're getting spammed by DMR shots and you need to fall back.

-Promethean Vision: Don't use it personally but from what I've seen it has a fair balance. The fact that it makes a distinct noise and sends a red wave across my radar makes more alert when I see it and the usage as a sniping aid seems effective. On the flip side, I've seen it used by campers to sit around corners with the scattershot on maps like Haven where that red ping could be coming from anywhere.

-Regeneration Field: Despise this to be honest. It seems like unless you're toting some heavy tonnage (railgun/rocket/sniper etc.) it's impossible to kill someone inside one of these. Feels cheap when compared to the drop shield which was much easier to deal with. Hoping they'll decrease the heal speed in an update so balance it out.

-Autosentry: This is a massive improvement over the sentry in Halo 3 that still requires you to not be a jackass when using it. The rate of fire is decent and when combo'd with a smart player can be used to effectively lock down some corridors or other vital areas while still punishing those who try to use it as their main line of defense. It's there to support, not replace the player. I've seen people run into open areas and try to throw one of these down only to be mercilessly cut to shreds because they thought it would protect them. If used wisely, it's a valuable asset to any team, used stupidly, you may as well not have an AA at all. Zimydoomy 00:02, 8 November 2012 (EST)

Man, active camo is even better now! I used it in reach, but now w/ AA efficiency, I can just stealth around, get a free preemtive strike, or smite a bluetard with my boltshot (the BS is so OP btw, I'm suprised I don't get it in the face more often) This is craZboy557, signing off. 21:58, 30 November 2012 (EST)

A few questions

Why is the Didact considered the ancient evil? I always thought the Flood would be the greater ancient evil, even more than the Didact (or the Forerunners). Asking because I saw the leak and couldn't make sense of it. Also, it took several decades for the Covenant to find the Halo rings but in Halo 4, it only took them within a year to find Requiem (according to that terminal teaser). They suddenly manage to navigate through the stars properly now? Oh, and why does the Chief have such quick emotional attachment to Cortana and not with the Spartans he fought with? Because of her avatar, I guess. ;) — DESTINY 23:33, 8 August 2012 (EDT) 03:41, 14 October 2012 (EDT)

The Didact is actually a good guy; even Frankie says so. However, he has been jaded by the knowledge he gained on Charum Hakkor. Spoilers aside, the Flood are not his biggest concern. While he isn't fond of humanity, his aggression toward the species isn't based on malice so much as, "It's what I have to do." His motivation is explained in The Forerunner Saga.

The Storm's sudden discovery of Requiem is explained, or at least handwaved, in The Thursday War; they didn't just stumble upon it as the Covenant had done in the past. Aside from his fellow Spartans, Cortana is the only "person" with whom John has been able to form a true friendship or even a familial bond. That's why he became so determined to rescue her after leaving her on High Charity. He's had four-and-a-half years to come to grips with the loss of his brothers and sisters. He probably doesn't expect to see any of his fellow Spartans again, so he has invested his emotions in Cortana instead. --Courage never dies. 10:35, 14 October 2012 (EDT)

Well, he hasn't even had that long to come to terms with it, considering how quickly the events of Halo 2 and 3 happened. As far as he's concerned, he's been in near-continuous battle since October, 2552, and cryo has just been a brief interruption. He's seen the death of both Keyes', the only non-Spartan he's shown anything resembling friendship towards - Johnson, and he's probably still coming to terms with losing so many fellow Spartans and being among the last of his kind. It's understandable that even a stoic lone figure like him would latch onto someone, and that this someone would be Cortana - someone who can't die by the "conventional" means that everyone else can. And now he has to face her impending mortality too. His world is just filled with death, and I imagine he's sick of seeing friends and "family" die.

I also really like having the Didact as the "face" of the new Forerunner enemy faction. My biggest gripe (after the endings) of the Mass Effect series was that they took away Harbinger as the malevolent presence you associate with the Collectors. When you face the Husks, they just seem...mindless. And while I appreciated Cerberus as a replacement Big Bad, even the Illusive Man didn't feel as threatening. That's how I see the Didact - the face and voice of your new faceless and voiceless enemy, a goal to work towards, like the Prophet of Truth in Halo 3. And as a character, I appreciate that his motivations are not entirely malevolent despite the effects they will have.

