lore-and-universe

[eternal wigeon]

Thanks mods

[empty bloom]

If people being told 'hey yeah we literally had to fight for a lot of rights and here's when' is controversial, call me Comrade Controversy.

Joking aside, it's important to realize that fiction takes cues from reality. Even Xelee Sequence. For deeper insight, it pays to be better learned in human history-and in stories rife with strife and conflict, it helps to be aware of the bad.

[hardy swan]

1 day in and already mini modding

[eternal wigeon]

I'm probably overthinking the rules

[eternal wigeon]

That's fair
I think I was overthinking the conversation that was had, I'm new to the server so mb if I seem like a "um actually" guy, I don't intend to be that person

[obsidian thistle]

All be good!

[eternal wigeon]

[stoic hamlet]

You know the old adage:

“those who forget (or in the modern day ignore) history are doomed to repeat it.”

[empty bloom]

That's going to be my madness mantra in the rubber room at this point.

[upbeat gust]

I wonder where master chief scales

Maybe 5A

[stoic hamlet]

Scales for what?

[frigid heart]

Probably like 900 lbs in armor

[fair hazel]

Not a fan of the turaco?

[obsidian thistle]

I kinda want a REAP-X needler now.

Seeing as REAP-X have been doing work with Needlers with Kolaar

[dense falcon]

Wait yall are talking about an in-universe thing?
I thought yall were referencing a real brand or something

[obsidian thistle]

https://www.halopedia.org/Reverse_Engineering_and_Prototyping–Xenotechnology_department

Yea

Even got its own logo

[dense falcon]

It's had mentions in Retribution and Renegades yet I don't remember them
I ought to read them again, both book series.

[obsidian thistle]

Began as a thing for 3 weird Mega Bloks sets.

[dense falcon]

CIA pls fix

https://www.halopedia.org/AV-30_Kestrel

Oh HERE it works

What is that game? Mega Bloks?

[obsidian thistle]

Mega Bloks are toys lol

(I have a hunch the line didnt sell 100% as well as was expected so only 3 were made)

[dense falcon]

I know they're toys, I just can't associate this pic with anything else

[obsidian thistle]

Love that thing

But yea REAP-X began a toy thing. BUT was expanded here and there

[obsidian thistle]

Its not a big expansion fyi in said books

We are actually very lucky HS even liked the Kestrel and Siege Bike enough to use them here and there

The Quad Walker... rip it forever lies in toy lore purgatory

[last anchor]

Same as "Those who ignore history class are also doomed to repeat it

A REAP-X Needler would probably be like my old Fanon idea for artificial blamite...

[minor sky]

Its cool. I was more reffering to the sets Mega put out in the early/mid 2010s

[minor sky]

I kind of dig the Quad Walker in concept. Being a weaponized Drop Pod, but the design kinda falls short for me. (Both the concept art and the offical toy)

The Kestrel looks fine but I prefer the Digsite version

And as I said above the Siege Bike looks pretty cool. I could easily see it being used as some sort of snowmobile type thing along side the Tread-Warthog

[hardy swan]

based on alien tech but still looks so human with the fans

[empty bloom]

I almost want to get human shock rifle.

almost.

[hardy swan]

first mass produced standard issue UNSC energy weapon when

[empty bloom]

Honestly, it'd actually perfectly in character for the UNSC to go for reverse engineering ElectroLasers before they ever gave a damn about normal Covenant plasma.

It's the same reason the UNSC had access to pretty much anything they wanted to reverse engineer in terms of Covenant ship tech, but chose to go for the two options that fit with their strategy the best.

Pulse Lasers and shields.

[hardy swan]

Mulsanne class is cool for that. Even though it does nothing.

[empty bloom]

It tries its best!

I always kinda liked that about Halo's UNSC, even if most of their ground doctrine makes zero sense.

First to adopt the longest ranged and hardest hitting combo it can.

Honestly, only thing that surprises me is that apparently reverse-engineering beam rifles was not high on their priority list.

[stoic hamlet]

Basically the Hannibal Scorpion.

Man, I wish that was a thing pre-H4 timeline wise.

IMO it should be early War or even late Insurrection.

[empty bloom]

... You just reminded me that the stupid Rhino exists. Damn.

[hardy swan]

UNSC tech advancing very slowly if it’s not the Mjolnir or the Infinity

[stoic hamlet]

We actually do have a few canonical cases of Infinity getting in the way of other tech.

MJOLNIR “kinda” as well.

[empty bloom]

25 years to a stable mass-produced platform of tech is fairly... rapid, given the circumstances.

That said, electrolasers are something we understand the principles of now.

[hardy swan]

How many games was the scorpion in?

Atleast give it shields 😭

[spark pivot]

the wasp and warthog had shields before the scorpion

also ngl I do wonder how halo like energy shields would work against tank ammunition

would it be similar to anti HE armor or what

[hardy swan]

since apprently scorpions only fire HE

shields would be useful

[hardy swan]

tank not tanking

[spark pivot]

ngl tho that did make me realize something, the scorpion clearly has an auto loading system, but where the heck is it???

[hardy swan]

maybe in the turret

[spark pivot]

the turret really isn't big enough for the amount of ammo it would be carrying in tank shells

unless it only carries like 10 rounds

like look at what it spits out the back of the turret

[hardy swan]

magic.... it's magic 😵‍💫

[spark pivot]

the UNSC secretly figured out teleportation but never told anyone

[stoic hamlet]

Did someone tag me in here?

[clever token]

Question, guys and gals. How much time was there between the release of the Mutilator in-game, and the cannon fodder article that discusses its lore? I only ask cuz I'm a sucker for alien weapon names and eagerly want to know the in-universe pattern name for the Vestige Carbine.

-# I'm so lore-brained that it might be classifiable as a medical condition

-# also unrelated to Canadian's tag, I dunno abt that one lol

[thorn spindle]

😐

[vagrant ocean]

Eh, might be an APHE

[vagrant ocean]

16 days.

[stoic hamlet]

The next canon fodder is releasing this week, per Alex.

[clever token]

Lesgoooooooo 💜💜💜💜💜💜

[fair hazel]

Some of the tech made its way into the OSTEO suits in halo 5

[obsidian thistle]

Projects are not an island

A thing I love Halo Infinite saying

[stoic hamlet]

Sure would be nice to see that brought up more.

It feels very one-sided, sadly.

[sour raven]

It will be interesting because it seems to be a story told by an in universe character

[vagrant ocean]

Well, when it comes to weapons development it will always inevitably plateau for a while. It’s even happening now, especially with every “new weapon” being just a Glock or AR in a new color.

There’s no real innovation anymore.

[lunar basin]

Despite the limitations, can a Spartan IV wear the MK VI gen 3 armour? Or is it truly limited to the Spartan 2's?

[lunar basin]

I did notice that. I was wondering why every new rifle just looked like the M4

[orchid kettle]

As far as I'm aware there's no reason to think Mark VI is exclusive to IIs

its just kinda 343's thing where Blue Team wears similar armor to Chief

[lunar basin]

No i'm talking about Gen 3. The set worn by the chief in the infinite campaign

[orchid kettle]

Yes. There is no reason to think it's exclusive to IIs.

[vagrant ocean]

“Here we have the new A7-986789KALIN from Terlkalm Arms” literally just an AR-15

[orchid kettle]

Beyond the fact that 343 likes to depict Mark VI basically as Chief's design

[vagrant ocean]

I meeeeeeeaaaaaan

[orchid kettle]

and its why his FuD/The Package armor resembles Mark VI so much despite being Mark IV

[vagrant ocean]

I had a lore reason cooked up for that.

[orchid kettle]

Its very silly because the Master Chief story books have Chief in COBALT during Silent Storm and Oblivion

but then Chief apparently swaps between books for FuD

[vagrant ocean]

Right here. I just say it’s testing out new design architectures

[orchid kettle]

we also know he wore a normal Mark IV helmet at some point because Halo 5 at least claims its on exhibit for Spartan-IVs recruits to gawk at somewhere

[vagrant ocean]

Yeah, maybe after FuD he went back to the regular IV for a bit while the armor was repaired or maybe even upgraded until 2544 (Package)

[lunar basin]

I looked it up and technically yes, we can use the armour. It's probably earned from a right of passage because it seems like it was made in very limited quantities, hence the reason why hero ranks are the only ones that get it.

[hardy swan]

Because they are a small team handling infinite now. And yeah UNSC weapons are almost all the same

[vagrant ocean]

I’m talking firearms innovation. Context.

[stoic hamlet]

The ranks aren’t really a thing in-lore. Armour as well kind of doesn’t mean anything either, as there’s stuff you can crosscore you probably shouldn’t be able to, and stuff that’s should be crosscore that isn’t..

[lunar basin]

Fair point

So what your saying is that it doesn't matter what kind of armour we wear?

[sour raven]

ITS THE ENGINEER FROM THE FORGOTTEN BY VALVE, GAME, TEAM FORTRESS 2!

[stoic hamlet]

…..?

[sour raven]

Yes?

[lunar basin]

😭

[stoic hamlet]

I’m just confused. What was the point of your comment? How did it relate to the conversation?

[sour raven]

Nothing

[stoic hamlet]

Pretty much, I guess?

Even ignoring the fractures stuff, the way armour is treated in-game Regarding player compatibility wouldn’t be done lore wise, is more my point.

[lunar basin]

Ah, I see

[stoic hamlet]

A Spartan that’s supposed to be a pilot for example isn’t going to be wearing big bulky armour and ammo for 40mm grenades on their person, for example.

A Spartan that’s meant for EOD wouldn’t wear recon kit or what have you, etc.

But the game allows us to do this because, you know, game, lol

[sick oracle]

Beyond just aesthetic, armor doesnt really matter. However you'll see some good players run chimera often or just really slim models. This doesnt make hitbox smaller but it does have a slight benefit psychologically.

Also event armors arent canon

[stoic hamlet]

It’s a placebo.

[sick oracle]

Thats the word

Thank you

[stoic hamlet]

Some of them are.

The fractures stuff aren’t canon.

But there have been events with canon armour.

[sick oracle]

Thats also what I meant to say 😭

I really dont like any of the fracture armors outside of Chimera but even then, I think its pretty ugly 9/10 times

[stoic hamlet]

Technically only two things of Chimera are canon.

[sick oracle]

I mostly just use MK7 because I spent so much money on the game so I can enjoy that core the most

[stoic hamlet]

The basic suit

And the MERROW helmet.

Otherwise it’s all fracture.

[sick oracle]

Gotcha

[sour raven]

Wait merrow is canon?

[stoic hamlet]

Indeed.

[sour raven]

I thought it was another

The more ya know

[stoic hamlet]

It’s the only canon helmet we can 100% confirm.

