ODST armor



The Body Suit, or 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. There are often ad hoc additions on the shoulder plates, such as various color flashes or the blood type of the ODST in question. There are also several variations to the ODST armor including Ranged, Close Quarters, and Recon; each designed for different missions, or different tasks within a squad. The armor's faceplate can also polarize.

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. The suit was recently upgraded with added protection, endurance, and agility.

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 Body Suit 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 Body Suits.

Usage
The ODST Battle Armor was 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 body suit became much more powerful, suggesting that in between Halo 2 and Halo 3, the technology was enhanced sufficiently, or that the ODSTs have switched their armor to a more reliable suit. 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
The suit is equipped with a system called 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 with red, friendlies with green and objects of interest with 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 Body Suit provides increased agility and maneuverability not afforded by standard Marine Armor. The Body Suit'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
Unfortunately, the suit's general complexity leads to complications. 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.

MJOLNIR ODST Helmet
The MJOLNIR ODST helmet in Halo 3 is derived from the technology utilized in MJOLNIR armor for Spartan use. It is attained and unlocked by the Spartan Graduate Achievement, or getting 5 XP in Matchmaking. At one point in development, the ODST helmet had an antenna on its back. The visor on the regular ODST helmets are blue, while the Spartan MJOLNIR ODST helmet has a dark orange visor. It's often nicknamed MJOLNIR Mark VI (O) variant, with the "O" standing for ODST.

Trivia

 * While the suit worn by the ODSTs in Halo 2 and Halo 3 is vacuum-proof, the suit worn by the Rookie in Halo 3: ODST is not, as evidenced by the open gloves.
 * 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 Body Suit. 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 Body suit.

Related Pages

 * MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor
 * Vacuum Suit