Armor Permutations are a feature in Halo 3, allowing the player to aesthetically customize their multiplayer character (the armor doesn't have any effect on gameplay).
Introduction
Permutations allow a player to customize his/her multiplayer character (either a UNSC SPARTAN-II or a Covenant Elite) by choosing different helmets, shoulder pads, chestplates, and detailed colors (primary color, secondary color, and armor detail). All permutations are aesthetic only and do not change actual gameplay in any way.
They were originally discovered in the foremost release of the Halo 3 Beta in internal hexadecimal codes by modders and were later confirmed to provide high levels of player customization by GamePro's June magazine issue[1]. Calculated together, there are 187,947,000 possible combinations for permutation pieces for the player to choose from.
Armor Permutations are available only in Halo 3 (at the beginning of the game, the only parts unlocked are the Mark VI Spartan Armor CQB Variant, and the Elite Combat and Assault variants, as well as the Commando shoulders.), and are unlocked through achievements in both the Campaign and multiplayer modes of Halo 3 or by finding the hidden skulls.
Bungie has comfermed in a update (and several other times) that no new armor permutations will be available.
I mean there are no, and never will be new Elite Armor permutations or permutations of any kind in Halo 3 the interactive entertainment experience from Bungie Software Products Corporation.- Bungie Weekly Update 7/25/08 [2]
SPARTAN Armor Permutations
There are a wide variety of SPARTAN II armor permutations, with 11 helmets, 8 shoulder pieces, and 8 chest pieces for a total of 6,144 different SPARTAN armor permutations: one helmet, two shoulder pieces, and chest piece per permutation, with the exception of the Rogue, Mark V, and ODST, which do not have either chest nor shoulder pieces, and Security, which does not have a chest piece.
Helmets
- Mark VI: Starter.
- CQB: Starter.
- EVA: Unlock the Campaign Complete: Normal achievement.
- EOD: Unlock the Campaign Complete: Legendary achievement.
- Hayabusa: Collect all 13 Skulls in Campaign.
- Security: Unlock 1000 gamerscore in Halo 3.
- Scout: Unlock the Used Car Salesman achievement.
- ODST: Unlock the Spartan Graduate achievement.
- Mark V: Unlock the UNSC Spartan achievement.
- Rogue: Unlock the Spartan Officer achievement.
- Recon: Bungie employees, winners of tournaments/double exp weekends, and those that impress (or amuse) Bungie in any other way.
Shoulder Pieces
- Mark VI: Starter.
- CQB: Starter.
- EVA: Complete The Ark in Campaign on Normal or higher difficulty.
- EOD: Complete the level The Ark on Legendary difficulty.
- Hayabusa: Collect at least 9 skulls.
- Security: Earn 750 of 1000 gamerscore on Halo 3. Due to inconsistency, this armor permutation is not always given at 750. There are some reports that the Security Shoulders need a minimum of 500- 995 gamerpoints, even though the official guide to Halo 3 lists the requirements as 750 (could also be total metagame points). Even then, the armor permutation may be unlocked, and then re lock itself after a time, as has been reported.The only way to keep it permanently is to get all the achievements. This permutation may need the player's model to have accessed online to unlock it. An alternate way to unlock is to gain all 30 achievements. For some players it can be unlocked, then lock itself, but to re-unlock you it you need to change to Mark VI then change it back.
- Scout: Unlock the Mongoose Mowdown achievement.
- Recon: Bungie employees, winners of tournaments/double exp weekends, and those that impress (or amuse) Bungie in any other way.
Chest Armor
- Mark VI: Starter.
- CQB: Starter.
- EVA: Complete The Tsavo Highway on Normal difficulty or higher.
- EOD: Complete The Tsavo Highway on Legendary difficulty.
- Hayabusa: Collect 5 skulls in campaign.
- Katana (Add-On): Unlock all achievements in Halo 3. (NOTE: The katana is a sword on the back of your armor, and when selected it is the same as having the Hayabusa chest plate. The katana itself is not a chest piece and has no effects on gameplay.)and cannot be used. [3]
- Scout: Unlock the Too Close to the Sun Achievement, although has been reported that it may appear later sometimes.
- Recon: Bungie employees, winners of tournaments/double exp weekends, and those that impress (or amuse) Bungie in any other way.
Sangheili Armor Permutations
There are a wide variety of Elite armor permutations, with 5 helmets, 5 shoulder pieces, and 5 chest pieces for a total of 625 different Sangheili armor permutations: one helmet, two shoulder pieces, and chest piece per permutation.
Helmets
- Combat: Starter.
- Assault: Starter.
- Flight: Unlock either Campaign Complete: Heroic or Campaign Complete: Legendary achievements.
- Ascetic: Unlock the Steppin' Razor achievement.
