: I haven't read anything from the EU since 343I took over, but did they ever
: have a scene in the books or comics depicting the Arbiter giving up his
: rank and armor? If not, then this is just showing him with a new suit of
: armor just because someone thought he could use a redesign, and thus would
: have nothing to do with character development or growth. It's simply
: "Hey. Here's how the Arbiter looks now. Enjoy our new artistic
: vision!" Given what I've seen over the past couple of years, I think
: it's the latter case.

: Take the Chief. He was in cryo for years in the rear half of a wrecked,
: barely functioning ship. There was no opportunity for him to get a new
: suit of armor. 343I's art department wanted to redesign him for no other
: reason that because they wanted to. Some utterly nonsensical throwaway
: excuses were offered, but those were just half-assed attempts to placate
: those who don't like the fact that the franchise is being treated so
: cavalierly in terms of visuals. It still didn't explain why the Dawn
: suddenly changed ship classes (its wreckage as shown in Halo 4 is a
: supersized version of the rear half of the new Strident-class frigate) or
: why the physiology of the Grunts and especially the Jackals was so
: radically altered. The Chief's armor, the Dawn, and all those other
: changes had fuck all to do with character development or moving the plot
: forward. It was just change for the sake of change. I somehow doubt the
: Arbiter's new armor is any different.

Just because you doubt it doesn't mean you're right. In fact, all signs seem to show them moving BACK to Pre-Halo 4 designs with a lot of races and stuff.

With the Arbiter's design, it fits his role. He's no longer a shamed commander forced to wear an honorary title with an open chestplate that shows his Mark of Shame. He's the practical unifier of an entire species, the leader of the Sangheili into a new age, one without the rule of the San'Shyuum. He's wearing the armor of a Kaidon. Calling this a redesign and bitching about it is like calling Johnson's formal suit at the beginning of Halo 2 a redesign.