The Evolution of Halo - The Marines 

The Evolution of the Marines is finally here!! What's your favorite marine and why? Thanks for watching! Special thanks to my man @vengeful_vadam for the H5 marine clips :) For some reason the section with Halo 3's marine pilots and ODSTs didn't render. I have no clue why. Sorry about that :/

Despite them killing me with rockets, grenades, and running me over I still try to keep them safe for some reason idk

“You gotta a sandwich in there?” -Female Reach Marine

Pretty certain that, having the Marines in Halo Reach being weaker, was on purpose as the Player is supposed to constantly feel like they fight a Battle they can - ultimately - not win.

I've noticed an interesting mechanic with the Halo CE marines that was pointed out by another RU-vidr (it might have been hiddenXperia or installation 00), but their morale is affected by how hard the master chief fights. If you and the squad of Marines is kicking ass they will be more aggressive and confident, and throw grenades etc but if everything is going to shit and marines are dying, and chief is hiding with his shields down they will get demoralized and run away and generally be less effective in combat

When you first saw "The Evolution of Halo - The Marines" were you blinded by its majesty? "Yes."

The Reach Army design is just so fucking pleasing to look at. It might by the most realistic interpretation of futuristic human military I’ve seen.

No kidding about the H2 marines being baller. True story: I've twice played Gravemind solo on legendary. On both times, I took very good care of my marines, keeping them alive until the end. One time I got them all beam rifles, another time I got them all brute plasma rifles. The sheer firepower we had was so great that it just wasn't fair for the enemy. I also beat Regret on legendary solo thanks to the marines helping out with snipers and rockets.

Interestingly in Halo 5 there is one marine in the campaign. On the final mission towards the end, there is a cliff off to the side with a crashed pelican. And a dead marine. Literally the only marine in the whole campaign.

I’ve always wanted a Star Wars: Battlefront type Halo game with all variations of the marines present. Something about being a generic nobody in a large battle always appealed to me.

A few extra facts about Marines Halo 4 Marines have one of the most powerful melee attacks in all of the Halo games, with the base damage (I think) being 147 Halo 5 Settlers actually DO attack you, but you have to kill 5-6 in rapid succession On the warzone map Apex 7, if any Marines are able to survive the initial beach assault, they will actually get in vehicles a player is driving/riding Halo 5 Marines with battle rifles actually shoot 1 bullet in 4 bursts instead of 3 bullets The only reasons Marines in most of the series have such low firing distances is because AI holding UNSC weapons actually have a shorter firing distance than non UNSC weapons, it has nothing to do with bipeds Halo 4, Halo CE, Halo 5, and Halo 2 ODST's are the only Marines to be instant killed with a headshot regardless if they're wearing a helmet or not Halo 3 ODST Marines and NMPD officer's are scripted to be killed in one shot with any weapon in certain parts of the campaign Halo 2 AI (Such as Marines) cannot use sniper rifles without crouching If a marine does not have a weapon currently in their hands, and they board the passenger seat of a warthog, they'll stand straight up in the seat as if they were standing normally Marines in every game that includes the Spartan Lazer are wildly inaccurate, because it acts like an assault rifle with a longer burst and a higher firing distance. ODST's that are infected by the flood in Halo 3 turn into regular marine combat forms Like most AI in Halo 3, when one marine throws a grenade, there's a small chance that most of the Marines next to them will also throw grenades In Halo Reach, Halo 3, and Halo ODST when you betray your allies, the only allies that can instantly kill you are the 'hero' units, such as Noble team, Arbiter, Johnson, or any of the ODST's from Alpha Nine I'll edit this if I ever think of any more.

fun fact: the supposed "downgrade" in armor and appearance from CE onwards is actually based on lore that most people dont know or dont think about behind the scenes. In Combat Evolved the player starts onboard the Pillar Of Autumn, a Cruiser Class UNSC ship that has fled from the battle of Reach, however the latter is not explained well in game. The Marines encountered in Combat Evolved come mainly in two types, heavily armored or light fatigues, the light fatigued marines are suggested (in the lore) to be marine ground forces survivors that escaped Reach on the ship, the Heavily armored Marines however are a completely different story. UNSC ships are considered to be MASSIVE especially the Pillar Of Autumn as a Cruiser Class, while ships of such scale need very large crews to operate and maintain they also have two other components, defensive troops and offensive troops, the Pillar Of Autumn had a very large contingent of Counter-Boarding troops as standard crew during Combat Evolved, while the ship either did not have time or manpower to get to full capacity hence there being no standard ground forces on the ship, the vast majority of Marines we encounter are Counter-Boarding Marines, hence two things, the incredible MA5B and their super heavy if not super bulky Armor plating they wear. The MA5B has always been referred to as "the hose" and for good reason, because it is and its meant to be, the MA5B Assault Rifle is not meant to be accurate, it is meant to put vast amounts of fire down range in tight spaces at a very rapid rate, hence it being the main rifle used in game, it was standard equipment for Counter-Boarding troops, lastly the armor plating they wore, it is stated in the lore that it is Titanium-A armor plating, the very same armor used on the ships hull itself, the reason being that even tho the armor is very heavy and bulky to wear it is not expected for Counter-Boarding troops to go very far or fight for very long, the armor is meant to be as protective as possible in tight spaces and intense fighting. in the lore a normal human in combat armor can maybe take one hit or maybe even two if they are LUCKY from a plasma weapon and survive, however Counter-Boarding Troops with their Titanium-A armor can take a few hits before the plasma melts through the armor. So TLDR, in Combat Evolved you are fighting alongside the ships garrison meant for Counter-Boarding, every other game you are fighting alongside normal ground pounders in standard equipment. (and ignore the CE Anniversary Marines as that is literal cut and paste crap they did and were completely lazy there)

