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Arbiter's Stage in Killer Instinct Pushes Game's Scripting "To the Limit"
Halo anti-hero character Arbiter is coming to Microsoft's fighting game Killer Instinct for its upcoming third season next month. This much was confirmed earlier this month. Now, as part of a blog post published Saturday, 343 Industries shared new details about the character's weapons, armor, stage, and more. Among other things, it is mentioned that Arbiter's stage pushes the game's scripting "to the limit." More details follow below.
First, his weapons and items. These include his trademark energy sword, as well as a Type-51 Carbine, and plasma grenades. Below is a full rundown of these, as written by 343.
Type-51 Carbine
Plasma Grenade
Energy Sword
Combat Evolved
343 went on to say that the team at Killer Instinct developer Iron Galaxy did an "incredible job" bringing Arbiter to life in the fighting game--not such a simple task.
"One of the most important aspects of making the Killer Instinct Arbiter 'feel' right is by ensuring his move-set and combat style make sense for a warrior of his caliber, his size, and his weapons," 343 said. "Special care was taken by all parties involved to make sure that everything from the Energy Sword swings and Carbine shots, to the Plasma Grenades and cloaked assaults, felt like you were controlling an Elite."
In terms of armor, Arbiter will by default wear his Kaidon armor, as seen in Halo 5: Guardians (above). This showcases a "classic Sangheili design," but players can also unlock new color combinations.
Other Arbiter armor includes:
Halo 2 Arbiter
Combat
Storm
Ranger
Commander
Zealot
Ascetic
Finally, 343 also showed off concept art for Arbiter's awesome-looking Killer Instinct stage, which was seen seen in a recent trailer. The stage is called Arena of Judgment and it is set near the ruins of Nuusra.
"In the distant past it was a place of discussion and debates on matters of Sangheili honor, hosting Kaidons and Arbiters competing in a battleground of ideas and philosophy. But time is cruel, and now this forum hosts a different kind of judgment," reads a line from the description.
The stage is dynamic, with the war between the Swords of Sanghelios and Covenant playing out in the background as you play your own match. According to 343's Kenneth Peters, the stage pushes Killer Instinct's scripting capabilities "to the limit."
"Pushing the scripting capabilities of Killer Instinct to the limit we see Elites fighting and dying, war engines spending their last energies, and fierce battles for aerial dominance that end in vanquished craft careering out-of-control," Peters explained.
Its color scheme, vehicles, and sound effects should feel familiar to Halo fans, Peters said. Additionally, 343 teased that this stage contains "more than a couple" Halo Easter eggs to be discovered.
Arbiter will be available as part of Killer Instinct's third season, which will kick off in March. The character was first teased in January, during the Killer Instinct World Cup at PAX South. Arbiter will be joined in Season 3 by Kim Wu, Rash from Battletoads, and another mystery character, believed to be Tusk.
343 teased that more details on Killer Instinct's Arbiter will be shared during the Halo World Championship finals during the weekend of March 18-20.
The new season will also bring with it numerous character tweaks and rebalances, as well as some visual improvements. Killer Instinct was first released in 2013 on Xbox One, and is scheduled to be released for PC this March. The PC version of the game will be exclusive to Windows 10.
For more on Killer Instinct, check out GameSpot's review.
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First, his weapons and items. These include his trademark energy sword, as well as a Type-51 Carbine, and plasma grenades. Below is a full rundown of these, as written by 343.Type-51 Carbine
- The Type-51 Carbine holds 18 rounds of radioactive ammo and fires three-shot bursts. Once the magazine has been emptied, gunshots are replaced by melee attacks.
Plasma Grenade
- Sticky anti-personnel plasma grenade that detonates after a three-second delay. Throwing distance can be changed by pressing Forward or Backwards. Grenade blast can harm both players. The Arbiter carries three grenades, replacement grenades are salvaged over time.
Energy Sword
- The Arbiter carries a master-crafted Covenant Energy Sword or Thel 'Vadam's personal blade--the vicious Prophets' Bane.
Combat Evolved
- Arbiter can tack on a Plasma Grenade or fire his Type-51 Carbine to deal additional damage after performing a Throw, Energy Sword strike, or any Ender.
343 went on to say that the team at Killer Instinct developer Iron Galaxy did an "incredible job" bringing Arbiter to life in the fighting game--not such a simple task.
"One of the most important aspects of making the Killer Instinct Arbiter 'feel' right is by ensuring his move-set and combat style make sense for a warrior of his caliber, his size, and his weapons," 343 said. "Special care was taken by all parties involved to make sure that everything from the Energy Sword swings and Carbine shots, to the Plasma Grenades and cloaked assaults, felt like you were controlling an Elite."
In terms of armor, Arbiter will by default wear his Kaidon armor, as seen in Halo 5: Guardians (above). This showcases a "classic Sangheili design," but players can also unlock new color combinations.Other Arbiter armor includes:
Halo 2 Arbiter
Combat
Storm
Ranger
Commander
Zealot
Ascetic
Finally, 343 also showed off concept art for Arbiter's awesome-looking Killer Instinct stage, which was seen seen in a recent trailer. The stage is called Arena of Judgment and it is set near the ruins of Nuusra."In the distant past it was a place of discussion and debates on matters of Sangheili honor, hosting Kaidons and Arbiters competing in a battleground of ideas and philosophy. But time is cruel, and now this forum hosts a different kind of judgment," reads a line from the description.
The stage is dynamic, with the war between the Swords of Sanghelios and Covenant playing out in the background as you play your own match. According to 343's Kenneth Peters, the stage pushes Killer Instinct's scripting capabilities "to the limit."
"Pushing the scripting capabilities of Killer Instinct to the limit we see Elites fighting and dying, war engines spending their last energies, and fierce battles for aerial dominance that end in vanquished craft careering out-of-control," Peters explained.
Its color scheme, vehicles, and sound effects should feel familiar to Halo fans, Peters said. Additionally, 343 teased that this stage contains "more than a couple" Halo Easter eggs to be discovered.
Arbiter will be available as part of Killer Instinct's third season, which will kick off in March. The character was first teased in January, during the Killer Instinct World Cup at PAX South. Arbiter will be joined in Season 3 by Kim Wu, Rash from Battletoads, and another mystery character, believed to be Tusk.
343 teased that more details on Killer Instinct's Arbiter will be shared during the Halo World Championship finals during the weekend of March 18-20.
The new season will also bring with it numerous character tweaks and rebalances, as well as some visual improvements. Killer Instinct was first released in 2013 on Xbox One, and is scheduled to be released for PC this March. The PC version of the game will be exclusive to Windows 10.
For more on Killer Instinct, check out GameSpot's review.
More...