Sometimes we want something because everybody else has it. Sometimes we want something because very few people have it. Sometimes we want something because it is a status symbol that we think reflects our importance. Which of those options does the Halo 3 katana armor fall under?
A few days ago I wrote an article about the achievement trading that is currently going on in the Lone Wolves playlist. Each of the nine achievements that are only unlockable in the ranked FFA playlist are worth a mere five points apiece. 45 points doesn’t qualify as a significant gamerscore increase so I believe the majority of the motivation behind the achievement trading is ultimately the desire to attain the katana.
Oh the glory that is the amazing sword. Do you remember when the first person was spotted with the katana on his back? The news spread like wild fire and the speculation started. What does that mean? Does he work for Bungie? Is he a modder? Did he find an extremely rare easter egg? Then the mentality turned to, “Well if he has one, I want one. How do I get it? I want it now!”
Some people think the katana should be easily assessable to all regardless of skill level. (Quotes are taken from the Do You Trade FFA Achievements on Halo 3? article via the comments.)
I’d say it’s testament to the Xbox and Halo community however that someone like me (who’s honestly awful in Slayer or when playing alone!) should be able to complete the game 100%, and get all the extras that come with it.
Help getting them is what I like to do. It’s fair to help others who can’t get some by themselves. Not everyone is good at halo. My first game ever had 4 people in a row go up the purple lift on Construct (with their backs turned save the last guy) into my double maulers.
Some of these achievements are too valuable AND too difficult just as they are. As others have said, even a casual player should be able to unlock the vast bulk of options just by playing long enough at a decent level.
Some people don’t even want the katana.
If you ask me, SPARTANs shouldn’t carry katanas anyway. It’s dumb.
But then I don’t care about achievements or getting a sword to put on Master Chief’s back. Why would Master Chief wear a Katana anyways?
For the people that do want it, why is that? It is not functional. You can’t take it off your back and start slaughtering everybody within 10 feet of you. You can’t take it off your back when you see the guy with the big toothbrush weapon running towards you. You can’t even take it off your back when you need to chop down a tree.
Should it be accessible to everybody regardless of their skill level? If Bungie wanted that, they probably would have listed the ranked FFA achievements under any ranked game instead of FFA only. Will it eventually not be as glorified as it is right now when more and more people are running around with it hanging off their backs? Or will the increase in people having it just make the people that don’t possess it desire it even more?
The mystery that is the katana. I still haven’t figured it out yet.
Do you want the katana? If so, why?
Posted by YesIwanttheKatana on October 19, 2007 at 4:07 am
Yes I want the katana.
Posted by elmo on October 19, 2007 at 4:25 am
i dont really want it at all, im not an anime freak like most of the people who have this crap
Posted by Phaedrus on October 19, 2007 at 5:26 am
I don’t think it’s worth it anymore. If you get it when no one else has it, that’s a sign, a badge saying, “I’m cooler than you.” That makes it worth having. But if everyone has it, it isn’t special anymore. And when people continue to say it’s special, well, then it starts to go the way of punk and emo.
Besides, I’d much rather have a giant meat cleaver, a la the Butcher from Diablo. ;)
Posted by Stixxx on October 19, 2007 at 5:30 am
The way i see it .. its a status symbol much like the Hyabusa armor.. somthing that shows youv done X or Y to get armor B or whatever.
Getting all 49 achievements isnt a walk in the park.. if it were we’d all have 40 of them by now and be waiting on the 9 online ones.
Best part about the Kortana.. is if your feeling rather low about your halo sk177z and are suddenly face to face with somone wearing a sword.. when you come out the victor, you can say “HA WHERE’S YOUR SWORD NOW !” as you dunka dunk their face.
Posted by S on October 19, 2007 at 5:52 am
Personally I only wanted the 1000/1000 for the Security Helmet, and then when I got it I wasn’t impressed. I am however glad that I didn’t boost but for one achievement and It was kind of cheap on my part. Luckily I saved my vids.
I agree with the person who said this though.
“If you ask me, SPARTANs shouldn’t carry katanas anyway. It’s dumb.”
That statement is completely true in my opinion. Master Chief is not a ninja, he’s a supersoldier.
Posted by TTL Demag0gue on October 19, 2007 at 6:25 am
I want the katana, but for me, it has nothing to do with its coolness factor. I’ve started learning Tai Chi recently, which has its origins in China (though I’m told it’s also popular in Japan). The yin yang symbol is commonly seen in Tai Chi schools, and you’ll also see it in my own Halo 3 profile now. Ideally, I’d love to have some sort of Chinese-style armor for my avatar, but since something like that isn’t available, the closest thing is the samurai armor. It’s still Eastern, so it’ll serve for this purpose. Basically, I’m tailoring my avatar to reflect something that’s quickly becoming very important to my physical, mental, and spiritual well-being. And of course, I have to have to complete set. I still need the helmet, and I suspect the katana will evade me for some time to come.
