Emblems: Difference between revisions

{{Status|Gameplay}}

'''Emblems''', first introduced in ''[[Halo 2]]'', are small designs that are associated with a character profile and used to represent a player's identity in [[multiplayer]] games and online play. They consist of a two-colored design or pattern overlaid upon a background (typically a geometric shape), with a user-selected color scheme applied to the result. The feature was later carried on into ''[[Halo 3]]'', ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'', ''[[Halo: Reach]]'', ''[[Halo 4]]'', ''[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]'', ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' and ''[[Halo Infinite]]''.

Emblems in ''Halo 3'' are less prominent than they were in ''Halo 2''; in ''Halo 3'', a [[SPARTAN-II|Spartan]] player's emblem is only shown on their right shoulder, whereas in ''Halo 2'', it could be seen on both shoulders and the player's back. [[Elite]] players' emblems are shown on their right shoulder and upper back. Emblems are no longer used to uniquely identify a player; that job has been taken on by a new, user-customizable call sign composed of a letter followed by two digits.

The 80 primary emblem designs, the 80 "toggles" of those designs, and the 48 possible emblem backgrounds allow for a combined total of 7,680 basic emblem possibilities in ''Halo 3''. Taking the 30 options for primary, secondary and background color into account, the number of possible emblems exceeds 104 million.{{Ref/Note|1=Due to one "Blank" background, total options calculated at: (80*1*30*30)+(80*47*30*30*30)+(80*1*30)+(80*47*30*30)=104,978,400}}

 

 

 

 

 

With 80 emblems, toggling, 53 backgrounds and 30 colors for each option, there are nearly 116 million possibilities.{{Ref/Note|1=(80*1*30*30)+(80*52*30*30*30)+(80*1*30)+(80*52*30*30)=115,994,400}}

 

 

 

Five emblems and backgrounds were originally offered only as exclusive emblems for players who pre-ordered the game from specific retailers.<ref>[http://www.halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/05/30/The-Halo-Bulletin-53012.aspx '''Halo Waypoint''' ''The Halo Bulletin: 5.30.12'']</ref> The [[Halo 4 Limited Edition|''Halo 4'' Limited Edition]], [[Xbox 360#Halo-themed editions|''Halo 4'' Limited Edition Console]], and [[War Games]] Map Pass also each come with an exclusive emblem and background. Eight of the nine emblems were later included with the [[Halo 4 Game of the Year Edition|''Halo 4'' Game of the Year Edition]]. The "Unicorn" emblem and "Fotus" background, exclusive to the console version, was not included. More emblems were exclusive to the Xbox Live 12+1 Month Gold Subscription and the app ''[[Halo 4: King of the Hill Fueled by Mountain Dew]]'', though they were later made available via the GOTY edition.

 

 

Backgrounds must be unlocked separately; the first ten are unlocked at SR-21, the second ten at SR-33, and ten more at SR-44. Each Specialization unlocks a unique background.

 

 

 

*Pre-order bonus {{C|comes with Vortex background}}

 

 

''Halo: The Master Chief Collection'' allows players to select a single emblem to be used across all six games. There are an unprecedented 225 emblems (199 at launch and 26 more via title update). 174 emblems return from previous games and are unlocked by default. These include every emblem from ''Halo 2'' and ''Halo 3'' save for "Seventh Column" and "Marathon" (due to their connection to [[Bungie]]). Every emblem from ''Halo 4'',except "Recruit" returns.

 

 

 

 

 

When the ''Collection'' was first released, emblems appeared in the matchmaking lobby and post-game menu and on a player's scoring HUD in campaign, but otherwise did not appear in gameplay. In ''Halo 2'' classic multiplayer the "Bullseye" emblem was used for all players in the in-game scoreboard and as their player identifier. In ''Halo 3'' the "Grunt" emblem was displayed in the scoreboard, and also appeared on all players' armor; in all other games the players' armor remained blank. In ''Halo 4'' the scoreboard assigned all players the "Recruit" emblem (interestingly, the only emblem from the original ''Halo 4'' not available to players in ''The Master Chief Collection''). By design, emblems did not appear at all in ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' multiplayer matches. This was updated in 2019 so that the player's emblem is displayed in all in-game scoreboards and as the identifier image in ''Halo 2''. The armor remained blank in ''Halo 2'', ''Halo 2: Anniversary'' and ''Halo 4''; it displayed a random emblem in ''Halo 3'' and ''Halo: Reach''. Another update in 2020 resulted in emblems being displayed on players' armor in ''Halo 3'', ''Halo 4'', ''Halo 3: ODST'', and ''Halo: Reach''; it remained blank in the other games.

 

An additional update in December 2022 added in-game emblems to ''Halo 2'', in an even greater role than in the original game. Players' MCC emblems now appear on their armor, in full color as with other games in the collection, rather than the simplified glowing emblem seen in the original game.

 

A new gametype option was also added to ''Halo 2'' [[Capture the Flag]] [[custom game]]s that displays the emblem of the player with the most kills on their team on their team's flag. In Neutral Flag, it is the emblem of the player with the most kills out of all teams. The option is not enabled in [[matchmaking]]. According to [[343 Industries]], this CTF emblem behavior was originally prototyped during the development of original ''Halo 2'', but was incomplete and ultimately cut from the game.

 

==''Halo 5: Guardians''==

Multiplayer emblems are simplified significantly in ''Halo 5: Guardians''. Players now select a single emblem. There are no background choices nor can the emblems be toggled.

 

There are 294 emblems in the game, an all-time high. The game launched with 223 emblems; 7 were added with the [[Battle of Shadow and Light]], "Thanks Given" in November, "Halo Championship Series" with the HCS Premium REQ Pack, 2 ("Spartan Claus" and "Candy Canes") with the holiday promotional req pack, 14 with the [[Cartographer's Gift]], 12 with [[Infinity's Armory]], one for each 2016 monthly season, 10 with [[Hammer Storm]], one with the Halo World Championship 2016 pack, 8 with [[Ghosts of Meridian]], 5 with [[Memories of Reach]], 5 with [[Hog Wild]], and 2 with [[Warzone Firefight]]. Three Halo World Championship teams, Counter Logic Gaming, Evil Geniuses, and Optic Gaming, also had their logos released as emblems.  The final emblem "[[343 Industries]]" is available only to company employees. Of the 294 emblems, only 70 return from previous games; the remaining 224 are new.

 

At launch and until the release of Hammer Storm, players could not choose the individual colors of the emblem. Instead, players had to choose from one of 33 colors, and then one of seven styles ("Sporty", "Elite", "Classic", "Muted", "Contrast", "Analagous", or "Inverse") which was a pre-set color combination (or "harmony"<ref>[https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/community/blog-posts/hammer-storm-preview '''Halo Waypoint''' - ''Halo Community Update: Hammer Storm Preview'']</ref>) for the emblem. As a result of this severe limitation in customization options, immediately prior to the release of Hammer Storm there were only 58,674 possible unique emblems,{{Ref/Note|1=254*33*7=58,574}} a far cry from the millions of possibilities in previous games.