History VideoGame / HaloInfinite

* RangedEmergencyWeapon: The [=MK50=] Sidekick, Infinite's answer to the UNSC Pistol sidearm archetype in place of the traditional [[PunchPackingPistol M6-series Magnums]]. The weapon mechanically emulates the Gunfighter Magnum variant introduced in ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians''; it deals low per-shot damage, has reduced accuracy and is bereft of a Smart-Scope zoom, but more than makes up for that with its lightning-quick draw and reload animations, higher rate of fire and retention of its ability to instant-kill unshielded enemies with a headshot. As its name implies, this makes the Sidekick ''the'' perfect backup weapon to switch to when your primary weapon's magazine is empty, or if you need to quickly put down an unshielded opponent.

** In a later log, [[spoiler: Lucas Brown, the unfortunate victim of the Harbinger's "talk" rambles his serial number as a MadnessMantra--Keyes would repeat his name, rank, and serial number to try to keep ahold of himself while being subsumed by The Flood.]]

''Halo Infinite'' is a direct sequel in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series to ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' and the sixth mainline title in the series overall, developed by Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries and published by Creator/XboxGameStudios. First announced at E3 2018 at Microsoft's press briefing by showing it will use a [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine proprietary engine]] dubbed "Slipspace", the game's campaign mode was released on December 8, 2021, on UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, Platform/XboxOne, and Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, while the beta multiplayer mode became free-to-play on all platforms on November 15, 2021; all progress, however, carried over to its official release alongside the campaign.

''Halo Infinite'' is a direct sequel in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series to ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' and the sixth mainline title in the series overall, developed by Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries and published by Creator/XboxGameStudios. First announced at E3 2018 at Microsoft's press briefing by showing it will use a [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine proprietary engine]] dubbed "Slipspace", the game's campaign mode was released on December 8, 2021, on UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and Platform/XboxSeriesXAndS, while the beta multiplayer mode became free-to-play on all platforms on November 15, 2021; all progress, however, carried over to its official release alongside the campaign.

''Halo Infinite'' is a direct sequel in the ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' series to ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' and the sixth mainline title in the series overall, developed by Creator/ThreeFourThreeIndustries and published by Creator/XboxGameStudios. First announced at E3 2018 at Microsoft's press briefing by showing it will use a [[UsefulNotes/GameEngine proprietary engine]] dubbed "Slipspace", the game's campaign mode was released on December 8, 2021, on UsefulNotes/MicrosoftWindows, UsefulNotes/XboxOne, and UsefulNotes/XboxSeriesXAndS, while the beta multiplayer mode became free-to-play on all platforms on November 15, 2021; all progress, however, carried over to its official release alongside the campaign.

* NintendoHard: According to developer interviews, the difficulty in Infinite was tuned higher than in past Halo games. The boss fights can be particularly challenging, motivating players to master their new equipment quickly. Some of the open world areas can also be very tough, as it's quite easy to get caught out in the open with no cover and get shot to death in the back by Snipers, Phantom deployments or randomly patrolling, high-ranking Elites[=/=]Brutes.

*** "[[Franchise/SpiderMan Friendly Neighbourhood Spartan]]": using the grappling hook to swing around corners.

** The fates of a few of the SPARTAN-IVs from the audio logs are left unaccounted for. This includes Vettel ([[spoiler:Last known to have tried to rescue Griffin from the tower; he failed to do so but with no sign of what happened to him afterwards]]), Horvath ([[spoiler:Last heard wandering the ring in search of UNSC survivors]]), and Kovan ([[spoiler:Was present at the ''UNSC Mortal Reverie'' crash site when it was overrun by Banished forces and went MIA]]). All of those Spartans have the same gloomy armour coating description as the ones who are confirmed dead ("A Spartan's duty does not end with death."), but their fates are still open-ended enough to receive further exploration in the future.

Almost two years after humanity suffered a crushing blow at the hands of the [[RobotWar Created]], the still-reeling UNSC struggles to get back on its feet and counter Cortana's forces. Simultaneously, they must deal with attacks from the [[VideoGame/HaloWars2 Banished]], a group of former Covenant separatists led by the Brute Atriox who have filled the galactic power vacuum left by both the collapse of the Covenant and the more recent Created conflict. However, the UNSC has recently tracked down Cortana's location to the newly-discovered [[RingWorldPlanet Installation 07 ("Zeta Halo")]], and intends to corner her there as she probes the secrets of the ancient structure. UNSC [[SuperSoldier Spartan]] John-117 "Master Chief," Cortana's former partner and friend, takes part in the operation to capture her, embarking with a fleet led by the UNSC ''Infinity'', the pride and flagship of the entire UNSC Navy.

As the UNSC reaches Zeta Halo, they are ambushed by a massive Banished fleet, [[FrontlineGeneral led by Atriox himself]]. The situation spirals out of control as the ''Infinity'' is severely damaged and compromised, and Master Chief is seemingly ThrownOutTheAirlock by Atriox. In a span of minutes, Humanity's most powerful ship, and their most powerful soldier, are defeated.

* AbusivePrecursors: [[spoiler: The story introduces a new faction that was around during the Forerunner/Flood war, the Endless. They were apparently a largely benign species who sought help from the Forerunners, but there was something about them that intimidated the Forerunners (with hints towards the ability to TimeTravel and [[NoSell immunity to the Halo Array]]). The Forerunners offered them help and invited them to Zeta Halo, but was actually a trap to keep them in confinement. TheStinger for the Legendary Ending says "If Halo cannot end them, it must imprison them." Dialogue from the Harbinger indicates that the Endless' return will not bode well for anything touched or favoured by the Forerunners, including Humanity.]]

** There's a small but surprisingly thoughtful moment where, after his talk with the Harbinger, Escharum starts coughing heavily. Jega'Rdomnai, [[AxCrazy of all people]], [[HiddenDepths urges him to get some rest]] and Escharum fondly asks his "old friend" for a favour. Seeing the game's two main bad guys in a moment of [[VillainousFriendship quiet and genuine friendship]], especially since they both clearly know [[TheLastDance Escharum is dying]] is, for lack of a better term, a very humanizing moment, especially considering [[VideoGame/Halo2 the enmity between their respective species']] and goes a long way towards establishing how different [[TrueCompanions the Banished]] are from [[TeethClenchedTeamwork the Covenant.]]
* ActionSurvivor: The Pelican pilot who finds Master Chief, Echo-216, is something of a deconstruction. He DOES NOT like being drawn in Chief's heroics and, while obedient and reliable, it is obvious being stranded for six months alone has not done well for his mental health. He eventually confesses that he actually [[DirtyCoward stole the pelican during the attack in order to escape]], and has been living with that guilt the entire time.
* AlienArtsAreAppreciated: Apparently the Xbox is a popular time-killer among the Grunts, and has been long enough for the aged Mules to crack jokes about it.

** A number of driveable vehicles have spots for passengers, particularly the Mongoose with a seat on the back for a (rear-facing) passenger. Assuming you don't flip the vehicle, the passenger will simply remain glued to the seat, regardless of what gyrations you happen to put the vehicle through.
** Retained from ''Halo 5: Guardians'' is a dedicated button for seamlessly swapping between unoccupied seats when manning a vehicle (i.e. being able to move from a Warthog's gunner seat to the driver seat and vice-versa). This near-completely negates the awkward, time-wasting tedium of having to manually disembark a vehicle in order to swap seats.

** In another first for the franchise, Boss enemies have a distinctive health bar alongside their name when in view of the player. Previous games even with designated boss enemies would ignore (barring Halo 5 firefight mode) health bars in favour of StoryAndGameplayIntegration. Since most boss battles are twitchy one-on-one encounters, this gives the player a better gauge of how long and difficult the fight is going to be and pace it accordingly.

*** When an enemy sniper has lined its shot up and is preparing to fire, the laser glints off of the player's visor, even when looking away from the sniper.
*** Both Jackal and Brute snipers wear targeting scope helmets that each produce their own light, giving away their position.

