Ranger Intel

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #80. Last week we got hyped over E3 possibilities, talking about what you want to see a this year's E3 which is now right around the corner. One popular demand was Halo on PC, which I believe is likely if not certain for Halo 6. Click here to view the last poll, #79. Was E3 2013's Halo 5 teaser, really Halo 6? Halo 5's reveal at E3 2013 was a memorable one, but was it even Halo 5? To this day it was still technically 'Halo for Xbox One'. We didn't see any of it in Halo 5, apart from John getting his visor smashed. One good theory is that the teaser we saw 5 years ago is actually for Halo 6, and this does make a lot of sense. Think about it, Cortana has the Guardians now (as of October 2558) and Chief's visor is indeed cracked. This teaser could be Chief after the ending of Halo 5, and the UNSC is in too much of a state of disarray to actually hook him up with a new helmet. It could make sense. A couple of months after it was shown I had always thought of that trailer as being non-cannon, and just a way to build up hype because it looks interesting, but now I consider the fact that it may all be true. (Re)Watch it here: What do you all think about this? Chances are, we may find out over the next few days, if 343 decide to reference this teaser again. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #79. Last week's poll was about your favourite vehicle. There were some great responses including the Elephant and, of course, the Warthog. Click here to view the last poll, #78. What do you want to see at E3 2018? Halo is the event at Microsoft's E3 reveal, each and every year...sorta. We haven't seen anything about a Halo FPS game since 2015, and the last we saw of Halo at all was HW2 at E3 2016. Something Halo-related is guaranteed for this E3, and that date is approaching fast. I'm feeling the hype, you're feeling the hype (yes you are), and the whole Halo community's feeling it. We may have two games announced, who knows? Halo 6 is likely, but what about an ODST sequel also being teased, or another game completely? There are a few possibilities, and I wanna know what you all want to see most. It doesn't even have to be a game, it could be the TV series/movie, or another experience altogether. Note: I'm referring to Halo content only. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Damn, you found a loophole...

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #78. Last week's poll was about your favourite character. There weren't many answers, but Jack of Harts and I_Make_Big_Boom had great choices and it was nice reading their reasoning for their chosen characters. Click here to view the last poll, #77. What's your favourite vehicle? From Halo: CE all the way through to Halo 5, there are many vehicles to destroy your enemies with. Besides of course the forklift, which won't be an option because of how obviously overpowered it is, what's your favourite vehicle? This includes UNSC, Promethean and Covenant (all factions) vehicles only. Vehicles from FPS games only are allowed, as these are the only ones you can "experience first hand", that means no Halo Wars/Spartan Assault+Strike-exclusive vehicles count. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #77. Last week I asked what your favourite mission was throughout all of Halo. It was certainly the best question I've ever asked the community, loved reading what you all thought of some of your favourite missions. For some of you there was a clear victor, others had to list their favourite from each game, and every post was a great throwback. I believe the two most liked missions were 'The Covenant' from Halo 3 and 'Metropolis' from Halo 2, both of which were certainly some of the best missions ever. Click here to view the last poll, #76. Who's your favourite character? Despite how good last week's poll was, this one can compete for sure. Halo highlights the importance of various individuals, ranging from genius commanders such as Captain Keyes to proud marines such PFC Jenkins. There are impressive individuals across all species, The Vadam' for example is not only a great warrior but a competent naval strategist. Many have clashing morals, others just follow commands no matter what, and they all have their story. Some may be corrupt, potentially for the good of humanity, some were just engineered to serve. You have characters with great military and political influence, and also those who are merely pawns. Although, we know some of these pawns can be greatly effective, and not all leaders live long and prosper. Now I'm sure you can all guess who I've referenced with some of those statements, but there's a many-to-many mapping when it comes to all of Halo's characters and the characteristics I've named above. Everyone has their bright and dark side, and everyone's unique. Which character from the Halo universe do you like best? Who do you relate with or appreciate most? Why? The 'good guys' and 'bad guys' are completely subjective here, as everyone has their own view on what/who is right/wrong. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Honestly reading every post here makes me want to go through every single Halo mission again, right now. Best poll so far without a doubt.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #76. Last week we talked about your favourite enemies to fight. There were some great points from each and every member, and it's honestly hard to disagree with anyone's points, because there were some really well thought-out comments being made. The prometheans weren't a popular option, and to be honest I can see why. Click here to view the last poll, #75. What's your favourite mission? Honestly, pretty much every Halo mission is iconic. That's what you get when you have such a well-developed campaign. Many think this tends not to be the case with some of the newer titles, Halo 5 for example, though it does really depend on the user's personal enjoyment with each mission. You may find yourself playing one mission or one campaign a lot more than another. I believe we have compared the campaigns of the MCC in one of my earlier polls, but now I'm asking what your favourite mission across the whole franchise is. I'm sure some of you will have clear answers, and others will be torn between two or more options. From Halo CE to Halo Wars 2, the world's your oyster. (Yes this does include the top-down games.) Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