Posted by Narcogen on October 19, 2007 at 6:31 am
Katana?
No.
Security helmet?
Must have, if for no other reason than to show Marathon solidarity.
Posted by Nakamura Hiro on October 19, 2007 at 6:32 am
I want it simply because my gamertag is Nakamura Hiro, a katana wielding character from the NBC series Heroes. For me, it actually fits my Spartan. I’m using the katana emblem, the Heroes RNA symbol as my gamerpic, so it is al I have left to flesh out the theme. I’ve got the skills to pick it up legitimately(you can check my medal list if you want) but I play ranked Team Slayer, not lone wolf. You still can’t easily cheat the achievements there… So I just wish that they were available in all ranked lists. On the other hand, I’m glad Bungie didn’t make all the achievments easy enough for noobs to gather up in a single day. Gave the hardcore gamers a challenge. Anyway, I know that 99 percent of the katana wielders I see are boosted, mainly because I squash them easily enough, and when I get mine it will be earned
Posted by Argent on October 19, 2007 at 6:42 am
If boosting achievements doesn’t hurt anyone i don’t see the point in bothering with arguing the ethics. If someone wants a fancy helmet or a nifty accessory to supplement their narcissism, let them be. Play and let play.
If a game is being ruined because an achievement is for someone to suicide in a team game, or kill as many teamates as you can before they turn on you then i can see a problem. If someone wants to be a target to help someone out, i don’t see the harm.
It takes nothing away from the people that get it legit, and if someone wants to help someone else get the achievement and both parties involved are cool with it i don’t see the harm.
besides if there is such a big influx of this type of stuff ruining everyone’s game, i can see it going down after a little while, there’s always gonna be achievement whores trying to boost their e-penis as long as there’s achievements to be whored for.
and for more on topic talk, a samurai sword makes just as much sense as a samurai helmet. The entire Hayabusa armor set is a gag, the people who think it looks cool, wear it, those who don’t don’t.
so stop trying to make people feel bad for cheating, at least they’re not using some sort of button combination to kill you 2x as fast as you can kill them, because that is dumb.
Posted by rapture on October 19, 2007 at 7:17 am
I think Halo 3 is so big that only a niche community inside another niche community will even notice the Katana (homage to Shadowrun, by the way).
I do think people want it just to be different.
Posted by halol on October 19, 2007 at 7:29 am
“The big toothbrush weapon,” huh?
I think I’m that guy you’re talking about. :)
Right now, I think a lot of people view that katana as a sort of status symbol. “I got 1000 GS in Halo 3 and therefore I am 1337.” Other people, like TTL Demag0gue said, want it for personal reasons–it looks cool, I like katanas, etc.
Personally? I don’t want the sword. I just want that Ascetic helmet for my precious little Elites. And damn, it’s hard to get. Where are those traders when I need ‘em? ;)
Posted by nabistay on October 19, 2007 at 7:35 am
I want it just so i can say i beat the game. its not just about beating campaign anymore, you gotta complete that achievement list too.
Posted by The Nightmare 385! on October 19, 2007 at 8:14 am
It’s logical my friend, it’s a tribute for the Spartan in Dead or Alive, de producers are Team Ninja, I think bungie, y giving back the favor, ah?
Posted by Excardon on October 19, 2007 at 8:21 am
I would like to get it eventually, but I’m not sweating it. I more than likely will not wear it.
On another note, I know people are complaining that achievements are too hard, but isn’t that the purpose of it?
Achievements are supposed to be challenging. There’s no satisfaction in getting it if it was simple and there would be no point in even having them if anyone can get them.
Although this may come off as a bit rude, all I can say to the complainers is to stop whining and just play the game. Trust me, not only will you feel like you accomplished something; by playing a lot of FFA, you’ll more than likely improve in that area that you may not be good at.
Remember practice makes perfect. Good luck!
Posted by Silvercube on October 19, 2007 at 8:25 am
I could care less about that stuff.
I like master chief how he is meant to be.
And achievements- if they are easy to get, ill try, but if they are just ridiculous, i will move along.
I play games to have fun, & not to be a competitive achievement freak : )
Posted by SPARTAN 2348 on October 19, 2007 at 8:35 am
I kill kortana weilding spartans. See you.
Posted by Mid7night on October 19, 2007 at 8:35 am
I don’t care about the Katana, I don’t even like the ‘ninja’ helmet, I think it looks stupid. I do kinda like the ninja-shoulders though, but that’s about it. I have traded for a couple achievements (Steppin’ Razor, for one), but come on people, it’s first and foremost A GAME. I’m a huge Halo fan, I have all three games, all the books, I’ve even modeled the Pelican, Longsword and Phantom in a flight simulator just for the fun of flying them! But we all need to remember it’s still a game – the best game EVER of course – but still a game. It’s made to be FUN. It’s not fun to get five triple-kills and always die right before getting that fourth for the Overkill. I want to get 1000/1000 for the Security helmet too, because it looks cool, and it’s FUN!
