Why is the covenant hostile in halo 4

The Covenant, fighting a war of extermination, did not need to commit to full ground invasions except in special circumstances; their ships simply needed to destroy space-borne defenses and any other threats around the planet.

They would then reduce the planet's surface to glass with orbital plasma bombardment. The few major victories achieved by the UNSC were usually due to tactical genius, extensive use of nuclear weapons, the rapid deployment of Spartan teams, or decisive ground engagements where UNSC technology and skill outmatched Covenant tactics.

At the outset of the war, the UNSC employed a defence in depth tactical doctrine, making extensive use of automated turrets to delay Covenant forces. After just six years of combat, space battles with the Covenant had depleted the UNSC's nuclear stockpile to almost nothing in some sectors of space.

Despite this, the UNSC kept the war secret to the public in the first few months of engagement. The Spartans became one of humanity's greatest — and most celebrated — defenders, demonstrating a remarkable ability to turn the tide of battle. Their prowess was not lost on the Covenant, who came to fear the Spartans as " demons ". Despite their major numerical and technological advantages over humanity, by , the Covenant High Prophets had realized that the task of destroying an entire sapient species had a logistical burden beyond anything that the Covenant military could muster without leaving Covenant space defenseless.

Seeking a more efficient solution, the Prophet of Regret dispatched an Arbiter to Harvest to claim a Forerunner artifact buried under the north pole of Harvest. The battle was a victory, despite major casualties.

After a heated fight on the surface, the UNSC forces were able to examine the artifact, a star map, and realized the information within had led the Covenant to another human colony: Arcadia.

As predicted, the Covenant followed the information from the artifact to Arcadia. The Covenant hoped that the planet would contain more Forerunner artifacts for them to claim, and while they only found a complex of ruins , information garnered from them led them to a Shield World. The Spirit of Fire followed and removed the Covenant presence from the planet.

However, 'Moramee's capture of an important civilian researcher forced Captain Cutter to pursue the Covenant to the newly discovered Shield World without reinforcements.

On the Shield World, the crew of the Spirit of Fire eventually discovered that the Covenant needed Professor Anders to activate the Apex and claim the huge fleet of Forerunner dreadnoughts held there.

However, there were never enough Spartans to decisively turn the tide of the war in favor of humanity. The brainchild of Colonel James Ackerson , these Spartans would be trained with a greater emphasis on stealth and teamwork, and would be sent on missions against high-priority targets that would be impossible even for elite units.

With the majority of the Outer Colonies glassed or abandoned, the UNSC faced an economic crisis, as many of their agriculture worlds had been destroyed, leading to food shortages. On Charybdis IX , food riots were common. This was to culminate in the discovery of Insurrectionists using Covenant weapons supplied by apparently renegade Kig-Yar. Shocked, the UNSC viewed this as a major threat to security. They managed to rescue a million civilians from behind enemy lines and escorted them to Falaknuma.

Through this, the Covenant found two more worlds to attack. For fifteen years, the war ground on in a predictable pattern; costly victories on the ground for UNSC forces, with near total Covenant space superiority.

Halsey further proved the Covenant Empire was overwhelmingly powerful, but not invincible. Of the few major wins in the 's for the UNSC, and one of the most significant and strategically advantageous was the Battle of Psi Serpentis in This engagement became colloquially known as Admiral Cole's last stand due to the presumed death of Admiral Preston J.

In addition to the alleged death of Cole, over Covenant vessels, two fleets worth, were completely vaporized when UNSC nuclear missiles detonated inside the atmosphere of Viperidae , a supermassive gas giant. This detonation spurred spontaneous fusion at the core of Viperidae, temporarily turning the super gas giant into a brown dwarf star.

At first, the Sangheili had followed the Prophets command to destroy the humans without question. But after more than twenty five years of war, humanity's continued and fierce resistance in the face of certain death had deeply impressed the martial Sangheili.

At the same time, the Jiralhanae , the one race which could challenge the Sangheili's dominance of the Covenant military, were rapidly earning favor with the Prophets, as they were less inclined to question orders.