As for the finding of Requiem - I haven't read The Thursday Way, but it is in keeping with the last Shield World we saw - Onyx had its own defences, which awakened to secure the area of space around the planet. I imagine the Storm have been dealing with Requiem's own defensive measures, both in active and passive - trying to glean clues to activate the portal into it, without triggering too many active defences. That they took so long is probably realistic, given how familiar the Covenant were with Forerunner systems. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 04:35, 15 October 2012 (EDT)

I'm not going to spoiler it for him but the ending of The Thursday War will pretty much give you the answer to how the Storm found Requiem. The only hint I can give is that the "leader" got the first puzzle piece on a shield world, then "zipped" to another location to put together the other piece to the puzzle. The rest will mostly likely be explained in the final book in the Kilo-Five trilogy, probably how the Storm was formed. Hope that helps.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 13:07, 15 October 2012 (EDT)

I've never minded novel spoilers, and I've read the book's plot summary. Though it was a little dense and convoluted. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 05:17, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

Here's my question: why is noone freaking out about the flood screen? I mean, every single forum on this site has a least 10 metions about how much someone hates bloody screens, and here's a major gametypes that has one running all the time and noone is going even remotely insane? How is this possible? :) This is craZboy557, signing off. (willhascolorseventually) 09:22, 5 November 2012 (EST)

Maybe because it's not that huge a deal? I haven't played the game yet (though i hope to pick up my copy tomorrow), but it doesn't sound like all that much. And the changes that are there sound entirely appropriate. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 05:46, 6 November 2012 (EST)

I'm not saying I hate bloody screens (I don't like them but they're bearable), but most of you seem to hate them so I was affecting outrage. This is craZboy557, signing off. 15:13, 26 November 2012 (EST)

H4 Spirit

I'm showing some. I went ahead and bought the standalone limited edition controller. Its pretty nice, especially that transforming D-pad. I mostly bought it because I wanted to replace my slightly messed up controller which was switched with the original (thanks to my whack-arse ex-roommate). But regardless I was looking to sport some Halo 4 spirit. Also came w/ the avatar t-shirt, so I'll have my avatar rock it for a few. I also pre-ordered the LE game. Anyone else plan on buying/pre-ordering any of the Limited Edition items or already have?--Killamint [Comm|Files] 19:40, 22 October 2012 (EDT)

I'm rocking the Mountain Dew Game fuel. By the way, new favorite Mountain Dew drink! That stuff is awesome. And yes, in case you were wondering, I'm still on the caffeine high. Weeping Angel 22:01, 24 October 2012 (EDT)

Here's you...File:Drink that Dew!.png...by the way GameStop literally text me talking about "Your Halo4 avail 12:01AM..." just like I predicted they would do- release at midnight. So it looks like I won't be getting any sleep whatsoever. And I have to work in the morning. And I have to head to the polls to vote...I wish they weren't releasing on election day but whatever.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 19:16, 5 November 2012 (EST)

I think that Halo 4 shouldn't be releasing on election day too. I mean, it's such an important day, and 343's new excretion may draw attention from that. This is craZboy557, signing off. 19:50, 6 November 2012 (EST)

Cutscenes

At least I now know why the cutscenes in the campaign is a major upgrade from Reach: theater was removed, allowing more space for the graphics to show its true quality. Kinda sad that 343 Industries/Microsoft opted for pre-rendered cutscenes for Spartan-Ops instead of relying on the Halo engine. — DESTINY 23:33, 8 August 2012 (EDT) 10:42, 24 October 2012 (EDT)

Is theater still available for multiplayer? Missing Mandible 12:30, 28 October 2012 (EDT)

Something tells me we're about to find out. This is craZboy557, signing off. 19:50, 6 November 2012 (EST)

The Latest Halo Bulletin

This. Looks like Coalminer and Surgeon are back. —SPARTAN331 12:13, 26 October 2012 (EDT)

How did they "decode" the image?? I need to know!--Killamint [Comm|Files] 12:47, 27 October 2012 (EDT)

The first Forge image in that bulletin links to a PDF file.— subtank 07:27, 30 October 2012 (EDT)

Will miss pouches

They were so handy... even though they did nothing. — subtank 07:27, 30 October 2012 (EDT)

Doesn't Soldier still have them? Missing Mandible 15:26, 30 October 2012 (EDT)

Quite restrictive to a particular set... and they're very small. :(

The myriad of choices in Reach was better. — subtank 21:28, 30 October 2012 (EDT)

D': They will never be forgotten, you know what they say; "pouches never die, they're just missing in action."