Lighten up everyone, it’s a game, let’s have some fun.
~ Mid7night
Posted by Smurfa on October 19, 2007 at 8:43 am
I don’t want the katana, as somebody says, it looks stupid. But I do want the security helmet. I think Bungie made it too difficult to unluck some of the acheivments. I am not bad at multiplayer, but there are some achievments that will take too much time to unluck.
I don’t want to ask around in the playlists for help because that’s not the point with the achievments. But on the other hands, I think that everyone should be able to unluck them. So when some developers come up with the idea, “Hey, let’s have an achievment where you have to be the best player in the world.” (from Tom Clancy’s Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter) I start to raise my eyebrows.
Now I don’t say that Bungie’s achievments are that impossible because they aren’t. But I think that all of the MP-achievments should have been in every ranked playlist, not only in the FFA.
Posted by SidearmS on October 19, 2007 at 9:01 am
Kind of on Topic…
In your title, you have “What Is The Mystery Behind The Halo 3 KORTANA”
Katana or KORTANA? How do you get that one? hehehe
Seriously, as a true Halo 3 freak, I applaud your subliminal misspellings!
XBox 360 – Does the BS stand for Bad Speller? (You know I am j/k, right?)
Posted by Luicfer 034 on October 19, 2007 at 9:04 am
silvercube……. i totally agree w/ u
Posted by SaiyanHeretic on October 19, 2007 at 9:09 am
The fact that some of these achievements are so hard to get irks me. Halo is my favorite game series and I cannot abide something collectible that I don’t have.
It’s Steppin’ Razor that defies me still. I really don’t want to ask for help, but circumstances are conspiring against me. As far as I know, Construct is the only Lone Wolves map with an Energy Sword and it appears very infrequently. As I continually fail to get this achievement, I’ll be progressing up the Skill ladder, which will only make it harder to get. That annoys me to no end.
It’s never been about the katana or the armor perms. It’s about pride. Do you hear me, Halo 3? I WILL NOT BE DENIED!
Posted by Regicid3 on October 19, 2007 at 9:13 am
I got 1000 gamerscore within five days of release and have been using it ever since.
These be good times.
Posted by DogCow on October 19, 2007 at 9:23 am
I’m in w/ Narc. What I want is the Security Helmet. However I’m not to the point of begging for cooperation in the Lone Wolves playlist.
I must add this, in my VERY FIRST game ever in Lone Wolves some kid asked me if we wanted to give each other achievements. Classic.
– DogCow (moof!)
Posted by Admiral Tfear on October 19, 2007 at 9:38 am
I agree with a few of the other people that the katana is overshadowed by the Security helmet by a landslide. I’m an old Marathoner so as soon as I saw that you could get the Marathon outfit, I just started gunning for achievements.
I like the katana though. To me its a symbol of Bungie’s ongoing sense of humor. People who haven’t played any other games by Bungie (or Stubbs the Zombie) wouldn’t understand why the katana is funny. For instance, the zombie setting for custom games. That’s hilarious, and it is SO Bungie. People who don’t know why that’s funny and only see it as a cool game just don’t understand Bungie.
Kill your enemies, kill your friends’ enemies, kill your friends.
Posted by Deadguy71 on October 19, 2007 at 9:50 am
The Katana, to me, is just something to show-off that you’ve beaten all there is to beat on the acheivements. If you can do that honestly, it’s something to be at least a little proud of. It’s a way of saying “no, I don’t suck.. thanks”
When Halo 2 came out, there was a lot of folks clamoring for something like this, where something about your appearance changes to reflect that you’ve beaten the game on legendary. Now that it’s here, I wonder if they still like it or not. I see a WHOLE bunch of hayabusa helmets these days indicating that all of the skulls were found, I wear mine sometimes, but other times, I wear the rogue helmet instead, just for something different.
With folks cheating to get the katana, it cheapens it a bit, but I can still say, “nope, I earned it”. Of course I SAY that, but I haven’t gotten it yet. I still have to somehow pull-off the spartan laser trick and a couple of others. It’d be neat to show it off at the next Lan party where most of my friends aren’t as “into” the game as I am.
As far as there being a Katana at all, yeah, it’s a little silly, but not much more still than wearing the CQB chest with it’s knife in a sheath. It’s all good though.
Posted by DiscoGhost on October 19, 2007 at 9:56 am
I think boosting is soooooo -blam!-ing lame. I understand some of the achievements are difficult to get, extreemly difficult to get….but that’s the point. Boosters just destroy what bungie tried to create. Although i do agree w/ smurfa, it would have been nice if you could get them in any ranked playlist not just FFA.
