Halo factions, and how we experience them.

Games Other Halo
1

TL;DR - Halo has lots of factions, go to second post for the real point. But fair warning, you will miss a fine read.

Halo Combat Evolved era, and Eric Nylund.

In Halo CE, we were introduced to the four primary factions of the original Halo Trilogy: The UNSC, the Covenant, the Forerunner, and the Flood. At first we didn’t know much about any side. We knew little more than that we were a Spartan, we had Space Marine buddies. And there was a massive universe filled with things that want to kill us.

Those of us who read Halo: The Fall of Reach got a chance to learn more about the UNSC and the Spartans. Finally realized for who Humanity was in the decades preceding the game. We also got our introduction to the Insurrectionists, giving us a subtle idea that maybe the UNSC wasn’t the ultimate good in the Universe.

Halo: The Flood gave us a little bit more about the Covenant. Not much, but we had enough to understand that they weren’t just killing humans because they are bad guys. They had a reason. What that reason was still remained a Mystery. The Flood’s true purpose was in it’s name. We learned just what the Flood was, we learned of it’s craving for knowledge, and it’s hunger to spread.

Halo: First Strike added some more mystery to the Forerunners. They were described to be on an almost supernatural technological level, accomplishing feats other could only marvel as some kind of Magic. And we got to learn a little bit about ONI, and corruptions within the UNSC.

Halo trilogy era, universal diversity takes flight.

Halo 2 finally released and broke every mold Halo had established so far. For the first time we really saw the world from a new point of view. The Arbiter’s Campaign allowed us to finally realize just who the Covenant is, and why they want Humanity gone. We learned the only bad guys in the Covenant are the deceitful Prophets, playing at the other species’ beliefs and molding them into obedient puppets. But one species, the Elites, were just a little too curious. They learned truths, turned against their former masters, and the Heretics rose and fell. The second wave of turned Elites formed the Covenant Separatists, a new “Good Guy” faction for players to relate to.

The following Novel, Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, expanded on this new faction. Giving us a little bit more information in background Covenant politics.

Halo 3 finally came out some time later. And more of the Flood, and Forerunner world was revealed. We learned of the Ark, the Librarian and Didact. Were given reason to believe the Forerunner to be another “Good Guy” faction that no longer exists. Though, they had not gained embodiment as a set of characters we can really relate to. The Flood were seen for the ultimate evil that they are. They will do anything to be the only living thing in the Galaxy.

The next few books took a step back in time. Contact Harvest and the Cole Protocol gave us more than enough reason to believe the Insurrectionists are more than Terrorists. They are a suppressed people, they were never treated fairly and so they want freedom. The UNSC was shown for many of the problems it had, and legitimate reasons to fight against it were revealed. The Insurrection became sympathized by readers, and we found another side of the story to relate to. We also got more depth into the Sangheili race, their home and customs. Those who already preferred them over the Spartans were finally beginning to feel like a fully realized part of the Community.

And for the first time ever, we got to see who the Brutes were, how they fit into the Covenant, and why they and the Elites hate each other so much. The character Maccabeus was very easy to relate to, and he was a very reasonable fellow. Maybe the Brutes aren’t so bad after all?

Halo Spinoff era, a truly thriving universe

Halo Wars was up next. And while it played a single-sided Campaign, we got to see what was happening on both sides of the battle. This expanded even more on the ability to relate to a faction by allowing players to access both a fully realized UNSC, and Covenant army in the Multiplayer mode. Allowing more than just a Spartan vs Elite relationship, and even within the Covenant faction you had the choice of Elite, Brute, or Prophet, and the ability to tailor your playstyle, did you like vehicles? ODSTs? Spartans? Jackals? Scarabs? etc. You could literally play your way, how you want to relate with your army. Halo Wars presented the most diversely playable universe we saw in any of the games, though Flood, Insurrectionists, and Forerunner factions existed as enemies.

