spartan123

I don't agree with changing the colors of the body suit because that would just get really messy and sort of look ridiculous. We'd have multi-colored rainbow spartans prancing around the battlefield. I always liked how they kept the undersuit grey and black - it was clean and equal among all players.

I agree with this. Next-gen consoles will be able to handle larger numbers of people, especially since Halo 5 is going to have dedicated servers and therefore minimal lag. I would honestly love to have larger lobbies; like in BTB if they made it 30 v 30 or something crazy like that, make it seem like an actual ground war.

This would never work. The elites would never agree to this because they would see it as dishonorable, and even if they did, they would quite literally crush their fellow Spartan trainees. Also, elites already HAVE power armor far more advanced than human Spartan armor.

I'm going with no.

The problem with this is that people would make their spartans smaller to minimize the hitbox, so that it would be harder to snipe them. Also, most of the Spartans were the same height (except Samuel) because they went through the same augmentations and carry similar genes, meaning that even before they went through training they were all somewhat similar physically. There would therefore be no need to alter your Spartan's height.

I like the idea of ending the flame war between Cod and Halo by having Bungie and Activision co-develop the game together, essentially creating a hybrid game of their two series that takes all of the good features from both.

Like the idea about going back to 3's ranking system. What I think 343 should do is have 1-50 for ranked playlists (like you said) and EXP progression rank for all playlists. Agree with you about bringing back the smaller, more symmetrical maps and creating them for specific gametypes. Loadouts are **** in my opinion; as I stated earlier, they ruin gameplay fluidity. I also am interested in what you said about including a Promethean melee weapon. Wouldn't it be cool to pick up the hard light blade that they carry around and use it like the energy sword?

Agree with you on pretty much everything. The custom loadouts, which I mentioned in my post and you touched upon, make power weapons on the map obsolete - why use a shotgun when you can spawn with a boltshot. I also agree with you that they should bring firefight back, and also with campaign replayability. One of the reasons I enjoyed Halo 2's campaign was because there were so many little things that you noticed for the first time when playing back missions. Like pieces of dialogue, cool backdrops, scripted deaths, or hidden skulls. Halo 2 had so much content in its campaign that it made you want to play it over again just to discover new things.

Whats up everyone? I just wanted to start a thread about potential improvements that 343 could make to their next halo installment, since many on this forum only touch on the problems in Halo 4 and not the solutions to said problems. There are 3 important issues that I think we should address first: lack of variety in map size (too large), custom loadouts and ordinance drops (which ruin gameplay balance and make map control unimportant), and the failure of Spartan Ops (which uses recycled levels from the campaign and ceases to pique the interest of gamers with its plot). Some solutions to these problems I think 343 should implement could be 1. smaller more symmetrical maps (along with more remakes and urban environments as opposed to natural environments), 2. the absence of custom loadouts and the placement of armor abilities as items that spawn on the map that you can pick up (like equipment in Halo 3, which I also think should make a return), and 3. the return of Firefight along with a stronger Spartan Ops (which could be improved by focusing on the lives of the Spartan IIs and IIIs instead of the newer Spartan IVs; I would love to play out some of the missions from the books, like Chi Cheti and Sigma Octanus). Post whatever problems and solutions that you like; I value this community website as a way of getting in touch with the ideas of the players and sharing my own opinions, so don't hold back.

I think commander is a higher rank than master chief, and she follows Osman's orders, and Osman is part of ONI, and the Chief works for ONI and technically follows their orders, so palmer giving the chief a command isn't that far-fetched.