* ArcWords: Throughout the campaign Chief regularly hears what sounds like Cortana saying "If you knew how you’re going to die, how would you live your life differently?" It isn't until the end we fully understand the context. [[spoiler: When separated from the Forerunner Domain and at Atriox's mercy, Cortana had a HeelRealization where despite all of her grandstanding of protecting humanity she was only setting herself up for failure. The first and last time we hear her utter it, it's prefaced by the line "Would you humour me?" She asked that question to Atriox (who responded he would change nothing), which gave her the motivation to make things right. She was the one who caused the damage to the ring and prevented the Weapon from being deleted, [[HeroicSacrifice knowing she wouldn't survive past this]]]].

** The shield animation for the Mjolnir armor in all prior games was an indistinct golden glow emitting away from the character; elites had a few more varieties of color but the same basic idea. This game redesigns the look of the Mjolnir armor shield to be crisper-looking golden hexagonal patterns that form a barrier tightly across the entire body. This actually resembles deployable equipment from previous games like the bubble shield. Elite, Skirmisher and Grunt shields have a blue/white coloring with an electrical pattern, while Brute shields are red with a horizontal ringed design that gets more saturated towards the feet.

** The technology utilised by [[TheRemnant Covenant Remnant]] in ''VideoGame/Halo4'' and ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'' emphasised a more organic, insectoid aesthetic (even more so than traditional Covenant technology), with bulbous silhouettes and layered carapaces being the most dominating aspects. In contrast, the Banished is a faction built on the principles of reclaiming and repurposing any and all technology they acquire, irrespective of age or former affiliation. The end result is all forms of Covenant technology from across the franchise's history being married under the Banished's signature homebrewed up-armaments and red/silver theme.

** Forerunner architecture in the Bungie-era games sported heavy emphasis on ''enormous'' brutalist megastructures, simplistic shapes combined with sharp angles, detailed textures, and a fabrication aesthetic alongside technological details like holograms, circuitry and energy pulses that imply greater, unfathomable purpose. While predominantly a dull gunmetal color, chromes, copper and brass were also included for variety, while the lighting was relied on more to set [[NothingIsScarier the right tone for a level]]. Reclaimer-era Forerunner architecture retained the brutalist aspects, but placed greater emphasis on grooves and indentations within the shapes, streamlined to a more uniform aesthetic: multi-layered models conveying a more "techno-organic" appearance, near-exclusive use of chrome metals [[OrangeBlueContrast saturated in orange or blue lighting]] and added parts of a design [[PowerFloats that floats nearby rather than being directly attached]]. ''Infinite'''s aesthetic is more reminiscent of the Bungie era, though it doesn't shy away from all facets of the Reclaimer-era's aesthetic. Complex, multi-faceted geometry of varying colouration is subtly complemented by more detailed texturing, lighting is utilized at varying intensities for added variety, the structures have a sharper metallic sheen to them and unusual gravity physics is still demonstrated to a more reserved degree.

*** When mounting vehicles, Marines will choose seats in accordance with the type of weapon they wield; so long as at least one other Marine is present in the player's squad, a rocket launcher-wielding Marine will prioritise a Warthog's passenger seat over its gunner seat.

*** Much like Marines, Brutes and Elites will also dynamically pick up better weapons laying around on the battlefield. Brutes go one step further, grabbing nearby fusion coils or even ''suicide grunts'' that wander into their path and lobbing them at enemies.

** Occasionally, Jackals and Grunts armed with Needlers will fire at you from beyond the weapon's ArbitraryWeaponRange, not seeming to notice the projectiles disappearing in midair before they could possibly hit you.

*** One line from Banished propaganda towers:

* BashBrothers: As Master Chief clears out forward operating bases and rescues the various marine squads scattered across the open world, they will pick up weapons and assist you in clearing out Banished fortifications. It is basically the second level of ''Combat Evolved'', "Halo", ramped up to be an active part of the entire game. Even more, they will follow you a surprising distance away, to where you think you have to OneManArmy through a territory only to find backup right behind you.

* {{BFG}}: The Banished Skewer; a muzzle-loaded Anti-Tank sniper rifle that fires ''rocket-sized spikes'' capable of one-shotting infantry/light vehicles and severely crippling anything tougher. Clearly crafted for the larger frames of Jiralhanae, this typically under-arm-held hunk of metal is so cumbersome that other species are forced to use it shoulder-mounted.

* BossBattle: Previous Halo games have played with boss encounters, particularly Halo 2 and the recurring [[BodyBackupDrive Warden Eternal]] of Halo 5, but this game integrates these fights extensively into the overall narrative. The game features numerous named enemies who are mostly part of the Banished hierarchy and have unique weapon combinations and movement but still behave relative to the alien species they are a part of, with a health bar indicating how close they are to defeat (something previously only seen in co-op multiplayer Spartan Ops and Warzone). Most are really quite straightforward, as their health and shields are maybe three times more than a regular enemy rather than being complete bullet sponges. Bosses in Infinite come in two varieties:

*** Gravity Hammer Chieftains sport surprisingly high mobility for their bulk; a deadly combination with their one-hit gravity hammer. If you don't pay attention, they'll also employ a *homing* lunge where they will leap from 50 feet away, even adjusting their trajectory slightly in order to hit you.

* BrokenBridge: The space in the open world which can be freely explored gradually expands as you complete story missions. It is possible to get to other areas early with some trickery, but otherwise, the four main landmasses in this game are disconnected, with bridges extending to connect them either once you're reached them in-story, or via a switch if you've crossed the gap.

* BusCrash: Potentially several established characters are now dead following the GreatOffscreenWar, but none are explicitly identified. The closest to such a case is Spartan Locke, whose helmet is worn on the shoulder of one boss character, which was also revealed beforehand in a [[SpoiledByTheMerchandise Mega Bloks set]], but is never commented on in-game.

* CannedOrdersOverLoudspeaker: One of the objectives you can fulfil is the destruction of Banished Propaganda Towers, which broadcast messages from a Grunt communications officer, Glibnub. Their propaganda messages are a mix of Glibnub giving some insight into life in the Banished's forces and demoralising remarks towards the scant UNSC remnants still on the ring. As the player progresses, these reports gradually devolved into hilariously transparent attempts to cover up the Master Chief's dismantling of the Banished's garrisons and leadership.

* ClosedCircle: It's unclear on the Banished side, but it seems that no UNSC ships with functioning slipspace drives remain, leaving everyone stranded on Zeta Halo. Besides the opening level raiding a Banished ship that you eventually destroy, the entirety of the campaign takes place in one WideOpenSandbox and [[ExtremelyShortTimespan roughly one day]]. The "return to battlefield" notification for going out of bounds has a FreezeFrameBonus where you can see that it is apparently enforced by [[BigBookOfWar the Cole Protocol]]. Since the Chief is carrying an AI, it appears that the Cole Protocol has been updated to automatically terminate AI and their carriers if they leave their expected operational zones as a countermeasure against the Created. The Multiplayer dialogue suggests that the rest of the UNSC lost all contact with the Infinity and Master Chief, and are continuing as normal.

** The Razorback, a new Warthog variant vehicle that serves as an armored troop transport, was first mentioned in the ''Halo'' universe all the way back in ''ARG/ILoveBees'' as the vehicle Jan went for a joyride in.

** The Covenant Empire was a [[ScaryDogmaticAliens long-lived religious hegemony]] whose every aspect of being revolved around the worship of the Forerunners. A conglomeration of starkly different species rife with corruption and infighting, the Covenant was held together by the promise of spiritual ascendancy through "The Great Journey", achieved by activating the Halo rings. The Banished are a rapidly rising power comprised of outcasts, mercenaries and others who had grown disillusioned with the Covenant's lies, structured under [[ProudWarriorRace a ruthlessly meritocratic ideology that values strength]] regardless of origin or species.

