ODST armor

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The ODST Battle Armor is a suit of combat armor worn exclusively by the Orbital Drop Shock Troopers (ODST), special-operators of the UNSC Marine Corps.

Description
The helmet of the suit has a dark protective plate with matte black titanium armor surrounding it. The suit itself is black around the torso with a black and gray camouflage pattern around the legs. The boots and gloves are also black. Though most versions of the armor have fully sealed gloves and necks, there are some exceptions. The armor's faceplate can also polarize.

There are often ad hoc additions on the armor, such as various different types of shoulder plates or other armor pieces. There are also several variants in the primary color of the armor, ranging from blue grey to light grey. Sometimes the chest piece and the shoulders of the armor are marked with flashes of various colors, likely for easy identification. The blood type of the ODST in question is also often shown on thir shoulder plates.

History
The ODST Armor has come in several designs since its first iteration. The current armor is an offshoot of the MJOLNIR Armor, using CTC's and HUD Communications Systems from the MJOLNIR program to give more situational awareness to the wearer. The ODST Armor also adopts the Titanium and Ceramic composite armor plating used by the MJOLNIR program to give the user added protection.

With the mentioning of a technological advance one should remember that the SPARTAN, Kelly-087 sees the SPI Armour, and remarks on having to remember seeing ODSTs experimenting with a type of Camouflage armor that the SPARTAN-III generation wears.

It should be noted that the Battle Armor used by the ODSTs in Halo 3: ODST is in fact similar to the one seen in Halo 3 despite the game taking place during Halo 2. This suggests that the changes are merely aesthetic and that there is no canonical difference between the Halo 2 and Halo 3-era suits.

Usage
Different variants of the ODST Battle Armor was used by the ODST forces during the battle of Ariel, and preceding missions.

The armor was also used by the ODSTs during the First Battle of Earth, by the ODST Second Squad, as well as a large ODST force that was deployed from orbit in order to infiltrate the Prophet of Regret's flagship above the city of New Mombasa. These suits had been recently upgraded with the VISR systems, as well as several other upgrades.

It was then used on the Battle of Installation 05, during which it proved effective on the most part, absorbing the shock for most of the ODSTs inside the SOEIVs. Others; however, died on impact upon hitting the Halo's surface, though this was mainly from drowning after crashing in a lake or hitting a vertical surface, like the wall of a canyon. The suits could take a bit more damage than a normal standard issue Marine combat ensemble, and much more than the ODST ballistic armor used on Alpha Halo.

By the events of Halo 3, the ODST Armor received an aesthetic upgrade, looking much more sophisticated than in Halo 2. The ODSTs using this armor helped The Master Chief, Thel 'Vadam, and the rest of the UNSC forces to rout Covenant ground forces on the Ark.

Systems
Many of the systems used in the newest versions of the ODST Battle Armor are derived from the technology used in the MJOLNIR armor system. However, it still has systems entirely exclusive to it, namely the VISR, or Visual Intelligence System, Reconnaissance. It has various functions, such as receiving real-time mission data, navigation data, saving audio files, as well as a low-light vision mode, which outlines hostile units in red, friendlies in green and objects of interest in yellow. This, along with the suit's other advanced systems, gives the wearer a significant advantage over the standard Marines.

Advantages
The ODST armor is Semi power assisted, and it supplies more armor protection than standard Marine armor using materials used in MJOLNIR armor system, and incorporates an enhanced communications suit. Along with the protection and communications gear, the battle armor provides increased agility and maneuverability not afforded by standard Marine Armor. The Armor's helmet can withstand several headshots. The armor’s black coloring gives wearers an advantage at night, in space, and during Military Operations in Urban Terrain (MOUT), as well as providing a psychological effect on hostile forces. The suit also protects against the extreme heat created by the SOEIV's that ODSTs enter a planet in.

Disadvantages
Despite the suit's obvious advantage over standard Marine armor, it still has its problems. Its effectiveness is decreased in desert or arctic environments where harsh light and sparsity of dark colors makes the suit less of a camouflage and more of a target indicator. Despite being improved over the standard armor, it is still vulnerable to plasma weapons and larger ballistic projectiles; e.g. rounds fired from Needlers and Brute Spikers.

Versions
There are several variations to the ODST armor including Ranged, Close Quarters, and Recon; each designed for different missions, or different tasks within a squad.



Close Quarters
Although designed for Close Quarters Combat, this variant is also used by Demolitions personnel, as seen in the case of Michael Crespo. It has an additional optics device in the helmet, and its left-side shoulder plate is larger than normal.



Ranged
The "Ranged" variant is used by ODST sharpshooters. It lacks the right-hand side shoulder piece, probably to allow more steady aiming with a sniper rifle. Its left shoulder piece in turn, is larger than the normal version, having two large plates. The helmet also has a specialized optics device, possibly for enhanced magnification. Notable users of this armor include LCpl Kojo Agu.



Recon
The Recon armor is a specialized ONI variant of the ODST Armor, designed for reconnaissance missions. It has a helmet similar to the Recon variant of the MJOLNIR Armor. The torso part of the armor also varies from the standard version, having a green, translucent orb in the center. It also lacks both shoulder pieces, and is blue-gray in color. Its visor is also gold-colored, unlike the standard ODST helmet's faceplate which is blue. One notable user of this armor is Captain Dare.



Other Versions
There are also variants or models of the ODST armor that have not been named; One exmple of this is a suit that ODSTs Gretchen, Dutch and Romeo wore during a mission some time prior to the Battle of Ariel. Having olive drab armor plating similar to the marine armor, it differed greatly from the normal ODST armor. It, however, had a black undersuit and its helmet was similar to a normal ODST helmet, except with a transparent visor. It is possible that this variant is an earlier version of the armor.

Multiplayer Variant
The helmet of the ODST Armor is also available as an armor permutation in the Halo 3 Multiplayer. It's often nicknamed MJOLNIR Mark VI (O) variant, with the "O" standing for ODST. While the visor on the regular ODST helmets are blue, the MJOLNIR ODST helmet has a dark orange visor. It is attained and unlocked by the Spartan Graduate Achievement, or getting 5 XP in Matchmaking.

Trivia

 * The ODST helmet is derived from an early concept of a MJOLNIR armor's helmet that was scrapped because it made the Chief look "too mean". The helmet serves to distinguish the elite ODSTs from regular UNSC Marines.
 * The visor's ability to polarize, the VISR mode, and the HUD it displays means it likely has a transparent Organic Light Emitting Diode (OLED) screen coating it.
 * Some have speculated that the Vacuum-enabled Body Suit used by the young SPARTAN-IIs in Halo: Fall of Reach before they got their MJOLNIR Armor is the same suit that the ODSTs wear, but this is merely speculation, and has never been confirmed. The vast differences between them strongly suggest that they are not, in fact, the same suit. For example, while the body suits in Fall of Reach were so form-fitting that the Spartans could fit coveralls over them, the ODST Armor is almost as bulky as the MJOLNIR.
 * The suits used in Halo 3: ODST may be a different variant of the normal ODST armor. The evidence for this is that the necks and fingers are not sealed in the game, while all previous incarnations of ODSTs were completely sealed. Also it seems that it may be a more heavily armored variant because it seems to be able to take more abuse than the standard ODST Armor. Despite this, it appears similar to the Halo 3 version.
 * At one point in development, the Multiplayer ODST helmet had an antenna on its back.