What if we got the Mark VII Gen-1 as an armor core?

Games Halo Infinite
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1

Okay, so, hear me out.

MJOLNIR Mark VII has been a variation of MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor that, much like with Mark IV and onward, has had iterations of it in all three generations of MJOLNIR firmware.

Spartan Naomi-010 is currently the only one to have used MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Mark VII Gen-1.
And as we all know from the Kilo-5 Trilogy novels and artwork, the Mark VII at the time was derived from the design of the Mark V Bravo armor design.

So.
How cool would it be to have an alternate version of the Mark VII where the armor is essentially an upgraded Gen-1 version of the armor we had in Halo Reach?
The image featured in the following link is what I envision the earliest form of the Mark VII to look like (minus the Mark VI helmet of course)

  • https://i.pinimg.com/736x/9d/3c/53/9d3c5346c54c0bbb06750aa68ffc7ba5.jpg

Since players are advocating for Cross-Core customization, I think this armor core would be a great way to do so, as it would greatly resemble the Mark V [B] armor core and therefore make all the armor pieces for the Mark V [B] look aesthetically pleasing on this hypothetical Mark VII Gen-1 armor core.

And since this armor would be the in-lore springboard for the Gen-2 lineup of MJOLNIR designs, it stands to reason that most of the new cosmetics that come out during this hypothetical armor coreā€™s season would be prototype designs of some of the armor assets from Halo 4 (though redesigned to better fit the design aesthetics of the Mark V Bravo armor core), such as -

  • C.I.O.
  • Commando
  • Defender
  • Enforcer
  • HAZOP
  • Keystone (Literally just the Mark VII helmet from the Mark VII armor core, though with a more prototype design that makes it resemble both the Mark VII and Mark V [B] helmets)
  • Orbital
  • Pilot (Halo 4ā€™s ā€œOperatorā€ armor was originally called ā€œPilotā€ in early versions of the game)
  • Ranger
  • Recruit
  • Scanner
  • Strider
  • Warrior

And, as mentioned before with Mark V [B] armor assets being cross-core by default on the Mark VII Gen-1, so too would the Mark VII armor assets be able to be applied to the Mark V [B] armor core.

This post was pretty much some wishful thinking, but honestly if 343ā€™s intent of supporting this game for a decade AND we are supposed to have (hopefully) four seasons per year from here on out, it stands to reason that the Mark VII Gen-1 would be an armor core that would eventually make it into the rotation. Plus it should be easy to implement.

Doing so would make for an arguably quick season to put together as all they really would need to do is copy-paste the Mark VI [B] armor and make it look similar to the image I provided above.

Thoughts anyone?

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Weā€™ve been waiting for years for in-game versions of so many existing, canonical armours that it always frustrates me when I see ā€˜Fractureā€™ designs either in Infinite or the MCC take precedence and development time.

We could have Mark V or Mark VI, the HW and HW2 variants of Mark IV. Where is Gen 1 Mark VII? Where are the Gen 2 platforms in the Infinite engine? Where is Chiefā€™s Gen 3 armour from the campaign? The community has waited 16 years for SPI armour which hopefully some variation of is next on the list based on the leaks. We could have genuine ODST gear; Halo 2 and Halo 3 variants. We could have the Mk IV seen in Forward Unto Dawn or The Package. We could have Gray Teamā€™s cobbled together Mark V gear or Black Teamā€™s ā€˜prototypeā€™ (read lazy art design) Mark VI.

Every time I see some barely related aesthetic offshoot that sticks out like a sore thumb within the art design of the franchise I am always reminded of what is still missing.

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Well to be fair, in Infiniteā€™s case at least, the Fractures Armors are released alongside a Main Canon armor core.

Mark V Bravo and Yoroi released at launch with Season 1
Rakshasa and Eaglestrike released with Season 2
Season 3 is rumored to either contain ODST or SPI armor as the Canon Armor and so far there have been no leaks about what S3ā€™s Fracture would be.

