- SpoonGuard
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- Exalted Heroic Member
Posted by: Sierra 1993DJC
Maybe the Sheild Worlds was a concept decided after the Rings were already made and thus having more advanced sentinels.
This is probably the the case.
SPOILERS: As Mathew mentioned, Halo: Cryptum describes the shield worlds as being an alternative concept to the Halo rings. The Didact had already constructed some before his exile but the overall strategy was never implemented en masse because of Forerunner political strife. It is likely that, once he was released and the Master Builder deposed, the Shield World strategy became a more prudent focus of the Forerunner battle plan.
The increased lethality of the of Onyx Sentinels was likely due to two reasons: 1000 extra years of weapons research and a shift in leadership philosophies. We know that the Ark began construction shortly after the Didact entered his cryptum and with it, the means to produce Halo rings. We also know that the rings are produced automatically as needed by the Ark's systems. With all Forerunners on the Ark being (presumably) Lifebuilders focused on indexing and collecting, it is very unlikely that anyone was concerned with the effectiveness of already-proven-adequate Sentinels. Furthermore, with the Master Builder decommissioned and the Prometheans thrust back into power, the warrior classes again had control over the Halo program. Why wouldn't they, a rate focused entirely on military might, want to ensure that their tools (Sentinels) were the very best for the job?
If Onyx is, in fact, a post-cryptum-opening shield world, it makes good sense that the Sentinals (and probably a variety of other technologies) are more advanced than those on Halo.
Posted by: PLUT0NIUM 235
another interesting question for you, Halo is described as a Fortress world right? how come they had no obvious armament or defences, surely a weapon of that magnitude should be able to defend itself, though the whole 'portal' deployment could be its defence, deploy - activate - disappear.
MORE CRYPTUM SPOILERS.
You can't think of Halo as a conventional battleship with tactical anti-air/ground weapons. The rings are not meant to fight on the front lines of battles. They act more in an interdiction capacity, destroying potential hosts for the Flood but not attacking the Flood itself. You are correct in stating that they have no real defenses. As seen near the end of Halo: Cryptum, the rings will automatically retreat if faced with the threat of direct attack.
That being said, they are not completely without offensive capabilities. The Didact alluded to the fact that the rings could be tuned or calibrated to specific areas of effect. The initial test firing took place at Charum Hakkor and only effected that and the adjacent planet. Charum Hakkor itself sustained substantial physical damage as a result of the attack. All of the Precursor ruins were shattered and the atmosphere itself was made nearly unbreathable. Of course, the final use of the rings was executed at a very wide blast radius with the intent of sterilizing the galaxy. However, under different circumstances, Halo could have continued to be used as an extremely effective offensive platform.
[Edited on 04.08.2011 5:12 AM PDT]