Next up we got ODST, and Halo Reach. None of them really contributed much, but for some reason the focus was taken off the other factions of the universe, and pointed once again entirely on the UNSC. This created a more narrow view of the Universe and was a dark period of time where we got nothing new out of our experiences.

Now I touch on Halo Legends, Halo Evolutions, and the entire Halo: Graphic Novel series. What these short stories all accomplished was that we got to see the entire universe. Not just the UNSC, or the Covenant Separatists. We saw Forerunner, we saw Flood, Brutes, Insurrectionists, Oni, Prophets, with these series’ we got to see all different characters, from all their different points of view. We saw through the eyes of Cortana, Black Team, a squad of ODSTs, a group of bloodthirsty brutes, Sangheili brothers, a lone Elite general, a failed Spartan subject… We could finally truly relate to whoever we wanted.

The final release I will touch on is Halo: Cryptum. The Forerunner saga. We have seen Precursors for the first time. And even learned that the Forerunner weren’t so great and just as we initially though. But seeing the universe as it was through their eyes is a great step toward having a new faction of characters some players will actually latch on to and prefer, over the UNSC, and over the Covenant.

2

The Future of Halo, Halo 4 and beyond.

How does this all relate to Halo 4, and following releases? This is my way of saying that there are tons of players out there who relate to all different characters and factions in the Universe. Figuring out which of those factions are dominant isn’t hard. At present it is the UNSC, and the Covenant Separatists, the two primary factions we have seen and played so far. To a lesser extent the Covenant Loyalist Brutes and Flood exist as other fan favorites, and the Forerunner are on a definite uprise to being one of the major factions.

Some players feel that they want to experience Halo from that side of the universe. And Halo 4 aught to begin to give them just that. While the Campaign can still be told entirely from MC’s point of view, and other tales can be left to other media such as books, spinoffs, and videos, in the multiplayer universe many were sad to see us restricted back to Spartans and the UNSC. And I have some suggestions for Halo 4, and upcoming Halo games, that can certainly assist in more of a “Choose your side” Command and Conquer/AvP/Warcraft/Starcraft feel. Something all or most fictional universes should have.

Things like UI changes, the main menu could be themed on your species, ranks will have UNSC and Covenant equivalents etc. Make Elites the same size and traits as Spartan models and stick them back into MM in playlists that aren’t overly competitive (Say, restrict them out of MLG, SWAT, and Snipers. Happy?), just don’t fail with the hitboxes like Halo 3 did, and people won’t be liable to complain (well, short of making up excuses).

In the future, beyond Halo 4, try to expand the universe. Brutes, and Flood Combat Forms are always a viable idea, make them have recharging shields, scale them to the right size, and in the case of Flood, arrange their head/spore area to a headlike position and shape. Not too hard to do, and there are people out there who would love the choices.

Any discussion or debate of the points I have made are very welcome and desired. I would also love to hear other ideas you, the rest of the community has to expand on, or change the topic in question.

3

I appreciate the effort put into this post and agree with most of the points but although I see smaller elites as being necessary in mp I enjoy them being big and exposing in reach at least

4

Now this is just me speaking from the story side of it, what they do with multiplayer characters and such is fine, but I don’t think we’ll see a ton of familiar faces for Halo 4. Perhaps down the line, but not in Halo 4. It’s far too soon.

5

It’s really nice to see people putting in time and dedication into their posts. Have a thankyou and a cookie. Please just add sub headings next time. Otherwise even I a devoted listening community member is tempted to go to the TL;DR

6

Thank you for all the support and advice so far. I have taken what was said to heart and categorized my main post for easier reading.

> Now this is just me speaking from the story side of it, what they do with multiplayer characters and such is fine, but I don’t think we’ll see a ton of familiar faces for Halo 4. Perhaps down the line, but not in Halo 4. It’s far too soon.

