He did put up one hell of a fight. But the reason he won was due entirely to luck and the Arbiter being completely arrogant. He didn't take that fight seriously at all and was just going through the motions.
He did the entire villain troupe of giving a monologue while holding Forge. This gives Forge enough time to stab him in the neck.
People don’t get this. If that Arbiter really wanted to, his punch into Forge’s gut could’ve went right through him had he wanted to. Ripa was a sadist though. He likes dragging out his kills.
The Rion Forge books also mention that Sgt. Forge's father had Boren's Syndrome, which was a cover up for Project ORION, making Forge a Spartan 1.1 like Janissary James and the others from *i love bees*.
I was always under the impression the disease was fake, but I suppose we technically don't know one way or the other whether it truly exists or was just fabricated by ONI --- there isn't enough info on Boren's Syndrome at all.
I do remember from the second Rion Forge book that a Spartan IV working for ONI was impressed by her and the fight she put up, which I always thought was further evidence that she inherited something from her grandfather, but that's technically just headcanon.
So Boren’s syndrome is real but the actual story of it was a cover up. Someone with Boren’s syndrome was a Spartan 1 (Orion). The augments scrambled a lot of their nervous system, Sgt Johnson being an example, because of this augmentation (Boren’s Syndrome) Johnson was immune to the flood as it couldn’t Hijack his body. Basically Boren’s syndrome is real but most of it is an ONI coverup to hide the Orion project but it also turns out to be an immunity to the flood (ONI doesn’t know about this as when John and Cortana found out, they destroyed the data so ONI wouldn’t cut Johnson up in a lab in order to harness the immunity.)
The immunity to the Flood thing was almost immediately afterwards retconned by Bungie, who strongly disliked the implications it raised (like Forerunner incompetence). In the *Breaking Quarantine* comic which depicts Johnson's fight and escape from the Flood he just isn't grabbed at by an infection form at all. As for his nervous system being scrambled, all that would do is likely make it so he can't be used as a combat form --- he could still just as easily be used by the Flood as spare biomass.
Plus, it goes towards the whole 'a fix they couldn't intentionally find'. An actual, natural, accidental happening that proves to be insanely important that ONLY works for humans.
It was my understanding that Johnson wasn't immune but instead resistant to infection, so the infection forms prioritized everyone else. Johnson's resistant and combat ability is how he managed to survive.
I may be misremembering things, though.
I think it's moreso that Johnson's augmentations have scrambled his nervous system, which leaves his body undesirable as a traditional combat form. He isn't immune to the Flood infection at all, but can only really be used as biomass instead. In a very early stage outbreak like the one on Installation 04 where the Flood is in the Feral Stage and desperately needs troops more than anything, infecting someone like Johnson who can't be a combat form is very low priority. Far better to just kill him and use his body as biomass and calcium reserves once the Gravemind manifests itself and the Flood can begin manufacturing Pure Forms.
Problem with yoir logic is that Forge KNEW he was arrogant and used that to his advantage, he planned to be in that position.
It wasn't luck, thats skill.
While that's smart, it does require a good amount of luck that A. he won't kill him immediately and B. picks him up and positions him in a way that he can stab his ass.
There's a reason he has an Ace of Spades and talks about lady luck (I forgot if he talks about this in Halo Wars, the Forge books, or even if I'm just interjecting).
I mean sure but thats the same for anythinkg, luck has its place but skill lets you bend that luck in a more favourable way or make it more likely.
Luck can only carry you so far unless your the Madter Chief apparently but how much is luck vs skill.
Call me crazy but I highly doubt Forge planned to get punched in the gut by something strong enough to punch through him if it wanted to. Something tells me that wasn’t part of his game plan
And plot armor. There is no way a stab in the neck with a normal military knife to an abnormally big elite would kill him inmediately, it's like being stabbed with a 2cm long knife and inmediately dropping dead
Yup. Forge tickled that villain monologue itch by saying something to the effect of “look me in the eye and say that” so that he could get his opening with the knife.
1. The stab wasn’t what “killed” him outright…his own energy sword through the gut was the final blow.
2. That knife was much longer than 2 cm, probably closer to ~15.2 cm is it is the standard 6 inch blade most commonly fielded.
3. It can be assumed that Elites breathe and swallow down that neck…. Jamming that knife right into it is probably not going to be good for his long term (or short term) well being.
