List of inconsistencies in the Halo series

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Reference Tags*(FoR) = Halo: The Fall of Reach (HtF) = Halo: The Flood (FS) = Halo: First Strike (GoO) = Halo: Ghosts of Onyx (CH) = Halo: Contact Harvest (TCP) = Halo: The Cole Protocol (HGN) = Halo Graphic Novel (H:CE) = (H1) = Halo: Combat Evolved (H2) = Halo 2 (H3) = Halo 3 (HW) = Halo Wars (H3O) = Halo 3: ODST

This list is compiled to show the various discrepancies spotted in the Halo universe. It is difficult to decide which resource is "superior" to another, so usually, the inconsistency is mentioned in the articles that it involves.

If you think you can explain an inconsistency, do so here, on the article's talk page.

There are two types of inconsistencies: Conflicts and Discrepancies. Conflicts happen when two sources disagree about a situation, subject or object. Discrepancies occur when a seemingly impossible event happens without any explanation.

Discrepancies

Halo: The Fall of Reach

Main article: Halo: The Fall of Reach

• On page 46, Kelly handed out parts of a map to the seventy-five SPARTAN-II trainees. Then on page 48, when John checked to make sure the children arrived at the lake, he counted only sixty-seven...which seemed to be all of them.
• A UNSC frigate was referred to as the UNSC Alliance, and then shortly thereafter as the UNSC Allegiance.
• The ship UNSC Leviathan is referred to as a cruiser and then later as a carrier.
• On page 19, Michael Stanforth was said to be a Vice Admiral, and on page 95, it said he was a Rear Admiral.
• James' left arm was burnt off by a Fuel Rod Cannon, but it said in a few pages later that he saluted with his left hand.
• In 2552, Doctor Halsey is only speculating the existence of the Elite race. Elites were encountered by humans before in the Battle of the Rubble, the First Battle of Arcadia where the Spartan Group Omega fought. They were also recognized by Kurt in a mission recording, and most importantly, the UNSC captured an Elite alive during the Battle of the Great Bear.
• The Pillar of Autumn was missing its port-side emergency thrusters, but later used them twice.
• Captain Keyes refers to Ensign Lovell as "Michael" instead of "William"..
• During Master Chief's mission to Reach Station Gamma, a Jackal's blood is said to be blue although it is clearly purple. The same mistake is made with the Elites, saying that their blood is green, while it too is purple.
• The book describes Lt. Hikowa as male, but then later refers to the lieutenant as female.

Halo: Combat Evolved

Main article: Halo: Combat Evolved

• Cortana says she cannot begin to calculate the pulse range of Halo just after 343 Guilty Spark finishes telling her it has a radius of exactly 25,000 light years.
  • This can be accounted for by Cortana's inherent distrust of Guilty Spark's motives. Additionally, since Cortana is an AI with an insatiable urge to know everything she can, she may have tried to calculate the range herself regardless of whatever 343 Guilty Spark had simply told her.
  • She did not state she wanted to know the range, she simply stated she cannot calculate it.
• Almost every Pelican dropship bears the marking of Foehammer's bird, "E419", on its side, despite the fact that each Pelican has a different serial number.
  • This does not excuse it, but Bungie only designed two models, V933 and E419. They used the two to represent every Pelican.
• In The Maw, the main objective is to trigger a 'Wildcat destabilization' of the Pillar of Autumn's fusion reactors. Later, Cortana tells Foehammer that the engine sustained more damage than she thought because of the Wildcat destabilization.
  • Note that this may be due to the fact that the engine decay rate was faster than Cortana originally anticipated; she theorized it must have taken damage on impact. Note that the rest of the humans on Halo were aware of the plan to blow up the ship.
• Also in The Maw, the player has to travel a direct distance of over 3 kilometers atop the Pillar of Autumn to reach the Longsword fighter, but the Autumn is only 1.17 kilometers long.
• The Longsword's launch bay in The Maw is also at the end of the Warthog run. The front or rear of a ship is an unlikely place to store a launch bay, which implies that Master Chief traveled from side to side. This makes even less sense than the Autumn suddenly being two kilometers longer.
• In Halo: The Fall of Reach, Hikowa and Dowski are female officers of the Pillar of Autumn. However, on the level Pillar of Autumn, the bridge has no female members.
  • Meaning that, like modern navy ships, the Autumn must have rotating shifts.
    • The only female model is the Lieutenant pilot of Master Chief's Bumblebee; AIs do not have genders.
• William Lovell's eyes are green, but the Autumn's crew has no green-eyed members.
  • Game designers do not generally color the iris. Instead, the game only shows the pupil. Captain Keyes is an exception, as his iris color can be seen in the opening cinematics.
• During the level Assault on the Control Room, Staff Sergeant Johnson can be seen with the Chief at the time he was really with Captain Keyes searching for the Covenant's "weapon cache". Even though the Captain has been out of reach since The Silent Cartographer
  • Bungie was reusing Johnson's model instead of creating another Sergeant model.
• In 343 Guilty Spark when John-117 arrives at the room, he finds Pvt. Jenkins' mission recording. As he opens the door a body collapses on him. This body should have been infected by the Flood.
  • This may have been done simply to add tension and suspense to the level.