Yes, as I mentioned before the story of Halo 4 aught to be told entirely from the Master Chief’s point of view. It is a nice return to the ‘origin’ of the series. But there are several future projects, like the Glasslands and Forerunner sagas, and the rest of the Reclaimer trilogy, that can be used to assist in shaping the greater universe, amd creating more dynamic choices for the community.

> I appreciate the effort put into this post and agree with most of the points but although I see smaller elites as being necessary in mp I enjoy them being big and exposing in reach at least

The main reason is balance. Unfortunately a shooter environment does not work in the same way as a Fighter, or RTS environment. Making characters too radically different from one another causes imbalances in the game. If Elites are bigger, but have the same stats, they have a huge disadvantage, if they are bigger, but buffed, then you will have a torn community arguing over which model’s advantages are fair/unfair to the other model. Just make them the same, it worked for Halo 2, and it would have worked for Halo 3 if the hitboxes weren’t misaligned.

7

<mark>I agree with Legend.</mark>

8

> Yes, as I mentioned before the story of Halo 4 aught to be told entirely from the Master Chief’s point of view. It is a nice return to the ‘origin’ of the series. But there are several future projects, like the Glasslands and Forerunner sagas, and the rest of the Reclaimer trilogy, that can be used to assist in shaping the greater universe, amd creating more dynamic choices for the community.

And that is the smart thing to do. Unless their presence amounts to anything more significant than say a bullet sponge, none of the past factions need to be in Halo 4. Keep them in the books and expand their plight.

9

> > Yes, as I mentioned before the story of Halo 4 aught to be told entirely from the Master Chief’s point of view. It is a nice return to the ‘origin’ of the series. But there are several future projects, like the Glasslands and Forerunner sagas, and the rest of the Reclaimer trilogy, that can be used to assist in shaping the greater universe, amd creating more dynamic choices for the community.
>
> And that is the smart thing to do. Unless their presence amounts to anything more significant than say a bullet sponge, none of the past factions need to be in Halo 4. Keep them in the books and expand their plight.

Exactly. Only those that actually impact the story, like it wouldn’t be bad to see the UNSC come back (kind of a given), and the Sentinels. And the Flood aught to play a sub-enemy role at some point. Perhaps some Elites could play some role as well, not previous main characters though, since they are knee deep in politics with the UNSC during Halo: Glasslands. But the rest of the Covenant aught to just stay out.

But if the story doesn’t use them, then don’t bother with cameos.

10

> > > Yes, as I mentioned before the story of Halo 4 aught to be told entirely from the Master Chief’s point of view. It is a nice return to the ‘origin’ of the series. But there are several future projects, like the Glasslands and Forerunner sagas, and the rest of the Reclaimer trilogy, that can be used to assist in shaping the greater universe, amd creating more dynamic choices for the community.
> >
> > And that is the smart thing to do. Unless their presence amounts to anything more significant than say a bullet sponge, none of the past factions need to be in Halo 4. Keep them in the books and expand their plight.
>
> Exactly. Only those that actually impact the story, like it wouldn’t be bad to see the UNSC come back (kind of a given), and the Sentinels. And the Flood aught to play a sub-enemy role at some point. Perhaps some Elites could play some role as well, not previous main characters though, since they are knee deep in politics with the UNSC during Halo: Glasslands. But the rest of the Covenant aught to just stay out.
>
> But if the story doesn’t use them, then don’t bother with cameos.

Depending on how the post-war trilogy plays out will determine who will be in Halo 4 in my opinion.

11

Yeah, though I don’t expect more than the second book to be out by Halo 4’s release. So we will probably get Halo 4 before we get part 3 of Glasslands.

12

I agree with all stated before me.

13

> Things like UI changes, the main menu could be themed on your species, ranks will have UNSC and Covenant equivalents etc. Make Elites the same size and traits as Spartan models and stick them back into MM in playlists that aren’t overly competitive (Say, restrict them out of MLG, SWAT, and Snipers. Happy?), just don’t fail with the hitboxes like Halo 3 did, and people won’t be liable to complain (well, short of making up excuses).
[/quote]
I completely agree. Make the Sangheili slouch over to make the height the same as Spartans. I wouldn’t even care if I was a little bit easier to kill, I’d still play as one.

