Armor abilities/Reach

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

Armor Ability Effect
ReachAA - Camouflage.png
Active Camouflage
Go off the grid by engaging Active Camo. Your enemies can’t kill what they cannot see. Stalk, seek, and destroy.[1]

Active camouflage provides players temporary invisibility for a duration of 15 seconds, similar to the Arbiter's active camouflage feature from Halo 2.[2] Its pick-up color is cyan and fully recharges from a complete depletion in 15 seconds. When activated, the player becomes invisible, with all sound heavily muffled for the duration of the effect. The ability loses its invisibility effect when the player moves at a certain pace: if the player starts running, they become more visible.

Active camouflage also includes a Radar jammer function where it will spawn a multitude of false dots on players' motion trackers within 25 meters.

ReachAA - ArmorLock.png
Armor Lock
Become invincible, but immobile. While you're locked down, Elites can't touch you.[1]

Armor lock, sometimes referred to as Armor Lockup, is an ability that overcharges the player's energy shield, preventing the user from taking any damage. This ranges from repelling incoming explosive projectiles and removing Anskum-pattern plasma grenades to disabling, damaging or even destroying incoming vehicles. However, in doing so, the player is immobile and cannot perform any act. Once depleted, the armor ability discharges a short-range EMP blast effect and pushes players away from the user.

Armor lock can be activated for a maximum duration of 5 seconds. After a delay of 3 seconds, the armor ability will recharge for 11 seconds to a fully-charged state. The armor ability varies with how long the ability is used; the longer the player activates the ability, the farther the final EMP blast radius will be.

The technology was first developed by the Covenant for use on Elite combat harnesses, but was adapted for use by Spartan personnel.[3] In Halo: Reach, the ability is usable by the Spartans, Elites and Brutes and is enabled through a shielding attachment found behind the user's armor. Its pick-up color is orange.

ReachAA - Shield.png
Drop Shield
A temporary bubble of protection that heals those fortunate enough to be within its sphere of influence.[1]

The drop shield provides players a spherical energy shield that also regenerates their health. In a way, it functions similarly to a bubble shield,[4] a deployable cover and a regenerator. While having similar appearance as the bubble shield, the drop shield is not entirely invincible - the strength of the shield is approximately three times that of a standard energy shielding system - and will deactivate when the damage reaches a certain threshold. The damage is represented in color stages from blue to red, similar to the deployable cover. Additionally, unlike the bubble shield however, plasma grenades will stick to the surface of the shield.[5]

The Drop Shield does not regenerate players' health any faster than normal. Rather, it simply enables the player to regenerate his/her health to full at a similar rate to the base health regeneration rate. Thus, the faster the player's base health regeneration is, the faster the Drop Shield regenerates it. If the health recharge rate is set to 0%, then the armor ability will not regenerate players' health at all.

The drop shield expires and deactivates once the armor ability meter is at 3/4 full, after 15 seconds, unless it is prematurely deactivated from damage as previously stated.[6] A new drop shield can be deployed 20 seconds after the first one was deployed, giving a 5-second window where the player is exposed. Damaging a drop shield will not reduce its lifespan unless it is completely destroyed. Also, a damaged drop shield will, if no further damage is done, repair the damage and return to full strength. The drop shield is available on the Medic loadout. Its pickup color is blue.

ReachAA - Evade.png
Evade
Play with your food! As an Elite, you'll be able to bob, weave, and juke to get into the most effective combat position.[1]

The Evade ability allows the player to roll in any direction to avoid danger, breaking enemy lock-ons and tracking in the process. Players can evade two times before having to wait 4 seconds for the ability to recharge. Its pickup color is purple.

The Evade ability is provided by a "plug" attached to an Elite's armor, described as a "dummy module" or "terminator plug" whose precise function is unknown. In any case, it appears to enhance the mobility of the wearer and is compatible with both Sangheili and MJOLNIR armor systems.

