Enyclopedia BOBtannica

[ColdGlider]

The purpose of this topic is to keep a list of the known BOB spawns. their SGP-assigned BOB IDs, and their in-game coordinates.
Links to resources (confirmation videos, Bungie File Share media, etc) appear with the corresponding BOB spawn ID, when available.

SGP BOB IDs utilize "MAN Codes".  These are in the format M-A-N where:

M = the mission number in which the BOB is found:

1	Noble Actual
2	Winter Contingency
3	ONI: Sword Base
4	Nightfall
5	Tip of the Spear
6	Long Night of Solace
7	Exodus
8	New Alexandria
9	The Package
10	The Pillar of Autumn
11	Lone Wolf

Note: This numbering is consistent with Bungie's campaign level achievement descriptions.  For example, the "KEEP IT CLEAN" achievement description "Killed 7 Moa during the 2nd mission of the Campaign" refers to Winter Contingency.

A = code specifying the area of the mission in which the BOB can be found.  In most cases, this is either:

• S:  Mission Start (after the start of the mission and before Rally Point Alpha.
• A:  After Rally Point Alpha and before Rally Point Bravo
• B:  After Rally Point Bravo

"Provisional" BOBs are BOBs that have been reported, but not yet fully tested by the SGP or assigned an offical BOB ID.  These are indicated by an "X" in this position.  Provisional BOB IDs are intended to be replaced later and dropped from regular use.

It is common among our BOB hunters here to pronounce the area letters using the NATO phonetic alphabet.  Thus, 6-B-01 would be pronounced "Six Bravo One" and 4-S-01 would be pronounced "Four Sierra One".

N = sequence number to make codes unique when multiple BOB spawns exist in the same area.

Winter Contingency (7 Spawn Areas / 7 Spawn Points)

2-W-02
Location: Western Complex, Building labeled "2"
Spawning Coordinates: [missing - go get 'em!]

2-W-B5
Location: Western Complex, Building labeled "B5"
Spawning Coordinates: 395.865, 166.261, -18.944

2-W-07
Location: Western Complex, Building labeled "7"
Spawning Coordinates: 414.259, 171.520, -19.611

2-E-B5
Location: Eastern Complex, Building labeled "B5"
Spawning Coordinates: 483.180 100.828, -24.100

2-E-06
Location: Eastern Complex, Building labeled "6"
Spawning Coordinates: 485.087, 94.664, -24.575

2-N-07
Location: Northern Complex, Building labeled "7"
Spawning Coordinates: 513.407, 223.890, -35.359

2-N-ST
Location: Northern Complex, "storeroom" area behind broken wall in northwest corner
Spawning Coordinates: [missing - go get 'em!]

[Video Guide] by HomerSPC, YouTube 2011.10.08
Official SGP Video "Halo: Reach - BOB Guide - Winter Contingency" by ColdGlider and Homerspc - Shows all 7 spawns!

ONI: Sword Base (2 Spawn Areas / 2 Spawn Points, each of which has 8 appearance variants)

3-B-01
Location: Random Elite Type in White Armor outside ONI Base before Hunters

[Confirmation Video] by SecretGlyphProject, 2011.10.24

Confirmations:

• "If It Bleeds..." 2011.10.22 [Game Info]

3-B-02
Location: Random Elite Type in White Armor inside ONI Base

Nightfall (3 Spawn Areas / 3 Spawn Points)

4-S-01
Location: Spawns near broken bridge in first major silo area.

[Video] by Scatcycle01, 2011.04.22
Shows spawn location

4-A-01
Location: Spawns on roof of building B5 in pumping station area (same area from "Waterfront" Firefight map.)

4-B-01
Location: Spawns on small bridge in hydro plant (same area as "Powerhouse" multiplayer map.)

Tip of the Spear (2 Confirmed Spawn Areas / 4 Confirmed Spawn Points / 1 Unconfirmed Spawn Area)

5-S-01
Location:  On top of a rocky ledge just after the Warthogs are dropped at the beginning of the mission.

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of Phantasm2008

[Video] by MLGLegendary, 2011.04.12
Nice job done here, although I'm not sure about the statement that you also have to kill a normal elite at the beginning of the level to get the Golden Opportunity challenge.