14

> > Things like UI changes, the main menu could be themed on your species, ranks will have UNSC and Covenant equivalents etc. Make Elites the same size and traits as Spartan models and stick them back into MM in playlists that aren’t overly competitive (Say, restrict them out of MLG, SWAT, and Snipers. Happy?), just don’t fail with the hitboxes like Halo 3 did, and people won’t be liable to complain (well, short of making up excuses).
[/quote]
I completely agree. Make the Sangheili slouch over to make the height the same as Spartans. I wouldn’t even care if I was a little bit easier to kill, I’d still play as one.
[/quote]
I was thinking more by simply shrinking them. They are already shaped close enough to Spartans in Reach that noone could complain if they just scaled them down to the same size.

15

I completely and utterly agree with your post Legend, a like for you! :smiley:

But if I might add, I think we need to add an area where these different factions can be represented and measured against each other, like a casual mixed species playlist or ranked Invasion.

16

> I completely and utterly agree with your post Legend, a like for you! :smiley:
>
> But if I might add, I think we need to add an area where these different factions can be represented and measured against each other, like a casual mixed species playlist or ranked Invasion.

Well, Forced Species’ 3v3 works for AvP, so a variant including Spartans, Elites, and (Insert Halo 4 Spartanlike enemy here) would be pretty awesome.

Or a playlist where you are matched on a team with your preferred species specifically to play against a team of a different species in Invasion-like gametypes. That would be pretty awesome too.

17

This post is the sort of thing this forum needs. Also, agreed. I hope they develop each faction, both in campaign and multiplayer, as much as is possible.

18

I have one other point to bring up. In future Halo games it would be great if feeling a part of that universe also meant things like spawning with certain weapons, and creating more diverse choices in weapon pickups on maps.

For instance: Invasion.

Invasion allows players to spawn with weapons based entirely on their species. And this is a great innovation to the game, that I think should keep. I mean, can you REALLY complain because one player spawned with a DMR, and the other spawned with a NR? Not really… Well maybe in TU or ZB, but in Vanilla even MLG gave players that coice before they used ZB, and it was pretty nice for NR users, and Covie fans, to be taken into account.

But also weapons on maps. Halo Reach does a good job of diverse mapmaking. The only maps you really can’t get away with using Covie weapons on are Uncaged, Cliffhanger, and Pinnacle. But flashback to Halo CE, 2, and 3. Halo CE was understandable, big maps aren’t great for more than the Needler, as CE only had 3 covie weapons. But in Halo 2, and 3, weapons like the Carbine, Beam Rifle, and Energy Sword appeared on less than half the maps in the game. And most playlists don’t have vehicles in them. How is it a sandbox game when you are kinda forced into using the BR and “Insert UNSC power weapon here”?

Reach added far more diversity to maps. Partially due to Utility weapons not dominating everything, and partly due to there just being more choices. The NR is on almost every map. Most maps have 2 or more Plasma Repeaters, Plasma Pistols, and Needlers. It’s really nice for that element of choice to shine through.

19

I really think it would be cool if they made a SPARTANs vs Elites playlist, which was kind of what I was expecting or hoping for after watching the trailers for and playing the Reach beta.

Like Invasion, each side would start with appropriate weapon types on either side of the map where they spawn (this would work better for symmetrical maps like in big team, so maybe 6 on 6 like Invasion or 8 on 8 to allow larger maps with symmetry), and maybe even unique armor abilities or powerups. This would be similar to Invasion Slayer, but its own playlist with all game types, no hill-capturing for power weapons, weapon spawns, and armor abilities/powerups for pickups on spawn.

20

Good post, Legend. You have been thanked.