Specialization Wetwork Pioneer Engineer Tracker Rogue Stalker Pathfinder Operator Infiltrator Sapper Grenadier Recon Security *Infiltrator – Spartan optimization for rapid response to field emergencies, requiring mobility force coordination. This decreases the duration of time between melee attacks, allowing players to land more blows on their enemy. Additionally, once hit by an enemy melee attack, the player with this specialization will receive a fourth of their shield back, while a fourth of the enemy shield will be drained. This can only happen once every minute. *Sapper – Spartan optimization for high-risk demolition operations designed to sabotage key enemy strongpoints. This decreases the time it takes to plant bombs in Assault, while also increasing the blast radius of Trip Mines and Sticky Detonators. *Grenadier – Spartan optimization for active high-munitions support during combat. This increases the amount of grenades a player can carry, and also increases their damage. The player will also gain a reduction in damage received from enemy explosives. *Recon – Spartan optimization for in-field intelligence gathering and electronic warfare. This extends the range of radar and Promethean Vision, while also making active camouflage last longer. *Security – Spartan optimization for escort operations involving the protection of important military and civilian personnel. It places waypoints over nearby teammates that have depleted shields, so that they might be protected. Armor Permutations Recruit Warrior Soldier Air Assault Infiltrator EOD Rogue EVA Gungir JFO ODST Grenadier Pilot Protector Ranger Hazop Operator Scout Mark V Scout Aviator CIO Enforcer Commando Orbital CQC War Master Recon Strider Tracker Engineer CBQ Deadeye Security Defender Raider Fotus Scanner Vanguard Mark VI SPI Venator Pathfinder Pioneer Stalker Wetwork Sapper Hayabusa *Infiltrator – The visor now sits lower on the face, and the mouthpiece is smoothed down, with less hard edges. *Fotus – The large horn is now removed. *Pioneer – The visor of the pioneer is now nonexistent, with two metal plates filling the spaces over the mouth and forehead. A thin opening near the eyes emits an electronic glow. *Scanner – The scanner is now thinner and wraps around the helmet visor. *Venator – The angle of the visor lines is less acute and more organic, nearly level with the eyes and wrapping around the front of the helmet. *Sapper – “Hannibal Weapon Systems began field testing this variant in the summer of 2555 to improve the overall ordinance capacity of naval saboteurs.” *SPI – “The ONI Materials Group recently received funding for the development of the third generation Semi-Powered Infiltration Armor.” *Hayabusa – Hayabusa lacks the accentuated spikes of the original model. Human Weapons Covenant Weapons Promethean Weapons Assault Rifle Battle Rifle SMG DMR Magnum Shotgun Sniper Rifle Rocket Launcher Spartan Laser Railgun Grenade Launcher Missile Pod Machine Gun Turret Sticky Detonator Combat Knife (assassination) SAW Katana (multiplayer) Plasma Rifle Covenant Carbine Storm Rifle Needle Rifle Plasma Pistol Mauler Beam Rifle Fuel Rod Focus Rifle Concussion Rifle Brute Shot Plasma Launcher Plasma Cannon Needler Energy Sword Storm Rifle Gravity Hammer Pulse Beam Promethean Carbine Suppressor Light Rifle Boltshot Scattershot Binary Rifle Incineration Cannon Sentinel Beam Heavyshot Dark Rifle Dark Launcher Guardian Turret Sentinel Mine Promethean Blade Titan Cannon Light Spear *Boltshot Because it was overpowered in Halo 4, this weapon can now only take down the shields of an enemy when overcharged, making it useful in melee combinations. *Pulse Beam Directed energy weapon that fires bursts of energy projectiles. When overcharged it fires a concentrated burst of energy in a thin horizontal spread. It can be found on certain Sentinel automatons, particularly the Enforcer. *Promethean Carbine semiautomatic scoped rifle that fires hard light projectiles, which can penetrate walls. *Sentinel Beam – Directed energy weapon that fires a steady stream of hard light for ten seconds before overheating, found on certain Sentinel automatons. *Heavyshot – Directed energy weapon mounted on the shoulder that fires a single beam of hard light, which explodes upon impact. *Dark Rifle – Semiautomatic scoped rifle powered by dark energy, capable of evaporating targets within seconds. *Dark Launcher– Handheld antiaircraft weapon powered by dark energy, designed to vaporize the alloys on human airborne vehicles. *Guardian Turret – Stationary automatic weapon found on certain Promethean automatons. Can be removed and used, similar to a detached turret. *Sentinel Mine – Single shot grenade launcher that envelopes targets in self-immolating nanites, melting armor and flesh upon impact, found on certain Sentinel automatons and only disabled by the electromagnetic pulse of the Sonic Grenade. *Promethean Blade – Melee weapon found on certain Promethean automatons. Players can use this weapon to commandeer vehicles by slashing at the head/torso of the driver and impaling him. *Titan Cannon – Fully automatic directed energy weapon designed to neutralize large groups of enemies. *Light Spear – Melee weapon employed by the personal guard of the Didact. *Katana – Melee weapon reinforced by a powerful alternating current that resonates at extremely high speeds. It originally functioned as an accessory in Halo 3, while here it behaves as a lethal melee weapon on par with the energy sword. It has lower damage than the energy sword, but can be drawn quicker and used with greater speed. Human Grenades Covenant Grenades Promethean Grenades Fragmentation Grenade Napalm Grenade Sonic Grenade Plasma Grenade Firebomb Grenade Spike Grenade Pulse Grenade Incineration Grenade Binary Grenade *Sonic Grenade – Electromagnetic pulse grenade designed to disable vehicles and shields. *Binary Grenade – Creates a temporary slipspace warp, pulling nearby objects towards their imminent doom. *Incineration Grenade – This explosive launches nanites similar to those employed in the Sentinel Beam at targets, consuming alloys and flesh for an extended period of time, only disabled by the electromagnetic pulse of the Sonic Grenade. Human Equipment Covenant Equipment Promethean Equipment Drop Shield Trip Mine Regenerator Radar Jammer Deployable Cover Power Drain Overshield Gravity Lift Jackal Gauntlet Hardlight Shield Beam Turret Autosentry Flare Human Armor Abilities Covenant Armor Abilities Promethean Armor Abilities Thruster Pack Sprint Jet Pack Climb Evade Berserk Active Camouflage Hologram Jump Charge Active Teleporter Promethean Vision *Promethean Vision – This armor ability now has a radius of only ten feet, making it useless in detecting players at long ranges. *Jackal Gauntlet – Covering less body area than the Hardlight Shield, this equipment piece is more durable and able to take more damage before failing. Human Armor Drops Covenant Armor Drops Promethean Armor Drops 70 xp 90 xp 110 xp 130 xp 75 xp 95 xp 115 xp 135 xp 80 xp 100 xp 120 xp 140 xp *Human Armor Drop – After earning at least 70 points, an octagonal platform approximately six feet in diameter will plummet from a distant pelican dropship that flies over the map. The Spartan who called in the armor drop will then stand in the center of the platform – depending on the armor ability preselected, specific parts of the armor drop platform will move to form around the player (if thruster pack was selected, the metal footspaces that the Spartan is standing in will form around his feet and attach the thruster pack to his heels; if the jet pack was selected, two magnetic devices will rise out of the