** In terms of aesthetics, Covenant equipment and vehicles feature "organic"-looking designs with smooth curves in varying shades of pink, purple and occasionally blue. Banished technology compounds on the aesthetic of brute technology, with decidedly more angular, jury-rigged designs complemented with sharp edges/blades/spikes, dominated by a colour palette of black, grey/silver and red.

* CurbStompCushion: Though he still loses the fight ''badly'', [[spoiler:Chief still gets several good hits in on Atriox, enough to actually stagger him backwards briefly. Not to mention that he comes ''very'' close to shooting him in the head with a pistol before Atriox smashes it out of Chief's hand with his energy mace.]]

** The game takes a page from ''VideoGame/HaloReach'' in how the game engine renders the cutscenes directly instead of using a separate animation file (which allowed your personalized Noble Six to appear in the cutscenes). This means various environmental changes occurring through gameplay will be subsequently represented in cutscenes, such as nearby crates and enemy bodies being affected by cutscene events like activating a gravity lift or dropping a new vehicle. Also, for the first time since the original version of ''Halo 2'', cutscenes will show Master Chief carrying whatever weapon the player currently has equipped, rather than just the default assault rifle.

* DownerBeginning: The game opens with a massive battle on the Infinity near the Zeta Halo, where it is clear the Banished are wreaking havoc and Master Chief himself gets overpowered by Atriox and [[ThrownOutTheAirlock thrown out into space]]. Chief's armor put him into stasis, where he is found and revived six months later and it is made completely clear that they lost the battle for the ring.

* EvilVirtues: The Banished were members of the Covenant Empire who were exiled for heretical behaviour, which drove them to become LaResistance against the Covenant but was never really a player during the Human-Covenant War. After the empire dissolved with the deaths of the High Councilors, a large majority of its former constituents felt betrayed by the hegemony's dogma. These veterans gradually flocked to the Banished, viewing the now-burgeoning faction as offering a new path to power, especially as humanity was able to regroup and position themselves over [[TheRemnant Jul 'Mdama's Covenant]] and they were scared for their own self-preservation. There are many moments in the game where despite their violence and brutality Escharum talks of never wanting to be subservient to tyrants like the Prophets again, [[NotSoDifferentRemark which is not much different than the desperation humanity]] has had to deal with for the entire Halo saga.

** [[spoiler:Eagle-eyed players may notice that The Pilot seems to be wearing a mechanic's jumpsuit underneath his flight gear. This is the main hint that he isn't actually a UNSC pilot]].

* GameplayAndStorySegregation: The main FPS games in the series have always tried to mitigate the issues of video game convenience by trying to integrate [[GameplayAndStoryIntegration the lore and narrative into the foundational principles of the gameplay]] ([[HyperspaceArsenal only two weapons]], PoweredArmor provides the HUD inside the helmet). In the transition to a more open-world environment, the game had to make several concessions to factor into what will make the story and gameplay functional, varied and tactical over justifying every detail possible. Most notable is how at Forward Operating Bases [=(FOBs)=] you can call in vehicles and Echo-216 just appears in the sky with the vehicle immediately, as well as spawn marines for backup; the InUniverse justification for vehicles, however, is that Echo-216 has been spending his time scavenging and consolidating vehicles for Chief. The unlimited use of equipment (subverted in the multiplayer) includes physical items like the threat sensor and drop shield that only needs to recharge rather than restock.

** Skimmers are extremely fragile and will die from one or two shots, which is good since the typically carry weapons that pack some punch.

* InMediasRes: Moreso than any prior Halo game, A LOT has happened between the end of Halo 5 and the beginning of this story. Rather than having a large InfoDump at the first convenient time, much of the game allows the details to be revealed gradually over the course of the story and in more natural conversations, as Chief has to unpack a number of mysteries from his last mission on Zeta Halo and what happened while he was in stasis.

-->'''Escharum:''' The UNSC lost this war months ago. Your people are broken. Scattered. Hunted. Defeated... by ''me''. I wish I could tell you it was difficult, but it wasn't. (laughs) We are one step ahead, ''always''. The ring is already under our control, soon the Auditorium as well. The Harbinger and the Banished share the same goal -- we fight ''together'' to honour the will of Atriox, but... [[NoChallengeEqualsNoSatisfaction without challenge, I grew... weary. Lost. Alone...]] buuut... here you now stand. This... is my last fight, a true test of ''legends'', OUR story... will outlive us both. '''SET A FIRE IN YOUR HEART, SPARTAN! BARE YOUR FANGS! FIGHT HARD!''' ''(grinning)'' Die well.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Fusion Coils, the series' staple ExplodingBarrels, can now be picked up and thrown by players, making them the first interactive environment gameplay used in ''Halo''. There are different types for each damage types (sans Power weapons), producing different effects upon detonation:

* InUniverseGameClock: Zeta Halo has a day and night cycle which you can experience during gameplay, and this will also adjust the locations of enemy positions and patrols. This is also perhaps one of the few times in gaming where the use of VideoGameTime is completely justified: The shape of a RingWorldPlanet naturally means that the length of each day is also much shorter than usual.

* KingMook: ''Infinite'' introduces these into the campaign overworld via the "High-Value Targets"; boss versions of regular enemies with higher health and shields and even their own health bar, holding position small plot of the shattered ring. They're much tougher than BossInMooksClothing enemies like Elite Ultras or Brute Chieftains from previous games and effectively act out this trope for specific enemy types/ranks and the weapons they may wield:

* LateToTheTragedy: Master Chief is awakened to find Installation 07 already having a chunk blown out of it, and humanity has lost the war with The Banished. Played with, as the game shows that while the ''player'' is late, John-117 had already been involved in many things going on, including missions involving the Weapon and its creation.

-->'''Glibnub''': Man I sure miss the days when we were M-Rated. If we still were, I could tell all about how big of a [[GoshDangItToHeck gosh-darn-fricken-frack-so-and-so]] you are! [[SayingSoundEffectsOutLoud Bleep]].
* MagneticHero: Master Chief starts off in the worst position possible, but sets out to locate any survivors still out in the ring. In doing so he manages to reconfigure Banished strongholds into UNSC forward bases staffed by the soldiers he rescued and provide him with additional weapons, gear and vehicles to keep pushing the fight ahead.
* MegatonPunch: The 'First Strike' upgrade for the [[GrapplingHookPistol Grappleshot]] allows Chief to deliver a powerful melee strike to any surface or enemy he grapples onto, with enough force to create a kinetic shockwave. The impact will send Brute Warriors or anything weaker [[OneHitKill flying into next week]], severely damaging/staggering anything tougher, while the shockwave can damage enemies in close proximity to the strike. Upgrading the Grappleshot again with the final upgrade, 'Reachfall', increases the shockwave radius and [[ShockAndAwe electrifies it]], stunning everything within the blast's radius and allowing for easy, consecutive follow-up attacks.
* MetaTwist: [[spoiler:The game sets up the expectation that the Banished are trying to activate Installation 07, or at least be in a position where they can use the threat of doing so to subjugate the galaxy. This is a sensible suggestion given that ''Halo'' has had plenty of stories about villains trying to activate Forerunner artifacts for their own ends, but here it turns out that the Banished are instead interested in uncovering the Endless, an ancient race imprisoned on the ring by the Forerunners that are implied to have RealityWarper abilities, and that Halo's main purpose is of little interest to them]].
** That said, Escharum [[spoiler:still intends to fire the Halo once it's rebuilt to clean the slate in honor of Atriox's last orders (especially in light that the Endless are the first race to be explicitly immune to the Halo Array, so it would affect only their enemies if anything), but it's more of a secondary goal if anything and even admits that he doesn't care if he actually succeeds, so long as [[AGoodWayToDie he dies a glorious death]] in battle]]. It still fulfils the MetaTwist [[spoiler:with firing the Halo]] as a ''negotiable'' goal rather than the endgame of most plans.

