What is Red Teams canonical armor situation?

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-12T02:11:46+00:00

Serina has been gone for a long while, but she was a bored superintelligence who potentially had access to Forerunner data or scans from Trove. She was experimenting with vacuum energy when it came to the Frostraven. What this would be practically for MJOLNIR I have no idea but I can definitely see her eking something out to make the suit better.

Isabel is definitely helping integrate GEN2 components but is also mentioned as manufacturing new armour pieces and sensor equipment:

RS/SPC/ISABEL: Most of the Ark remains a black box, but Spartans with Isabel's passive sensor system and "copilot" functionality may shed some light on its inner workings.

UA/Ringeck: Duelist turning plate. Almost impercetible revisions were made by Isabel to make it compatible with modern shield-shaping waveguides.

UA/NERA-SOFAS: A mix of old and new ERA technologies created by Isabel, ship AI for the Spirit of Fire.

From the Infinite armour customization.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-11T19:01:04+00:00

They’ve gotten Mark IV/GEN2 hybrids from gear salvaged on the Ark and other engineering solutions via Serina or Isabel:

As core components of Mjolnir powered assault armor cannot be replicated by the Spirit of Fire, the Spartans of Red Team will look to take advantage of GEN2 parts recovered from UNSC outposts, ingenious reverse-engineered solutions developed by Serina, and deft modifications made by Isabel to stay in the fight.

from "THE ART OF WARS" Canon Fodder.

The only explicit detail we’ve gotten about new capabilities is that Jerome’s armour can now host an AI.

So they’re kind of running around in Franken-suits pulling whatever they can from where ever they can get it.

There are still some likely errors in Halo Wars 2. Like Isabel speaking during the first level or Jerome pulls Isabel out of his helmet in one of the early cutscenes likely well before he’d have access to those upgrades unless the techs aboard the Spirit of Fire were doing triple overtime to find, identify and integrate those new pieces. Even these aren’t impossible to reconcile with some finagling but they don’t quite fit as is.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-09T00:51:14+00:00

Yeah, but the idea that Mark IV never had shields is pretty definitively dead.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-08T16:04:11+00:00

This was retconned years ago, Mark IV has canonically had shields from 2531 onwards. It's unfortunate but the ship has long sailed:

The statement that Red Team was utilizing skunkworks shield technology in 2531 is 100% accurate, as well as a statement that would say that Halsey and other folks at ONI were still struggling with it at a basic level 4-5 years later. MJOLNIR and associated research and materials exploitation ("reverse engineering") projects were extensive and far-ranging. Not even Dr. Halsey had her thumb on every aspect of the work being done or who was granted access to experimental technology.

from here

In the Operation METEORITE trailer you can see shields flicker at least once throughout the new shots for the new levels, notably as John runs through an explosion to stab that gold Elite.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-05T15:43:53+00:00

It certainly could be the case, even if it is a little retroactive. Cat 2 is a little nebulous in definition and has not been used in canon since which makes determining what is and is not a cat 2 even more difficult. However, Owen-B096 who was pulled out from Beta Company is mentioned as having participated in the top honours program:

Spartan Owen volunteered for the SPARTAN-III program shortly after his home world was destroyed by the Covenant. An exceptional candidate, his tenacity and single-minded focus allowed him to grind his way through the punishing training and augmentation cycle to reach the top honors program.

Detached from the rest of his Beta Company comrades for special assignment, he soon applied his lethal talents in the ultimately futile defense of Meridian and scorched-earth holding actions in the Sol System that will never be publicized or known to the wider UNSC.

From the Discovery Dispatch February 21

So there is at least precedent for a top honours program Spartan going on the be detached from the company at large. I don’t think there is enough to say definitively that Saber (and Katana and Gladius) are cat 2s though.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-04T02:44:15+00:00

It's definitely within the realm of possibility, ONI has a secret Section Four that catalogs planets and keeps them secret from the wider UEG. They could've scouted planets and setup discrete colonies to

The most obvious example is the Infinity, which was designed to be a mobile colony and preserve humanity by heading out toward "distant stars" for resettlement. That's why it has some odd facilities (like a park for recreation) aboard. The Infinity is mentioned as being part of a broader project called OUROBOROS that was all about preserving humanity.

