Okay, ik m only going to be replying to one part of your argument because it is bothering me very much. Yuh ou completely brush off the fact that the infinity was able to punch a hole through the Mantle's approach. This is significant because this was a fully shielded FORERUNNER ship, and a massive one at that, haveing way over 10 times the volume of the Long Night of Solace. If the infinity was able to puncture the much more powerful shields (assuming they are more powerful than the LNoS due it being a forerunner ship and having a much greater power reserve) I think it is safe to say that the infinity can damage the LNoS, maybe even cripple it with one shot.
Also: the Mantles Approach is assumed to have much more durable armor than any covenant ship because again, its forerunner.
Is it mentioned anywhere that the LNoS was able to tank ODP and ship based MAC rounds? I haven't read any of the comics or anything but as far as a know the only appearance of a CSO supercarrier is in halo reach and no where else. And in-game as soon as the carrier is revealed it books it to space and gets far out of range of the ODPs. So idk how in that time frame it would have had to tank as many shots as you said it did. Then again i could have missed something in the expanded lore.
And you say that the infinity wouldn't be able to destroy a CSO directly under it like it is relevant, and how is it? It is not like that will ever happen in an actual ship to ship engagement, unless you think the CSO would somehow be able to completely blindside the infinity which I dont see how it would since its pretty hard to not spot a ship as large as the CSO, so why would you even mention that? To show off the strengths of one ship? Why dont you mention that if it was an actual ship battle the infinity would be able to stay far out of range of the CSO's weapons and poke at it with its OP macs which are, like I said before, able to pierce the hull of a fully shielded forerunner ship.
I’m unsure who you are replying to here but in relation to Infinity MAC’s penetrating Mantle’s Approach, they did not punch a whole through MA like you stated. All they did was create an entry point on one side of the hull just large enough for a Broadsword to enter the ship, and which self sealed a moment later. We never actually see the ODP’s around Earth hitting MA, we’re only told there fire is ineffective which it would be any any holes they are punching in MA are immediately self sealing or being intercepted by Forerunner AA particle cannons.
Infinity’s inability to destroy, disable, slow down or prevent MA firing its converter at Earth does not prove in any way, shape or form it’s weapons would be any more effective against a CSO Super Carrier then human MAC guns have been against Covenant shields and armour up to this point.
As a side note, the Halo Warfleet book does not list energy shielding as being part of MA’s defences like it did with Infinity, Shadow of Intent or Truth and Reconciliation. It’s entirely possible MA is not equipped with energy shielding but rather self repairing armour as it is stated parts of the ship are composed of hard-light.
In relation to LNoS taking on Reach entire defence grid over Reach including the 20 ODP’s, this is self evident. The Super Carrier teleported itself straight into Reach atmosphere beneath the ODP’s. ODP’s are stationary MAC cannons without interplanetary or slip-space engines, so their only option would have been to engage LNoS. At the same time LNoS is not going to sit in Reach’s orbit and allow itself to be pummelled by MAC cannon fire from above without retaliation.
The very fact the mission ‘Long Night of Solace’ starts several hours after this LNoS has been deployed into Reach’s atmosphere, and LNoS bares no visible battle damage while still in uncontested orbit over Reach tells you everything you need to know. You may not see LNoS fighting or destroying these platforms, but the very fact they are not there and LNoS is means LNoS withstood every MAC cannon these platforms could fire at it before it destroyed them in turn, since they could not flee.
If you woke up tomorrow morning to find a foreign army occupying every city and port in your country, would you really believe your own government or armed forces were still in tact and functional just because you did not actually see them get defeated?
And I think your mistaken, as LNoS did not ‘book it’ to get out of range of Reach’s defence grid. The ship is in high orbit in the mission where you destroy it. You actually fall from the Corvette into Reach’s atmosphere as the Corvette is entering LNoS’s docking port.
This could not have happened if either ship was not in orbit of Reach.
The following transcript from the missions proves LNoS is still in orbit of Reach hrs after its deployed;
Catherine-B320: "Objective? Destroy Covenant carrier in geosynchronous orbit above us."
How exactly do you think LNoS could have outrun the ranges of Reach’s ODP’s if it is still in geosynchronous orbit of the planet?
In relation to the vulnerability of UNSC warships to taking fire in their flanks, I can think of 3 separate occasions this has been exploited to destroy or incapacitate UNSC ships. The afore mentioned frigate LNoS destroyed in Halo Reach, the Marathon-class heavy cruiser destroyed by a CAS-class Assault Carrier during the Battle of Earth itself, and the occasion Infinity itself was broadsided and incapacitated by a Covenant space station 1/5 its overall length.
How is the fact UNSC warships are completely vulnerable to Covenant warships from any angle of approach, and the fact there only effective ship killing weapon requires horizontal and vertical line of sight with its target not relevant to a conventional fight between these 2 ships?
And why do you think Infinity would be able to get out of range of a CSO-class Super Carriers energy projectors but it’s MAC cannon would still be within range?
The opposite was true in the novel, as the Covenant flagship was able to sit comfortably outside the range of Reach’s ODP’s a destroy 8 human warships at will?
Do you have the effective ranges of MAC cannons and and Covenant energy projectors written down?
If this is an effective tactic why have we never seen it used before, and why did the UNSC fleet in the game not use this tactic before according to Carter’s words all their nukes ‘went down on the ships that carried them’?
Have I missed anything?