Hᴜᴍᴘsᴛʏʟᴇs

Definitely. Especially since there was an article revealed today about the Operator Specialization (recharges a vehicle EMP quicker) being beneficial on "Space and Sea Vehicles" as well. I'm down to get astro-nautical

Reach's default gameplay IS included in Arena (sans OP AAs that immensely deter the flow of the map). Sprint is obvious. Hologram is a physical optical illusion. It doesn't allow you to become invincible and stall a gunfight (AL), get a quick height advantage and create shortcuts to weapon spawns (jetpack), or become invisible and scramble radar (camo). It merely tricks the player, which rarely occurs in Onyx-ranked Arena games anyways.

This basically eliminates the upperhand of objective-based games. Normally, when a team is holding an oddball or a flag, it's 3 defenders & 1 holder versus 4 attackers; this gives the attacking team a better chance at attaining the objective due to more firepower. Assuming two teams are equal strength and skill, it would almost come down to who grabs the objective first to determine who wins. I mean, don't get me wrong, I would love to assassinate an enemy with the flag then turn a magnum 4-shot double kill, but it definitely will change the pace and flow of gameplay having even firepower.

It seems that either Bungie or 343i, whoever had reigns at the time, realized that jetpack, camo, etc. were OP and ultimately unfair in a game type like Arena, where true skill is recognized and triumphs.

I know it will still "feel" like Halo; it just comes down to how closely one wants to compare it to previous titles. Personally, I think that Halo 4 should be getting more complex and "specialized" since the storyline is advancing (ergo the technology in the game is, as well).

PROS: Elites took 5 DMR/Magnum bullets to break their shield. Also, they didn't require health packs as their health regenerated completely by itself. CONS: It seemed that (I'm sure some people will agreed) UNSC weapons were stronger against Elites than against other Spartans. An AR is devastating to an Elite.

I really hope 343i implements skill into their rankings. The only ranking system that required skill to move up in Reach was Arena, which I still play and enjoy. I definitely do miss showing off a 49 in Lone Wolves, a 50 in SWAT, and a 50 in Slayer in Halo 3 though. Something about the #50 was so appeasing after working so hard to get it. It seems that the term "levelling up" is now reduced to merely earning credits depending on how much you play, ultimately doing away with the term "levelling down"

Wetwork with my Turtle Beaches

Ahhh, that does all look pretty accurate. I think the last thing I saw was that the Mod was the last thing (level 10) you unlock.

That would immensely reduce the amount of gameplay. Unlocking all the extra content for each of those Specializations should be (and apparently is) a reward of trekking through 50 levels of hard work. What I don't understand is: 1. Why are there only 2 available from the get-go? Do you think you must get through Pioneer and Wetwork in order to unlock the other 6? Possibly 1 at a time? 2. Does the armor need to be equipped for these "mods" to work? What if I have on mismatching shoulder armor(s)? Or is that merely for the "gameplay changing" mod slot in your loadout?

I still don't see how in the hell that leveling up incorporates TrueSkill or whatever rendition 343i said they were implementing. Guess I just need to be patient enough until a video comes out explaining it.

I'm still confused with the entire structure of the leveling system, but the way that you're describing it, I don't think we have to go through it again. Think about it: Levels 1 - 60. The first 50 are purely a grind, where the last 10 will unlock armor/mods/skins/emblems devoted to the Specialization you went for. The first 50 will include weapons/grenades/armorabilities/etc. It would be likely that you can stop there if you're content with the measly amount of content you've unlocked. The way I see it, you devote yourself to 1 out of 10 Specializations for 60 levels, then have a choice to devote yourself to another if inclined to. Since they just released this information, I'm sure we'll see a video pertaining to it in the next week or so.

Burial Grounds and Colossus; two of my all-time favorites.