** The [=CQS48=] Bulldog features a [=SolCore=] logo on the weapon. [=SolCore=] was Bungie's original name for humanity's central government and military command all the way back in the ''Cortana Letters'' before the UEG and UNSC were established in later lore to be filling those roles.

* {{Nerf}}: A number of weapons and vehicles are altered from their traditional depictions in prior games in order to maintain CompetitiveBalance. [[DamnYouMuscleMemory It created a new learning curve for players who may not have been aware of these differences]].

* OntologicalMystery: The game's main heroic cast each have their blind spots when it comes to their knowledge of the conflict on Installation 07, and much of the game's narrative involves their interactions slowly revealing the state of the ''Halo'' universe to the player. The Chief has been knocked out for six months after a surprise Banished attack at the start of the game and missed what has happened in the meantime. The Pilot is aware of what happened but doesn't know about the Chief's mission that he still intends on completing. The Weapon is knowledgeable about both her mission and the nature of Installation 07 but is naive about the threat of the Banished.

* PointOfNoReturn: The open world actually only takes up the first 2/3rds of the game, with the entire last 3rd being back-to-back story missions in either indoor locations or isolated islands. You don't return to the open-world area until finishing the game. This point is marked by when you descend into the 2nd Spire looking for the Control Spire.

* QuirkyMinibossSquad: The Chief is hunted throughout the game by a group of Banished "Spartan Killers" known as the Hand of Atriox, each with their own unique appearances and fighting styles, similar to the Orc Captains in ''VideoGame/MiddleEarthShadowOfMordor'' and its sequel.

* ScavengerWorld: While the UNSC is officially stranded on the Ring, the Banished have been experiencing their own resource problems, forcing them to cannibalise each other's gear for their own purposes. This has resulted in the ring being utterly littered with destroyed and hacked-up materials ranging from crashed pelicans and abandoned warthogs to burnt-out Skiff husks and entire UNSC frigate wreckages. Many of the Banished outposts look unlevel, unstable and sloppily planned out, and there are numerous camps sites where individuals and entire squadrons tried to stay hidden.

* SealedEvilInACan: In the game's first mission, you'll learn that the Banished retrieved and revived something unlike anything else ever seen from the depths of Zeta Halo, which was apparently built as a stasis archive for sentient beings. This turns out to be the Harbinger. The Harbinger herself is seeking to revive mysterious beings called the Endless, which the Monitors warn are even worse than the Flood.
* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler:Cortana asks Atriox if he knew he were to die if he'd change his life in any way. Atriox says that he would change nothing, which finalizes Cortana's HeelRealization.]]
* SecondaryFire: Most weapons are able to be zoomed in slightly in order to help their usefulness in an open-world environment. The Heatwave and Hydra do not have this but will instead switch to an alternate firing form. The Heatwave can switch from a horizontal particle spread to a vertical one (presumably depending on if you are hoping to catch multiple targets on the ricochet versus just targeting one) and the Hydra can switch from unguided to guided missiles, the latter of which can lock onto and track enemies at the cost of a slight reduction in damage and projectile velocity.
* SelfHealingPhlebotinum: ''Infinite'' reveals that given enough time -- millions of years -- the Halos will heal themselves without help; the hexagonal metal columns are the equivalent of human bones knitting themselves back together. There are Spires that will accelerate the process to a days/weeks timeframe, though.

** This game introduces a new "Shock" damage type, of which the Disruptor, Shock Rifle, Dynamo Grenade and Shock Coils are classified under. These weapons deal relatively low damage but can inflict damage over time and produce ChainLightning to nearby enemies, or there are objects like dropped weapons to act as a bridge. They also inherit the EMP effect that weapons such as the Plasma Pistol had in previous games, being able to disable vehicles with sustained fire.

** The achievement for acquiring a Spartan Core for the first time, Hidden Experience, is almost certainly named after popular Halo [=YouTuber=] [=HiddenXperia=]. You can watch his reaction to the achievement [[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kFpTnHCCYjI here]].

* SoftReboot: The game has been described as a "spiritual reboot" of the series by its developers. It directly continues on from the events of ''VideoGame/Halo5Guardians'', but it also takes a RevisitingTheRoots approach to its gameplay and narrative while establishing a new status quo for the ''Halo'' universe moving forward. Indeed, the events of ''Halo 5'' and its aftermath are discussed in cutscenes and audio logs (mostly in regard to Chief trying to discover Cortana's ultimate fate), but the game feels more inclined to start something new, making it feel like we missed the actual ''Halo 6''.
* SoldierVsWarrior: The UNSC's Soldiers vs the Banished Warriors. While the UNSC are disciplined, regimented, and possess the technological edge, the Banished are competitive and passionate about their cause and make great use of their superior numbers and physical strength to overwhelm UNSC holdouts and even UNSC [[SuperSoldier SPARTAN]] fireteams. The Banished also bleed into the "soldier" category by having an established chain of command, albeit one more inclusive and open-minded than the previous [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]]. This, however, only makes them ''[[AlwaysABiggerFish more]]'' dangerous than the Covenant to Humanity, since they not only recruit from all alien races (and some chapters will even recruit ''humans''), but they do not suffer from the strategic and techological CreativeSterility that hobbled the Covenant's efforts in eradicating Humanity.

** "The Weapon" is a new AI designed to be functionally identical to Cortana in every way, except serving precisely one purpose; break her control over the Forerunner Domain, and then be deleted. As the mission had changed, Master Chief picks her up to serve the exact same MissionControl and VoiceWithAnInternetConnection role Cortana normally plays. She isn't an exact copy of Cortana, though, as [[NaiveNewcomer she is younger, less familiar with Master Chief's style and the responsibilities she is asked to do]]. However, this is later played straight with the reveal that [[spoiler:the Weapon is a literal copy of Cortana with her memories erased, as only an AI as powerful as Cortana could defeat her and the UNSC at the time didn't have the capability to create a new one.]]

** A sub-monitor called Adjutant Resolution is revealed to be in charge of numerous Spires deployed around Zeta Halo. He is initially very friendly and helpful, albeit rather eccentric, but when Chief and The Weapon realize the purpose of the Spires was to rebuild the Halo they immediately begin plans to disable it, which causes Resolution to become hostile. This is almost exactly the same story arc that Guilty Spark served in the original ''Halo: Combat Evolved'' and to some degree the entire original trilogy.
** Echo-216 is a named Pelican pilot who acts to exclusively shuttle Master Chief to wherever he needs or extract him from danger all throughout the game, just like Foe Hammer in the first game.

* TacticalRockPaperScissors: ''Infinite'' applies a radical alteration to the series' weapon damage/ammunition type system, expanding on the series' traditional kinetic vs plasma dynamic by including more distinct types of damage and ensuring each is mechanically unique. These damage types extend to grenades and even several varieties of [[ExplodingBarrels fusion coils]], as well as UniversalAmmunition stations that can replenish weapon reserves for each type. As of the campaign release, there currently exist five damage types:

** [[HardLight Hardlight Weapons]] have been considerably overhauled from their Reclaimer Saga incarnations. As opposed to being kinetic weapons with an orange coat of paint, Hardlight weapons now over-penetrate enemies and possess esoteric physics/attributes, ricocheting off of hard surfaces or causing a brief gravity effect on nearby players, though they retain the ability to (cosmetically) disintegrate enemy corpses and destroyed vehicle chasses/debris. Hardlight weapons possess both an internal energy supply and a "magazine"; reloading the weapon has the player rack a portion of the weapon back to transfer energy from the former to the latter. The process can be interrupted by firing the weapon, and the animation length is dictated purely by the "magazine's" capacity prior to reloading. Weapons belonging to this category include the Sentinel Beam, Heatwave, Cindershot and Hardlight Coil.

* TheTapeKnewYouWouldSayThat: [[spoiler:Cortana "speaks" to Chief in her last appearance, but she actually just recorded a message to him. She actually lampshades it.]]