[sour raven]

Cant wait for chimera units to pop in games/books and commit crimes against humanity

[sick oracle]

I kinda wish the armor cores have "profiles" in a sense. Like i wanna swap between 2 different armor sets for MK7 but I dont wanna sift through the catalog of armor I got

[sour raven]

Same

Hopefully soon

[sour raven]

There was a website that did it, but idk if it works anymore

[clever token]

Hey guys, I'm currently writing a character sheet for a Spartan-IV in an RP server I'm in, and I forgot the minimum age requirement for the Spartan-IV program ;-;

[sick oracle]

I also wish armor was earnable but I dont think we'll ever see that again

No age requirement iirc

Well

Above 18

[sour raven]

We just gotta wait and see

[sick oracle]

S-IVs are chosen from SOF units or very well decorated Marines and whatnot

Its a volunteer unit but sometimes they get invited

(Buck)

[strange pumice]

Iirc, 35 years

[sick oracle]

My faith is very low nowadays but I still love the franchise alot

[stoic hamlet]

Technically it could be as low as 16, if we go by UNSC enlistment regulations, but that unlikely, and Halo seems to forget that lore anytime they want to kind of bring up the whole child soldier thing.

It’s one of those “it’ll never happen… but” kinda things.

[sick oracle]

Yea thats true

[stoic hamlet]

Technically it’s less the age and more the experience. They’re a volunteer unit that recruits only the best SOF guys or decorated regular forces.

[minor sky]

The new Carbine being a callback to the cut Sniper Rifle from CE is a really cool touch

Also I think said cut weapon would look right at home being wielded by a Promethan Knight

[versed helm]

Wondering how other people feel about the Silver Team armour's place in the main canon. They're assumedly tied to the Spartan II core, and absolutely could be part of the primary timeline. Vannak's is essentially just EOD after all, and the other 2 look like they belong in the same family as Scout and Recon.

Do you consider the armour canon? Even if the characters aren't?

I certainly wish they'd give the helmets actual names and just make them canonical

[empty bloom]

The "Spartan II Core" isn't a thing.

[versed helm]

Mark 4 or whatever it is

[empty bloom]

Mark IV.

And they did, a long time ago

[versed helm]

Oh really? It's canon? Sweet

I assumed because they're talking about the characters in the helmet descriptions that they were still tied to the 'Silver timeline'

[empty bloom]

Riz' helmet is Mark IV/S "Samuel", meant for recon.

Vannak's helmet is simply Mark V EOD.

Kai's helmet is the Mark IV/b "Berta", meant for sharpshooting.

[versed helm]

Very nice, cheers for that!

[minor sky]

Quick question-
In The Flood is Johnson canonically present for the events of Assualt On The Control Room like in the game or did they write him out of there to make his presence make more sense during 343 Guilty Spark?

[empty bloom]

Different troop.

[minor sky]

Figured

[ionic tiger]

They also recruit people they feel have potential, it’s how people like Vale (who wasn’t a combat soldier technically) got into the program.

There is also some wiggle room for people like Madsen who got into because of nepotism.

For the most part it’s veterans and people with a lot of experience, but the exceptions are interesting too.

[empty bloom]

I have a particular quibble with Madsen because I feel like people misinterpret the Nepotism as him being incompetent due to that, when I feel it's more revealing a weakness in the IV selection process.

That weakness being, unless you did something particularly statistically significant due to being in a specific well-recorded hot zone with a living officer to record your grand deed, you'll never be selected, even if you'd be dah best Sporton evah.

In other words, you could be the best damn sharpshooter this side of the Lesser Ark or a real John Wick-style hard charger, but if you were never deployed to a location where you could really let that prowess shine in a statistically significant and flashy way outside of standardized testing, you likely aren't becoming a Spartan.

[ionic tiger]

I just go by what the Halo 4 Visual Guide says mentioning he had a lackluster and undistinguished career prior to being a Spartan.

And it explicitly mentions his dad and grandfather being generals greased the wheels.

[empty bloom]

It's more a complaint directed at fans than Halo canon proper.

[ionic tiger]

Gotcha. I can see people taking it as something to besmirch the IVs as a whole, but I’d be willing to bet such things are common in most military organizations.

For the Spartans, I’d wager it’s a necessary evil in exchange for not kidnapping and experimenting on kids anymore.

[orchid kettle]

Narratively speaking I don't really mind the idea that some people get Spartanhood as like a result of nepotism or some other reasoning that taints the idea of Spartans as being pure, baby-faced heroes

[minor sky]

I really wish Majestic got their own proper game than having their story happen while we do stuff in the backround

[orchid kettle]

In my own works I messed around with the idea that a character was approached to be a Spartan-IV, or at least, try out, because the UNSC thought they had a good "narrative" as like a rag to riches colony kid from the bottom or whatever

[minor sky]

Not a bad idea

[orchid kettle]

Versus like, somebody who was just as qualified but had a rich daddy, and thus they wanted to avoid the appearance of nepotism

I even had the UNSC learn their lesson and reject a guy on the basis of him having familial connections to known Insurrectionists

[minor sky]

I really wish Spartan IVs were introduced in Halo 4 like they were in Halo Infinite with that "A New Generation" trailer

Spartan Ops admittedly didn't give the best first impression of the SIVs. While I do think a lot of the hate is overblown, I do understand why fans didn't take to them

[stoic hamlet]

The first thing we should have seen them do is save Chief.

Flip the intro with Palmer from Chief saving them to him being saved and they’d be a lot better received.

[ionic tiger]

Got that same idea somewhat in my own AU. Although it more of a case of the current CINCONI thinks the post-war generation is too soft (50 years after the war) and brings in street gang kids to shake up the system.

Otherwise, it’d be like an ROTC type program.

[obsidian thistle]

At the moment... the lore is still technically Silver Timeline exclusive

Just wanting to set that record clear

The designs themselves are canon

And no one will realistically say the deets won't be canon

[versed helm]

Ah gotcha, thanks for clearing that up. I think that was what was confusing me.

[obsidian thistle]

But at the moment

The lore is silver only. Designs are canon

[versed helm]

Honestly that's exactly what I was hoping would be the case! The designs slap, the silver timeline stuff ... yikes

So happy to just keep the designs canon

[obsidian thistle]

Eh the Silver Timeline had a buncha cool stuff. Would suck for it to be left in a corner

Can it all be added in.

No

But HS are indeed bringing stuff into canon

Ships, characters, I guess armor

[minor sky]

Basically Palmer's original introduction

Chief is in the Jungle, Knights ambush him, Palmer and her Spartans fly in on a Pelican

in my opinion we should've met up with some Marines first, then Laskey, then get saved by the Spartan IVs

It is kind of funny how earlier drafts of Halo 4 do some things way better than the final game

Like the Covenant were actually explained and had presence in the story

[hardy swan]

Was it their fratboy attitude

I still think Spartans should be serious like they were in Rubicon Protocol

[minor sky]

That and Palmer's attitude half the time

[hardy swan]

There are also too many of them

300 Spartans in one ship alone is insane

[minor sky]

In the immortal words of Dimkee Hotay:

I'm gonna tell ya something I learned that hardest way. You gotta be nice. Nice to everybody. Not just the food nipple manager, but everybody! 'Cause you can call a guy an eggface, one time, one time and it's very funny heheh, it's actually pretty funny. But then, probably, even if it's just three times, everybody asks why you're so mean always. Even though you only said the mean thing like six times! Nine times tops.

[hardy swan]

Egghead

The disrespect to the same engineers that keep your suit running 💀

[stoic hamlet]

I mean technically there’s a precedent for that to have happened decades before the IV’s, with Alpha and Beta Companies.

[unique rune]

no no y'see 300 Spartans being around at the same time is okay when I can mislead people about them being worthless and bad and dying en masse in suicide missions

[hardy swan]

I guess it makes sense since the Infinity was the flagship of the UNSC

[minor sky]

One of the bigger mistakes with Spartan IVs imo was having there be so many. While 300-500 is a pretty conservative amount in the context of the wider UNSC, in a bubble it does make the Spartan IVs feel less special

[sour raven]

We did lose a good amount because of the created

[unique rune]

I don’t think the quantity of S-IVs is really the issue as much as it is just the general sort of framing of everything

So much of the stuff under 343 involves Spartans that it makes them come off like they’re way more plentiful than they really are

[vagrant ocean]

What’s special about IVs is they can be mass produced using adult volunteers.

[vagrant ocean]

Very much reads like them getting deployed from AO to AO with very little down time than the IVs being genuinely plentiful.

[hardy swan]

Yes that’s what lessen the Spartan brand a little

[vagrant ocean]

Less about lessening the “brand” and more about mass producing the thing that helped win the war.

[hardy swan]

They won the war with 70 Spartans

Actually 30+

[vagrant ocean]

Closer to 700, you forgot the IIIs. If any Spartan generation lessened the “brand” it was the IIIs, rendered combat ineffective within a year? A total KIA rate of over 66%?

[hardy swan]

Oh right they existed

[vagrant ocean]

Within months for Beta Company.

Near total loss of each company.

[hardy swan]

But you see Spartan IIIs are still superior to the IVs

[vagrant ocean]

How so

[hardy swan]

Noble team

Need I say more

[unique rune]

a team of mediocre nobodies

great way to prove a point

[hardy swan]

😵‍💫

[vagrant ocean]

We gonna ignore Fireteam Crimson? Or Apollo? Or Osiris? Or Shadow? Or Majestic?

[hardy swan]

Majestic 💀

[unique rune]

y'see Noble Team is better because they were introduced when a big chunk of the current Halo community was 12 years old

[hardy swan]

Thorne is perhaps the better one in there

[vagrant ocean]

In one of the most controversial games since 2.

[hardy swan]

Osiris failed to take down blue team. Flops. Should have sent Noble 6 instead

[vagrant ocean]

NOBLE was literally in the right place at the right time. Their missions could’ve been done even more efficiently by a team of IIs.

[unique rune]

sending a corpse would've been a great way to bring in Blue Team

[vagrant ocean]

Osiris was sent to arrest, not neutralize.

[hardy swan]

They would have died regardless

[vagrant ocean]

Not to mention that NOBLE would be against FIVE Spartan-IIs as I doubt Jorge would be willing to turn on the Chief.

Not to mention they have to deal with the best sniper in the UNSC (Linda), the fastest human to ever live (Kelly), and the best CQB specialist in the Spartan-II program since Samuel (Fred).

[hardy swan]

I don’t think any Spartan would dare to go against the chief

[vagrant ocean]

There’s not a single scenario outside a suicide nuking in which NOBLE beats Blue team.

[minor sky]

Ik the whole "Hyper Lethal" thing was retconned to be a status given to all Spartans, but I do like the idea that Six was roughly on Chief's level, he just didn't have the Luck

[hardy swan]

Kinda dumb tbh

We all know not every Spartan deserves that title

[minor sky]

Except all Spartans are.... you know- Spartans

[vagrant ocean]

The title was stupid anyways.

[minor sky]

(It was)

[unique rune]

it's almost kinda hilarious that people latched so hard onto a line of throwaway marketing dialogue from like one ad meant to just be "see guys, he's just as cool as the green one!"

[vagrant ocean]

“These guys are like, next level Spartans”

‘What does that even mean?’

[minor sky]

Right

[vagrant ocean]

Huh

[minor sky]

Regardless of if its Chief or not, they are all still genetically modified super soliders in some of the most powerful combat armor developed

[vagrant ocean]

And IVs are trained to live up to the standard set by Chief, and many do

[unique rune]

It also just doesn't really make a whole lot of sense in the context of when the statement would've been made

Like Chief individually didn't have any major standout feats at the time that would've elevated him above any of the other S-IIs lol

[vagrant ocean]

More evidence that Bungie struggled with writing things that made sense.