Posted by fingol on October 19, 2007 at 10:01 am
Can someone tell me where does the feeling of accomplishment come from if you are not taking the time to hone your skills to obtain certain goals?
Posted by bs angel on October 19, 2007 at 10:04 am
@ SidearmS
What a good catch! I didn’t even realize I did that. What a hilarious mixed up word! I did it in the title and at the end of the article too. :)
I play too much Halo.
Posted by Eric Standard on October 19, 2007 at 10:14 am
When I see someone with the katana, my first thought is usually something along the lines of “Wow, he has entirely too much time to play video games.”
Posted by Queen 0f Blades on October 19, 2007 at 10:17 am
I personally don’t understand the point of a katana for the reasons stated a thousand times already. I hate the Hyabusa armor, too. The only reason I’ve been getting the achievements is because I’m tired of looking at a bunch of locked armor selections. I just want to finally settle on an armor set that you’ll most likely see me wearing every time T_T.
Posted by Bema J on October 19, 2007 at 10:42 am
I play on matchmaking for fun, and even when i losei enjoy it. however, there’s this little niggle at the back of my head just knowing that i have 5 more achievement points to go till i can truly say “i owned Halo 3″.
While i still have fun in matchmaking, i tend to subconciously try and get that last achievement. It’s laughing at me. taunting me.
It’s not for the katana i play.
It’s not for the ranks or medals i play.
I play to ENJOY the game, but i can never go from just ‘fun’ to ‘ENJOYMENT’ until i get THAT LAST DAMN 5 GAMESCORE DAMMIT.
Posted by Lt Anders on October 19, 2007 at 10:47 am
My quote: :)
Help getting them is what I like to do. It’s fair to help others who can’t get some by themselves. Not everyone is good at halo. My first game ever had 4 people in a row go up the purple lift on Construct (with their backs turned save the last guy) into my double maulers.
Anyways, I Don’t care for the Katana much. I use an Elite(the Ascetic helmet looks so awesome). I put it on my Spartan Armor(If I ever switch) so that it’s there. I really want more elite perms(or even katana for Elite or like a permanent Plasma sword…)
Posted by Anon Emus on October 19, 2007 at 10:47 am
Hey, I think I got quoted! woot
Katana? Yeah, I might try it out. Yup, Bungie probably wanted it to be pretty exclusive. But as mentioned, they shot themselves in the foot in a way. They made it so exclusive that most players probably WOULDN’T be able to get it. I think most people would be willing to try to get it through luck and perseverance if they thought they could. I would, but an overkill in a FFA game? Maybe on oddball or KotH, but it’s going to be a rare occurrence. And yes, that’s what they wanted.
But they could have made it unlockable at 2000 EXP. Or for many other things. People want the Katana because it looks cool. It IS still hard to get, even if you trade achievements for it. Once everybody has it… maybe not so much. But hey, if you’re going to do some “social engineering” to get stuff, you may as well go all the way. You’ve already committed to the cheap and easy way, so you may as well milk it for what it’s worth.
Long story short, people want it because they can get it. You still have to do the most work for it by legitimate or less legitimate reasons. If Bungie wanted to keep it exclusive, they should have made it reasonably attainable. How many bank robbers do you know who steal only as much as they need from the open vault?
Posted by Darkninja on October 19, 2007 at 10:47 am
Yes, because my GT is Darkninja90, Thus it just fits. =D
Posted by Fallout on October 19, 2007 at 10:57 am
I don’t care for the katana, I simply wanted the Security Helmet. Now that I have obtained it, I feel like the kickass cyborg from marathon all over again.
Posted by TTL L askan on October 19, 2007 at 11:13 am
Can’t use? Don’t want.
Stock armor FTW.
Posted by Matthew on October 19, 2007 at 11:35 am
It might be cool to wear the full Hayabusa armor with it, but other than that I see no use for it. On its own, it just looks silly, in my opinion. If I can’t pull it out and cut other Spartans in two with it, then I don’t want it.
Posted by Der Freishutz on October 19, 2007 at 12:43 pm
Yknow, when I first saw it, I was kind of interested, since it looked really cool with the Hayabusa armor, but now, I really don’t have any real interest in it. Everyone seems to be wearing the Hayabusa armor nowadays, and it’s more fun to do something differant than join in with the online ninja gang. Besides, it’s more rewarding when you do something without realizing it and then find out you’ve unlocked something awesome. Which was the whole point of the differant armors, anyway.
Posted by Grunt2552 on October 19, 2007 at 12:54 pm
Meh, I’d say it’s not for me, I have a couple friends who have it, but I’m not to fond of it (although it does look cool when it forms an “X” on your back with another weapon). Besides, it wouldn’t go quite as well with my Ascetic armor.
