Archangel Tyrael

Specializations are basically a prestige type thing Halo has introduced into it's universe in War Games.Basically a specialization is 10 levels, and there is 8 specializations making it an extra 80 levels from 50, so 50 + 80 = 130. Now I have gotten many private messages on xbox live and here on how they work and if I am stuck with it and etc. Question: Are you stuck with that armor once you unlock that specialization? Answer: No, I am not. You unlock it as you progress through the specialization and I can take it on or off whenever I please. It's just another armor set you unlock gradually. Question: What does a specialization actually do? Answer: Basically it either becomes a support upgrade or tactical package you can choose from in your loadout, just like ammo or mobility. You have to complete the specialization to unlock it. Question: Do you get random skins and etc from the specializations? Answer: No I don't think so. I think each specialization has a designated skin -- for example, Wetworks is DMR NBL (noble) skin and Operator is the Magnum STC (static). I will see If I can find a list where it lists the entire specialization skins for each primary and secondary weapon. Question: How long does one specialization take? Answer: I'm not sure but it's around the same time frame as progressing through 40-50 at least in the exp progression before you specialized. If anyone else has any questions, private message me via Xbox Live or here. I will answer as soon as I can. Thanks and hope this helped! Specializations slide show showing you the emblems, armor and weapon skin skins you get for doing a specialization: http://www.examiner.com/slideshow/halo-4-specialization-weapon-skins

It's happened to me, restart your xbox -- should be fixed.

I've used the DMR plenty, same goes for the BR. They are both amazing weapons and I don't prefer one over the other, I have the commendation kills to prove for that. After extensive use of both of these weapons, I think they both need a little bit of tweaking. I've thought about this for awhile and hearing everyones opinions on this matter. What I believe would be the best solutions for this, is either one of these two or both: 1. Increase the bloom on the DMR (just a little bit) so it will not be as effective to close to medium range. It's kinda funny how a long ranged precision weapon can kill someone like that. No, I am not hating on the DMR users by saying this but it's true and don't be in denial that this weapon is just overpowering other classes. 2. Instead of the first option I listed above, increase the range of the BR slighty to give it more of a fighting chance against the DMR. The BR does struggle at medium range with the DMR with the DMR's lack of bloom. To me this is the best option, to increase the BR's range slightly. I do not come from a one sided view on this. I love both weapons but guys seriously, there is tweaks needed and don't be in denial about it. I love the game so far though.

I agree. The distance it thrusts you doesn't help you at all. It should be buffed up a tad.

First of all this isn't a goodbye thread. I am not leaving you guys, think of it as time I need things to get done and I'll still be on here, just not as much. There is stuff in real life that needs attending time and I am having a hard time balancing that, Halo 4 and these forums. This site is amazing and all of you make it this way. Of course, the Admin, Moderators and Staff do their part but the real people that make this site is everyone besides them. All we did is help the best we can for all of you. Without any of you, there would be no site, there would be no improvements to the site, there will be nothing but a husk of a site that failed. I want you all to appreciate one another, we are all the same, Admin, Moderators and Staff and of course... Members! I have served as Staff for quite some time and I am proud to have done so. It's just my time to retire for the time being, I say time being because I hope to return to this site and do news once again. I do not like the feeling of retiring and leaving a hole in the site but I must guys, my life needs to move forward in many ways right now. I wish the site well for finding person(s) to take my role as News Group Staff. I do wish them well on this role, it's the hardest one to do, I assure you but most rewarding. Hope to join this person(s) later on and continue doing what I love -- news. With that, I end this little retirement thread. I love you all, I mean that. Thank you all for showing support over my time as Staff, guy guys/girls are awesome! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5WqKJJrY6AM

DMR just needs slower fire rate or more bloom. Nothing big though that will make the DMR useless. Though idc what anyone says, I am coming from an unbiased approach on this. I used the DMR and in my conclusion it just... it's over powered. It beats any other gun at any range. I don't really use DMR all that much, mainly BR and carbine -- So I got get fed up and used the DMR myself, this thing.. it needs tweaking. People will disgaree with this but idc. It's true.

I can't really vote on this. Though, the DMR is OP atm. It just needs a slower fire rate or more bloom added. It just doesn't allow for others to use the other sandbox weapons hardly.

The 12th of this month, Monday. 11.12.12

Swat comes out next week: http://www.343industries.org/forum/topic/17181-the-halo-bulletin-11812/#entry178006 Skill based ranking system will be via halo Waypoint: http://www.343industries.org/news/_/halo-4/matchmaking/competitive-skill-will-be-visible-on-waypoint-r478 You are welcome.

