lore-and-universe

[orchid kettle]

I always preferred the idea that the Flood are just real good at twitter debates and if exposed to their rhetoric long enough, an AI could be convinced to do anything

Which I dunno, I think it's spooky to think that the Flood can make a case for themselves so compelling that all who hear it join their side

The Gravemind is supposed to be a collection of a trillion minds or whatever, right. How can anyone try and communicate with that and not be overwhelmed

[empty bloom]

It's just basically a botnet of twitter replies that are all telling you that you're dumb and wrong

[orchid kettle]

The current iteration of the Gravemind is one that doesn't make a ton of sense to me, personally

i may just be dumb, but I don't fully get how the Gravemind bragging about how evil he is convinces the Didact to be evil in turn

If it just makes the Didact crazy, then okay whatever

luckily "insane" means you have free rein to have a character do anything you want

[sonic lagoon]

Would the flood work on organism or machines from another universe devoid of the precursors?

[carmine sleet]

I don't see why not?

[spark pivot]

Hunter worms are the ones that come to mind, but thats solely because they're too small for the infection form, they would still get used as biomass though, also, none of us want to fight a flood hunter

[prisma sierra]

You're right. He should be Commander Jerome

ONI game would be cool

[empty bloom]

[rocky ember]

Makes sense, though I'd always assumed if organism is simple enough, and has no nervous system or anything to attack for the flood, it could survive or resist the flood.

Because essentially as far as i know in the lore, no matter which version of the flood chronologically, flood "posseses" users through nervous system and not by actually just entering their muscles and moving them physically. So given that logic, an organism simple enough could resist it.

As for Hunter worms, what do you mean too small? Unless you mean the Lekgolo that hasnt been "grown" yet?

[unborn patrol]

honestly thats nuts

[indigo arch]

Think about it. A flood infected lobster

[tired peak]

Lol

Pinch fsc into ur skin

All the flood has to do is read the worms poems about how good flood is

Cus apparently the worms like poems

[spark pivot]

Hunters are colonies of tiny eel like worms, an individual worm is way too small for an infection form to fit into, look at h4 forward unto dawn and halo nightfall, they show the size that the individual worm/eels are more or less

[spark pivot]

This is also true..

[slender cedar]

The worms could still technically be used as biomass

[sonic lagoon]

Yeah. Can the flood survive acid or lava, like in the doom games as an example?

Also does the grunt suit technically count as a hazmat suit since they need methane?

[carmine sleet]

Flood infection doesn't suddenly make what's infected immune to hazardous materials like acid. Also flamethrowers can be used to burn Flood corpses to prevent them being brought back, pretty sure that throwing a Flood form in lava would do the job just as well

[unique rune]

Considering that most versions of Unggoy body armor leave huge parts of their bodies exposed, absolutely not.

[inland pike]

The lore to halo is so deep and fascinating to me, like the storey of the flood and how they were created.

[prisma sierra]

Star dust of the precursors

[tired peak]

A gun that shoots a bullet that shoots even SMALLER bullets is a good counter as well

[drowsy mesa]

Do the Flood are actually immune to the Halo Array? in the way they're not directly affected/killed by the rings, but they're just starved to death when all sentient life was killed by the rings and the Flood is just "still there"
Or there are Flood forms can be directly killed by the rings' pulse?

[prisma sierra]

Yeah the array kills the food of the flood and the flood dies of starvation

[drowsy mesa]

I'm not asking about the Flood being killed by killing it's food source
I'm asking if the Flood ITSELF can be directly killed by the Array (ex: the Gravemind and other pure forms can be directly killed by the rings?)

[tired peak]

Flood: yeah let me just go outside the galaxy

[inland pike]

Are all the halo armors in the general lore or no just curious bc I have the hybusa armor and in the lore I've heard there's know hybusa armor

[wispy pewter]

some fractured armor cores are alternate universe

like the Samurai the Steampunk and the muscle one

[inland pike]

Ohh thx

Another question I have is you know how the halo infinite boss has a red energy blade wile all the others have blue, what other colored blades are there

[empty bloom]

Green, purple, yellow, white. It's typically a sign of station.

[carmine sleet]

Yellow energy sword my beloved

[unborn patrol]

The way Ive understood it the halo array kills every living being in the universe and guess flood isnt considered living

[rocky ember]

Just a question, does Master Chief have highest clearance?
What I mean is, even though he is Master Chief Petty Officer of the Navy (MCPON) I assume he lore-wise has highest clearance to even order nukes, missiles and other things (though usually the generals do it anyways) correct?

[carmine sleet]

Not the universe, just within the galaxy

[empty bloom]

Because someone was smart enough to not go in depth when it comes to describing the UNSC logistics system, John's ability to get whatever equipment he wants is unknown.

It can be assumed that not many would balk at him requisitioning a havoc nuke any more than, say, an ODST team being kitted to nuke a bridge, but they're never going to give him a havoc just because he wants one as a paperweight. That's not how it works.

(Tillson is an exception, but that was an exceptional circumstance under extreme duress)

[rocky ember]

I mean, iirc John did (without authorizing I guess) float the nuke to covenants/arbiters or whatever was it ship to desttoy it

So just an example

[prisma sierra]

It was a covenant bomb

And he did ask permission to leave the station

Wait

Yea

[rocky ember]

Yes, my question is if John still has highest clearance to get whatever he asks for, since he is basically one of the most valued people in HALO humanity universe

Even though he is MCPON

Aka master chief petty officer of the navy

[prisma sierra]

He is master chief but still gets standard issue MA5

[rocky ember]

The question is more of a if John just asked UNSC or whatever to give him a ship and a nuke in about 20 minutes without questioning could he even use it without even asking, that kind of thing

[prisma sierra]

I don't think so

For no reason at all? Nah

[rocky ember]

Yeah so they'd still follow the title, mostly

Which is - mcpon authority

[prisma sierra]

If it's for a mission he can suggest it and someone higher up will give it to him probably

[rocky ember]

Yeah I meant it in more of a, if John is "allowed" to skip bureaucracy and formality from time to time especially in dire need

As shown with the bomb situation that he infiltrated enemy ship and boom'd it

Even though he asked for permission to leave ship (which is still a broad meaning, compared to infiltrating an enemy ship and using their own bomb to destroy it)

The HALO is kinda weird that, in a sense, it contradicts itself from time to time.

Sometimes, John has to obey orders and be just ur regular MCPON

[prisma sierra]

Why wouldn't he be allowed to destroy the covenant and saving earth

[rocky ember]

And sometimes John does as he wants, disobeying higher ups.

[prisma sierra]

It's a covie bomb

[rocky ember]

Thats not what I meant though, John being biggest humanity's savior, one would assume that everyone would just do as he says or asks.

But many scenes and situations lore-wise happened where that's not the thing

[prisma sierra]

He's still a soldier

[rocky ember]

In fact, it gets contradicted
In one scenario he is just as usual MCPON

In another, he can just disobey general, because he is "john" spartan aka humanitys biggest savior

So, from time to time i never realize where he is in hierarchy, in that sense

[prisma sierra]

You mean Del Rio? Well he ordered for his arrest but Palmer didn't want to die that day... So

[rocky ember]

That, and there were many more examples

It just sometimes contradicts itself, so

Its not about who is right or wrong, but more about, what authority Chief has in the grand scheme of hierarchy.

[prisma sierra]

I bet his orders are : go kill aliens

[rocky ember]

If he's just a "MCPON" max authority, aka - per title, then he wouldnt be able to do whatever he wanted most of times (which he did)

[prisma sierra]

It's halo and he is a Spartan

[rocky ember]

Realistically, im not sure why John isn't given a special title or authority.

As it would clear up alot of things.

[rocky ember]

Yes, but hes still a MCPON

Aka master chief petty officer

Which... isnt that high of a title (in the grand scheme of things) / rank

Technically speaking - if we go by it, John would have to be put on trial for disobeying orders many times, and doing unauthorized stuff

[prisma sierra]

Okay yes put on trial the man who saved Humanity in every Halo game

[rocky ember]

Yes, in practice, it would be dumb

Im aware. But, hard to see what his "position" in the hierarchy is then

[prisma sierra]

Even if he didn't follow orders it's usually because he's right.

[rocky ember]

Correct, but then that means he is given special exceptions

And MCPONs dont have that

[empty bloom]

If he did it without authorization it has nothing to do with the topic.

[rocky ember]

Well the question is simple - John is technically MCPON in rank

In practice - he is doing stuff that even generals probably would need authorizing before doing.

So you see where the confusion comes from

[prisma sierra]

I don't think you need authorization to kill aliens

Unless you are nova bombing a planet

[rocky ember]

I mean - im just wanting clarification because he is pretty "unorthodox" in his ways.
While still having a title and rank that has its own "orthodox" way of following.

Aka, do we know if lore-wise John or other Spartans have special exceptions? Especially if dire need/attack/etc? That's what I meant.

[prisma sierra]

Probably

But mostly they just follow orders

Good soldiers follow orders

[prisma sierra]

Guys is it true a high ranking Elite can just steal any Sangheli's wife and there's nothing they can do

[carmine sleet]

Chief being given access to certain weapons or equipment isn't always because he asked for it, sometimes the mission calls for Chief to carry a nuke because his orders involve nuking a site, that's a call from someone above. And like Trench has said, there are times, like in Halo 4 on Ivanoff Station, where chain of command just goes out of the window because the circumstances demand that it be thrown out

[unique rune]

Would be real stupid to give him a special nonstandard assault rifle certified for use by the specialest boy just because of his rank.