The ability was exclusive only to Elites in the Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta, but later changed in the final product to be made available to both Spartans and Elites.[7]

The Evasion speed scales with the movement speed of the player; the faster the player moves, the further they evades. In any custom game with speed set to high numbers such as 300%, the player will dash forward so quickly that they can traverse Hemorrhage in a matter of seconds. When used against a reasonably flat surface, it is possible to splatter oneself. Likewise, the base settings can be used to do various jumps that occur from impacting an object at high-speed, giving the player enough force to lift off the ground. It should be noted that Elites evade faster and farther than Spartans. Additionally, this ability is not available in the campaign to the player and will remain exclusive for Elite warriors.[3]

ReachAA - Hologram.png
Hologram
Create a virtual doppelganger of yourself to draw enemy fire or lure unsuspecting opponents out into the open.[1]

Hologram, sometimes referred to as Holographic Decoy, is an armor ability that produces an identical holographic copy of the user.[8][9] Its pickup color is yellow.

The hologram ability is designed to confuse or distract the enemies' attention. To allies, the holographic copy would appear as a white dot on their radar. The ability functions by pointing the targeting reticule at a destination and deploying it like other armor abilities. When activated, the hologram will run in a straight line to the destination and stop once it reaches its designated location. The hologram will flicker away if it is either damaged enough or if it reaches its 10 seconds lifespan.[10] A new hologram can be produced after just 7 seconds, which would immediately dissipate the old one.

The hologram has a default movement trait (speed and gravity) and, as such, does not inherit the player's movement trait.

ReachAA - Jetpack.png
Jet Pack
Fly like a bird. Target your opponents. Laugh maniacally.[1]

The Jet Pack ability allows players to maneuver in mid-air, with the use of Series 8 jetpack (UNSC) or a thruster pack (Covenant).[11] Its pickup color is white.

The Jet Pack ability varies with how long the ability is used. The longer the player activates the ability, the longer the player would be able to remain in the air but at the consequence of having the ability depleting faster. Thus, it is recommended that the player use the ability in bursts, which would deplete the ability less than a sustained flight. Additionally, fall damage still applies to Jet Pack users should they fall from the air. The Jet Pack scales with the set gravity; so the less gravity is set, the higher the jet pack can lift the player.

The Jet Pack ability is a useful tool for evading vehicles, grenades, and navigating maps.[1][12]

ReachAA - Sprint.png
Sprint
Feel the need? Engage this Ability for a burst of speed that's great for quickly covering ground or escaping sticky situations.[1]

The Sprint ability allows the player to move at an increased speed for approximately four seconds. In campaign, it is the default armor ability. Its pickup color is green. When activated, the player's character model will pant heavily. The sprinting scales with the player's movement speed; the faster the player moves, the faster the player sprints. Weapons cannot be used during the sprint.

Canonically, the "Sprint" function operates by bypassing the safety limiters of the MJOLNIR actuators and "muscles", allowing better performance at the expense of heat regulation, overheating the user if used for prolonged periods.[3] This "hack" was developed by Catherine-B320.[3]

References[edit]

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h Cite error: Invalid <ref> tag; no text was provided for refs named armor
  2. ^ Halo: Reach Multiplayer Trailer
  3. ^ a b c d Halo: Reach - Game Manual
  4. ^ IGN.com: E3 2010: Firefight in Halo: Reach – Bigger & Better
  5. ^ Bungie.net: Bungie Weekly Update: 09/10/10
  6. ^ YouTube: Halo: Reach Firefight Introduction and trailer at the Reach Press Event June 15, 2010
  7. ^ GameInformer - Interview on Halo: Reach sandbox
  8. ^ Youtube: RvB Deja View
  9. ^ RvB Wiki: Deja View
  10. ^ Twitter: Ken Taya's Twitter
  11. ^ Gametrailers: Gametrailers TV with Geoff Keighley, 12:08
  12. ^ Bungie.net: Bungie Weekly Update: 4/16/10 ("And if you were worried about players flying with the flag via Jet Pack, I can assuage those fears. Won’t happen. If you have hold of the flag, using an Armor Ability will cause you to drop it instantly. Pick it back up, and the effects from your Armor Ability will vanish. Same goes for any multiplayer specific object you can hold in your hot little hands.")