Author Topic: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide  (Read 9241 times)

Pulse Cloud

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WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« on: October 26, 2010, 15:02:57 »
I often find myself wondering what enemies are included, for example, in the Leadership Element commendation (kill a Leader-class enemy during the Campaign).
I also never know what a Grunt Hero is or what an Elite Spec-Ops looks like.

Because of that, I think a guide on Covenant Ranks should be made and that's what I'll be working on in the next days.
My intention is to catalog every single enemy from the Halo games (I seriously don't care about characters that appeared for 2 seconds in Legends or whatever), excluding Halo Wars - because it sucks, I mean, because it makes no sense to do it. I also don't own Halo Wars (and yes, I can have an opinion on something I don't own).


It should look something like this:

Halo CE:
  Grunts:
    Rank 1
    Rank 2
    etc.
  Elites:
    Rank 1
    Rank 2
    etc.
  etc.

Halo 2:
  Grunts:
    Rank 1
    Rank 2
    etc.
  Elites:
    Rank 1
    Rank 2
    etc.
  etc.

etc.


Every single rank should have an in-game image from the game they appear in, ie, in Halo CE, the pic of a grunt is a Halo CE grunt - NOT a Halo Reach grunt just because it looks prettier.



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Imppa

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #1 on: October 26, 2010, 15:37:50 »
Would be cool. I just wonder if the Halopedia has them already... :-\
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Scatcycle

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #2 on: October 26, 2010, 21:54:26 »
Sounds like a fun project. I will contribute to this is we start it.
I feel it

Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #3 on: October 26, 2010, 22:21:05 »
Would be cool. I just wonder if the Halopedia has them already... :-\

I searched and didn't find anything.
Maybe you or someone else can search? I'm a bit of an idiot, sometimes (moar liek everytiem).
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Phantasm 08

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #4 on: October 27, 2010, 19:31:04 »
Halopedia doesn't have all of the images. 

We already have somewhere to start, with Pulse's avatar :laugh:
01010000 01101111 01110011 01110100 00100000 01101000 01101111 01100011 00101100 00100000 01101110 01101111 01101110 00100000 01100101 01110010 01100111 01101111 00100000 01110000 01110010 01101111 01110000 01110100 01100101 01110010 00100000 01101000 01101111 01100011 00101110

Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #5 on: April 18, 2011, 23:15:37 »
OK, guys, I've got pictures of all of the enemy ranks in Halo: Reach. 70 of them! And they're all labeled according to the ranks. (of course 70 is too much, I'm not gonna use all of them for the guide. But it's best to have several shots of the same rank. Just to make sure we can choose the best.)
Example page of where I got the ranks' names.


Who wants to help me out with this?
Maybe someone could get the images from Halo: CE (PC), another would get from Halo 2 (PC), another from Halo 3 and another from ODST???


Here are the images, if you want to take a look.

Oh snap: I forgot the buggers!
« Last Edit: April 18, 2011, 23:27:09 by Pulse Cloud »
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nightcrafter27

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #6 on: April 19, 2011, 02:21:07 »
OK, guys, I've got pictures of all of the enemy ranks in Halo: Reach. 70 of them! And they're all labeled according to the ranks. (of course 70 is too much, I'm not gonna use all of them for the guide. But it's best to have several shots of the same rank. Just to make sure we can choose the best.)
Example page of where I got the ranks' names.


Who wants to help me out with this?
Maybe someone could get the images from Halo: CE (PC), another would get from Halo 2 (PC), another from Halo 3 and another from ODST???


Here are the images, if you want to take a look.

Oh snap: I forgot the buggers!

Great job. The need for buggers=77 pictures :D
ODST is all about switches, isn't it?

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ColdGlider

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #7 on: April 19, 2011, 09:25:54 »
I often find myself wondering what enemies are included, for example, in the Leadership Element commendation (kill a Leader-class enemy during the Campaign).
I also never know what a Grunt Hero is or what an Elite Spec-Ops looks like.

Because of that, I think a guide on Covenant Ranks should be made and that's what I'll be working on in the next days.

Once again we think alike.  I just mentioned this to Ark last week sometime.  The strategy guide makes it very clear how many ranks of each enemy there are and what their names are, with photos of most of them.  Where the guide fails is in its lack of explaining which "class" each rank falls into (e.g. infantry, leader, specialist, etc.)