[prisma sierra]

Let's be real if I were chief I would demand a forerunner gun like how Vale gets plasma pistols

[unique rune]

Thank god you aren't

[carmine sleet]

Vale having a Plasma Pistol and us being able to use Covenant weapons as part of our loadouts in H4 Spartan Ops has me wondering if there are some units within the UNSC using Covenant weapons as their standard gear

[prisma sierra]

Gameplay wise they suck so bad. But probably super good in canon

[empty bloom]

Well, a few of the alien scopes in Halo 5 make explicit mention of either being export or import models utilized by major UNSC assets such as VIP protection.

For the Warzone loadouts.

@carmine sleet

Though personally, Vale's secondary being a plasma pistol never made a ton of sense to me.

[carmine sleet]

Ah, forgot about that detail

[carmine sleet]

How so?

[empty bloom]

I feel like a Storm Rifle or Carbine primary and magnum secondary would have made more sense, mostly.

[carmine sleet]

Ah fair

[empty bloom]

A plasma pistol for a sidearm makes less sense to me because it feels less, IDK, 'reliable' as a daily carry sidearm for a Spartan.

I mean ideal world, Halo 5 with a NORMALplasma rifle gives her that instead of her SMG.

[carmine sleet]

If only we did have that... One day we'll have Plasma Rifles at launch again. One day

[stoic hamlet]

He’s just an MCPO, not MCPON, it should be said.

[rocky ember]

Yeah u get what I meant, equivalent of MCPON irl.

[stoic hamlet]

…no

An MCPON is basically a pure desk job. You represent the enlisted Navy for administrative purposes.

If he was an MCPON he’d be on Earth filing paperwork.

He has very little to do with the conventional Navy, due to him being a Spartan, so it makes no sense to give him that role and rank.

[orchid kettle]

Considering how they mention in the Spartan Field Manual that AIs handle all of the backend stuff, would there even be a desk job like that

[rocky ember]

Well a MCPON rank has to exist

Assuming UNSC has irl ranking/ranking we use

[inland pike]

True

[orchid kettle]

In the Spartan Field Manual, they actually don't mention a MCPON rank

[rocky ember]

Interesting, I thought HALO lore still follows irl navy ranking.

Though they possibly skipped that one due to.. having AI

And mostly those things could even be automated

Though... I don't see why not have a human at that place/rank, just in case, AI isn't know-all perfect-all for everything.

[orchid kettle]

They're mostly the same, but apparently Army and Air Force use the exact same ranks as the Marines

which is a bit confusing since Reach's fireteam mechanic, where you could see the name and rank of the random soldiers, featured specialists

but i guess that's just been retconned

[rocky ember]

What im also wondering is.. John/Spartans, are (technically) enlisted (E rank) but considering how many things they had to study, go through, and generally the effort put into them...

Is there any explanation lore wise as to why are they not holding officer ranks

[wispy pewter]

because they are spartans

their profession is being a spartan

let the gray haired bozos be in officer roles

[rocky ember]

Well, in IRL, E letter means enlisted in navy (which is usually people with no navy academy/degree etc)

Meanwhile O letter is always Officers/people who have joined navy after studying hard for it and getting degree

Id say being a Spartan, they did a lot of efforts in terms of laws to know, studies, and also physically etc.

Wouldnt make sense to just be E, I thought lore explains that aomewherw

Though spartans are simply a special case

[wispy pewter]

tough if the retire from the field they can becomes like Jun

[rocky ember]

Officers can still do what E-letter people do though. Afaik.

It's not like being a General/Captain of the ship.

Where you have to stay and command.

Iirc, even IRL, officers actively join combat too. It's just not their main focus primarily.

[orchid kettle]

Someone just decided that Chief had to be an NCO, and Bungie decided that "Master Chief" sounded cool

[rocky ember]

I mean, John was offered Admiral title too afaik

Just refused it - as it sees no combat (well except via commanding a ship or fleet etc)

Not the case for officers though.

Though to be fair, the ship where John would be admiral, would be probably the safest ship in the universe lol.

[orchid kettle]

I dunno if he was offered offered

Hood and Chief just kinda play it off like a joke

[rocky ember]

Well it did seem playful, though Hood seemed as if he'd be serious

Im pretty sure that if John said yes to that, they'd allow it

[wispy pewter]

Chief as admiral.... no

[rocky ember]

Also yes, why are spartans issued standardized rifles?

[wispy pewter]

it's like making a clone from star wars to become an admiral

[rocky ember]

I mean, if he insisted. John wouldnt insist though.

[wispy pewter]

John is a spartan since he was a child he is bred to be a soldier

[rocky ember]

Indeed, he has to go off field eventually though

One of the spartans even had a kid, got married and was living usual human life afaik.

Also to be fair, no one said Admirals cant see direct combat, technically. He can just appoint next-in-command as the one in charge of the ship

While John does his thing

What about the guns though, why are spartans issued usual guns and standard stuff?

Someone mentioned that too.
Why do they not get highly specialized weaponry? Like forerunner weaponry. Or something.

[wispy pewter]

I wonder if Navy Seals can pick their own weapons

[stoic hamlet]

Because it works and is easy to procure.

Their armour is already a nightmare in logistics, why would you further complicate the chain?

[carmine sleet]

The most specialised weapon for a Spartan would be the Splaser, but even then, we know that's made its way into the hands of normal marines and army personnel and even seen in use by corporations like Liang-Dortmund in Halo 5

After that would be the Booster Frame which was designed specifically for Spartans in space combat

Outside of that, they don't really design weapons for Spartan use only

Because it's just impractical to do so

[unique rune]

It’d be real silly to make specialized bigger guns for less than 1% of your combat personnel

[prisma sierra]

Maybe they should design weapons that can pierce shields easily that is not a sniper rifle

[empty bloom]

The crews of the Infinity, Pillar of Autumn, Forward Unto Dawn, and In Amber Clad are all looking at you in confusion right now.

[unique rune]

That’s… not how that works

[empty bloom]

The sniper rifle doesn't pierce shields, that's a gameplay thing.

[carmine sleet]

I like to ignore that little bit of lore because it is so dumb

[carmine sleet]

My guess is they think Chief has a buff like Commander Jerome does in HW2 gameplay

[empty bloom]

Ugh.

And people wonder why I think Chief worship spoils the franchise.

[uneven maple]

i disagree... i think it would actually be the least safe ship in the universe

anyone else ever notice how most of the ships you see the chief on get attacked?

[carmine sleet]

That's just bad luck on Chief's part

[uneven maple]

thats what you call ironic

[carmine sleet]

Can't wait for someone to try and "Um, actually" me about me saying Chief having bad luck because Cortana chose him because of luck

But have they considered that bad luck is also luck

[uneven maple]

but then wouldnt cortana have actively avoided the chief

[carmine sleet]

Luck is luck, regardless if it's good or bad

[uneven maple]

that still doesnt answer this

[empty bloom]

Basically Chief's entire existence as a supersoldier from 2551-2560

[empty bloom]

It's a line from Halo 3, and a pretty bad one at that. I wouldn't put too much stock into it.

[uneven maple]

hey canon is canon right?

[empty bloom]

Canon is canon, but canon people are canon people. Their judgement is not infallible and their perspective is not law.

Chief's "luck" is a perspective. I'd say he's actually significantly unlucky as a person.

[carmine sleet]

That's just me over the past year

[empty bloom]

Kidnapped from presumably loving parents to kill people like them in a boondoggle informed by his own kidnapper's hubris.

[carmine sleet]

And yet people think it's great he was kidnapped...

[empty bloom]

Sounds pretty damn unlucky to me.

If Chief was never kidnapped and survived the HCW as a marine or soldier or whatever, he likely would've still ended up being a Spartan. At least, I wager he would.

[carmine sleet]

Someone write that AU

[empty bloom]

Then again, his homeworld was glassed when he would've been about 19.

[carmine sleet]

Could've gotten inspired to be a marine because of the glassing if history went that way

[empty bloom]

It'd certainly make him more interesting.

[uneven maple]

you cant be inspired if your dead tho

[empty bloom]

Why would he be dead?

This is assuming he survived anyways.

[uneven maple]

fair point that would add an extra layer of depth

but i still fail like that would detract from his original purpose

the master chief was never meant to be deep

[ruby canopy]

Doesn't always have to be deep characters, sometimes the results speak for themselves. And his resume is one of the more impressive ones

[empty bloom]

I mean, 'avenging your homeworld' isn't really the deepest motivation.

I can rattle off character names with that motivation instantly.

[ruby canopy]

I find it far more interesting that he was pushed into a hard life and has embraced it as his calling, he believes not only is he the best choice for the job, but his life couldn't have been any different. No use in looking at the ifs and buts

[prisma sierra]

Oh I thought the 14mm HVAP could

[empty bloom]

Gameplay=/=canon

[prisma sierra]

That's what the Spartan IIIs are. The victims of glassed worlds I'm pretty sure.

[carmine sleet]

I was literally about to bring that up

[empty bloom]

Right, but that program didn't start until 2531. Chief's home didn't burn til 2530 and he was 19.

Too old.

[rocky ember]

I mean, he couldvs been spartan 3 in this case, theoretically

Yes weaker than spartan 2s tho

[empty bloom]

No.

[empty bloom]

Also wrong.

IIIs are considered physical peers to IIs out of armor.

[rocky ember]

I mean, depends who u take into account I guess

John isnt even the strongest one anyways

Look at Samuel

Or Kurt, or Jorge

[rocky ember]

why not?

