Loving Halo 4 so far. The multiplayer is great, the campaign is stunning and almost everything is good... almost. See, Phoenix654 is not only my GB user name, it's my XBL name. I've had it since I started playing online games, back when Halo 2 came out. And thankfully, there was always a useful little emblem for me to use in the Halos, the Phoenix Shield. It was my staple emblem for Halo 2, Halo 3, ODST and Reach. Now it seems that not only are most emblems locked, but thanks to the following article...

http://www.gameranx.com/updates/id/10613/article/halo-4-emblem-unlock-chart-guide/

...my Phoenix Shield is gone. What the shit, 343? Thanks for the great game and TWO dog tag emblems (TWO FUCKING EMBLEMS THAT ARE BOTH DOG TAGS?!), but what about me? I'm not the only one left out here. I note the smiley & frowny faces are gone as well as the 0-9 digits. I repeat, what the shit? Anyone else having emblematic problems?

Those are only the foregrounds, and I don't think it's complete either. There's one on the fourth row from the bottom that looks like a bit like a phoenix.

The shield background is still in there (...but you do have to play for a surprisingly long time to unlock any backgrounds).

I think that's meant to be an eagle...

I changed my icon to show you what I mean. The phoenix shield is all one piece, then you can add a background behind it.

The emblem locks are terrible

@xMEGADETHxSLY: I agree. The downside is, since there is no official unlock list, I have no idea if I should be really pissed that the emblem is gone or just annoyed that I can't use it out of the gate.

I was bummed ever since they took out the Marathon symbol in Reach.

I don't see the point of having to unlock them all. I have made a red ring symbol since Halo 3 so I was hoping to make it. I don't even know if I can, but if I do I have to be at least level 40 or higher as its not showing up on my options so far.

... this sounds like some sort of 'first world Halo problems' joke in the making. XD

@DharmaBum said:

I was bummed ever since they took out the Marathon symbol in Reach.

Yeah and I knew it wouldn't be in this game, but I was still really bummed out about it. Whenever I saw other people with the logo I knew they had fine taste in Macintosh software.

@project343:

Unfortunately it falls apart before its even made. Especially considering this is on a website dedicated to video games...

It does seem like they put a few too many things behind unlock requirements. It's a bit much that there are zero cosmetic options available by default. Particularly emblems. And I'll just reiterate that the helmet selection is poorly designed. I mean the default Recruit helmet is one of the only decent designs. Where's my CQB helmet?

They simplified it a bit too. There used to be three layers, I believe. At least in Reach. Either way, they made it so I can't make the Tom Cat wear a cowboy hat anymore. : (

where the fuck is the frown face GODDAMMIT

Oh, thank god I unlocked my two vertical blades in front of a circle. This game is saved!

I got my Coffee cup with a skull at level 2, I was a happy camper.

I like coffee.

I am very sad that the Phoenix and shield are gone :(

Fucking seriously? I was already pissed off about emblems being locked away (which is really stupid) but now I'm finding out that the the Pheonix Shield I've had since Halo 2 is not even in the game!? Ugh. Emblem locks are terrible 343, that and not showing everything that can be unlocked while revealing them only after you level towards a certain point is another stupid thing.

@Oscar__Explosion: Thanks for the info, maybe I can take it a bit easy... I haven't seen an official unlock list yet, so maybe there's hope. Totally agree that locking at least the original emblems (you know, the ones we've been using for 2, 3, or even 4 games now) is utterly stupid. I can understand locking up new ones and giving them to you for certain commendations, but the old ones are part of people's online identity.

You're on notice for this one thing 343. Still an amazing game, but you've got a few hiccups along the way.

Not sure why emblems need to be locked away... I've been a flaming ninja since the beginning.

@HatKing: I think that you're wrong there... there are still three colors and you can remove one of the colors from the foreground emblem.

@Phoenix654: Well, whatever happened, it appears that they removed the cowboy hat. I have no interest in hatless cats.

@Phoenix654: Well, whatever happened, it appears that they removed the cowboy hat. I have no interest in hatless cats.

@Sparklykiss said:

@HatKing

@Phoenix654: Well, whatever happened, it appears that they removed the cowboy hat. I have no interest in hatless cats.

Pretty sure that was a background. And didn't know any of this info before. I always did the rose and made it look like Beauty and the Beast or the lips. Guess it's time to be a unicorn or a naked cartoon pussy(cat).

Yeah, the cowboy hat is still there, just takes FOREVER to unlock it. I think you don't get any backgrounds at all until level 21.

I think the emblems being locked is dumb also I dont think that chart is entirely correct.

@Demoskinos: So far as I can discern, it's been accurate so far. I've made it up to level 37 or so.

And they also got rid of the pill emblem that I always used.....but its just an emblem so I moved on to using the falcon with a crown on its head.

@Demoskinos: Fair enough. I meant accurate in the sense of no emblems not listed have shown up yet... if that sentence makes sense at all. The unlock levels and where they're placed might not be 100%, but I think this is the complete list of them.

@Demoskinos: Yeah, looks like it... sonovabitch...

I am really disappointed they got rid of the rose.

@TooWalrus said:

Not sure why emblems need to be locked away... I've been a flaming ninja since the beginning.

agreed, making you unlock the emblems is dumb, at least the original emblems. Fair enough if they want to lock out new special emblems but people this far into the series should still be allowed the same emblem they always had.

I too have stuck with the same emblem across multiple games. It is aggravating to not have access to it until I've put in dozens of hours of game time.

Yeah, I'm normally a gold fleur de lis on a black circle or a white and red target. I haven't even seen either of those options yet. But hey, I have tons of armor options to blow unlock tokens on.