Posted by prof on October 19, 2007 at 1:23 pm
“the first person was spotted with the katana on his back”
He got his last achievement on Sept 28th
I got my last achievement on Sept 27th
meh
PS he also got his first achievement on Sept 21st, cheater
Posted by Groxx788 on October 19, 2007 at 1:52 pm
I have it and i wear it purely because no has it. i like being unique which is why i dont wear the hayabusa helmet, but its getting to the point where more and more people are getting the katana [ I've had it for about 2 weeks already] So I might just ditch being a spartan and be a Commando Elite.
Being unique is the main reason i like it , same for the security helmet
Posted by bs angel on October 19, 2007 at 1:53 pm
I should have said the first person that garnered the internet’s attention. My apologies!
Good job on all the achievements by the way.
Posted by Battlecruiser on October 19, 2007 at 1:56 pm
Never. It looks bad and is definitely something I wouldn’t want on my back. It would probably attract more attention anyway, and since I don’t like FFA, I would have to torture myself to get something I don’t even want.
Oh, and I give special treatment to anyone I kill that has a katana on his/her back. It involves me pressing the crouch button rapidly while on top of him/her.
Posted by Brian on October 19, 2007 at 2:15 pm
I want the Marathon helmet, which (if I am correct), you get once you get 1000/1000. The Katana is..well, dumb. It doesnt fit with SPARTANS, and I’m a stickler for that…
Posted by Silvercube on October 19, 2007 at 2:31 pm
@ Lucifer 034: Great minds think alike ^_^
Posted by Hawaiian Pig on October 19, 2007 at 3:08 pm
I’m not quite sure you insist on treating this as if it’s some petty desire of Cheeto fingered Xbox live players. I think the point was made pretty clear countless times before. It’s fairly simple and quite logical:
1. I want the most out of the game that I shelled out 70/80/130 bucks for.
2. I don’t want to spend a whole lot of time doing something I very much dislike and would not do otherwise (playing by myself in Lone Wolves)
3. There is an avenue available to get the most out of the game without spending a great deal of time doing that which I dislike.
Do I really want the katana or the Security helmet? That depends on my preference of the day; the point is that I’d like to have the option to wear it whenever I please.
When you put unlockables in a game, an average gamer does not feel totally satisfied until all of them have been unlocked. It’s just not proper game design to put something in there for only a select few people to have… unless you WANT to promote that big rift between “pro gamers” and casual gamers that Bungie has been so feverishly working against. Save that “exclusive content” for Bungie employees (hell, even that’s a tease).
It’s that big fat “Locked” that piques most people’s curiosity and subsequently motivates them. Under most circumstances, people don’t have a problem working toward this goal if the requirements are reasonable; no one cheats to attain their meta-game scores. But not everyone (in fact a slim minority, I would say) care to play FFA, and it boils down to the fact that… and this might shock… people simply refuse to do what they dislike.
I won’t say that there aren’t those out there who would have “cheated” regardless as to whether the requirements were reasonable or not, but it surely would not have been such a hot topic issue.
And in the end, what harm does it do to you? Hold contempt for those who “cheat” all you want but it really doesn’t affect you in any way. You can easily dissolve the achievement trading by instigating regular play.
(As a side note, I find it kind of funny how people take satisfaction in disrupting the achievement trading… as if they’re doing some sort of great justice. Not to mention the glee they exude when they acquire an achievement out of it. Isn’t that a bit hypocritical?)
What armor permutation do I feel like throwing on tonight while I’m playing in the team playlist of my choice? Maybe a hot pink security helmet with a scout chest.
…with a light blue secondary.
Also, I’d like to add, that one thing I’m working towards “legitimately” is filling out my Ranked Medal Chest. There’s no motivation behind that other than the satisfaction of filling it out. I’m not cheating towards that, and quite honestly I’d be much more pleased with having a full medal chest than the few very specific achievements that are more of a pain to work towards than a labor of love.
Posted by bs angel on October 19, 2007 at 3:28 pm
@ Hawaiian Pig
“I’m not quite sure you insist on treating this as if it’s some petty desire of Cheeto fingered Xbox live players.”
You misunderstand my question. My article is not a reflection on people who are striving to attain the katana. My curiousity is sincere. I am interested in the motivation behind the unlocking of the achievement since it is purely cosmetic. I am interested in the psychology behind it more than anything else. I am merely picking brains and soaking up the answers more than anything else.
Speaking of answers, yours was quite fascinating. Thanks for sharing.
Posted by Otto Mossberg on October 19, 2007 at 3:46 pm
Well, Cortana is a sword :)
Anyway, as a lover of Marathon, I’d love to get that helmet. Of course, the trouble is that because it requires that you get all the achievements, wearing it makes it look like you’re saying “w007, me am one three three seven!”, instead of “You dare to challenge Destiny?”, or something equally corny-but-cool.
The thing about the sword and Hiro Nakamura also occurred to me me, ’cause I loves me some Heroes, but the same bit about arrogance applies there.