S3s also can start from a much older age afaik

Their augmentations are more safer, less invasive, less painful

But afaik also makes them slightly weaker than s2s

Still, s3s are still spartans, so its no joke

[empty bloom]

Not post puberty.

19 is kinda too old.

[rocky ember]

Technically at 19 you could still go thru puberty (tho ud be at the end of it)

Very unlikely though

At least in irl terms

For males, its about 17/18 years

Usually, when it ends

[empty bloom]

[rocky ember]

Besides, John is kinda about luck though

If he wasnt S2 or S3 then hed still be one of the best if not best of whatever unit hes in due to luck, kinda

[empty bloom]

Ugh.

Worst. Plot explanation. Ever.

[rocky ember]

Well you started the hypothetical if he didnt get kidnapped

🤷‍♂️

[empty bloom]

And I didn't start a conversation about his luck crap.

[rocky ember]

It still plays a big part of who he is.

[stoic hamlet]

He’d be too old to be augmented with CHRYSANTHEMUM.

Even Carter and Hazel are technically too old as per Ghosts of Onyx. 343 still haven’t explained them.

[last anchor]

Handwaved away to handle characters they dont want to deal with.

Same as how they handwaved there being three Alpha company survivors in Noble when the only lore we had before explicetly stated all of Alpha was killed to a man

[woven plaza]

cart the leader go down with boat

[unique rune]

ironic

[spark pivot]

Didnt they say that spartan III's with potential were pulled from the mission where alpha got wiped? Also the same with bravo or beta company (i forgot which the right name is)

[last anchor]

That was the retcon they used to explain Noble yes.

It was contentious back then.

[obsidian thistle]

I kinda wish it was SPI they wore. 🤷‍♂️ Reminds me how much of a missed opportunity it was to add the Mirage helmet and shoulders into MCC Reach while the weird Fracture-related helmets got in.

(Mods unfortunately dont help Xbox players unfortunately)

[stoic hamlet]

It is odd they didn’t do that.

Considering they added fracture stuff, I genuinely don’t understand why they didn’t add MIRAGE.

[empty bloom]

I think they did it just to make me happy.

[spark pivot]

They did also add mirage to h3 like they did with the fracture gear, so there really was no reason to leave it out, altho tbf, it wouldnt quite look like mirage without the bodysuit

[spark pivot]

Like how as soon as i come up with a idea for something in a tv show or game it gets added in the next instsallment lmao? I came up with grapples before infinite came out, and first thing i saw in infinite was, grapples

[tired peak]

How much did the U.N.S.C INFINITY cost

[unique rune]

at least 2

[tired peak]

2 what

[unique rune]

2

[spark pivot]

Alot more than we could muster even with earths entire monetary capacity today

[tired peak]

In numbers?

[spark pivot]

A. Lot.

[unique rune]

I don't think you can even really relate the cost of UNSC shipbuilding to anything we've got IRL

Especially with the Infinity.

Like in terms of sheer mass alone it is genuinely over 9000 times the mass of a Gerald R. Ford-class carrier

[tired peak]

Give a rough estimate

80B?

[last anchor]

And me. Ive wanted Mirage/SPI for years.

Im still mad that the one we get in Infinite is some modified version
Just. Give. Me. The. Cover. Accurate. Armor.
How. Hard. Is. IT

[empty bloom]

You won't get one.

[last anchor]

Thats the kinda nitty gritty you only get in series like the Expanse

[orchid kettle]

Its probably something to do with the SPI's beer gut

[empty bloom]

Dang, SPI is just like me fr.

[spark pivot]

Way more

[orchid kettle]

its always gotta either cut that in half, or slim it down

[tired peak]

200B

[spark pivot]

USA national debt cubed, at least

[tired peak]

1.201Q?

We need math nerds

[empty bloom]

God no.

Introducing actual currency to a franchise has never once ended well.

If you need to say 3 schleezblorps is equal to the price of a ham sandwich, you have already failed as a sci fi writer.

[tired peak]

So 9 years for the ship to be made

Ima take 2 moths off because of the peploe that blew up a part of the ship thoe

[spark pivot]

Then account for inflation at 1m times the current rate bc of so may new resources being found on the new planets

[tired peak]

Ima try to calculate the cost of the Infinity

[last anchor]

What about C-bills?

[spark pivot]

Bad idea

[tired peak]

See yall in about an hout

Hour&

Hour

[empty bloom]

God, Comstar Bills are terrible.

Like, the problem with writing a sci fi economy is THAT SCIENCE FICTION WRITERS ARE NOT ECONIMISTS

[unique rune]

Have fun getting absolutely nowhere

[tired peak]

Wish we luck

[empty bloom]

Battletech has C-Bills, like seven flavors of H-Bills, K-Bills

Actually goes to the effort of change denominations

And currency backing

(I suppose backing currency to information exchange is a novel, and cool, idea)

[last anchor]

Hilariously.

[empty bloom]

But it still falls apart like a house of cards under scrutiny.

[tired peak]

Tks

I can trust Halopedia yes?

[slender totem]

Yes

[tired peak]

Ok good

So a warthog is 52K

[unique rune]

You'd get better results trying to calculate the value of a ballistic missile submarine in cowrie shells

[tired peak]

So I got a base cost

Now I gotta add arments

So it holds 12 frigate

[spark pivot]

Oh lawd

Bros calculating the cost if the largest unsc ship ever off of a car

[unique rune]

I dunno where you'd even start to assign monetary value to a Forerunner slipspace drive

[spark pivot]

Exactly

Which is why i said the us national debt³ + inflation times 10⁹⁹

[tired peak]

A cybertruck*

Warthog is a cybertruck

[spark pivot]

No, just no, that cybertruck sucked at pulling that off

[unique rune]

The UNSC would've collapsed long before the 26th century if their frontline combat truck was a piece of garbage that rusts if you put it through a carwash

[spark pivot]

And people built an actual warthog b4 the cybertruck released iirc

[spark pivot]

Its "bulletproof" (not even close, the testing bullets were subsonics and small arms)

[unique rune]

Yeah there'd been plenty of actual Warthog replicas by fans and official projects long before the Cybertruck was even announced

[spark pivot]

Ngl, the cybertruck was so much cooler as a concept than an actual car

[prisma sierra]

The UEGs economy must be in shambles people probably have no jobs and production probably completely destroyed

But no one talks about that and life just goes on as normal

They are trying to resettle Reach amidst a space dictatorship and Banished control 😭

Talk about Priorities

[marble lion]

The cybertruck design has a retro 1980s sci-fi look to it.

[prisma sierra]

Cybertruck is ugly

It's literally a box

If you want cool Neo designs get Kia

[empty bloom]

Tbf that Reach 'colony' was there before the Banished or Created were there

[empty bloom]

Ah, yea, the famously angular and ugly retro 1980s sci fi of Star Wars and Star Trek.

[tired peak]

I got a rough estamate

This is the no crew and no vehical cost

[prisma sierra]

Because Halo Reach ended with the recolonization of Reach at like the 2580s

[tired peak]

Based off a warthog the UNSC infinity cost 1 .132 Q

[empty bloom]

And the one in Shadows of Reach had a claim before 2559.

Also, I still think trying to arbitrarily follow whatever crap Bungie was on when they made that ending date is a fool's errand.

[prisma sierra]

Idk how they gonna resettle a glassed planet. One would assume they will deglass and terraformnit again first

[tired peak]

I'm also not counting worker paychecks

[prisma sierra]

That was an ending before the Created and Banished stuff came out

It was their last game as well I'm pretty sure

[empty bloom]

It matters about as much as I care about that. Which is that I don't care.

[empty bloom]

That is literally what was happening on Meridian in Halo 5. They were destroying and harvesting the glass of the planet for industrial applications, which the UNSC's corporate underbelly profits greatly from.

[prisma sierra]

The infinity cost so much they had to bully the outer colonies for it

[marble lion]

No, more something like a 80s action film like Terminator, Alien and a more futuristic Robocop. In my opinion.

[tired peak]

Welp that was my estament

[empty bloom]

With the additional and eventual goal of retereaforming the world.

[empty bloom]

The famously angular and ugly retro sci fi of Aliens, Robocop, and Terminator.

[prisma sierra]

Thank goodness they didn't redesign C3PO and star wars droids for that matter

[empty bloom]

https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/swfanon/images/0/02/Super_Battle_Droid.png/revision/latest?cb=20141213190721

(Tbf the SWTCW B2 goes WAY harder than the original)

[tired peak]

The tax rate was 3.43

[last anchor]

Actually, they're apparently on the upswing. Even with the Created going on.

On the Reach "recolonization" ship; all we know is a ship lands on a grassy feild at that point and the people there find Six's helmet. Means very little in truth.
I like to think its a tourist vessel, arriving to see the work done by the reterraformation.

[prisma sierra]

Maybe there will be galactic peace by the 2580s

Unless 343 retcons that

That forerunner looking ship is "colony ship" in the halopedia so to me it's the one of the first waves of recolonization after terraforming

I have yet to finish shadows of reach I'm going to assume the keepers wipe the pioneers out

[marble lion]

Reach was restored back to a habitable state by 2589. It most likely the vessel was new human colonists that are starting to resettle.

[empty bloom]

Not even close.

Like, that's actually comically wrong.

[last anchor]

Reach Stands, Reach Lives!