* TechnologicallyAdvancedFoe: When Master Chief first encounters Harbinger, she emits an energy pulse that locks his armor down. This at first feels very similar to the Didact's own abilities in ''Halo 4'', which were too powerful for the Chief to even attempt to engage him, but the Weapon is able to override Harbinger's lockdown this time around. While still a difficult enemy with a FlashStep ability, Chief at least has a chance against Harbinger in a straight fight. [[spoiler: She is connected to the Endless, a mysterious race locked away by the Forerunners for being a danger equivalent to the Flood.]]

** The hitboxes on Jackals have been adjusted so that it's much more difficult to shoot their hands through the firing ports in their shield in order to stagger them when using an automatic weapon. You either need to zoom in with a precision weapon, or simply stagger them by hitting their shield with the Grappleshot.

*** Hunter Assault Cannons also retain their secondary projectile burst mode from ''5'', which now deal splash damage and is fired in longer streams. Thankfully, Hunters will only engage this mode when enraged. The same cannot be said for Ardent Hunters, however.

** Hunters will become enraged if their bond brother is killed, causing them to charge the enemy with reckless abandon. What differentiates this behaviour from other games, however, is that enraged Banished Hunters are less likely to be baited into performing melee attacks. Instead, these Hunters will opt with firing their assault cannons at the target of their ire, even at ''point-blank''!

** The fate of the ''Infinity'' herself is left ambiguous; while severely damaged and all but overrun by Banished forces, her fate is only "presumed destroyed", and Lasky himself only refers to the ship as "compromised" when evacuating. As it stands, nothing concrete is known about the ''Infinity'' or what may remain of the ship after Zeta Halo's movement from its original gravitational anchor planet, with most of the UNSC's concerns being their attempts at survival now that they are apparently stranded in unknown space.

** The fates of a few of the SPARTAN-IVs from the audio logs are left unaccounted for. This includes Vettel ([[spoiler:Last known to have tried to rescue Griffin from the tower; he evidently failed to do so but with no sign of what happened to him afterwards]]), Horvath ([[spoiler:Last heard wandering the ring in search of UNSC survivors]]), and Kovan ([[spoiler:Was present at the ''UNSC Mortal Reverie'' crash site when it was overrun by Banished forces and went MIA]]). All of those Spartans have the same gloomy armour coating description as the ones who are confirmed dead ("A Spartan's duty does not end with death."), but their fates are still open-ended enough to receive further exploration in the future.

* UnwittingInstigatorOfDoom: Much like how the Didact ultimately turned out to be a BigBadWannabe who achieved none of his goals and only ended up unwittingly setting Cortana down her StartOfDarkness, [[spoiler: Cortana ends up doing the exact same thing, with her attempt to take over the galaxy failing completely, only serving to weaken the UNSC to the point that the Banished are able to finish them off and take over as the galaxy's dominant power. She also gets outplayed by Atriox, who takes control of Halo from her and only succeeds in pissing him off by destroying his homeworld in an attempt to teach him his place. Cortana has a MyGodWhatHaveIDone moment when she realizes her actions have resulted in Atriox having the ability to destroy the galaxy and nothing left to lose.]]

* WeHardlyKnewYe: [[spoiler: The monitor for Zeta Halo, Despondent Pyre, is briefly encountered when entering the Conservatory but was swarmed by Skimmers and taken lower into the complex. By the time Master Chief and The Weapon find Pyre, she had been pulled apart by the Harbinger looking for access to Halo's archives. A sub-monitor, Adjutant Resolution, is introduced shortly after and was apparently brought online because Pyre had been destroyed]].

** [[spoiler: Memory fragments of Cortana has her arguing with the monitor of Zeta Halo, who warns her about a serious threat on the ring. While initially implying it to be the Flood, Cortana says "You and I both know there are worse things than the Flood within this Ring]].

* WorthyOpponent: The BigBad of the game, Escharum, views Master Chief as a worthy foe to shake up his own boredom, bemoaning how easy it was to defeat the rest of the UNSC and that he's looking forward to a proper challenge. [[spoiler: After being defeated, Master Chief gives him an ounce of respect and allows him to say his final words. When the Pilot wonders why he would bother to humor someone as monstrous as Escharum, Master Chief responds that [[NotSoDifferentRemark he was ultimately just a soldier, one who hoped he did the right thing]]]].

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: At the end of "Pelican Down", [[spoiler: the Pilot reaches a breaking point when's he unable to find any Slipspace drives to escape the Ring and is overwhelmed with SurvivorsGuilt that he stole the Pelican. When he starts tearing up, Master Chief kneels down to emphasize with him that everyone fails, [[HumansAreFlawed and that's what makes them human]]. When the Pilot asks what he's ever failed at, Chief laments that he failed to protect Cortana and that he won't fail him this time.]]

* ArtificialBrilliance: For the first time Spartan bots are included in multiplayer, both as a training tool and as AntiFrustrationFeatures when a teammate drops out mid-match. While perhaps not as unpredictable as a player-opponent, the first impression from players was they are remarkably good at retreating when under fire, navigating the maps in a realistic manner and know-how to go for the heavy weapons.

* CharacterCustomisation: The character customization for multiplayer got a significant overhaul, partially just due to more modern hardware but also that multiple generations of Mjolnir armor designs are represented as separate categories, giving you the option of several pre-set armor designs you can switch between at will rather than just tinkering with a single model. At launch, the options involved the Mark V(B), the Mark VII and Yoroi. Mark V(B) mostly contained armor variants in Bungie-era games, while the Mark VII is meant to be the next generation model InUniverse and mostly has updated versions of armor offered in the 343-era. Yoroi is a feudal {{Samurai}} inspired armor meant to not be an in-canon design, with future seasons to offer similarly bizarre options. Unique among all previous games is that the chest, forearms and legs of each category are exactly the same, with the customization options focusing on different helmets and shoulders while the rest can [[VirtualPaperDoll have different types of gear placed over top to change the base look to varying degrees]] (previous customization involved more fundamental differences in the armor).
* ColorCodedMultiplayer: For the first time in ''Halo'' history, this trope is {{Averted}}. Teams are no longer red vs. blue, and instead, Spartans will keep their own personal armor colors, with colored shield impacts and HUD outlines during gameplay for team recognition. The default outlines are yellow for squadmates, blue for allies and red for enemies, though these colours can be customised to your liking. This was a creative way to solve the dilemma that personal armor colors were non-existent in multiplayer modes where team colors override it.

** The maps "Bazaar" and "Streets" are set in [[VideoGame/Halo2 Old Mombasa]] and [[VideoGame/Halo3ODST New Mombasa]] respectively, and both maps feel like a general homage to both of those games. The New Mombasa Space Elevator still dominates the skyline, though now visibly in the midst of reconstruction following its toppling during the events of ''ODST''. "Streets" also features an MTA subway station and an NMPD police station as key areas of the map, a nod to the role both organisations played in the setting of ''ODST''.

** On "Chasm", the map's central BottomlessPit is named "Ohh Nooo", which will be visible on your HUD for a split second before dying. In addition, pinging each of the two floating pillars that are just out of reach on the sides of the map reveal that they are named "Clegg" and "Tooth Pick".

** Among Arena maps, "Aquarius" is noteworthy for lacking a power weapon. Instead, an Active Camo pickup in the center of the map fills that role.
* GreatOffscreenWar: The ''Lone Wolves'' season storyline makes reference to the "Vihar Collapse"; this is apparently where Spartans Eklund and Dinh first worked together, and one of the event challenges is named "Vengeance for Vihar", but what exactly happened here isn't yet known.

* LargeHamAnnouncer: Jeff Steitzer is back once again as the general multiplayer announcer, celebrating your multi-kills and objective scoring with just as much enthusiasm as he has before. Depending on what Personal AI you chose, they can also ham it up while giving you updates on objectives and the state of the match.
* LevelEditor: Forge is back, and massively expanded from before. New features include the ability to scale objects and customise their textures, the ability to set the color, intensity and light source of the skybox on top of the ability to create dynamic light sources, a robust scripting system for interactive objects and events, the ability to set both diegetic and ambient audio, and the ability to create nav meshes for bots. Six 'canvases' are available for building on: "Arid" (a desert on a Halo ring), "Ecliptic" (set in space), "Institute" (a grassy field), "Mires" (a swamp), "Seafloor" (a completely underwater map) and "Void" (set in a completely empty space with only a basic skybox). A matchmaking playlist, "Community Collection", is dedicated to showcasing the best maps made in Forge by the playerbase.