The Halo bulletin. Read below for more details Source: Halo Waypoint Over the past few days, babies were born, presidents were elected, and games were released—one of which just happened to be Halo 4. To say we’ve been overwhelmed by the response to our game would be an understatement. We’re humbled by your feedback and blown away by how many of you are spending significant amounts of time traversing our virtual battlefields. Here is a teeny-tiny peek into our day one numbers: More people played Halo 4 in the first 24 hours than any other Halo launch day in history. We’ll be sharing more details on Monday, but that should whet your appetite for the hard stats that are coming. Thank you for playing our game and stay tuned for additional updates, because we have some amazing things planned for the future of Halo 4. Midnight Madness It was a very surreal moment when the clock struck midnight on November 6. A day almost four years in the making, a single tick of the clock marked the occasion as stores around the world began releasing Halo 4 into the wild. From a to Jen Taylor and Steve Downes dual wielding Sharpies and smiles, over 10,000 midnight launch events around the world played host to a variety of different festivities, making the launch of Halo 4 a night to remember. Check out this pictorial recap showing how your fellow community members celebrated the release of Halo 4. The vast majority of 343 attended a launch event, and we had a blast celebrating the release of our game with you. We hope you had a good time, too! Halo 4 Housekeeping While the launch of Halo 4 went off without a hitch for the majority of you, a small percentage of players are experiencing a few different issues. We are tracking these issues and providing regular updates in the following forum thread: Issues being investigated. Please utilize that thread for reporting any and all problems you may be experiencing (we also have a Halo 4 FAQ, so check to see if your issue has been covered there first). We kindly ask that you utilize that thread for actual issues with the game. While we absolutely care that you think Cortana’s thighs are too large, that is not the appropriate place to make that post. You know who you are. Here are a few of the more common questions (and their relevant answers) we’re seeing right now. Y U No have game manual?! In an effort to save the world (and by world, we of course mean trees), we created an in-depth online interactive guide. You can access that here: http://www.halowaypo...n-US/Halo4Guide. How does the install process for Disc 2 work? Disc 2 contains largely multiplayer content. You can put it in at any time, even before Disc 1, and install the content. You will get a slideshow, some music and a progress bar. After a few minutes, you can remove that disc and never deal with it again. Everything multiplayer, including Spartan Ops, Forge and Campaign can then be launched from Disc 1. My Disc 2 is failing to install. HELP! If you’re experiencing issues installing Disc 2 content, choose “Spartan Ops” or “War Games” in the menu. You will see a message saying you need to install the content. Please choose the “Download from Xbox LIVE” option. If you have done a partial install with Disc 2 (i.e., your last install was either corrupt or interrupted), delete the old package before attempting the reinstall process. You can delete the old package by following the below steps: 1. Go to the Xbox Dashboard 2. Go to the “Settings” tab 3. Select “System” 4. Select “Storage” 5. Select “All Devices” 6. Select “Games and Apps” 7. Select “Halo 4” from the list of games 8. Select “Spartan Ops Season 1.0” 9. Select “Delete” 10. Select “Yes” to confirm 11. After it deletes that package, select “War Games” from the list 12. Select “Delete” 13. Select “Yes” to confirm My Xbox crashes every time I try to go to Halo Waypoint from Halo 4. Fix it! You fix it! You can do that by deleting Halo Waypoint and reinstalling it. What’s up with the daily XP cap? The daily XP cap is intended to preserve the integrity of the progression system. In other words, it’s in place to provide an early gate from players running amok in their progression. When we launched, we had a bug where double XP tokens were being consumed even when you went over the cap. That has since been fixed. In the coming weeks, we will be monitoring how many players are hitting the cap so we can respond accordingly. Sometimes I see a different set of hoppers, and my SR gets set back to 0. Why does that happen? What you are seeing are “fallback hoppers”. When you enter this mode, you will see a UI notification. It shows up on the “Find Game” screen for War Games. In previous Halo titles, you’re dependent on the servers to get the information you needed for Matchmaing, and if they go down, you can’t play. Fallback hoppers are a new functionality for Halo 4, and they allow people to continue playing Halo 4 when there are server issues. In order to preserve the integrity of the online experience, there are some limitations to this functionality: • Reduced XP earn rate, counted as offline XP • Players in the fallback hopper cannot play with those that are using the regular server hoppers • Player customization is disabled (no armor, loadouts, emblem) Since the server isn’t actually available in fallback hopper mode, you’ll be missing functionality that the server provides. This includes: • Spartan Ops • File Share • Service Record • Commendations • Challenges • Double XP tokens You will automatically be switched to fallback hoppers if you fail to download a necessary file. You’ll remain in fallback hoppers for up to 10 minutes after the services return. When in this mode, it’s a good idea to relaunch the game on a regular basis, so you can reenter the regular hoppers as soon as they’re available. Now that we’re done with the housekeeping, we’d like to say that we hope your experience with Halo 4 has been nothing short of pleasurable. If that’s not the case, definitely let us know here. Next Week's Matchmaking Playlist Update As you read the above title, you’re probably thinking, “We get a Matchmaking update already?!” and the answer is yes, you do indeed get a Matchmaking update already. Welcome to Halo 4, Spartans! Halo 4 Matchmaking updates will occur on a more frequent basis than what you’re accustomed to with Reach. Instead of monthly updates, we will be providing weekly updates, with the goal being to provide fresh content on a regular basis. We will maintain a static set of playlists and feature one or two “rotational” playlists on top of that. We will be monitoring trends and statistics closely so we can react accordingly to your preferences and likes. For instance, if one of our rotational playlists consistently holds a higher population than one of our static playlists, we will consider swapping them out based on player demand. The process will be fluid and based on numbers, and we’re extremely excited about the benefits of our new approach. So, what brand new playlist do you get next week? You get everybody’s favorite “Boom, headshot!” game type. Oh yes, it’s time for SWAT! By the way, please excuse the sobbing you might be hearing right now. It’s Frankie, weeping his man-tears of joy. Now, on to the nitty-gritty of SWAT in Halo 4. We’ve carefully balanced the damage resistance to allow both the Battle Rifle and the DMR to compete against each other in SWAT. Another change is that we’ve removed the shield HUD; so combined with disabled radar and no ordnance, you get even more visibility during a match. Below are the exact number of shots it takes for each weapon to kill. • DMR – 3 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head • Magnum – 3 bullets to the chest, 1 bullet to the head • BR – 7 bullets to the chest (this gun shoots three bullets in a burst, so the first bullet of the third burst will kill the player), 1 bullet to the head These are the maps that will appear in the SWAT playlist. • Haven • Adrift • Complex • Abandon • Solace Here are some strategies for those unfamiliar with the SWAT game type. • Aim for the head! • Use a DMR for long range encounters and a BR to sweep hallways. • A Magnum is more effective than melee at very close range because of its incredibly fast fire speed. • Use callouts with your teammates; communication allows you to work more efficiently as a team. • Pick up a DMR or BR off of an enemy. Having both weapons is a big advantage. • Learn the maps to keep your reticle at headshot level. And finally, here’s a preview of our planned settings. Mode SWAT Teams 4v4 Score to Win 600 [60 Kills] Loadout 1 DMR, Magnum Loadout 2 BR, Magnum Grenades Disabled Shields Disabled Damage Resistance .8 – Headshot = Instant kill Motion Tracker Off Infinite Ammo On Shield HUD Disabled Ordnance Disabled We hope you love SWAT in Halo 4. After you’ve had a chance to play it, be sure to visit the Matchmaking section of our forums to leave your feedback about this particular game type. See you next week, and thanks again for joining us on this amazing journey. We appreciate your support, more than you know. <3, bs angel View full article

