I found a website called Clantacular that allows clans to make group sites similar to the ones on Bungie.net and set up clan battles with other clans. I'm going to be using Clantacular to get us known in the clan community and set up clan battles easier. I included a link icon at the bottom of the home page that looks like this:

Click it to like our group site on Clantacular or join our site. Joining our site on Clantacular is optional but I do recommend it. I think we would gain more recruits if they saw that our site had some members.

Take an inside look at the making of the most anticipated game of the year!

343 had already announced that there would be Specializations in Halo and there were rumors going around about how certain armor gave you a certain specialization, however, this is not the case. 343 has confirmed that Specializations enlist you into certain rank paths and as you rank up in that rank path, you will unlock  armor sets, visor colors, emblems, armor mods, and weapon and armor skins. The armor sets do not affect your gameplay! The only thing that affects your gameplay is the armor mods, which you can use with any armor. The armor mods may seem similar to perks on COD at first, but they're actually more like classes on Battlefield. Armor mods allow you to customize your role in the game. 

Get all the details here: http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/08/15/The-Halo-Bulletin-81512.aspx

Recruitment should now be one of our top priorities. We now have only 13 members. Think about posting pictures in the File Browser to try to recruit members. Punxsutawny has already given instructions on what to post with it. Also ask people you meet and some random freinds that are Halo: Reach players.

All of the information in this post was received from the following source:  http://halo.xbox.com/blogs/Headlines/post/2012/08/08/The-Halo-Bulletin-8812.aspx

I have no doubt that Halo 4 gameplay will be very different from any other Halo. In the past, gameplay in Halo has been drastically changed throughout every game, while still keeping it Halo. 343 is throwing in some minor elements from other FPS games like COD into Halo to gain some COD players. Halo 4 is the start of a new trilogy  and 343 wants to stay in competition with the copy-and-paste-same-game-every-year Call of Duty franchise so they're throwing in some different changes. If you don't like these changes, there will probably be a "Classic" or "MLG" playlist like in past Halo games; just not right after launch. 

Here's a preview of some of the sound effects from Halo 4.

As in most Halos, some new weapons have been brought in and some old ones have been modified. All of the weapons have new sound effects that sound amazing. It seems that a lot of the weapons have some added recoil, unlike in most Halos. The guns feel more powerful with the combination of the added recoil and more realistic sound effects. Halo 4 seems to have slightly enhanced aim assist. The guns and the game overall seem more futuristic. One interesting fact that I observed was that some guns have reticle bloom and some don't.

The assault rifle hasn't been changed that much. It stands as a slightly more powerful Halo 3 AR and the gun itself looks more like one too. It still plays the same; a decent close to mid-range weapon, but it is more precise. The player seems to have more control over the spread of the gun and the accuracy and range has been upped a tad.

The Battle Rifle has never looked better in my opinion. It looks sort of like a futuristic Halo version of the FAMAS with a digital holographic sight on the top. It plays like the classic Battle Rifle from Halo 3; It is a mid to long range weapon leaning more towards mid-range with no reticle bloom. This version of the Battle Rifle has 2x zoom and has recoil so you may need to realign your target after the first or second shot. Aiming at the chest and letting the recoil land the third shot at the head seems like a simple solution. 

The DMR still looks like it did in Reach but it doesn't play like it did. It still has reticle bloom but you don't really have to worry about the reticle bloom unless your in long range battles. The DMR plays as a mid to long range weapon but it's leaning more on long range this time. It has 3x zoom and has a slower rate of fire than in Reach. 

The Magnum has the same classic look but it actually plays as more of a side arm this time. It is just a little weaker than your primary weapons but it has one of the fastest rates of fire for a semi-auto gun in the game. The Magnum has no scope again and plays close to mid-range. 

This edition of the Shotgun looks surprisingly futuristic. It has longer range with less damage fall off and is a one-shot kill at point blank range. It seems like a mixture between the Halo 3 shotgun and Halo Reach shotgun.

This is the first Light Machine Gun to ever appear in a Halo game. It seems like a replacement of the SMG and plays like a mixture of the Assault Rifle and Halo 3 SMG except with a bigger mag. It has one of the fastest rates of fire for an automatic weapon in the game. It has a large rectangular reticle featuring reticle bloom. Don't mistake it as an overpowered Assault Rifle. 

