Specialize your Spartan.
As you compete in Halo 4′s multiplayer “War Games” you’ll be earning experience and gaining levels, but what happens when you hit the max level of 50? You specialize, of course.
Once you max out your Spartan at level 50, 343 Industries has more in store for you. Each player will then choose a ‘Specialization’, which will give you a bonus armor ability and set you on a new progression path. You have a choice between a number of Specializations at level 50, but once you choose one you’re locked in to it until you finish. Each Specialization will consist of ten levels, and when you’re done you can choose another. The available Halo 4 Specializations, as 343i describe them, are as follows:
Wetwork Specialization: This will get you the Stealth Armor Mod. “The Stealth armor mod – which has very sharp shapes and angles, reminiscent of a knife or blade – does a number of things to help a player that likes to get up close and personal. It adds sound dampening when sprinting, animations are performed faster (to minimize the time you’re vulnerable), and it has a minor effect on Promethean Vision. Typically, when Promethean Vision is activated, people appear red. When you use Stealth, though, only your outline appears red. Many times when someone is using Promethean Vision, they scan quickly so if there’s a lot going on, they may miss you. Or you can hope, anyway.”
Pioneer Specialization: This will get you the Fast Track Armor Mod. “The Fast Track armor mod features armor that has wiring which runs throughout the armor to control temperatures in extreme conditions. Gameplay-wise, it gives the player more post-game experience. In-game, if you get 10 points per kill, you don’t get more at that exact moment, but after the game it modifies the amount of experience your Spartan earns to increase the speed at which you rank up. It’s not for everybody because it takes up a primary spot (that could be used for something like carrying an extra grenade or sprinting longer). And, in case you were wondering, you can’t change to it at the end of a game and get more experience for the entire match. Yes, we’re on to you…”
Engineer Specialization: This will get you the Drop Recon Armor Mod. “The Drop Recon armor mod – the helmet of which has four socket connections for add-ons, depending on the task – lets you know that Infinity Ordnance is coming and what the Infinity Ordnance is. You see the waypoint and type of weapon that is coming down prior to the weapon entering the game (the specific time is still being fine-tuned). Organized teams will find this armor mod useful because, with communication, there is the likelihood you can beat everybody to the weapon spawns your team finds most desirable.”
Tracker Specialization: This will get you the Requisition Armor Mod. “The Requisition armor mod – the helmet of which has a scanning device on the front of the visor – allows you to choose a new set of personal ordnance when personal ordnance is granted. When the menu for a personal ordnance appears on your screen, hitting left, down, or right on the D-pad selects the relevant option. When you have Requisition and hit “up”, you receive a new random selection of choices. This armor mod doesn’t have knowledge of what ordnance had previously, so while you’re not guaranteed better choices, you’re more likely to get the weapon you’re good with or your favorite power-up, if you didn’t get it the first time around.”
Rogue Specializaton: This will get you the Stability Armor Mod. “The Stability armor mod – which features several sharp fin elements and sharp angles – makes you flinch less when you’re zoomed in and getting hit. It will be valuable to players that prefer using precision weapons and often find themselves engaged in long-range battles. If two similarly skilled players, both with DMRs and using scopes go head-to-head, the person using Stability has a small advantage. Skill and steady hands will still win the day but Stability allows you to keep your aim on target when facing multiple bullet strikes. Similarly, the player with DMR and Stability will have a larger advantage over a player with AR at long range. But (and yes, there’s always a “but”) the player they’re fighting may have made a choice for a different mod in that slot, which may come into play with an additional grenade or something else. Victory is never guaranteed…”
Stalker Specialization: This will get you the Nemesis Armor Mod. “Nemesis armor – which features lines that are both strong and stealthy – gives you an icon on your HUD of the last person that killed you. While some people utilize it to get revenge, others use it to avoid that person (for obvious reasons). It’s also useful when playing defense for seeing where an offensive player is going. On maps with limited visibility, Nemesis can provide a short window of intelligence in the movement of enemy players or teams, allowing a respawning team to react and steal a match. In play testing, we’ve seen players trusting the extra information implicitly and falling for feints or being target fixated with the extra information and being lured into unfavorable situations. As with everything in Halo, this upgrade allows you to tailor your play to your style but remember that the enemy team is aware of the ability and will be countering and often using it or another option to tip the scales back in their favor.”
Pathfinder Specialization: This will get you the Gunner Armor Mod. “The Gunner armor mod – which was designed to explore alien worlds – has two major functions: One, when you’re on a mounted anti-infantry gun (Warthog and the secondaries of Wraith, Scorpion, etc.), the guns overheat less quickly, allowing you to fire longer at the maximum rate of fire. And two, when you pull the gun off an emplaced mount, you move faster, allowing you to use those guns more effectively offensively instead of just defensively. You still won’t be able to use Armor Abilities or Sprint, but you can move faster, bringing some heavy firepower to any offensive attack.”
Operator Specialization: This will get you the Wheelman Armor Mod. “Wheelman armor – which features cylinder packs that could be preplaced with more oxygen or cooling material depending on the mission – makes you suffer the negative effects of an overcharged Plasma Pistol burst for less than the normal time. Vehicles you drive are also more durable over a longer period of time. You can still get hijacked, but the window for that is smaller.”