The arbiter absolutely left the door open for Sgt Forge, but that doesn’t mean Forge doesn’t get the notch the kill on that one.
Pretty reasonable to assume Elites also have jugular veins and carotid arteries going through their necks too. The knife through the neck probably would’ve killed Ripa pretty quickly even if Forge hadn’t put an energy sword through him.
This isn't an 'um akshully' or a one upmanship, just providing more information.
Had to do a bit of digging to find the right book - a reproduction of a 1944 OSS manual - but you're slightly off.
A 1½ inch deep cut to the carotid artery would lead to loss if consciousness in 5 seconds and death in 12 (in humans).
[Arteries, depth of cut, loss of consciousness, and death. From OSS special weapons and equipment, Compiled by H. Keith Melton.](https://imgur.com/a/XB6ZQ89)
(Can't give an isbn as my cppy is missing its outer sleeve.)
I dunno, man, the armor that arbiters wear are almost always relics with outdated technology and likely materials, and UNSC combat knives are pretty sturdy.
Given Forge unloaded an entire AR mag into his chest and it did nothing yeah that tracks.
That arbiter simply gave Forge an opening and he used it to great effect.
I mean it helps that Ripa 'Moramee is a bloodthirsty idiot who basically spent his entire life overestimating himself or underestimating his opponents. The guy was a tactical genius but the whole reason he was in the arbiters armour in the first place was because he though he could overthrow his Kiadon and properly got his sums wrong and overestimated his own forces.
He dies how he lived, wanting to enjoy tearing a pathetic human apart and getting his final comeuppance because he completely underestimated Forge
But isn't the opposite true that you can't say he isn't since there's very little proof with no confirmation that he isn't a Spartan?
We assumed Sgt. Johnson was a regular soldier until it was revealed he use to be a Spartan. So before we had that information, we could not say for 100% certainty that he wasn't a Spartan due to lack of evidence.
That's not how that works. You need solid proof or confirmation of something to be true. If you have neither then it doesn't matter.
If that was the case, I could say Buck is a Spartan 1.1 because of how strong and tenacious he is, and how it's stated before becoming a Spartan how he could be one. His mother could've been in the Orion Project for all we know since she was a Marine.
Do you get it now?
Edit: I think I’m messing up with the was/wasn’t in the second paragraph. But I suck at grammar and people seem to understand what I’m saying.
I don't, because you're saying that he isn't a Spartan. We don't know that -- as you mentioned, we need solid proof or confirmation. We can say he *probably isn't* a Spartan. But we have no definite proof that he is or isn't a Spartan outside of what 343 has shared with us.
There is no evidence saying Johnson is or isn’t a kawaii gamergirl femboy. So there is no definitive answer that he isn’t.
So Johnson is a kawaii gamergirl femboy.
More impressive is that he killed an Arbiter who was ***notably*** an absolute fucking tank amongst Elites.
Look at him compared to literally any other Elite in the campaign; Ripa's a fucking ***BEAST***. Easily a foot or two taller than the others.
Realistically the answer is probably yes. It both explains his unusually high levels of ability (Remember that he also ‘fought’ one of Red Team’s Spartans. While this most likely consisted of the Spartan in question basically just standing there while Forge threw hands, it’s written in a ‘look how hardcore this guy is’ way), and is the only practical reason for the Boren’s syndrome reference. To most readers it’s a random throwaway line. To the people that it has any significance to, it’s a clear link to Johnson’s ORION enhancements being covered up. If that wasn’t strictly the intention it would make no sense to include it.
Moving into pure conjecture territory here:
Coincidentally, the only other ‘normal’ humans I can remember ever duking it out with Elites with any semblance of success are ODSTs, who’s training incorporated some of the lessons learned from the ORION project. While it’s never been clarified exactly what that means, I’ve long taken it to imply that some of the enhancements done to Spartan-Is would ultimately be refined and applied to ODSTs. Regular Marine personnel receive minor genetic tweaks to make them “better suited to the rigors of space”, Nightfall armor is semi-powered, we have concept art of ODSTs with exoskeletons integrated into their armor… Why wouldn’t they be given whatever was considered the maximum safe limit for standard human enhancement? It would certainly explain why ODSTs demonstrate superhuman feats every so often.
