With the Master Chief coming back in the upcoming Halo Infinite, what are the chances of the Arbiter coming back as well? Is he going to play a very big role in Halo Infinite?
I hope so. There’s room for him there. Arbiter is very beloved by fans, it’d be a shame to not see him in some fashion
Highly doubt he’ll be in there sadly. He’s loved by the fans, however if he’s going to be in there, he needs to have a point and purpose to the plot. This was a mistake they made with having him in Halo 5. He plays essentially no role or purpose in the plot aside from helping Osiris getting the constructor. That’s it, so if he’s going to be in there, I hope he actually plays a role.
I know this is HIGHLY unlikely but I think it would be fun to have another Warthog run with Chief driving and Arbiter gunning with our pilot friend stuck riding shotgun maybe freaking out during the run. Again, I cannot think of how it would fit in an overall narrative but it would be a cool throw back.
He better! AND with a platoon of female Sangheili, since they are now able to join the fight, thanks to the current Arbiter.
I think it’s likely he’ll feature. Not to the extent he did in Halo 2-3, certainly. But they seem to be aware of the power of nostalgia with nods to the old art style and music in what we’ve been shown so far. I think that means Arbiter is more likely to feature prominently as opposed to newcomers or characters that weren’t featured in the classic games (Osiris–except Buck- and Blue Team, since they practically didn’t exist in the games prior to H5).
I can see 343i giving Arbiter a strong supporting role for Chief in Infinite, not on the level of Co-op player character, but more like Johnson served in the original games. It’d be cool to see them interacting again.
Buck and the Spartan-ized Alpha-Nine might also feature. I got the impression from “Bad Blood” that 343i may have brought that band back together for a reason, hopefully beyond the scope of just another novel adventure. Although I’d be hard pressed to complain about more of Forbeck’s “Blood” books. This one may be more wishful thinking than anything else, but I personally would rather see these guys back than either Osiris or Blue Team (I, like a lot of folks, was pretty disappointed in how they handled presenting Fred, Kelly, and Linda to the games-only audience).
Honestly, I think this question is an enigma. On one hand, him lending help to Chief is believable an in character. Cortana seizing control of the Galaxy means she could interfere with the development of the Sangheili society that Thel is so dedicated to rebuild. Him lending us a hand would surely be a welcome surprise.
On the other hand, the state of the Sangheili society is very delicate. Just the mere news that he allowed some Humans to land on Sanghelios was enough to turn some factions against his. He not only leads the Swords of Sanghelios’ military, but is also a governor and politician. He has a lot of work in his hands, especially on the military side of things.
Writing this, I really have no clue in the end. I hope 343 will surprise us for good. BUT, there is someone who could make an appearance in place of Thel: Rtas 'Vadum.
Think about it. He was tasked with hunting the remaining Prophets loyal to the Covenant cause, and he just so happens to own the ship that stood the testament of time (active since 2135, according to Warfleet). It’d make sense if Thel ordered him to assist the remaining Human forces in their battle against the Created. It would be amazing if the Shadow of Intent made an appearance to lend us support under the command of Rtas, by Thel’s orders.
I would be very surprised if the arbiter wasn’t in the game in some form or fashion. Even if it’s just one level you see him, or in a CGI cutscene or something.
He’s a pretty big player as the leader of the Swords of Sanghelios and he was there at the end of H5 so I wouldn’t be surprised if he was in the game at some capacity.