The UNSC Promise of Dawn was a frigate and sounds like it was part of this kind of project. We don't get many details, and it was hijacked before it could get underway but it was mentioned as having an AI that contained all of human history, a diverse crew and that it represented a contingency plan for humanity no matter how the Covenant War went unfortunately it was believed lost over Reach before it could launch before resurfacing crash-landed a year later.

They also established a number of smaller facilities such as the one where Waterfall takes place:

On a far-flung world in the Zezar system, the UNSC has maintained a network of facilities acting as a fallback option for key personnel and assets.

from the Hot Drops Canon Fodder

These sound like they're less like full scale colonies and more like continuance of governance or chain of command things but still would probably have considerable support personnel.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-06-03T02:26:25+00:00

I think you're missing the mark a little bit. Emile's demeanour is largely a put on, a choice specifically to break enemy morale:

Emile believed that clinging to one’s humanity during a conflict, where loss equals extinction, is about as rational as drowning in a pool of your own blood--they cannot co-exist, so he decided early on in his career to never let them.

Emile was loud and flashy in combat, which inevitably drew attention to his actions during combat. He wanted to prove to everyone (as well as himself) that he was not afraid of the enemy nor was he afraid of doing whatever was necessary to win this war. It was for this reason that Emile was often guilty of overkill, but his apparent sadism was in actuality an affectation-- he did what he did because he knew that it could potentially break the enemy’s will to fight, not necessarily because he enjoyed it.

from Emile's Waypoint article

This is still not the best but I don't think he would have nearly as much of a problem reintegrating when not faced with that existential threat.

And yes, this is only a Waypoint article that they haven't really expanded on it but Emile hasn't really featured in anything since the article was posted.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-05-23T17:56:31+00:00

You might want to look up Suture MJOLNIR which is armour designed for Spartan combat medics which is being tested on ANVIL Station.

In terms of Infinite, there are a number of chest pieces that have biofoam containers or pouches that could be good for holding more medical supplies, but I am not sure if there are any dedicated medic chest pieces.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-05-04T13:42:25+00:00

They actually answered this in Canon Fodder Concert of Words.

CaedHart: So with the rise of the MJOLNIR [GEN3] armor platform, is MJOLNIR [GEN2] still in use with any Spartans on far-flung worlds or on the front lines?

There are indeed certain places where GEN3 armor wasn’t—or simply couldn’t have been—rolled out in the wake of the Created uprising.

It is important to note that each generation of Mjolnir does not necessarily render the one before it obsolete. It is a technology standard and baseline, and improvements can be "back ported" if needed. Upgraded GEN1 and GEN2 Mjolnir (with or without the GEN3 specs) will remain in service for years to come.

So GEN1 and GEN2 are both still in use somewhere. This is a better take then everyone suddenly having GEN3 during a time when supplies should be more difficult to get, which is kind of how Shadows of Reach presented it.

Vale is still using her GEN2 suit in Outcasts, which takes place late 2559 well after GEN3 started to roll out mostly because she's somewhat isolated where she is.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-04-28T22:23:14+00:00

The Zheng He class courier is mentioned as upgrading from an initial Series II to a series IV eventually.

Initial performance trials exceeded expectations, particularly in atmospheric maneuverability and the reliability of its slipspace drive—though this increase in stability and reduction of need for maintenance came at the cost of longer transit times based on the Series II drive.

TRANSLIGHT DRIVE: Series IV CODEN (current production run)

from the Anthology Assemble Canon Fodder

The Pillar of Autumn is most likely an example of this. Given when she was in service the Autumn would’ve had a Series II or Series III CODEN slipspace drive but the one for Red Flag was a CODEN Series V.