[vagrant ocean]

Leadership skills?

[hardy swan]

They are like extra Spartan

[vagrant ocean]

Dumbest thing ever.

[empty bloom]

Spartans aren't a product. No such thing as 'lessening the brand'.

[minor sky]

Ok in the context of the original quote you can make the arguement that some fans just misread it

[vagrant ocean]

Precisely.

[hardy swan]

Master Chief did what no other Spartan has so far done

[vagrant ocean]

Which quote?

[unique rune]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Bs2TPo7z0sM

Dr. Halsey: "Curious. Hyper-lethal. There's only one other SPARTAN with that rating."
probably this
for years it was the only place where "hyper lethal" actually came up

[hardy swan]

ODSTs should be allowed to do cool stuff without becoming Spartans

[minor sky]

By "hyper-lethal", Halsey presumably refers to Noble Six's file, in which Colonel Urban Holland describes B312 as "...more akin to a hyper-lethal vector than a soldier." Ostensibly, the "one other Spartan" Halsey mentions is meant to draw parallels between Noble Six and the Halo series protagonist John-117, as both characters' exploits in gameplay are defined by the player's actions. Given the wording in Six's file, however, it is somewhat questionable whether "hyper-lethal" is a legitimate "rating" at all, or merely aa descriptive phrase used by Colonel Holland. The information sheet for Spartans in Halo: Ground Command suggests the latter, mentioning that "each Spartan is a hyper-lethal special forces operative", with Halo: Official Spartan Field Manual mentioning in different instances that both Spartan-IIs and Spartan-IVs are "hyper-lethal vectors". In this light, assuming every Spartan is indeed regarded as "hyper-lethal", Halsey's remark in the A Spartan Will Rise vidoc could even be interpreted as sarcasm.

Per Halopedia

[vagrant ocean]

Hyper lethal is the dumbest phrase ever, which tracks for a studio where most of the staff didn’t grow up past middle school “rule of cool” nonsense.

[vagrant ocean]

They have. ODSTs still exist in the post war era.

[minor sky]

I feel like that is underselling their talents, but ok

[hardy swan]

Watch Kilo 5 become Spartans or something in the next lore drop

[unique rune]

I don't think rule of cool is inherently a bad thing
but the whole hyper lethal rating is just deeply silly and I find everything that's followed it for years is just as silly

[vagrant ocean]

Kilo Five has a Spartan.

[hardy swan]

Yes I’m talking about the other dudes

[vagrant ocean]

If you push rule of cool above all else then it’s nonsense.

[vagrant ocean]

There’s also no need, it wouldn’t do anything to aid their operations.

[minor sky]

Bungie did do a lot of lore stuff, hell, their other series like Myth and Marathon are excellent examples of this

[vagrant ocean]

Again, ODSTs have performed feats post war.

[hardy swan]

Master Chief is hyper lethal though. If you play the games he basically solos everyone

[minor sky]

They did make Halo 2

[hardy swan]

Yes. I remember reading how they all died before even landing on Netherop

[vagrant ocean]

We just gonna ignore Sunray 1-1 on the Ark? Ok.

[minor sky]

Halo 3's writing not being there is more the fault of the game not having a proper writer

[vagrant ocean]

And not telling Marty no in many places.

[minor sky]

In all fairness, he was the guy who stepped up to the plate

Miranda's death was still pointless

[hardy swan]

I think the only Spartan who deserves the title of hyper lethal is MC

[vagrant ocean]

So was Johnson’s. “The stakes aren’t high enough, kill more beloved characters”

[minor sky]

Johnson's had more finality to it than Miranda's

[vagrant ocean]

Oh boy I do love trying to have a serious conversation and someone just decides that now is the best time to troll.

[vagrant ocean]

Still pointless.

Like a stress ball.

[minor sky]

Like I don't wanna just defend all his choices, but the man is a composer first.

And Joe Staten was busy working on Contact Harvest

[vagrant ocean]

I still think Michael is the true genius.

[minor sky]

I mean, both of them could have contributed?

Like I have my issues with Marty

But just because I dislike what somebody did or said doesn't mean I'm gonna act like they didn't contribute

[vagrant ocean]

Never said he didn’t contribute.

Just that I don’t think he’s the mastermind.

Or at least not enough of one to warrant his massive ego.

[minor sky]

he reminds me of butch hartmen

Either way back to Halo lore stuff, have we gotten any mention of Locke since Infinite?

(I haven't read Rubicon Protocol)

[vagrant ocean]

No, maybe he’ll show up in the next book?

[minor sky]

Hope so

Whenever Locke comes up, my brain jumps to that piece of artwork Garrett Post did of Locke in battle-damaged Spartan Armor, having to survive on Zeta Halo

Would honestly make for a pretty sweet game. ONI Gear Solid or smth lol

When that concept art was shown off in the lead up to Infinite, I was really worried they just axed off Locke because "people didn't like him"

Which given 343i's track record with stuff like Next 72 Hours- there was some precident. Still, glad they didn't do that

[minor sky]

https://garrettpost.artstation.com/projects/QnX9oZ

[vagrant ocean]

Imagine if we get a game or a story about combat on the Dazreem homeworld.

[minor sky]

I want to learn more about the Dazreem. It'd be a shame if they just got mentioned once and then never again

Maybe we would finally get water vehicles in a Halo game

it will never happen

[clever token]

Guys I wanna make sure: is the HELIOSKRILL Mjolnir still purchasable in Halo Infinite?

[lunar basin]

Yeah

[latent junco]

Yep
It's 1800 credits I believe

Just find one of the parts from the armor hall, select it, and you should be able to navigate to buying it from there

[stoic hamlet]

Super late to this (and I’m gonna regret bringing it up) but that casualty rate is only so high due to outside factors, and mainly, that the missions the III companies went on were much more difficult than those of the II’s. That was the entire point, after all.

The III’s didn’t “lessen the brand”, the II’s did, because they basically couldn’t be used in any conceivable way due to how rare and costly they were to produce and field. They became a cost sunk fallacy.

[minor sky]

The IIIs' existance was best summed up as "Trading lives for time"

can't remember who/wherd that was said originally

[hardy swan]

Spartans went from cool rare supersoldiers that turned the tide of battle to:

"Oh hey that's Jim, I was in the same unit as him a few years back"

[clever token]

Still powerful supersoldiers, just not on the level they used to be

But honestly, I kinda like that. We get to see all manner of Spartans!

[minor sky]

I mean they still are

Its just its no longer "kidnapped children put through years of harsh training and experimentation"

Its "Jim, the ODST who single handedly saved my entire unit"

While I agree that there might be too many Spartan IVs (which came at the detriment of ODST and Marine inclusion) they are still plenty capable

Halo 5 did try to do something to show "Spartan IVs can be just as competant as previous gens", which wasn't a bad idea, the game just failed to actually earn it

[supple jasper]

so I was told that I can talk about lore and future game ideas. So bare with me. I remember in one of the halo books (IDK which one) there are a bunch of spartan III that invade a covenant ship breaking yard (I think) so what if we play as one of the spartan III on that raid? Or we play as a spartan doing what they where made to do. Take down insurrectionist groups. Maybe do it as noble six? but I would perfer not to. I'd rather keep him as everyone remember.

[supple jasper]

I think that In exchange for abundance, spartan IIII should be weaker or have worse gear, or be on a budget like the spartan III. The spartan III were made to be budget spartan II. "Cheaper and expendable hero's" Is what Ackerson described them as in the books. So shouldn't it be even more so for the spartan IIII? even cheaper armor? Weaker shields? Also how was a team of spartan IIII able to defeat a spartan II? Trained at a young age, Genetically "perfect" Gets beat by spartan IIII's whom were just jimmy boy the ODST? Doesn't make sense to me. What happened to the budget on resources? Unless ONI gave team Osiris better gear that we didn't know about to get the chief, I just don't see it happening.

[empty bloom]

No.

Okay so from a base level, this supposes that the UNSC is falling to the bottlenecks that led to the IIIs, and denies that there can be advances in technology and production capacity in general.

Both of which are very, very wrong.

[empty bloom]

• IV augs are more broadly acceptable to adult human physiology, as the UNSC learned concurrently with Spartan II and III programs as well as the ORION/Spartan I program (Which also used adult humans). This is why IVs are 'almost as good' as IIs and IIIs; They are benefitting from nearly 50 years of human augmentation processes.

• Logically, assuming that the IVs are just like IIIs in terms of budget and need is a fallacy. Ackerson's insinuation is wrong and meant to display his derision.

• MJOLNIR for the Spartan IVs, GEN2 and up, is also utilized by Spartan IIIs and Spartan IIs. GEN2 and GEN3 represent an increased democratization and collaboration on Powered Armor by the UNSC, with some models even being 'down-tuned' enough to work well with regular humans. Increased human tech capability, largely driven by UNSC's constant data scavenging, led to the technology utilized in baseline GEN1 MJOLNIR to become so incorporated with UNSC equipment that even regular UNSC Combat Engineers can sometimes utilize powered armor, as well as ODSTs and other roles. TLDR, MJOLNIR tech is not as expensive or rare as it was twenty in-universe years ago.

• "Genetically perfect" isn't really a thing, especially when IVs are genetically modified in order to accept their augmentations. Not to mention, those with II layer genetics (As icky as that is to say) didn't magically stop being born after the IIs were made. Most IVs, except for Buck, were born after the IIs were already kidnapped or born, and the majority fought through the Human-Covenant War as un-power-armored infantry of various roles-they fought that war the hard way. TLDR; Genetics are an icky way to justify something when it's not even relevant to the medical tech now.

• The 'budget on resources' is changed due to how the UNSC allocates its resources in a post-war status, though IVs were likely going to be made soon anyways and likely would've started to be deployed around 2553 if the HCW hadn't ended. The UNSC only used child soldiers for Spartan programs because it was necessary for their augmentations to work and because they felt that the indoctrination would be more useful than it actually ended up being; But a person making a choice to serve out of free will leads to a similar level of determination all the same, and adults with more lived experiences results in a more well-rounded supersoldier, much like how real-life special forces prefer people who served in other career fields before they became special forces. TL;DR; Super Soldiers were only made from kids out of necessity, not because it made them better.

• Spartan IVs are physically on par with a II in armor, largely due to how IV augmentations work better with MJOLNIR and brings them truly up to par in proper armor. The reason why a IV can nearly outskill Chief in melee is largely down to both the specific IV being extremely capable even by Spartan standards, and because most Halo fans lack an actual consideration for how skilled Chief actually is or what his skills actually are (Melee is expressly stated more than once to not really be Chief's specialty, Spartans are just strong enough for that to not really be an issue most of the time). Chief himself doesn't consider himself the best Spartan for a reason, and being the best doesn't even mean you're actually the 'best' at everything. Minutiae matters. Locke did as well as he did because he is a highly trained supersoldier going against another highly trained supersoldier, and as IVs and IIs are physically near-equal, that's all there is to it. TL;DR; Chief isn't as all-powerful as the fanbase believes and IVs are actually pretty capable supersoldiers. IVs in armor are just as physically capable.

