Summary
- Halo 7 may feature Banished Spartans as new enemies, recruiting rogue Spartans like Ilsa Zane.
- Banished Spartans can use unique vehicles and weapons, like modified Mantis mechs and brute shots.
- The moral complexities of Banished Spartans could provide an interesting conflict for main character Master Chief.
343 Industries is expected to be working on the next mainline entry in the Halo series following 2021’s Halo: Infinite. Presumably, the game will follow-up on the story threads in Infinite, but a new Halo Waypoint Chronicle story may have already teased a new enemy that players could face in Halo 7: Banished Spartans.
Halo Infinite Releases Big New Update
Halo Infinite releases one of its most important and feature-rich content updates to date, complete with balance and gameplay changes.
The History of the Banished and Humanity
The Banished is a brute-led mercenary faction first introduced in 2017’s Halo Wars 2. This game reveals that the faction was first created in the later years of the Human-Covenant War when the brute Atriox rebelled against his elite and prophet masters after his pack had been repeatedly sent to die on suicide missions, with him as the sole survivor. Over the years, the Banished became a prominent threat to both the Covenant and United Nations Space Command (UNSC) as it recruited more and more followers and equipment from a variety of species. Under Atriox, the Banished would accept any and all species as long as they swore loyalty to its leaders, even humans.
Humans have been a rare sight among the Banished, having never appeared formally in a Halo game to date and only having brief appearances in Halo books. Most humans seen in the Banished have either served in scientific roles, assisting with Forerunner artifacts, or have served minor military roles. Oftentimes, humans in the Banished were shown to have been spies for the Office of Naval Intelligence, UNSC, or insurrectionist factions. Following the destruction of the brute homeworld Doisac by Cortana, the Banished have become more hostile towards humans but still accept them among their ranks if they can provide a beneficial edge to the faction.
The First Banished Spartan
In Halo: Infinite’s multiplayer, many armor sets have teased Spartans working alongside the Banished such as the Tormentor and Agitator armor sets but no exact names or numbers were provided. That changed after the recent publication of Halo: The Third Life on Halo Waypoint.
Set immediately after the investigative audio series, Halo: Hunt the Truth, The Third Life focuses on rogue Spartan-IV Ilsa Zane as she is captured and later recruited by the Banished after a Forerunner Guardian emerges from the planet Laika III. Zane first appeared in the 2013 Dark Horse comic Halo: Initiation as a part of the first class of the Spartan-IV program. Here she was tested with numerous experimental spartan augmentations to make her bones exceptionally strong, intended to no longer require Mjolnir power armor. Her augmentations made her prone to fits of fury and resulted in the deaths of several Spartan recruits and marines. Zane quickly defected to the insurrectionist New Colonial Alliance (NCA) after receiving her augmentations.
How Banished Spartans are Recruited and Created
Following her capture by the Banished, Zane murdered a brute guard with her fists and parts of his armor, causing her to earn the favor of the nearby brute chieftain. Over the next several months, she would choose to sacrifice several fellow human prisoners to be eaten by other brutes. Eventually, she would gain the favor of War Chief Escharum and set a plan to assassinate NCA leader Admiral Mattius Drake. Once Drake was dead, Zane took control of the NCM and dedicated its forces along with several other outer human colonies and a Covenant mercenary remnant to the Banished.
Zane went on to kill another unknown Spartan-IV which she stole and later modified their Champion armor as her own (Zane is the Spartan seen in all the Halo: Infinite Banished Honor operation marketing). At least 14 other Banished Spartans are known to exist thanks to the Infinite armor sets manufactured by the Banished.
These sets’ descriptions reveal that the Banished not only recruits rogue Spartans but creates their own through "home-grown" means. The Camazotz helmet description suggests human mercenaries are transformed into Banished Spartans via Covenant chrysalis technology. The Savage helmet description suggests this transformation process is traumatic and sometimes deadly. Those who survive may mentally snap, perfect for the Banished's berserkers.
Banished Spartans in Halo 7 and Beyond
Longtime Halo fans have often wondered what it'd be like to fight against humans in mainline title campaigns. While players were able to fight against a few marines in Halo Wars 2’s Awakening the Nightmare DLC, they didn’t play too differently compared to ordinary Banished units. However, the concept of a Banished Spartan enemy in a first-person Halo game has a lot of potential. Perhaps if 343 boosts their Spartan A.I.’s capabilities, Banished Spartans could be formidable bosses in Halo 7. If not, perhaps Master Chief can face squads of Banished Spartans on Zeta Halo or even Ilsa Zane herself to add a bit of a multiplayer feel in the campaign.