Halo: The Flood

Main article: Halo: The Flood

• The book consistently mistakes the 8-gauge shotgun as 12-gauge.
• During a skirmish with a force of 100 Ghosts, the book describes how snipers and rocket-launcher-armed Marines could not be hit by plasma fire, as the Ghosts' weapons were fixed and the marines were on a hill. Yet in the game, the Ghost's plasma cannons can easily increase or decrease their angle. They could have easily killed the marines, unless they were positioned on an extremely tall and steep hill.
• On page 101, it stated that "the Spartan was carrying a full combat load of ammo, grenades, and other gear, plus two magazines for the M19 launchers". The Master Chief was not carrying a Rocket Launcher at the time and if he was, he was never seen using it.
• It also illustrates that John ran out of ammo for his MA5B Assault Rifle, switching to an M6D Pistol; there are no pistols on that level at all.
  • Weapons in-game sometimes do not follow the ones written in the book, and stocks of ammo left behind by dead marines are not mentioned either.
• On the Truth and Reconciliation chapter, it describes that a Marine was killed and, "his rocket exploded harmlessly..." No Marines were seen wielding a rocket launcher on that or on any other level.
  • Same as the above, but they do not have animations for holding a rocket launcher.
• In the book it says that three weapons would be unwieldy for the Chief, not to mention "damn heavy." It then says he chose a shotgun and sniper rifle. Later, an Elite sliced his sniper rifle (presumably with an Energy Sword), prompting the Chief to draw a pistol. It was never explained how he obtained the pistol; however, its small size may have exempted it from the Chief's personal two-weapon limit.
• Sergeant Parker is referred to as a he, and then a she.
• Supposedly the Second Squad was completely consumed by the Flood, specifically saying that their numbers dwindled until two PFCs remained, before the last of the Marines fell. A page later, however, Foehammer picks up the surviving Marines. This contradicts the other information, though it is possible that part of the second squad was separated, or that she did not know second squad was entirely KIA.
• First Lieutenant Melissa McKay's mission clock is prefixed by an extra 1. It should be noted that the last time it shows her mission clock, the clock reads D+144:38:19. Master Chief's last mission clock mention reads D+76:18:5 while he is en route to the Pillar of Autumn. It would not take over 5 hours to detonate the ship, let alone 70 hours.
• Sergeant Stacker is not mentioned in the novel. He is replaced during the raid on the Truth and Reconciliation by Sergeant Parker, and for the raid on the Silent Cartographer by Gunnery Sergeant Waller. One place where he might make an appearance is when the Chief rescued a crashed Marine squad with a Sergeant and where Stacker is normally found in the game.
• At one point, the book states: "Consistent with his status as a veteran, the first alien to come around the corner wore red-trimmed armor, a methane rig, and a Marine's web pistol belt. The alien wore the captured gear Pancho Villa-style and dragged it across the deck. Two of his comrades brought up the rear." That is three Grunts in the Master Chief's sight. The next paragraph says, "Confident that there were more of the vaguely simian aliens on the way, the Master Chief paused long enough to let more of them appear, then opened fire. The recoil compensators in his armor dampened the effect, but he could still feel the handgun kick against his palm. All three of the Grunts went down from head shots." It is as if the extra Grunts that appeared simply disappeared. Only three Grunts were killed, which are the three original Grunts that first appeared: the leader and the two followers. But "...the Master Chief paused long enough to let more of them appear, then opened fire... All three of the Grunts went down from head shots." It is possible, though, that the Master Chief had simply expected more Grunts to appear; he may have simply waited in case more Grunts appeared, and then opened fire when he was sure there were not any. It is also possible that Master Chief was simply waiting for more of the three Grunts to appear, giving him larger target silhouettes to hit.

