So I just played a little bit of Halo 4's campaign and enjoyed the first two missions quite a lot, however, I looked at the first terminal and didn't enjoy the way that information was presented whatsoever (the slowest narrated codex ever apparently that there doesn't seem to be any way to access again or in text form) and I shan't be looking for the rest of them if they are all like that (or watching them on youtube through fear of spoiling something.)

I was hoping someone would be kind enough to post an introduction to Halo 4's villain for me so I have some context for the guy. I haven't read any of the books but I'm a huge fan of the games and I consider scanning the wiki and other forums a huge risk as far as spoilers go. I hear a lot of people say as a player you feel like the only one who doesn't know who the villain is or what he's about so if I could get just a paragraph detailing everything important about him up until Halo 4 in the timeline, that would be awesome, and hopefully enrich the experience for me, rather than leave me feeling lost.

Thanks!

Take a look at this. It's pretty comprehensive, and it goes right up to the beginning of Halo 4. It's probably a bit of overkill with regards to what you're asking, but I think it provides some good context. At least you'll understand some of the stuff going on.

EDIT: Now that I think about it, there's a chance that some of this stuff might be reveals in the game, but I honestly can't remember. All I remember was being really confused about some plot points until I read this (after I had finished the game).

I got bored one morning and read all the Halo lore on the Halo Nation wiki, and here's what I remember.

Long ago, there was a species called Forerunners that fought, and pretty much lost to the Flood. They built the Halo system and used it to wipe out the flood as well as a ton of sentient life. They had something called The Mantle, an ideology that they were the guardians of life in the galaxy and had a responsibility to protect biodiversity in the galaxy. There are two forerunners that we know of, The Librarian and The Didact, who were husband and wife. The Librarian went out to record and save as much life as possible before the Halos were activated. The Didact was the supreme military leader at this point in the Flood war, and while heavily against their usage due to his strong belief in The Mantle, ultimately activated the Halos.

I need to spend my time better...

@Turambar: @tsiro: Very interesting, many thanks to the both of you. I'm going to assume humanity doesn't quite know all of this stuff in detail though?

Edit: I was aware of the majority of this stuff (the flood/forerunner war etc.) just not that there was a didact, that guilty spark had memories of etc. I'm sure it will make more sense as I play though.

@Benny: you know, I don't actually know. I would doubt it, but they certainly know at least some of it (specifically, the name of the antagonist).

I'm assuming that a lot of this stuff is in the Halo book series. There is a lot of lore that would feel out of place if they just started explaining it all in game. I think the whole Didact, Librarian, and Mantle thing is really cool though.

One thing the background info doesn't explain is why he's such a raging dick when you come across in him in the game. Or why he's the bad guy really, when he obviously had some good intentions.

I'd just like to know which of the books cover it, because I genuinely love the books.

Is it weird that I was able to piece together everything happening in the game with the information given to me in this game and Halo 2/3? I feel like they had a moment where they explained what the Didact was, same with the Librarian, maybe not thoroughly, but enough where I knew these were members of the Forerunners who fought the flood. I swear there was a scene where the Librarian comes out and straight up explains all this. And you learn about the Forerunners plenty in Halo 3. Also, I definitely don't remember them addressing the villain before knowing who he was. I think he introduces himself briefly when you 'free' him. Am I remembering this all wrong?

@HatKing said:

Is it weird that I was able to piece together everything happening in the game with the information given to me in this game and Halo 2/3? I feel like they had a moment where they explained what the Didact was, same with the Librarian, maybe not thoroughly, but enough where I knew these were members of the Forerunners who fought the flood. I swear there was a scene where the Librarian comes out and straight up explains all this. And you learn about the Forerunners plenty in Halo 3. Also, I definitely don't remember them addressing the villain before knowing who he was. I think he introduces himself briefly when you 'free' him. Am I remembering this all wrong?

Pretty much the same experience I had. The introduction is a slow build and that kinda matches what the character would be feeling. You don't know everything until the Librarian lays it all out about halfway through the game. You just know he's a raging douche and you need to stop him because: video games. Then the explanation comes around the end of mission 5 I think? Something like that.

@HatKing said:

Is it weird that I was able to piece together everything happening in the game with the information given to me in this game and Halo 2/3? I feel like they had a moment where they explained what the Didact was, same with the Librarian, maybe not thoroughly, but enough where I knew these were members of the Forerunners who fought the flood. I swear there was a scene where the Librarian comes out and straight up explains all this. And you learn about the Forerunners plenty in Halo 3. Also, I definitely don't remember them addressing the villain before knowing who he was. I think he introduces himself briefly when you 'free' him. Am I remembering this all wrong?

Pretty much the same experience I had. The introduction is a slow build and that kinda matches what the character would be feeling. You don't know everything until the Librarian lays it all out about halfway through the game. You just know he's a raging douche and you need to stop him because: video games. Then the explanation comes around the end of mission 5 I think? Something like that.

@MordeaniisChaos: Cryptum and Primordial.

