As I’m sure some of us have either heard or pieced together, there’s a new type of armor customization called “Armor Cores”. Basically, imagine having a variety of Halo torsos and their specific designs, i.e. the Halo 3 base body and the Halo Reach base body, and having the option to choose between them in the same game. Armor Cores, to my knowledge, are basically just that. They’re the base of your armor, and have their own representative style to them. Halo Infinite’s Mark VII is an Armor Core, and Halo Reach’s Mark V B is an Armor Core. Both styles of armor exist in the game.
Before I continue, I should first preface that 343 has not gone out and said exactly how armor cores work, and as a result, everything I have to say could be void and irrelevant on launch day. However as a consequence of that, I’m looking at what we currently know about armor cores and what information I’ve read through, whether implied or explicit, to express my concerns. I don’t know how armor cores work 100%. I just feel as if I should air out these concerns.
To my knowledge, it sounds and looks as if we will only be able to mix and match armors from specific generations. For example, I will not be able to mix and match the Mark V B helmet with the Mark VII Armor Core, and any of the armor pieces that pertain to that Armor Core, nor will I be able to mix and match the Mark VII Keystone helmet with the Mark V B Armor Core and any of its specific armor pieces. Through all of the armors we’ve seen from Halo Infinite, from both the Multiplayer trailer and overview, I’ve yet to see a mix between armors of different generations. There isn’t one circumstance of armors from different generations being mixed together I’ve seen. That, and given the information in the most recent Canon Fodder, it looks as if we won’t be able to mix generations.
Why limit the armors we can interchange? I could understand some situations, for example using a chest attachment from GEN3 Mark VII on GEN1 Mark V B, as it might simply not be capable of fitting onto the armor core without looking awkward. But even then, it just seems like a poor excuse for chest attachments, let alone helmets, kneepads, or shoulder pieces. I feel like it’s an unnecessary restriction to lock the cross-generation customization of armors, and there doesn’t exactly seem to be a reason beyond it might not look good or right. Even that is just artificial.
Moreover, if armor cores lock the armor pieces you can customize, what does this mean for sets like the Yoroi set? The Yoroi armor set is locked to its own armor core according to the Multiplayer Overview(https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n-O7OuliQRY , 8:40), so it sounds like you’ll be locked to only the Yoroi armor pieces if you equip its armor core. It doesn’t sound that fun to be locked behind those restrictions, and assuming more armor cores will be added through battle passes and events like how Mark V B is most likely for the season and Yoroi is a “Fracture” event reward, it sounds like we’ll have more armor cores that’ll be in the same boat is Yoroi. Certain armor cores could only have a set or so of armor pieces and be restricted to those pieces for some time, unless 343 decides to go and make additions to older armor cores. Some older armor cores could, effectively, be left in the dust until 343 chooses to come back to them again to make additions, instead of allowing us to use any new armor piece from new armor sets that come out with any armor core we want.
If a player really wants to stick with Emile’s EVA
Helmet, but really wants to wear a new, cool-looking shoulder piece or chest attachment that they think could go very well with the helmet, they are forced into making a choice to leave their current armor core and redesign their Spartan to make that new piece fit, or stay with their current armor core and leave the other piece behind.
To be clear, my main concern with Armor Cores is that they look to pose a fundamental restriction to a player's ability to customize their armor, and the reasons for which those restrictions are put in place just seem artificial. There doesn't seem like there's any *good* reason to limit that customization. My other concern is what armor cores then imply, such as the introduction of newer armor cores possibly being restricted to a small amount of armor sets or older armor cores being set aside to only have an occasional update.
We have a *lot* we can customize in Halo Infinite, and I love that. We can customize so much about our Spartan, ranging from the attachments on our helmets, to how much of my arm/leg I've lost, to even the "era" of base body armor we want to wear. That sort of customization is crazy, and it really shows that 343 have put a lot of work into making our Spartan ours. But while I have come to understand some decisions, like armor coatings, the implementation of armor cores is one of the few things I can't exactly wrap my head around as clearly. Again, **343 has not said anything direct about armor cores**, so I can afford to give them the benefit of the doubt and **wait patiently for some sort of clarification on how armor cores work.
But, given everything we've seen of armor cores so far, and the lack of that clarification, I'm concerned that armor cores are going to be restrictive.
EDIT 8/11: **From ske7ch, via https://twitter.com/ske7ch/status/1420532588851040258 . Thank you to [SirCommissar](https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/forums/29568daf8cd14083bd1b70a810bf3581/topics/armor-cores-artificial-limitations/0b48b364-7c22-4216-a2ca-d6873d3b429c/posts?page=2#post37) for finding this and letting the thread know.
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*For launch, customization components are associated with a specific core. Sorry we weren't more clear about that. Team is already thinking about ways to open that up and allow more mixing and matching down the road.*
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