[tired peak]

My phone is so Lucky LoL

Did anyone forget about the Unknown species 10 days before Halo 2

https://youtu.be/5K-Sx1HF2LI?si=B7FRULRx_C0BeuIn

[wispy pewter]

it's the vulcans

[obsidian thistle]

https://www.halopedia.org/Halo_Legendary_Crate/Data_Drops#Series_1_2

@tired peak I didnt! 🙂

I'm a Wiki guy however xD

This however is one of my fav pages I worked on creating.

https://www.halopedia.org/List_of_unidentified_species

And yes, that page does explain why Spark went from "I cant wait to meet people" to "If you float one meter closer I'll nuke you from orbit" in the CEA terminals. xD

A part of me does wonder if the October forces are the same as the System of Miasmic Giants species

[prisma sierra]

So interesting

[stoic hamlet]

Clearly it’s the endless

[prisma sierra]

They really need more alien species. Not just the basic covenant ones

[carmine sleet]

Good thing the Covenant Fringe exists

When are we seeing the shark aliens in a game?

[prisma sierra]

And maybe a different way of Faster than light travel

[prisma sierra]

Bugs

[stoic hamlet]

I think Slipspace is fine… it just needs to be consistent.

[prisma sierra]

Wait everything in Halo takes place in the Orion Arm

It's not even the entire milky way

[carmine sleet]

I feel like adding in a second FTL travel method to Halo would be redundant

[obsidian thistle]

The galaxy... no universe is more than the Orion Arm + Small outliers lol

There is honestly bound to be more

Halo can deffo explore other arms of the Milky Way and have other factions, groups, species, and weird stuff just doing their own thing or together.

Would honestly be pretty rad to have any of the north-east side of the galaxy explored xD As even based in the Orion arm that side of the galaxy is sorely under developed.

[prisma sierra]

A friendly species that doesn't want to eradicate and eat humans would be nice

[obsidian thistle]

Ones that just dont care about mess the Orion Arm species do would be fun

Also would be interesting to see any of their reactions to a madman from Orion almost killing the Galaxy lol

[prisma sierra]

A highly advanced species that practices logic very strictly

[empty bloom]

I will die on the hill of the Yonhet being potentially interesting

I do think they should be soft retconned into being a little more alien looking. If brutes can be retconned/redesigned to look a bit more human, Yonhet can be made more alien too.

[wispy pewter]

Yonhets look so star treky

[raven lintel]

When you fire a halo ring It only kill the humans, xovenant... It doesnt kill the flood right?

[carmine sleet]

It kills the food

[unique rune]

this kills the crab

[raven lintel]

So It kills everything

And the didact survive because?

[wispy pewter]

because he is the didact

[uneven maple]

he was on ashield world

if i remember correctly shield worlds are protected not only from flood infestation but also from the halo rings

[empty bloom]

Yep

[unique rune]

Weirdly Requiem lacks shielding from the Halo array, apparently. If I recall correctly it was the Cryptum that protected him.

[bronze prawn]

so what happened to etran harborage

[uneven maple]

i think its more like the centre(the core if you will) that is immune

[uneven maple]

that too

[empty bloom]

Huh.

[carmine sleet]

Requiem, why are you weird like that?

[versed helm]

so uh the 20something essay about how del rio did nothing wrong:
who would trust some 45 year old soldier that just spent 4 years in cryo that has a family-like bond with the smartest AI that is now malfunctioning, and even if someone did, would anyone try to stop one space wizard boy when there is a possibility there are dozens of them on other shield worlds and humanity knows nothing about them
and why would anyone risk the flagship that is literally better than what humanity can make by fighting someone that somehow got a giant force of forerunner warriors out of nowhere that also nearly overran the ship and made it crashland and the only thing that barely managed to save it was a living legend amongst legends and hundreds of just legends, along with the biggest armory that ain't on earth and an army of marines larger that most garrisons we see
that is also the only one that knows about something that can potentially be humanity-threatening
also, the literal reason he wanted to arrest chief is because his girlfriend that knows everything about humanity just attacked the ship and he refused to give her to him, knowing he just broke a law and if he did indeed consciously think which wasn't so obvious also knowing that he might just have caused the demise of humanity

with that out of the way, is there one cryptum or are there multiple?

[obsidian thistle]

There are numerous Cryptums

Its unfortunately not clear if the one in Halo 5 is the 4 one or not however.

[prisma sierra]

Oh no, anyway

[versed helm]

That's exactly what i wanted you to do.

[austere bison]

You know what would spice up the lore is possibly some politics thrown in with some more strategic plays thrown in

[carmine sleet]

Like trade disputes?

Because there would be a concern there that people would react the same way people did when The Phantom Menace released and was about the same thing

[uneven maple]

that would literally just be star wars tho wouldnt it? At least the prequels

[carmine sleet]

Well Halo has got political themes, like the Covenant Empire is a religious empire governed by what was basically three popes who had their own schemes and machinations going on

And war itself is inherently political

I'm just curious what they mean specifically

[uneven maple]

prolly not right? cs the one in halo 4 has orange lines but that in 5 has purple ones... or would that just be a result of the controlling code?

idt it is a result of controlling code as the prometheans are stilll orange even tho they are controlled by cortana

[empty bloom]

They've been adding that in the background for a while and even in the background it's been met with general hostility.

[wispy pewter]

John 117 runs for UEG president

[prisma sierra]

"following the events of the consulate in Balaho, we have declared war on all of Unggoy"

[empty bloom]

There's an entire gauntlet of former human and former Covenant worlds policed jointly by the UNSC and former Covenant orgs, primarily those aligned with the Arbiter.

Additionally, Cortana actually did temporarily ally with the government of Balaho and shared significant tech with them, which is where a lot of the Janissary power armor comes from.

[prisma sierra]

Yeah and they destroyed and killed every human trying to make peace between the Grunts and Humans. I find that embassy thing reason enough for a war to happen... Unless they choose to forget and move on since Cortana is dead now

[empty bloom]

Huh. TIL the Created had crewless logistics ships at one point

So I'm gonna assume that might be their default ship philosophy

[uneven maple]

begun, the grunt wars have

[wispy pewter]

naval blockade and sanctions

[uneven maple]

yapflip: I assure you our blockade is perfectly legal

[wispy pewter]

starve Balaho out until they say sorry for killing humans

[carmine sleet]

That sounds like a terrible idea

[empty bloom]

Why do people insist on making everything 40k

[unique rune]

because humans rule alienz drool

or something

[carmine sleet]

Because some people refuse to accept that not every piece of media is grim dark and complain when something has a major theme of hope

Or even a minor theme of hope

[unique rune]

two genocides make a right haha

[last anchor]

"Why are the Vanguard just sitting there, the Cabal are on the back foot! Send in Ikora and a strike-package of Warlocks and PURGE EVERY LAST ONE."
"Yeah, and while your at it why dont we just sent a strike team of Sunsingers to purge the Hive off the moon too?"

-Actual conversation heard between two former Destiny clan members.

One of my friends actually quit the game because "the Vanguard are idiots and cowards and would rather focus on their internal problems instead of dealing with the existing one."

This is the same guy who, and I quote, would scream "SUFFER NOT THE XENO TO LIVE!" when he was using his Warlock's super.

[stoic hamlet]

Destiny and Halo I get, because like, they really should be bleaker overall.

The difference is that not everything should be bleak. But overall both universes are awful for humanity.

It doesn’t need to be 40K, but there should definitely be more of an acknowledgement especially in Halo.

Because, you know, 27 years of war doesn’t just go away.

Heck, even now, last week, was the 80th anniversary of the D-Day Landings.

Japan are still making movies and other media based off the experiences of the atomic bombs, etc.

It shouldn’t all be doom and gloom

But it should definitely on average be a lot gloomier.

[carmine sleet]

Sounds like a conversation that I heard back during the time between RWBY V8 and V9, so many people not understanding basic details

[last anchor]

Ah yes, younger me.

"Why is the entire area around Mantle not lecherite? Why are they letting the Grimm just walk in? They have air superiority, TURN THAT ENTIRE AREA INTO GLASS AND BE DONE WITH IT."

[carmine sleet]

Aye, and like, I think it is important to acknowledge things like that too, because those are events in history that have big consequences surrounding them

[last anchor]

But then my view of Atlas always was the superior militarized nation that just could not give any care for the rest of the kingdoms because they were backward and rural and "useless to humanity" so they sat in the north, safe and sound, and COULD have rolled the rest over if they cared too, but they enjoyed watching people die.

Obviously WRONG, but that was my thoughts back then

(Also in relation to the earlier comment about blockade stuff; blockade with WHAT? The UNSC was still getting back on its feet after the War)

[stoic hamlet]

Like, if you want a hopeful setting, you don’t have an ex covenant group massacre 700,000 people and have no one really care.

You don’t have a Covenant radical try and detonate a nuke on Earth, and have no one really care.

You don’t have multiple characters in multiple books act like nothing’s wrong anymore. Or, if you do, you highlight why. Is it a coping mechanism? Are they just ignorant? Etc.

[last anchor]

Thankfully the UNSC was smart and had an embassy instead and tried political options first.

Also, you dont have the entire storyline of Retribution happen.

Like this family of disease survivors literally got killed and had their organs extracted so they could be used to make a bioweapon

[spark veldt]

Hi

[empty bloom]

I feel like the reasons for peace with the swords, especially, are at least sensible.

[stoic hamlet]

Someone like Vale? Yeah, have her be an optimist. It suits her character and gives a great perspective on the universe.

But someone like Buck? Noooooo

[stoic hamlet]

I’m not saying there should be war with my comment.

[last anchor]

Bucks jaded, no question.
No other option after everything hes been through.

Locke too probably

[stoic hamlet]

Just that overall, Halo’s a bit too hopeful as a series, with all these characters acting like stuff like this is a freak accident if even that.

[empty bloom]

I didn't mean that, I meant that there's at least some reasons for humanity to be more chummy that make sense.