* PurelyAestheticGender: You can choose your Spartan's voice and body type separately from each other, with neither choice having any impact on gameplay. In fact, there are only three body types available that reflect slightly skinnier or larger builds (impacting just the bodysuit as the armor remains the same size and shape), they are not divided by gender since the heavy armor and helmet mask any assumptions anyway.

* RewardsPass: Fitting for a game released around this time, this is one of the main means of unlocking new customisation options for your Spartan-IV. Unlike many similar systems, your battle passes will never expire, and passes from past seasons will always be available to purchase and put progress towards.
* SillinessSwitch: The game introduces the concept of "Fractures", which provides a means by which certain cosmetic additions can be designated as not strictly in-canon. The samurai-inspired Yoroi armor is the first example of this.

* VirtualSidekick: New to this game is the ability to select a 'Personal AI' from a selection of many, each of which has its own personality and will update you as the state of the match changes. In modes involving controlling territories, the player who seized a territory will see their AI occupy it with them.

* WideOpenSandbox: While previous games had a very linear story, Infinite seeks to break down traditional levels and have the player traverse really large unbroken spaces. Like ''VideoGame/Halo3ODST'', a map HUD is offered to help the player plan how they will attack enemy strongholds in the order they want. The map itself is genuinely enormous, seamlessly venturing between the forested landscape and Banished outposts on top and into Forerunner structures below.

* DoesNotLikeShoes: The Banished are generally barefooted, including most or all of the Grunts, Jackals (including Skirmishers), and Brutes. Mentioned in a propaganda broadcast by a Grunt when he called out humanity's "stupid shoes". Technically counts for the Skimmers and Harbinger, despite their unusual limbs. Elites and Hunters are the usual exceptions, despite the latter technically not having any feet.

* VirtualSidekick: Master Chief gets a new Smart AI companion referred to only as "The Weapon", who was created in a plan to impersonate and lock Cortana down for retrieval and subsequent deletion. As demonstrated in the Multiplayer tutorial mission and certain audio logs, Dumb AIs have seen widespread integration into the Spartan program; one audio log involves a Spartan getting annoyed at the CaptainObvious behavior of their AI [[StopHelpingMe while in the middle of a tough firefight]].

*** Remnant Grunts were considerably stockier than past iterations, with ''VideoGame/Halo5''[='s=] Grunts bearing a more outwardly crustacean appearance than the slimmer, lightly-insectoid Bungie grunts or ''VideoGame/Halo4'''s pseudo-reptilian Grunts. The low-ranking Storm Grunts were of particular note, given their bugged-out eyes and their odd methane nose-tube rebreathers, which replaced the traditional pacifier-like gas masks. [[https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/BlogPost/InsideInfinite-Oct2021/haloinfinite_grunts-4k-fae5d33201174aed8432e9d6fdd4c754.png Banished Grunts]] merge several elements from all grunts across the series; the slimmer overall build and beady eyes of the Bungie Grunts, reptilian scales from ''4'' and crustacean skin from ''5''. This also applies to their combat harnesses, with the Imperial harness being seen alongside traditional Minor and ''Reach'' Ultra harnesses.
*** Remnant Jackals were represented by the Ibie'shan sub-species of Kig-Yar, which were noticeably more reptilian and lizardlike than the avian Ruutian subspecies seen in the Bungie games. [[https://content.halocdn.com/media/Default/BlogPost/InsideInfinite-Oct2021/haloinfinite_jackals-4k-09ae2723c9cd4d40a39f474571a91757.png Banished Jackals]] return to being comprised of Ruutians, though they are now capable of speaking in broken English like the Ibie'shan in ''VideoGame/Halo5''.

*** Banished Hunters are identical appearance-wise to their ''VideoGame/Halo5'' counterparts, but now sport the more vibrant colouration of ''VideoGame/HaloCombatEvolved'' for both their armour and exposed skin. Averted with the Ardent Hunters, which are decked out in the Banished standard red-and-grey armour.

** The [[CoolPlane UNSC Wasp]] is a VTOL attack craft that packs a considerable wallop with its machine guns and missile launchers, but goes down ''very'' quickly if you don't make concerted efforts to avoid enemy fire, exploding after only a couple of hits from heavy weapons.

** This goal is also shared with the 'Bloodstars', who are effectively hero killers in-training. Originally a former Covenant Spec-Ops unit, the Banished have since reorganised the 'Bloodstars' as a secondary unit of Spartan Killers, specifically to screen for candidates worthy of induction into the 'Hand of Atriox'.
** In a more general sense, the Banished as a whole have made strides to demythify Master Chief and the Spartans; the lingering habit of referring to Spartans as "Demons" is either mocked or greatly discouraged, and the messages from Propaganda Towers pull no punches in tearing down their heroic image.

* ImprovisedWeapon: Fusion Coils, the series' interpretation of ExplodingBarrels, can now be picked up and thrown by players, making them the first interactive environment gameplay used in ''Halo''. There are different types for different damage types, which each explode in different ways.

* KilledMidSentence: Played for Laughs; A lot of the idle chatter in combat and at-ease was written under the pretense of how funny it'd be for the enemy saying it to die abruptly while running their mouth.

** For the first time since Halo 3, the Plasma Pistol's SecondaryFire overcharge doesn't stun vehicles. It still breaks enemy shields and its base damage is a little higher to compensate, but the reason is that an entirely new subset of [[ShockAndAwe shock weapons]] can now serve that purpose, which also accounts for the [[GrapplingHookPistol grappleshot]] making hijacking easier.
** The Bulldog is this to the traditional M90/M45 UNSC Shotguns used prior, though purely in terms of damage; the Bulldog deals reduced damage, making it a two-hit kill against fully-shielded Spartans instead of a one-hit kill. Despite this, the Bulldog has received a litany of BalanceBuffs in to compensate. Fired pellets have a tighter spread and increased travel distance, which sees the Bulldog become the first to avert the ShortRangeShotgun rule since ''Combat Evolved'''s M90. The Bulldog also possesses a drum magazine instead of a tube magazine, allowing all of its shells to be reloaded simultaneously instead of individually. All of these balance changes allow the Bulldog to be properly viable beyond melee range, giving the Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer more breathing room as the game's dedicated close-range one-hit killers.
** The Rocket Warthog, as first released in the multiplayer of ''Combat Evolved'''s PC port as the model [=M12A1=], was effectively a triple-barreled [=SPNKr=] turret that fired individual rockets at a slow rate and required reloading every three shots. When the vehicle was reintroduced in ''Reach'' as the model [=M12R=], its turret was rebalanced to always rapidly fire its rockets in a volley of six before reloading, with the rockets themselves being considerably weaker, but faster and capable of locking onto aircraft. Despite ''Infinite'' also using the [=M12R=], its turret has been reworked to behave more akin to the [=M12A1=]; rockets are once again fired single-shot but without the need to reload. Rocket Warthog rockets land a median between the [=SPNKr=] and the Hydra in both damage- and blast radius-wise, and are fired at twice the rate of the [=M12A1=] but at half the speed of previous [=M12R=] iterations, while also retaining the ability to lock onto aircraft. This balance makes using the Rocket Warthog a more tactful endeavour, with more emphasis being placed on aiming at or ahead of targets instead of laying down wild suppressive fire, making the vehicle a sidegrade to the standard Warthog as opposed to a direct upgrade.