For now I’m quite happy with my Mark V helm, Security shoulder, and C.Q.B. chest plate (Combat knife = like Katana, but subtler). Although I just ran out of LIVE, so I can neither obtain anything “better”, nor use what I’ve got, anyway.
Posted by Rofl Kortana. on October 19, 2007 at 3:56 pm
What the hell is a Kortana?
Posted by bs angel on October 19, 2007 at 4:04 pm
It’s a Freudian slip of someone who was obviously thinking of a certain female character instead of the sword. Oops. I love it too much to fix it though. It makes me laugh.
Posted by Top Posts « WordPress.com on October 19, 2007 at 6:46 pm
[...] What is the Mystery Behind the Halo 3 Kortana? Sometimes we want something because everybody else has it. Sometimes we want something because very few people have it. […] [...]
Posted by Hawaiian Pig on October 19, 2007 at 6:58 pm
My apologies for coming across confrontational. I had read both of your blogs on the matter in one sitting and got a bit of a condescending tone from it to the so called “cheaters.” Of course, once I started typing, “you” became more of a vague pronoun for those who usually oppose this method of getting the achievements. In any case, it’s an interesting area of discussion, thanks for bringing it up.
Posted by bs angel on October 19, 2007 at 7:13 pm
No worries, no apology needed.
With each of the articles, my goal was to display both sides and spur discussion. I am fascinated that something like achievements and a sword you can carry on your back can bring such passionate responses. That is what I am fascinated by. The passion that lies behind those things and why that is. I am not a judgmental person you will find. I simply enjoy picking brains. :)
This comment of yours I found particularly interesting.
“When you put unlockables in a game, an average gamer does not feel totally satisfied until all of them have been unlocked. ”
I consider myself an average gamer. Well, average skilled but hardcore as far as how passionate I am about it. However, I really don’t care about the armor unlockables. I don’t know why that is because typically I am very into character customization. But ya know what? My Spartan is still wearing the default armor. I have fun changing the colors but that is about it.
Good luck on your ranked medal chest. I’m gonna have to check that out.
Posted by XMixMasterX on October 19, 2007 at 7:42 pm
I’m an Elite, so NO I don’t want it – the people with the Hayabusa armor are typically nublets and get owned anyways…
On top of that, I tend to go after them when I see them, and make sure they are dead more often than not.
Why aren’t there any good Elite permutations??
Posted by breon on October 19, 2007 at 7:50 pm
yes, i want cortana. wait. was that out loud?
Posted by engtech on October 19, 2007 at 8:52 pm
This reminds me of black armor dye in any MMORPG.
—
Tho, I have to admit to spending around 5 hrs playing with the City of Heroes character editor even though I don’t even have the game.
Posted by YellowBanshee on October 19, 2007 at 9:10 pm
Who wants the katana when the only 1000/1000 armor anyone REALLY wants is the frickin’ sweet Security Helmet!!?!? Marathon ftw.
Posted by YellowBanshee on October 19, 2007 at 9:19 pm
P.S. Yes, I have both, and yes, I’m wearing them right now.
Posted by bene on October 19, 2007 at 9:31 pm
I’m with the Marathoners here, and also like the katana because, well…katanas are badass. My boyfriend owns and trained with one, so I’m biased.
Posted by Phoenix A1 on October 19, 2007 at 10:44 pm
I got 44 of the 49 ahievements on my own or with a buddy in campaign, had help with the last five, (Steppin’ Razor, Overkill, Two for One, Mongoose Mowdown, and Maby Next Time Buddy) got the helm and katana, had my kicks, and went back to my Mark V Helm and E.O.D. (looks Mark V-ish) chest piece.
Imma nostalgic for teh H1 armor. =P
And WHY?! couldn’t they have just let Johnson live? Albeit him escaping with the Chief and Arby would be a long shot.
Rest in peace, sarge.
D3h~
Posted by yunahalo on October 19, 2007 at 11:40 pm
Wow! Someone is really popular AGAIN! ;)
The brilliance that is your curiosity amazes me.
Oh, and to get on subject, I have the whole hayabusa armor set, and I think the katana would be nice, but not any time soon. I’m obsessed with Japanese culture, so I think it’s beautiful… and it looks awesome in pink! :)
In summary, katana=good, worth earning yourself. Hayabusa=wonderful. bs angel=AWESOME.
The end.
Posted by The Fool on the Hill on October 20, 2007 at 4:49 am
For all those who are complaining about people getting help on achievements:
I’ll admit I did get help on some of my achievements, but that in itself was so damn difficult to do. Unless EVERYONE in the game is cooperative, it doesn’t work for anyone. Plus, there are some people who get their friends to change their language to korean or something like that, then they set their matchmaking to “my language”, so they always get matched with each other in ranked FFA. So don’t complain. Some of us are just helpful, and if you mess up a good achievement run today, we will simply get it next time around.
Posted by p_bro on October 20, 2007 at 7:57 am
I am one of the many others who got to 1000/1000G for the security helmet rather than the katana.