Source - http://blogs.haloway...Bulletin-118... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=46U5I8lEyOY&feature=g-all-lik View full article

Video is fixed, sorry everyone -- been busy.

Microsoft increasing USB drive space for Xbox 360 storage. Read below for more details Source: gameinformer.com In March 2010, Microsoft allowed users to connect USB and hard drive devices to the console but only allowed a maximum storage space of 16GB. The new dashboard update this fall has increased the size to 32GB. "The more our customers use their profile and download digital content, the larger the file size necessary to store that content and move it between consoles gets," a Microsoft spokesperson said. "Therefore we increased the size of the memory to enable our customers to take more of their Xbox profile with them on the go." This story was first reported by Joystiq. View full article

343 Industries promised weekly Spartan Ops episodes and it's sticking to that promise. Episode 2 will be out on Monday. Read below for more details Source: Computerandvideogames.com Spartan Ops: Episode Two, which contains five new missions and an accompanying new CG cinematic, will be available for free via Xbox Live next Monday, November 12 at 11am GMT (3am Pacific). We've got a teaser trailer for you here, and below that, some blurb on what to expect from events in Episode 2 (left until last in case you're on a super-stringent spoiler blackout). http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=TByBdJAUoD4 This week on Halo 4: Spartan Ops -- The mysterious artifact recovered from Requiem takes control of vital systems on board the UNSC Infinity, forcing the Spartans of Crimson and Majestic back down to the planet to look for a way to free the ship. Commander Lasky and the UNSC need you, Spartan...get back in the game! View full article