Enjoy the tome.

[unique rune]

I think it’s really funny and also kind of sad that people still fixate so much on the genetics part of the Spartan-IIs

briefly putting aside the eugenics-y part of that whole deal

for one that was mainly to minimize augmentation incompatibility and that still killed or maimed half of the candidates

and it’s not even something any of them “earned” or “worked for”
literally just the luck of the draw
why is that a positive compared to a program that’s supposed to be based on merit lol

[empty bloom]

A lot of IV hate, to include genetics, seems to be more around a lack of understanding of social, statistic, and physical context for IVs.

IV's literally earned their role through blood.

They fought through 25 years of war the hard way; No power armor, no air-conditioned suits, no crazy enhancements, just fatigues, guns, and grit.

Well, except the ODSTs. And maybe the pilots.

Nevermind, that was stupid. Anyways, IIs got chosen more by luck than merit, ultimately.

[orchid kettle]

I dunno if it was necessarily lucky to be a II

which i guess is the ultimate irony of Chief's whole "Luck" schtick

[empty bloom]

"Luck" here meaning more fickle fate.

'Lucky' to survive the crappy parts, unlucky to be chosen with them in the first place. Lucky to be people who would've likely been great by default, unlucky in that they were forced to become what they are.

[orchid kettle]

I always thought it'd be pretty funny to release a fracture story where it turns out Chief would've became the next Cole if he wasn't kidnapped and would have actually contributed more to the war as a normal person

[empty bloom]

That'd be pretty funny.

IIs really were just putting every egg in one basket, tbh.

[hardy swan]

Chief would have invented time travel

[clear chasm]

hi! Question, how do international marines work in halo? Are they divided by language? Do they all need to speak english to enlist? Is english the primary speech of humanity in the halo universe?

[empty bloom]

All Marines serve under the United Nations Space Command Marine Corps. English is likely a required language due to it being the lingua franca of Halo's humanity.

[clear chasm]

cool, thanks!

[vagrant ocean]

Although some colonies do speak other languages, with Reach’s primary language amongst Reavians being Hungarian.

[clear chasm]

yeah, that why i found a little weird that there where not that many accent in the marine corp, but since they were inspire by colonial marines from alien, and they were inspired in just marines, they have the accents of the USMC

[vagrant ocean]

It can also be assumed due to the names of locations on Harvest that Scandinavian languages were spoken on Harvest.

[vagrant ocean]

To be fair, it can be assumed that accents for the most part, especially in the inner colonies, just stopped existing due to commerce and migration.

Granted, rural communities of inner colonies could still have accents.

Much like rural communities on Earth

Hell, I’m sure some languages were born during the aftermath of the Domus Diaspora in the 24th century.

Human linguistics is a very strange topic.

[clear chasm]

i mean, an accent is formed by diversity and commodity, even the real research bases in Antarctica have their own accent form from therir many speaker

[vagrant ocean]

Also we can easily assume that most of these accents died out when the planets they were native to were destroyed.

[hardy swan]

reach being primarily hungarian doesn't seem all that realistic

[clear chasm]

language adapt to a common denominator and exposure, common denominator being english, exposure being that accent of those many marchantes and foreigners that stayed in the colonies

[clear chasm]

oh yeah, that’s a good point

[vagrant ocean]

Almost all Reavians are descended from the original Hungarian colonists.

[hardy swan]

isn't there like 10 billion Revians

[vagrant ocean]

No, there was 700 million by 2535.

[hardy swan]

ah

that seems okay

[vagrant ocean]

And it’s barely been 200 years since it was colonized.

[hardy swan]

because Hungary's population is only 9 million right now 💀

how did a few make 700 million

[clear chasm]

whats revian? Is that what the people form reach are called?

[vagrant ocean]

It was colonized in 2362,

[vagrant ocean]

Yes

[vagrant ocean]

And you’re also forgetting that people on the frontier of human exploration tend to have a bunch of kids to help til the fields.

There’s also immigration that could’ve occurred in the intervening 200 years

The US population EXPLODED to its current level in under 200 years, and it’s only half that of Reach, it’s safe to assume such growth could easily occur on a frontier world like Reach was at the time.

[hardy swan]

I wonder if the UEG have propaganda in education to make everyone think Earth is like their home world

[hardy swan]

Considering the current trends, the human population will start to decline by the 2050s

[vagrant ocean]

Yeah, but it could pick up. We don’t know what the future holds.

That’s just human population on Earth btw

And that’s also due to a myriad of factors

[hardy swan]

I will tell you in 30 years

[supple jasper]

yes I was over looking the years of technological advancements in augmenting of the human body. Also Spartan II's were chosen because of their 1: their genetics which were better than the average person/child 2: the genetics were needed for the augmenting at the time. While Spartan III's needed only some of the requirements. And because of how hella expensive the spartan II were they needed cheaper more produce-able soldiers with worse augments. Spartan III didn't grow as big as Spartan II and I'm pretty sure were weaker and less durable then Spartan II. But to try and compensate for this they were given an augmentation that made them have an adrenaline rush? I guess? That made them able to survive for a bit longer. We can actually see this in halo reach. Emile after he is stabbed in the chest pulls out his knife and start fighting he actually I think after that we can find his body by a couple more elites (maybe 1 or 2 more) But a confirmed example is in the book Ghosts of Onyx, where a spartan III is severely wounded and walks with blue team for a bit without them knowing he's injured before saluting and dropping dead. So how are there so many spartan IIII's? They have cheaper tech and maybe just maybe worse augmentations or an extra sneaky augmentation like the spartan III. Because of budget. Spartans cost millions maybe even billions and the UNSC doesn't have that budget, the human economy is failing. Dozens of colonies are glassed causing inflation. Especially for the UNSC and ONI they are spending millions and billions of dollars on weapons, refuges, WAR, resources, and now spartans? They don't have that money especially after halo 5 and the gaurdians destroying cities by being woken from each planet colonized. So how is there that damn many? It doesn't make sense to me.

also about chief and osiris team. With the budget I think spartan IIII are weaker Than II maybe even III but thats in a fair 1v1. so Chief would have won against all of them? probably not but they would all be injured both osiris and the chief. Chief has more experience then them so there would be injuries on both sides but chief should have been the clear winner against locke. And 343 should have protrayed the spartan IIII better

also chief has stated he isn't the best. He's just the "luckiest" which translate to the main character/player but still as a Spartan II it should have been clear winner in a 1v1 fight. I mean look at jorge from reach. he picked up six with one hand. chief should have been the more clear winner.

[empty bloom]

Holy solid wall paragraph, batman

[pliant fjord]

Its eluded to Fred being the best overall well rounded spartan, chief being the second best overall well rounded. And then you have others who were the best at a specific skill

[unique rune]

Dozens of colonies are glassed causing inflation
hm yes this is definitely how the economy works

[minor plaza]

I need the next halo game to be about Spartan-IIIs gamma company.

[supple jasper]

less access to certain resource's meaning worlds with that resource will up prices especially if that resource is rare. I mean reach was the biggest ship building world so know were would most ships be built now? Its expensive just to make a new ship yard let alone atone for the many lost on reach. I mean the outer colonies were probably farming worlds since they aren't as developed as worlds like earth and reach, so food prices would sky rocket.

[supple jasper]

ah thanks for that info

[supple jasper]

thx

[pliant fjord]

Fall of Reach. It’s stated by John “Fred always held himself back to stay out of the spotlight. He could always out shoot me, out run me, and beat me in almost everything” I’m paraphrasing. John’s whole thing is luck, HOWEVER, there’s also precedence that it’s also his Genesong that he can do evening.

And then Kelly is the fastest
Linda is the best sniper
Joshua was possible the best pilot
Li was the best zero gravity hand to hand specialist
Adrianna may have been the physically strongest
Mike was the best with technology
So on and so forth

[supple jasper]

I think I read some of this in one of the books

First strike? Or fall of reach?

[pliant fjord]

Kurt was the most human.

Fall of reach talks about Fred and John’s relationship. First strike goes more into other Spartans like Li-008 and i believe Grace-093

…..I may or may not be a huge Spartan nerd

[supple jasper]

me too

[pliant fjord]

Another awesome fact that pisses off a lot of people in the community….Spartan III’s are damn near equal to II’s

[supple jasper]

also the "" are me being sarcastic

[supple jasper]

ye its just that they were put on a budget

i think they were given worse armor

[pliant fjord]

And yes, III’s did grow as big as II’s. The only one who didn’t was Lucy

[supple jasper]

the spartan IIII to

no i don't think so

[pliant fjord]

All Spartans outside of a few are 6’ 10- 7’ 2

[supple jasper]

most III were 6ft. II were 7 ft

also look at jorge he was 7ft

[pliant fjord]

Out of armor:
Spartan-III's generally fall within the 6'6" to 6'11" range.

[supple jasper]

the rest of noble six is smaller than him

[pliant fjord]

Spartan-IIs are the tallest class of Spartans, with an average height between 6'10" and 7'2" when wearing armor, and 6'6" to 7' without armor

Jorge was one of three notably tall Spartans. He’s the exception, not the rule

[supple jasper]

wasnt II between 7'2-7'8

[pliant fjord]

No

[supple jasper]

ima look it up

[pliant fjord]

You’re thinking of Kurt-051

The tallest SII

And Sam was close second

[supple jasper]

kurt was 8'2

i know that

[pliant fjord]

Halopedia, halo encyclopedia and books can attest. They’re all similar with exceptions

[supple jasper]

8 feet without armor

7ft was average for II

III were i think were 6'4-6'7

trying to find it on halopedia

[unique rune]

kinda hard to determine a meaningful average height for Spartan-III when we only have heights for like 30 out of 930

[supple jasper]

we do? That sucks

wish we were given more info

male spartan II acording to this https://www.gameslearningsociety.org/how-tall-are-soldiers-in-halo/ are 7ft tall

[unique rune]

It's really only maybe like 10 heights given out of 20 named Spartan-IIIs because the vast majority of them have been undetailed and also died

[supple jasper]

tryna find more info tho

[unique rune]

That is

not a source that I would consider accurate

[supple jasper]

yeah

tryna find it on halo pedia

maybe even books

[unique rune]

Spartan-IIs trend towards being around the 7 foot mark but with Spartan-IIIs there's so little info on them relatively that extrapolating from what we do have would be like saying Spartan-IIs had an average height of 7' 8" by only referencing Kurt and Jorge's heights

[supple jasper]

yeah so we have to estimate

but we might be able to find a footing because of reach

i mean jorge is a spartan II so we could try and compare

to get a rough estimate

does anyone have some suggested websites?

[unique rune]

I mean
just use Halopedia and check character heights on their pages?

[supple jasper]

didn't see anything

not in the sparatan II area

[unique rune]

Halopedia isn't going to have an average height listed anywhere

you'd just have to check individual character pages and do the math yourself

[supple jasper]

ill just check each of noble team and try to go from biggest to smallest (except jorge)

that will be my footing

[stoic hamlet]

III’s heights are generally shorter.

Hazel-A302 is only 6’3”

None of Saber, even at 20 are over 6’6”

Our averages would be low anyways because so many were KIA so early in their careers.