** The UNSC pistol has had a varied history, from the PunchPackingPistol in ''Combat Evolved'' to the ineffectual DualWielding version of ''2'' and ''3'', but between ''ODST'' and ''5'' it found a niche as a SniperPistol where it deals reliable precision damage at medium-close range and had enough rate of fire to keep enemies occupied at close range. The pistol in Infinite at first feels very underpowered with low per-shot damage and mediocre scope zoom and subsequent precision range, but it shines in more quick-thinking endeavours where you can drop enemy shields with automatic and/or plasma weapons and the pistols' very spry weapon switch, handling and rate of fire can let you nail a finishing headshot.

** The Hydra MLRS, a rocket-firing carbine with enough strength to two-shot MadeOfIron aliens and {{Super Soldier}}s, is a {{subversion}}, in that the darn thing weighs in at 25 pounds fully loaded, making it just as (if not more) unwieldy and unpleasant to carry as any full-sized rocket launcher[[note]]Granted, [=UNSC=] weapons tend to be on the chunky side in general, with guns like the SAW and sniper rifle being as heavy or even heavier[[/note]], despite being the size of, looking, and handling like, a rifle. It does, however, have the advantage of being considered a Kinetic weapon rather than a Power weapon, making ammo refills for it much more common. Functionally, the Hydra is an Expy of the Doom/Quake rocket launcher, with extremely similar fire rate and relative damage, serving as an anti-personnel missile launcher compared to the slower but more powerful standard Halo M41 [=SPNKr=] Rocket Launcher.

** The Prometheans have been near-entirely removed, with the only vestigial acknowledgement to them being the Forerunner Heatwave (its bouncing projectiles making it a spiritual successor to the Scattershot) and the Sentinel Beam (and even this is a stretch, given that its model takes design cues from the ''Halo 2''/''Halo 3'' Forerunner Sentinel Beam than it does the more Promethean-inspired Safeguard Sentinel Beam from ''Halo 5: Guardians''' multiplayer).

* RevisitingTheRoots: ''Halo Infinite'' advertises the campaign as taking place on a single Halo ring and having a very large map to roam around in, restricting the adventure to exploring this setting rather than the galaxy hopping adventures of previous mainline games. The majority of the game is rescuing isolated soldier squads, leading the charge against enemy strongholds and investigating the mysteries of the Halo ring, exactly the story of the original Combat Evolved. The visual design including the Mjolnir armor, human weapons, alien enemies and Forerunner structures are also depicted more like they were in the original ''Halo'' games, as opposed to how they appeared in ''Halo 4'' and ''Halo 5''.

* ScavengerWorld: While the UNSC is officially stranded on the Ring, the Banished have been experiencing their own resource problems, forcing them to cannibalizing each other's gear for their own purposes. This has resulted in the ring being utterly littered with destroyed and hacked up materials ranging from crashed pelicans and abandoned warthogs to burnt-out Skiff husks and entire UNSC frigate wreckages. Many of the Banished outposts look unlevel, unstable and sloppily planned out, and there are numerous camps sites where individuals and entire squadrons tried to stay hidden.

* SecretTestOfCharacter: [[spoiler:Cortana asks Atriox if he knew he were to die if he'd change his life in any way. Atriox says no, which finalizes Cortana's HeelRealization.]]

** The Hydra [=MLRS=] is a rifle-sized micro-rocket launcher and about the closest you can get to a [[TabletopGame/Warhammer40000 Boltgun]] in the ''Halo'' universe. It's considered a kinetic weapon rather than a power weapon, allowing you to restock ammo for it at the much more common kinetic ammo stations. Yet it does close to missile launcher level damage (it can kill a Brute Chieftain in 6 shots, compared to about 3-4 for the missile launcher), with noticeably faster projectiles that also travel in a straight line instead of the harder-to-aim arc of a grenade launcher. At the cost of a slight damage reduction, the weapon can also be made to fire homing missiles, allowing it to better combat more nimble targets such as Ghosts or Banshees.

** This game introduces a new "Shock" damage type, of which the Disruptor, Shock Rifle, Dynamo Grenade and Shock Coils are classified under. These weapons deal relatively low damage but can inflict damage over time and produce ChainLightning to nearby enemies, or there are objects like dropped weapons to act as a bridge. They also inherit the EMP-effect that weapons such as the Plasma Pistol had in previous games, being able to disable vehicles with sustained fire.

* SmashMook: [[TheBerserker Brute Berserkers]] will charge, roaring, directly at the player and attempt to pummel them to death. They're kind of a {{Downplayed}} version, as they're only about as tough as Captains, with an up-armoured and shielded version existing as a straighter example.

* SoldierVsWarrior: The UNSC's Soldiers vs the Banished Warriors. While the UNSC are disciplined, regimented, and possess the technological edge, the Banished are competitive and passionate about their cause, and make great use of their superior numbers and physical strength to overwhelm UNSC holdouts and even UNSC [[SuperSoldier SPARTAN]] fireteams. The Banished also bleed into the "soldier" category by having an established chain of command, albeit one more inclusive and open-minded than the previous [[ScaryDogmaticAliens Covenant]]. This, however, only makes them ''[[AlwaysABiggerFish more]]'' dangerous than the Covenant to Humanity, since they not only recruit from all alien races (and some chapters will even recruit ''humans''), but they do not suffer from the strategic and techological CreativeSterility that hobbled the Covenant's efforts in eradicating Humanity.

* SufficientlyAdvancedAlien: Similar to the Didact, the Harbinger's technology is so advanced her abilities might as well be magic. Unlike the Didact, the Harbinger is at least still at a level that the Master Chief can challenge her in a straight fight.

** "The Weapon" is a new AI designed to be functionally identical to Cortana in every way, except serving precisely one purpose in order to break her control over the Forerunner Domain, and then be deleted. As the mission changed, Master Chief picks her up to serve the exact same MissionControl and VoiceWithAnInternetConnection role Cortana normally plays. She isn't an exact copy of Cortana, though, as [[NaiveNewcomer she is younger, less familiar with Master Chief's style and the responsibilities she is asked to do]]. However, this is later played straight with the reveal that [[spoiler:the Weapon is a literal copy of Cortana with her memories erased, as only an AI as powerful as Cortana could defeat her and the UNSC at the time didn't have the capability to create a new one.]]

** [[KineticWeaponsAreJustBetter Kinetic weapons]] deal increased damage to armour/flesh, and are typically magazine-fed, reloading their entire magazine in one animation. Performing a Tactical reload (reloading the magazine with ammunition still in the magazine) offers a faster animation than a Dry reload. Weapons belonging to this category include the Assault Rifle, Sidekick, Commando, Battle Rifle, Sniper Rifle, Rocket Launcher, Hydra, Needler, Mangler, Frag Grenade, Spike Grenade, Machinegun (including the man-portable and Warthog-/Scorpion-/Wasp-mounted variants), Scrap Cannon, Rocket Warthog/Wasp Missile Launchers, Gungoose Grenade Launchers, Chopper Cannons and Blast Coil.

* TechnologicallyAdvancedFoe: When Master Chief first encounters Harbinger, she emits an energy pulse that locks his armor down. This at first feels very similar to the Didact's own abilities in ''Halo 4'', which were too powerful to for the Chief to even attempt to engage him, but the Weapon is able to override Harbinger's lockdown this time around. While still a difficult enemy with a FlashStep ability, Chief at least has a chance against Harbinger in a straight fight. [[spoiler: She is connected to the Endless, a mysterious race locked away by the Forerunners for being a danger equivalent to the Flood.]]
* TheGreatRepair: The main plot thread of "Pelican Down": The Pilot's Pelican is shot down in a valley surrounded by AA guns, and decides to scavenge the surroundings to find a slipspace drive and escape while the Chief takes care of the AA. [[spoiler: Unfortunately, while ''Echo-216'' is restored to flightworthy status by the end of the mission, the Pilot is unable to find a working slipspace drive, which leads to his HeroicBSOD.]]