You will be happy to learn that there are plans for the Mark IV to be included in the game.
In the official art book for Halo Infinite, there are a couple pages dedicated to the Mark IV and possible variants.

  • https://preview.redd.it/vz2y67td9p681.png?auto=webp&s=d9923736e3749592bb01aa2e3e216128f65954b3

So we would likely see a multiplayer season where the UNSC Spirit of Fire meets with Spartan Agryna, brining Alice, Douglas, and Jerome into the main UNSC once again.

Slowly being redesigned to be applied to the Mark VII and other armor cores.

  • AKIS-II GRD is AKIS
  • Anubis
  • Artaius is ODST
  • Aviator
  • Brawler is Dynast
  • Brodie is Eaglestrikeā€™s CQB
  • Cambion is War Master
  • Cavallino is Recruit
  • Celox is Scout
  • Firefall is Helljumper
  • Leadbelcher is Eaglestrikeā€™s EOD
  • Linebreaker is Enforcer or Commando
  • Locus
  • M199X is Eaglestrikeā€™s ODST
  • Rampart
  • Shikari is Mark V [B] meets Argus
  • Sky Marshal is Eaglestrikeā€™s GUNGNIR
  • Soldier
  • Stormfall is GUNGNIR
  • Trailblazer is Recon
  • ULLR is GUNGNIR
  • Yokai is Yoroiā€™s Locus
  • Volant is Air Assault
  • War Master

In due time, all the armor sets from Halo 4, Halo 2 Anniversary MP, Halo Online, and Halo 5 will be brought into the fold.
They will, however, need either some slight touch-up adjustments for some and many will have to receive HEAVY reworks to their design to make them fit-in with the style of Infinite.

Fun fact, that Mark IV design is technically non-canon BUT it was the basis for the newer design of the Mark VI Gen-3.
Which we hopefully will get as an Armor Core.
Especially since Kelly, Fred, and Linda all have their own custom armorā€™s in the Halo Encyclopedia 2022.

  • Frederic-S104 wearing his new Cohort helmet and combat-knife shoulders, inspired by his appearance in The Package ā€”
    https://halo.wiki.gallery/images/1/1d/Enc22_Fred.png

  • Kelly-S087 wearing her new Hermes helmet, also inspired by her appearance in The Package ā€”
    https://halo.wiki.gallery/images/9/9c/Enc22-Kelly.png

  • Linda-S058 wearing her new Argus helmet and unknown shoulder pauldron ā€”
    https://halo.wiki.gallery/images/thumb/a/a1/Enc22_Linda058.jpg/1600px-Enc22_Linda058.jpg

Hopefully we will also see the Mark VI Gen-3 Armor Core feature more items, such as the entirety of Halo 3ā€™s Spartan customization options reimagined in the Gen-3 style for use, and the variants of equipment used by Silver Team in that terrible Halo TV show (show was garbs but the props department did well on armor designs)

  • https://preview.redd.it/ud2vyg3vex781.jpg?auto=webp&s=6bebec35e71ae3ac3fc51a7f7ea4a57b5cdb4963

  • https://static.wikia.nocookie.net/halo/images/c/ce/Halo_101_MC-Kai-Riz-Kalu-Vannak-Still2.jpg/revision/latest?cb=20220318021002

Hey, at least the Fractures are not main-canon and are just alt-universe canons.
This is the best of both worlds.
Halo remains Halo without stupid and outlandish designs being considered approved UNSC designs.
And it keeps things interesting with new designs that can bend outside the established norms by way of Fractures.

Heck, it also invites crossovers.
Imagine Fallout-style Power Armor as a Fractures armor core?
COG Soldier Armor as a Fractures armor core?
DOOMā€™s Praetor Suit being the inspiration of an armor core?

It invites potential.

But seriously, Mark VII Gen-1.
WE
NEED
IT !!!

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Real talk, this would actually loosen my pockets enough to buy stuff from the shop, especially Fallout 3/New Vegas styled Power Armor.

