One of our readers brought up a (another) problem with Specialization Priority Alpha unlocks, in this case after the code has been received and the code has been downloaded. I hadn't heard of your specific problem, but since I've had plenty of issues with DLC for the game I am sympathetic. Personally I have had issues with the Crimson Map Pack DLC and my Gamestop pre-order bonus appearing and disappearing. I've heard reports of this from my friends as well. If you are experiencing disappearig DLC, I have a few suggestions. Be advised a few of the later ones are try at your own risk options for folks that are desperate. I presume that if you are like me, you are willing to take chances once you are desperate.
- Go back to the dashboard, and make sure you are logged into the XBox Live account that is authorized, then boot the game and try again. This normally works for me with other DLC issues.
- Consider posting over on the Halo Waypoint forums. Personally, I haven't found them very helpful - but it is the official way to ask for help.
- Ok, danger time. If you are desperate and you are willing to take risks, I have found other sources that suggest the following:
- From Dashboard, go to Settings -> Account -> Download History. Look for "Specialization Priority Alpha". If it is not there, your box thinks you never downloaded it, and you are pretty much out of luck as far as I can tell. You can try re-entering your code, but if it previously "succeeded" it will not work again. If you do see "Specialization Priority Alpha", then continue.
- You will need a USB key formatted to work with your XBox.
- From the Dashboard, go to Settings -> System -> Storage -> Games & Apps -> Halo 4
- This step at your own risk**!** Find the "Halo 4 Game Unlocks" file, copy to your USB key, then delete it from your hard drive. Note this will likely affect all/most of your unlocks. Besides just the "Specialization Priority Alpha" code, you'll likely have to redownload other Halo 4 "game add-ons" such as preorder armors and emblems which are presumably also stored in this file. There are a ton of "unlocks" for this game from a multitude of sources and I can't cover them all here. Suffice it to say, if you have something that is more precious to you than "Specialization Priority Alpha" consider not executing this step.
- Return to Dashboard. Go to Settings -> Account -> Download History -> Specialization Priority Alpha and choose "Download Again".
- Boot the game and see if the issue is cleared up. You may have to boot it twice. If things go sideways, you should be able to restore your file from the USB key and be no worse off than you were before. Hopefully that won't be necessary. Good luck!
Credit to Cyberknight over on the XBox 360 forums for details on option # 3. I feel like I used to know how to do "re-downloads" like this in the past, but multiple Dashboard updates moved things to the point I couldn't find this without help. It is a very useful thing to know how to do.