Chronique:Canon Fodder - Zeta Testing

BY GRIMBROTHER ONE - 10/26/2021

ISSUE 120

So, what did you think?

Welcome back to Canon Fodder, your recurring regaling of story-centric Halo happenings. Last issue, we took a look at some of the new locations and sandbox elements encountered in last month’s multiplayer flights and celebrated seven years of this feature being on the air. Well, in print. Online, technically. Whatever, you get the picture.

Today, we’re here to celebrate a few more new events of interest to fiction-focused folks like yourself, and I couldn’t be more excited. Let’s go ahead and dive in, shall we?

Hope in World[modifier]

Chief among those aforementioned events was yesterday’s anticipated reveal of gameplay from the rapidly-approaching Halo Infinite campaign. If you haven’t seen it yet, first of all I’m impressed, second of all you can check it out for yourself right here (be warned, while there aren’t any specific story spoilers, if you want to go in completely dark, might be best to hold off):

Now, speaking of spoilers, since I’m not about to start providing any, we’re going to largely let the video contents speak for themselves. That being said, we’re stoked that you’ve finally got a bit more campaign goodness to dissect and discuss in the lead up to December. It’s the next chapter in the Master Chief’s epic adventure, and he’s got new friends and foes alike to try and make sense of while trying to unravel the recent events on Zeta Halo. Our beloved old Installation 07 has always been rife with intrigue and importance within the larger Halo narrative, but if you think you can’t teach an old ring new tricks, you might be in for a surprise or two.

The Banished have hold of the installation and are trying to make it their own, though to what end—and for what reason—remains unknown. One thing is certain: they aren’t going down without a fight. And speaking of unknowns, we also got our first look at the Harbinger. We don’t have a lot to say about this curious character at the moment, but I will give you this: They’re definitely not a Prelate.

We’re going to continue to have more to say about the campaign and its enigmatic narrative threads as the days march ever closer to its December 8 release. For now, keep replaying the new reveal video and sleep with dreams of careening headlong into a Banished outpost with a stolen Banshee, immediately freeing several captured UNSC Marines, giving them all your best weapons, piling them in a reclaimed Razorback, and laying waste to the crimson-covered bladed baddies standing in your way. It’s some of the most fun you can have this side of the Auditorium.

Oh, and make sure you take back every UNSC Forward Operating Base you can. Rumor has it they have stories to tell...

Divine Win[modifier]

But that’s not all! Last week, we also released the latest story addition to the Halo universe with Halo: Divine Wind, a new novel by Troy Denning that follows the Ferrets as they try and keep enemy factions (yes, plural) from enacting galaxy-damaging shenanigans on the Ark. If that plot initially feels a little familiar, we understand. This time however, events might just play out in ways you aren’t quite expecting.

If you haven’t checked it out yet, you can take a look at some spoiler-free previews from folks like Haruspis—if you’re more the reading type—or the Halo Canon or Sacred Icon YouTube channels—if you’re more the watching type. Or you know, both. Both is good.

We also found a fun interview with Troy Denning on the GameDev Breakdown YouTube channel that focuses less on the story itself and more on the writing and collaboration process. Check it out below:

You can pick up a copy of Halo: Divine Wind for yourself right here from your favorite retailer.

Enhanced Availability[modifier]

To help enhance your new novel experience even more, we thought we’d provide a little gift of sorts. If you remember, last year’s release of Halo: Shadows of Reach included a short story titled “Sacrifice” that was exclusive to Wal-Mart purchasers. Seeing as how it also works as a pretty perfect companion piece to Halo: Divine Wind with its connections to the Ark and other relevant reasons, we’re excited to make it available to all in downloadable PDF form right here:

Halo: Sacrifice (Download PDF)

Hope you enjoy! Plus, other publishing partners wanted to get on the action as well, and since we had so much awesome art already overflowing beyond the binding of the upcoming Halo Encyclopedia, our friends at Dark Horse were kind enough to let us share this awesome piece by Stanton Feng to celebrate the events of Halo: Divine Wind. Meet Krelis, one of the Jiralhanae members of the Keepers of the One Freedom.

Holyday Trimmings[modifier]

Before we go, I wanted to mention a few housekeeping details recently discussed in the Waypoint vNext FAQ blog by the illustrious Andy Salisbury. Specific to the interest of the Fodder faithful is the note regarding changes to the Universe section and the current article archive. Here is it straight from the KP’s dialogue digits:

Will there be any other notable parts of Waypoint that will change?

KP: The Universe section is something of a relic of a prior age of Waypoint, standing now only as a monument to Grim’s sins. Less dramatically, this content was central to previous video efforts and we have not maintained it as stand-alone web content. We also know the community has stepped in to fill this role, in greater detail and with more freedom for intrigue. Check out our friends at Halopedia], for example.

So in short, the "Universe" section is being sunset and only select back issues of Canon Fodder will be carried forward onto the new platform. Now, while some might see this as a bit of a bummer, it’s also an opportunity to check out some of the incredible community resources curated by passionate and dedicated lore fans just like you. As KP mentions above, Halopedia is a great example—in fact, they’ve gone so far as to create a pretty amazing archive of Halo Waypoint content that currently includes content up to May of 2021:

Plus, with Waypoint’s growth comes the opportunity to explore new fiction-focused avenues in the future. As this new era continues to unfold, we’ll be eager to find new ways to showcase your favorite corners of the Halo universe. Plus, we do have a pretty incredible official encyclopedia on the horizon… Oh did I mention that already? Sorry, I'm excited about it.

And that will do it for today! But don’t worry, I don’t think we’ll be gone too long. Have an awesome week!

Until next time… Live well, play Halo, and seriously, just give all your Marines power weapons and pile them in a Razorback. It’s the best.

<3 Grim

Source[modifier]

• Halo Waypoint: Canon Fodder - Zeta Testing