Author Topic: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide  (Read 9236 times)

nightcrafter27

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #30 on: July 08, 2011, 21:59:38 »
The FGR is referred to as the 'flak cannon' at bungie. There was a weapons list for reach leaked before launch, and the FGR was listed as such.
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #31 on: July 08, 2011, 23:47:06 »
The Halo Wikia calls it an Assault Cannon, and I'm almost sure I've heard it in a game.
It's a modified Fuel Rod Gun, yes.
The Flak Cannon was listed, officially, on this BWU and is the in-studio name given to the Fuel Rod Cannon (due to the presence of very old code).

source:
Quote
Posted by: Evil Otto | Bungie Employee
Quote
What the hell is a Flak Cannon?

That was the original name for the Fuel Rod gun. The guts of our game is rife with references to original names, because when you finally come up with a final name, it would be quite a bit of work to go back through the scripts, code, and tags and retrofit all the references to match it.

Flak Cannon = Fuel Rod gun
Spike Rifle = Spiker
Survival = Firefight
Hopper = Playlist
etc.
« Last Edit: July 08, 2011, 23:50:02 by Pulse Cloud »
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Imppa

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #32 on: July 10, 2011, 18:04:51 »
Quote
Aside from the Elite Zealots and the Elite Field Marshall, which only appear in very specific parts of the Campaign, the Elite Bobs 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), Bobs 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.
It's okay that this is quite identical to the Ultra-description FOR NOW, but this must be obliviously adjusted (the aren't very vicious since they might totally ignore you). I supoose this was just to remind Pulse to add BOBs to the list?


Anyway, for feedback: The guide layout looks nice. I hope we can change the size of the preview images of the enemies (to something like twice the size of the "SGP Guide" image), so it can be seen better...Or if we were to take the "click to make huge" approach, we could add a text indicating that possibility.
The weakness of the current Weapons Table is that it is not as easy to adjust as the earlier was, but it looks so much better I say we keep it. :)

Aside from the guide, I say we still MUST decide the case with the Blue: if it's not the sidebar (It seems I've started to dislike the idea now) the it must be Something (other than the links, that's too small). Perhaps we could change the "h1" class to blue instead of green? I think it might even be good for the text itself, it could be more easily tell it apart from the header.
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #33 on: July 10, 2011, 19:07:59 »
Quote
Aside from the Elite Zealots and the Elite Field Marshall, which only appear in very specific parts of the Campaign, the Elite Bobs 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), Bobs 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.
It's okay that this is quite identical to the Ultra-description FOR NOW, but this must be obliviously adjusted (the aren't very vicious since they might totally ignore you). I supoose this was just to remind Pulse to add BOBs to the list?


Anyway, for feedback: The guide layout looks nice. I hope we can change the size of the preview images of the enemies (to something like twice the size of the "SGP Guide" image), so it can be seen better...Or if we were to take the "click to make huge" approach, we could add a text indicating that possibility.
The weakness of the current Weapons Table is that it is not as easy to adjust as the earlier was, but it looks so much better I say we keep it. :)

Aside from the guide, I say we still MUST decide the case with the Blue: if it's not the sidebar (It seems I've started to dislike the idea now) the it must be Something (other than the links, that's too small). Perhaps we could change the "h1" class to blue instead of green? I think it might even be good for the text itself, it could be more easily tell it apart from the header.



I'm working on writing about the Elites. I was actually going to start my research on Zealots when I check the SGP for unread messages.
I've changed the content, ie, the "How to deal with" only appears on the Species section, not the individual Ranks.
Here's what I've got for now:
Quote
Elites:
The Elites are "the dominant military muscle for the entire Covenant structure"[1], being the ultimate enemy on the Halo: Reach Campaign and Firefight mode.
Wielding a wide variety of weapons, including their signature weapon, the Energy Sword, Elites are usually seen leading groups of lower ranked Covenanters, Elites or otherwise, and employ advanced combat tactics which, coupled with very strong Energy Shielding, mark the Elites as formidably strong foes.