For the sake of being factual (what we can prove), I suggest limiting this project to the enemies in Reach.  I recommend using the rank names from the official strategy guide; then, systematically killing each rank of each enemy type in-game to see what class name it appears as in the post-game carnage report and the b.net game details.

The Halopedia tends to mix the lesser grades of canon (books, comics, etc) with the #1 beats-all-other sources of canon:  the games themselves.  (Canon priorities per Joe Staten.)  It's also rife with spelling errors and usually fails to list its sources.

Undoubtedly, our guide will be superior in these regards.

We need standard nomenclature, as always.  "Enemy Type" may be suitable for the highest category (Grunts, Brutes, Elites, etc.)  "Rank" is definitely the official Bungie term to describe the next category level.  For example, the seven ranks of Elites listed in the guide:

  • Elite Minor (blue)
  • Elite Officer (red)
  • Elite Ultra (white)
  • Elite Ranger (gray)
  • Elite Spec Op (black)
  • Elite General (gold)
  • Elite Zealot (Story Character)

Those are the exact name from the guide, including what's in the parentheses.  Interesting that the Zealots are not in Firefight.  (And they're purple, of course, even though the guide didn't list that.)

Finally, I believe the last term we need to use is "class".  This is the term used in commendations such as "Leadership Element", "SpecOps", and "Cannon Fodder".

I have attached a sample of a b.net game details page showing the enemy detail.  Next to the image of each enemy, its "enemy type" is listed on the top and it's class on the bottom.  For example, "Elite Infantry" is enemy type "Elite", class "Infantry".  It does not list the rank.  (the image seems to show the rank of "Elite Minor", based on the helmet's shape.)  The "Elite Leader" in the report shows an image of an Elite Ultra and "Elite Specialist" shows an image of the Elite Ranger.  This doesn't mean that if the class is listed as "Skirmisher Infantry" that the kill will count as infantry for the sake of Commendations, though!  (See below.)

We will need to add the Golden Elite Ranger (BOB).  In the b.net enemy detail, BOBs appear as enemy type "Elite Ranger" instead of just "Elite" like the others.  Their class is "BOB".   On Winter Contingency (D@N), the BOBs count as a leader class, not a specialist class (they count toward the Leadership Element commendation!!!)  Also, even though the post-game carnage report lists enemies by class, the BOB appears as an "Elite Light Vehicle" instead of "BOB".  I'm guessing that the b.net query logic simply translates "Elite Light Vehicle" into "BOB" for web surfers and this minor name change wasn't worth a game update.

While I was testing class types, I was surprised to find that the enemy class "Skirmisher Infantry" does not count toward the Cannon Fodder commendation; it counts as a specialist and increments the SpecOps commendation.  So we will have to test EVERYTHING unless Bungie already has provided this mapping in a BWU or something.

Great idea, Pulse!
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #8 on: April 19, 2011, 14:56:46 »
For the sake of being factual (what we can prove), I suggest limiting this project to the enemies in Reach.

I have acquired the official strategy guides for each of the Halo FPS games except Halo: Reach's.
Both the Halo: Combat Evolved and the Halo 2 guides clearly distinguish the different ranks of the different enemies.
The Halo 3 guide does NOT distinguish them, BUT all the information is available on B.net's Carnage Reports.
Halo 3: ODST's distinguishes them somewhat. The Carnage Reports are the way to go, though.

"What say you?"


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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #9 on: April 19, 2011, 20:54:59 »
Doble Posteh.

So there's a problem on Reach.
We have three different kinds of Drones:
    - we have a yellow one, which I've never seen in game.
Notice how they don't have protruding horns (I know it's hard to notice something which isn't there, but compare this image with the others).
According to Halopedia (which has a picture of one in Tip of the Spear), these have the lowest rank - Drone Minor.
I believe it because on ODST Drone Minors were yellow, just like in Halo 3 (which only had Drone Minors, actually).
    - we have a red/copper/brown one.
According to Halopedia, these are the Drone Majors.
Notice how they DO have horns.
This picture was taken on Tip of the Spear on Heroic difficulty with NO skulls on.
Besides appearing this type of Drones, the following type also appeared, in a proportion of 1:1, ie, there were two brown drones and two (spoilers lul) green drones.
    - and we have a green one.
According to Halopedia, on the Drone Major article, these are ALSO Drone Majors (but they're not really sure/clear about it).
I find it hard to believe.
This picture was taken on Tip of the Spear on Legendary difficulty with the Thunderstorm skull on.
ALL of the drones were green.
Also, on The Pillar of Autumn, on Legendary with Thunderstorm on, ALL of the drones were green.