5-B-01
BOB spawn 5-B-01 has three spawning variants. 

The variant spawn points were collectively known by the Reach Secrets group as the "Spire BOB":

There is an agressive BoB with a Fuel Rod right after crashing your Falcon into the sheild around the Spire. This BoB has many spawns around (and maybe even in) the Spire, but he always seems to make a run for the Spire at some point, making him even harder to kill in time.

The variants (1.1, 1.2, and 1.3) are numbered in order of proximity to your starting point at Rally Point Bravo; therefore, it is best to search for the BOB in the same order.

5-B-1.1
Location:  In the middle of the rocks immediately ahead of your Falcon's crash location.

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of ColdGlider

5-B-1.2
Location:  Just outside of the rock tunnel entrance which leads up to the rocky plateau containing a generator during Invasion matches on the "Spire" multiplayer map.

[Confirmation Video] by SecretGlyphProject, 2011.11.06

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of ColdGlider

5-B-1.3
Location:  On the rocky plateau containing a generator during Invasion matches on the "Spire" multiplayer map.

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of ColdGlider

5-X-01
THIS SPAWN HAS NOT YET BEEN DOCUMENTED TO OCCUR IN-GAME, ALTHOUGH ITS EXISTENCE HAS BEEN CONFIRMED BY BUNGIE.
Location: Unknown!!!

SGP Member Lord Friendship received a reply (through Urk) from Niles Sankey (Lead Mission designer for Reach) on the HBO forums on 12/16/2011 (link)

Dear Lord Friendship,

I took a little time to look into the case of the missing Gold Ranger Elite. It’s been a while since I’ve looked at these scripts. At first I thought there was (as you suggest in your post) a bug that prevented Bob from spawning 25% of the time. At the top of the script I noticed the random value assigned to the spawn variable was set to a value ranging between 1-4. The script was then evaluating this variable but there was were only three values it was checking for: 1-3. This confused me at first but then someone (thanks Dom!) pointed out that the last function checks for a value greater than or equal to 3. So basically the likelihood that Bob will spawn in the final area is 50% and the other two are 25% each. Also, it should be noted that the three Bobs that spawn in your lower screenshot are all controlled by the same spawning function but this particular Bob squad (even a single AI is referred to as a squad) has three starting locations that the engine randomly chooses from.

In any case, it appears that the script is working as designed and I don’t see any reason why Bob wouldn’t be spawning in.

All of that being said, it would appear that you have not identified one of the locations of Bob in this mission. According to the scripts and the object placements in the level editor, there is one more place that he should be spawning. On the other hand, with the amount of time you’ve put into the game, I can’t believe you wouldn’t have seen him unless there is a bug preventing it. Ahhh, the mysteries of life.

Thanks for posting your question. I hope this reply was at least somewhat interesting.

Niles

SGP Discussion thread.

Long Night of Solace (3 Spawn Areas / 5 Spawn Points)

6-S-01 ("The Beach BOB")

This spawn has three variant spawn points (1.1, 1.2, and 1.3) are numbered in order of proximity to Mission Start.

6-S-1.1
Location: Top of the hill exiting the first drop pod encounter area.

[Video Guide] by LordFriendship, 2011.09.06
LordFriendship has done a LOT of research on this BOB Spawn.  He's the current "Beach BOB" expert!

6-S-1.2
Location: Bottom of the hill exiting the first drop pod encounter area, near a mobile UNSC barrier.

6-S-1.3
Location: At the pier where the wraith spawns, next to the Launch Facility.

6-B-01
Location: Corvette's Bridge, operating controls.  Found during the objective "Proceed to the Bridge", after allowing the Pelican to land during Rally Point Bravo.  

[Confirmation Video] by SecretGlyphProject, 2011.10.24

Confirmations:

• "If It Bleeds..." on 2011.10.22 by Insane Monx. [Game Info]
• "If It Bleeds..." on 2011.10.22 by Nox [Game Info]

6-B-02
Location: Same area as the Firefight map "Corvette" when you visit it a second time after the pelican lands and you storm the bridge.