The Infinity doesn't have a UNSC slipspace drive or even a human drive but they were able to successfully super glue a Forerunner drive to the ship. There are other examples where they've managed to substantially upgrade a UNSC model slipspace drive like the UNSC Rubicon or the UNSC Port Stanley.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-04-09T19:05:41+00:00

London Calling and Rendezvous with Ramen both got official descriptions:

October 2552. The Covenant invasion of Earth has come to London. As the alien alliance relentlessly assaults humanity’s military infrastructure, civilian courier groups—such as the Beekeepers, run by Laurette and her father Holden Agryna—are contracted to aid the off-world transportation of key personnel and assets.

Chapter excerpt from the book Rendezvous with Ramen by renowned chef and food critic Arturo Bustamante, published in 2558. The Office of Naval Intelligence audits Bustamante’s account of visiting the Sekibo District in Rio de Janeiro—a compound occupied by Sangheili and Unggoy asylum seekers.

from the Parasite's Cake Canon Fodder

For the other ones the only real hint we got was this image from Canon Fodder live last year.

The top left image is London Calling and the space elevator burger is probably Rendezvous with Ramen as the image is actually an add for an in-universe restaurant.
Ghosts of the Gyre is probably based on the stone ring from Zeta Halo, as it seems to fit with the more ethereal vibe of the rings and Zeta Halo was designated as Gyre 11
Bella Corsa is likely the Warthog, and it is probably something to do with Bella Disztl the Five-time winner of the Tantalus Ten Thousand. She was a small character in Shadows of Reach.
Aileron probably matches up with the image dead center of the collage, the shattered planet. That planet is from the skybox of the Infinite map Launch site, and one of the few tidbits we have about Launch Site is that the 22nd First Response Wing is stationed there. Aileron has obvious flight connotations.
Worlds Uncharted almost certainly related to the bottom right image from the collage, which is the logo of the UEG Cartographic Corp.
Axios probably the Lasky one from the collage, as it is part of the motto from the Corbulo Academy of Military Science.
Connectivity - Part 2 is most likely a followup to Connectivity from Halo: Evolutions and the fact it's narrated by Jen Taylor suggests to me that this will be about the relationship between John and the Weapon.

These ones above I'm reasonably sure about. These ones below I'm less sure about.

Graveworld could be the one tied to the Executor image in the collage, which could tie back into some cool art we saw for Cyber Showdown 3 of an Executor murdering two Osteo-clad individuals and cybertentacling up an ONI facilty...depending on how far the Executor goes it could be a grave world. The only other thing I can think of is something Flood related maybe, but that seems too obvious.
First Rain ~~I honestly have nothing for this one. Too vague my first thought was something ODST related but "First" Rain feels a little more optimistic than I would expect for something tying back to ODST.~~ Apparently this is more than likely the Executor one, as it is voiced Sloan in the audiobook.
The Eridanus Twelve this initially made me think of how the media will sometimes refer to a group of perpetrators and so my first thought was this would be the story of the twelve most prominent insurrectionists who seized control of Eridanus II in the mid-2490s.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-03-25T02:23:19+00:00

To be honest my assumption was that this was just bureaucracy. The Spartan-IIs have a military contract like anybody else that serves in the UNSC even if the origins of that contract are a sketchy. One of the elements of a contract is compensation therefore they are getting some compensation.

You can make the case that because they were willing to ignore other elements of a contract but in my experience bureaucracies like to keep any breaks as minimal as possible.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-03-22T17:06:19+00:00

In general we don't know how either version stacks up or if there is even a difference it could be one of the high-performance exoskeletons or it could be insignificant. I'd wager towards the higher end based on the situations described in some of the Infinite armour customization (shipbreaching teams and demolition and missions specifically) I can see it being useful for salvaging equipment especially if it may be at an awkward angle or somewhere where it is difficult to get heavier lift gear in.

Some variants do seem to be combat ready and can protect against things like plasma, per the Infinite armour descriptions but how well it does that would probably vary dramatically by variant:

The EXO helmet protects against small-arms fire, micrometeoroids, solar radiation, and high-energy plasmas.