The sticky detonator is like Halo 4's version of the Halo Reach Grenade Launcher. It looks like a pistol with a big grenade on the end of it. The grenade sticks to surfaces rather than bouncing all over the place like the Reach Grenade Launcher, but it's really hard to stick people with it directly. It can be remotely detonated like a claymore or the operator can choose when to detonate it, like C4.

Many people think of the Railgun as smaller version of the Spartan Laser but it plays like a more powerful Brute Shot. It has no scope and it has splash damage. It charges way faster than the Spartan Laser and you charge it before every shot. Chris from the Halo Bulletin on Waypoint says, "One other pro-tip: Try using this in conjunction with Promethean Vision!" The Railgun shoots similar to the Gauss Turret which, as you all know, can shoot through walls. Promethean Vision allows you to see through walls so there's a SLIM chance that you can shoot through walls or maybe certain objects with the Railgun.

It looks and plays like it's old self. It's like a mixture between Halo 3 and Reach's Spartan Laser.

It's almost exactly the same as the Rocket Launcher from Reach but it has a faster projectile speed and a larger blast radius.

The Sniper Rifle looks pretty much the same. It's ease of use stands between Halo 2 and Reach. The Sniper feels a lot more powerful due to the new sound effects and added recoil. You won't have to worry about the recoil that much though because the reticle resets back to center before each shot and Halo 4's enhanced aim assist should help you out.

There was a single frame of the Halo 4 Weapons video that I caught a glimpse of what looks like a Forerunner Pistol.

If you didn't already know, we will quickly be transitioning to Halo 4 when it comes out. There may be changes that will be made to the clan to better fit Halo 4. Good news is, they have officially confirmed armor customization; it looks like there will be more armor types than any other Halo game too!  Some of the armor from Halo Reach is being remade in Halo 4, such as: HAZOP, RECON, and GUNGNIR.  There will also be weapon and armor skins; I know some of these come with the game when pre-orderd, but there is a possibility they will be available to unlock later in the game, similar to the Recon Helmet on Reach. I will probably leave the weapon skins as a personal choice, but I'm not sure about the armor skins.  I may leave armor skins up to the division to decide but this is subject to change. 

Post what you think!

If you've taken a look at the "Most Downloaded Screenshots" recently, you will notice that many of the screenshots advertise clans.  We need to make ourselves known so I need all members that have a hard-drive to download and recommend a screenshot that I put in my file share.  We don't have to stop at just one screenshot though.  Make your own screenshots to advertise the clan.  Make a screenshot of your squad or your division maybe.  Just put "Join The Agency Clan" for the Title and "MSG PunxsutawnyFil to join; recommend, and download." for the description.  Upload it to your file share and put in a bunch of tags that have to do with the clan or screenshot.  Send a message out to other members saying to download and recommend your screenshot.  Get other members to tag the screenshot as well.

I could also use some screenshots for the site. If you think you have a cool screenshot, put it on your file share and message me saying you want it to be put on the site; doing this does not guarantee that your screenshot will be put on the site, but it has no chance if you don't.  

Not everyone has a capture card put most people have a hard drive in their Xbox so this is one way for everyone to help make the clan known. 

Welcome to the new official website of The Agency. This is the Agency News Board. News and Announcements will be posted here periodically. The News Board is similar to a blog. Certain people can make posts but anyone can comment on the posts. The News Board is a replacement for the news post from our old Bungie.net site, which we will no longer use; I will be deleting it soon. 

The new website is great. As you can see, I made the site using Weebly. I worked on it for about a week before publishing it, but it is still a work in progress. There are more things I plan on adding to the site. The new website has tons of advantages.

• It is more appealing than Bungie.net.
• It is easier to access.
• It is more likely for the public to find the site. (We may gain recruits just by people coming across the site)
• I can post pictures and embed You Tube videos.
• The site can be viewed on smart phones. (Mobile version and Desktop version)
• Editors can edit the site with their smart phones using the Weebly app.
• It can hold multiple pages.
• It as more features.
• etc.

The website overall is a huge plus, but there is just two disadvantages.

• Everything is public. (On Bungie.net everything was private)
• I cant assign  custom roles to editors. (In other words, editors can edit anything they want)

Hopefully I'll come up with a solution to both of these problems. For now though, editors will not be allowed edit anything other than their assigned pages or they will face the consequences stated under "Consequences" on the "Rules" page. 

Please take a look at all of the rules on the "Rules" page. There are tons of new rules that you need to know. 

Remember: Anyone can comment on these News Posts so why not make the site look active? Comment on it! State your opinion!