- Commando: Unlock the Overkill Achievement.
Shoulder Pieces
- Combat: Starter.
- Assault: Starter.
- Flight: Complete the level The Ark on Heroic or Legendary difficulties.
- Ascetic: Unlock the Overkill achievement.
- Commando: Starter after Auto Update 1 was applied on February 19, 2008. At first, the Steppin' Razor[4] achievement was needed to unlock the piece, but a bug prevented this. Some people reported getting the shoulder pieces, but then they relocked themselves after a certain amount of time without using them.
Chest Armor
- Combat: Starter.
- Assault: Starter.
- Flight: Complete the level Tsavo Highway on Heroic or higher difficulty.
- Ascetic: Unlock the Up Close and Personal achievement.
- Commando: Unlock the Triple Kill achievement.
Unlocking Permutations
| Spartan Armor Permutations | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Body | Shoulder | Helmet | |
| Mark VI | (Starter) | (Starter) | (Starter) |
| CQB | (Starter) | (Starter) | (Starter) |
| EVA | Tsavo Highway (Normal) | The Ark (Normal) | Campaign Complete: Normal |
| EOD | Tsavo Highway (Legendary) | The Ark (Legendary) | Campaign Complete: Legendary |
| Hayabusa | Collect 5 skulls | Collect 9 skulls | Collect all skulls |
| Katana | Earn 1000 G | ||
| Security | Earn 750 G. | Earn 1000 G. | |
| Recon | Given as a reward from Bungie. | Given as a reward from Bungie. | Given as a reward from Bungie. |
| Scout | Too Close to the Sun | Mongoose Mowdown | Used Car Salesman |
| ODST | Spartan Graduate | ||
| Mark V | UNSC Spartan | ||
| Rogue | Spartan Officer | ||
| Elite Armor Permutations | |||
| Combat | (Starter) | (Starter) | (Starter) |
| Assault | (Starter) | (Starter) | (Starter) |
| Flight | Tsavo Highway (Heroic) | The Ark (Heroic) | Campaign Complete: Heroic |
| Ascetic | Up Close and Personal | Overkill | Steppin' Razor |
| Commando | Triple Kill | (Starter) | Overkill |
Images
Human (Spartans)
- CQB-Halopedia.jpg
The finished image of the CQB armor.
The EVA permutation's finished image.
- Halo-3-custom-armor.jpg
An EVA Spartan wielding an M6G.
- Halo3 Spartan-pistol-01.jpg
A CQB Spartan.
- Blemo's Spartan.jpg
You can mix and match different armor parts to create your own Spartan as seen in this image.
- Recon.jpg
Recon Armor can be obtained by winning different competitions, or "performing valuable community service".
- Flaminghayabusa.jpg
Flaming Helmet. Note: It is the chest piece that makes the Flaming helmet, and can be equiped with any helmet.
- 11RogueHelmetRightShot.jpg
A Profile view of a Spartan with Rogue helmet.
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Elites (Sangheili)
- Assaultarmor.jpg
The Elite Assault armor permutation.
The updated Elite Combat armor permutation.
An Elite in the Commando armor (Ascetic Shoulders due to the old bug).
- PlayerModel 2.jpg
An Ascetic Elite.
Miscellaneous
- DSCF0943.JPG
Magazine scan of most of the known armor. The Arbiter's armor (not available in multiplayer) is included in this picture.
- 753777342 19c07c569a o.jpg
The Recon armor permutation.
- Modhelm.jpg
MJOLNIR Mark VI, EVA, CQB, and the Recon armor, without the skin.
The pre-skin form of the E.O.D. armor "leaked" from Bungie.
- Halo 3 Customization.jpg
An example of the multiplayer armor customization.
Trivia
- There was a prank pulled on April 11, 2008, on the 1UP show, which involved a falsified armor permutation called the Assassin Armor .
- The EOD armor chest is surprisingly similar to the Mark V chest plate. Many people have noticed this and wear the chest plate with the Mark V helmet and the Mark VI shoulders to re-create Mark V armor from Halo: CE.
- The EOD helmet is the only SPARTAN helmet that doesn't have a single visor, but instead it has two, one for each eye.
- If you look you will see that the Scout helmet's visor is too small to actually be able to seen through.
External Links
http://php.badrouter.net/bnet/ - Player Generator
http://zaamit.com/content/h3modelgenerator.aspx - Player Generator
http://halotech.org/geemc/ -Bulid your own Spartan
Sources
- ^ "Halo 3's online mode offers new armor permutations that allow players to redesign and customize their persona from head to toe." GamePro June 2007
- ^ http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=14920
- ^ http://www.xbox360fanboy.com/2007/09/30/the-hayabusa-saga-continues-sword-time/
- ^ http://www.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&cid=13233