one thing that i think reach did quite well with army troopers and marines- they caught the balance of feeling fairly competent while also portraying the hopeless feel of reach, and just how overwhelmed humanity was.

2:02 that's what's called a "Boonie hat" in the military, and is different than a fisherman's hat. They are made with ripstop material and were very common in the Vietnam conflict

Oh hey, I was really hoping you'd make a marine evolution

Can we just please acknowledge that in the opening cutscene of Halo Wars, a marine, not a Spartan, not a super soldier, just an ordinary man, literally beat an 8 foot tall Elite to the ground with his bare hands/rifle? I'd love to see the marines portrayed as the tough, capable soldiers they are in future. Also great video.

A few things to point out: -Halo 2 marines don't have twice as much HP as CE marines. Halo CE marines just have 50 armor and 50 health. After 8 seconds of taking no damage their armor will regenerate. It works more or less like energy shields except armor doesn't prevent stagger. -Halo 2 marines also have awful AI when handling explosives. You can see this for yourself on the level Delta Halo when you clear the beginning area and the phantoms start coming. If you arm an ODST with a rocket launcher they'll consistently blow themselves up. -Halo Reach marines do **not** oneshot you when you betray them, Kat does. This is similar to how in Halo 3 the arbiter or Johnson can oneshot you upon betraying regardless of weapon. -Halo reach marines suffer a huge debuff when given power weapons. Guns that would take out elite shields in one hit from the player cannot do so in the hands of marines, and their firing patterns are absurdly slow with them.

The marines are such an important aspect of halo that was completely lacking in halo 4 and 5. I hope they return with a vengeance to kick ass in infinite. Excellent video!

4:25 I never knew CE marine armor could deflect bullets and even kill you, amazing!

Video: "Halo 1 has the most gut-wrenching scream ever" Me: "Hm Nostalgic"

I remember this one time when I was play “The Covenant” in Halo 3 when you first go into the complex for the first pylon. As I entered with a full squad of marines and 3 ODSTs, I witnessed a marine go down in the tunnel leading to the first room. I don’t know why or how this came about, but as the first marine fell I felt an overwhelming need to avenge him. I swapped my secondary for his Assault rifle and I rushed those covie bastards and avenged him using the rifle I took from his cold, lifeless body. Out of a sense of respect for this marine NPC, whose death in any other game wouldn’t have made me blink an eye, I carried his rifle through the rest of the level. At the time, I just wanted to ensure that even though he couldn’t continue his fight, I would take up the fight for him, and ensure that his sacrifice was honored and that his spirit would know that his death wasn’t in vain.

"Do I look like an ammo bank to you?" - Sergeant Stacker, Halo: Reach's Firefight

I love the Halo 3 Marines best. Their armour looks to be manufactured off a assembly-line in quick session, it looks modulated for easy use to put on & off in quick session. Struck by a plasma bolt? No problem, unbuckle & replace it with a new piece from the logistic cargo boxes.

8:10 Fun fact, that's the Purple Heart medal. Awarded to those injured in combat.

I've liked Marines in both Halo 2 and Halo 3 especially how detailed they were back in the Bungie Era Don't forget Halo Wars and Halo Reach Marines were badass especially how detailed they were

Just a heads up, there's a bit around 13:30-14:00 during the Halo 3 section where the screen is just black. Otherwise great video as always! *Edit: Looks like you're already aware of it, never mind me then lol.

I’m surprised you didn’t mention the Halo Wars 2 marines given you mentioned Halo Wars 1 or how H2A Marine armor is nearly identical to their armor in Halo Wars 1

I just want to say this, 8:16 the halo 2 ODST's are my absolute favorite marine type in the series. Their design just intrigues me so much and I just love everything about it.