Exodus (3 Spawn Areas / 3 Spawn Points)

7-A-01
Location: Banshee which boosts between outside buildings on way to second building.

[Confirmation Video] by SecretGlyphProject, 2011.10.06
CG's video confirmation that this BOB awards the "Golden Opportunity" daily challenge.

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of Scatcycle

7-B-01
Location: Banshee which appears during Falcon gunner sequence

[Confirmation Video] by SecretGlyphProject, 2011.10.24

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of Scatcycle

Here is a clip of the BOB, but unfortunately, the wings were not damaged in the clip. This means we can't watch it go into the ocean. If someone can damage it and get a clip, it would be nice.

7-B-02
Location: Banshee which appears at end of level when moving close to bridge. (Area from firefight map)

[Confirmation Video] by SecretGlyphProject, 2011.10.10
CG's video confirmation that this BOB awards the "Golden Opportunity" daily challenge.

[IN-GAME FILM CLIP] Courtesy of ColdGlider
Shows the flight path of the BOB, from spawn to automatic death.

New Alexandria (2 Spawn Areas / 2 Spawn Points)

8-S-01
Location: Banshee which spawns next to the Vyrant Telecom Tower (containing Club Errera).  Exact spawn trigger unknown.

Confirmed 2011.11.13 to grant Golden Tree City challenge.  Confirmation video pending.

[Video] by BungieProVideo, 2011.01.25
Shows spawn point and destruction

[Video] by Moose0012, 2011.01.20
Good guide, showing direct path and altitude to lock.

[Video] by Helltech, 2011.01.19
Video claims spawn occurs after 5 minutes, which is probably untrue (see Moose's video above where it spawns after 4 min.)

8-S-02
Location: Banshee which spawns behind the mission start landing platform.  Known on Halocreation as "4ème BOB".

[Forum Guide] at www.halocreation.org (French)

Confirmed 2011.11.13 to grant Golden Tree City challenge.  Confirmation video pending.

Lone Wolf (1 Spawn Area / 1 Spawn Point)

11-O-01
Location: Spawns with energy sword in a squad containing Elite Generals after a set number of kills (36, per Lord Friendship).

[Video] by Lord Friendship, 2011.05.16
Lord Friendship kills the BOB on Heroic.

[Imppa]

O.o
Wow.
THIS is science! THIS is SGP!

[Lord Friendship]

Nice work here.

I can confirm the provisional Spire BOB on ToTS.  If you'd like, I can put some videos in my file share showing this, I think I have two.  There are at least three spawn locations for him, I forgot to save one.

I can say with about 80% confidence that there is never a BOB on LNoS when you first come to the hangar.  The only "evidence" I've ever seen that such a BOB exists is a zoomed-in picture of a BOB in the hangar, which more than likely is the BOB that appears when you return to defend the bomb.  I spent a great deal of time looking for this early Hangar BOB to no avail.  In any case, you should know that the weighting on the LNoS BOBs seems to be different than other levels.  In other words, on other levels if there are 3 BOBs in the level, each one has about a 1/3 chance of appearing.  On ToTS it seems like there's a 45% chance you'll get a Bridge BOB, a 45% chance you'll get a Beach BOB, and only about 10% that you'll get the Hangar BOB.  Makes this one very difficult to nab.  That's just based on my observation though, and you would need more evidence to back this up.

Do you need more information on the later levels?  There are 3 BOBs on The Package: One in the courtyard, one inside Sword Base (I call this one "Emo BOB" and I show how you can get him here), and one that drops while defending Halsey's lab.  And before anyone says it, there is no Banshee BOB on The Package.  That comment is from the mission designer for The Package, so I think he knows what he's talking about.

There are 2 BOBs on PoA that I know of: One far and to the right when you first get to the Boneyard area, and another far and to the right where the Scorpion spawns in Invasion.

And of course, there's one BOB on Lone Wolf, the sword wielding one.  Hate that guy.

If you need videos of any of these, let me know.  Unfortunately, they'll be old first-generation videos (where I died a LOT) so it'll be quite a trudge to fast-forward to the applicable portions.

[Pulse Cloud]

%

Oh god, what I terrible idea I've just had.

