Combat skin: Difference between revisions

{{Era|Forerunner}}

[[File:Forerunner - Combat Suit.png|250px|thumb|Concept art of a Forerunner Combat Skin]]

==Description==

==Speculation==

Because so little is mentioned about combat skins, there is much speculation about exactly what the combat skin rating indicates. The obvious interpretation is that the combat skin ranking system measures raw armour power, and that a class 12 combat skin is 10 ranks higher in protection and power than a class 2, but if the Forerunner were able to use a suit at least six times more powerful than the Chief's, it's a wonder they had such trouble with the Flood, unless the Flood made use of such 'Combat Skin' themselves, such as an Elite [[Flood combat form|Combat Form]] using a personal energy shield. This would mean that both forces would be equal in suit strength, as well as weapons and vehicles, while the Flood would most certainly outnumber the Forerunner. The most likely scenario is that in the [[Forerunner-Flood War]], the Flood infestation was billions of times larger in scale, which would mean that despite the Forerunner's near invincible armor, they may simply have been outnumbered.

Another interpretation is that the class system does not measure raw power, but rather classifies armor by its role. Later in the game, as 343 Guilty Spark comments on the [[The Flood|Flood]]'s alteration of the atmosphere, he notes that [[John-117|the Master Chief's]] Environment Suit should serve him well. This may indicate that Combat Skin with a Class 2 designation are designed for use as environment suits in hazardous terrain, rather than as effective armor to be used in combat against the Forerunner's enemies. There is a discrepancy to this assertion, however, as one of Halo 3's terminals makes mention of higher classes of Combat Skin that were vulnerable or ineffective against the Flood.

It is also possible that numbers still represent the power level of each armor, but each design contained a flaw that could not be overcome or, while it was considered "more powerful" than the ones below it, each rating was only designed for specific roles.

Another theory states that a combat skin may also be an environment suit. A modern day analogy would be a HAZMAT suit, which is an environment suit, but has no further use in combat, while a suit of Kevlar provides physical protection but no environmental protection. John-117's "combat skin" also functions as an "environment suit"; this can overlap with other theories, as a useful environment suit may lack in either pure power or suitability for its role in combat. Quite possibly, John-117's "combat skin" may be half environmental and half battle armor.

A theory that states "combat skin" does not refer to armor at all, but rather shielding; the disparity in power between the Master Chief's shields in comparison to that of the Forerunners is obvious. This is again compatible with either the power or role theory, as Class 12 shielding may be powerful enough to shrug off any Flood attack, or specifically designed to handle the damage from the Flood. Some have speculated that if you raise your shield level to maximum in Halo 3's settings, you would have something close to a Class 12 Combat Skin, although this will never be known as correct or wrong since the actual power of the Class 12 Combat Skin has never been witnessed.

Another possible theory is stacking. If a normal HAZMAT Suit has a ranking of 1E (1 Environment Point) and a high class KEVLAR Suit has a ranking of 1SA (1 Shield & Armor point). Mk VI (as stated above, and shown in game) is a 1E + 1SA, giving it a rank of 2ESA (ESA being a single class rank in the Forerunner system), giving John's Mark VI MJOLNIR a Forerunner rank of Class-2. With this being said, 343 stated that John should wear at least a Class-12 Combat Skin, which would be the equivalent to 6 post-modern HAZMAT Suits and 6 post-modern KEVLAR Suits or another 5 layers of MJOLNIR armor.

==Gallery==

File:Forerunnerfloodwar.jpg|A group of Forerunners in combat skins engaging a Flood form.

File:Forerunner group.jpg|Forerunners with two distinct combat skin variants.

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