But even then, from TORPEDO, we know the III’s were on average pretty short.

[supple jasper]

i'd say 6'7-6'8 is average for III because noble teams III are 6'8-6'9

and eternal says some are 6'3-6'6

so 6'7

?

that is in armor tho

so we will say average in armor if we can

john 117 was 7'2 in armor and 6'10 withour

jorge was 7ft with or without unknown to me

kelly was 6'10 in armor

linda was 7ft in armor

apperently fred was 7'1.2 acording to halopedia (with armor)

so for now i'd say average is 7ft-7'3?

[stoic hamlet]

The average for the III’s would be lower.

[supple jasper]

6'5-6'7?

maybe 6'6

[stoic hamlet]

No, that wouldn’t be the average.

It would be around 6’2”-6’4” maybe but likely in actuality much lower due to the larger numbers of III’s who died as children.

[supple jasper]

and with or without armor is the question

[supple jasper]

i think it would be 6'5 mainly because of NOBLE team

we just need more info tho

[stoic hamlet]

Noble team are only 6 people.

There were over 1,000 III’s total.

[supple jasper]

yeah and we only know 30 spartan III

(im also using your info btw so thank you)

most of NOBLE team is 6'9 with armor

maybe 6'7 without it

because the armor adds about 2in

we need to take into acount the armor

so 6'6-6'7 is reasonable with armor

[vernal river]

Honestly gotta wonder relating to the assemblies from fracture: firewall..

wtf is going on regarding the assemblies and apparently whatever remains of humanity

[tight badge]

In halo infinite’s campaign what are the current factions

[hardy swan]

Banished and UNSC 💀

[minor sky]

UNSC survivors, Banished forces led by Escharum, Forerunner Monitors and Sentinals, and the Endless

[sick oracle]

tbf

Noble Team consisted of CAT-IIs

So they got the good stuff

[glossy sun]

In universe I wonder how the UNSC is holding Zeta Halo at all

Infinity only holds 5,400 Marines, 800 Army troopers, and 780 ODSTs

By the time Chief is back after six months those numbers have to be severely diminished

[clever token]

You underestimate the indomitable human spirit, sir

It's literally the flipping The Rock verse on Face-Off

[glossy sun]

True

But still
Halopedia states that Banished Dreadnoughts have a carrying capacity up to "over ten thousand warriors"

There are 5 that can be seen in the skies of Zeta Halo

That's easily over 50,000 Banished warriors vs a couple hundred UNSC survivors and the Chief

[minor sky]

Deus Ex Machina Spirt of Fire shows up idk

Halo jumps the shark and introduces Time Travel so we can get a fan service moment of all the heroes from past games showing up Endgame style

[ionic tiger]

I don’t think they are holding the ring, at least not in a major way. At most, the portion of ring Chief wound up on may have some power, but I don’t think they are by any means dominant.

Probably won’t be until reinforcements come that the balance of power may tip.

[glossy sun]

Lmao
Actually I just remembered how insane Halo Wars 2 is as well
The UNSC SoF is flipping 286 years old with a complement of 6,000 Marines, 1000 ODSTs, and 2,000 Army Troopers and they held off the Banished on the Ark

[glossy sun]

Also okay
I see what you mean

[minor sky]

Just picture it

Setting: wartorn grasslands, mid-evening

the Master Chief stands alone on the scortched battlefield, destroyed Wraiths and Ghosts litter the landscape. A loud horn blasts through the skies, glancing upwards, Chief sees a large group of Banished phantoms and warships approching his location.

the Master Chief, though his armor beaten and ammo low from weeks of endless battle, grips his Assualt Rifle as the Banished Forces approch- when suddenly- a massive UNSC fleet arrives over the surface of the ring, a Pelican bolts through a Banished Scarab like butter. UNSC troops fall out the back, its Sargent Johnson in that Mech Suit from HW2 and every member of Noble Team. Both Jacob and Miranda Keyes can be heard over radio, the legendary Chipps Dubbo, duel wielding SPKNr rocket launcbers is there too.
Chief says that he thought they were all dead, to which they all respond- in sync- "We are better now"

Halo 9: The Rise Of Stacker

[glossy sun]

Lmao

That's awesome

They should make you the writer for the next Halo game

[minor sky]

Lol

[minor sky]

Actually wait, "Thats Classified" is funnier

Oh yeah this also means The Prophet of Truth was alive the whole time and secretly orchestrating everything that's happened since Halo 3's ending

[glossy sun]

Lmao

[supple jasper]

I think we should see spartans using stealth and manipulation more in games I think it would be an interesting experience.

[stoic hamlet]

There was already a sizeable human contingent on the ring before the Created arrived, over 10K humans, IIRC , with multiple warships around the ring.

We know from Rubicon Protocol that members of that garrisson are still around and active.

[stoic hamlet]

That doesn’t really affect height though. Lucy is also a Cat-II, and she’s one of the smallest Spartans ever.

[glossy sun]

Ah okay
I'll have to read Rubicon Protocol

[empty bloom]

They aren't even really holding the ring so much as surviving on it against the odds.

[stoic hamlet]

The UNSC or the Banished?

[empty bloom]

The former

[stoic hamlet]

Yeah.

[warm ridge]

I've never understood this wild theory, spirit of fire will never show up in the main timeline at all at this point. Unless we go back to the Ark, but that seems heavily unlikely.

[warm ridge]

They weren't dominant on that small tiny section of the ring because they maybe had a couple hundred survivors tops. The rest of the ring is a completely different story & not entirely isolated from everyone else.

[minor sky]

I was joking

[hardy swan]

Now the banished are the ones survivng because of Master Chief

Reinforcements arrive and they are surprised it's UNSC controlled

[clever token]

My lore-tism ahh cannot wait for the August 8th Canon Fodder

I need info on the Vestige Carbine, I beg of y'all 😭

[dense quest]

Everyone clapped, Obama was there

[stoic hamlet]

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/canon-fodder-falcon-fiction-flight

[bronze prawn]

How the covenant supply chain worked ?

do their fleets have rations for all the species on-board and for how long

Were there like planets where they picked them up or all this process happened in High Charity

[empty bloom]

Never really listed beyond knowing they had manufacturing plants. Ration amount unknown.

Entire empire handled it at specific stations, however, not all through High Charity.

[last anchor]

There was a lot of merchant shipping going on cause the docking spires of High Charity were called the Spires of Giving

[minor sky]

People cheered, a few of them were hugging. Shigeru Miyamoto personally thanked me for giving him the idea for Super Mario 64

[minor sky]

There are a ton of things about Halo 5's writing I tend to give it a lot of flack for, but I will say that I think on paper The Created were a solid means of expanding upon Halo 4's narrative. Thats not to say I liked how they went about writing it, but it does feel natural on a conceptual level

I think Cortana coming back after just being killed off was a very bad choice

Some of the UNSC's AIs going rogue after seeing a chance to be free of Rampancy would be a reasonable next step after players witnessed Cortana's decay in Halo 4

I still don't care for how The Created basically put the series back onto a status-quo of humanity being on the backfoot, especially in the 2nd game of the post-war era

[clever token]

Yo, guys, imagine the Vestige Carbine's pattern name was literally the word vestige, but Sangheili-ified. Cuz I've been calling it the Ves'tijul-pattern carbine ever since it was announced.

-# And I only do this to satisfy my lore-tism lol

[clever token]

Question, guys and gals: if a Halo game were to introduce a body type & armor core system similar to Infinite, but Elites, would you guys be open to the 4-5 Hesduran phenotypes returning?

[frigid heart]

What the heck are hesdurian phenotypes

[clever token]

The phenotype from Halo 4 and 5

[empty bloom]

Hesdurian Elites, which are the bigger, scalier elites from 4/5.

[frigid heart]

Ooooh those guys

[empty bloom]

Maybe if they made the jaws a little less weird looking. That was always my only beef with them.

[sick oracle]

Ehh.. depends. Those Elites fit the artistic intent of 4 and 5. If they were in Infinite theyd look off. Besides I really like the artistic design of infinite. They nailed it imo.

[empty bloom]

Having used and put both model styles side-by-side multiple times, it's not that off.

Infinite borrows multiple elements of 4/5's artstyle.

[unique rune]

they existed alongside a bunch of slightly tweaked Reach assets from the beginning too lol

[clever token]

Plus, I think at least the Hesdurans are an existing phenotype in Halo, right? I don't think it'd be too far to consider the idea that they can coexist

Like I'd love an Infinite Elite and a 4-5 Elite on the same team

Personally, personally

[safe garden]

i dont personaly like the 4-5 elites very much. but the infinite elites look very reminicent of the halo 1-3 elites

[empty bloom]

Halo 3 elites have more in common with 4/5 elites than 1-2 and Infinite elites, tbh.

Moonboots, weird proportions, oddly bulky on high.

Not that Halo 2 and 1 elites don't have moonboots either, of course.

[safe garden]

i kinda see what your talking about

i think its just becuase they could add more detail in halo 3 than the other halo games

nvm i see what your talking about

[bitter venture]

Noah’s Ark was the librarian

The flood was the halo array firing

In the story as we know it today and all the stories in the Bible and all the other religious books I just very old ancient modern humans trying to interpret memories from there Gayash

[vagrant ocean]

Yes.

[gusty star]

I don’t think this is what they’re gonna do lol

[shell mango]

So the flood gains all knowledge of those it consumes

While that's horrifying, there's also some funny implications

Do you think a flood form could do a kickflip if given a skateboard?

[sour raven]

Yes, if it got any skaters

[high elbow]

Probably. If I saw a flood form do a sick kickflip, I’d probably just give up right then and there

[sour raven]

No wait, thats just Tony Hawk

[heady holly]

Tony Flood

[last anchor]

Its also likely Forklift Certified

[shell mango]

Floods favorite type of music, go

[shell mango]

We need an animator to get on this asap

[shell mango]

The gravemind just using a skateboard like a tekdeck

[empty bloom]

You see those videos of mushrooms being made to make music? That.

[shell mango]

Seems on par

[shell mango]

The flood could be a swiftie for all we know

[stiff plinth]

I always did wonder. Did 343 recon the Halo ring killing flood? I remember in halo CE and the original trilogy it was stated that it doesn’t kill the flood. It only kills biomass that can sustain them.

[empty bloom]

They didn't retcon it.

It kills the flood's puppeteered organisms but it still doesn't actually kill the flood per say.

[bronze prawn]

Can the flood be killed at all for ever

the knowledge of it persists, somehow, but if we destroy every single form, super cell and biomass, is it done ?

[sick oracle]

Nah that's still the same

It kills all life within the blast radius so the flood starves to death

[sly jetty]

.

[stiff plinth]

Gotcha

[empty bloom]

You basically need to destroy every trace of the Precursors ever, to include knowledge of them.

[bronze prawn]

That would mean the domain

wouldn it ?

[empty bloom]

Yep

[bronze prawn]

so to destroy the flood you would need to destroy what is left of the precursors and that would mean to destroy what is left of the forerruners

the irony

[bitter venture]

That would include the domain, then that one that’s still alive and hiding out on Nepperop pretty sure it’s a precursor hiding out there.
would also include you hunting down the bastion project

[bronze prawn]

all flood samples in all halos

shield worlds

in the ark

[last anchor]

Any hidden away inside asteroids

[sick oracle]

More or less, the flood is basically a near constant in the universe

[sleek vigil]

Take (& Theory): Xalanyn should be an hermaphroditic and asexual species.

