THE LADDER · 13 RANKS · 42 GRADES

A ladder that just shows
how much you've shown up.

We pulled Halo 3's full rank tree out of 2007 — every grade, every chevron, every Master Sergeant stripe — and wired it to a contribution ledger. Not a leaderboard. Not a chain of command. A quiet badge that says: this person has been here for the house.

13
Ranks
42
Grades
5,000
Peak EXP
Recruit
Recruit
Apprentice · G1
Apprentice · G1
Apprentice · G2
Apprentice · G2
Private · G1
Private · G1
Private · G2
Private · G2
Corporal · G1
Corporal · G1
Corporal · G2
Corporal · G2
Sergeant · G1
Sergeant · G1
Sergeant · G2
Sergeant · G2
Sergeant · G3
Sergeant · G3
Gunnery Sergeant · G1
Gunnery Sergeant · G1
Gunnery Sergeant · G2
Gunnery Sergeant · G2
Gunnery Sergeant · G3
Gunnery Sergeant · G3
Master Sergeant
Master Sergeant
Lieutenant · G1
Lieutenant · G1
Lieutenant · G2
Lieutenant · G2
Lieutenant · G3
Lieutenant · G3
First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
Captain · G1
Captain · G1
Captain · G2
Captain · G2
Captain · G3
Captain · G3
Staff Captain
Staff Captain
Major · G1
Major · G1
Major · G2
Major · G2
Major · G3
Major · G3
Field Major
Field Major
Commander · G1
Commander · G1
Commander · G2
Commander · G2
Commander · G3
Commander · G3
Strike Commander
Strike Commander
Colonel · G1
Colonel · G1
Colonel · G2
Colonel · G2
Colonel · G3
Colonel · G3
Force Colonel
Force Colonel
Brigadier · G1
Brigadier · G1
Brigadier · G2
Brigadier · G2
Brigadier · G3
Brigadier · G3
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
General · G1
General · G1
General · G2
General · G2
General · G3
General · G3
5-Star General
5-Star General
Recruit
Recruit
Apprentice · G1
Apprentice · G1
Apprentice · G2
Apprentice · G2
Private · G1
Private · G1
Private · G2
Private · G2
Corporal · G1
Corporal · G1
Corporal · G2
Corporal · G2
Sergeant · G1
Sergeant · G1
Sergeant · G2
Sergeant · G2
Sergeant · G3
Sergeant · G3
Gunnery Sergeant · G1
Gunnery Sergeant · G1
Gunnery Sergeant · G2
Gunnery Sergeant · G2
Gunnery Sergeant · G3
Gunnery Sergeant · G3
Master Sergeant
Master Sergeant
Lieutenant · G1
Lieutenant · G1
Lieutenant · G2
Lieutenant · G2
Lieutenant · G3
Lieutenant · G3
First Lieutenant
First Lieutenant
Captain · G1
Captain · G1
Captain · G2
Captain · G2
Captain · G3
Captain · G3
Staff Captain
Staff Captain
Major · G1
Major · G1
Major · G2
Major · G2
Major · G3
Major · G3
Field Major
Field Major
Commander · G1
Commander · G1
Commander · G2
Commander · G2
Commander · G3
Commander · G3
Strike Commander
Strike Commander
Colonel · G1
Colonel · G1
Colonel · G2
Colonel · G2
Colonel · G3
Colonel · G3
Force Colonel
Force Colonel
Brigadier · G1
Brigadier · G1
Brigadier · G2
Brigadier · G2
Brigadier · G3
Brigadier · G3
Brigadier General
Brigadier General
General · G1
General · G1
General · G2
General · G2
General · G3
General · G3
5-Star General
5-Star General
The most important rule

Rank is not a role.

A Recruit can be president. A 5-Star General can be the quietest person in the lobby. Rank measures one thing only: how much you've shown up for the house. Authority, responsibility, mentorship — those are handed out by the people, not earned by EXP.

You will see leaders at every rank. You will see veterans who never asked for a seat. That's the point. The ladder is just a marker — climb if you want, ignore it if you don't. It will still climb on its own when leaders bestow tokens for things you didn't think anyone noticed.

THE LADDER IS
  • A contribution marker
  • A receipt of presence
  • A way to see who's been around
  • Earned over time, never bought
  • Bestowed by leaders, not by stats
THE LADDER IS NOT
  • A chain of command
  • Permission to lead
  • Something to grind
  • A reason to take yourself seriously
  • What decides who runs the next night
The two tracks

EXP and Skill. Both earn the climb.

Halo 3's trick was that you couldn't grind one number forever. You had to be both good and around. We kept that. We just renamed what counts — the social shoulder of the house, and the sharpness of the lobby.

SOCIAL · EXP

Showing up for the house.