I'll miss them as much as accessories.. Commando was my favourite body set. It doesn't seem right to have just one body set with them. TentacleTornado 16:27, 31 October 2012 (EDT)

Any of the armors in Halo 4 absolutely pale in comparison to Isaac Hannaford's armor variants and accessories in Reach IMO. Will miss his take on the Halo universe's visuals. Attachments and pouches made more sense from a practical standpoint than a ton of different armor variants - wouldn't it be much more cost-effective and useful to design one or a handful of core armor systems and supplement them with attachments like those in Reach instead of creating a completely new armor set for every conceivable role? But I suppose it's ultimately a matter of looks rather than practicality. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 06:04, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

It is definitely the quality > quantity points again. Reach was undoubtedly at the top when it comes to customisability. It just makes very little sense to create loads of new armours instead of simply upgrading the ones we already have with attachments. I've been wanting to know for a while, and this seems to be the best place to ask, have secondary colours been scrapped in favour of skins? Or are there both? If so, I'll miss that too. --TentacleTornado 12:31, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

No more pouches. The soul of Rob Liefeld weeps. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 12:38, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

I guess Liefield will have to content himself with drawing all of his women sporting implants and suffering from scoliosis, & all of his men walking on impossibly tiny feet... - DJenser 14:07, 2 November 2012 (EDT)

I shudder with fear at the thought of what his drawings of Chief and Cortana would look like. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 14:15, 2 November 2012 (EDT)

Ok, I'll be honest. Who is Liefield? This is craZboy557, signing off. 19:53, 6 November 2012 (EST)

Looks like the GEN 2 armor also got the magic inventory system Mark VI had. 343i did a good job in Anniversary by making the Mark V's poaches more visible. Now we're back to square one. Oh well. —SPARTAN331 09:03, 5 November 2012 (EST)

I remember in the Alex Garland Halo movie script, he described small extendible hatches in the armour itself that the wearer could insert ammunition magazines into. Given the amount of fire Spartans would take, having explosive materials strapped to the external armour would probably have side-effects that compromise the suit's effectiveness. Internal compartments also make sense from a gameplay perspective, accounting for the apparent "hammer space" ammo seems to go into. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 05:54, 6 November 2012 (EST)

Reviews and spoilers

Those of you who have read or watched the reviews that have started popping up on major sites, could you give any info as to how much spoiler-y content they contain - in this case, I'm talking about information that has not been released by official channels, including both visuals and story info. I've been avoiding pretty much all gaming sites and forums so far so unless the reviews are spoiler-free, I'm planning to skip them until I'm safely through the campaign. --Jugus (Talk | Contribs) 06:04, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

Those I've read have focussed on impressions, rather than specifics, and mostly it's nothing we don't already know. I saw the IGN video review which gave away a couple of mind-blowing things, but not really story spoilers. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 06:22, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

I was wondering if we should remove all reviews from the articles. Video game journalism is pretty much part of marketing, more so when it comes to reviewing one of a major franchise. This has nothing to do with spoilers. It's more of a personal concern. There's only one reviewer I can count on though but I wouldn't suggest him.

I have a crazy idea... hear me out... what if we have a Review project page in this wiki, with fans giving critical reviews? — subtank 08:04, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

That seems like a neat idea.--Spartacus ^{Talk • Contribs} 10:37, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

I agree, I love reviews. -Killjax (talk | contribs)

I dunno. Removing all reviews of the articles might bring in accusations of "you hid all the reviews because you don't want to admit how bad a score the game got!" Plus, the Wikipedia Halo articles include them and we strive to be more comprehensive than Wikipedia's. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 12:38, 1 November 2012 (EDT)

There's not much in the way of major story spoilers, perhaps some fancy gameplay additions that people will really adore, but nothing to worry about. Just as a head's up, I'm going to write a "Reception" section on the Halo 4 article this weekend, so if you'd like to stay dark in the way of opinion, I'd steer clear of the bottom half of the Halo 4 article. :) Grizzlei ♥ ツ

Hah, nevermind! Thank God someone beat me to the punch. :) Grizzlei ♥ ツ

You're welcome! ^_^

I tried to cover the main points of criticism, but I only used three sources because they were the first three main reviews I read. So if anyone wants to add different reviews and viewpoints, they're welcome to! -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 05:35, 6 November 2012 (EST)

First Impressions

I now have Halo 4 and played the first two missions of the campaign, and have to say, its pretty impressive. The visuals are rather stunning and the overall feel of the game stays true to the Halo formula. Playing on Heroic difficulty, I didn't die the first mission, although it felt slightly easier than Halo: Reach for now, although it got difficult when fighting the warriors. Nonetheless it was pretty fun for the first part of the campaign. Haven't gotten to the Prometheans nor have I found one terminal so far (looked almost everywhere!). The only annoyance to playing campaign was the interactive play/cutscene (felt too Call of Duty like), pretty much slows down gameplay but that was only for 1 part of the first mission but I'm sure there will be more. Can't wait to jump back on it.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 13:05, 6 November 2012 (EST)