Playing the games on legendary gave a more somber and lonely tone to me because I would see them fighting along side me only for all of them to die. It really puts in perspective of how important the master chief is to win the war. Except halo 2, those marines live much longer than the player

I really, really hope the marines in infinite get lots of attention. They have better get the best AI out of any halo marine, or else they’re gonna be really annoying to play with. I’m so hyped for infinite, I just really hope that the marines are done justice finally.

Seriously disappointed by the marines in reach. despite the squad mechanic they would often stop following you for little to no reason. The most upsetting however would be when they would drop off up to 12 marines only to have you abandon them before a fight can happen.

2:54 I absolutely love how every single marine feels unique in some way, like the shotgun guy here, sometimes there are marines that look casual as hell with their bandana and shotgun haha

With the release of Halo: Infinite's campaign, marines are back with even more personality than ever! Look forward to the possibility of seeing an extra vid covering them.

Great video, just wanted to clarify one point. The H2A marines are actually not a brand new design. They are actually the same design used for Halo Wars, just painted green and with tactical pouches. The best way to see this is by comparing the chest armor for both. When Blur was working on the CGI cutscenes for H2A, they decided to re-use their marine design from Halo Wars 1. Most or all of the “new” models in H2A are actually Blur models. I’m assuming they did this so their would be consistency between them in-game and the CGI, and so that Saber wouldn’t have to spend time creating new models.

The Marines are the real heroes, they fight without enhancements and without special armor, and they still have the courage to continue to fight the Covenant.

Glad to see this series return, hoping for a Flood Evolution soon, Halo CE marines are my favorite design, really rust bucket and hastily scrapped together but effective looking armor

It’s good to see the Halo Wars marines getting the recognition they deserve.

I love how diverse the marines are It really gives that feel of humanity coming together to fight the covenant I wish we had more of this kind of apocalypse, without the "humans are the real monster" bullshit But a more positive and united humanity against an common enemy

landing on a giant hula hoop of death almost makes you wish for a glassing.

I was playing the anniversary version of two with my one friend who's in the army himself. We got to the part where the first scarab crawls over you, while the scene played out I was looking at the marine sargent and was shocked to see that he looked exactly like my friend.

23:50 I think the fact that they're weaker is one of their best aspects. It fits the tone of the game incredibly well.

As a marine of the UNSC,I figure I’m obligated to view this video

The phony tough and the crazy brave. I salute all UNSC Marines. Especially those killed by flipping Warthogs.

The ODSTs in Halo 3 have a much longer range than the standard marines. If you can keep them alive to get them to the first vehicle section of The Ark, the distance they fire from trivialises it even on Legendary.

Honestly the art design of the UNSC in all Halo games has been my favorite across many sci-fi series. I just love the mixture of rugged utilitarian and futuristic.

When you’re a ranger and this man straight up says “RANGERS LEAD THE WAY” def. Appreciated

Yes! You're back! One of the best quality up-and-coming Halo RU-vidrs.

Im sure there are others who know this as well, I hope..but in Halo 3, on the level “the ark” you are teamed with a few ODST. Midway through the level you reach a spot where a mongoose and other vehicles and are available. Kill the covenant around the crashed pelican, equip the rocket launcher, then immediately trade it with the ODST with the RED arm band/insignia and grab a mongoose and let him hop on the back. He will not miss any of his shots. The ODST with white arm band/insignia will have somewhat of a 1 out of 3 kill shot. I thought this was pretty cool and figured I’d share my experience. Try it!

The Halo 1 marines are the best aesthetic wise for me. I've always been a fan of the green eye piece. & The retro 80's look as you mentioned is just absolutely brilliant.

"Oh I know what the subscribers like" EBR

This video is great! I really love the effort you put into checking the details in both design and behavior for the Marines. It's clear that you put a lot of effort into this video.

I absolutely love this video. So much depth and research went into it and it shows. I also think it was cool that you mentioned the halo wars and anniversary marines as well

I would be comfortable saying that reach troopers are more effective than CE marines. Because you can switch weapons with them and CE marines mostly fire like 3 round bursts from assault rifles.

I'm pretty confident you can actually make marines drive a warthog with you in H5 warzone by repeatedly bumping into them. They're even pretty skilled at the turret

I still remember my first halo 2 heroic solo killing the prophet two marines saved my life multiple times and in the end survived till i killed the prophet. I still feel grief they saved me so many times but in the end i couldn't save them. God speed marines ill never forget the two of you.

"We got to get the hell outta here." Halo 2/ wars 2 are my Bois.

The legend has returned, take as much time as you need to make top tier content.

When I was a kid I would spend so much time in making sure the Marines did not died. I would even revert back to checkpoint if one died! Halo CE’s marines are nostalgic!

What was lost in translation among the later entries to Halo was the Marines served a very important purpose to the world building. With the marines around you weren’t just some guy with guns you were THE guy with the guns. They were arguably the most important side characters to the base games

I love how you take your time to make the best halo content, quality >> quantity!!