platform carrying the jet back, attaching it to the Spartan’s back). *Covenant Armor Drop – After earning at least 75 points, an octagonal platform with similar dimensions to the human drop pod except made of dark purple Covenant metal will plummet from a distance phantom dropship. The Sangheili who called in the armor drop will then stand in the center of the platform – depending on the armor ability selected, specific parts of the armor drop platform will move to form around the player (if evade was selected, two anti-gravity Covenant drones will detach from the platform and hover in the air near the player’s back carrying two devices which comprise the armor ability; if active camouflage was selected, an anti-gravity beam will lift the armor ability up and onto the Sangheili’s back, where it will then mechanically form around its torso). *Promethean Armor Drop – After earning at least 80 points, a triangular platform made of grey Forerunner alloy will teleport to the location selected by the player. The Spartan or Sangheili who called in the armor drop will then stand in the center of the platform – the platform will then disassemble into minute metal fragments and circle around the player, attaching to him to form the preselected armor ability. *Climb – Spartans can climb steep obstacles while still exposed to fire. *Berserk – Sangheili will scream in anger once shields are down and gain a reduction in damage, as well as a small speed increase. *Jump – Spartans and Sangheili can execute a jump frequently employed by Promethean Knights. *Charge – Spartans and Sangheili will be able to use teleportation to evade fire whilst advancing towards enemies. *Active Teleporter – Spartans and Sangheili can use teleportation to move up to ten feet away from previous location. Armor Augmentations AI Uplink Improved Shielding Improved Outer Armor Improved Gel Layer *Armor Augmentations – These perks can only be obtained by gaining specific commendations. Each one has its strength and its drawback. Armor Augmentations cannot be used in tandem with armor abilities, so if one if preselected before a game, the option to preselect armor abilities in the armor drop column will disappear. Special commendations are required to use armor augmentations. *AI Uplink – Enables user to hack into enemy equipment and mark objectives for team. This will also mark the player on the radar of enemies within a thirty-foot radius when used to either hack or broadcast objectives. The War Games God (Master) Commendation is required to unlock this armor augmentation, which awards a point to the player after he maintains a rank above 45 for 100 games. *Improved Shielding – Shields will recharge twice as fast. This will also require the player to wear a heavy fusion generator on their back, which if hit by a high-velocity round from a sniper or a beam rifle, will explode and kill the wearer. The Ares (Master) Commendation is required to unlock this armor augmentation, which awards a point to the player every time he obtains two killionaires in a game for three consecutive matches. *Improved Armor – Higher resistance to explosive damage and plasma rounds. This will slow the player down considerably, since the materials the armor is composed of are extremely dense. The Juggernaut (Master) Commendation is required to unlock this armor augmentation, which awards a point to the player every time he obtains a perfection for three consecutive matches. *Improved Gel Layer – Higher resistance to bullet damage once shield are disabled. This will allow incineration, firebomb and napalm grenades to instantly kill the player, since the gel layer is considerably thicker and will thus evaporate when in contact with extreme heat, vaporizing the player. The Victor (Master) Commendation is required to unlock this armor augmentation, which requires the player to win fifty consecutive games of any playlist in War Games. Body Augmentations Skeleton Muscle Retina Nerve Librarian Evolution *Skeleton – No fall damage. During customization, a see-through schematic will show the bone being reinforced throughout the Spartan character’s body, growing more durable. *Muscle – Increased melee damage. During customization, a see-through schematic will show the muscle tensing throughout the Spartan character’s body, growing stronger. *Retina – Brightness adjusted in dark. During customization, the Spartan character’s eyes will turn white. *Nerve – Increased aiming speed. During customization, a see-through schematic will show the Spartan character’s nerve endings glowing red. *Librarian Evolution – Higher resistance to Promethean weapons. During customization, a white light will emanate from the Spartan character’s visor, his eyes turning red and then back to normal. Human Vehicles Covenant Vehicles Warthog Warthog (Gauss) Warthog (Missile) Mongoose Scorpion Hornet Elephant Cyclops Mammoth (campaign + Spartan ops) Pelican Scythe Mantis Leopard Hawk Broadsword (campaign) Vulture (campaign) Albatross (campaign) Specter Prowler Revenant Ghost Wraith Banshee Shadow Scarab (campaign + Spartan ops) Harvester (campaign + Spartan ops) Phantom Shade Locust Chopper Vampire Seraph (campaign) Lich (campaign) Heavy Orbital Insertion Pod (campaign) *Scorpion – The Scorpion tank is now able to carry two additional occupants inside its aft holding bay, and possesses a coaxial machine gun turret as well as a pintle-mounted manned one, which is now enclosed within a sealed metal chamber. The sides of the treads are also now equipped with ladders and support holds for soldiers riding on them. This model also employs laser-guided rocket munitions, so that rounds no longer arc. *Hornet – The Hornet flier is now capable of carrying six passengers aside from the pilot. This is possible because the Hornet now has a troop transport bay positioned between its two landing skids. This transport bay has three jumpseats, the middle one positioned directly behind the engine facing away from the main body of the aircraft. A machine gun is positioned over the edge of the transport bay also facing away from the aircraft; if someone were to man this weapon, their legs would hang over the side of the platform. Besides the three jumpseats in the transport bay, the landing skids also possess one jumpseat each, the legs of the occupants dangling over the sides of the skids completely exposed. So for the most part, all of the jumpseats and spaces for passengers face away from the frontal pilot section. *Scythe – Anti-aircraft emplacement firing 20X 120mm HEIAP rounds at a rate of 6,000 per minute. *Harvester – Large six-legged mining vehicle designed for the purpose of excavating Forerunner artifacts. *Locust – Quadruped mobile firing platform armed with a charged plasma cannon capable of burning through high-density human alloys. *Leopard – Two-wheeled Lightly armored reconnaissance vehicle capable of carrying one passenger. *Vampire – Aerial anti-gravity vehicle slower than the banshee lacking boost ability. It is capable of supporting five occupants: one driver, two gunners, and two passengers. It sports twin-mounted plasma cannons on its frontal side (gunner), one heavy needle cannon in its bow (gunner), and one stasis cannon (pilot) which slows down enemy vehicles, similar in effect to the plasma pistol overcharge. *Hawk – Anti-vehicle aerodyne specializing in tank busting. It is capable of supporting one gunner and one pilot. It moves much faster than the Hornet, but possesses weaker armor, making it far more susceptible to small arms fire. It sports two dual linkless-feed autocannons (pilot), and one nose-mounted Model 6 Grindell/Galilean Nonlinear Rifle (gunner).

