The armor abilities that first made an appearance in Halo: Reach make a return in Halo 4. Except for the armor lock ability which has gone the way of the dodo and the sprint ability which has now been included as a standard addition to gameplay, the rest have made a comeback. In addition there are several new variants on offer to add a little Promethean flavor to Halo 4’s multiplayer gameplay.

You will unlock the use of armor abilities at Spartan Rank 3 and be able to unlock and purchase additional abilities as you move through the ranks.

Here’s a list of the eight abilities on offer and the requirements to unlock them along with their in-game descriptions:

Promethean Vision¶

This handy ability allows players to activate a kind of ‘Predator’ vision mode in which they can see the outlines of enemies through walls and other obstacles.

*> Promethean Vision is unlocked at Spartan Rank 3.

> It costs 2 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Thruster Pack¶

This move replaces the covenant roll ability from Halo: Reach and allows players to quickly move in a certain direction. great for avoiding enemy projectiles and grenades or for quickly getting up close and personal with a short range weapon.

*> The Thruster Pack is unlocked at Spartan Rank 3.

> It costs 2 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Hologram¶

Using the hologram will cause a life-sized copy of your character to continue running off in a straight line. Distracting enemies, allowing you to flank them or move into cover to recover your shields whilst their attention elsewhere.

*> The Hologram ability is unlocked at Spartan Rank 6.

> It costs 3 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Jet Pack¶

The jetpack makes a return from Halo: Reach allowing you to boost up to out of reach areas and survive large drops that would otherwise damage you.

*> The Jet Pack is unlocked at Spartan Rank 6.

> It costs 3 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Hardlight Shield¶

The hardlight shield appears to be halo 4’s evolution of the ‘armor lock’ ability from Reach. This time, the shield acts more like a jackal’s shield (without the ability to weild a firearm simultaneously unfortunately). It protects from damage you might receive straight in front. Good for blocking projectiles or for waiting on someone to run out of ammo before racing in to engage them.

*> The Hardlight Shield is unlocked at Spartan Rank 10.

> It costs 3 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Active Camouflage¶

Halo 4’s cloaking ability. Activate it to become temporarily invisible. Use it to sneak past enemies or perform a stealthy assassination from behind. Shooting whilst cloaked will cause you to become slightly visible. As such, if you want to shoot, weapons with a single shot would be a more complimentary option to the ability than a rapid or burst fire weapon.

*> Active Camouflage is unlocked at Spartan Rank 10.

> It costs 3 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Autosentry¶

Using this ability will spawn a small floating sentry turret that will attack hostile forces. best used whilst required to defend an objective.

*> The Autosentry armor ability is unlocked at Spartan Rank 16.

> It costs 3 Spartan Points to Purchase.*

Regeneration Field¶

This will fix up the shields and health of all nearby friendlies.

*> The Regeneration Field is unlocked at Spartan Rank 16.

> It costs 3 Spartan Points to Purchase.*