Towards the end of the war in , the Office of Naval Intelligence was resigned to the fact that humanity may only have months left before the Covenant destroyed the remaining Inner Colonies and moved against Earth. The last year of the war saw humanity's largest defeat since the war's beginning, but also saw several of their greatest victories, coupled with the destruction of the Covenant as a galactic power. On Sigma Octanus IV , the Covenant were defeated , though at the cost of not only heavy UNSC casualties but also the Covenant attaching a spy probe to the destroyer Iroquois leading the Covenant to Reach, which they attacked a few days later.

The Fall of Reach and Tribute that followed resulted in staggering losses for both sides, but in the end the Covenant claimed a costly victory. The destination as described by Cortana was calculated with symbols from the Sigma Octanus IV artifact, coordinates to the Forerunner ring world of Halo. The Pillar of Autumn rushed to its destination, pursued by a dozen Covenant warships.

The Covenant suffered a costly defeat on and around Installation Here, the human survivors from the Halcyon -class cruiser , the Pillar of Autumn , managed to form an effective and surprising resistance to the Covenant. Unwilling to risk damaging the sacred ring , the Covenant was forced to fight the humans on Halo's surface rather than using their usual bombardment tactics.

The Flood, having been imprisoned within Halo for many thousands of years, instinctively spread quickly throughout the ring, killing or assimilating every unsuspecting human and Covenant in their path and would become a third party in the war.

Improve this question. Shevliaskovic Guillelon Guillelon 4 4 gold badges 9 9 silver badges 18 18 bronze badges. The Brutes and their allies killed all the Elites when they defected from the Covenant. Add a comment. Active Oldest Votes. Improve this answer.

I just set the wrong birth date and now I can't whatch it. It takes place directly after the fifth of 15 level of Halo 2. The name of the game, Halo 3: ODST , is somewhat of a misnomer, but it uses Halo 3 's game engine and its ending ties into the events of Halo 3. From Halo: Glasslands : The Arbiter made sense. EldritchWarlord EldritchWarlord 1, 7 7 silver badges 11 11 bronze badges. Bob Mcjiggers Bob Mcjiggers 11 1 1 bronze badge. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google.

Sign up using Facebook. Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Elites hold names in very high regard looking at them as a badge of honour of sorts. The first part of the Elite name is given at birth, it often translates to something along the lines of fast, or deadly or some other form of physical or Combat prowess.

The second part of an Elite name is their family name, an Example is the Vadam lineage Each lineage has it's own state on the Elite home world Sangheilios, and each Elite from that state adopts that name of their state lineage.

The third part is the double E suffix at the end of their name "-ee-" this signifies service in the Covenant military, after the split from the Covenant, the Elites swore off this part of their names, an example being the current Arbiter, once known as Thel 'Vadamee, now know as Thel 'Vadam. The rank of an Elites is determined by kills inflicted; some higher ranking elites many have killed thousands to get to their current station. These ranks include:. Note these are the ranks encountered in the games there are more that are not seen in the games.

This edit will also create new pages on Giant Bomb for:. Until you earn points all your submissions need to be vetted by other Giant Bomb users. This process takes no more than a few hours and we'll send you an email once approved. Characteristics The Arbiter Thel 'Vadam On average, Elites are about 8'6" tall standing at full height though the overwhelming majority of the time they are hunched over and are much stronger than an average human.

Sangheili Culture Elites are an Aristocratic race, putting family accomplishments, wealth, and success above almost anything else, honour is above all to an Elite, and because of this Elites are extremely disciplined and regimented, their society insures that only the strongest survive.

Sangheili Naming structure Elites hold names in very high regard looking at them as a badge of honour of sorts. Rank The rank of an Elites is determined by kills inflicted; some higher ranking elites many have killed thousands to get to their current station. General Gold Commanding groups of ground forces, carry heavy weapons, and energy swords, very deadly. Never miss a thing.

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