I believe the green drones have the highest rank, followed by the brown drones and then by the yellow drones.
Halopedia says the brown drones are red and, because red drones on Halo 3: ODST were Drone Majors, these "red" drones on Halo: Reach are Drone Majors too.
On Halopedia, on the Drone article, it is speculated that red drones are Majors and green drones are Ultras. I'm okay with that, but, as usual, Halopedia lacks in the Sources department.


What do you guys think?
Does any of you have the Halo: Reach Official Strategy Guide by BradyGames? There might be something there...
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Scatcycle

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #10 on: April 19, 2011, 22:03:20 »
Don't forget the white drone from ODST.
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #11 on: July 04, 2011, 21:25:49 »
The strategy guide makes it very clear how many ranks of each enemy there are and what their names are, with photos of most of them.  Where the guide fails is in its lack of explaining which "class" each rank falls into (e.g. infantry, leader, specialist, etc.)
So you have the guide?
If so, is it a hard copy or is it digital (PDF?)?

Does anyone have a digital copy of the guide? I need it so much right now and it's nowhere to be found! :(
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Scatcycle

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #12 on: July 04, 2011, 22:32:08 »
I don't have it, but may I ask what you need it for?
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #13 on: July 07, 2011, 22:53:32 »
I don't have it, but may I ask what you need it for?
I need to know the order of the Ranks (ie, if an Elite SpeckOps is of higher rank than a Ranger).
I need to know the ranks of the Drones - one can only guess without a proper source. It would also eliminate the problem with the mysterious yellow Drone (supposedly Drone Minor).

Also would be great if it had the weapons used by the enemies (less work for me).


Also, it'd be the ultimate source apart from the game itself. Halo Wikia is NOT a source.
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #14 on: July 07, 2011, 23:47:13 »
This is the base layout I came up with for each individual enemy. Of course it will be prettier when I make it in HTML+CSS - this is just for you guys to know and give feedback and do your part.

I'm not very good in writing fill-text, so I need you all to write it for the other enemies (Night, your Exclusive Armor guide proved you're good at this, so get to work! :D). I marked the text as orange so you can see where it goes and what type of INFORMATIVE text I want (fill-text must be concise and informative AND relevant - this is not a guide about Halo Fiction, it's about Halo Gameplay).

Also, what weapons should we test?




Quote
Elite Ultra


An Elite Ultra on Unearthed
 

Type: Elite (Sangheili)
Rank: Ultra
Class: Leader (contributes to the Leadership Element Commendation) [needs testing]

Weapons wielded: Concussion Rifle, Needle Rifle, etc. [needs testing]
Shield strength: 7/10
Dangerousness: 7/10


Aside from the Elite Zealots and the Elite Field Marshall, which only appear in very specific parts of the Campaign, the Elite Ultras are the most vicious enemies one can encounter both in the Campaign and in Firefight.
On Heroic or Legendary difficulties (or on any difficulty with the Mythic skull turned on), Ultras can survive the explosion of a Plasma Grenade stuck to their heads or a direct hit from a Rocket Launcher or two direct hits from a Fuel Rod Gun.



Shield Strength Report:  [needs testing]
EasyNormalHeroicLegendary
DMR
7
14
21
28
Needle Rifle
7
14
21
28
Magnum Pistol
7
14
21
28
Plasma Pistol
7
14
21
28
Sniper Rifle (body)
7
14
21
28
Sniper Rifle (head)
7
14
21
28


Dealing with Ultras:
The most efficient way to kill an Elite Ultra is to fire non-charged bolts from a Plasma Pistol until the Elite's shields are down and then to finish it with a headshot-capable weapon.
Using any weapon other than a Plasma Pistol to take down the shields is, as you can conclude from the Shield Strength Report above, a waste of ammo, especially if one intended to use a Sniper Rifle or any other headshot-capable weapon.


<10-seconds video on how to kill an Elite Ultra>






Notes:
The image: it will be a 180x180px detail image of an Elite Ultra with a hyperlink to a 1920x1080px full-body image of the same Ultra.
The video: besides teaching how to do it in case the reader didn't understand the written explanation, we show how an Ultra looks and moves in-game
« Last Edit: July 08, 2011, 12:05:53 by Pulse Cloud »
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