Halo 2

Main article: Halo 2

• In the video "Another Day at the Beach", soldiers depicted are the ODSTs. During gameplay, the soldiers at the hotel are just standard Marines. Also, the location of the crashed Pelican does not match its position in game.
  • This is probably because the cutscene was cut from the original game.
  • Also, on the Halo 2 case, the back depicts Master Chief fighting alongside ODST troops on Earth, whereas in the game, ODSTs are not present until the level "Delta Halo."
• In the level Delta Halo, you can find dead ODSTs all around the level -- 7 to be exact. However, In Amber Clad only dropped 11 HEVs... 3 ODSTs, the Master Chief, 3 more dead, and the seven ODSTs makes 14 dead soldiers. This may just be a secret 7 reference, however, as 7=7 and 7x2=14.
  • It is also possible that In Amber Clad launched more HEVs.
  • It is also possibe these are some of the HEVs launched in Halo 3:ODST.

Halo: First Strike

Main article: Halo: First Strike

• The Longsword that landed in the Ascendant Justice is repeatedly referred to as a Pelican.
• Vinh is referred to as Spartan-029, even though that was Joshua's tag. The mistake is probably a typo.
• It is stated that Dr. Halsey always referred to John by name, and never by rank or serial number. But in Halo: The Fall of Reach, she called him "Master Chief" repeatedly.

Halo 3

Main article: Halo 3

• Every Longsword fighter bears the marking 7-89 on its side, despite that each Longsword has a different serial number. This is likely the result of reusing the same model.
• In the ending cutscene of the level The Storm, all of the UNSC Frigates have the same serial number, and all are labeled "Forward Unto Dawn". One of the Frigates is actually the Forward Unto Dawn. This is also likely the result of reusing the same model.

Halo Wars

• In the level Dome of Light, after requesting the first Rhino to be deployed, the radio operator on the Template:UNSCship will identify the player as "Harvest Surface Command" even though the level takes place on Arcadia; however this could be that the Spirit of Fire was still assigned to Harvest.
• The SPARTANs must be wearing Mark IV MJOLNIR armor because the story takes place in 2531, 21 years before Reach would fall to the Covenant. However, the Spartans in the game possess recharging energy shields, a feature that was added in the Mark V armor. This is only a gameplay mechanic and should not be taken as canon. The developers confirmed that the SPARTANs' shield were featured merely to enhance gameplay.
• The Spirit of Fire is presumably equipped with a standard Magnetic Accelerator Cannon. A destroyer-class vessel can fire two rounds with one charge, as it possesses two separate MACs. The Template:UNSCship could shoot three rounds with one charge, as it possessed an advanced prototype. Super MACs around Reach and Earth could fire one round every five seconds. The MAC aboard the Spirit of Fire is able to deliver four rounds with a single charge, something that is unheard of in a shipborne MAC. However, as the rounds do very little damage to the area surrounding their targets, it may be assumed that the rounds, or the MAC itself, are not standard, or that the rounds are fired with a lower-than-normal charge.
• Presumably, only honor guards are permitted to wield energy staves. However, in the cutscene "Monsters", in which the Spartans fight Elites while Sergeant Forge is tries to activate the reactor, blue-armored Elites are equipped with energy staves. This may mean that these were honor guards composed of Elite minors, or that they were granted energy staves to fight with. It should be noted, however, that these Elites are seen uncloaking, as well as being clad in unshielded, light blue armor, perhaps suggesting that they are Stealth Elites.
• In all renders and cutscenes, most notably "Is Not My Girlfriend" at the beginning of the level Anders' Signal, the M41 Light Anti-Aircraft Gun is shown with four barrels. It is likely that this is either a variant of the M41 LAAG or a product of artistic licence. This four-barreled design is also featured in the The Package, a short from Halo Legends.

Conflicts

Manual vs Books

(These discrepancies are created when material from the game manuals is inconsistent with material from the novels.)

• The Halo: Combat Evolved Manual states that the Harvest incident took place in 2520, while all other sources specify 2525.
• The Halo: Combat Evolved manual says that the fall of Reach took place in 2552, but the final chapters of Halo: The Fall of Reach, it says that the fall of Reach took place in 2542. This is simply a typo in the book.
• The manual also states that Captain Keyes has served in the UNSC since 2526, though he was fresh out of the UNSC OCS in 2517.
• The Grunts are referred to as being five feet tall, but in The Fall of Reach, they are referred to as being a meter tall (a little over three feet). Although it could be that Grunts are "a meter tall" in a natural combat stance, while they are actually "five feet tall" if they stand up straight, without a Methane Tank attached to their backs.
• In Halo: The Flood, the Chief spots some 12-gauge shotgun shells near an entrance. In the manual and in all other media, they are said to be 8-gauge.