If you've ever played Final Fantasy XII you probably know the Zodiac Spear - the ultimate weapon in the game.
Basically, you can find it hidden in one specific chest which disappears and becomes forever unavailable if you open any of the four "Forbidden Chests", which are completely regular chests spread across the world, i.e., you won't know you've just screwed yourself over until you go hunt the Spear and notice the epic chest is missing and then you smash your room's wall against your face (or you know which chests are the forbidden ones and you avoid them at all costs - usually in a second playthrough after your 100+ hours first playthrough lol).

The developers had half a conscience, though, so they created another chest with the Zodiac Spear, but instead of a 100% chance of containing one (like the first chest in case you didn't open one of the forbidden chests), it had a 0.1% chance of spawning a Zodiac Spear (and it didn't disappear after you got a Spear from it, i.e., you could theoretically eventually get an infinite amount of Zodiac Spears), which pretty much meant "lol you know it can be there, but it won't - u mad?".


Now, there was one very clever guy that found a way to turn the 0.1% chance of finding a ZS into a 100% chance without any kind of cheating.
It exploited the PlayStation 2's pre-programmed list of random numbers, which was used by the developers of the game for every randomness-affected event.
Basically, you just had to go to a place, turn the PS2 off, do a couple of actions and then make the character attack itself automatically.
If you had noticed one of the patterns, for example, «a 5 hit combo after 82-84 hits», then you were GUARANTEED that the Zodiac Spear would spawn.

> Here is the guide if you'd like to learn more.



Now, I don't know if the X360 has a pre-programmed list of random numbers, but if it does... well, I think you can guess what I'm thinking: there's a way to assume deterministic control over BOB spawning.
It may be incredibly hard (I have no idea how the guy found out how to do it with the Spear), but it IS possible.

A very interesting lecture about how random numbers are so damn hard to create and why they can be so awesome (the lecturer is amazing, too - I've watched all his lectures):
Lecture 28: Random Numbers - Richard Buckland UNSW (2008)

[Scatcycle]

Pulse, I don't think that this method will work on BOBs. It appears that the chance to get the 0.1% is not actually random at all. You cannot exploit something that is truly random. The programmed list of random numbers is NOT random. It does not fit the criteria. Using the butterfly effect, or a pattern, to get a certain random number, and having it work every time, is not random.

I would think that Microsoft would realize this and make an actual random number code.

[Pulse Cloud]

Pulse, I don't think that this method will work on BOBs. It appears that the chance to get the 0.1% is not actually random at all. You cannot exploit something that is truly random. The programmed list of random numbers is NOT random. It does not fit the criteria. Using the butterfly effect, or a pattern, to get a certain random number, and having it work every time, is not random.

I would think that Microsoft would realize this and make an actual random number code.

The thing is, we can only have simulated randomness to a certain degree - there's no such thing as true, absolute randomness in electronics.
You can argue that you can track the movement or the position of the cursor and then do some calculations and get random numbers - but it is flawed because if I move the mouse in a way and then move it again in the same way, the supposedly random numbers won't be as random as expected: they might even be the same (depends on the algorithm, obviously).


Because of this, you can't actually program the BOB spawning to be random in its true meaning. It can appear to be random and it can be excruciatingly hard to replicate an event, but it is never actually random.

Finally, the point of my post was not about BOB spawning or Zodiac Spear spawning being random or not - because they aren't: they have a fixed, programmed probability associated to them (I am assuming BOB spawning does because that makes sense and Lord Friendship claimed he noticed this probability) -, it was about taking advantage of the limitations of real-world computation to increase the actual probability of a BOB being spawned regardless of what is written in the source code of the game.


It's very much like Bump Glitching, actually.

[Scatcycle]

You're right, I underestimated the true value of random.

[Lord Friendship]

The problem is that it would be very hard to determine the random values being used by Reach.  In an RPG you could use damage, or combos, etc.  In an FPS the random values are mostly obscured.  As an FYI, Bungie Mission Designer (well, former mission designer, that role no longer exists at Bungie) explained on the HBO Forums that Reach uses "script random" values, so it's not true random, but rather based on the engine script.  I'd provide a link, but their forums appear to be down at the moment.