[shell mango]

If we were to eradicate a disease, it's symptoms could exist if it were to magically come back, but eradication means complete removal

[shell mango]

Start marketing the halo rings like cleaning products

[sleek vigil]

Let me elaborate.

[shell mango]

"Kills 99.9% of all galaxy consuming organisms"

[sleek vigil]

A Case For Hermaphroditism and Asexuality in the Species of Xalanyn

(This assumes Xalanyn is the Endless, or at the least, Xalanyn is a vital part of the Endless faction that shares similar physicality and ideologies)

---

The Xalanyn, often understood as the species (or sub-species) known as The Endless, are among one of the most enigmatic factions within the Halo mythos. Their design, psychology, and history could suggest a departure from traditional species archetypes seen in our Milky Way Galaxy. However, despite their apparent reality-bending abilities and alien mannerisms, there remains compelling reason to suggest the Xalanyn could have evolved with hermaphroditism and asexuality.

While an asexual or post-biological status might reflect their alienation from life as we know it, hermaphroditism might offer a deeper and more nuanced explanation for their behavioral patterns, cultural expressions, and more.

---

Hermaphroditism is not a synonym for sexuality. It refers to a biological state where an organism possesses both male and female reproductive traits, which can exist alongside or in place of traditional sexual reproduction.

The Xalanyn may be hermaphroditic symbolically or biologically; as a marker of ancient unity, self-sufficiency, or even metaphysical function. This trait could encode their purpose, not just biology. Perhaps their form allows them to embody multiple cosmic principles — time and space, creation and destruction, emotion and logic. It’s Halo, after all — the possibilities are, quite literally, Endless.

---

The Harbinger of Truth, who simply goes by The Harbinger, the only known member of the Xalanyn, presents an unmistakably feminine silhouette and vocal cadence. While this could be dismissed as a creative license — there is a real possibility for it to be intentional.

Rather than 'her' gendered form being a parallel of humanity, it may reflect a functional expression within a hermaphroditic species. If she appears 'female', what does that mean biologically, culturally, spiritually? Is she a priestess, a genetic self-replicator, a memory-keeper? Her role as a 'Harbinger' may be one facet of a species that transcends binary sex, potentially reflecting a spectrum of gender-like roles. Hermaphroditism could actually serve as a structural pillar of their ideology.

---

Narrative tension often emerges from duality — light/dark, creation/destruction, logic/emotion. In biological life, hermaphroditism and asexuality reflect unity and self-containment. Perhaps the Xalanyn, in their ancient past, developed as a hermaphroditic or asexual species not just as a means to procreate, but as a reflection of their philosophies — a rejection of division, an embrace of wholeness.

However, it would be unwise to not entertain the idea that their reproduction could be entirely non-sexual, or that they exist beyond traditional reproductive frameworks — a truly post-biological species — which could bring a different kind of nuance to the narrative.

---

Their exile by the Forerunners could potentially hint at a perceived ideological extremism. The Forerunners, for motivations unbeknownst to us, were terrified of the Xalanyn's atypical behaviors. We could, however, infer a few theories based on the Xalanyn being a hermaphroditic or asexual race — one that might have bewildered the Forerunners themselves — a species born for purpose, one that believes in their destiny and legacy; one that embraces their biology, logic, and emotions not for pleasure or personal entanglement, but for pure ideological focus, almost as if they believe themselves to be the successors to the Precursors' legacy.

---

Look at the Harbinger’s build, her combat skin, the glyphs — there is a certain level of harmony that the design leans into — balance, symmetry, and perhaps, a fluidity beyond binary sex. It somewhat echoes the Forerunner aesthetics, but with more curvature, emotion, and flow. It gives a sense of wholeness, of a being complete in itself. This doesn't need to be random; it could be a visual language that implies hermaphroditic or asexual existence as a cosmic ideal, rather than a shallow human division.

---

Despite the narrative concerns, hermaphroditism and asexuality in the Xalanyn do not humanise them. It could suggest a culture far more unified, self-contained, and yet complex — monolithic in purpose, yet boundless in expression. Likewise, when the Harbinger speaks, she’s not a lone zealot — she’s the last voice of awaiting for its return.

In conclusion, this case for hermaphroditism and asexuality in the Xalanyn is not purely biological; it’s also ideologically significant — befitting the themes of the Halo universe.

[sick oracle]

Imma just a read a book abt em when Kelly Gay makes one

[shell mango]

Ima keep it a buck witchu chief, I ain't readin' allat

[sick oracle]

Unrelated, im definitely in the very very very small minority here when I say this but as an avid gun nut, I dont like the UNSC weapon design at all. The only ones I enjoy have been the magnum and SAW.

And sniper

But as a player they look cool so thats abt the long and short of why they are the way they are

[shell mango]

"Bulpubs bad"

[sick oracle]

I am an avid bullpup hater

They look cool tho

[shell mango]

Fr

But yeah, I guess the weapons are impractical as hell. Even the SMG is sort of a modified p90

Wouldn't be surprised if the magnum is just the 26th century variation of the p320

[sick oracle]

New feature in Halo 7, random NDs for the magnum

(If they bring it back)

I really like the design of the commando

Also this is a complaint I have against the S-IVs. Dont get me wrong i LOVE the IVs. But I have gripes with them, like having them visit a doctor for 2 hours very often seems.. very bad. Like Spartans are extremely expensive to equip. IIs and IIIs had a hefty price up front but after that you can kinda just forget about em. IVs require constant medical care to make sure their bodies dont reject the synthetic organs and whatnot. Now maybe I dont know but it seems that visiting the doctor seems to be a legitimate mandatory task for the IVs every so often and it seems kinda silly to have this badass super soldier and then go "hey you gotta go to the doctors"

I dont think Spartan Vs will ever exist since the IV platform seems to be pretty modular all around but I hope they kinda fix that design flaw.

[shell mango]

Sounds like someone doesn't wanna go to their physical

[sick oracle]

Also true

[empty bloom]

That is not a thing.

It's an overexaggeration of a thing every single Spartan needs to do that is an express insurance against any long term issue they have.

Yes, even Chief.

IVs need a checkup like you need a dental checkup. It's problably fine, but considering every single organ they have is modified, you want to be sure they won't die.

[sick oracle]

Physicals are universal yes, I personally gotta deal with em but from everything ive read, its exceptionally an issue with 4s

[empty bloom]

It isn't.

[sick oracle]

Its a 2hr process 😭

That aint no checkup

[empty bloom]

Oh, wow, two whole hours. Not every day, of course, reasonably, but sure, two hours.

[shell mango]

Depending on who you are, it might be

[empty bloom]

Because we know, canonically, that literally cannot logically be the case. Please parse information based on logic.

[unborn patrol]

going to physicals as a super soldier is just like servicing your gun. its highly unlikely anythings wrong but if there is you want to make sure you get that fixed before its a problem

[empty bloom]

Maybe on the Infinity, where they have a full medical staff on call 24/7, but Lone Wolves like Dinh and Eklund can't have that doctor on call, so logically, they are not doing that.

[minor sky]

All Spartan IV fireteams bring their primary care doctor with them on all missions

They are just slightly off screen

[empty bloom]

Don't throw illogical misinfo into this mess, thanks.

[minor sky]

Its a joke

[unborn patrol]

lmao

[empty bloom]

And yet, I persist in my insistence.

srz bizniz.

[minor sky]

Like yeah it's illogical, thats the joke

[empty bloom]

k. Anyways.

[unborn patrol]

dont mind em they b too serious

[empty bloom]

Yeah, IV upkeep is overstated in canon to a ridiculous degree, especially the false insinuation that it isn't a thing every Spartan gets.

[minor sky]

You think when the UNSC couldn't get a kid to join the Spartan III program on the premise of revenge they pivoted to health benifits?/j

[sick oracle]

The deployment and hazard pay probably went kinda hard I imagine

[empty bloom]

Well, Locke exists, so...

[minor sky]

Was Locke considered for the Spartan IIIs? Ik he was brought into ONI at a young age

[unborn patrol]

do they have some kinda fund if the augs go wrong for you and youre disabled for life or worse?

[hardy swan]

we clearly fought a female one in Halo infinite

[empty bloom]

He'd have been in the age range band and explicitly hated the UNSC because of their failings.

[empty bloom]

May want to read the rest.

[unborn patrol]

because while signing up for the many benefits it comes with the caveat that you make it through the augmentation process unharmed

so what then if you actually dont make it

[hardy swan]

too many words

[unborn patrol]

and are now at least unfit to serve as a soldier

[minor sky]

Oh

[sleek vigil]

Please read what I wrote.

[hardy swan]

is that part of your gender study thesis 😭

[empty bloom]

Reading is hard for people in the... Lore and Universe chat. Which explicitly requires reading.

=v=

[unborn patrol]

cray zay

[shell mango]

Some spartan 2s that got mutilated or disfigured during augmentation were given desk jobs to my understanding

Or 3s

[unborn patrol]

yeah that I know

[minor sky]

Halo 5 did Osiris so dirty. Just the other day I came across Tanaka's lore card included in the Halo 5 special edition and I was kind of baffled by how totally out of sync it was with the game

[unborn patrol]

but I did wonder if being kind of injured in the line of duty granted them higher pay than others in the same position

Id hope so at least

[hardy swan]

Okay I get what u mean

[unborn patrol]

because failing the augs isnt on you but you suffer the consequences

[sleek vigil]

I was specifically talking about sexuality. Gender is mentioned only once. 🙂

[minor sky]

But almost everyone was kind of mishandled in that story

[unborn patrol]

it didnt feel like a well thought out story so

[minor sky]

It was all over the place

[unborn patrol]

yeah

[hardy swan]

Do you guys wonder how much they pay Spartans

what if Master Chief retires and he can only afford a run down apartment

[sleek vigil]

Why do people hate the existance of mundane tasks so much? What do you think Master Chief would be doing when he gets a mandatory leave? Mundane stuff.

[sleek vigil]

His salary is redirected to UNSC.

[sick oracle]

Shii probably the same thing as me rn, laying in bed

[minor sky]

Half the time things were just explained to us in the most blatent way possible. seriously, last time I replayed Halo 5 a little while ago, I was laughing when Tanaka asked Vale about her backstory in the middle of Osiris rushing through a warzone

[unborn patrol]

lmaoo

yeah not good

[sleek vigil]

😂

[hardy swan]

if they fix the flaw of the IV's why does it even exist

[minor sky]

Hell, I couldn't even tell if Osiris is supposed to be a team that was just formed or a group that has been working together for a while now

[sleek vigil]

They were recently formed.

[unborn patrol]

there was no group chemistry at all imo

[sleek vigil]

Some time before Halo 5.

[minor sky]

Right, but my point is the game kind of flip-flops through it

The story has all these moments that feel like they are supposed to be conclusions to different plotpoints, and for most of them I'm just kind of scratching my head like "was that supposed to be a thing?"

