So I was just rereading The Fall Of Reach, and when they are discussing the Mjolnir Armour, the image I got in my head was like a bulky Iron Man suit.
Then I look at the Halo 4 armours, and maybe its just me, but it looks like there is a lot less coverage of metal plating, as the torso and the shoulder areas are quite exposed, even compared to the other games.
Sometimes I just look and think its more ‘wetsuit with armour plates’ than actual suit of armour.
> So I was just rereading The Fall Of Reach, and when they are discussing the Mjolnir Armour, the image I got in my head was like a bulky Iron Man suit.
>
> Then I look at the Halo 4 armours, and maybe its just me, but it looks like there is a lot less coverage of metal plating, as the torso and the shoulder areas are quite exposed, even compared to the other games.
>
> Sometimes I just look and think its more ‘wetsuit with armour plates’ than actual suit of armour.
I noticed that as well when they released the art for pre-order armors. Of the 5, only gungir PLSE and CIO WEB looked like they had sufficient armor plating.
Wetsuit? You mean titanium undersuit?
> Wetsuit? You mean titanium undersuit?
His point still gets across, albeit somewhat convoluted. The armor in Halo 4 is lacking actual “armor” in places such as the midsection, the lower leg, (depending on what leg armor you’re using), and the back. The armor looks like it’s “floating”, for a lack of better words. The new MJOLNIR looks like it’s too dependent on the titanium undersuit.
vs
Big difference, even though they are the same armor kit.
i think the reach armors look was perfect in this regard.
Not really a big difference. Space diaper is the biggest. Reach look like got glued armour pieces. There is also a bit less of a need for bigger armour plates with energy shielding, it is also lighter weight.
Armor is expensive. When you’re supplying armor to hundreds of already expensive Spartans, you’re going to cut down on cost as much as possible.
Technology. The original MJOLNIR armors were designed to fight Insurrectionists who fired bullets so they had to defend against such weapons. Covenant Plasma on the other hand melts armor like a hot knife through butter so it makes sense to design the armor so that the wearer can be fast and maneuverable in the hopes that they don’t get hit at all.
They also have a much better understanding of Energy Shielding as well which would mean modern armor is designed with the idea that the Energy Shield will be the suit’s primary defensive measure. New armor can afford to be lightweight and less restricting because the armor is designed from the ground up to incorporate the shielding.
The under armor isn’t exactly a rubber wet suit either because it’s actually made of a Titanium nanocomposite. It’s designed to repel ballistic attacks and disperse heat from energy weapons.
> Technology. The original MJOLNIR armors were designed to fight Insurrectionists who fired bullets so they had to defend against such weapons. Covenant Plasma on the other hand melts armor like a hot knife through butter so it makes sense to design the armor so that the wearer can be fast and maneuverable in the hopes that they don’t get hit at all.
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> They also have a much better understanding of Energy Shielding as well which would mean modern armor is designed with the idea that the Energy Shield will be the suit’s primary defensive measure. New armor can afford to be lightweight and less restricting because the armor is designed from the ground up to incorporate the shielding.
>
> The under armor isn’t exactly a rubber wet suit either because it’s actually made of a Titanium nanocomposite. It’s designed to repel ballistic attacks and disperse heat from energy weapons.
This is all very true. I personally see the armor as too “exposing”. There’s also that “chance” of not being hit. That’s only a possibility, and what if the Spartan does get hit? That’s bad news. I also see the flaw of using the energy shield as the main defense against the opposition’s weapons. If that shielding pops or breaks, the Spartan will only be able to take so many shots before the projectiles start to really hurt them and penetrate that undersuit. Their midsection is entirely exposed, and some kits like Wetwork or Warrior seem to depend too much on the energy shielding as the main line of defense.
I personally think the continuing line of MJOLNIR should base its designs off of the GEN[1] Mark VI and it’s optional armor kits. They all looked slim, and still offered lots of protection.
Not even Mark VI could withstand more than one or two hits from a plasma bolt past energy shielding. At the end of the day, no matter what you’re wearing, getting hit with plasma is bad news. And generally, Spartans don’t get hit too much, a lot of the times not even at all. If energy shielding can absorb a few hits from a plasma bolt, you’re already pretty protected.
The armor itself is mostly to enhance things like strength and agility, rather than to protect the wearer.
> Not even Mark VI could withstand more than one or two hits from a plasma bolt past energy shielding. At the end of the day, no matter what you’re wearing, getting hit with plasma is bad news. And generally, Spartans don’t get hit too much, a lot of the times not even at all. If energy shielding can absorb a few hits from a plasma bolt, you’re already pretty protected.
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> The armor itself is mostly to enhance things like strength and agility, rather than to protect the wearer.
You do prove valid points. I do realize that generally, Spartans rarely get hit, but you might as well prepare for the worst, because you never know. I just don’t see the benefits of depending too much on energy shielding, because sooner or later a Spartan will be caught in a situation when those shields aren’t going to be there to protect them. I think armor should be that “middle” in between the shielding and undersuit so that it could buy some time for the Spartan to get into cover. That’s the main flaw I see with the second generation of MJOLNIR, it seems to be too dependent on agility, energy shielding, and the undersuit.