[Lord Friendship]

This is interesting... a French site has put together a list of BOBs in their forum.

http://www.halocreation.org/t5303-ee-liste-des-bobs-de-halo-reach-elite-ranger-or-dore

There are two things that jump out at me:

1. They show multiple spawn points for the New Alexandria Banshee BOB, something I haven't seen anywhere else.

2. They seem to believe that TotS has an undiscovered BOB.

However, they also overlook the multiple spawn points on Winter Contingency, and treat the multiple Spire BOBs as one BOB.  To each his own.

Found this via HBO, btw.

[Scatcycle]

Halo Creation is an old friend of ours. A French memer, Tepec, used to be our connection with them, but he has disappeared.

[ColdGlider]

As an interesting side note, if this level has four unique BOB spawns, and there's a fifth BOB on TotS, there are 49 total unique BOBs in Reach.

I have been meaning to discuss this issue for some time, and LF just provided the perfect opportunity.

I'll call this my "BOB Credo":

ColdGlider's BOB Credo
I believe there are only 10 BOBs in Halo: Reach.

I believe that these 10 BOBs are distributed evenly across the playable campaign missions, one per mission ("Winter Contingency" through "Lone Wolf".)

I believe that each of the 10 BOBs may appear only once during a single, uninterrupted playthough of its corresponding mission and that it will appear at one of a collection of predefined locations within that mission, referred to as "spawn points". 

Bang.  Three simple statements of basic BOB belief.  At it's core is the notion that every BOB spawn point in a given mission is simply a predefined location where one specific, unique BOB "character" in the fictional game world can randomly appear. 

The devil, as always, is in the details.

I believe that spawn points may be collected into a subset, or spawn point "cluster" which typically represents minor variations of a BOB's spawning location within the same general area of play.  I refer to each spawn point within a cluster as a "spawn point variant", or "variant" for short.  The reappearance of a BOB within its mission when the mission is restarted from the in-game menu is greatly affected by whether or not a spawn point cluster was selected by the game engine versus a non-clustered spawn point.

There are also conceptual details to grapple with.

I believe not only that both spawn points in "ONI: Sword Base" are places for the same conceptual BOB to appear, but also that the same BOB can appear in eight different sets of armor.  I do not feel that these 16 different appearance options for this BOB constitute 16 unique BOB "characters" in the game.  Indeed, I believe that there is one BOB on ONI who can appear in one of eight forms in one of two places.  (And I sometimes think he was required to be that crafty in order to infiltrate the security measures of the Office of Naval Intelligence!)

If you're reading this far, then you have no doubt noticed that Lord Friendship and I have devised very different identification systems for the BOBs and their various spawn points.  I'm totally fine with multiple catalogs of BOBS existing because each has its own strengths and weaknesses.  Ideally, I think these should be standardized in order for the community to be more cohesive-  but mappings between multiple schemes are easy enough to concoct. 

What is much more important to me is that we are clear- as a community- in how we refer to the different behavioral and visual characteristics of BOBs: in short, our nomenclature.  It's a confusing subject, and it gets all the more confused by people referring to very different things with the identical term of "BOB".

Hence my little credo.

I'd would very much like for the interested parties to weigh in on this matter.  Can we arrive at a consenus on how to describe these guys and lead the rest of the community in the process?

[Scatcycle]

I'm with CG on this one. The only thing I would like to stress is that there isn't necessarily a BOB on exodus or NA. You get the GTC challenge by killing an "Anonymous Banshee Pilot". We have challenges that say: "Kill the Golden Elite Ranger in the banshee on ect." A Golden Elite Ranger is classified as an Elite Light Vehicle. So why don't you get that kill when you destroy a bobshee and complete the challenge? I do not know.

We have two perfectly even sources saying different things. Which are we gonna follow?

[Pulse Cloud]

CG's Credo implies that only one BOB can "be" at one time because there is only one, single BOB per Campaign Mission.
LF's terminology implies that multiple BOBs can "be" at one time because there are multiple BOBs per Campaign Mission - we've just never seen that happen.

Because we've never seen that happen and all evidence points to up to only one BOB being spawned at any time, I support CG's Credo.