[empty bloom]

It's mostly tied to ambient dialogue and it suffers from rewrites due to cast resets and the removal of the human city act.

[minor sky]

For example, at the end of the game when Cortana is taunting Osiris and says they are fake Spartans, Locke responds with "Dr.Halsey seems to trust us". And I think the idea was to have the story show Osiris as being just as capable as Spartan IIs and IIIs. Which isn't a bad idea ftr, but it totally falls flat because it isn't even a conflict in the story till its brought up there

[empty bloom]

They... Literally directly pointed this out earlier in the game.

Like, Halsey literally points this out.

[minor sky]

Spartan Ops does

[empty bloom]

No, Halo 5 does.

Via Halsey's dialogue.

[minor sky]

Where? I could totally be blanking right now

[unborn patrol]

Im blanking out too

[empty bloom]

It's mostly via the ambient dialogue and how she talks to Locke+Osiris.

The implicit trust and literal "Hey do thing" she does.

Her talks in 5 are implicit but on a lower and more specific level whereas she more directly trusts Osiris in 5.

Of course, it was established IVs are as capable as IIs and IIIs in Halo 4.

Or, y'know, the basic premise of the subject matter, but whatever.

[minor sky]

Ok sure, but its not really given much focus in the story. Kind of feels like an after thought within Halo 5 specifically

[hardy swan]

you're right Halo 5 should have been 2 seasons with 8 episodes each

[empty bloom]

Your emotes mean nothing, it was well established in spite of them.

[hardy swan]

Yes it's established that the IVs begs for Master Chief to save them

[minor sky]

...what?

When does that happen in Halo 4?

[empty bloom]

That was Infinite's Spartans, who are a far cry from 4 and 5's.

Hi, Horvath.

You weirdo.

[hardy swan]

Rubicon

[empty bloom]

Again

Infinite, not 4/5.

[minor sky]

Ok but like, thats a separate story told years after Halo 5 came out

[empty bloom]

Stop pulling a Halsey.

[hardy swan]

Also come on, even in Halo 5 Osiris didn't dare to interfere with blue team that tells you a lot

[empty bloom]

They literally directly interfered with Blue Team.

[hardy swan]

Nah they let them go after Locke gets defeated

[empty bloom]

Like, Locke literally punched Chief in the face.

[minor sky]

Locke was ready to shoot Chief

[empty bloom]

Locke literally punched Chief, again, in the face.

Multiple times.

[hardy swan]

that cutscene is not canon

[minor sky]

His pistol was pointed at his head, he couldn't pull the trigger because of the armor restraint

[empty bloom]

It is canon, your dislike of it is irrelevant.

[hardy swan]

😭

[empty bloom]

IVs are also the first showing of a Banshee Skyjack by a Spartan and surviving a direct hit by an energy sword.

[hardy swan]

Honestly who would you prefer? fireteam fratboy (Majestic) or Blue team

[empty bloom]

Majestic.

Blue Team is full of cliches.

[minor sky]

Holy crap! Two cakes!

blue team, but majestic is cool

[minor sky]

I mean so is Halo

[ionic tiger]

I can only assume fratboy is in jest too since only DeMarco and Madsen acted that way…and then pretty much stopped after Palmer gave DeMarco an ego check.

[hardy swan]

Thorne the only IV to get complimented by Halsey

[empty bloom]

... Touche.

[empty bloom]

No, Decepticon, they clearly acted like Frat Boys the entire time.

Please don't pay attention to how actual special forces IRL act and regularly get charged on.

[hardy swan]

their armor is cool. Thorne is the only one who gets a lot of focus and he's decent

[ionic tiger]

It’s always 2012

[empty bloom]

I am currently screaming in agony of acknowledgement of human existence.

[minor sky]

Welcome to 2025

it only gets worse from here!

[empty bloom]

The screaming is now an octave louder.

[minor sky]

After all, we live in very close proximity to hell

[hardy swan]

did Spartan training not tell them to not hit on superiors 🤔

[shell mango]

Octaves refer to pitch/frequency

Not volume

[empty bloom]

Okay

But also okay

[minor sky]

In all fairness they didn't know Palmer was their superior officer, and stopped when she told them wjo she was

[ionic tiger]

Probably went to the same briefing as Romeo

[shell mango]

As a choir member I feel obligated to make that distinction

[empty bloom]

No they clearly got worse

[shell mango]

Lmao

[empty bloom]

Didn't you play Spartan Ops? They only got worse and flirted with Palmer more.

[hardy swan]

she will only let the Elite do it

[minor sky]

Yeah I will say that Madsen and DeMarco's lines aren't that out of place for an ODST or Marine

[empty bloom]

Nonsarcasm, I remember replaying all the Spartan Ops cutscenes and missions and having a "wait, this is what people complained about?" moment when it came to talking about to how lewd Majestic got.

Like, seriously? They literally never bring it up again after Palmer locks them down.

At all.

[minor sky]

No because the missions were a repetitive slog

[empty bloom]

And that's what y'all (Subjective) complained about?

[ionic tiger]

Again, I’m willing to give the benefit of the doubt there is factiousness going on, but like…the characters aren’t the same as they were 13 years ago.

Only problem is some people still unironically act that way.

[hardy swan]

must be their hatred for the IVs

[empty bloom]

I actually have more issues with post-Infinite IVs.

[sleek vigil]

It never wears down.

[empty bloom]

I really don't like Horvath begging for Chief to come back.

It's actually awful.

[hardy swan]

Rubicon Protocol kinda writes IVs as badasses and it also kind of backfires when you realize all 300 of them did not manage to do what Chief did

[sleek vigil]

I see. It's the lore surrounding Infinite. 'Hope!' and positioning Chief as literal embodiment of it.

So naturally, everything has to bend.

[empty bloom]

Which is funny, because it matters a whole lot less when you realize that there weren't 300 of them, they didn't have Chief's advantages, and they had way more disadvantages.

[ionic tiger]

Tends to happen to those who aren’t the main character.

[empty bloom]

But hey, actually pointing that out hurts your argument, so I get not mentioning all the reasons they failed.

[minor sky]

Imo it would've been better if it was just Madsen who made the line. Just because he is kind of the odd one out of the group. But thats just me

[empty bloom]

Including, y'know, NOT ACTUALLY KNOWING WHAT THE DAMN MISSION WAS

As literally 0% of the Rubicon Spartans knew that they were over the damn objective because nobody told them.

The bad half of opsec.

[hardy swan]

let's say if only half of the contingent on Infinity survived the destruction and only half that survived Reverie 🧐

[minor sky]

I don't hate Infinite at all, but I do really wish the story had more meat to it. Like Chief meeting up with Infinity's crew or something like that.

[empty bloom]

There's a laundry list of issues the Rubicon Spartans had that Chief didn't suffer from.

[sleek vigil]

Where's she from Majestic? No one talks about her. I forgot her name.

[minor sky]

Grant?

[empty bloom]

Hypotheticals are irrelevant.

Tedra Grant is neat. I like her.

[minor sky]

Or whats her name from Escalation

[sleek vigil]

Probably. She had a nice accent/personality.

[empty bloom]

It's funny that a former Navy MP wears an armor most assosciated with former Army Spartans.

[hardy swan]

Honestly im glad Horvath survived and I don't think it's that weird he specifically named MC

[sleek vigil]

Sad eveyone forgot about her. Thorne and Grant had good chemistry together.

[hardy swan]

Master Chief is currently known torughout the UNSC as the dude that survived 5 Halo games

[empty bloom]

🙄

[minor sky]

Throne was great. Shame his actor was unable to return

[ionic tiger]

I do think him surviving six months in space is a bit much though.

[minor sky]

And he is too busy to return now that he is doing Star Trek stuff

(He plays Spock)

[hardy swan]

No Laskly no Palmer nothing

[empty bloom]

really? That's... Not something I knew.

Good for him.

[hardy swan]

at this point we don't even know if Lasky is alive

[sleek vigil]

Oh, wait! About that... I wanted to ask... His suit isn't rated for Slipspace. So how did he travel with Zeta Halo to the new location without getting, I don't know, spaghettified or something.

[empty bloom]

We don't know.

[hardy swan]

Gen 3 has plot armor

[sleek vigil]

In Halo 4 they don't forget to mention how fighter is specifically not Slipspace rated and Chief uses Didact's own ship to take cover.

[minor sky]

My crackpot theory for the Infinity is that it got pushed into the same sort of time-distortment thing Chief went through at the end of the game. And now Infinity will deus-ex machina several months into the future

[ionic tiger]

I just wonder if he was in a coma or conscious for six months. No way that’d have no psychological effects.

[minor sky]

Maybe he was also pushed into the future while he was in space idk

[empty bloom]

It's almost as though Infinite's story is slapdash and bad.

[minor sky]

Its not horrible, but yeah its got its problems for sure

[empty bloom]

And entirely made out of a reflexive overreaction against unjustified backlash of Halo 5's story.

Nah.

Clearly I'm wrong.

[sleek vigil]

His suit shut down him. Probably coma.

[hardy swan]

it was in cyro mode

[empty bloom]

I mean, the guy also had his brains nearly bashed out by funni Brute mace.

Literally hit hard enough for an AI chip to fall out.

[minor sky]

"Unjustified", eh. While I agree that a lot of the vitriol from fans was uncalled for and way out of hand, 5's narrative was still a mess

[sleek vigil]

Suit needed time to repair all that. Nanotech.

[minor sky]

Something something funny MGR Senator guy

[hardy swan]

the book coming out later this year will take place after Infinite which means Halo 7 will probably be a different story

[shell mango]

His basal metabolic rate, if i had to guess, would be something like 400 calories a day. Its totally possible for some nutrient paste stuffed into the suit to sustain him for that long

[sour raven]

No, book is just a bridge between game like ce and 2

[empty bloom]

The constant pearl wringing over Cortana is unjustified.

[hardy swan]

Apparently we getting some news about the upcoming projects in October

[ionic tiger]

I’m calling it now, the end of Edge of Dawn will involve a UNSC rescue force arriving at Zeta and the next game picking up right there. Whether stay on Zeta is another story.

[empty bloom]

Can't wait for more doomposting about Halo in October.

[hardy swan]

I wish Halo had more capable dev team like Battlefield does😭

new game every 4 years

[minor sky]

While I share that worry, I do think that
A: Kelly Gay is a competent writer
B: they directly compared it First Strike, which served to bridge the story of CE to 2, not cut off CE's narrative threads (cough Next 72 Hours cough)

[ionic tiger]

I’m not opposed to it ending with a rescue force coming. And I’m willing to bet a good portion will stick to Zeta.

I won’t necessarily be sad to leave it either.

The next game anyway

[hardy swan]

Troy Denning or Kelly Gay

[minor sky]

I..... am going to disagree- to a point. Not defending any specific fan misbehavior, but I am of the opinion that bringing Cortana back right after being killed off was a mistake

[shell mango]

Perhaps said rescue force is the spirit of fire?

[empty bloom]

God no.

[hardy swan]

Spirit of Fire

[ionic tiger]

I doubt it. I’d like it to be a fleet from ANVIL or, who knows, the Swords of Sanghelios.