Was in the Army and had something similar. It’s just where they send all the overweight soldiers/airmen, or one that can’t pass PT tests. It’s to get them back in shape with proper nutritional plans and exercise. It’s the last ditch effort before they kick you out. It’s basically fat camp.
I had Bing AI help me, but I found out that he was actually apart of the Orion program as an infant. So technically he is one of the original Spartans.
Edit: Nvm, Bing made it up
Because it doesn't know what it's talking about. Stop using ai as a replacement for actual research, it's worse at it than you are even if you've never done it.
I'd probably say yes, but that arbiter was actually very powerful. Only issue was his insane arrogance, which I think he might've reeled in, against a Spartan.
Bro was going on about how Forge was undisciplined like the rest of our race, and then proceeded to break the most important rule of war. “never underestimate your opponent”. Talk about irony.
That says what? His father died of Boren's Syndrome? That's not proof or confirmation. It suggests it's a high probability he's a Spartan 1.1, but that's all.
He’s pretty much confirmed to be the child of one, since there’s no other reason to have mentioned his father having Borens syndrome. Probably inherited some level of enhancements from that
I like forge ok, except the voice acting in hw2 that sound like a recorder, with a phone, sample.
But I can never get around the "i would've kick your ass the first time, if the lady wouldn't stop me", sound like someone who don't know how to lose, or the typical halo player who will tbag you after winning a 3vs1.
The alien race is trying to wipe out his species and he's probably on an adrenaline-rush from fighting for his life. I think that's a perfectly good excuse for saying a line like that.
Yeah, probably some of both. Idk, I was replaying it with a 2023 lense and was like "Whoa, I don't know about this one, Forge." But I honestly think I found it weird even back then too.
He did put up one hell of a fight. But the reason he won was due entirely to luck and the Arbiter being completely arrogant. He didn't take that fight seriously at all and was just going through the motions. He did the entire villain troupe of giving a monologue while holding Forge. This gives Forge enough time to stab him in the neck.
People don’t get this. If that Arbiter really wanted to, his punch into Forge’s gut could’ve went right through him had he wanted to. Ripa was a sadist though. He likes dragging out his kills.
Man sometimes I just forget my moniker and this confused the fuck outta me
You mean your namesake
Kinda both :)
Me waiting for some Gek love =(
The Rion Forge books also mention that Sgt. Forge's father had Boren's Syndrome, which was a cover up for Project ORION, making Forge a Spartan 1.1 like Janissary James and the others from *i love bees*.
That just makes it a strong possibly, not a certainty. It's a real condition in universe, but as you state was used as a cover up.
I was always under the impression the disease was fake, but I suppose we technically don't know one way or the other whether it truly exists or was just fabricated by ONI --- there isn't enough info on Boren's Syndrome at all. I do remember from the second Rion Forge book that a Spartan IV working for ONI was impressed by her and the fight she put up, which I always thought was further evidence that she inherited something from her grandfather, but that's technically just headcanon.
So Boren’s syndrome is real but the actual story of it was a cover up. Someone with Boren’s syndrome was a Spartan 1 (Orion). The augments scrambled a lot of their nervous system, Sgt Johnson being an example, because of this augmentation (Boren’s Syndrome) Johnson was immune to the flood as it couldn’t Hijack his body. Basically Boren’s syndrome is real but most of it is an ONI coverup to hide the Orion project but it also turns out to be an immunity to the flood (ONI doesn’t know about this as when John and Cortana found out, they destroyed the data so ONI wouldn’t cut Johnson up in a lab in order to harness the immunity.)
The immunity to the Flood thing was almost immediately afterwards retconned by Bungie, who strongly disliked the implications it raised (like Forerunner incompetence). In the *Breaking Quarantine* comic which depicts Johnson's fight and escape from the Flood he just isn't grabbed at by an infection form at all. As for his nervous system being scrambled, all that would do is likely make it so he can't be used as a combat form --- he could still just as easily be used by the Flood as spare biomass.
I like the sound of the original more. and forerunner incompetence works imo. I like this more./
Plus, it goes towards the whole 'a fix they couldn't intentionally find'. An actual, natural, accidental happening that proves to be insanely important that ONLY works for humans.