Well, just finished the game not too long ago. Despite being only eight missions, they were quite extensive, more so than previous games in the series. I overall enjoyed the newly introduced complexity in the gameplay along with the new features introduced in the game as well. I had also done it on Heroic difficulty as well, to get several mission-based achievements out of the way, but there were a few that I will have to go back and re-do. I do not know yet, but if anybody knows, I would like to know if there is a legendary ending to this game, it would be greatly be appreciated. All I can say for this is two things: Sooo many switches!!! Also, the ending wasn't surprising for me, but it still hit me pretty hard and was a great ending nevertheless. Buy it, play it, and enjoy :), good luck spartans.--GMASTER 20:53, 6 November 2012 (EST)

Nevermind, looks like I answered my own question by getting the lone wolf legend achievement, thus showing me the legendary ending. I initially didn't expect to see anything, but what I found in the legendary ending was what I can only describe personally as being, "truly epic!!!" as I saw a small glimpse of a certain character's face filled me with extreme jubilation, cheering that I had fnally seen one of the greatest secret's of the Halo Universe, if it was only partially.--GMASTER 09:38, 9 November 2012 (EST)

I like the Prometheans, they offer a new kind of challenge. Kinda sad about the loss of Cortana, but I think Chief needs that to grow as a character. I think Sarah Palmer has the potential to be a recurring character in the trilogy, granted she only has a few lines in the game. I'm glad we finally get to see what (some) Forerunners look like. Didact and Librarian...don't seem to have a very loving marriage to say the least. Personally, I hope they explain what exactly the Librarian did to Chief.File:Colonel Grade One.pngCol. Snipes450File:Colonel Grade One.png 19:41, 7 November 2012 (EST)

I made this point somewhere on Halo Fanon, but I think it bears repeating - eight is not a small number of levels, and considering the length of some of them, and the variety, I was impressed that I lost track of which levels I was playing. They blended together quite seamlessly, and I had trouble telling were some ended and others began. There was no "Cortana" or "Library" level, at least for me - they were all extremely fun and engaging! I loved the story, and I'm sure we've not seen the last of either the Didact or Cortana. I look forward to kicking his ass a second time. :P

Some minor things - the music is fantastic, but I do miss some of the old familiar themes. The Halo Theme would have been appreciated at some times, but for the most part the new music was suitably moody and emotive. I did think they under-used Revival, especially the latter parts of that track. All of the sound effects for weapons, etc, were also quite good, though I miss the old Warthog. That old hum just embodies Halo for me, and while the new sounds is gnarly, the old one was iconic.

In gameplay terms, I was surprised by how familiar the entire thing plays, even with new weapons and gameplay, for example, Sprint and the Mantis/Broadsword. Reach did a lot of innovation, and it's nice to see that spirit continue. And the addition of them to the Master Chief feels like a natural evolution. Hell, even the armour abilities are explained by Cortana patching the software in the field!

In story terms, I did think that the campaign should have worked more on explaining exactly what some of the concepts that were bandied about were - who the Didact was and why the Librarian was important, what the "Mantle" is, why the Didact resents humanity so much, etc; things that the novels and terminals explain, but that the majority of players probably won't have access to. I've always liked that the game stories and novel stories could stand on their own - needing to rely on the expanded universe material to understand the games I think would alienate some players.

Overall, in conclusion, I loved it! 10/10, would play again! :D -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 23:23, 7 November 2012 (EST)

One thing that I forgot to talk about that I really do not like: the continued demystification of the Forerunners. I like the combat skin the Didact wears, and I could buy his body as a deformation from the Composition and restoration process. But the Librarian I really did NOT like, especially the silly-looking headpiece that reminds me of Leia's earbuns for some reason. There was a fan theory that the Master Chief held the essence of one of the Didacts, and Cortana was the essence of the Librarian - I liked that theory, and wish it was still possible. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 02:54, 8 November 2012 (EST)