Game vs Books

(These are created when the novels describe events that are not the same as what is seen in gameplay. As explained in this forum post, the games are considered by Bungie to be more canon.)

• Jackals and Special Ops Elites are said to be on board the Pillar of Autumn in Halo: The Flood. This does not occur during gameplay on any difficulty.
  • They could have been on a different part of the ship.
• The primary insertion group during the Truth and Reconciliation assault is made up of ODSTs, while in-game there are only Marines. ODST's did appear in Halo: Combat Evolved (contrary to popular belief), although they did not wear ODST Body Suits in that game. These could have been separate insertions, but a singular attack is more likely.
• Cortana identifies Halo in Halo: The Flood when escaping the Pillar of Autumn, but it is not identified until the level Truth and Reconciliation in the game.
• Cortana accesses Halo's Control Center by having the Master Chief remove the memory chip from his helmet and place it in the console, while in the novel she broadcasts herself into the system using the suit's transmitter.
• The Pillar of Autumn's MAC cannon is depolarized and cannot fire, yet the gun is apparently used, and the loss of fire control still makes headlines in Halo: Combat Evolved's opening cutscene.
• The cutscene in Halo: Combat Evolved at the end of the level The Pillar of Autumn clearly shows the Autumn being fired upon with plasma. However, in the novel, the Prophet at the ring forbids the Covenant ships to fire, lest they strike the "sacred relic". However, the order could have been ignored or overruled (perhaps by the Supreme Commander) to stop the Autumn from hitting the surface, as the Prophet's demand was made before the ship was even boarded.
• In the game, Master Chief throws Private Jenkins' Record View away, but he still has it in First Strike. This could be explained by the Chief's suit automatically making a copy of Jenkins' recording as a possible means of gathering intelligence, although this is only a theory.
• In Halo: The Flood, most of the Marines described in the book were female, despite no female marines being in Halo: Combat Evolved at all.
• In Halo: The Flood, Captain Keyes comments that a single plasma torpedo is capable of destroying the Pillar of Autumn, though in Halo: Combat Evolved it is struck by several without loosing structural integrity and breaking up. This possibly again relates to the Minor Prophet's order to not fire Plasma Torpedoes. The Covenant ships may have chosen to fire undercharged shots to minimize damage caused by stray shots.

Books vs Books

(These errors happen when information from some of the novels is inconsistent with information from other novels.)

