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  • Subject: Technology Tier's Decreasing?
Subject: Technology Tier's Decreasing?

Epic Pic

Sup everyone, I'm Josh~ I'm co-founder of Epic Pic, which used to be one of the largest and most successful screenshot group on Bungie.net.

I guess I'm confused with the canon of the Halo universe at the moment.

Before the forerunner there was the Persecuers? Ah, I cant spell.
Now.. They were an older race with the highest Tier of technology and then eventually collapsed.

The forerunner wanted to be like the ones before them and were a Tier lower than them in technology?..

Then after the Forerunner were wiped out the Covenant started using Forerunner technology on their lower Tier of technology?

Not sure if I explained that right at all.

TL;DR:
The older the civilization the higher technology, and after civilization collapse a lower Tier/Newer civilization's technology takes its place?

[Edited on 06.23.2011 1:16 AM PDT]

  • 06.23.2011 1:15 AM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."

Precursors were Tier 0
Forerunners/Ancient Humans were Tier 1
*Halo array is activated, killing all sentient life, with every species being returned to a primitive state*
Halo Trilogy Humanity is Tier 3
Covenant is Tier 2.

  • 06.23.2011 1:19 AM PDT

Shouldn't that be Covenant is Tier 3 and Humanity is Tier 2

I would of thought the lack of plasma based weapons and such would put the humans on a lower Tier.

  • 06.23.2011 3:18 AM PDT

"I may not be perfect, but always been true."


Posted by: Chewbacca warrr
Shouldn't that be Covenant is Tier 3 and Humanity is Tier 2

I would of thought the lack of plasma based weapons and such would put the humans on a lower Tier.


The lower Tier, the better the technology is. Humans were Tier 4 until the late 21st century according to canon.

Both Elites and Prophets were already in Tier 3 at least before the formation of the Covenant, seeing how they had access to spaceships and interstellar travel, the only thing that prevented them from reaching Tier 1 was the fact that they didn't innovated, rather imitated.

Due to the lack of advanced technology in humanity's side, we are stuck in Tier 3 by the Halo trilogy, let's face it, we use primitive weapons in the Halo universe (humans only) one would think that we'd use energy instead of ballistics 500 years into the future.

  • 06.23.2011 3:25 AM PDT

not sure what the fascination with energy weapons are, bullets work, its as simple as that. simple, effective and ease of use/manufacture makes them perfect weapons, in the time-frame of Halo would guess propellants have improved giving greater muzzle velocities, bullet design would have improved to increase lethality and bullet materials changed to improve penetration power. so what is more effective, a complicated, dangerous plasma weapon or a weapon that uses stored chemical energy to propel a projectile at high velocities, also kinetic weapons are energy weapons, nobody can argue with kinetic energy.

  • 06.23.2011 7:00 AM PDT


Posted by: PLUT0NIUM 235
not sure what the fascination with energy weapons are, bullets work, its as simple as that. simple, effective and ease of use/manufacture makes them perfect weapons, in the time-frame of Halo would guess propellants have improved giving greater muzzle velocities, bullet design would have improved to increase lethality and bullet materials changed to improve penetration power. so what is more effective, a complicated, dangerous plasma weapon or a weapon that uses stored chemical energy to propel a projectile at high velocities, also kinetic weapons are energy weapons, nobody can argue with kinetic energy.


You neglected to note the fact that, without the very recent advancement of personal energy shielding, plasma technology according to cannon would decimate any individual in standard UNSC body armor (as well as Mjolnir, for that matter). Plasma weaponry bypasses the standard 'stop the kinetic attack before it hits you' tactic because it simply melts/disintegrates whatever armor an individual would have before passing into the wearer anyway.

That is the fascination with energy-based weapons. They negate the defense of armor which, to date, has been the only effective protection (again barring energy shields) from kinetic-based weapons.

[Edited on 06.23.2011 8:00 AM PDT]

  • 06.23.2011 8:00 AM PDT

but Plasma can be negated through Ablation, in a quite effective manner, doesn't just burn through armour, because by 'vaporising' a segment of armour the Plasma is bleeding energy, this is how ablation works. where Plasma can be somewhat countered using Ablation there isn't a great deal one can do against something with vast amounts of kinetic energy, so going to say they both have their advantages but I would personally keep projectile weapons over the 'unpredictable' and dangerous Plasma weapons.

plus Plasma has another quite obvious flaw, it looses energy rather quickly with range, so at long ranges its not likely that a Plasma weapon will be effective however a high velocity projectile weapon retains most of its kinetic energy over that range. so still failing to see the fascination with 'energy' weapons, technology isn't always the winning factor. which is better? Covenant Plasma Rifle or an assault rifle firing explosive armour piercing ammunition for example?

  • 06.23.2011 9:41 AM PDT

officially the plasma rifle is better they just toned it down for gameplay and balance reasons

  • 06.23.2011 9:53 AM PDT

How it works is that the precursers were a very high tier technologically and when they fell the newer less developed forerunners started basing their technology on the precursers.

The covanant was much much newer and less developed and they started basing their tech on the forerunner tech, the tech level is decrecing becouse the mantle worn by older, more advanced civilizations is being filled with younger less developed ones.

  • 06.23.2011 10:32 AM PDT