Well, beat the campaign and I have to say, I can definitely see the hand of the mass effect staff who helped write the script. Certain bits and pieces had me flashing back to ME and ME2. Among these, the fact that Didact sounds almost exactly like Saren + using a synthetic race/humans transformed into synthetics as their main forces. Another would be towards the end of either Composer/Midnight (can't remember which) you're walking into a structure that seems to mirror the one in ME3 (at least the entrance way). After you detonate the nuke I was a little "wait, what?" when we were in that blue thing which sort of made me think of a deus ex machina considering I don't recall it being explained where or what it was just that it was off the Didact's ship. As well the (seeming) retcon of the elites to always have appeared the way they do now is a little jarring. The fact that the Storm gets little more than a passing reference ("Aren't we at peace with the Covenant?"|"a lot can happen in four years") despite a lot of the advertisement/press statement/etc. detailing them as a huge piece makes it seem like they were just shoehorned in to give you more enemies to fight. On some level I disagree with this game's (and Reach's) huge addition of non-game media references into the main series if only because of how it confuses fans who haven't had access to them (if I didn't have Halopedia I'd be going "wait, what?" at least thrice a level). On the multiplayer side I was sad that invasion was removed as the phased combat was an amazing thing in my opinion and the new method of unlocking a good portion of armor (via commendations)causes me to facepalm. Now that's the stuff I found off/odd about the game. On the other note, the graphics left me breathless, mouth agape when I first exited the Dawn's crash site and saw the towers and gazed out on the expanse. The story, though a little bit of a leap from the previous incarnations was good and the death of Cortana was a plot point that (though sad) followed the train of events that bungie had set up (AI's past 7 years begin to go rampant. No exceptions.)In addition, the addition of Spartan Ops and other gameplay features in the multiplayer side made me happy. Overall, Halo 4 has been a mixed bag for me, but as this is 343's first shot on their own, I'll cut them some slack. Zimydoomy 23:35, 7 November 2012 (EST)

I've got an idea for how Cortana could survive. I realize this will never be true, but I'm putting it out there. Going back to Mediciant Bias, I always thought it would be cool if he got into the Chief's armor. Essentially he would have found some way to get Cortana off the ship before the kabloomskies, or something to that effect. And for now they'd be dormant for whatever reason until we find it necesarry to bring her back. It just seems odd that 343 would kill off a major character as soon as they get the series. Anyway, thank you for entertaining my gibberish, This is craZboy557, signing off. 15:34, 26 November 2012 (EST)

Prologue and Epilogue

For those who have played the game: Are the prologue and epilogue their own level, or are they attached to their closest level? I ask this because I have a transcript of the prologue with Halsey, but am unsure of where to place it. Tuckerscreator^(stalk) 17:58, 7 November 2012 (EST)

They're their own levels, so you should create new pages for them. -Kronos101 20:32, 7 November 2012 (EST)

Controls

So here comes the obvious question: What is your favorite controller setting? please keep in mind that I have not played the game, and don't intend to until Christmas, so if you could avoid spoilers in this section that would be awesome. thanks alot Weeping Angel 22:22, 7 November 2012 (EST).

I prefer the Recon setting. I'm just used to it, I couldn't get used to a new layout. -- Qura 'Morhek ^{The Autocrat of Morheka} 23:37, 7 November 2012 (EST)

I've been rocking the default just out of laziness/dislike of the other options. Keep wishing more games would take the TF2 (xbox version) approach and allow complete control customization.

Bumber Jumper FTW. Big bonus that I don't use jetpack. (as in even w/o BJ I would still rawk my camo.)(f***yeaawesomerevampedsig!) This is craZboy557, signing off. 19:20, 9 November 2012 (EST)

As in Reach, I definitely prefer Recon. While the default controls are good, they make the game feel a lot like Call of Duty: click the left stick to sprint, press B to crouch, and so forth. That's not necessarily a bad thing, mind you, but Recon feels like Halo 3 and ODST. --Courage never dies. 15:16, 11 November 2012 (EST)

Which Didact is it?

So I watched all the terminals and there doesn't seem to be any indication given as to whether the Didact we see in Halo 4 is the Ur-Didact or Bornstellar Didact. Thoughts? Zimydoomy 14:55, 11 November 2012 (EST)

It's the Ur-Didact. He's shown personally fighting the Human-Forerunner war, which was 10,000 years before Bornstellar's time. The presence of the Master Builder also supports this. -Kronos101 15:07, 11 November 2012 (EST)

Not only that, but he is utterly convinced that the Mantle belongs to the Forerunners. On Installation 07, the Bornstellar-Didact learned that the Forerunners were never meant to inherit the Mantle. I doubt he would go on a zealous quest to keep the Mantle out of humanity's hands if he knew they were its rightful heirs. --Courage never dies. 15:15, 11 November 2012 (EST)

Section 3 ARG

I'm suprised that no one have created a page for this yet. The race to find and decode Forerunner glyphs hidden inside trailers, bulletins and the Waypoint forums is still ongoing after more than a month; Section 3 operatives and rogue AIs are offering often contradictory intel and puzzles for posters to solve on this enormous forum thread, in a fashion very similar to Iris. This ARG is apparently supported by a 60-strong team, as per the Halo 4 credits; it obviously deserves a page. Is there anyone on Halopedia who have participated in the forum thread from the beginning? Noting down all the interactions between ARG participants and the posters is going to be exceedingly difficult. Up-to-date information on the various puzzles are available here. -Kronos101 15:07, 11 November 2012 (EST)

Yeah, I was going to create one.. But you beat me to it. :P

I was helping a little here until things got a little too complicated. This is also a good place to look for all the symbols that have been found. But there are so many little characters that came into it, it was hard to tell which were real and which were trolls. I'll try to compile a list for you. I know we had a "2401PenitentTangent" here for a while that gave a few eerie messages, I got a few screenshots, I think, but again its difficult to tell whether they are trolls or not. We also apparently had Frankie for a while, but I wasn't there, and most likely a troll.