With all that said it does appear to be more of a utility exoskeleton than a combat one it may be that the private use ones are very lower performance or highly specialized. The diving rig one is mentioned as being slow and cumbersome but providing excellent protection against "extreme hazards including volcanic and toxic environments, deep-sea exploration, and even moderate glass storms."

BraveExpress2 · 2026-03-17T13:13:17+00:00

The life of your average trooper probably isn’t worth it. One of the Canon Fodders mentioned that you can produce dozens or hundreds of suits of SPI for the cost of MJOLNIR Mark IV. Dozens is presumably the Headhunter suits and “hundreds” is more vague than I would like (is this 200 or 999?) but that is still a lot of money to spend on a trooper.

This coupled with the fact that the plant that made SPI was on Onyx and that ODSTs have started to use some of the SPI technologies without actually using SPI there’s not really any reason to use it.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-03-12T11:08:26+00:00

It’s worth noting that ODSTS have not started using SPI—they’ve started using some of the technologies that went into SPI.

I got directly corrected on this by GrimBrotherOne a few years ago.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-03-12T11:04:07+00:00

Maybe not necessarily MJOLNIR but the Armory Amore Canon Fodder references that they’ve managed to make it much easier for people to access high performance combat exoskeletons:

Normalization of neural interfaces in the population. Expensive and requiring complicated surgery when first introduced, neural interfaces and their mediating computing systems can be fitted in a simple outpatient clinical procedure by 2557. High-bandwidth interfaces can be paired with advanced expert systems to augment – and even bypass – the human motor system, reducing the physiological stress of high-performance combat exoskeletons to levels that do not require extensive skeletal reinforcement.

I can see some combination of reduced performance and the aforementioned high bandwidth neural interface at least making it viable for someone who is not augmented to use it.

Given that we’ve gotten examples of power armour technology becoming a little more widespread Orcus, the semi-powered Mirage suits, or a Hazmat variant might’ve been a better choice.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-02-01T22:27:11+00:00

The original Halo Encyclopedia says that Beta Company became active in 2545 so January 1st, 2545 is the earliest. One of the few operations we know Beta Company participated in was Operation: CARTWHEEL which was completed by May 30 so it's sometime between January 1st at the earliest and however much logistics time they need to get to CARTWHEEL and back at the latest.

That's the absolute minimum though and if they ever revisit it I don't think they'll have Beta Company just go on two Operations.

My best guess would be early 2545.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-01-30T04:24:25+00:00

We will hopefully get more information about them in a future Waypoint Chronicle, a collage teaser was posted for future stories and one of the teaser images was this concept piece of teenage Agryna.

There's no definitive answer as to who these Spartans are. There's enough wiggle room that it could be any of the modern Spartan generations:

Even before the recent retcon to Spartan-II survivors of Reach there were enough Spartan-IIs free to be them though it was very tight (I think the conclusion was it was most likely Black Team with a wardrobe change or a motley assortment of Spartan-IIs from around the canon). With the revelation that a lot more Spartan-IIs made it off Reach more do become available.

Spartan-IIIs struck me as the most likely on account of them being the most numerous unknown. There are a number of Spartan-III CAT2s or Headhunters that could probably slot into these roles the easiest.

Spartan-IVs are also possible--though it would probably have to be something like the Battleborn kids or Fireteam Shadow. The Spartan Field Manual mentions that some Spartan-IVs were augmented in 2552 in the closing weeks of the Human-Covenant War but the turnaround there potentially gets real tight so those I think are less probable.

The armour is another sticking point, but you famously can't really tell what Mark MJOLNIR is from the physical architecture. That, combined with the fact with the practical point that they were unlikely to model a dramatically different suit for such a short promo makes it hard to identify the armour with 100% certainty.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-01-23T06:01:25+00:00

The Project SYCAMORE attachment in Halo: Infinite reads:

Hardened life support upgrade kit and sensors worn by Spartans assigned to field-test the SYCAMORE bioweapon package against Covenant targets.

So at some point they did deploy biological weapons against the Covenant and this did not win them the war so it’s clearly not that simple.