To specific groups.

Then again, ONI not caring about three prowlers going dark is dumb.

[stoic hamlet]

Yeah, but that chumminess isn’t the same as naïveté.

[empty bloom]

IMO the dumbest thing I ever see anyone push for is ONI/UNSC schism type crap

[stoic hamlet]

….yup.

[last anchor]

Makes sense. They're AI, they can run the ship all on their own (see Cortana operating solo with Ascendant Justice/Gettysburg).
Why waste energy on keeping the ship habitable or putting people on it?

[last anchor]

The OTHER edgy standby, alongside "traitor Spartan"

[empty bloom]

Also, that is something I still love anout 5's dialogue on Meridian. Vale's outright baffled by the colonists being anti-UNSC.

[stoic hamlet]

Traitor Spartan is at lest plausible, at least with the IV’s, even before we had examples.

[empty bloom]

Vale's a bit naive in her optimism, while Tanaka, Locke and Buck are all acutely aware of why colonists hate Spartans and the UNSC.

[stoic hamlet]

Mhm.

[empty bloom]

Trenchbird, the one trick bird.

[stoic hamlet]

Birb~

[empty bloom]

It's funny that I think Infinite's actually too cheery of a game.

Especially considering the events in it.

I don't usually find myself the type to complain about a Halo game being too clean, but... I mean, you literally end the game with hugs.

[spark pivot]

Welp

[stoic hamlet]

I blame the pilot’s out of no where heel turn.

And the fact that none of your actions in the open world matter.

So it feels incredibly jarring.

[spark pivot]

Which one (i mean the heel turn)

[last anchor]

They are, but the fanbase always goes for the edgy Shadow the Hedgehog look instead of them being any sort of actual interesting character.
A traitor Spartan done right is an excellent mirror to the UNSC. Zane, in truth, is a solid example of this (as much as I dislike her as a person, and hate some of her previous characterization)

And then you get fandom traitor Spartans who inevitably wear all black, carry knives, and make entire Marine fireteams vanish because "they're perpetuating the UNSCs something something something"

And they aren't instantly killed by a Headhunter team with Stanchions from 25km out

[stoic hamlet]

Because nothing actually changes visibly.

[empty bloom]

Pilot's suddenly gung ho with Chief's plan, and frankly, Chief is the last person who should be giving pep talks about moving on from personal failings.

[stoic hamlet]

“I wanna go home!”

“Suddenly I’m all in on stopping the banished!”

[spark pivot]

He didnt really have a choice lmao

[empty bloom]

After a pretty short 'feel good' speech too.

[last anchor]

Not a very deep one either

[stoic hamlet]

It’s not about a choice. It’s his mentality.

He should not just change so fast.

[spark pivot]

It was:
Defy 7'2" giant super soldier
Or
Say screw it and pray u survive

[empty bloom]

Just once I'd love a camouflaged, stealthy, snipery Bannie Spartie instead of a 'brawler melee big man' type.

One who just snipes.

[spark pivot]

Bet

[stoic hamlet]

Again though, acceptance isn’t the same as gusto.

[spark pivot]

Might aswell go hard if you gotta go lol

And hes probably mad af at them

[empty bloom]

"I'll help you as long as I can, Chief, but if I get an out I'm taking it."

Vs

"Oh my god Chief, you're okay! I was searching your landing site for hours!'

[last anchor]

Canon supports more Spartans being excellent marksmen. Mark nailed a Pelican with a laser pointer from a ridiculous range with no armor on.
Then you get the support packages like that attachment on the MK VII helmet that apparently lets you operate from low orbit...

In truth a Spartan would make an excellent precision strike weapon.

A Vindicare Assassin in all but name.

[spark pivot]

To be fair, bro has a much better chance with the 7'2" green boi

[stoic hamlet]

Atriox starts some big monologue

gets shot in the bed.

“You… you killed him!”

“Yeah”

“Holy… I mean, you killed him.”

“That was the mission, yes.”

[spark pivot]

Lol

[empty bloom]

This is why Linda is OP, lmao

[last anchor]

The Stanchion does not care for your drama.
The Stanchion does not care for your plot armor
The Stanchion does not care for your actual armor or shielding.
The Stanchion fires a .22 caliber round at Mach 50.

You are now paste.

[stoic hamlet]

All of the Gammas could spot individual Sentinals from over 3km away, as well. When Veta thought they were just smoke.

[spark pivot]

Linda and any competent sniper wielding spartan

[last anchor]

Thank you for coming to my "we should put Stanchions on every Spartan's armor as a retractable weapon mount" talk, similar to the Atlas GEN 2 setup we never saw.

[stoic hamlet]

So my Spartan then, really.

[spark pivot]

And mine lol

I dislike phone keyboards greatly

[empty bloom]

I tend to avoid sniper archtypes in favor of generalists and tank hunters.

[stoic hamlet]

Ah, thank you for catching that, lol

*any. I meant any, lol.

[empty bloom]

Then again, I also almost exclusively play tank hunting classes in games that let me.

[empty bloom]

Something about pinwheeling concrete.

[stoic hamlet]

I prefer generalists myself with characters.

Or scouts.

[empty bloom]

Also, he does, but that's different than being gung ho with green dude's mission.

Like, you don't need to be a sycophant to be supportive.

[last anchor]

I have one melee person but hes not a brawler.
Hes more Solid Snake kind of CQC

The rest are all anti-armor or field suppression.

[empty bloom]

'Man it's so unrealistic that Locke could just take out Jul in melee like that, Jul got did dirty'

Meanwhile, in Glasslands...

[last anchor]

Im convined they're just mad Locke didn't crouch and go Hrrrnnnnn before doing it.

[spark pivot]

Who said this lol, bc id like to explain a few things to them

[last anchor]

Im sure if he had it would have been fine

[empty bloom]

It's just a general reddit consensus type strawman.

[last anchor]

Pretty good portion of the fanbase while playing Halo 5

[empty bloom]

Halo 5 just makes me sad.

[last anchor]

The fandom do like to complain

[spark pivot]

The fandom makes me sad, bc half of them dont understand basic lore

[empty bloom]

Yep.

I have the feeling sometime people are gonna listen to the audio logs and freak out about 'hidden lore!'

Like a living Forerunner

[spark pivot]

You act like this isnt 100% happening as we speak

[empty bloom]

It always is

[stoic hamlet]

My melee OC is more like a flanker who just happens to be super competitive.

[last anchor]

People missing lore right in their face has been a thing since at least Halo 2, probably earlier.
I remember people screaming that we learned Chiefs real name at the end of 3.

Be me, having read Fall of Reach where its revealed on like, page 12.

[stoic hamlet]

lol yup.

Though that was a great way to introduce game only fans to his name.

[spark pivot]

What, John?

Wasnt that known since ce?

[stoic hamlet]

Still one of my favourite game moments. Despite H3 being absolutely terrible story wise, both the John/Cortana moments are my favourites in the OG trilogy.

[empty bloom]

The lack of foundational freaking knowledge for the franchise always annoyed the hell out of me.

Basic stuff like knowing Six has no freaking lore.

[stoic hamlet]

No, H3 was the first time his name was said in game.

[last anchor]

Via Fall of Reach yes.
It not stated in the game or the instruction booklet.

[stoic hamlet]

But it was known as early as The Fall of Reach, released a month before.

[empty bloom]

I see so many people try to add extra things to B312's story

[last anchor]

Thats instinctive, lets be real here.

Humans abohore holes in a story

[spark pivot]

Noble 6?

[empty bloom]

'We know which people he killed!"

[spark pivot]

Yes

[empty bloom]

That sort of thing

"He fought the Covenant before!"

[last anchor]

The only things we know for sure are that he was male (via New Blood) and that he was apparently from Jericho VII (Halopeida picked that one up off a MCC background screen apparently)

[empty bloom]

(He literally has one line that alludes to it, and it doesn't directly say anything; He could've just read a briefing.)

[spark pivot]

Every spartan, (excludng orion bois) has fought covenant atleast once

[last anchor]

Well Johnson's an Orion. He fought the Covenant at the start.

[spark pivot]

So saying a spartan fought covies before does literally nothing

[stoic hamlet]

Byrne as well.

[spark pivot]

Who

[empty bloom]

The thing is that they say he was killing Covenant before he joined Noble.

Which isn't stated or confirmed anywhere.

[spark pivot]

He was a headhunter

[empty bloom]

He wasn't.

[spark pivot]

??

[stoic hamlet]

It’s not confirmed but I mean… there’s no way he wasn’t.

[spark pivot]

Wasnt he a headhunter before joining noble

[last anchor]

You can be a private grim reaper without being a Headhunter
Headhunter is a SPECIFIC title and job

[empty bloom]

He was an assassin for Ackerson, and a test pilot, more or less-not a headhunter. Headhunters are a specific organization that he was not part of.

[spark pivot]

Oh

[last anchor]

Usually deployed in two man teams as well at least, during the Covenant War yes?

[stoic hamlet]

That’s also not confirmed, lol

[last anchor]

The only REAL mission we see for them is the one where Jega got half his torso blown off.

[stoic hamlet]

The Ackerson thing.

[last anchor]

Another assumption by the fanbase.

[stoic hamlet]

The Ackerson thing? Yeah.

[last anchor]

Personally I like to think Kurt was the one directing him.

"Go. Do a crime."
(Hands B312 a knife)

[empty bloom]

Huh.

[stoic hamlet]

It’s never been confirmed. It IMO makes very little sense.

[empty bloom]

Well, never let it be said I am immune to being wrong.