Why? because marathon is awesome.
Posted by Stuicide on October 20, 2007 at 10:40 am
Yeah, what she said!
(I’m sorry I had to make such a tough point)
Posted by Queen 0f Blades on October 20, 2007 at 12:47 pm
@ p_bro
Agreed. :D I like how there’s a little Marathon logo on the helmet.
@ groxx788
Good luck becoming a commando elite. The shoulder pads are bugged and don’t unlock. Which is driving me insane. @_@
Posted by Crazyeye0 on October 25, 2007 at 6:54 am
Personally, I want the Katana, not because “It looks cool”, but because realy it’s a little something to show that you have the skill to do all the achievements in halo (even if some help was needed), it shows that your devoted to Halo, and unlocking achievements, it’s more than looks, it’s a odd sort of symbol.
Posted by PinkBulletz14 on October 29, 2007 at 2:03 am
I would love to have the katana uh kortana umm….anyways that realy sick looking sword because I like to think it symbolizes my awesomeness and my narbacore abilities in the FPS genre. Although I can’t say if I disapprove of either side i.e. the achieve the achievements or the any which way you can achievements, I am not a fan of Lone Wolves and I would love to just be able to get them over and done with, thus, taking advantage of the “lets all work togather” motto has helped. However, the second I lasered two people at once (without any help) I decided that will be the road I will travel. At that moment I felt I was a little bit better than all the people who took turns standing in front of one another dying. Not that there’s anything wrong with that…..
Posted by penis butter and jelly sandwhich on October 29, 2007 at 6:06 pm
i want the katana real bad it looks cool with rouge helmet security shoulders and hayabusa chest. i do think hayabusa full looks dumb i used to wear it but not anymore. i have 44 of 49 achievements
Posted by NoRemorse on November 1, 2007 at 2:33 am
I have the katana to show how hard I worked to get it. I didn’t ask for help, I got all of the achievements on my own. I dislike the ‘hayabusa’ helmet with a passion as it is too ‘in your face (haybusa is japanese for paraguin falcon… dumb) but the katana is barely noticeable. I nice touch IMHO, so I sport it on my back to show that I have indeed completed the game in its entirety.
BTW, the title to this page says ‘kortana’…
Posted by amkfoer on November 1, 2007 at 2:23 pm
I spent such a long time trying and trying to unlock all the achievements so i could eventually have something to show for it…at first it seemed cool to have something on your back which everyone could see that pretty much said “im better than you!” the only achievement that i got help with was the boarding the vehicle within 10 seconds…for weeks now the only thing i had left to do was the triple kill with the sword…but due to the limitations of FFA having only 5 people to a match and basically two maps which had the sword in it, i almost gave up hope…but thanks to the special Halloween playlist yesterday where there are 18 people in one game and I’m running around with a sword..i was finally able to unlock that final achievement…when i saw the little notice pop up on the bottom of the screen my heart stopped for a second…i finally had beaten the game…luckily no one was home to see me jumping around…and now to decide which armor to change around…when i went to customize my armor to put on the katana body armor…i suddenly realized…THIS LOOKS STUPIDDDDDDDD!!!!! There is no reason to be running around with a huge 12 foot sword hanging off my back…i’m not a ninja..why should i be scared of a metal sword which has no function when I’m running around with 4 rockets strapped to my back waiting to see some stupid sword peek out of a corner 3 seconds before the real person actually comes creeping around it…i think most people become obsessed with it cause they don’t want to have someone running around with some stick on their back thinking they’re better than everyone else…i also feel that most people wont even bother wearing it once they actually do get it..but katana aside..it felt great to beat the game and just knowing that is better than some stupid sword
Posted by amkfoer on November 1, 2007 at 2:26 pm
ps. rogue helmet and mark VI armor is the way to go
Posted by PinkBulletz14 on November 11, 2007 at 8:20 pm
I finally got the sword, I put it on and noticed right away that I AM better than everybody who’s not wearing it! And everytime I get killed it’s all the games fault now! haha I think it looks awesome!! but whatever, do people realize that your experience points and the amount of matches you’ve played are what make you better than others? Thats what I look for, and then I check and see if they have it and whether or not their armor looks kewler than mine. Nobody’s has yet ;o)
Posted by pent213 on November 12, 2007 at 1:16 am
I really want the katana and I am very close to getting it because all I need is 6 more meta game achievments and the marathon man but the katana is not all that cool because when I went on a trip I lost some of my rank and I was at like 4 and then I played lone wolves and I played against a guy who was major grade 2 and he had the katana and he REALLY SUCKED!!!!!!!!!!! so I chukkled when he did really bad
Posted by chris on November 12, 2007 at 5:32 am
you cant honestly believe you care about this and the lengths people will go to to get it (boosting)
Unless you can say you got the IWHBYD skull without internet searching or getting it from a friend who googled their way to that code and achievement.