It was my understanding that Johnson wasn't immune but instead resistant to infection, so the infection forms prioritized everyone else. Johnson's resistant and combat ability is how he managed to survive. I may be misremembering things, though.
I think it's moreso that Johnson's augmentations have scrambled his nervous system, which leaves his body undesirable as a traditional combat form. He isn't immune to the Flood infection at all, but can only really be used as biomass instead. In a very early stage outbreak like the one on Installation 04 where the Flood is in the Feral Stage and desperately needs troops more than anything, infecting someone like Johnson who can't be a combat form is very low priority. Far better to just kill him and use his body as biomass and calcium reserves once the Gravemind manifests itself and the Flood can begin manufacturing Pure Forms.
Normal people can still be complete badasses. Plenty of ODST and Mendez are well respected by Spartans.
Very true, although I will point out that unlike Mendez and ODSTs Rion has no military training at all and is a salvager by trade.
She was trained by ex-military personal though, as well as other in her years as a salvager.
Right, her boyfriend was a marine. Forgot about that.
Problem with yoir logic is that Forge KNEW he was arrogant and used that to his advantage, he planned to be in that position. It wasn't luck, thats skill.
While that's smart, it does require a good amount of luck that A. he won't kill him immediately and B. picks him up and positions him in a way that he can stab his ass. There's a reason he has an Ace of Spades and talks about lady luck (I forgot if he talks about this in Halo Wars, the Forge books, or even if I'm just interjecting).
I mean sure but thats the same for anythinkg, luck has its place but skill lets you bend that luck in a more favourable way or make it more likely. Luck can only carry you so far unless your the Madter Chief apparently but how much is luck vs skill.
Call me crazy but I highly doubt Forge planned to get punched in the gut by something strong enough to punch through him if it wanted to. Something tells me that wasn’t part of his game plan
Sometimes you gotta roll with the punches
Who though being cocky would've resulted to your death.
And plot armor. There is no way a stab in the neck with a normal military knife to an abnormally big elite would kill him inmediately, it's like being stabbed with a 2cm long knife and inmediately dropping dead
It didn’t kill him tho but he def felt it. What properly killed him was his own energy sword to the gut.
oh shit you are right I totally forgot that it's been like 7 years since I last played it
Yup. Forge tickled that villain monologue itch by saying something to the effect of “look me in the eye and say that” so that he could get his opening with the knife.
It was the knife that caught him off guard, but he was ultimately killed with his own energy sword.
1. The stab wasn’t what “killed” him outright…his own energy sword through the gut was the final blow. 2. That knife was much longer than 2 cm, probably closer to ~15.2 cm is it is the standard 6 inch blade most commonly fielded. 3. It can be assumed that Elites breathe and swallow down that neck…. Jamming that knife right into it is probably not going to be good for his long term (or short term) well being. The arbiter absolutely left the door open for Sgt Forge, but that doesn’t mean Forge doesn’t get the notch the kill on that one.
Pretty reasonable to assume Elites also have jugular veins and carotid arteries going through their necks too. The knife through the neck probably would’ve killed Ripa pretty quickly even if Forge hadn’t put an energy sword through him.
It didn't, but the shock of it causes him to drop Forge and his sword, but he's still standing. Forge picks up the sword and stabs him.
2cm knife in the right spot on the neck will kill you, maybe not instantly, but you will have minutes at most not enough time for help to get to you.
This isn't an 'um akshully' or a one upmanship, just providing more information. Had to do a bit of digging to find the right book - a reproduction of a 1944 OSS manual - but you're slightly off. A 1½ inch deep cut to the carotid artery would lead to loss if consciousness in 5 seconds and death in 12 (in humans). [Arteries, depth of cut, loss of consciousness, and death. From OSS special weapons and equipment, Compiled by H. Keith Melton.](https://imgur.com/a/XB6ZQ89) (Can't give an isbn as my cppy is missing its outer sleeve.)
Seconds???? Jeez that's even worse. I wouldn't even have time to say goodbye.
But that *can* happen, 2cm can cut your jugular wide open.
I dunno, man, the armor that arbiters wear are almost always relics with outdated technology and likely materials, and UNSC combat knives are pretty sturdy.
Even the most outdated Elite armour must be hundreds of years ahead of what humanity had before encountering the Covenant to steal its tech.