[last anchor]

Its heavily IMPLIED to be Ackerson.
But never confirmed.

[stoic hamlet]

Yeah.

[last anchor]

It just makes too much sense for it to be him so everyone just kinda skips that step

[hot zodiac]

FWIW, I don't think 6 is a Headhunter. That's not "lone wolf stuff"

[stoic hamlet]

I still don’t think it makes sense myself

[last anchor]

Ackerson is eeevvviillll though, so.
I think thats where it comes from.

Perhaps even Ebil as my friend put it.

[spark pivot]

To be fair, who else has a big enough ego to yoink a spartan to use as his personal killing machine (ik there are others but still)

[stoic hamlet]

Ackerson explicitly hated black operations and the idea of “lone wolves” it doesn’t make any sense for him to do that. The entire reason he made III in the first place was to stop the cherry picking of Spartan operations.

[stoic hamlet]

It’s interesting you mention that… because Ackerson never actually shows much of any ego, lol

In all the times we see him, he’s generally very self aware and not one to try and push himself to be better.

[spark pivot]

Only word i could find to describe it ;'-'

[stoic hamlet]

He does push his programs, but even then he doesn’t refer to them as “his”.

[spark pivot]

I describe 1/9999 things well

[stoic hamlet]

For all your reading pleasure on Ackerson: https://old.reddit.com/r/HaloStory/comments/w2l4c1/colonel_james_ackerson_the_man_who_sold_his_soul/

[obsidian thistle]

Ackerson probably should have survived longer in the series. But his death was fitting regardless

[misty swallow]

What ever happened to Chief's Mark V suit

Is it just chilling Cairo station?

[last anchor]

Guns says it himself.
Plating was about to fail and the internal systems were cooked. Presumably it was scavanged for parts.

[latent junco]

Random question
do MJOLNIR shields have a cannon color?
and is it a gold/yellow like Chief's, or sumn else?

[stoic hamlet]

It’s always described as gold, yes.

[latent junco]

ty

[carmine sleet]

I wonder what it is that gives it the golden colour?

Especially since they reverse engineered it from Covenant tech, which traditionally has blue personal energy shields

[empty bloom]

I think it'd be cool if different models of MJOLNIR had different colors and intensities.

[last anchor]

The MK V being more "cloudy" and metallic gold
MK VI being more refined and lighter, clearer, like Sangheili shields.
Gen 2 having the more fluid, liquid look.
And then Gen 3 with the hexagonal mesh cause its got Hardlight components.

[empty bloom]

The more advanced and forerunner/ancient human based armors having the hexagons, the less advanced armors like Legionnaire leaning closer to Mark V.

I prefer to think GEN2's the most variable platform instead of how the encylopedia describes it. It's more game lore friendly to think of it that way, really.

Some armor's just barely a cut above Mirage, other sets are better than GEN3's baseline.

Some are designed to be fast, others slow.

[sonic lagoon]

How old can bones be to be used for biomass?

[last anchor]

Any age. Even dust still has calcium in it. The Flood waste nothing
Your not getting a long dead corpse as a combat form tho

[prisma sierra]

Yeah, thel vadam literally killed humans before. I feel like realistically after a HCW you will see the UNSC occupying former covenant worlds and having a Nuremberg Trial or something

[unique rune]

Absolutely not lmao

The UNSC would not have the resources to make that happen in any meaningful capacity

Humanity only "won" the war by default because the opposing faction shook itself to pieces

[empty bloom]

With what resources.

Seriously, how many times do I have to point out the UNSC literally couldn't have a 'Nuremberg Trial' even if they really, really wanted to?

[stoic hamlet]

You definitely wouldn’t.

The UNSC are in no position to do that.

You’d see peace but a very uneasy one.

The issue is the peace should be way more uneasy than it is currently.

[wispy pewter]

doesn't the covenant rely on the prophet species to maintain and build their purple ships

[last anchor]

27 years of being face kicked doesn't vanish in 5

[last anchor]

Not anymore they don't

The Sangheili have fully operational shipyards

So do the Brutes

The Banished of course can make whatever they want out of junk

[unique rune]

The Sangheili have also got pre-Covenant stocks to pull from, apparently
To some extent

But they've got a lot of their own manufacturing up and running anyway

[wispy pewter]

The Brutes just have this massive fleet and power seemingly out of no where tbh. apprently they had a lot of ex covie stuff, and the fact that the covenant couldn't even beat atriox is crazier

[gilded mason]

Because the Banished back then were small hit-and-runners

[unique rune]

Come to think of it I don't think the San'Shyuum actually ran most of Covenant manufacturing
They just approved or disapproved new projects for the most part

The actual forges and such were all under Sangheili control save for like, High Charity's

[wispy pewter]

Allying with Thel is a great idea tbh but ONI tried to do a big dum dum and armed his enemies

[gilded mason]

Making the faction of the guy who helped save the galaxy look ineffectual and weaker was a pretty poor move on their part, yes.

[wispy pewter]

the Brutes are big dummies and how do they even build ships. probably by hiring engineers from different species

[gilded mason]

Now, if they did that to other groups, that'd make more sense

[gilded mason]

Brutes can be intelligent as well

[wispy pewter]

by Halo 4 we know that the UNSC is fairly stabalised. they built stuff like the Spartan IV program and the UNSC Infinity while human colonies are in shambles lmao

[unique rune]

The Jiralhanae made it to spacefaring on their own before the Covenant ever came across them
They're temperamental, not stupid

[gilded mason]

while human colonies are in shambles lmao
So not stabilized

[wispy pewter]

and then they had a civil war to a point they went back to pre industrial

[unique rune]

That
doesn't change my point?

They're absolutely capable of building and designing their own space vessels when they're not being oppressed by someone else

[wispy pewter]

the Navy is. because they are still operational. Unlike in Infinite where the UNSC is almost totally destroyed

[unique rune]

"operational" and "unstable" are not mutually exclusive

[little stone]

I have walked the edge of the Abyss.
I have governed the unwilling.
I have witnessed countless empires break before me.
I have seen the most courageous soldiers fall away in fear.
[I was there with the Angel at the tomb.]

I have seen your future.
And I have learned.

There will be no more Sadness. No more Anger. No more Envy.

I HAVE WON.

Oh, and your poet Eliot had it all wrong,
THIS is the way the world ends.

[wispy pewter]

according to halopedia they were tier 4 before the civil war

[unique rune]

And that changes...?

[wispy pewter]

this is why I don't like warrior type species

in sci fi

like if they are always so angry and war-like who in their species spent the time learning quantum physics and engineering?

[unique rune]

Plenty of people offscreen? How do you think humanity got as far as we have?

The Jiralhanae are combative but they're still like.

Civilized.

[wispy pewter]

hmm I have yet to see an egghead brute in Halo

[unique rune]

We've never had theoretical physicist Sangheili but no one ever questions how they're able to run spaceships

[empty bloom]

The IV program would've been in the works since around, realistically, Beta Company's days. The UNSC clearly understood the need for expendible supersoldiers who could be augmented adults.

Instead of spamming kids at the things they need dead.

[marble lion]

I'm sure some of the species of The Covenant had some learning of quantum physics and engineering including spacecraft building. Even before each species joined the Covenant.

[empty bloom]

Like, the UNSC was never so much completely destabilized so much as just heavily piledriven at the end of the war. It was acknowledged by several that humanity would live on even if Earth got turned to cinder.

Mostly by running very, very far away.

[wispy pewter]

the infinity was going to be built for that reason i think

[wispy pewter]

afaik only the elites have reached interstellar level and stayed that way

[stoic hamlet]

The Kig Yar had colonized their solar system.

[spark pivot]

cough literally read the halo encyclopedia, and its sections on jiralhanae cough

[spark pivot]

Kig yar, and prophets, bc the prophets reached that far before anyone else

Also we also dont know much about any of the fringe species, so they could also have been spacefaring too

There is that entire atlantis type planet that ive seen only one guy talk about

[wispy pewter]

I know the kigyar had space faring capabilities im not sre about interstellar travel though, and prophet species obviously since they have been around with the ancient humans

[verbal tinsel]

who’s the strongest spartan

[dusk jetty]

Me

[carmine sleet]

If they're so dumb, how did the Brutes within the Banished design new weapons and ships that are very effective in combat?

[carmine sleet]

We know they were involved with the design process at least given that they often disapproved of making modifications to designs

[prisma sierra]

Master Chief or Sam

[empty bloom]

Presumably whichever one has the most mass. Chief's pretty average, so that leaves Sam, Jorge, and... I dunno, maybe Soren, considering he allegedly had the greatest upper body strength of any Spartan at the cost of crippled and hobbled everything else.

[empty bloom]

Can't be Chief, he's explicitly average for a II outside of author fiat.

[carmine sleet]

Are we talking physical strength or strength of character?

[wispy pewter]

Lol 5 pelicans didn't make it back to infinity before it left reach. Lucky them, they will most likely survive the events on Zeta Halo

[carmine sleet]

They weren't on Zeta in the first place to survive it

And even then, they were stuck on Reach, a planet with horrible conditions and Created forces encroaching due to the conflict between the UNSC and Banished forces there

[wispy pewter]

oh right I meant they will not be there to die and get eaten

Im pretty sure I read on the last page a Guardian was showing up on Reach

they can just surrender tbh since they only want to resettle Reach

at least the Guardian will be detterence to another alien invasion

[spark pivot]

Thats only if the rest of the created follow cortana's guidelines lol

[stoic hamlet]

Empty Throne is delayed to 2025.