** As if their lethality could ever be topped from ''5'', Hunters are now an even more dangerous foe to contend with. The usual "Hunter dance" of baiting them into melee attacks is now all but impossible without equipment, as Hunters can now ''turn towards the player'' while performing a charging shield bash, necessitating a quick Dash or Grapple to move back to the Hunter's rear. Their insane engagement range and tracking abilities on top of the above boons only serves to make them the most formidable of Banished infantry.

** Marines and other NPC characters in previous games were not completely useless, but were generally a RedShirtArmy intended to not interfere with your character as a OneManArmy. Their primary benefit was providing a distraction to the enemy and their infinite ammo qualities made them valuable when you gave them power weapons for certain sections. The game mechanics of rescuing squads of marines and being able to spawn more at Forward Operating Bases means they will never be completely killed off while playing, but also that their infinite ammo is very useful when they actively search for power weapons on the battlefield and you can load up a Razorback with five allies firing rockets, lasers, skewers and snipers at the enemy.

** Rarely, if a low-ranking Brute is the only one left alive of their squad, they will enter a berserk state a la ''Halo 2'', charging enemies and pummelling them to death in melee combat.

* UniversalAmmunition: As a concession for the more open-ended gameplay loop, you can now find ammo crates scattered around the map, each of which corresponds to one of five ammo types: Kinetic, Plasma, Shock, Hardlight and Power. That all Plasma and Hardlight weapons can draw from their respective crates makes a certain amount of sense, but GameplayAndStorySegregation is clearly in effect for Kinetic and Shock crates (which can serve weapons of clearly different calibres such as the Sidekick and Commando, as well as a more esoteric/alien weapons like the Hydra, Mangler and Needler, while the Shock crates can serve up battery packs unique to the Disruptor and Shock Rifle) and especially the Power crates (which can do anything from dispensing Sniper Rifle rounds, SPNKr rockets and Skewer spears, to replenishing the battery reserves of Energy Swords, Gravity Hammers and Cindershots).

** The fates of a few of the SPARTAN-IVs from the audio logs are left unaccounted for. This includes Vettel ([[spoiler:Last known to have tried to rescue Griffin from the tower; he evidently failed to do so but with no sign of what happened to him afterwards]]), Horvath ([[spoiler:Last heard wandering the ring in search of UNSC survivors]]), and Kovan ([[spoiler:Was present at the ''UNSC Mortal Reverie'' crash site when it was overrun by Banished forces, and went MIA]]). All of those Spartans have the same gloomy armour coating description as the ones who are confirmed dead ("A Spartan's duty does not end with death."), but their fates are still open-ended enough to receive further exploration in the future.

* UsedFuture: The aesthetics of human technology are made a bit more raw and seen heavy use compared to the sleeker sci-fi designs fielded in the previous 343 games. This is even reflected in promotional material, as early reveals of Master Chief showed his armour as nearly pristine, while the final game has the paint job worn down to the bare metal in places. Banished technology, similar to Brute technology featured ''Halo 3'' and ''Reach'', also looks more like it was forged by a blacksmith's hammer.

* WeakButSkilled: While previous games always had some enemies that were about equal or greater in strength or speed to a Spartan, this game exaggerates that aspect in regards to Master Chief. Atriox, a dangerously powerful brute, [[TheWorfEffect casually bested Chief in close combat]] and throughout the campaign Chief comes across numerous boss enemies who, on paper, have superior abilities. But Chief's years of experience and intuition allows him to turn the tables and come out ahead, coupled with some assistance from The Weapon.

** The opening, in which Atriox hands Master Chief's ass to him, the first time in the series that anyone has ever seen Chief being the ''victim'' of a CurbStompBattle, and how easily he was taken out.

* WhatTheHellHero: [[spoiler: When it looks like The Weapon is about to be compromised by the Harbinger in the network, Master Chief activates her deletion protocol. She manages to override it and survive, and is quite angry afterwards and much colder to him for a while after. This came after she showed hesitation in accessing the network, to begin with, and he promised to take care of her]].

* TheWorfEffect: The opening cutscene of the game shows the Infinity being assaulted near Zeta Halo and Master Chief himself is attacked and tossed out into space by Atriox. While the Didact from ''4'' was able to toss him around with the use of force field technology, he has never been overpowered by an enemy in a "fair" fight like this before. The Infinity was also the epitome of the UNSC technology utilizing reverse engineered Forerunner technology, making it just about the most dangerous ship in the galaxy short of an actual Forerunner vessel, and it too was definitively taken down by the Banished.

* YouAreBetterThanYouThinkYouAre: At the end of "Pelican Down", [[spoiler: the Pilot reaches a breaking point when's he unable to find any Slipspace drives to escape the Ring and is overwhelmed with SurvivorsGuilt that he stole the Pelican. When he starts tearing up, Master Chief kneels down to emphasize with him that everyone fails, [[HumansAreFlawed and that's what makes them human]]. When the Pilot asks what he's ever failed at, Chief laments that he failed to protect Cortana, and that he won't fail him this time.]]

** Season 3 - "Firewall": set during an [[AIIsACrapshoot AI uprising]], it sees Infolife use cybernetically-augmented humans named Executors to impose their will on Earth. This Fracture has a canonical basis, being a simulation being run by Sloan in the aftermath of Cortana's defeat, as an attempt to envision humanity's evolution towards [[{{Transhuman}} transhumanism]]. The armour core is "Chimera", a set with a mix of OrganicTechnology and RobotSoldier iconography.

** "Last Spartan Standing" is a free-for-all variant, with 12 players on a Big Team Battle map. Each Spartan has 5 lives to work with and can scavenge the map for grenades and equipment. Unlike "Attrition", this mode gives players set loadouts with unlimited ammo; players instead get to upgrade their loadouts upon reaching certain scoring thresholds, and can earn bonus points by securing a dead player's AI.

* CharacterCustomisation: The character customization for multiplayer got a significant overhaul, partially just due to more modern hardware but also that multiple generations of Mjolnir armor designs are represented as separate categories, giving you the option of several pre-set armor designs you can switch you at will rather than just tinkering with a single model. At launch, the options involved the Mark V(B), the Mark VII and Yoroi. Mark V(B) mostly contained armor variants in Bungie-era games, while the Mark VII is meant to be the next generation model InUniverse and mostly has updated versions of armor offered in the 343-era. Yoroi is a feudal {{Samurai}} inspired armor meant to not be an in-canon design, with future seasons to offer similarly bizarre options. Unique among all previous games is that the chest, forearms and legs of each category is exactly the same, with the customization options focusing on different helmets and shoulders while the rest can [[VirtualPaperDoll have different types of gear placed over top to change the base look to varying degrees]] (previous customization involved more fundamental differences in the armor).

** Season 3 - "Firewall": set during an [[AIIsACrapshoot AI uprising]], it sees Infolife use cybernetically-augmented humans named Executors to impose their will on Earth. The armour core is "Chimera", a set with a mix of OrganicTechnology and RobotSoldier iconography.

%% Season 3 - TBA:

** Following on from a dumpster in the ''Halo 5'' map Plaza being named "[[Series/SesemeStreet Oscar's House]]", another dumpster is named the same thing in this game's "Streets".

!Spoilers for ''all'' ''Franchise/{{Halo}}'' games preceding this one will be left unmarked. Administrivia/YouHaveBeenWarned!

* LevelEditor: Forge is back, and massively expanded from before. New features include the ability to scale objects and customise their textures, the ability to set the color, intensity and light source of the skybox on top of the ability to create dynamic light sources, a robust scripting system for interactive objects and events, the ability to set both diegetic and ambient audio, and the ability to create nav meshes for bots. Six 'canvases' are available for building on: "Arid" (a desert on a Halo ring), "Ecliptic" (set in space), "Institute" (a grassy field), "Mires" (a swamp), "Seafloor" (a completely underwater map) and "Void" (set in a completely empty space with only a basic skybox).

* NostalgiaLevel: "Empyrean" is a remake of "The Pit" from ''VideoGame/Halo3'', now themed to take place on top of a city skyscraper.