(Funny how I've been doing so many Mathematical Analysis exercises my textual expression's format is becoming like a maths proof.)

[nightcrafter27]

I agree with Pulse. A slight change in LF's terminology will rectify the problem, though: ther would be 49 unique BOB spawns in Reach.

And because I haven't said so already, awesome job on the video guides, and great work with the BOBs, LF!

[ColdGlider]

The only thing I would like to stress is that there isn't necessarily a BOB on exodus or NA.

Sure there is.  It boils down to the difference between a concept and its technical implementaion.  We've had this discussion before:

The bob banshee is a set banshee that patrols through an area.
There is no bob inside it.

Let's consider the difference between what is conceptually true versus what is technically true.  Conceptually, beneath the helmets of ODSTs are human faces.  Halo fiction and in-game cinematics depict ODSTs as humans who wear helmets.  But in-game, if you somehow managed to cause the game engine to glitch and remove the visor texture of an ODST helmet, you may find that there is no texture for a face behind it.  Technically, then, it would be truth that ODSTs have no faces.  So there you are with a seeming contradiction:  ODSTs have faces but in the game they do not have faces!  Once we qualify these truth with the adjectives "conceptual" and "technical", we can settle the dispute:  conceptually, ODSTs have faces but technically they don't.

Conceptually, the "Banshee BOB" on New Alexandria contains a BOB (per Bungie's daily challenge description), but technically it does not.

Next issue...

You get the GTC challenge by killing an "Anonymous Banshee Pilot".

Until we kill the Anonymous Banshee Pilot (ABP) without destroying its Banshee, we do not know whether it is the ABP, the Banshee, or both which are involved in the requirements of the "Golden Opportunity", "If It Bleeds...", and "Golden Tree City" daily challenges.

Conceptually, it doesn't matter.  Technically, I am very curious to know which they used in the challenge logic. 

Next issue...

A Golden Elite Ranger is classified as an Elite Light Vehicle. So why don't you get that kill when you destroy a bobshee and complete the challenge?

Because Dan Miller implemented the Banshee BOB objects in his campaign missions differently than the other designers implemented their Elite Ranger BOB objects?  Dan Miller is the mission designer responsible for the "New Alexandria" level, and here's an oblique mention of that by Bungie:

I was doing some forum lurking myself and noticed that there were some complaints that the Pelican isn’t on the list of player pilotable vehicles. Turns out, it is. By way of Dan Miller’s mad genius and some deviously hidden devices, the Pelican can become player controlled.

But don't take it from me.  You helped bring the enlightenment to us from Tom Gioconda (aka "Achronos") yourself over in this post.  The famous quote:

The answer to that question is somewhat techncial... and somewhat silly.

Every enemy and ally has a classification, and the Gold Elite was bucketed into a normally "impossible" classification for an elite biped so stats on him are tracked differently from a normal elite of his class (spec-ops, iirc). Bungie.net code correctly handles this special case and shows you what it was, but the game PGCR does not. It is somewhat similar to how the game doesn't break out Firefight VS stats the same way bungie.net does, even though they're reading essentially the same stats.

Last issue...

We have two perfectly even sources saying different things. Which are we gonna follow?

We follow the paths of logic:

1a. The "Golden Opportunity" challenge reads "Find and kill the Gold Ranger-class Elite in any Campaign mission on Heroic or harder." [proof]
1b. We have this video confirmation of a Banshee on Exodus granting the Golden Opportunity Challenge.
1c. We have this video confirmation of a second Banshee on Exodus granting the Golden Opportunity Challenge.
1d. We have this video confirmation of a third Banshee on Exodus granting the Golden Opportunity Challenge.

Based on the above facts, it is only logical to assume that the three Banshees in question are conceptually meant to be BOBs, although their technical implementation (as AVBs and/or Banshees) was different.

The same logic can be applied to the "Golden Tree City" challenge and the boosting banshees on "New Alexandria".

I hope this has been clear and helpful!

By the way, the fact that Dan Miller's nickname is "Tree City" (a mispronunciation of "360") is probably enough to attribute the "Golden Tree City" daily challenge namesake to him, since that challenge must be completed on his "New Alexandria" mission.