Preserve

"Preserve"
Production overview
Type:	MJOLNIR [GEN1] Mark V;

This article's title is a callsign, an alias, or a nickname, as no proper name for the subject has been revealed.

"Preserve"^[1]^{[Note 1]} is a chest plate attachment compatible with MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor Mark V.^[2]

Overview[edit]

The "Preserve" chest piece features two large armour plates which curve downward from the user's shoulders, towards the centre of their chest. At the join between these two plates, there is a wedge-shaped protrusion pointing downwards, directly beneath the user's head. Additionally, below the left and right plates, there is an additional piece of armor on either side, just above where the wearer's ribcage would end. These meet beneath the wedge-shaped protrusion, at the user's solar plexus, where there is a piece of unidentified apparatus jutting out of the front of the armor.

In-game information[edit]

The "Preserve" chest piece will be unlockable in a future season of Halo: The Master Chief Collection.^[3]

Attachment(s)	Description	Unlock requirements (Halo: Reach)	Unlock requirements (Halo: MCC)
"Preserve"	-	N/A (Cut)	Unknown

Production notes[edit]

During the production of the Defiant Map Pack, two additional armour sets were also produced, codenamed spartan_dlc_preserve and spartan_dlc_condemned.^[1] These were intended to be released alongside the Anniversary Map Pack later that year, but were cut due to time and resource constraints, as confirmed by 343 Industries employee David Ellis.^[4] "Preserve" consisted of this unidentified chest piece with the helmet now called AKIS, meanwhile "Condemned" consisted of an unidentified helmet (later revealed to be Mariner) and the chest piece now known as EXO/TSCS.^[5] Ultimately, none of the new armor was released for Halo: Reach on Xbox 360, though the AKIS helmet and EXO/TSCS chest piece were both seen in promotional material for the Defiant Map Pack,^[6]^[7] leading to much fan speculation.^[8]

The existence of the "Preserve" chest piece was not discovered until modder Gamecheat13 uncovered customisation renders of these two cut armor sets in the game files of the second Halo Insider flight (dubbed the "FireFlight") of Halo: The Master Chief Collection's PC port of Halo: Reach, in 2019.^[5] The "Preserve" chest piece was not featured in the port at launch, however.

Eventually, in September 2020, 343 Industries confirmed that the chest piece had been finalised and polished for inclusion in the game, would be available as part of Season 4: Reclaimer of MCC, alongside all of the other armor pieces from the two sets: AKIS, EXO/TSCS and Mariner.^[2] However, difficulties encountered during development meant that the armors were not deemed to have reached a high enough quality standard in time for inclusion into Season 4, so the armor piece was pushed back to an unspecified later season.^[3]

Gallery[edit]

The customization render discovered by Gamecheat13.^[5]
The "Preserve" chest piece, found in the files of The Master Chief Collection, shown paired with the AKIS helmet and its various attachments.
The chest piece with the base form of AKIS.

List of appearances[edit]

Halo: Reach (First appearance; MCC only)

Notes[edit]

^ The only official name currently known for this helmet is the ID given to it in the game code for Halo: Reach's PC port: spartan_dlc_preserve. Due to the tumultuous nature of game development, it is likely that this name was only a temporary name used internally at 343 Industries, and that the helmet will be given a different name when it releases, especially given that the Preserve and Mariner armor pieces shared these pre-release names with the Defiant Map Pack maps Highlands and Condemned respectively.

Sources[edit]

^ ^a ^b Twitter - Gamecheat13 - "Names are spartan_dlc_preserve and spartan_dlc_condemned. Both named after maps from the Defiant map pack."
^ ^a ^b Halo Waypoint, News, MCC Development Update - September 2020 (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]
^ ^a ^b Halo Waypoint, News, MCC Development Update - October 2020 (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]
^ NeoGAF - Halo |OT| HaloGAF Evolved
^ ^a ^b ^c Twitter - Gamecheat13 - "Found 2 new armor sets in the new customization render for the current MCC Reach Flight. Looks like 343i might be adding GRD and another unknown armor set to Reach for MCC."
^ TechGeek - Halo Reach: New Armor with Defiant Map Pack?
^ IGN - Halo: Reach Images
^ Halo Waypoint - Forums - The *only* thread about that helmet!

[2] The only official name currently known for this helmet is the ID given to it in the game code for Halo: Reach's PC port: spartan_dlc_preserve. Due to the tumultuous nature of game development, it is likely that this name was only a temporary name used internally at 343 Industries, and that the helmet will be given a different name when it releases, especially given that the Preserve and Mariner armor pieces shared these pre-release names with the Defiant Map Pack maps Highlands and Condemned respectively.

[GC13-name-1] Twitter - Gamecheat13 - "Names are spartan_dlc_preserve and spartan_dlc_condemned. Both named after maps from the Defiant map pack."

[MCCDevUpdateSept2020-3] Halo Waypoint, News, MCC Development Update - September 2020 (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]

[MCCDevUpdateOct2020-4] Halo Waypoint, News, MCC Development Update - October 2020 (Retrieved on Jun 1, 2020) [archive]

[NeoGAF-5] NeoGAF - Halo |OT| HaloGAF Evolved

[GC13-renders-6] Twitter - Gamecheat13 - "Found 2 new armor sets in the new customization render for the current MCC Reach Flight. Looks like 343i might be adding GRD and another unknown armor set to Reach for MCC."

[7] TechGeek - Halo Reach: New Armor with Defiant Map Pack?

[8] IGN - Halo: Reach Images

[GRDOrigin-9] Halo Waypoint - Forums - The *only* thread about that helmet!

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