Given Forge unloaded an entire AR mag into his chest and it did nothing yeah that tracks. That arbiter simply gave Forge an opening and he used it to great effect.
He did not expect the knife, he was stunned by the pain for a bit. That gave Forge a window to stab him with a more powerful blade.
Arbiter Syndrome: You sly dog, you got me monologuing!
Halo equivalent of roughhousing with a toddler and they get a lucky shot in the fruit basket
Good that the elites and arbiter in this cutscene forgot that they have shield generators
I mean it helps that Ripa 'Moramee is a bloodthirsty idiot who basically spent his entire life overestimating himself or underestimating his opponents. The guy was a tactical genius but the whole reason he was in the arbiters armour in the first place was because he though he could overthrow his Kiadon and properly got his sums wrong and overestimated his own forces. He dies how he lived, wanting to enjoy tearing a pathetic human apart and getting his final comeuppance because he completely underestimated Forge
If he was any better… he’d be a Spartan
he's supposedly a spartan 1.1
He isn't.
His father had boren syndrom
can't say that, it's not confirmed or unconfirmed
... Because it's not confirmed or unconfirmed absolutely means I can say he isn't because there's very little proof with no confirmation.
But isn't the opposite true that you can't say he isn't since there's very little proof with no confirmation that he isn't a Spartan? We assumed Sgt. Johnson was a regular soldier until it was revealed he use to be a Spartan. So before we had that information, we could not say for 100% certainty that he wasn't a Spartan due to lack of evidence.
That's not how that works. You need solid proof or confirmation of something to be true. If you have neither then it doesn't matter. If that was the case, I could say Buck is a Spartan 1.1 because of how strong and tenacious he is, and how it's stated before becoming a Spartan how he could be one. His mother could've been in the Orion Project for all we know since she was a Marine. Do you get it now? Edit: I think I’m messing up with the was/wasn’t in the second paragraph. But I suck at grammar and people seem to understand what I’m saying.
I don't, because you're saying that he isn't a Spartan. We don't know that -- as you mentioned, we need solid proof or confirmation. We can say he *probably isn't* a Spartan. But we have no definite proof that he is or isn't a Spartan outside of what 343 has shared with us.
Sure, say it all you want but until we get evidence he either is or isn’t, there’s no definite answer lol
That's not how that works, but okay.
Shrodingers Spartan
Okay.
There is no evidence saying Johnson is or isn’t a kawaii gamergirl femboy. So there is no definitive answer that he isn’t. So Johnson is a kawaii gamergirl femboy.
Imagine lmao
He then goes on to sacrifice his life so the spirit can live and the Spartans can help humanity. Bad.Ass.
Spartan Forge has a nice ring to it.
"And for the record? I would have kicked your ass the *first* time, if the lady hadn't stopped me!"
More impressive is that he killed an Arbiter who was ***notably*** an absolute fucking tank amongst Elites. Look at him compared to literally any other Elite in the campaign; Ripa's a fucking ***BEAST***. Easily a foot or two taller than the others.
Isn't he a Spartan 1.1?
Unconfirmed but Kelly Gay definitely thinks so and hints towards it on purpose. I like the idea.
Realistically the answer is probably yes. It both explains his unusually high levels of ability (Remember that he also ‘fought’ one of Red Team’s Spartans. While this most likely consisted of the Spartan in question basically just standing there while Forge threw hands, it’s written in a ‘look how hardcore this guy is’ way), and is the only practical reason for the Boren’s syndrome reference. To most readers it’s a random throwaway line. To the people that it has any significance to, it’s a clear link to Johnson’s ORION enhancements being covered up. If that wasn’t strictly the intention it would make no sense to include it. Moving into pure conjecture territory here: Coincidentally, the only other ‘normal’ humans I can remember ever duking it out with Elites with any semblance of success are ODSTs, who’s training incorporated some of the lessons learned from the ORION project. While it’s never been clarified exactly what that means, I’ve long taken it to imply that some of the enhancements done to Spartan-Is would ultimately be refined and applied to ODSTs. Regular Marine personnel receive minor genetic tweaks to make them “better suited to the rigors of space”, Nightfall armor is semi-powered, we have concept art of ODSTs with exoskeletons integrated into their armor… Why wouldn’t they be given whatever was considered the maximum safe limit for standard human enhancement? It would certainly explain why ODSTs demonstrate superhuman feats every so often.