Halo 5 Prologue The Master Chief is at ONI HQ in Sydney, Australia attending a public inquiry into the New Phoenix Incident. During the conference, he reunites with his comrades Kelly and Fred, who reveal that they have been commissioned to train Spartan IV soldiers aboard the Infinity. The Chief also meets Admiral Lord Hood, who was summoned to testify on behalf of the Home Fleet that was responsible for protecting earth when the Didact destroyed New Phoenix. Although Hood defends himself by claiming that the Didact was too powerful for him to intervene, the panel nonetheless denounces him for incompetence. Later, Hood privately confides to the Chief that Prime Minister Dr. Ruth Charet intends to appoint Vice Admiral Ysionris Jeromi to his position, forcing him to consider resignation. The report following the public inquiry recommends immediate action against the Covenant Remnant and the traitor Dr. Halsey in order to recover the complete Janus Key. The scientist is believed to be hiding on Sanghelios with the Remnant leader, Jul ‘Mdama. Admiral Serin Osman orders the Chief and Blue Team to execute Jul ‘Mdama. She then orders Majestic to execute Halsey, and not to tell anyone about their mission. She then issues her artificial intelligence Black Box to the Chief as a replacement for Cortana, having secretly ordered it act as a homing beacon for local UNSC forces in the event that John defects. Osman also grants the Chief access to classified ONI files detailing the Spartan IV soldiers and their career resumes, knowing that his former childhood companion Parisa is among them. When the Chief asks why she gave him access to encrypted files, Osman replies that it would be appropriate for him to know the men and women he is serving with. However, Osman secretly intends to use Parisa as leverage to compel the Chief to kill Halsey, since failing to do so would result in her division being sent into combat to complete his mission, putting her in serious danger. The Prisoner – Chief The Infinity arrives at Sanghelios in the midst of the Sangheili Civil War and helps the fleet under Thel ‘Vadam repel the Covenant Remnant ships. While the majority of the Remnant fleet retreats through slipspace destined for the former human colony world of New Llanelli, they leave a significant ground force on Installation 02, alternatively designated Beta Halo, which is in orbit around Sanghelios. The Sangheili Remnant on Beta Halo converge on the city of Ramos, which was built by the Sangheili when they first set foot on the inactive ring three millennia ago. Meanwhile, the Infinity lands on Sanghelios in the state of Vadam, which has since been ravaged by the Sangheili Civil War. There, the Chief meets Thel ‘Vadam, Kaidon of the state of Vadam and Arbiter of the New Covenant. Thel says that his clan is growing weaker due to the Covenant Remnant gaining support, and asks Captain Lasky to hunt down and execute Avu Med ‘Telcam, leader of the Servants of Abiding Truth. Since the Covenant loyalists do not know where he is currently hiding, Thel leads the Chief to question a Sangheili prisoner in a deep pit. His name is Raas ‘Jaramee, an old accomplice of ‘Telcam who aided in the initial rebellion against Thel. He appears blind and badly burned, which Thel says was his punishment for treason. ‘Jaramee says that ‘Telcam is hiding on New Llanelli, while his associate ‘Mdama is still leading Remnant forces in Ramos. Beta Halo – Chief Hours after leaving Vadam, the Chief and Spartan Blue Team ride an Albatross into the atmosphere of Beta Halo, landing in the jungle ruins outside Ramos. After encountering resistance from the Covenant Remnant, the Chief leads Blue Team into battle within Ramos, executing several Sangheili rebels, including former Shipmaster Buran ‘Yatul, one of ‘Telcam’s close conspirators. After pressing through a series of Forerunner ruins, Blue Team encounters ‘Mdama seeking shelter in a Sangheili temple. Despite Thel’s warnings that attacking the sacred ground would cause resentment throughout the Sangheili leadership caste, Osman orders Captain Adam Del Rio to bombard the Temple with the Infinity’s MAC. Vadam – Chief ‘Mdama is confirmed dead when Blue Team inspects the wreckage of the Temple and finds his body. However, Dr. Halsey is nowhere to be found. Due to the potential political ramifications of allowing humans to desecrate sacred ground, Thel requests that the Infinity leave the system at once, offering to blame the attack on the Jiralhanae cell in Ontom, a neighboring state with no ruling Kaidon. Before the Chief boards the Infinity, he holds a final conference with Thel, informing him that ‘Mdama holds a piece of the Janus Key, which could reveal all hidden Forerunner artifacts in the galaxy. Thel, knowing that ‘Telcam would use the key to usurp him, agrees to travel with the Infinity to New Llanelli to retrieve the other piece of it. He appoints his ally and countryman Rtas ‘Vadum to the temporary position of Kaidon while he takes a small fleet of ships and prepares to leave with the Infinity. However, before they can do so, the Jiralhanae cell in Ontom attacks the state of Vadam, forcing the allied fleet to liberate the city and eliminate the Brute invaders. While confronting a dying Brute Chieftain, the chief learns that his Jiralhanae cell made a deal with an unnamed human faction to invade Vadam in exchange for Forerunner technology. Before the Chief can learn the name of the human faction, the Chieftain dies. With the state of Vadam secure, and the rebellion on Sanghelios eliminated along with the Jiralhanae threat, the allied fleet transitions to slipspace and sets course for New Llanelli. Repel Borders – Chief En route to New Llanelli, the allied fleet is attacked by a Promethean vessel that attempts to board the Infinity. The Chief repels the invaders and destroys the vessel by detonating a HAVOC nuclear device inside its core, causing the slipspace channel to fail and stranding the fleet in an unknown star system with seven suns. Entering the atmosphere of an ocean planet rotating around the nearest star, the Infinity comes across a Forerunner structure emanating an aurora-like light on a small island. The Chief inspects the island and the tower itself, encountering several benign Sentinels and hostile Promethean Knights, who appear to be guarding a piece of Cortana, the AI having been composed after the destruction of the Didact’s ship. Activating a cartographer, the Chief views a starmap, which shows that the other fragments of Cortana are scattered throughout New Llanelli, the planet having originally been a Forerunner colony world before humans settled it thousands of