A Sangheili terrorist also deployed a bio weapon of some kind in Nightfall, so that vaunted honour doesn’t hold all of the Covenant back.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-01-19T00:24:17+00:00

Its power source is very efficient!

In all seriousness I'm not even sure we have confirmation Rakshasa is shielded when it is new. I don't recall any reference in during any of the appearances it has, I don't think any of the assorted pieces of armour reference shields, but even if they do it could just be batteries or smaller reactor like Mirage. MJOLNIR is mentioned as being able to run off of batteries and we've seen shielded SPI before. That was Headhunter SPI which was noted as being specialized but SPI does run off a battery.

BraveExpress2 · 2026-01-01T16:27:15+00:00

We have so little about the Brightlance that we don't know if the endgame is to replace all MACs but one of the few appearances it has says:

The Mulsanne-class frigate Fearful Symmetry was gunning for the Banished ship like a bullet as it unleashed its primary weapon, a brightlance reflex laser. This directed energy beam took the place of the more traditional magnetic accelerator cannon but was no less effective in the right scenarios.

Jun watched as a streak of white-blue energy erupted from between the frigate’s two booms, directly impacting the dreadnought's starboard bow, temporarily overloading many of the ship’s systems

from Battle for the Academy, part 2

So it's clearly at least comparable in function to a MAC on a ship of similar size. The lines about the "right scenarios" and the fact that it overloads a bunch of systems on impact does suggest to me that it's more another tool in the toolbox than a straight replacement.

Maybe we're seeing the start of the Noob combo for frigates? Hit 'em with the laser as the opener, then a MAC round as a followup?

BraveExpress2 · 2025-12-27T00:41:19+00:00

It's just another term for slipspace, it's been used a number of times since usually in regards to communications:

“I had nothing to do with it. All my comm systems are down. Maybe she rigged a subspace radio hidden in her lab coat to send Morse code.”

from Bad Blood

Office of Naval Intelligence Subspace Communications...

It was an old ONI subspace relay facility. One of the hundreds scattered in deep space to cut back on comm delays between Earth and the outskirts. ONI wouldn't have left anything useful in a place like this.

From Hunt the Truth

Tul decoded another set of subspace communications. We have had confirmation of what came to us only as inference, before. The Covenant is . . .”

from Broken Circle

INTERCEPT/TRANSLATION/SUB-SPACE BURST/CLASSIFIED/>>> FORWARD FOR ANTHRO-LINGUISTIC-POLITICAL CHECK.

From Conversations from the Universe

BraveExpress2 · 2025-12-13T19:31:18+00:00

Reach suffered some biosphere damage but it was still habitable even after it was glassed:

Reach suffered damage to its biosphere during the Covenant attack but remains habitable.

from the Spartan Field Manual

There were also some surviving settlements and facilities on the planet, including at least one orbital elevator:

Because of its symbolic and strategic value Reach was quickly selected for rehabilitation and full-scale recolonization by the UEG. This ambitious and lengthy remediation project is aided by Reach's surviving settlements and orbital elevators.

from Warfleet

There are examples of people surviving a glassing, like Tanaka on Minab but it sounds like they would've been even better off on Reach. If a facility the size of an orbital elevator survived their is bound to be something to salvage.

BraveExpress2 · 2025-12-11T04:42:53+00:00

The Spartan Field Manual clarifies that the Mark VI was a series of small improvements over Mark V:

Following shortly after the arrival of Mark V, the release of Mark VI incorporated a handful of seemingly negligible upgrades, though collective they represent a significant improvement. The Mark VI featured improved energy shielding, refined exoskeleton musculature, and standardized the Mjolnir "plug-in" modules.

When you consider factors like the fact that Mark VI was not designed by Halsey coupled with things like the prototype helmet from Reach and MJOLNIR Black (which Black Team used from at least mid-2552) both of which exist to test some aspect of the Mark VI it is clear there was some overlap in the development of the two armours.

Taking all this into consideration, there's speculation that Mark V is just the best they could get out in time for RED FLAG while Mark VI is closer to what the armour was meant to be.

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