Bestowed by leaders for the unmeasurable: helping a newer Spartan, calming a tilt, building maps, hosting montage nights, holding lobbies together when someone needs the company.

Sample accolades
  • Walked someone through their first custom
  • Stayed an hour late running games for the kids' table
  • Cooled a heated comm — kept the lobby intact
  • Sat with someone in a rough patch and just played for fun
  • Built a forge map that's still in rotation a year later
COMPETITIVE · SKILL

Sharpness in the lobby.

Bestowed by leaders for the measurable: comms tight, role honored, slayer numbers honest, scrim film studied, the win shared without the credit being taken.

Sample accolades
  • Held a setup for a full series without complaint
  • Made the right trade-call when down a player
  • Refused a stat-pad — took the team play instead
  • Captained a scrim and shared the credit afterwards
  • Reviewed your own film before anyone had to ask

Both tracks are bestowed by people above you on the ladder — never self-claimed, never traded, never bought. Leaders are encouraged to award daily. The whole point of the ladder is that the house notices when you show up for it.

The climb stretches

The ladder widens as you ascend.

Apprentice → Private is 5 EXP. Brigadier G4 → General G4 is 2,500 EXP. That's by design — Bungie's, and ours. The early ranks are quick because the point is to feel the climb. The late ranks are slow because the point is to honor the people who've been here for years.

EXP REQUIRED (LOG SCALE)1 → 5,000
Recruit · 0 EXP
Apprentice · G1 · 2 EXP
Apprentice · G2 · 3 EXP
Private · G1 · 5 EXP
Private · G2 · 7 EXP
Corporal · G1 · 10 EXP
Corporal · G2 · 15 EXP
Sergeant · G1 · 20 EXP
Sergeant · G2 · 30 EXP
Sergeant · G3 · 40 EXP
Gunnery Sergeant · G1 · 50 EXP
Gunnery Sergeant · G2 · 60 EXP
Gunnery Sergeant · G3 · 150 EXP
Master Sergeant · 300 EXP
Lieutenant · G1 · 70 EXP
Lieutenant · G2 · 85 EXP
Lieutenant · G3 · 200 EXP
First Lieutenant · 400 EXP
Captain · G1 · 100 EXP
Captain · G2 · 150 EXP
Captain · G3 · 300 EXP
Staff Captain · 600 EXP
Major · G1 · 200 EXP
Major · G2 · 300 EXP
Major · G3 · 600 EXP
Field Major · 1,200 EXP
Commander · G1 · 300 EXP
Commander · G2 · 450 EXP
Commander · G3 · 900 EXP
Strike Commander · 1,800 EXP
Colonel · G1 · 400 EXP
Colonel · G2 · 600 EXP
Colonel · G3 · 1,200 EXP
Force Colonel · 2,400 EXP
Brigadier · G1 · 500 EXP
Brigadier · G2 · 1,000 EXP
Brigadier · G3 · 2,000 EXP
Brigadier General · 4,000 EXP
General · G1 · 600 EXP
General · G2 · 1,200 EXP
General · G3 · 2,500 EXP
5-Star General · 5,000 EXP
RECRUITGUNNERY · G4MAJORCOLONEL5-STAR
Enlisted · EXP onlyOfficer · dual gate
The full ladder · Recruit → 5-Star General

13 ranks. 42 grades. Click to inspect.

Names, grades, glyphs, EXP curves — all sit where Bungie placed them in 2007. Every Grade 4 carries its own sub-name (Master Sergeant, First Lieutenant, Field Major, 5-Star General). If you remember the ladder, you already know how to climb ours.

Enlisted · Rank 1 of 13
Recruit
Recruit
1 GRADE

You walked in. That's the only requirement.

ENTRY · SOCIAL EXP
0
SKILL GATE
The grades within Recruit
Recruit grade 1
Grade 1
0 EXP
How a promotion happens

It's not a grind. It's a recognition.

01
Tokens get bestowed

Leaders award EXP tokens for community contribution and Skill tokens for in-game leadership. Every token comes with a short note — said out loud, written into your ledger.

02
Enlisted is EXP-only

Recruit through Master Sergeant climbs on community alone. You can reach Gunnery Sergeant G4 without ever queueing a ranked game.

03
Officer is the dual gate

Lieutenant and up require BOTH tracks. Captain needs 100 EXP AND Skill 20. Hit one without the other? You wait — exactly like Halo 3.

04
Promotion is acknowledged

When both gates clear, the next council ceremony marks it. Ranks aren't auto-granted — they're noticed, named, and said in the room.

One last thing

Climb if you want. Sit if you want.

The ladder will keep moving as long as you keep showing up — even if you never check it. Leaders award tokens for things you didn't realize you'd done. People will notice. The insignia next to your name will quietly change. That's the whole system.