years later. Because of the damage caused by the rapid slipspace exit, many of the UNSC ships that lacked shielding are repaired in orbit, delaying the mission for two days. After the Chief is extracted back to the Infinity, he uses BB to view the encrypted files given to him by Osman, discovering that Parisa is serving in the battalion of Spartan IV soldiers aboard the Infinity. He remembers meeting her five years ago during the Covenant invasion of New Mombasa, even recalling the time they spent together as children. However, he forces himself to forget her, knowing that Spartan II soldiers are prohibited from revealing their identities to anyone outside ONI Section III. New Llanelli – Chief After the repairs are finished, the allied fleet enters slipspace again and arrives in the Brunel System, only to find three abandoned Covenant rebel cruisers orbiting New Llanelli. Landing in the ruined human city of New Wales, the Chief and Blue Team are shocked to discover that most of the Remnant composed themselves, believing the Prometheans to be gods. After entering the ruins of a human skyscraper, the Spartans encounter human members of Kilo Five, a division of ONI. They appear to be hiding from the composed Sangheili whilst secretly supplying living Sangheili with modified weapons for the purpose of supplanting ‘Telcam. The Chief and Blue Team confront the leader of the human personnel, who reveals herself to be Naomi-010, a Spartan II employed under Kilo Five who was tasked by ONI with spying on ‘Telcam and undermining his efforts on New Llanelli. Osman apparently gave her this order after she learned that the Remnant had discovered a composer on the former human colony and were using the device on themselves, thus rendering the pact made on Sanghelios between ONI and the Remnant obsolete. Both human groups agree that ‘Telcam must be dealt with, but refrain from discussing the fate of Dr. Halsey, whom unbeknownst to them is being held with freedom of movement aboard ‘Telcam’s flagship, Path of the Righteous. While the crew of the Infinity, including Captain Laksy, argue for an immediate assault against the Remnant to execute ‘Telcam and retrieve the other piece of the Janus Key, Naomio-010 believes this will compromise her group’s covert mission and lose them potential Sangheili allies behaving as moles within the Remnant. However, she eventually complies after she receives an order from Osman telling her to let the assault begin but also to execute Blue Team once they locate the Janus Key, thereby eliminating any evidence of ONI involvement in the supplying of enemy forces. Despite Majestic also being present in New Llanelli to witness ONI supplying enemy troops, Osman decides to spare them, believing that they can be kept quiet about her organization’s activities while also being used to tie loose ends. She tells Commander Palmer to pair Majestic with Blue Team on their mission to infiltrate Path of the Righteous, while ordering DeMarco to execute the Spartan II soldiers if they are seen colluding with Halsey, reasoning to him that years of service have weakened their mental faculties and made them more susceptible to defection. Osman knows that the Chief will inevitably find out that Halsey is being held by ‘Telcam and betray the mission to rescue her, forcing Majestic to kill him. Janus Key – Chief The Infinity begins its assault on New Llanelli by commandeering the Remnant cruisers left in orbit and landing them in New Wales. They then broadcast that they are Sangheili reinforcements from the Remnant cell on Hesduros as a distraction, while they deploy UNSC soldiers through the ships’ gravity lifts into the city. Moments before the commencement of the attack, Blue Team and Majestic infiltrate the grounded Path of the Righteous and place improvised explosives throughout vital areas of the ship whilst evading Prometheans and Remnant Sangheili. Just before the team prepares to leave the ship and detonate the explosives, the Chief uses a computer terminal to view the control room in order to confirm that ‘Telcam is indeed onboard, and observes the Sangheili conversing with an unrestrained Halsey. Abandoning Majestic, Blue Team, and his mission, the Chief enters the control room, mortally wounding ‘Telcam and leaving him for dead whilst evacuating Halsey with the Key of Janus. BB broadcasts a signal to Majestic and Crimson, telling them what transpired and the Chief went rogue. When Majestic informs Palmer that the Chief failed to execute Halsey by detonating the explosives as planned, she reports it to Osman, who orders the team to kill both the doctor and Blue Team. Meanwhile Halsey, who has yet to tell the Chief that ONI is trying to kill her, secretly hacks into the explosives Majestic planted throughout the ship in order to eliminate the Spartan IV team pursuing them. She sets them to explode in two minutes, giving the Chief enough time to evacuate the ship but not enough for the pursuing Majestic. As the Chief reaches the hangar bay, he reunites with Blue Team and together they search for transport. Three Betrayals – Chief As Blue Team prepares to commandeer a Phantom from the ship’s launch bay, Majestic arrives and engages them, forcing them to flee in the aircraft. DeMarco then learns that Halsey hacked into the explosives and set them to detonate within seconds, and orders Majestic to jump from the hovering cruiser fifty feet to the ground. They do so, barely escaping the ship as it explodes above them, the wreckage nearly crushing them. As Majestic recovers on the ground and Blue Team flies into unmarked airspace with Halsey, the UNSC troops hidden throughout New Wales and the surrounding area engage the Remnant and Prometheans, driving them back within minutes of intense combat. With Majestic hunting Blue Team, and ONI eliminating the Sangheili it formerly supplied with weapons, the third betrayal comes when the Didact reveals himself to the UNSC ground forces. He had apparently survived the fall into the slipspace conduit, later transitioning back into normal space with the aid of his advanced Forerunner combat skin, before entering the orbit of New Llanelli. It was there that he found the Remnant, along with ‘Telcam, and chose to spare them as his followers. He then used them to construct a second composer from his stored knowledge of the first, before convincing them to use it on themselves in order to achieve salvation and become gods in the afterlife. With the Didact’s leadership, the Prometheans rally the fleeing Remnant and put up heavy resistance against the UNSC, using the composer to digitize several human soldiers. The UNSC begins a second retreat back to the