But, if there is a middle point between a Power Ranger suit and a walking tank, then I’m all for it.
Compared to a Starcraft universe’s Terran Marines and Warhammer 40,000 universe’s Space Marines and Chaos Marines… Hmm. If that is what you mean by a middle point between a Power Ranger suit and a walking tank.
A few Spartans costs less than more protective suits. Really, the only way to increase how protective the suits are is to add more layers of armor, which is expensive and could cut down on speed/agility, leaving Spartans to encounter those potentially deadly situations more often.
The better, and cheaper, option is to work on making the energy shielding more advanced. There’s next to no effect on speed/agility, and Spartans can take more hits. With the recent advances in energy shielding technology thanks to the Huragok, it’s probably safe to say that personal energy shielding can take quite a few hits, and recharges pretty quickly as well.
> A few Spartans costs less than more protective suits. Really, the only way to increase how protective the suits are is to add more layers of armor, which is expensive and could cut down on speed/agility, leaving Spartans to encounter those potentially deadly situations more often.
>
> The better, and cheaper, option is to work on making the energy shielding more advanced. There’s next to no effect on speed/agility, and Spartans can take more hits. With the recent advances in energy shielding technology thanks to the Huragok, it’s probably safe to say that personal energy shielding can take quite a few hits, and recharges pretty quickly as well.
Well, I can’t really argue with those points you’ve stated. +1 for you. Overall, I just hope the new MJOLNIR armor kits don’t expose so much of the Spartan’s body. The current kits look so… bare.
> > A few Spartans costs less than more protective suits. Really, the only way to increase how protective the suits are is to add more layers of armor, which is expensive and could cut down on speed/agility, leaving Spartans to encounter those potentially deadly situations more often.
> >
> > The better, and cheaper, option is to work on making the energy shielding more advanced. There’s next to no effect on speed/agility, and Spartans can take more hits. With the recent advances in energy shielding technology thanks to the Huragok, it’s probably safe to say that personal energy shielding can take quite a few hits, and recharges pretty quickly as well.
>
> Well, I can’t really argue with those points you’ve stated. +1 for you. Overall, I just hope the new MJOLNIR armor kits don’t expose so much of the Spartan’s body. The current kits look so… bare.
Like you have stated about M0aHerder’s points being valid is correct, but also keep in mind.
Armor is costly, we know this, it’s a proven fact throughout the military in Halo, AND in real life, trust me, I’ve seen the price for a full IBA that you see soldiers in Iraq wear, and it’s anything but cheap.
BUT, that doesn’t mean that later on as R&D find stronger, tougher materials, that are also extremely light and/or flexible.
Right now the Halo 4 Armor is very fitting for it’s needs and limitations, granted a lack of protection in certain areas. But the main big difference between the armor of old, and armor of new, is how the soldier fights, and it’s uses.
The Spartan 2 armor was designed for fighting Humans, thus it had more and larger hardpoints/armor plating, and was modified when the Covies showed up, to work with a shield.
The Spartan 3 armor was designed for stealth missions, the armor was very cheap to make, and wasn’t a big deal to be lost.
The Spartan 4 armor was designed to fight the covies like normal soldiers, but with arguments and powered armor. Most of the armor plating/hard points is where the systems are, comms, power, shielding, computers, air, and so on. But they also had mostly armor plating on the upper body because a smart soldier would drop behind cover when he/she has no shields, so you need the most armor on your upper body where it’d be exposed to attack. It also has less armor in the med section to improve mobility, I don’t think anyone has had the honor of wearing the US military’s IBA, I have, there is no mobility in that, you’d be lucky if you’d be able to do a sit up with it on. If you had to bend over to pick something up, you have to squat.
The space diaper looks very uncomfortable, and wouldn’t be fun to wear, getting rid of that, would most likely be a big improvement. Granted you wouldn’t want to be standing behind cover that only covers your legs.
As said before, the use and cost are the deciding factors.
The Spartan IVs are less “armored” to keep maneuverability and speed in combat, thinks that are important when fighting Covenant and plasma, rather than bullets.
Not only that, but there is a lot of IVs. They had to find a less expensive way to provide armor. This was the way to do it.
And don’t forget a visual lack of armor doesn’t mean lack of protection and survivability. The IVs’ armor also packs a lot of technology upgrades and armor abilities to improve effectiveness and efficiency.
I think it looks pretty sweet. Combo of Spidermans agility potential and Ironmans defense-ish.
OP, just for reference, that under suit weighs around 70 pounds.
> OP, just for reference, that under suit weighs around 70 pounds.
Good stuff
If there is any style that Halo should stick to, I think it should be Reach’s. It was gruff, had a some sleek and some bulky. It looked intimidating, it looked like war. But most of all, it looked very human in it’s architecture.
![GEN[2] EVA armor](http://halo4nation.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/06/zvloZ.jpg){kind=link}
