This is the progression system in Halo 4, and to me, it's very cool *Note - Armor Mods are a minor part of gameplay. Examples are an extended radar, having a radar while zoomed in, having more ammo, having an extra grenade. When you get to the max level cap of your Spartan's initial progression branch, you can re-enlist into another specialist branch. The branches are geared towards a specific playstyle. When you re-enlist, you are going through a ten level progression. As you go through that, you are unlocking exclusive weapon skins, armor skins, emblems, and armor mods (allows you to fit your spartan to your playing style). So once you go through the initial curve of the progression, you can re-enlist into these special branches. Example: Suppose I finish the initial progression system, I can re-enlist into a specific branch that suits my playstyle. I enjoy sniping, so I would pick that branch. While I work myself up the progression system, I unlock weapon skins, emblems, armor skins, and an armor mod that will gear towards sniping. It's not prestiege at all. It's mastering a playstyle that you enjoy. Also, just in case a player gets matched up with someone who is more experienced, each map has set loadouts if you do not want to use your list of loadouts.