@csl316 said:

@ZZoMBiE13

@HatKing said:

Is it weird that I was able to piece together everything happening in the game with the information given to me in this game and Halo 2/3? I feel like they had a moment where they explained what the Didact was, same with the Librarian, maybe not thoroughly, but enough where I knew these were members of the Forerunners who fought the flood. I swear there was a scene where the Librarian comes out and straight up explains all this. And you learn about the Forerunners plenty in Halo 3. Also, I definitely don't remember them addressing the villain before knowing who he was. I think he introduces himself briefly when you 'free' him. Am I remembering this all wrong?

Pretty much the same experience I had. The introduction is a slow build and that kinda matches what the character would be feeling. You don't know everything until the Librarian lays it all out about halfway through the game. You just know he's a raging douche and you need to stop him because: video games. Then the explanation comes around the end of mission 5 I think? Something like that.

We played it on co op so I didn't give the story my full attention, but I still felt like I got what I needed just from the game. And I thought Cortana pulled the name out of some database and that's how they learned the name, at least. No prior knowledge.

I played on co-op too, but my buddy and I are big Halo nerds. So we always lock in on the story when we co-op. But I am looking forward to replaying it alone to see if there's stuff I missed and what not.

One thing the background info doesn't explain is why he's such a raging dick when you come across in him in the game. Or why he's the bad guy really, when he obviously had some good intentions.

Humans took the mantle from the forerunner I mean.

@Phatmac said:

@MikkaQ

One thing the background info doesn't explain is why he's such a raging dick when you come across in him in the game. Or why he's the bad guy really, when he obviously had some good intentions.

He hates humans since they took the mantle from humanity. He views humans as a infection that won't stop. That's why he wants to kill humans.

Now I'm really confused because I thought the mantle was like the name of their code or something, and I thought that the Forerunner basically admitted that humanity was better than then and that it was them who had to "reclaim" the galaxy. I guess he's just a rogue dick or something?

Bah I don't know. I should probably play more Halo 4.

@MikkaQ: I think you got it right, he won't accept humanity as the guardians of life because, I think, in his heart he feels they are inferior to Forerunners

I'm almost in the same boat as TC and I finished the game. Chief is like, "Huh?" and everybody else is like, "Oh, of course, it's the Dydact! We all know exactly who this guy is! Hey Dydact, how have you been?"

@Benny: Go on youtube and watch the Halo 4 terminal videos. They spoil who the bad guy is and what he looks like, but you already know who it is right?

@zombie2011: Already finished the game but I'll probably watch all those now. The first image I was linked to in this forum was incredibly helpful though. Extremely odd that they didn't explain who he was at all and I would have had no idea what was going on if I didn't see that image. Could have very easily had Cortana explain it in a voice over message while you continued playing or something.

Man, I hope they make the next campaign way crazier...

Did they ever explain why the elites are dicks again? I recall some vague statement early in the game about how the covenant were "more radical" than the ones previously encountered and Brad saying something about them being part of a different group in the quick look or something.

@bananaz said:

I'm almost in the same boat as TC and I finished the game. Chief is like, "Huh?" and everybody else is like, "Oh, of course, it's the Dydact! We all know exactly who this guy is! Hey Dydact, how have you been?"

I still don't get this. When did this happen? I posted the video in this thread (which apparently got deleted) and nothing like that happens. Apparently I'm missing something.

@FunkasaurasRex: I think they're a splinter group of Religious fanatics.

@kishinfoulux said:

@bananaz said:

I'm almost in the same boat as TC and I finished the game. Chief is like, "Huh?" and everybody else is like, "Oh, of course, it's the Dydact! We all know exactly who this guy is! Hey Dydact, how have you been?"

I still don't get this. When did this happen? I posted the video in this thread (which apparently got deleted) and nothing like that happens. Apparently I'm missing something.

It's an extreme exaggeration and a joke. I'm not being serious or literal. As soon as the Didact appears, everyone knows it's "The Didact". He never introduces himself as a Didact or explains his motivations or purposes. The librarian tells you everything later.

@tankintheair315 said:

@FunkasaurasRex: I think they're a splinter group of Religious fanatics.

Yep

It's explained in detail in Spartan Ops.

@bananaz said:

@kishinfoulux said:

@bananaz said:

I'm almost in the same boat as TC and I finished the game. Chief is like, "Huh?" and everybody else is like, "Oh, of course, it's the Dydact! We all know exactly who this guy is! Hey Dydact, how have you been?"

I still don't get this. When did this happen? I posted the video in this thread (which apparently got deleted) and nothing like that happens. Apparently I'm missing something.

It's an extreme exaggeration and a joke. I'm not being serious or literal. As soon as the Didact appears, everyone knows it's "The Didact". He never introduces himself as a Didact or explains his motivations or purposes. The librarian tells you everything later.

The ex-Covenant terrorist group led by Jul 'Mdama were looking for Didact on Requiem.

Cortana was in the Forerunner computer systems multiple times, when the Chief has his hands on the contact pillars was probably when she realized it was Didact in the sphere.