This looks great, I'd love to join but I won't get back to gaming until the end of June unfortunately. Hope it goes well.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #75. Last week we discussed the return of the Flood, more specifically how they'd return. Had a few great answers, though a method for their return was inconclusive. One idea with most thought was them escaping on a ship, how that would work out is something I'd like to see. Ultimately, it's safe to say that the majority of Halo players would want to see the Flood return. Click here to view the last poll, #74. Who are you favourite enemies to fight? Reading the responses to last week's poll gave me the idea of asking you all which enemy you enjoy fighting most. The main 3 options are Prometheans, Covenant species, and Flood. Of course there are also sentinels, the Gúta, and other minorities, but they won't be considered (that includes the Moa, despite how fun they were to kill). Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

What ship could it be?

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #74. Last week's poll was a little quieter with only one response from forum member @Mothy. He made the great suggestion of tackling two birds with one stone, by having Cortana be destroyed along with the Gravemind. I think this is an honourable way for the AI to kick the bucket, and I'm sure it's what she would have wanted. Click here to view the last poll, #73. How will the Flood return? Speaking of the Gravemind, we know the Flood's still out there. Despite their small presence, they may still be a threat. I do find it likely that they'll make a return, but how? I can't think of any realistic way to be honest, not unless there's outside intervention on the Ark. The Banished and supposedly Spirit of Fire units on the Ark are containing the Flood, and it's safe to assume they're doing a decent job with the way Awakening the Nightmare ended. How will the Flood make their way out of the ring? I see the Spirit of Fire being the only way. Let 'Volir's ship was destroyed, and the Forerunner ship on the Ark was also destroyed in Operation: SPEARBREAKER. Things could go very badly for the SoF group, but how likely is that? What are the Flood gonna do? Let me know what you're thinking. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #73. Last week I asked whether you wanted to see fluid movement reappear in Halo 6, and overall it appears that the community does want it to remain, and possible with more fluidity. Looking forward to seeing how 343 move forward with this in the next Halo FPS game. Click here to view the last poll, #72. The fate of Cortana? Cortana's stirring up trouble, and she's now the UNSC's, or the galaxy's, primary threat. Is it too late to bring her home? Some theorise that her "turn to the dark side" is caused by the flood's infamous logic plague, but regardless of why she's gone rogue, she's a threat. Her termination has been on the table since 2557, and it's not more of a certainty with the way things are going. How do you think she'll be sent out though, with a bang? She may pull off a final sacrifice, similar to Halo 4's ending, or the UNSC will finish her off with their allies. No matter how, I see an end in sight for her. Even if she has been cured of rampancy by the Domain, and somehow gets free of the logic plague, no one would want her to remain active. It's far too large of a risk that the universe is better off without. Even if she's scientifically proven to be sane and safe for operation, paranoia and safety precations/regulars are still in place. She's too advanced and manipulative (thanks to Halsey's persona being ingrained in her) to keep alive, like Halsey herself in previous cases. I believe the hunt for Cortana will be like the hunt for Halsey, but this time she'll be put down for sure. That is, if the UNSC+allies get their hands on her. I don't think that'll be so straight-forward, but I do believe that if Cortana is infected by the logic plague and gets free of it, she will surrender herself to humanity for her destruction. But how's she going down? What do you think is her most likely fate, and why? