Canon

Terminus

From Halopedia, the Halo wiki

A Terminus located in The Last Bastion.

The Terminus is a structure of Forerunner origin, built on Installation 00 to work as part of the Ark's defensive systems.[1]

Overview[edit]

The Terminus is a large Forerunner structure consisting of a triangular base with pillars located on each of the three corners. The pillars extend above the base structure and project a large sphere of energy in the centre. The perimeter surrounding the Terminus provides a repair/heal effect similar to that of the Forerunner Spire of Healing structures.[2]

Role[edit]

Terminus structures are a vital part of the Ark's defensive systems; they record and index events transpiring on/around the installation, such as the 2552 Battle of Installation 00, in an effort to better-prepare the Ark to defend against future threats. These functions compare modern battle records against the records of historical conflicts - and use their exhaustive databanks to simulate probably outcomes for future scenarios. Terminus structures power this kind of mass-scale information assessment. Were a Terminus to be destroyed, it would result in the corruption in centuries' worth of data analysis - compromising the ability of the Ark to defend itself in the long-term.[1]

In-game information[edit]

Halo Wars 2[edit]

Main article: Terminus Firefight

Terminus structures first appear in the Awakening the Nightmare expansion for Halo Wars 2. In-game, a Terminus serves as the central objective of the eponymously-named Terminus Firefight mode - a Terminus appears at the centre of the map The Last Bastion and must be defended by the player(s) in order to succeed.

Phoenix Log[edit]

Phoenix Log - Terminus
Phoenix log artwork

This Forerunner structure is a vital node in the Ark's defences and must be preserved at all costs.

After the Halo Array eradicated the Flood threat and the Forerunners disappeared, the Ark lay dormant and untouched for millennia.

When the Human-Covenant war spilled over onto the Ark, the installation's threat assessment systems began an exhaustive recording and indexing of events in an effort to anticipate dangers and prepare adequate countermeasures to deal with similar challenges in the future.

These threat assessments compare modern battle records against all catalogued historical conflicts, cross-referencing them with updated information and calculating probable outcomes. The systems performing these assessments are powered by the Terminus structures, the loss of which could result in the corruption of centuries of analysis, compromising the Ark's long-term ability to defend itself.

Production notes[edit]

The filenames of the Terminus renders uploaded by 3D artist Francisco Alcalde indicate that during development, the Terminus was known as the Nexus.[3]

Gallery[edit]

Concept art and illustrations[edit]

Renders[edit]

List of appearances[edit]

Sources[edit]

  1. ^ a b Halo Wars 2, Phoenix Logs: Terminus
  2. ^ Halo Wars 2, Terminus in-game structure
  3. ^ ArtStation, Forerunner building and spaceship for Halo Wars 2 DLC: Image filename francisco-alcalde-nexus.jpg (Retrieved on Jun 14, 2023) [archive]