Arbiter (Killer Instinct)

"I have faced the Flood and silenced truth. I will quell your thunder and douse your flame."

- —Arbiter's intro quote

A Sangheili referred to as simply "The Arbiter" is an Sangheili warrior of the Covenant empire and a guest character in the third season of Killer Instinct.

Appearance
The Arbiter here is not the same being as Thel 'Vadam, who is a deuteragonist in Halo 2, but rather an amalgamation of themes and traits of other Arbiters (including Thel's armor, weaponry, and some of his speech mannerisms).

Arbiter is a member of the Sangheili alien race, somewhat reptilian-esque creatures who tower over humans with their large height and armored flesh. As a Sangheili, he possesses scaly, dark brown skin, piercing, yellow eyes, four, mandible-like lips around his mouth, two fingers and two thumbs on each hand (similar to Glacius' race), and somewhat-small legs that are always bent at the knees. He is equipped with a custom brown, grey, and gold suit of battle armor known as the Kaidon armor with an ornate helmet and one sleeveless arm, and most often wields a customized Energy Sword known as "Prophet's Bane", a Type-51 Carbine, and a set of Plasma Grenades - traditional weaponry for the Arbiters of the Covenant.

Non-canon Biography
All that is known about his past is that he has once fought against the Covenant empire's corruption and battled the Flood. He arrives on the Earth at an unknown date, where he encounters the fighters of the Killer Instinct universe. They do battle with him out of curiosity and for sport.

Traits
Combo Trait - Combat Evolved: After performing a throw or any ender, Arbiter can follow up by sticking a Plasma Grenade to the opponent or firing his Type-51 Carbine to deal additional damage and extend the combo slightly.

Instinct Mode - Judge and Executioner: Arbiter summons an energy shield that extends his health meter slightly and has unlimited armor against projectiles. The shield fully recharges once its been broken after having not attacked for a while. Additionally, Arbiter can Parry (HP+HK) similar to the Street Fighter 3 series, blocking all damage and ignoring an oncoming attack completely. Parries can be performed midair as well.

Command Attacks

 * Step-Kick - (Forward+MK) - Arbiter performs a large straight kick. Can cause wall splat.
 * Type-51 Carbine - (HK) - Arbiter fires up to three consecutive shots from his Type-51 Carbine. The Carbine holds eighteen rounds of ammo; once the ammo is depleted, Arbiter instead performs a melee bash attack. Can be performed midair. Ammo cannot be regenerated, so once all eighteen rounds are used, the move is no longer available. Pressing (Forward+HK) will make Arbiter do the melee bash, even with ammo available. The default command for the Carbine is also the same default command for shooting in Halo 5: Guardians (RT).


 * Plasma Grenade - (LP+MP+HP) - Arbiter throws a sticky Plasma Grenade. Detonates after three seconds, which can harm both the opponent and Arbiter and causes stagger. Holding Forward will make the throw arc larger, holding Back will make the throw arc smaller. Can be performed midair. Holding down will cause Arbiter to instantly detonate a grenade at close range, causing a hard knockdown on both him and his opponent. Up to three grenades can be held at once, and they automatically regenerate over time once used. The default command for all three punches is the same as the Grenade command in Halo 5: Guardians (LB).
 * Throw - (Forward or back+LP+LK) - Arbiter grabs the opponent and then slashes them twice. Acts as a launcher.

Special Moves

 * Mercy's Demise - (QCF+P) - Arbiter charges forwards and performs an uppercut with his Energy Sword. Button strength determines distance traveled. Works as a Knockdown Ender. The animation is based on the Energy Sword Lunge attack from the Halo series.
 * Truth Seeker - (QCB+P) - Arbiter spins around with an overhead Energy Sword slash. Hits overhead, button strength determines attack speed. Works as a Ground Bounce Ender.
 * Prophet's Bane - (QCB+K) - Arbiter activates a cloaking device and appears elsewhere, stabbing the opponent through the chest and then throwing them away. Button strength determines distance traveled. Works as a Launcher Ender.

Shadow Moves

 * Shadow Mercy's Demise - (QCF+P+P) - Arbiter wildly slashes with his Energy Sword five times.
 * Shadow Prophet's Bane - (QCB+K+K) - Arbiter activates a cloaking device and appears behind the opponent, stabbing them through the chest and then throwing them away. Tracks the opponent's location. The kick can be held in order to delay the attack for better timing.
 * Energy Shield - (QCF+K+K) - Arbiter uses some Shadow Meter to summon an energy shield. Can knock the opponent away on activation, but deals no damage. Functions identically to the Instinct Mode shield, but does not recharge on its own and does not enable Parry.

Quotes

 * I have fought with honor, endured the brand of shame, dealt out vengeance - even at the threshold of oblivion, I stood against false truth and the all-consuming Flood. But now, new foes have risen, and I have become their prey. Strange in appearance, these warriors hunt me. I see courage and conviction in their eyes, but also questions - the same questions I ask myself. In a lifetime of war, is this the end? My final battle? Will this hunter be the end of me...? Were it so easy... —Arbiter in his trailer
 * Another victory, yes, but... there is always another battle. —Arbiter's victory quote

Stage
Arena of Judgment

Set on Sangheilios near the ruins of Nuursa. The arena was once used as a place of debate long ago, but has since been abandoned and ravaged by time. In the background, Elite forces of both the Covenant and the Swords of Sangheilios battle one another in a shootout. As the match progresses, the battle destroys the various statues and architecture housed throughout the arena, and vehicles such as Phantoms and Scarabs lose control, demolishing the walls as they crash through. The stage utilized several existing assets from Halo 5: Guardians in its creation.

STAGE ULTRA: During a Stage Ultra Combo, the victor knocks their opponent back onto the ground, just as a Scarab tank bursts through the wall. As they slowly lift themselves up, an out of control Banshee falls from the sky in a tailspin through the hole opened by the Scarab. The opponent turns to face the sounds of destruction just in time to see the Banshee hit the ground at an angle, flip up into the air, and land on top of the opponent, crushing them.

ULTRA Combo: 31-Hits

Trivia

 * The Arbiter's default costume is based on Thel 'Vadam's Kaidon armor from Halo 5: Guardians, while his retro costume is based on his design from Halo 2: Anniversary.
 * The default Arbiter uses the Prophet's Bane energy weapon, while the retro costume sees him wields the traditional Covenant Type-1 Energy Sword.
 * The Arbiter's accessories are based upon the armors used by various Sangheili warriors. These include the combat harness from Halo 2: Anniversary, the Ascetic armor from Halo 3, the Storm and Commander armors from Halo 4, and the Ranger and Zealot harnesses from Halo: Reach.
 * The Arbiter's life bar is based on the life bar as seen in Halo 5: Guardians, only inverted.
 * His appearance was teased at the Killer Instinct World Cup in 2016.