[wispy pewter]

Maybe some of the created AI would go back to the UNSC after cortana died

[river ridge]

I'm pretty sure its Fred

[carmine sleet]

Fred is outclassed by plenty of Spartan IIs in multiple aspects

[tribal trench]

iirc, Jerome

[orchid kettle]

It's funny how for a while, Fred got pigeon-holed as the CQC Spartan

when it's stated in First Strike that during their hand to hand spars, Kelly has to slow down to give Fred a chance

[prisma sierra]

Author's don't read other authors work

Like in Kelly Gays Rubicon Protocol Hovarth didn't even know if Blue team was on Infinity. When clearly in Shadows of Reach they were on the infinity.

[tribal trench]

“clearly” but them interacting with other spartans is never described or shown

[orchid kettle]

To be fair, we don't know what splitting John from Blue Team really entailed

Since they're never mentioned again in the data pads or Rubicon, but it also seems doubtful that they would just be dead

For all we know, they hopped on a Prowler and booked it the second before the battle started

I doubt even 343 really knew themselves

[prisma sierra]

They were never seen again. Either they got sent somewhere else before Zeta Halo or they are dead or they are on the ring right now

[wispy pewter]

I like Troy Denning's books

but that one Revian on Reach that thought John was a green robot.... like how? was he living under a rock?

[tribal trench]

which book are you referring to

[wispy pewter]

Shadows of Reach

it was one of those revian miltia dude I think

[obsidian thistle]

Yea sucks 343is plan to get the book released this year didnt pan out

[wispy pewter]

damn. have to wait another year for another 2559 story

[unique rune]

In a literal sense, yes, given that he was helping with deglassing operations on Reach.

But, also, the general public doesn’t know everything about the UNSC’s Spartans, let alone the specifics on one single guy.

Outwardly, John may as well be a robot to a manual laborer on Reach who maybe vaguely remembers a news snippet mentioning some Master Chief that helped win the war.

[empty bloom]

The Master Chief statues;

I like how Halo 4 by itself completely invalidated Cortana's entire tirade about Chief being replaced by the Spartan IVs

[orchid kettle]

It's really funny too because it doesn't really seem like the UNSC is all that interested in a Spartan-AI bonded pairs that much either

I guess until Infinite when they all get Dumb AI, but I assume they don't get the power up unless its a Smart AI?

[empty bloom]

Actually, they were-it's the entire design purpose of ULLR.

[orchid kettle]

Begone, armor text blurbs

[empty bloom]

no

[high elbow]

We stan armor text blurbs

[orchid kettle]

I don't like text blurbs free of all context

i want that info in stories

[high elbow]

Which is fair

[wispy pewter]

I think most of them got a dumb AI

maybe all Gen 3 Mjolnir does

[winged tartan]

[empty bloom]

I don't want it in stories, I want it in six paragraph armor loredumps with exquisite technobabble and significant usage cases

Like how Spartan Doe used that armor and it helped him kill nine billion brutes with his mind that one time

[carmine sleet]

Ah yes, the "Blow Brutes Up With Your Mind" armour, a classic

[stoic hamlet]

“Uhm, ackshully, it’s reverse engineered precursor neural physics that’s in actuality a swarm of sub-micro-nano drones coded to the individual’s genetic diaspora. Smh.”

[orchid kettle]

its time to put an end to lore

[woven plaza]

a warrior for team pants i see

was it carmack or romero i forget

[empty bloom]

Whatever team it is I hate it

[orchid kettle]

Lore kiddies have had their fun

now its Literary Analysis Men's turn

[last anchor]

And a detailed diagram in a large book alongside a color plate of it in action.
Like the Horus Heresy Black Books.

Preferably alongside cool variations of the weapons and melee tools, adaptations for field work, and different color schemes

[last anchor]

I dunno, neural physics enhanced psyonic powers could be pretty fun...

It works for Gundam.

"Blows up pancakes with mind"
"MY PANCAKES"

Huh, THATS banned? Okay.
Haruspus then
Isnt that how Haruspus got hired?

Oh it wasnt even that.
Right, dont shorten analysis...

Lol for a second there I thought Alex Wakeford was a banned word LOL.

Anyway.
Pretty sure thats how he got hired on cause he used to do sweet breakadowns on Tumblr.

[stoic hamlet]

Yeah he did a lot of literary analysis.

[ruby canopy]

I remember way back on way point after halo 4 he did an analysis of John and the didact. It was quite a read, but I was surprised at how much thought he put into a fictional work

[fringe robin]

pardoned lol

[boreal bane]

🤣

[obsidian thistle]

There is a lot more than just breakdowns! 🙂

343i do look into other areas! 🙂 Sure helps he knows his stuff, before he joined 343i I was hoping he'd be a Halopedian aha!

(343i beat us to the punch)

[wispy pewter]

what do you guys think would happen to a brute if it gets hit by a railgun from a colossus

[obsidian thistle]

Not a nice sight

That isnt a joke either

Just not something you'd want to describe in any form

[wispy pewter]

one would have came in handy when Atriox came on Infinity huh

[unique rune]

about as handy as an artillery piece in tight quarters can be

[empty bloom]

Oh, I can't imagine it'd be that bad. People have been hit by the main gun of Abrams tanks before, and they mostly just ceased to exist. I imagine a higher caliber wouldn't change it much.

Just... Don't watch it on a high speed camera.

[wispy pewter]

all master chief needs is one of those mech suits

[empty bloom]

Christ, dude, give someone else the damn controller.

[unique rune]

He’ll never fit through a doorway again

[wispy pewter]

I believe the 9 meter mech can make it's own doorways

[unique rune]

There goes like half the reason Spartans are effective in the first place I guess

[tired peak]

A hand-heild Gears of War Hammer of Dawn

[empty bloom]

The Hammer of Dawn is a DEW.

[wispy pewter]

wonder what would happen if one of those heavy MACs on the infinite shoots at a planet

can imagine a tugsten round travelling at 25% the speed of light will completely destroy the surface

[tired peak]

Can punch a deep hole in forerunner metal

[carmine sleet]

Didn't they use one on Sanghelios?

Like, the crater is filling with water

Or was that just a normal MAC

[tired peak]

Nahbi think they rammed one obly

O well summer school time

[carmine sleet]

Ok, the Infinity's MACs were used on Sanghelios, no clarification on if it was a heavy MAC though

[empty bloom]

Those would've been the CR-03s, which weren't swapped for the CR-03bs until after Chief's rescue in Halo 4.

So... The Infinity kinda only has 'heavy' MACs.

(And a few networks of ultralight MAC turrets)

[wispy pewter]

I feel like a metal rod travelling at 25% the speed of light would leave more than just a crater

[empty bloom]

Uh... The obnoxious rating was 40% the speed of light.

However, the Infinity apparently was capable of firing 'sub caliber' munitions.

And alternative ammunitions.

So it could effectively 'dial a yield' on the fly instead of cracking planets.

[tired peak]

So how fast can U.N.S.C ships move

[empty bloom]

Fast enough.

[wispy pewter]

maybe there is a power slide for the Macs

[empty bloom]

There is.

Change caliber, partially charge the coils

[wispy pewter]

sub light probably like super fast

[tired peak]

https://youtu.be/yQEojDi-6w0?si=ozdjrYTEeDxqzkCd

[empty bloom]

It's been canon since Fall of Reach.

That they can reduce MAC charge to either fire faster, or lower impact if needed.

[wispy pewter]

it took nearly 30 years for Spirit of fire to end up at the Ark from wherever they were

[carmine sleet]

Ah, I see, thanks for the info

[tired peak]

Also wernt they just drifiing?

To save ship powrr

[empty bloom]

I'm so glad someone in this universe isn't too stupid to not allow power systems to dial down when it comes to impact. Looking at you, Halsey.

[carmine sleet]

Halsey doesn't understand the concept of toning things down

[empty bloom]

Or basic safety procedures like emergency shutdown buttons.

OSHA would have a field day.

[carmine sleet]

Something pulled the Spirit of Fire to the Ark via Slipspace, we do not know what or who yet

[empty bloom]

'lol plot lmao'

[wispy pewter]

Jod is that you

[empty bloom]

(I hate HW2's story)

[tired peak]

Least TV show hasley had

"safety procedures"

[carmine sleet]

If the war crimes weren't already a good enough reason, those violations no doubt would put her behind bars

[empty bloom]

Make no mistake, her team's negligence is why that poor tester died.

[wispy pewter]

so apparently theres a secret group of ancestor AIs hanging around watching humanity

[empty bloom]

That said I wouldn't mind if it got retconned that that was a particularly good AI generated video made and curated by a Smart AI that fooled pretty much everyone

[carmine sleet]

Halsey would, wouldn't she

[empty bloom]

After all, the UNSC has real-time image sanitation (It's why Halo was never particularly gory, apparently, by the by) for their HUD displays. Parlour tricks like Smart AI generated deepfakes? Easy as pie.

[tired peak]

Think it was cortana?

[carmine sleet]

It's definitely one that felt like it has parts cut from it to me

Cortana most likely didn't pull the SoF to the Ark

[wispy pewter]

we need another ferret book

[empty bloom]

I figure it could've actually been Warden of all people.

[carmine sleet]

Outside of her not knowing where the ship was in 2559, if she needed forces on the Ark, she could just use Promethean or Created forces

[empty bloom]

Wait, no, yeah, nevermind.

I was figuring he'd drag something in to help, but... Not the SoF.

Hmn.

Not really a lot of options tbh

Big plot hole if ever there was one.