List: Evil Awakens, SEC3OP36516, HydrAI, 2401PenitentTangent (Not sure if troll, will get pics). There are more, I'll have a look around. --TentacleTornado 17:06, 11 November 2012 (EST)

I was actually the one who uploaded the current glyph image on the ARG wiki. Anyway, that site's updated way too slowly; the ARG Info Tracker is much better. Any progress on the forum thread is put up there within hours, not days; posters on the thread have adopted it as their official info source. Go there for a comprehensive update on past and current events.

I know that some trolls are trying to disrupt the ARG, but the chaos is part of the fun. The forum has grown increasingly efficient at weeding out false sources; if it doesn't come from SEC3OP36516 or HydrAi, it's suspicious. The decoding is way out of my league, so I won't be writing the article. Do you know anyone else (preferably high edit-count Halopedians) who have participated? Someone should ask them. -Kronos101 17:40, 11 November 2012 (EST)

Nope, sorry. But this seems to be where quite a lot is happening. Something about needing 1 million matchmaking games done by a select few on a list here. --TentacleTornado 17:52, 11 November 2012 (EST)

A million matches? Hope that won't take too long. There should be more glyphs next week as the second Spartan Ops episode is released; four glyphs have been found so far in the current Ops levels. Play on Legendary with Promethean Vision, and the glyphs would light up like Christmas trees. -Kronos101 18:32, 11 November 2012 (EST)

Ah, I haven't played Spartan Ops yet, or campaign for that matter (Still on my full play-through, kinda went on for longer than I expected..). But yeah, 1 million matches, it does seem a little far-fetched, but looking at the list now.. There is quite a lot of people signing up. I'm trying to keep up to date, but this moves so fast! I can't tell if thats a good or a bad thing. :D --TentacleTornado 11:31, 12 November 2012 (EST)

I'm not sure if this has been known for a while, or if this is new info, but "Operation: Little King" is now in effect. People now have to complete campaign LASO-B now full LASO (Has just been changed by HydrAI in the past few minutes), as well as complete 1 million matches. A "ZEUS" is now helping in the chat, it seems he is a fragment of HydrAI, and is somehow related to Section 3. This is going pretty quickly! :D --TentacleTornado 15:48, 13 November 2012 (EST)

Campaign Levels

These are my opinions about the campaign levels:

Dawn- A bit bland in my opinion, sort of less quality than The Pillar of Autumn, only real fun part to the level in my opinion was the end where you're running through the ship while its falling apart.

Requiem- Level was okay, though it doesn't feel sandboxy, rather linear. Love grabbing the SAW early in the game.

Forerunner- Great way to introduce the Prometheans. Pretty fun ending trying to escape the crumbling landscape, died a few times when I first played it.

Infinity- Probably my favorite level, love fighting through the jungle, get to use the Railgun, and Mantis through the hanger bays. Definitely fun to play.

Reclaimer- Good level, like riding on and inside the Mammoth and being able to see it's MAC/railgun in action. Love the mystery at the end w/ the librarian. However I don't like the ending- at least where you have to control the missile fired from the Infinity. Feels too COD-ish & unnecessary. I rather watch it from 3rd person.

Shutdown- Pretty fun controlling the Pelican, love the Spartan laser cannon. Definitely a sandboxy feel to the level since we have a choice which tower we can go to first (except the third, unless you skip to it).

Composer- Like the level. Using the sticky detonator is fun. Also like using the Mantis in the middle of the level. A little upsetting at the end when everyone gets composed, and Cortana gets all upset.

Midnight- Since I love fighter jets, and the Sabre from Reach, I love the Broadsword sequence, died a few times from running into walls when I first played. Fighting my way through the Prometheans was difficult. Overall I loved the level. However, I hate the fact that the boss "fight" was turned into a mere "press RB to grenade the Didact" sequence with no real control over your actions. I was hoping to actually fight the Didact without another COD-like sequence taking over. Would've made the ending more suspenseful.

Anyway these are my brief opinions on the campaign levels. Have your own, follow the template.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 18:29, 25 November 2012 (EST)

Dawn- A simple and easy tutorial level. A good way to introduce us back to Chief as a playable character. It would be a level I would play just for fun.