commandeered cruisers, taking heavy losses from the pursuing Prometheans and their Remnant allies. Didact – Thorne As the UNSC beats a hasty retreat back to their commandeered cruisers, the Infinity makes landfall and unleashes its MAC cannons against the Promethean forces, devastating them and allowing the human ground forces to launch a counterattack. Fireteam Majestic, led by Thorne, destroys a group of Scarab walkers guarding an armored Harvester mining vehicle, which later turns out to be a Yanme’e hive. Seeing that the Didact has surrounded the composer behind a makeshift plasma shield, Majestic commandeers the Harvester and uses its laser on the barrier, disabling it. The composer is then destroyed when Majestic sets improvised explosives throughout the Harvester and drives it into the composer, escaping just as they detonate the devices remotely. Realizing that his composer was destroyed, and that his forces are helpless without it, the Didact retreats to a solitary Forerunner structure atop a snowcapped mountain neighboring New Wales. There, he activates a device that will supposedly reawaken a dormant Forerunner population hidden beneath the surface of the planet, but instead unleashes the flood. Despite the best efforts of the Prometheans to beat back the infection, they are overwhelmed nonetheless and destroyed. Seeing his forces fall to the flood, the Didact resolves to at least destroy the humans on New Llanelli, and releases several thousand hidden cultures of dormant flood spores spread across the planet. The UNSC, discovering that Didact has released the flood, hastens the retreat to their ships. Del Rio reports the incident to Osman, who orders him to extract the Key of Janus before withdrawing his forces from New Llanelli and bombarding the planet from orbit. Meanwhile, down beneath the planet’s surface, the reawakened flood cultures begin forming a proto-gravemind from the assembled corpses of humans and Remnant warriors. The Didact seals himself within the Forerunner mountain facility, choosing to wait until the infection destroys the humans before it starves to death. Reckoning – Chief After entering unmarked airspace, the Chief lands his phantom near a Forerunner pillar on a desert plain. There he confronts Dr. Halsey about her aiding the Remnant, forcing her to reveal that Osman had her execution ordered. When he asks why, Halsey says Osman resents her for abducting her as a child for the Spartan II program; she also frequently voiced her discontent against the immoral actions of the doctor during her work in ONI. The Chief vows to protect her long enough to defeat the Didact and possibly clear both of their names. In orbit, Thel has received word that UNSC forces are in full retreat, and that a “parasite” has been released from Forerunner holding facilities beneath the planet’s surface. He takes a squad of Sangheili Honor Guard and flies to the surface of New Llanelli to assist the UNSC, fighting off the flood as the humans flee to the cruiser’s gravity lifts. Damned – Thel After assisting the evacuation of the human ground forces, Thel falls into a crevice where he finds the roots of the gravemind growing. Abandoning his Honor Guard, Thel follows the roots underground to a large chamber housing the gravemind. It tells Thel that there are still Forerunners alive on other planets, “neither dead nor alive, but in eternal slumber.” He then goes on to say that the Didact is seeking to resurrect the hibernating Forerunners by assembling the pieces of the Janus Key. The Gravemind offers its help in aiding Thel against the Didact, but the Sangheili warrior rejects the offer before attempting to battle the creature. However, he is nearly overwhelmed by the flood and instead returns above ground. On the surface he finds a crashed banshee and flies it to the Chief’s last known location, the Path of the Righteous. Reaching the wreckage of the ship, Thel witnesses the Chief arrive in his commandeered phantom with Dr. Halsey and the rest of Blue Team. He asks them why they haven’t withdrawn to the human-controlled ships, since his Sangheili fleet is preparing to glass the city of New Wales in order to contain the Flood. The Chief says that he needs to destroy the Didact, and Thel agrees to go with him. Dr. Halsey then decides to flee the planet in a human frigate they found grounded near the wreckage of Path of Righteous, and Chief orders the rest of Blue Team to escort her. When he asks Halsey where she is going, she says she intends to visit the hidden insurrectionist cell on the moon Titan. She also says that the only way the Key of Janus can be used is by inserting it into the Absolute Library, which she does not know the location of. Leaving it in the hands of the Chief is, in her opinion, safer than bringing it with her to a human outpost, where it could draw the Didact’s forces. As she leaves in the frigate with Blue Team and evades the allied ships in orbit, the Chief and Thel board the phantom and leave the wreckage of the Path of the Righteous. Kilo-Five – Chief As the Chief flies the phantom towards the Forerunner mountain structure, the aircraft is pursued and shot down by members of Kilo Five, severely injuring Thel. Although the Sangheili warrior sadly admits that he would prefer to die in battle than return to his ruined homeworld, the Chief tries to carry him. This, however, worsens Thel’s wounds and forces the Chief to leave him under a tree near the shoulder of the mountain, as he cannot move without assistance. While conducting reconnaissance of the surrounding valley below, the Chief catches sight of Naomi-010 and her ONI escort, who appear to be headed for the mountain. He engages them from the high ground, holding them off until three hundred Spartan IVs enter the area from space using HEV pods, ordered by Osman to execute the Chief and any of his accomplices while securing the Forerunner mountain structure as a fallback point from the flood. Retreating up the mountain pursued by Naomi-010, the Chief evades and then ambushes the Spartan II, triggering a flashback from his training in the forests of Reach. It was there that he fought against members of Tango Company in a competition of Capture the Flag, and also where he helped free Naomi from a barracks held by the Marines. Returning to reality, the Chief spares the injured Naomi and asks her how many Spartan IIs are left, to which she replies there are thirty. She also reveals all of Kilo Five’s activities on Sanghelios and New Llanelli, and how they had tried to provoke a Sangheili civil war to help humanity recover and gain supremacy. Naomi then dies from her wounds in John’s arms. The Chief