Dealing with Elites:
The easiest and most efficient way to kill an Elite is to fire non-charged bolts from a Plasma Pistol or another Directed Energy weapon such as the Plasma Rifle or the Plasma Repeater until the Elite's shields are depleted and then to finish it with a headshot-capable weapon.
Alternatively, on lower difficulties, one can shoot an overcharged Plasma Pistol bolt instead of shooting several regular bolts.
Using non-Directed Energy weapons to deplete an Elite's shields on higher difficulties is considered bad practice and a waste of ammo.


Elite Field Marshall:
Field Marshalls are the highest-ranked Elite warriors in the Covenant army and only one is seen in the Halo: Reach Campaign.
The Elite Field Marshall is found on the final part of the "The Pillar of Autumn" Campaign mission and is the strongest enemy on the Halo: Reach Campaign.
Elite Field Marshalls do not appear on the Firefight mode.


Elite Zealots:


Elite Ultra:
Aside from the Elite Field Marshall and the Elite Zealots, which only appear in very specific parts of the Campaign, Elite Ultras are the most vicious enemies one can encounter due both to their shields' strength and combat skill, which involves nerve-wrecking strafing while shooting and very quick trigger fingers.
The shields of the Elite Ultras allow them to survive the explosion of a Plasma Grenade stuck to their head on any difficulty or multiple headshots from a Sniper Rifle.


___________________________________________________________________
[1] http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/theuniverse/characters/text/sangheili/215feec6-8bc4-4832-8774-9f48ec515f56


Images will stay at 180x180px and will be linked to the full-resolution, 1920x1080px source image (check the RAR I posted somewhere above - it's working!). They will NOT get bigger - sorry.

The text will also not become blue because text must be black. And you can perfectly differentiate the text from the header because the header is a giant green rectangle and the text is... well... text.
That's a whole different topic, though - it's very easy to change colors. This thread is about this guide's content. :)


EDIT: The text I wrote is obviously a WIP - for example, I've just noticed I didn't mention in the Field Marshalls that they can survive a sticky grenade.
« Last Edit: July 10, 2011, 19:10:24 by Pulse Cloud »
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Scatcycle

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #34 on: July 10, 2011, 23:05:25 »
Quote
Aside from the Elite Zealots and the Elite Field Marshall, which only appear in very specific parts of the Campaign, the Elite Bobs 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), Bobs 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.
It's okay that this is quite identical to the Ultra-description FOR NOW, but this must be obliviously adjusted (the aren't very vicious since they might totally ignore you). I supoose this was just to remind Pulse to add BOBs to the list?
Yeah I think I forgot to write it in the actual post, but the image name is "bobfiller". I just changed the words Ultra to Bob. :]
I feel it

Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #35 on: July 10, 2011, 23:25:30 »
OK, I've finished the Elites.
Feedback is paramount! Add things you know, correct mistakes, etc.
Some of the "facts" are yet to be proved, so don't get too nervous about them.

Quote
Elites:
The Elites are "the dominant military muscle for the entire Covenant structure"[1], being the ultimate enemy on the Halo: Reach Campaign and Firefight mode.
Wielding a wide variety of weapons, including their signature weapon, the Energy Sword, Elites are usually seen leading groups of lower-ranked Covenanters, Elites or otherwise, and employ advanced combat tactics which, coupled with very strong Energy Shielding, mark the Elites as formidably strong foes.


Dealing with Elites:
The easiest and most efficient way to kill an Elite is to fire non-charged bolts from a Plasma Pistol or another Directed Energy weapon such as the Plasma Rifle or the Plasma Repeater until the Elite's shields are depleted and then to finish it with a headshot-capable weapon.
Alternatively, on lower difficulties, one can shoot an overcharged Plasma Pistol bolt instead of shooting several regular bolts.
Using non-Directed Energy weapons to deplete an Elite's shields on higher difficulties is considered bad practise and a waste of ammo.