Requiem- Reminded me of the second level of CE; driving the Hog on a large, vast grassland. I did felt a bit overwhelmed by the Covenant. It would be better if the Sentinels helped out more. Loved that 343 brought the "sandbox" dialogue system from previous games. I don't know if anyone of you did it, but if you jumped down to the Forerunner bridge instead of using the elevator, Cortana will asked you "Will it kill you if you used the elevator?"

Forerunner- Somewhat repetitive: go here and do this, go there and do that, but a great intro to the return of Didact. Also noticed that some of the building resembles the buildings in the original CE game.

Infinity- Favorite level so far. The return of the UNSC forces brought back the "part of an attack force" feel, made me felt guilty for the deaths of Marines, and gave us the opportunity to use new human weapons and vehicles. However, I did felt disappointed when I realized the Scorpion looks exactly the same as the one in Reach…

Reclaimer- Kind of Tip of the Spear feeling. Giant vehicle battles, but got a bit disappointed when I realized we can only use the Target Locator on "valid" enemies. It reminded me of that level in MW2 when you used the red laser to target houses or something else.

Shutdown- Once again, somewhat repetitive, just running errands. Would be better if 343i added Banshees that would attempt to attack you when you go from the first tower to the next.

Composer- Sticky detonator! This level just felt like the Chief was the only the "competent one" who could fight off the Covenant. Throughout the level we see scientists screaming, security personnel panicking, Marines giving specific and seemingly useful orders (then we come back only to find them missing/dead), and then, final cutscene in which everyone died. A bit of an overkill on the "unstoppable Forerunner and Covenant" impression.

Midnight- Loved the beginning Broadsword sequence: awesome music in the background, Star Wars feeling, and space porn. But, like many other people, I was disappointed by the classic COD ending: "PC is down and about to be killed by main antagonist → something/someone distracts antagonist → gives the PC time/opportunity to kill antagonist". They could have done something like 343 Guilty Spark... <insert more COD similarity rant here>

Overall, the game was fun, but the campaign was just way too short… unless you're gold member of LIVE. And I'm not. So I have to move on to custom games with my buddies. The music was pretty good, but it was often drowned out by the sound effects and gunfire. The graphics are great and all, but many things just seemed to be something reused from Reach (like the aforementioned Scorpion). The fact that they reused things from Reach made 4 more like a sequel to Reach rather than 3. 343i, you get "A" for effort! —SPARTAN331 21:21, 25 November 2012 (EST)

That's a pretty funny picture you found! That's definitely a major factor keeping me from buying Blac Ops II. Really its because my concentration is on Halo 4. Still I hate those dramatic, "play by the script" endings. I just wanted to shoot the Didact, dodge his attacks, use tactics, whatever. Still, I did like the campaign. I didn't notice music being drowned out but voices, especially Cortana's. One thing I miss so far is campaign scoring, probably scoring in general. Would make things more appealing, especially Spartan Ops.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 20:36, 27 November 2012 (EST)

I wouldn't say the SP was very short, it was definitely longer than ODST and Reach. The thing I love about it is that it doesn't rely on what I call "artificial lengthening", meaning it doesn't reuse the same levels over and over, doesn't copy paste the same sections to make up a level, and doesn't rely on so much backtracking. CE, Halo 2, ODST and even Halo 3 did this and was frustrating and cheap level design. I'd also add that the lack of Flood grinding levels made it shorter, and once again it's a plus. -92.84.98.167 14:45, 7 December 2012 (EST)

Spartan Ops handled poorly

Anyone else think that the handling of Spartan Ops is ridiculous? Not only do you have to be online to play them, you have to have Gold too, regardless of whether you've completed it or not. Once the servers are gone, that'll be a huge chunk of the game gone forever. I really hope this changes--Soul reaper 03:25, 1 December 2012 (EST)

I have to agree. It is rather ridiculous that if you aren't connected than you don't have access to them. I didn't notice it until I lost connection one time and didn't have any access to the SpOp missions. They did this to increase gold accounts obviously (aside from having access to new episodes). On top of that I also noticed that the SpOp missions are rather repetitive mainly because you're fighting in the same areas, albeit in different directions with some alterations and tasks. The lack of scoring also reduces replay value. Nonetheless some of the missions are fun like Shootout In Valhalla and Galileo where they absolutely feel like firefight.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 09:13, 1 December 2012 (EST)