then throws her into a deep glacial chasm to prevent her from being consumed by the Flood. Returning to the tree where he left the Arbiter down near the valley, the Chief discovers that his body is missing, and that a trail of blood was left leading towards the Forerunner structure. Showdown – Chief After following the blood to the summit of the mountain above the clouds, the Chief reaches the frontal façade of the Forerunner spire, which appears similar to those he encountered on Requiem. Before he can approach it any further, one of Thel’s cruisers infected by the Flood crashes in his path, allowing thousands of Combat Forms to swarm the summit. Several Remnant Orbital Insertion Pods arrive to reinforce the Didact’s position, battling the Flood and the Chief. The remaining Promethean Knights guarding the Didact exit the spire to assist the Remnant. Battling his way through the carnage of the three armies, the Chief finally enters the structure and confronts the Didact. The Forerunner reveals that other members of his race are still alive in stasis on various installations. After the activation of the Halo Array, many of his supporters, including his Prometheans, chose to enter a “millennial slumber” in order to outlive the forces of the Librarian, who had apparently also survived the ring activation. He then claims that he released the parasite to cleanse the galaxy of humans, himself and his Promethean Knights being immune to the infection. When the Chief says the Flood will consume all sentient life including the humans, the Didact counters that the genetic information used in the first reseeding of the galaxy can be used a second time to repopulate it after he activates the Halo Array. Battling the Didact and his remaining guards, the Chief manages to beat back the Forerunner long enough for the Flood to breach the facility and distract the Prometheans. Fleeing from the Chief, the Didact triggers a slipspace portal with his suit and enters it, leaving the remaining Prometheans and his human adversary to their fates. He exits the portal back on Beta Halo, walking alone towards an immense flat Forerunner artifact that appears to be an ark portal. Absolute Record – Chief The Flood reaches the room housing the Prometheans and proceeds to overwhelm them as the Chief escapes in a lift to the top of the spire. Overhead, he sees several Covenant loyalist ships fire upon the land below, glassing the already ruined city of New Wales to prevent the infection from spreading. Reaching the top of the spire, the Chief discovers a Forerunner device similar to a cartographer, which emits a map of the galaxy showing millions of yet undiscovered Forerunner installations after he inserts the Key of Janus into it. The Chief deduces that the machine is the Absolute Record, mentioned earlier by Halsey before she left the planet. When he presses his hand, covered in the Didact’s blood following their struggle in the lower spire, across the machine’s interface, the symbol for Forerunner appears on the galactic map. Thousands of stars glow bright orange, showing the locations of the dormant Forerunner populations. The Chief then realizes that the Didact, having known of these populations prior to entering the Cryptum, did not need the Key of Janus to discover them, and had instead been seeking a way to reawaken them. Before he leaves, the Librarian appears in a vision to him, telling him that the Didact is headed for Beta Halo to activate the dormant Forerunners, and gives him a significant portion of the pieces of Cortana that were scattered throughout New Llanelli, manifested in a small handheld Forerunner information storage device. She says that prior to transferring ancillas into Monitors, their ‘souls’ were stored in pieces of technology such as these. She says that the pieces of Cortana are still unassembled, missing other integral parts of their original programming, but assures him that they can be refit together if the Chief finds the “organic source of the ancilla,” in this case Halsey. Regretting having let the scientist flee the planet too early, the Chief decides to find her after defeating the Didact once and for all in order to revive Cortana. Before he leaves the vision, he asks the Librarian is she is still indeed alive as the Didact claimed, to which she replies yes, but not in the world inhabited by the Chief. She was one of the few Forerunners who left the galaxy after taking shelter in the lesser Ark during the firing of the Halo Array, her semblance in the vision being an ancilla cloned from her brain that she left in the systems of several installations as a lasting legacy, the purpose of which was to help the descendants of humankind. Leaving the vision, the Chief finds the Flood have reached his position, and is nearly killed before the Arbiter arrives in a Hawk and evacuates him from the roof of the spire. Escape From Hell – Chief Flying the Hawk over the burning planet, the Chief asks Thel how he managed to commandeer the aerodyne, to which he replies that it was among the equipment left in the camp abandoned by Kilo Five at the base of the mountain. After descending the cliff, he had managed to use his suit’s stealth abilities to evade the Flood and reach the vehicle before flying it to rescue the Chief. The two lands the Hawk on a hill overlooking the grounded Infinity, intending to infiltrate the ship before it takes off, since it is the only means they have of leaving the planet. As they prepare to leave for it, Spartan IV soldiers arrive and prepare to battle them. Among them is Parisa, whom the Chief recognizes immediately. Knowing that she is unaware of his identity and would readily kill him as a traitor, the Chief allows himself to be arrested by her squad. When the Chief is brought aboard the Infinity and met by Lasky, he reveals that ONI had conducted black ops to subvert Sangheili peace and had committed treasonous crimes against the UNSC. Lasky reluctantly agrees to release the Chief on those terms. When Palmer finds out, she doesn’t argue but warns that due to ONI’s influence in the UNSC War Council, he could be court martialed for subordination, to which he replies that it no longer matters in the scheme of defending the galaxy. Majestic and Crimson, along with most of the Spartan IVs, object to letting the Chief onboard due to the losses they suffered by him, and threaten to mutiny against their officers. The Chief is able to pacify them by relating to their collective sufferings and saying that he lost most of his unit throughout the course of the Human Covenant War, along with his AI companion Cortana, effectively losing his entire “family.” Understanding