[carmine sleet]

Like, I hope that if and when we see them pick up with the SoF, we start learning who sent them to the Ark

Because we know they didn't drift there and that it was brought there via slipspace by an unknown party

[empty bloom]

I have the feeling it'll be some dumb precursor thing at this rate.

[carmine sleet]

They drifted too close to the Precursor artefact of escaping the galaxy that just happens to send you to around where the Ark is

[empty bloom]

You know what, I'll say it-5 is seemingly the most stable story of the Reclaimer era of Halo.

Why? I don't know.

But stuff like this kinda convinces me.

[carmine sleet]

Fair

Just so I can rule them out, Offensive Bias was shut down, right?

[empty bloom]

Yep.

[carmine sleet]

Roger that

[empty bloom]

So;

• Warden
• Cortana
• Offensive
• Didact

Those are all out.

[wispy pewter]

maybe it was some forerunner AI

[carmine sleet]

Because I doubt it would be Mendicant as there's no way they'd know about the SoF or have any way of bringing them to the Ark (Plus pretty sure died at the end of Halo 3)

[empty bloom]

Can't be Librarian.

Really, huge issue is, who the hell would know where the SoF is?

[carmine sleet]

Maybe the cat on board had a connection with a cosmic entity

[empty bloom]

Forerunners have no reason to bring the SoF in, Created could just send themselves

UNSC can't do it

Banished wouldn't even if they could

And Serina couldn't do anything because she was already dead

Gravemind both is hypothetically dead, and has no physical capability to do it anyways because of the aforementioned dead.

[carmine sleet]

Aye and she wouldn't have been able to make them a drive to get there, regardless of if she somehow knew how to reach the Ark

Also I don't see why the Gravemind would either, the Banished have plenty of meat to use and ships to fly

[wispy pewter]

did Rion Forge ever find the SoF

[carmine sleet]

No

And she definitely didn't send them to the Ark

[empty bloom]

Yeah, but he was the only thing I knew of who would even hypothetically have the power to do that sort of trick.

[carmine sleet]

Fair

[empty bloom]

So that leaves precursor author fiat.

Right?

[carmine sleet]

Unless it's something entirely new? But I'm not putting my eggs in that basket because it raises so many questions

And issues

[wispy pewter]

maybe it was divine intervention

[empty bloom]

Endless moment

[carmine sleet]

I'd be surprised and disappointed if it was somehow the Endless

[empty bloom]

I mean, they're the random crap go characters right now for some reason.

[carmine sleet]

Because it wouldn't make sense as they would still all be imprisoned at the time

[empty bloom]

Yep.

[wispy pewter]

someone wanted them to fight the Banished

[carmine sleet]

I doubt it would've been one of the "meddler" species, because surely they would've been recorded as having found the ship

Unless they're capable of making slipspace portals remotely

But then the question would still be who and why

[empty bloom]

"Mysteriously"

Freaking

HOW

[tired peak]

Ah I know what forerunner A.I. it had to be Little Bit as a act of revenge

[carmine sleet]

Little Bit can be ruled out

[empty bloom]

The fact people didn't leap on this as being a crap excuse is actually infuriating.

I'm actually mad about this now lmao

Is it just because of nostalgia?

[carmine sleet]

I think it could be interesting but I'm not sure we'll get an answer

[wispy pewter]

who else would have saved Veta Lopis and her ferrets

[empty bloom]

Well, they could've just died.

[carmine sleet]

They arrived months after the SoF reached the Ark

[wispy pewter]

I wonder if the SoF can grow ammunition and food

[carmine sleet]

I imagine Veta would've been forced to abandon the Ferrets once their conditions deteriorated

[carmine sleet]

Food yes, ammo no. The UNSC manufactures weapons and ammo the old fashioned way

[empty bloom]

Welllll

I'd say they can, provided they have the right resources?

The SoF does do the whole minifab thing modern UNSC ships do.

It's why they can make Mantises.

They struggle with super high tech stuff like neural interfaces, not low tech stuff.

[carmine sleet]

Is there anything we haven't thought of yet for the SoF mystery?

[empty bloom]

I already said author fiat...

Hmn.

[carmine sleet]

Ah yes, the almighty Fiat

May the cosmic Fiat 500 reveal its mysteries soon

[empty bloom]

"The Spirit of Fire ended up at the Ark because I said so"

Author Fiat is basically "This happened because I say so". Which... Halo has admittedly been bad about a lot.

[prisma sierra]

It's was Q

[uneven maple]

so basically like wht happened with forward unto dawn?

[empty bloom]

Except we don't know who, how, or why.

With the FuD, we know it was Mendicant Bias' doing.

[last anchor]

He even said so in the Legendary Terminal.

Though why he thought throwing Chief to a planet holding someone who HATES HUMANS was a good idea I dont know but

[carmine sleet]

Maybe Mendicant hoped the Ur-Didact had changed, maybe they hoped Chief would kill him

[tired peak]

Did mendicant forgot that Ur-Didact can force choke

[unique rune]

Mendicant Bias was probably hoping that the Didact would’ve been healed by his time in the Cryptum linked to the Domain and not like

left stewing in his own madness for thousands of years after the Halo array unplugged the router

[carmine sleet]

Aye, I could see that being why

Also, correct me if I'm wrong but Installation 03 is still missing, right?

[drowsy mesa]

Yes, it's still missing

Delayed again

Today in Halo
June 11, 2528: Ilsa Zane is born in Kholo

[stoic hamlet]

Now tbf, it is only by one day.

This time.

[drowsy mesa]

Oh, alright

Sorry

[stoic hamlet]

You’re good.

Two days ago the date was changed from December 2024 to February 17th ‘25.

[drowsy mesa]

I'm still wondering why so many delays with recent books

[stoic hamlet]

Well, not all of them are technically delays.

With publishing, even if your book is written, like, let’s say I finish my manuscript by the end of June and get an agent and publisher the same day, it’s not being published until autumn 2025 at the earliest.

There are multiple drafts to go through, multiple editors, it’s gotta align with the publisher’s schedule and season, etc.

[prisma sierra]

Nooo

2025 just for another story set before Zeta Halo

Smh

[prisma sierra]

Banished knock-off Mjolnir

[drowsy mesa]

actually, Zane is using an actual Mark VII GEN3 armor

[prisma sierra]

Did she steal that armor off someone

[drowsy mesa]

She killed the Spartan who wore her new armor
Then added Banished-manufactured pieces on it

[fair hazel]

Oh no

[obsidian thistle]

Less delayed.

More the ballpark dates put on the websites were not possible. The only date they gave was 2024 and that wasnt met.

When a release date is set, we'll hear it from 343i themselves

(Or via S&S press release)

[prisma sierra]

It's just sad that we need to wait another year for another created story set before Infinite

I liked Rubicon Protocol

[empty bloom]

You ever think about how weirdly messed up it is that Chief doesn't actually feel bad about leaving Osiris to die on Meridian

[high elbow]

To be fair, they were actively hunting him and trying to prevent him from finding Cortana

I too would be indifferent about abandoning them. Especially if they cracked my visor

[empty bloom]

Must have a pretty thin skin IG?

I'd like to think Chief doesn't, it's out of character for him to not even think about Osiris getting left behind like that.

[empty bloom]

Also... They were preventing him from going AWOL. Not necessarily from stopping Cortana, which they didn't even know the truth about until a few minutes prior.

[high elbow]

That’s true. Big Green does care about fellow soldiers so it’s kinda weird

Granted Halo 5 was kinda weird overall but still. A valid point

[empty bloom]

Honestly, if anyone was acting out of character in that entire game it was Chief in that specific scene.

... Which is literally the plot point, tbf.

Is that Chief's angsty and angry because Cortana.

But it's weird that he thinks failing Cortana is the problem the UNSC would have and that's where he failed when he should have the intelligence to know better.

[high elbow]

Yee
On the other hand. I get it. He watched his partner effectively die in front of him. They’ve been through a lot, and considering Chief was kinda having an internal debate of if he was human or a weapon? Unfortunate timing.

I too would be in a depressive slump for a while. And then to suddenly get a clue about her existence?

[tired peak]

https://search.app.goo.gl/Nd5aVQE

[tired peak]

Master cheif^/linkie

[carmine sleet]

As someone going through something similar to that right now, I can safely say that I am acting differently than I was before what happened had happened

[prisma sierra]

Maybe he was just pissed at Osiris or it's just poor writing

I'm going with the latter

[empty bloom]

I get why he didn't in the moment.

[mossy arrow]

I’m extremely new to halo lore and wanna learn more about the flood who knows stuff about em

[spark pivot]

Get the halo encyclopedia

If u want the outline of the story of the halo universe, get the halo mythos book

[mossy arrow]

Thank you good sir

[tired peak]

Oooooooooh.. well...how do I... uhh say it...

Ahhhh I know

I am THE FLOOD

[spark pivot]

No

[high elbow]

I mean. You can’t prove he’s not the flood

[mossy arrow]

What if the flood was the friends we made along the way

[tired peak]

I have the floods knowledge passed down from gravemind to gravemind

[spark pivot]

Then we're screwed

[tired peak]

The flood had 4 stages and a 5th theroyitical one. Stage one is the FERRAL Stage. This is the start of the infection as seen in halo CE where there is little combat forms relying more on infector. They focus on getting biomass for a long time before they try to find the smartest person to be a grave mind by makeing them a proto-gravemind

Stage 2 is the CORRANATED Stage. Where ther fully established a gravemind as seen in halo 2. They focus on growing there intelligence and they can make Purm forms(no host forms).

Stage 3 is the highest Stage that had been known fully reached. They now travel from planet to planet of interest to get bigger. They have a Very weird obsession with crashing ships into that