• 33 SPARTAN-IIs successfully adapted to the augmentations. Kurt-051; Sheila, and Randall were listed as MIA before 2552, as were Jai-006, Adriana-111, and Mike. Samuel-034 and three other Spartans were KIA, and one WIA, but thirty SPARTAN-IIs were present to defend Reach (John-117, Linda-058, James, and twenty-seven of Red Team). Other KIA Spartans include Cal-141 , Solomon-069, and Arthur-079. Douglas-042, Jerome-092, and Alice-130 became stranded outside UNSC-controlled space, unable to contact allied forces Maria-062 was stationed at Earth, where she had plans of "starting a family". By this count no more than 19 SPARTAN-IIs, apart from Jorge-052 of Noble Team, could have been present for the Battle of Reach.
• The Pelican's maximum operational capacity is listed as 12 Marines; elsewhere as 3 crew, 10 seated, 5 standing; yet still elsewhere they can carry 30 Elites, or 27 Spartans. It should be noted, though, that the Pelican in Halo: First Strike has all the unnecessary equipment removed -- likely including the seats -- and the Spartans are more or less jam-packed into the small craft. It is possible that there may be different variations of Pelicans, though we only see the one type in game, or that these were equipped with some kind of troop bay extension.
• During the Battle of Reach, many Covenant ships are destroyed, but not before they can let loose their own lethal plasma attacks. However, later plasma en route to a target merely dissipates as the originating ship and its magnetic controls are destroyed. It is possible that the magnetic controls were not destroyed in the former instance, allowing the plasma to continue to its target.
• Halo: The Fall of Reach states that Harvest has a population of 3 million. However, in Halo: Contact Harvest, it is stated to have a little over 300,000.
• Lieutenants Hall and Dominique are introduced as members of the command crew of the Pillar of Autumn, but are absent when the ship arrives at Installation 04. It should be noted, though, that Halo: The Fall of Reach states that there was a flutter in Dominique's heart when he came out of cryosleep prior to the discovery of Alpha Halo, perhaps indicating cardiac arrest.
• Chronologically, the first time Brutes are encountered by the UNSC was at the Battle of Harvest in 2525, yet the Master Chief has no intelligence on them until the attack on the Unyielding Hierophant in 2552. This could be accounted for by the secrecy of the first encounter with the Covenant, as the ONI could have tried to cover up the failure of the negotiations with the Brutes. Later material, such as We Are ODST, ONI Candidate Assessment Program V5.02A, The Babysitter ,The Package, and multiple stories in Evolutions show that Brutes were encountered throughout the war; in addition, UNSC personnel and even civilians in Halo 3: ODST seem quite familiar with the species. Brutes are also seen during the events of Halo Wars, but only on the Shield World, where the Spirit of Fire could not contact UNSC controlled space.
• In 2525, when Harvest was glassed by the Covenant, UNSC technology took approximately two months to traverse between Harvest and Reach, but in 2552 it takes a ship only 19 days to travel between Reach and Earth, when the distances between the three planets are only between 10 and 11 light years. However, this extended length may be due to damage to the Heracles.
• Throughout Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Elites referred to their superiors as "sir", while in Halo: The Flood, they said "Excellency". It is possible, though, that the two words are different English approximations of the same Sangheili honorific.
• In Halo: First Strike, Dr. Halsey puts four sub-machine guns in a bag. In Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Kelly found the same weapons, but they were four MA5B Assault Rifles instead.
• The BR55 (Battle Rifle) is said to be a prototype weapon on the planet Harvest for Captain Ponder's militia in Halo: Contact Harvest. However, in Halo: First Strike, some thirty years later, it is implied that the SPARTAN-IIs saw the weapons for the first time. More recently, though, Halo Wars, The Cole Protocol, Helljumpers, and Evolutions indicate that the BR55 was in service for the duration of the war.
• The Covenant has had knowledge on the Oracles for a long time, but in Halo: The Flood, 343 Guilty Spark was regarded as an enemy to the Sangheili.
• When Lieutenant Keyes is warned of the incoming Covenant fleet and asks what UNSC ships are nearby in Halo: The Cole Protocol, the book first states that three destroyers are picketing, but immediately counters that the UNSC Midsummer Night and three frigates wouldn't be able to repel a Covenant assault. However, they are later confirmed to be destroyers, one of which is the Do You Feel Lucky?.
• Chief Petty Officer Mendez remarks that some of the Alpha Company candidates were orphaned at Jericho VII. His speech takes place on December 12, 2531, yet Jericho VII was not glassed until February 2535.
• In Halo Wars: Genesis, Ellen Anders mentions the planet Onyx in passing, while giving a talk about an alien presence. However, in Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, Kurt reads a file that says Onyx has been classified since 2511. Genesis takes place in the spring of 2531. It is possible though, that like Dr. Halsey, she has a knack of looking at places where she doesn't have the clearance.
• In Halo: The Flood it says Captain Keyes killed his first human with a pistol; however, Halo: The Cole Protocol states he used a plasma rifle.
• The Halo: Evolutions story, The Impossible Life and the Possible Death of Preston J. Cole, it is clearly stated that Preston Cole had one hundred seventeen ships under his command during the Battle of Alpha Aurigae. Halo Wars: Genesis states he only had one hundred seven in the same battle.
• In various books the Magnetic Accelerator Cannon is also referred to as the Mass Accelerator Cannon. This is most likely a typo.

Game vs Game

(This occurs when information from one game is not consistent with information from another.)

• The doors in High Charity are different in Halo 2 and Halo 3. This could be because the High Charity part of Halo 2 takes place near the Prophets' Sanctum, and in Halo 3 near the core area, accounting for the difference in design.
• In Halo 3: ODST, Regret's carrier is seen as being stationary just prior to it jumping into slipspace, yet in Halo 2 during the closing cutscene of the level Metropolis the carrier is moving forwards.
• From the same scene in ODST, the In Amber Clad can be seen approaching the carrier in a straight line and is clearly separate when they jump, but in Halo 2, the In Amber Clad flies in an arc to a position underneath the starboard side of the carrier, where it would hardly be visible (if at all) to the ODSTs above.
• In Halo: Combat Evolved, which takes place directly after Halo: Reach, the Marines on board the Pillar of Autumn are armed with MA5B rifles. However, in Reach, the Marines (which come from the Pillar of Autumn) are armed with MA37 rifles. At the end of the game, the Marines board the Autumn once more, still with MA37 rifles. Therefore, in Halo, the Marines should be equipped with MA37 rifles, unless there is some other reason for the change that has yet to be explained/retconned.
  • However, this is most likely due to Bungie not having the time or ability to program a separate weapon for an NPC which is functionally the same as the rest, in addition to needing to make it so that Noble Six could not use the MA5B.