John’s grief and realizing that selfless heroism helped save humankind and the universe several times over, the audience of Marines and Spartan IV’s feels a strong solidarity towards him and agrees not to mutiny. As the Infinity leaves the planet, now burning and surrounded by the Sangheili fleet, John tells Del Rio that the Didact is headed for Beta Halo to reawaken Forerunner stasis capsules hidden throughout the galaxy. The Captain, however, refuses to comply and blames the Chief for the deaths of the Spartan IV soldiers and various members of the UNSC Infinity, forcing the Chief to restrain him in the ship’s brig. While much of the crew still supports John, including Majestic, others are still angry towards him for killing their comrades and incarcerating Del Rio, including Crimson. Conspiring amongst themselves against the Chief and his supporters, Crimson vows to follow the execution order authorized by ONI that Majestic had failed to carry out, deciding to kill the Spartan in the heat of battle when he is distracted. Before the Infinity transitions to slipspace, Thel gives orders to his ships to glass the entire planet three times over to ensure that the parasite is contained, telling his commanders that he is heading to defend their homeworld with the humans. Millennial Awakening – Chief Arriving in the Sanghelios system, the Infinity and several Sangheili ships under Rtas make landfall on Beta Halo, this time on the side of the ring opposite the city of Ramos, where the Didact has taken control of local Sentinel and Promethean defenses to secure a large Forerunner artifact ten miles in diameter. A fleet of Remnant ships has also joined his cause, led by the former Sangheili prisoner ‘Jaramee, who escaped incarceration amidst the confusion caused by a second Jiralhanae incursion into Vadam. Rtas has already gathered a fleet to engage the Remnant over Beta Halo, and forms a plan with the humans to provide a distraction while the Infinity attacks the Remnant from the side. The warship lands on the surface of the ring and deploys a large tank and mammoth column from its ventral loading bay, followed by several Marine battalions. As the column pushes towards the artifact with the Infinity following overhead, the human ships engage the Remnant fleet hovering above the artifact, causing several of its ships to crash around the tank column. The artifact is revealed to be flat, similar to the portal leading to the lesser ark near Voi in Kenya. As the tanks cross it, lead by the Chief at the vanguard, they cause the Prometheans and Remnant guarding the edges to route towards the center. In the chaos of the battle, the tank column becomes scattered amidst the debris strewn across the battlefield, allowing Crimson to attack the Chief from afar using two hornets. They nearly succeed in exploding his tank until he abandons it and hides behind the remains of a Banshee. It turns out that BB had been broadcasting a signal from the Chief’s helmet to Crimson. The Chief then promptly eliminates them and destroys the data chip containing BB. After reporting the incident to Lasky, the Chief reunites with the rest of the UNSC forces. Reaching the center of the artifact, the tank column finds the Didact surrounded by a Forerunner shield. He activates the portal, causing the center of the artifact, which is two miles in diameter, to descend below ground. A blinding light emerges from the opening in the ground, causing many of the soldiers to turn away. Soon after the Didact disappears, the shield surrounding the shaft fails, allowing the UNSC forces to advance towards its edge. The Chief jumps from his tank into the opening and falls several hundred feet to the floor, where a slipspace portal has been activated. Entering it, he receives a vision of the Forerunners after the firing of the Halo array, depicting them as they fought amongst themselves about whether to kill the prehistoric humans rescued on the lesser ark, or to let them prosper. Eventually, a war broke out, and the warrior-servants who had supported the Didact were forced to retreat to secret slipspace capsules to escape the life-workers commanded by the Librarian. The life-workers then proceeded to reseed the galaxy and finally disappear, as described by the Librarian. Exiting the vision, the Chief finds himself in a habitable dyson sphere housed within a slipspace bubble. He confronts the Didact, whose suit was damaged during the battle with the humans, preventing him from using his telekinesis to restrain the human soldier. The Chief fights and kills the Didact in a fierce duel, before taking fire from an unseen adversary and being forced to retreat through the slipspace portal back to the ringworld. As the Chief readies his rifle along with his countless comrades surrounding the portal, a powerful wind is emitted, causing several of the vehicles to be thrown backwards along with their occupants. Humanoid figures emerge from the portal, Forerunner warrior-servants reawakened from their ancient sleep. They then proceed to nearly annihilate the human ground forces, causing a widespread retreat from the ringworld. The Chief watches from the bridge of the Infinity as Forerunner ships reactivate throughout the ring, piloted by their Forerunner makers. The Chief tells Lasky that although the Didact is dead, his warrior-servants and Prometheans are continuing his legacy of annihilating humanity. Epilogue In the epilogue, the ruins of the Sangheili fleet around New Llanelli are shown, suggesting that the flood escaped the system.

We already have specializations for that, and people seem to be complaining that it is too similar to Cod.

Extravision and 180otss sound cool but really OP for Halo 4; people have complained about promethean vision, which only has a radius of around twenty-feet. Extravision sounds like that, only on steroids. What makes you think people won't start complaining about that? And 180oTSS sounds really cheap, like if someon's shields are down and they are running away from their attacker, they can just fire a gun over their shoulder and kill him. That will create a lot of bull****, no offense. I like your third idea, having Pelicans equipped to perform water landings; the only problem, though, is that humans are so advanced at this point in time that they simply don't need to even land - they have thrusters that can hover them meters above the ground. Why would a pelican need water landing treads when it already has futuristic thrusters? Overall, this is a good post, keep up the good work. Some of your ideas sound really interesting.

If they bring back equipment, this would definitely be included in that category.