Elite Field Marshall:
Field Marshalls are the highest-ranked Elite warriors in the Covenant army and only one is seen in the Halo: Reach Campaign.
The Elite Field Marshall is found on the final part of the "The Pillar of Autumn" Campaign mission and is the strongest enemy on the Halo: Reach Campaign.
The Elite Field Marshall's shields grant him the abillity to survive the explosion of a Plasma Grenade stuck to his head or multiple headshots from a Sniper Rifle or a Spartan Laser shot.
An overcharged bolt from a Plasma Pistol will not fully deplete the shields of the Elite Field Marshall on higher difficulties.
Elite Field Marshalls do not appear in the Firefight mode.




Elite Zealot:
The Elite Zealots are incredibly fierce enemies with very strong shields to couple their extreme lethality, which becomes even more aparent when multiple Zealots are present in the battlefield.
Only 6 Zealots can be fought in the Halo: Reach Campaign: two in "Winter Contingency", one in "Tip of the Spear" and three in "The Pillar of Autumn".
Elite Zealots do not appear in the Firefight mode.
Fully shielded Elite Zealots can survive the explosion of a Plasma Grenade stuck to their head on any difficulty or multiple headshots from a Sniper Rifle.





Elite Ultra:
Aside from the Elite Field Marshall and the Elite Zealots, which only appear in very specific parts of the Campaign, Elite Ultras are the most vicious enemies one can frequently encounter due both to their shields' strength and combat skill, which involves nerve-wrecking strafing while shooting, very quick trigger fingers and seldomly used Armor Locks when confronted with grenades.

The shields of the Elite Ultras allow them to survive the explosion of a Plasma Grenade stuck to their head on any difficulty or multiple headshots from a Sniper Rifle.




Elite SpecOps:
Elite SpecOps are low-shielded Elites with Cloaking capabilities.
The fairly weak shields deplete with few shots from any weapon, and, when disabled, reveal the then-cloaked Elite ready for a quick headshot.
Elite SpecOps generally don't pose a great threat to the attentive player.
Elite SpecOps die with a headshot from a Sniper Rifle on any difficulty.




Elite Ranger:
Elite Rangers are low-shielded Elites with anti-gravity packs that allow short flights.
Elite Rangers only pose a threat when coupled with Focus Rifles, but their weak shields grant them very limited survivability when spotted by a player equipped with a DMR or Needle Rifle.
Elite Rangers die with a headshot from a Sniper Rifle on any difficulty.




Elite Major:
Elite Majors, also referred as Elite Officers, are Elites equiped with shields of medium strength, capable of protecting the Elites from one headshot from a Sniper Rifle on higher difficulties.
The don't generally pose a threat to an experienced player and fall quickly to the Plasma Pistol and DMR combo.




Elite Minor:
Elite Minors are weak Elites, possessing the same shield and health characteristics as a regular Matchmaking Elite.
Elite Minors die with a headshot from a Sniper Rifle on any difficulty.




Elite BOB:
Elite BOBs are a presumably special variety of Elites who wear gold Elite Ranger armor and, in some cases, disappear after a set time. Note, though, that it is not a true rank nor part of the Halo canon.
Some BOBs are agressive to the player and others are not, but they all have equally strong shields - as strong as the shields of the Elite Field Marshall.
The BOB found in the Campaign mission "ONI Sword Base" wears a presumably random Elite armor permutation of the same color as the color of the Elite Rangers' armor.

For an extensive guide about Elite BOBs, please visit this page.






___________________________________________________________________
[1] http://halo.xbox.com/en-us/intel/theuniverse/characters/text/sangheili/215feec6-8bc4-4832-8774-9f48ec515f56
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #36 on: July 11, 2011, 14:37:13 »
I have added the text and the images for the Elites (except the Winter Contingency Invisible Elite - just noticed that I don't even have images for him).
This is pretty much the final layout of the guide. No videos will be needed.

link! Open the CovenantRanksGuide.html file in any Internet Browser (Firefox, Internet Explorer, Chrome, etc.)

Contribute, peoplez!
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Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #37 on: July 12, 2011, 18:51:39 »
Good news! I have almost finished gathering the data for the Shield Strength Reports of the Elites - only the Elite Field Marshall's and the Zealots' data is missing because I need help (co-op).
I also need to acquire the data about the BOBs, but that will (hopefully) be quick.

I must say I was quite surprised by the results!