As an aside, Fractures honestly should have been the armor you pay to earn, with the canon sets relegated to play to earn.

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I miss the days of DLC packs instead of time-limited battle-passes.

Here is how I would do Fractures - Make it a Battle Pass DLC that gives you ALL of the cosmetics for that Armor Core upon purchasing it.

Each Season gets 2 Battle Passes that are permanently tied to your account - The Main Canon one and, if you purchase the DLC pack, you get the Fractures Battle Pass.

Now you have DOUBLE the unlockables you can earn by playing the game instead of just a single BP to burn through and then have the event ones that give players migraines with their dumb challenge prerequisites.

PROBLEM SOLVED !!!
Default Battle Pass is free.
Premium Track on the Default BP is $10
Event Battle Passes should unlock content when you play the event rather than complete challenges.
Fractures Battle Pass is an optional $10 DLC pack that is ALWAYS available in the store.

Players didnā€™t get all the Yoroi and Eaglestrike stuff? We left behind plenty of cosmetics that never was rotated into the shop for some reason?
The solution is to put it in a DLC Battle Pass that NEVER leaves the Microsoft/Xbox Store so that players can pay $10 to earn another Armor Core and play the game to earn its pieces through regular progression.

Players get the goods, they get more rewards per season by playing through matches, and 343/Microsoft gets some cash.
It is a win/win for both parties involved !

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Iā€™d very much like to see Mk VI, Mk V, Mk IV, and even [GEN2] cores

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The fact that you mentioned my beloved Scanner helmet by name has an immediate ā€œyesā€ from me.

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We are eventually going to get Mark IV Gen-1 and Mark V Gen-1, that much is a given.

Mark VI Gen-1 may not happen and instead we may see Mark VI Gen-3 be a reward for players who beat all parts of the campaign; but then again knowing 343 they do NOT like players dressing up as Chief so it may also not happen for no reason that stands up to scrutiny.

As for the Gen-2 stuff, I donā€™t see how Gen-2 can be brought into Halo Infinite. Sure, Gen-3 versions of the Gen-2 stuff would come into the fold like how some of the Mark VII Gen-3 helmets are.
But the Gen-2 stuff was pretty out there for Halo. It was like Haloā€™s awkward teen years. Some were good designs (Interceptor, Scanner, Warrior, Soldier, Nightfall, Buccaneer, Anubis), but others need some SERIOUS overhaul in design overhaul before they can be brought into Halo Infinite (Seeker, Wetwork, Pioneer, Jumpmaster, Goblin, Vector, Marauder, Teishin, Oceanic, Nomad, Legionnaire, Mako, Pioneer).
Weā€™ve already seen some good redesigns for the Mark VII and Rakshasa armor cores when it came to plenty of Gen-2 gear.

But no, we wonā€™t get a Gen-2 Armor Core as MJOLNIR Gen-2 had no armor core. In Multiplayer, the only thing consistent between each and every suit of armor was the exosuit underneath it.

The most we might see are Gen-3 ā€œsuccessorā€ Armor Cores in which we see the following -

  • Majestic Gen-3 ā€” A Gen-3 successor to RECRUIT-Class armor.
  • Copperhead Gen-3 ā€” Ditto but for Copperhead
  • Helljumper Gen-3 ā€” Ditto but for Helljumper
  • Section-3 ā€” A Gen-3 Successor to HUNTER-Class armor and HIGHLY classified
  • Technician Gen-3 ā€” Gen-3 Successor to TECHNICIAN-Class
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Not any more than the Fractures. And with the ethos of the Spartan IVā€™s at their inception, MJOLNIR [GEN2] fit with mass-production of large numbers of Spartans. It would be nice to see that with a more updated depiction, and perhaps a more streamlined loadout (less Goblin and stuff like that)

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The issue with MJOLNIR Gen-2ā€™s design was that the armor designs were FAR outside the established design philosophy of the UNSC.