Banished Spartans can act more vicious than ordinary multiplayer Spartans. Perhaps they can utilize special melee abilities or even use a more robust form of assassination-like attacks seen in Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 5: Guardians. This could show off the more brutal nature of Banished warriors compared to the formal UNSC Spartan-IVs.
Perhaps if 343 boosts their Spartan A.I.’s capabilities, Banished Spartans could be formidable bosses in Halo 7.
If 343 wants to take inspiration from Halo 5, Banished Spartans could even use unique vehicles and weapons in the campaign, such as those seen in Warzone to be more of a challenge for Master Chief. Banished Spartans can utilize Banished modified Mantis mechs equipped with plasma weapons or a perhaps multi-skewer launcher to be extra brutish and deadly. If the Falcon ever returns, perhaps it can be modified for Banished Spartans with dual rapid fire voltaic weapons or even brute shots.
Perhaps they could use modified sticky detonators with spike grenades instead of the common UNSC sticky grenade. Having Banished Spartans as campaign enemies or bosses would be a great way to introduce the fabled double barrel, gravity hammer-bayoneted shotgun found in Halo: Infinite’s files.
The Moral Complexities of Banished Spartans
In terms of story, Banished Spartans can provide a moral conflict for Master Chief, The Weapon, and Fernando Esparza, as Esparza and The Weapon presumably never fought against humans. Master Chief was originally trained to combat human insurrectionists and fought against them several times in expanded media. Encountering Banished Spartans may cause the trio to try and recruit them back to the UNSC or stand down before an inevitable fight begins. Given how some Banished Spartans were seemingly forced into servitude, perhaps the trio will attempt to save some of the brutal warriors. It may also question the trio’s resolve, as the Banished has seemingly united all species in the galaxy, a feat not even the Covenant achieved.
The Banished Spartan helmets in Halo: Infinite are the Agitator, Assailer, Boggart, Camazotz, Champion, Conqueror, Cutthroat, Dokkaebi, Emissary, Hawker, Negotiator, Renegade, Savage, Taskmaster, and Tormentor. Ilsa Zane dons a Champion helm stolen and modified from an unknown Spartan-IV as seen in the Banished Honor operation marketing.
If Banished Spartans don’t appear in Halo 7, they should appear in spinoff games. Perhaps Ilsa Zane could be a Banished leader in a potential Halo Wars 3 with other Banished Spartans as her special units. Zane and other Banished Spartans could be great foes for a potential Halo 3: ODST sequel, a Spartan Locke spinoff, or an Arbiter spinoff. Operation: BREAKER TRIP may be a good story setting for Locke and Zane to come to blows as two sides of the same Spartan-IV coin. Banished Spartans can provide the Halo franchise with a trove of gameplay and story potential that 343 Industries shouldn’t pass on for Halo 7 or other Halo titles.
Halo Infinite
- Released
- December 8, 2021
WHERE TO PLAY
When all hope is lost and humanity’s fate hangs in the balance, the Master Chief is ready to confront the most ruthless foe he’s ever faced. Step inside the armor of humanity’s greatest hero to experience an epic open-world adventure and explore the massive scale of the Halo ring.
With Network Campaign Co-Op and Mission Replay, you can relive your favorite moments, rediscover collectibles and explore the wonders of Zeta Halo on your own or with up to three other fireteam members.
Experience Halo’s celebrated multiplayer reimagined and free-to-play! With over 70 maps in matchmaking, billions of customization configurations, and countless community Forge creations to experience, Halo Infinite is the franchise’s most expansive multiplayer offering to date.
Enjoy an unprecedented variety of gameplay experiences, ranging from fast-paced intense ranked modes to whimsical mayhem in Custom Games, or even co-operative coordination in the wave-based survival mode Firefight: King of the Hill. Assemble your Fireteam and conquer every mode – Halo offers endless opportunities for teamwork, strategy, and unforgettable victories.
- ESRB
- T for Teen: Blood, Mild Language, Violence
- Developer(s)
- 343 Industries
- Publisher(s)
- Xbox Game Studios
- Engine
- Slipspace
- Multiplayer
- Online Multiplayer
- Franchise
- Halo
- Platform(s)
- PC, Xbox One, Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S
- Genre(s)
- First-Person Shooter
- How Long To Beat
- 12 Hours
- File Size Xbox Series
- 90 GB (November 2023)
- Metascore
- 87
- Platforms That Support Crossplay
- PC, Xbox One & Xbox Series X|S