TO DO LIST:
  - Acquire Shield Strength data relative to the Elite Field Marshall and the Elite Zealots on Normal, Heroic and Legendary
  - Acquire Shield Strength data relative to the Elite BOBs on all difficulties
  - Acquire Shield Strength data relative to the Brute Chieftains on all difficulties
  - Acquire Class (Leader, Infantry or SpecOps) data relative to every enemy rank
  - Acquire Weapons Used data relative to every enemy rank except all of the Elite ranks
  - Build Shield Strength Report tables for every Elite rank and the Brute Chieftains
  - Complete the textual information of the guide
  - Post the complete guide for Community approval
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EnigmaBiz

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #38 on: July 12, 2011, 20:08:54 »
I was wondering:
Does it matter where you shoot?
Head = 2 shots shield burst
Arm = 4 shots shield burst
Legs....
Torso.....
I was just think about that, are the shields being broken down like that?

Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #39 on: July 12, 2011, 20:12:54 »
I was wondering:
Does it matter where you shoot?
Head = 2 shots shield burst
Arm = 4 shots shield burst
Legs....
Torso.....
I was just think about that, are the shields being broken down like that?
With shields, headshot = footshot, unless you're using a Sniper.
Without shields, headshot = instant kill, but I don't know if footshot = torsoshot.

You could test that in Forge with a guest.
To test the health just make the shield strength 0% in the Custom Options.

I'm anxious to know the results!
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EnigmaBiz

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #40 on: July 12, 2011, 20:22:23 »
I was wondering:
Does it matter where you shoot?
Head = 2 shots shield burst
Arm = 4 shots shield burst
Legs....
Torso.....
I was just think about that, are the shields being broken down like that?
With shields, headshot = footshot, unless you're using a Sniper.
Without shields, headshot = instant kill, but I don't know if footshot = torsoshot.

You could test that in Forge with a guest.
To test the health just make the shield strength 0% in the Custom Options.

I'm anxious to know the results!

Does that mean your current research has you coming to the conclusion that no matter the rank the shields are the same?

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #41 on: July 12, 2011, 20:36:22 »
Rank does boost shields. Proving over and over again.

Pulse Cloud

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #42 on: July 12, 2011, 20:50:46 »
I was wondering:
Does it matter where you shoot?
Head = 2 shots shield burst
Arm = 4 shots shield burst
Legs....
Torso.....
I was just think about that, are the shields being broken down like that?
With shields, headshot = footshot, unless you're using a Sniper.
Without shields, headshot = instant kill, but I don't know if footshot = torsoshot.

You could test that in Forge with a guest.
To test the health just make the shield strength 0% in the Custom Options.

I'm anxious to know the results!

Does that mean your current research has you coming to the conclusion that no matter the rank the shields are the same?
That's not what I said.
I just said that I believe shooting a shielded Spartan in the foot is the same as shooting a shielded Spartan in the arm.
I don't know for sure, although my research leads me to believe that.

You could prove it right or wrong in 2 minutes.
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EnigmaBiz

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #43 on: July 12, 2011, 21:10:18 »
I was wondering:
Does it matter where you shoot?
Head = 2 shots shield burst
Arm = 4 shots shield burst
Legs....
Torso.....
I was just think about that, are the shields being broken down like that?
With shields, headshot = footshot, unless you're using a Sniper.
Without shields, headshot = instant kill, but I don't know if footshot = torsoshot.

You could test that in Forge with a guest.
To test the health just make the shield strength 0% in the Custom Options.

I'm anxious to know the results!

Does that mean your current research has you coming to the conclusion that no matter the rank the shields are the same?
That's not what I said.
I just said that I believe shooting a shielded Spartan in the foot is the same as shooting a shielded Spartan in the arm.
I don't know for sure, although my research leads me to believe that.

You could prove it right or wrong in 2 minutes.

Probably.

nightcrafter27

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Re: WIP: Covenant Ranks Guide
« Reply #44 on: July 12, 2011, 22:44:09 »
Alright, I did some science. On a Spartan, a DMR and Magnum inflict 4 bars (on one side, eight total) of damage on any shot to a non-head body part, even the other Spartan's gun. A headshot will instantly kill them.
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