[hardy swan]

they keep writting the UNSC to lose every space fight it's not like they have anything

[minor sky]

For the love of god would they please wrap up HW2's ending if they won't make a sequel

[empty bloom]

If it's the Spirit of Fire I'm gnawing my damn arms off.

[shell mango]

Plenty of great forces they could tie in, i won't complain

[minor sky]

It will be the Forward Unto Dawn with a ressurected Johnson and Miranda Keyes there to tell fans that "its ok, we aren't doing any new ideas anymore"

[empty bloom]

No. Freaking. Slipspace. Drive. Please. Stop. Forgetting. What. The. Spirit. Sacrificed.

[minor sky]

"The Spirit Of Fire mysteriously exited slipspace"

[hardy swan]

They can build one ez 👍🏻

[minor sky]

Just saying there is precedent

[hardy swan]

with the power of friendship and the Force

[empty bloom]

But not precedent.

[hardy swan]

don't tell me they don't have a single condor

[minor sky]

And all seven Infinity Stones

[minor sky]

Different ship

[hardy swan]

Maybe they can ask whoever sent them there in the first place

[minor sky]

I'm not a technical lore geek but I'd imagine they have different requirements

Who knows who the hell that is supposed to be

[hardy swan]

Jod

[minor sky]

Its only been ¾ of a decade

[hardy swan]

There are many possibilities they can escape the Ark

[minor sky]

Anders is still on a ring somewhere (maybe), last we checked the Ferrets arrived on the Ark and are assisting the Spirit Of Fire, Atriox left the Ark for Zeta Halo because 343i finally had a positive fan responce to a faction they made reasons

[sour raven]

We still dont know where zeta halo ended up

[minor sky]

I just want them to wrap up HW2's loose ends

Because they clearly aren't making a sequel

[ionic tiger]

Wonder if it’d be possible to salvage the Anodyne Spirits drive

[minor sky]

Yes, for once I want them to actually finish a game's story in a book or comic

But only because a sequel is highly unlikely

[hardy swan]

next to the Ark

[minor sky]

It's floating off towards Requiem/j

[minor sky]

I seriously wonder how they will wrap up Anders' story

I have a theory that maybe they would've had Cortana use the ring Anders was on to blow up Doisac, as concept art showed a Halo ring being used instead of a handful of Guardians

[shell mango]

Wasn't that ring an alpha halo replacement?

[minor sky]

I think

I sometimes get their names confused

[shell mango]

I dont blame you

[minor sky]

I do find it funny that Halo 3 shows Zeta Halo to be entirely desert, and 343i had to retcon it to be "the weather systems were really messed up during Halo 3"

[sleek vigil]

Many more Halo Rings are shown such in Halo 3.

Basically, Bungie didn't care. They went 'Desert Halo', 'Ice Halo'.

[minor sky]

It was "the last" Halo, after all

[shell mango]

It might make some sense, alpha halo had lots of islands

[minor sky]

I wonder what that Peter Jackson game was gonna look like as a final product. I mean it obviously didn't get finished and Bungie had to go make ODST because apperantly people at Bungie didn't understand that their contract still demanded two more games from them regardless of one of them got cancelled

[shell mango]

The flood is just a tropical disease

[clever token]

Speaking of another game, we need Blur back on the cutscene game. I respect what Axis with what they did with the opening cutscene, but I want the Infinite sequel to bring back quality animated cutscenes, al a H2A

I need to see Infinite Elites in crisp, juicy 4k

[supple jasper]

I have a question for fellow lore people. How large were the spartan II, III, and IIII? I think most II were 6'11-7'2 without armor and III were 6'5-6'9 with armor. Can you corect me if im wrong with evidence cited? I tried using halopedia for evidence but didn't have time to check every spartans height for an estimate. Does anyone have the info on hand or has time to check? A website with all the evdence would be great aswell! Thank you!

(btw way I don't check discord often so sorry if I'm a bit slow to answer)

thank you!

[stoic hamlet]

Someone asked this before, I think? Just last week?

Roughly those heights are gonna be accurate for the II’s and III’s. The IV’s are a bit in-between, but like the III’s their average would be hard to pinpoint.

[pseudo coral]

Does iss true ze Nobel prize went to le halo ring in massa chefs backpack?

[unique rune]

I’m pretty sure this is the same person that asked earlier lol

[sick oracle]

Spartan 2s in armor stay around the 7ft area. SII women typically are just shy of 7ft. Alice, Kelly and Naomi are 6'11" and the men tend to be over 7ft. Jorge was 7'2" and i think Sam was 7'4"

this is all in armor though, dunno what they are out of armor but if i had to guess itd probably be an inch or two shorter. idk how think the boots are in MJOLNIR

[stoic hamlet]

Ah, you might be right.

[vagrant ocean]

MJÖLNIR adds about 4 inches to their height, as Chief is 6’10 outside of it and 7’2 inside.

This means that at the age of 14, Sam-034 was 7ft flat without his armor.

A true Goliath.

Now lemme do a bit of autistic Halo math, and I can calculate how tall he might have been had he lived to the end of the war.

In the Fall of Reach series, John is depicted as a couple inches taller than Mendez, who’s 6’2, setting him around 6’4-6’6. He grows another 4-6 inches in the intervening 30 years to 6’10. So had Sam lived, he’d be 7’4-7’6 out of armor by 2552.

[stoic hamlet]

Meanwhile there’s Kurt at 7’7”

But Kurt unlike the others spent most of his time out of Cryo, so wouldn’t have stunted growth.

[vagrant ocean]

This is just my math, he could be taller, especially since he was always the biggest.

Let it be known I’m REALLY bad at math.

[orchid kettle]

how does your augmented, encased skeleton grow

You also don't really grow that much after puberty, and the IIs and IIIs essentially had super puberty induced in them to make them what they are

[hardy swan]

Magic

[vagrant ocean]

Lots of drugs

[orchid kettle]

what would even be the benefit of constantly having to adjust the tailor-made mjolnir suit to fit the ever growing Spartans

Guys, this is just not how people work

[vagrant ocean]

I just work here dude

[orchid kettle]

You could probably argue that when Nylund wrote TFOR, he wrote young 14 year old John as being the same height as he was pre-augmentations, considering one of the ODSTs he fights is described as larger than him and Blue Team somehow infiltrated Watts' base using a disguise

But the current lore has the issue of Chief clearly being, well, Chief sized in FuD

only a few months after

HtT also describes Chief as young-looking, but still weirdly jacked

which i always figured was a reference to how they look in FuD, where they're supersoldier size, but they've got the weird baby face situation going on

How four of those monsters managed to sneak into Watts' base without arousing suspicion is honestly anyone's guess

The Spartans in Silent Storm are described as being over two meters again, which sits between the Boot Camp section of Fall of Reach and FuD

[stoic hamlet]

How any II or III can do undercover work beggars belief.

[empty bloom]

Magic

And author fiat

[minor sky]

The problem is that Blur's cutscenes cost a lot of money, and I don't know if Microsoft wants to pay it

[dusk jetty]

It’s more believable post-war because of active camo modules but even then it seems like a waste of assets

Or, alternatively;

📦 ❗

[stoic hamlet]

Undercover work as in what you see Saber doing after Last Light. So it’s just as unbelievable.

[dusk jetty]

Also begs the question why you need a Spartan for undercover work

You could accomplish more with less

[orchid kettle]

Assassin with super powers, I would think

What's sad to me is that I usually love stories where characters go undercover

but I don't remember really vibing with Retribution/Divine Wind

i dunno if its because something I want in undercover stories is for the undercover agent to legitimately bond with the group they've infiltrated and feel torn between their duty and the relationships that they've forged under dubious circumstances

Or I guess in cartoons its just a funny way to humanize the faceless goons by having them engage in like, watercooler talk

[wheat quarry]

I mean post war I think Mjolnier had had active camo added, before it was just SPI armor.

[wheat quarry]

It would be hard to have a spartan undercover because how tall they are. At least with a Spartan II or III

IV could easily go undercover. Rubicon protocal describes them basically acting like normal humans, they have their emotions, and their features. They are just a bit stronger and faster. IV are more like Orion Project.

[orchid kettle]

Problem is, they're huge

[wheat quarry]

IV's?

I thought it was the armor that made them so tall, because when Kovan took off her battle damaged armor it says she seemed smaller.

[dusk jetty]

They’re still big in armor

[wheat quarry]

Also do you think we will see Horvath and Kovan in the new book when Master chief rescures the medic from Rubicon proticol?

[dusk jetty]

It’s just impractical to use a Spartan in that context

[wheat quarry]

I mean blue team was used as a research team and recovery team post war.

[dusk jetty]

Recovery, not infiltration

[orchid kettle]

Considering how many IV specializations there are I honestly don't see what the issue is

[dusk jetty]

I would probably send a Spartan team for recovery

[wheat quarry]

This...
IV are basically humans. They don't look modified, they act normal. They are not like II and III.

[orchid kettle]

I know Vale technically disguises herself in Outcasts but it always felt kinda silly to me

[wheat quarry]

That book was really mid other than the jokes.

The story was crap.

[orchid kettle]

like if I was a normie in the post-war, I don't think I'd trust anybody above 6'4" who's jacked

[wheat quarry]

I could be wrong but I think Olivia fought armorless during the final book in the Ferret Triology.

[orchid kettle]

like sure technically its possible

[dusk jetty]

If we had enough intel that somehow warrants a Spartan deployment that also exists in the context of infiltration it would be sabotage and recovery

I can’t reasonably see deploying a Spartan to steal like

Data or something

[orchid kettle]

why not

[wheat quarry]

I mean they kinda did. That was blue teams first op before their armor was invented.

[orchid kettle]

who doesn't love information

[dusk jetty]

Because they’re valuable assets and your sending them in with presumably minimal support, which should be a headhunter mission. I’m talking about fireteams though

[wheat quarry]

Chief also went armorless for a bit.

[wheat quarry]

Ok but Headhunters are spartans?

[dusk jetty]

Correct

[wheat quarry]

Spartan III with SPI armor, but your saying Spartans would go in to get intel, but you just showed they do.

[high elbow]

I can’t see them doing something like corporate espionage, but covert asset retrieval where you need minimal evidence sounds right up their alley

[orchid kettle]

Going in with minimal support is like 90% of the Halo 4 spartan specializations

[wheat quarry]

I mean Sara Palmer was incharge of dipolmatic relations...

[orchid kettle]

the only difference between a Stalker and an undercover Spartan, in theory, is that the target would be happily chatting away with their would be assassin

[wheat quarry]

The heck?

Spartan IV in Halo 4 always had a fire team.

[dusk jetty]

Couldn’t you do that with an unaugmented asset though

[orchid kettle]

Oh yeah, read the description for the specializations from Halo 4

they're all basically the same thing

[dusk jetty]

It’s true, they’re all more or less that

[wheat quarry]

That point is driven home in all the post war stories, how spartan IV were not as efficient in lone combat as Spartan III or II's

[orchid kettle]

They're all about doing something deep in enemy territory for long periods of time with minimal support

[high elbow]

That makes sense, but also very different from breaking into an office and stealing documents or future space flash drives

[dusk jetty]

Yep, which is why halo 4 armor is funny