Taking place 20 years before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved, Ensemble Studio's Halo Wars (2009) features a different Arbiter from the character seen in the trilogy. Lead designer David Pottinger described Ensemble's Arbiter as a "mean guy. He's Darth Vader times ten." The characterization stemmed from a desire to make the Covenant more basically "evil" in order to provide a good-guy–bad-guy conflict. Parts of the Arbiter's backstory before the game's events are explained in a tie-in graphic novel, Halo Wars: Genesis. The Elite, Ripa 'Moramee, was given the rank after he fought and lost a campaign against his own clan. The Arbiter acts as the primary enemy of the game, charged with the destruction of humanity by the Prophet of Regret. He is ultimately killed by human forces at the game's climax.