Basicsally most of you didnt, so u cant give an opinion to if itsa pointless/hard/satupid, when u did the same for a skull.
I need S L double Kill one shot, Will i ask for help? yes! will i feel bad? no” Will i feel better getting it on my own? no, cos i want the 1000/1000 GS not 995!
:)
Posted by allcoldinside on November 23, 2007 at 7:42 am
About the sword… Why should I care if you got it?
I’m gonna glaze your dome anyway?
Bungie, as a thought, should have included, instead of a samurai sword (a little flaky, but just my personal opinion) a crazy set of Kabars or some other FUNCTIONING bladed weapon that spreads like a virus when you drop it as I kill you…
Posted by Jim 028 on December 7, 2007 at 11:04 am
I’m much the same as ‘amkfoer’, I got most of the last few achievements during the Halloween play list, and when I finally got the last one and put the Katana armor on with the Security Helmet and Scout Shoulders I just felt stupid looking with this giant sword strapped across my back. It just felt out of place.
All is now well as I swapped the Katana armor out for the CQB and it looks so much better.
Posted by Subchunker on December 10, 2007 at 2:56 pm
Yeah, becasue it looks cool. End of story. But I actually want the other Spartan helmet more. I unlocked the Hayabusa armor after going after all the skulls. I spoted it for a few days, now I mix and match as I feel like it. The achievements are just a reason to play something beyond the amount you’d play it normally. It bugs me that I have to play Lone WOlves matches to get them (I play Team Slayer with friends), but it HAS made me play more Lone Wolves. I’d like to sport it, but it doesn’t keep me up at night.
Posted by Deimos on January 16, 2008 at 8:12 pm
I’m not so worried about getting the Katana as getting a 1000/1000 gamerscore. I might wear it I might not. but the katana isn’t my main drive for beating that game, beating the game is…. I kind of like the katana but im not too worried about getting it. I feel the same way about the marathon helmet (thats right i never played marathon get over it) frankly i dont think that all people use “boosting” only to get the sword, i think a fair number of them want to actually think they beat the game fully. And ,as stated above, they want to get the Security helmet.
Posted by Benedict on January 23, 2008 at 8:00 pm
Yes, i do want the katana, for it is the ultimate symbol of power in halo.-Think, the owner has cleared legendary campaign, with Heroic and Normal as well, the owner has discovered and used every skull, the owner has obliterated Live players as well as other katana bearers. I have it, though I play as an elite, I would wear it proudly on my back as a spartan.
~Benedict
Posted by Nathan on February 7, 2008 at 7:46 pm
Sure I want it. That doesn’t mean it should be easy to get. It’s an incentive to get better and yes, to play the game more. If everyone could get it than there would be nothing special about it. It would fade into the background as a cheap accessory that no-one cared to have. The katana may be a Bungie ploy, but it’s a fun one
Posted by Xor1an on February 7, 2008 at 8:58 pm
I wanted it, I worked at it (without resorting to the language filter trick), and I recently got it. Why? Because I practice martial arts and know how to use a sword. To me it’s an in-game reflection of my real world self.
Also unlocked by all the achievements is the “security” helmet. I’ve been wearing that in addition to the katana, because it’s reminiscent of the main character in Bungie’s earlier Marathon series, and I used to play those many years ago. (In fact, my XBL motto has been a Marathon reference for quite a while.)
Unfortunately, most people who wear the katana and the security helmet seem to do so because they’re like a new toy or because they want to show off. If they didn’t have some meaning for me beyond the achievements, I wouldn’t use them.
Posted by turbo man on April 4, 2008 at 6:21 pm
lol all u have to do to get it is get all achievements. its not that hard
Posted by Phirey9077 on June 7, 2008 at 11:57 am
I personaly do not want the katana i did when i first saw it a few weeks after halo 3 had originaly came out, its just a fad really if u ask me, its like the hayabusa armor set at first it was kewl because not many ppl had it now every 12 year old kid has one its no longer “kewl” infact iv heard alot of ppl calling it noob lately on live wich i guess is kinda true since its extreamly easy to get and dosent really represent any skill lvl just an hour or 2 to run through the lvls and get the 13 skulls.
Posted by ItZ InSaNiTy on June 8, 2008 at 4:40 pm
yea i would wear ist if i got it but i would be more in it for the security helmet
Posted by Eon Rifter on August 1, 2009 at 6:48 pm
I just recently got xbox live and have attained most achievments on my own with exception of MVP, Two For One (which I have yet to obtain) and IWHBYD skull which had me feverishly searching the entire game on various difficultys… needless to say why should it matter… really; like other ppl have said its just a game. If you want to freak out because ppl are cheating go ahead if you want to cheat be my guest. I just ask that if you see me with a spartan laser… walk a little slower please… joking I’ll get it of my own accord.
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