Imagine, if you would, seeing an epic battle of the Imperials vs Rebels in a Star Wars movie. Suddenly out of nowhere comes someone who looks like Iron Man from Marvel and fights alongside the Rebellion?

Star Wars has established themes for factions, their technology, their uniforms, and their arsenal.

Seeing Iron Man come outta nowhere to assist Luke Skywalker breaks the suspension of disbelief.

Having the strange and weird armor designs of Halo 4 and Halo 5 enter into Halo Infiniteā€™s main canon will do similar things.
Mark V Bravo, Mark VII, and Rakshasa all look like designs that belong in the UNSC.

And that is the beauty of the Fractures armor cores.
Armor designs that are cool but do not fit into the main canon are instead made as alt-canon and do not make an appearance in the main story or novels, instead hailing from their own alt-reality and for the purposes of multiplayer just stumbling into the multiplayer matches.

It allows the artists to go a bit crazy and out there with their designs WHILE not messing with the main lore and design philosophies of the UNSC and other factions.

Because of how Halo 4 and Halo 5 established the lore, it is now canon that there are Spartans out there with the Seeker helmet and expected to be taken seriously.
If I saw two soldiers approach me, one wearing the Soldier helmet and the other wearing Seeker; I would ignore the instructions of the Seeker and listen to the Soldier guy because I cannot take the Seeker helmet seriously.

Not to mention the fact that most of the Gen-2 stuff was made ugly on purpose so that the ā€œyou-win-a-prize-every-timeā€ raffel of the REQ Packs ensured that every time you WOULD win a prize. But we all know deep down that you were hoping to get the Mark IV armor in Halo 5 and not an alt-paintjob for the Breaker helmet or Goblin armor or Venture helmet.
That is the nature of ā€œyou-win-a-prize-every-timeā€ games and raffles. You lose but you at least get something as a consolation prize. You win, and when you do, you win BIG.

Gen-2 stuff needs some adjustments to make it better fit into the current style of Neo-Classic Halo.
For example, Anubis was one of the best helmets of Halo 5, but it was bulky in the back.
The retweaked design slimmed it down while making it clear that it is the Anubis helmet.

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No, they really werenā€™t. After the war, the UNSC was able to really expand on their technology, merging both Forerunner and Sangheili technologies with their discoveries and joint-faction inventions. As well, the slimmed down ceramic aspects of MJOLNIR [GEN2] fall in line with more cost effective branches of power armor similar to SPI, while still utilizing advancements (particularly in the tech suit, which is armor) of the MJOLNIR [GEN1].

The aesthetics are a division from what we saw prior to that, but for that - lore based - I contribute that to the UNSC hiring on independent contractors to design and develop the armor sets, rather than test them. MJOLNIR was no longer under the oversight of Dr. Halsey, as [GEN1] was. With the advent of [GEN3] during the Created Conflict, Dr. Halsey was back at the helm of MJOLNIR and in conjunction with the Watershed Division, we see a return to her form.

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Yes. Many other companies began to become involved with MJOLNIR production.
BUT that does not excuse the armors to be outlandish in design and downright strange.
Merging UNSC and Forerunner tech DOES make sense for the armors of Hellcat, Prefect, and Fotus.
Merging UNSC and Covenant tech DOES make sense for the armors of Helioskrill and Copperhead.

But what about Legionnaire, Seeker, Vector, Wetwork, and Goblin?
Armors that look, well, like they belong in a kids cartoon? Oddly shaped and not really thought out with a military R&D mindset? Just designed to look bold and strange as if they were making toys for a kids show, where children are impressed by colors and shapes.
How did armors such as these come out of the woodwork?
You would have to presume that with these other companies being contracted out for MJOLNIR production, they would have been given examples of MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Gen-1 as the basis for their designs. Meaning that the designers would realistically look out to MJOLNIR Gen-1 and then have the mindset of ā€œupgrade on this designā€.