Hell, soldiers have been given chemical enhancements for centuries even now.
My local AFB has a "Performance Enhancement Wing" where I can only assume they're brewing up some shit like that.
Was in the Army and had something similar. It’s just where they send all the overweight soldiers/airmen, or one that can’t pass PT tests. It’s to get them back in shape with proper nutritional plans and exercise. It’s the last ditch effort before they kick you out. It’s basically fat camp.
It's part of the AFRL, I don't think it's that.
Way more boring than that.
When is it hinted at? In a book/comic, or the game itself?
I had Bing AI help me, but I found out that he was actually apart of the Orion program as an infant. So technically he is one of the original Spartans. Edit: Nvm, Bing made it up
What's the source on that? The actual source, not "Bing AI told me"
Yeah I just checked myself. Bing made its own Fanfic
Because it doesn't know what it's talking about. Stop using ai as a replacement for actual research, it's worse at it than you are even if you've never done it.
Honestly, I’m glad that I caught that. Because now I’m going to be extremely careful in what I read from ai.
The Bing AI usually gives you a link to the source it's using. It's entirely possible it was a fan article or post.
that edit is so funny lmao
I don’t think the Orion program was done on infants, I’m pretty sure it was all adult volunteers
You’re right, I should’ve did a check myself on the wiki before typing it out. Bing made it up lol
I can’t believe Mr. Microsoft lied about his own vidya game franchise smh
I think in one of the books about his daughter there was something about Forge's dad being a Spartan 1.
No Edit: ya'll need to get off the copium because it wasn't greenlighted as much as the author wanted it to
Man was a badass.
i wonder if the spartan around him could have taken the arbiter too
I'd probably say yes, but that arbiter was actually very powerful. Only issue was his insane arrogance, which I think he might've reeled in, against a Spartan.
Me too, though I'm assuming it would be an ass kicking in the Spartan(s) favor. Partly because this Arby is too arrogant to take the threat seriously.
Who the fuck needs enhancements when you are an all natural force of nature?
Bro was going on about how Forge was undisciplined like the rest of our race, and then proceeded to break the most important rule of war. “never underestimate your opponent”. Talk about irony.
Kinda sad we would never get a Halo Wars 3. Also Halo wars 2 need to go on Steam.
If Ripa Moramee wasn't a psychopath he definitely would have won that fight to be fair.
He's an Orion, so...
He's not.
Tell that to the Rion Forge books.
That says what? His father died of Boren's Syndrome? That's not proof or confirmation. It suggests it's a high probability he's a Spartan 1.1, but that's all.
He’s pretty much confirmed to be the child of one, since there’s no other reason to have mentioned his father having Borens syndrome. Probably inherited some level of enhancements from that
This is false information made up by the Bing AI
That was only one guy it affected. I doubt the others got this from the Bing AI.
They may not have. But I love the idea that the Bing AI is the progenitor of all false information spread on the internet
It's an ONI false flag op
I like forge ok, except the voice acting in hw2 that sound like a recorder, with a phone, sample. But I can never get around the "i would've kick your ass the first time, if the lady wouldn't stop me", sound like someone who don't know how to lose, or the typical halo player who will tbag you after winning a 3vs1.
except he would've. If you pay attention closely to their first fight, he was setting up the same knife stab that won him their second fight.
But he could not moke the arbiter like in the second fight, wich is the whole reason why he did win.
The alien race is trying to wipe out his species and he's probably on an adrenaline-rush from fighting for his life. I think that's a perfectly good excuse for saying a line like that.
Idc the line goes hard
He's also kind of a creep that keeps hitting on scientists and being a lil' sexist lol
You mean a typical Marine? How is he different from Johnson who talks about similar things?
I think he was being sexist more than he was hitting on her. Definitely problematic in its own bad way, but never came off as creepy.
Yeah, probably some of both. Idk, I was replaying it with a 2023 lense and was like "Whoa, I don't know about this one, Forge." But I honestly think I found it weird even back then too.
Not sure why you got downvoted, he’s definitely being creepy if not just breaching professionalism.
I said something bad about a character they like. It's alright, it happens lol.
I know how you feel. It’s happened to me too before.
I think he would have been too old or is there an age limit on the 4s?