I agree with both of you. One of the big problems I have with it myself is that when playing online it has alot of lag for me. It ruins the fun as it becomes hard to hit anything so I play by myself offline, but then its designed solely for co-op so thats not fun either. Overall I found Reach's firefight to be better value for money. The SO storyline is alright, but right now its the only reason that I'm playing it. VARGR 12:42, 1 December 2012 (EST)

I found a thread on Waypoint that seems to be trying to get Microsoft's attention on the matter. May be worth posting your grievances there.--Soul reaper 22:08, 1 December 2012 (EST)

I feel I should make a counter point. I think Spartan Ops was done extremely well, admittedly I can't speak on the matter of the lack of connection/gold being an issue since it's not one I suffer from. Laggy games are just gonna happen, be it in War Games, Campaign, or Spartan Ops. The game tries to mitigate this by picking the host with the best connection. Admittedly sometimes it gets to be a little much, but a good 80% of the time I've never had enough of an issue with the lag to invoke rage. As for the repetitive map/objective. These are mini objective games rather than full fledged campaigns, you're not paying for them (which I hope continues) and you should be glad that 343 is releasing these on a weekly basis. Speaking of which, the maps (while semi-repetitive)make an amount of sense to me. It takes a while to make new maps when you lack prefabricated structures with which to do so. If it didn't we'd be seeing new map packs every week. The chapter 'Spartan Miller' was beautifully done, constant hectic combat, prioritization of targets, and teamwork are required to get through it. Now you'll always get asshats online who make life harder than it has to be or stop playing midway through, but that's life. I love almost all the missions and the plot (although I can admittedly see that ***** Karen Traviss' hand it) is divine. So while I can see your issues with them, I do not share in your grievances Zimydoomy 12:30, 7 December 2012 (EST)

Meh, I like Spartan Ops, but always playing on the same few maps has gotten a bit annoying and repetetive. I wish they would start introducing new maps into Spartan Ops.--Spartacus ^{Talk • Contribs} 12:38, 7 December 2012 (EST)

I really enjoyed SO. Playing on the same levels didn't really affect me that much since they were done in such a manor that they never feel the same. Switching enemy spawn points, access to different toys and gear, different enemy factions, all of these really made them feel unique. The best thing is that I got a better chance to use a lot of things that I felt were underused in the campaign, like certain power weapons and vehicles. Also, they are announcing new maps as of the second part of season 1! -92.84.98.167 14:32, 7 December 2012 (EST)

Something tells me those new maps will probably be Ravine and Vortex. If not then it would be great to visit a place we haven't seen in the game yet or another area of the campaign aside from the places already revisted. Just a matter of waiting till January.--Killamint [Comm|Files] 18:07, 7 December 2012 (EST)

Perhaps I should clarify. I quite enjoy Spartan Ops, I think it's more than worthy of replacing Firefight. I have no problems with the levels considering what it is. I don't play them online so Lag and teammates aren't a problem for me. What I do take issue with is Microsoft's handling of accessing these missions. Their precedent has been set for sometime now: pay for DLC with any account type and it's available to everyone on that console, Gold is required for online play but you can play offline without it. Spartan Ops on the other hand requires Gold to so much as view the missions. They advertised Season 1 as being included in the price of the game, yet you have to pay for a Gold subscription to play them. Again, if that was just for online play, I'd have no issue with that as the precedent has been set, however, when not on Gold, we can't even replay missions we've already completed. That is the issue.--Soul reaper 20:10, 7 December 2012 (EST)

(^) This is exactly my concern with Microsoft/343i's approach. The issue is more about accessing the game when that the online features are removed/cut-off/no-longer-supported. It wouldn't be an issue in a couple of years time but it might be in, lets say, 5-7 years. The whole product should be accessible to you even in offline. — subtank 00:23, 8 December 2012 (EST)

S-IVs, how do they work?

Thorne: "Psychological? So you don't think we're capable of being Spartans."

Halsey: "Perhaps some of you are closer than others."

— Didact's Hand, Halo 4

So Halsey herself pretty much indicated that she thinks that most of the S-IVs aren't suitable for being Spartans. She criticized Madsen and DeMarco for being so talkative ("First, we taught them how to be silent. Then, we taught them how to be Spartans."). Are the S-IVs good? When I saw Thorne being surrounded by the Elites in the latest Spartan Ops episode, I didn't see a confident Spartan who's ready to kick some ass. Instead, I saw a distressed trooper who's afraid of the approaching Elites. Memento Mori seems to be a reference to how the Promethean AIs are incapable of "dying" as well as the mortality of the S-IVs. The S-IVs consist of volunteers and chosen UNSC troops. They are not trained psychologically. I assume their augmentations are better, but I feel that in many ways they are not as good as the past Spartans. What do you think?—SPARTAN331 09:08, 8 December 2012 (EST)