In truth, the reason behind all the new armor designs is that 343ā€™s executives specifically stated that they wanted to deviate from the norms and try to reach a ā€œbroader audienceā€ (which has been franchise suicide for the past decade with MANY other franchises so of COURSE it did not work). And they outsourced a lot of their designers to freelance artists and other third-party studios who were given the basic instructions of ā€œdesign an armor that will be mounted on this exosuit pictureā€.

Honestly it makes no sense why ONI wouldnā€™t re-secure Dr. Halsey and imprison her again.
In truth, this was just 343ā€™s in-universe lore explanation as to why they decided to double back and go for a more classic art design once again.
Out of universe, they realized that fans keep on crying out for the classic art style to return so they made the Neo-Classical Halo art style that Infinite has.
Similar to how 343 ret-conned Chiefā€™s specific model of Mark VI to have nanomachines so that during the four years of boredom, Cortana redesigned his armor from the ground upā€¦ all as an in-universe reason as to why they changed his design from the start of the game.

While some MJOLNIR Gen-2 stuff can come over unmodified, such as the Scanner helmet because it looks like an actually good helmet or the Timmy, Ricochet, and Olive helmet since they are ā€œgoofy on purposeā€ gag and joke helmets that are meant to essentially be playable easter-eggs, the truth of the matter is that most of the Gen-2 lineup doesnā€™t match up with the franchisesā€™ iconography.

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Iā€™d imagine thereā€™s plans for many classical armor cores, but theyā€™re spreading them out for marketing reasons. Better to spread it out over 10 years than give us multiple similar cores.

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Yes, we absolutely need it!

15

I just want the Chiefs core

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I mean, it makes sense to space them out.

Imagine if the first seasons of Halo Infinite were -

  1. Mark V [B] Gen-1
  2. Mark V Gen-1
  3. Mark IV Gen-1
  4. Mark VI Gen-1
  5. Mark VII Gen-1
  6. Mark IV Gen-3
  7. Mark V Gen-3
  8. Mark VI Gen-3

Everything after that would be considered as a downhill decline as some years may just be crapshoots once Helljumper and SPI have their seasons.

Aymen my brother!

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i made a post about this exactly. need to do a crossover event about halo wars 2 that introduces the mk4 armor, a new gametype (cough cough invasion), maybe a weapon and some campaign dlc. Im willing to bet its already in their plan if not done but theyre waiting on it for one reason or another considering that merging halo wars 2 is like the most obvious thing for an event given it was the set up for infinite.

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@PilotX4702 You will be happy to know that the Art of Halo Infinite book does showcase Mark IV Gen-1 armor core variant concept artwork. So we might see Jerome, Alice, and Douglas in Halo Infiniteā€™s multiplayer cutscenes with perhaps a tie-in comic or novel.

  • https://preview.redd.it/vz2y67td9p681.png?auto=webp&s=d9923736e3749592bb01aa2e3e216128f65954b3

Personally I hope that Douglas now has a robot arm since Atriox crushed his shoulder.

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Yes, that is the real-world reason. What I put is basically just how I rationalize it to fit, with what we know canonically from the inclusions of other tech. But, while it may not be to allā€™s liking, such is 343iā€™s prerogative.
(As for outsourcing armor designs, Iā€™d have to see some sources on that; in 10 years, thatā€™s the first Iā€™ve heard of that.)

With the Created Conflict, there were far bigger fish to fry, and even ONI is clinging on by a threat. As well, Halsey being imprisoned was always (IMO) a stupid plotline introduced from Travissā€™ hatred of her. It is my opinion as well that everything from Halo 4: Spartan Ops to Halo 5 is canonically undoing the mess that Traviss created.

But as for a lot of the GEN2 armors, a lot of them I still argue do fit Haloā€™s iconography. Namely Recruit, Soldier, Warrior, GUNGNIR (definitely), Air Assault, Aviator, Commando, EVAā€¦ There are actually several that fit quite well.

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nah they showed him fully recovered in the later part of hw2 when heā€™s redeployed, his arm survived.