- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
The Arbiter getting new armor wouldn't make any sense at all. One, we need a distinctive armor in order to make him feel "different" from the other elites. Half-Jaw has his...half jaw and green eyes, Arby has his creimonial duds.
Another reason is that the armor may still hold signifigance. Just because he was on Truth's and Tarturus' hit list does not mean that he is suddenly a Christian. He still probably holds to the old faith in the Forerunners as gods, and thinks what Truth has done has corrupted the faith by distorting the true use of the rings. Also, note that was have seen very little of the Covenant dogma. For all we know, the Great Journey could have been of very little importance until the discovery of the rings; the recovery of the artifact on Sigma Octanus being a side mission, in addition to the slaughtering of the humans. A parrellel is in Christianity; the fascination with Revalations and the Second Coming at such an intense scale is a relatively recent phenomona.
Also, honor and devotion seem to be very important parts of the Elite culture. Remember the hundreds of caskets lining the Mauseliem? All past Arbiters. To throw away the armor would be dishonorable to their memories, and would not be taken kindly to by the other surviving Elites.