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #72. Last week we talked about what you whether you wanted to see Fireteam Osiris in Halo 6 or not. The consensus appeared to be that they should be involved, but with set conditions such as less screen-time or more character development. Some great suggestions were made. Click here to view the last poll, #71. Do you want to get rid of fluid movement? A sorta hot topic in the Halo community is whether player fluidity should be increased or decreased. Something I remember noticing after Halo 4 dropped was the pace of multiplayer games. Things were quicker and you were in a much more dynamic atmosphere compared to prior games. Many people, however, believe that fluid movement should be removed from future Halo games. When I say 'fluid movement', I'm referring to features such as sprint and clamber. Halo 4 made sprint permanent, and Halo 5 introduced many more permanent abilities. Of course in lore, Spartans don't actually just float in the air before deciding where to ground-pound like in H5 multiplayer, but instead it's a quicker action as seen in the Osiris trailer for Halo 5. These things make sense, because technology is far superior in the late 2550s and you are in GEN2 armour. When it comes to the gameplay though, not everything reflects lore, so removing these features wouldn't be a big deal. Many claim that this isn't real Halo, unlike Halos CE, 2 and 3 where there was limited Spartan mobility. They want to void these new abilities. Bungie experimented with armour abilities, one being sprint, in Halo: Reach. This let 343 decide what to do in Halo 4, and I guess you can say they were also experimenting by making it the first game to feature permanent sprint. They then repeated this with Halo 5 and added more fluid movement. Some love it, others not so much. I personally believe they will keep it because of the impact it has on multiplayer. Halo has been focussed a lot on competitive gameplay recently, and this is a way of flexing what the games allow players to do by showing more complex programming. Call me a conspiracy theorist, but Halo's return to competitive play with the World Championship is most likely a scheme by Microsoft for more money, and they won't wanna drop it anytime soon. Are you for or against fluid movement? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Hi everyone, Spartan here with site poll #71. Last week we talked about what you wanted to see in the next ODST game, presuming one is underway. Click here to view the last poll, #70. Do you want Fireteam Osiris in Halo 6? You either love 'em or you hate 'em. Either way, Fireteam Osiris are a capable asset and one the UNSC will need to take on The Created. They're not all so loved though, and many don't want to see them anymore. The issue with throwing them out, is how many people wanted to see Buck again? Everyone asks for him, and now he's back, wanna throw him out like that? Plus, we just broke into 3 new people with Halo 5, why get rid of them? Not just Buck, many people have said we need to get used to another protagonist in case John gets KIA. 343 tried this in Halo 5 and it wasn't received well, so it seems Osiris shouldn't get too involved from now on. Halo 5 could have just been a nice way to get a view on others in the UNSC, but we know for certain that won't be happening again in the same way as 343 have confirmed Halo 6 will be a MC-only campaign, though does that mean the Arbiter won't be playable for the story? Things are vague at the moment, but we can safely say we won't be playing as Locke in the next main sequence Halo game. Question is, do you want to see Osiris at all? They're still relevant of course, but can easily be sidelined for Halo 6. Again, Halo 5 may be looked back on as that one game which tried something (more like someone) new for the Campaign, it may be the only game to do this. I think it's suitable, and highly recommended, that 343 include Osiris. It will just make Halo 5 be more criticised if we don't see anymore of them. I can already hear people say "Uuuh we just saw Osiris in Halo 5 and they never showed up again, what happened to those guys?". People like to complain about everything to be honest, but Osiris are still relevant and I believe we should still see them, just not as much as in Halo 5. What do you think? Looking forward to hearing your thoughts, Spartan out.

Despite your plea against a 2558/2559-era ODST game, I'm not against it, and actually support it in a way. Why? Because it shows us how they are still relevant. I do believe that a game set before Halo 4 may be more enjoyable for in-game ODST combat, but it'll just make us feel like ODSTs are neglected even more after the SPARTAN-IV program. It's true that Spartan-IVs are more deployable, because there are more of them and more can be trained (as well as due to advances in technology), but ODSTs are still completely relevant. Having a game set after the Human-Covenant War would show this, and let us know they're still out there for certain. It brings ODSTs into the modern-day Halo which we're experiencing in the games. I personally don't mind either approach, I can't see 343 going wrong here, I'm more curious to see where they wanna start things for now.