The Arbiter (Halo 2)
Thel ‘Vadam is in a bad place as Halo 2 starts. The Master Chief destroyed the Covenant’s “holy relic” and the Prophets need someone to pin the blame on. Stripping his Elite rank and publicly torturing him wins the rest of the crowd over, but he’s still got a greater purpose to them.
The Arbiter is a Covenant rank given to those who go on missions for the Prophets with the vague hope of doing enough to rejoin the Great Journey, or at least die and be given a posthumous award. He’s literally just being sent to die with a fancy title added to his name; the Shipmaster clearly states that his life is nothing compared to the other Covenant on the ship with them, and even Thel views this new job as a death sentence. But when you’ve got nothing else in your life, anything will do.
This level isn’t just important because it helps set things up for the Covenant Civil War that kicks off a few missions later. It also provides a quick glimpse into Covenant culture and their hierarchy for the Elites, certainly the most famous of the Covenant. While there isn’t an enormous difference to playing as Elite, you do get to use their active camo and wicked energy swords, which makes playing as the Arbiter all the more worth it.
