Armors of Halo 5 Guardians: Which should/shouldn’t return in Halo Infinite. Part 1 of 4, Angular Armor

The goal of this series of articles is to try to pair the armors in Halo 5 down to roughly 50 returning in Halo Infinite. There are more than 90 sets of armor, presently.

I’ve been wanting to write these articles for awhile now. As we start to edge closer to more news about Halo Infinite, it’s time we discuss what armor (and helmets, in another series of articles I’ve written: part 1, part 2, part 3) will return. These are just my opinions folks. Do not take this as a direct line to 343.

Some armors have their place, some that might be considered for returning or not, some shouldn’t return for various reasons. That said, I do realize that real people put in work to make these. So I try to take a light approach with armors I’m not fond of.

I’ve split this subject into four articles. I’m not including the skinned versions of armors as skins can relatively easily be changed. This topic is more about the form and functionality of the armors themselves, than their skins.

Here are the categories I made up for this series of articles:

Angular Armor: Armors with sharp angles to them
Bulky Armor: Large armors that often make the Spartan look even more oversized
Character Armor: Armors worn by named characters in the Franchise
Standard and Thin Armor: Standard I deem as roughly humanoid, not too bulky or thin. Thin being those armor that are small on the Spartan in one way or another

Part 1 will cover “Angular” armors.

Each armor has been given my vote of RETURN (bring back in Halo Infinite), GONE (do NOT bring back in Halo Infinite), and UNSURE (though there are very few of these)

Okay, let’s get started.

While I love the helmet of the same name, the armor leaves something to be desired, to me. It looks a bit “power ranger” to me and doesn’t fit in Halo. The grind to get this armor is another one of those things that detracts from it too. GONE

While Anubis a bit angular in the chest, the rest of the armor is pretty solid. It definitely fits in Halo and looks good. RETURN

Breaker looks like it should be some kind of medieval space armor, IMO. There is a bit too much chest ornamentation here. Large protruding bands of metal on the shoulders and forearms make no sense. In combat they could be a real detriment as they could get snagged on something, causing the Spartan to go where they don’t intend and possibly leading to disaster. GONE

I don’t mind the shoulder armor. But for me, Cinder’s upward triangular chest looks very much out of place. Relatively no abdominal protection leaves the wearer vulnerable there too. GONE

Cypher shares it’s shoulder armor with a couple of other armors, so that’s redundant. The chest armor is a bit small and again, nearly no abdominal protection. GONE

The Freebooter armor could have also easily bene in the THIN category. It’s barely there. This just doesn’t speak “strength” to me. It is LITHE though. So I’m UNSURE about this one.

Helioskrill is a sore spot with many Halo players. It was supposed to be exclusive, then 343 came out with skins for it that you could get in REQ packs. Regardless, it’s a very unique armor, with a great lore story behind it. It has vibes of Hayabusa as well. This is a must RETURN, IMO.

Icarus had a glitch that came with it that 343 had to quickly fix as it gave players a small competitive edge. This armor is sleek, though does have some curious triangular shapes strewn about it. Still it mostly fits within Halo, so I’d say give it a chance to RETURN.

What is it with triangles? Mako suffers not just from those, but from hollowed out ones on the shoulders that look like they could just fall off. They look out of place in Halo and as such, the armor should be GONE for Halo Infinite.

The Reaper armor has some decent lines to it. Those sharp angled downward pointing shoulders look like they could do some real damage. The armor has some bulk to it, which I like. RETURN

Recluse is another that has some classic bulk to it. The chest harness is particularly nice. RETURN

Trying to look past the ridiculous base skin applied to Rogue, the armor just looks too much like other armors. As such, it’s redundant. Though, I do like the shoulder armor. So I’m UNSURE about this one.

This version of Security looks clunky and that’s not a good thing for a fast moving Spartan. It’s a bit boxy. That doesn’t at all fit with it’s very rounded helmet. GONE

Shinobi is one of those rare treats. It’s another that harkens back to Hayabusa. It has some decent bulk to it too. This is a definite RETURN for me!

Fairly classic chest harness, good coverage on the shoulders, forearms and legs. RETURN

Ah, I had such high hopes for an armor with the name of the emblem I’ve bene using in some form or another for a decade in Halo. Unfortunately, this armor just doesn’t live up to that. Flat-ish chest, too pointy shoulder are and a somewhat bland appearance over all do it in for me. GONE

Yes, I know this was in Halo 4. Yes, I know it’s supposed to be an homage to Forerunner design. No, I think it’s too angular and looks very much out of place in Halo. GONE.

A pronounced chest, given to look like a male human’s muscular chest works. Viper has just that! The shoulder armor is large and protective. I really hope this one RETURNs in Halo Infinite.

While I like the helmet of the same name, the chest of the armor is a bit too pointy for me. That much of the rest of the armor is rounded makes the chest look out of place. I think it’s time to retire this armor (not the helmet). GONE