The Marines have always been one of my favourite parts of Halo, I loved their quirky dialogue and would always try to keep them alive. Thanks for doing this video on them! Also nice work on quoting the Halo 1 manual in your opening paragraph haha

Great video man! I was waiting for this

After all these years, i never knew you could have the troopers in Reach join your group. I always tried keeping them alive as long as possible

26:39 I swear I thought the OG ODSTs had a combat knife too it just blended in really well.

22:21 the reason why you were one shot was because of Kat not the troopers

Very good video. I like how informative yet chill it was. Nice to relax to. I’ll be watching more!

I love that the troopers on Reach are Army Soldiers. I always felt left out of the Halo series because the Army wasn’t represented. But Navy, Air Force, and Marines are

Well that’s a nice birthday present! A Halo video from EBR! :D

The halo wars marines are my favorite. Glad there design inspired infinites. BTW the only thing I liked about halo 4's marines was the fact that a knight stabbed one and the marine threw a grenade at the knight while stabbed and took the knight out with it before he died. Absolute badass

Love your vids man, Please keep it up

Your newest subscriber-for-life thanks you for your channel ... and all your hard work!

Happy to have helped once again :D

Halo 3 was peak ai for the Marines and Civilians. Halo Reach was peak art design for the ODSTs, Marines, Civilians, and Army Troopers.

these are always great and very interesting, good stuff

You absolutely nailed this video mate

I loved every bungie marine and army trooper design so much, they just FELT great to fight alongside, regardless of whether or not they were helping. The 343 era marine designs were god awful, they looked like they were heading to a paintball or air soft tournament, not fighting against rabid plasma slinging aliens. Thank god they’re making them actually look like marines again in halo infinite, let’s just hope their ai is good.

10:10 eventhough they have double the health (100), the Halo CE marines have 50 health and 50 shields which can recharge. Look at generalkidd's video "which Halo has the best marines". The Halo 3 marines have the same stats as the Halo 2 marines

Keep it up. This content keeps me coming back

Since playing halo, all the way back to CE, ive always tried to keep them alive, i remember going crazy in halo 3, restarting checkpoints over and over, saving marines from getting their necks snapped by brutes, then when the flood first appear on halo 3, saving marines from getting infected. It felt so wholesome when i saved them.

Bro the guilt i feel when i get my squad of marines dead instantly in a mission

Halo CE armor with Halo 2 AI would have been awesome. I hate how Bungie ditched the original heavy sci-fi design. To me it made sense that they wore heavy armor because of the deadliness of Covenant plasma.

Excellent video great details break down of every halo game excellent work great job

What a dang good channel. I found you through your 117 facts videos. Can't wait for a combat evolved one some day maybe?

I'm glad the Army got some credit and attention in reach. All the way down to correct ranks (SPC, SGT, 1LT, etc). The Army really does have a wide variety of equipment, as new patterns and pouches and whatnot comes in and out of existence.

I’m surprised you forgot about the ONI security in halo 4’s mission “the composer”. They have black armor that looks really cool

I love that someone finally did this!

Really happy you mentioned the Halo Wars marines, their uniforms are fantastic.

Even though the CE marines weren't the best, I always felt like they sounded and looked tanky and I loved it. I wish other Halo games adopted their metallic green armor style.

They're not wearing "bucket hats". They're wearing the military "Boonie hats"

Just binged your "evolution of..." videos, they are very well done and have info I never knew despite playing Halo since its initial release. Would you consider doing one of these for the Pelican? I think evolutions of vehicles in general would make for some great videos, but I personally want to see the evolution of the Pelican. Thanks for the work man, cheers

I think one thing to note is that the marine design in Halo 2A is inspired a lot by the marines of halo wars with some unique features, and funnily enough the marines of halo wars 2 use the mostly the same design as Halo 2A to update their marines

I had no clue that the soldiers in Reach are mostly army troopers!

NMPD looks so fucking cool

a little detail ive always loved, is that the H2A armor is the same pattern as the Halo Wars armor

My favorite was the Heavy infantry look from H4. Also, seeing a marine take down a knight with a grenade was cool

Halo CE marines will always look and be the best in the series!

Now, you need to add Halo Infinite Marines!

I just always loved the look of the CE marines so much. The plate armor and the helmet eyepiece just looks so scifi and cool

My head cannon about the armor difference in Halo and Halo 2 is that in Halo the marines were given netural colored armor and combat fatigues so they can dye it later when they have more intel about the prophet's stronghold and how to camouflage themselves inside.

What really kills the CEA marines for me is the fact that they chose to give them the Reach army trooper models and textures when that game also features marines in classic CE colors. Like, they could've just used that model with a different helmet, but instead we get these bland looking dudes who also kinda break the visual continuety between the two games.