I’m quite sure many have seen the controversial thread that has remained at the top of the Halo 5 forum for the majority of today. OP was in full support of 343 and the direction they chose to take Halo, stating that they were “glad” that the community has been fractured beyond repair. The most prominent point of their post was that gameplay changes such as sprint and ADS are crucial for Halo to stay relevant. In short, Halo must evolve.
Personally, these new gameplay changes have not affected me too much, so I attempted to make an elaborate post which outlines the communities major gripes with the current state of the game, with the exclusion of gameplay mechanics. This was in part to try to show or convince others that criticism of Halo 5 and 343 has mostly been about the compendium of short comings or lack of content if you will. Bear in mind, most the points were from the top of my head; I’m sure there are more things that can be added.
Without further ado, here is my reply.
At this point, I doubt anything will increase H5’s population. Maybe the monthly update will provide some influx but the damage has already been done. In my opinion, the downfall of Halo largely has to do with the arrogance and pretentiousness of 343. Well, maybe not 343 as a whole, but the higher ups such as Frank, and leads such as Kevin and Quinn.
OP, your post discusses Halo’s evolution in the form of mechanics such as sprint and ADS. I guess we can also consider the other new movement mechanics. These changes are not significant enough for me to quit Halo or to excessively complain about them, bar spartan charge. I understand that sprint is here to stay and most likely ADS is as well, despite being displeasing to many older fans. However, 343 has the tools and opportunities to allow classic gameplay, but choose to ignore the possibility or to even acknowledge it. As far as I know, spartan abilities can be disabled along with sprint; this would allow 343 to integrate a classic playlist that features classic movement, map design and gametypes.
Anyways, the majority of recent criticism has not even been about gameplay mechanics, but rather the lack of content. 343 had the same 3 year cycle as all previous Halo titles, and yet managed to deliver less content on top of missing core Halo features. I’ll try to outline the communities largest gripes.
REQ System
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A completely RNG based progression system with few guaranteed unlocks (The SR rank packs and commendation packs)
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Easy way to make easy money with the introduction of microtransactions.
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Contains so many items that dilutes the REQ pool with useless variants and ugly armor to reduce chances of receiving decent equipment.
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No in game unlocks based off of achievement progress or multiplayer proficiency.Customization
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Armor customization took a few steps back. The game features nearly 200 armor sets with many being variants that only differ by a paint stripe, and the rest being abominations.
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Emblem customization was removed and the only way to unlock emblems is through the REQ system, contrary to previous games where most of them were unlocked by default.
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No black under suits and missing armor colors. Really, how hard would it be to give more color options such as black or sage. (Funnily enough, 343 mentioned that there is going to be much customization and we should "trust them, they know what they’re doing."Gametypes + Playlists
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Missing iconic Halo gametypes that have existed roughly around a decade. Notable mentions include KOTH, Oddball, and Infection. These are not only missing in multiplayer, but custom games currently do not have them either.
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As far as multiplayer goes, Halo 3’s layout can offer more flexibility and fun for all players. Create a strictly ranked division with a collection of new and classic gametypes, as well as a social division that offers a mix of many gametypes. Exclusive gametypes like Fiesta or Action sack may be put on weekend rotation.
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For social multiplayer, the motion sensor should be re adjusted to its previous states, while ranked may either feature the current motion sensor, or the former motion sensor with a dedicated playlist without a motion sensor much alike MLG or Slayer Pro.Maps
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Poor map design that does not accommodate the gameplay mechanics well. Many maps are too cramped and feature terrible lines of sight while others have illogical weapon placements like Overgrowth. These, coupled with the horribly gimped motion sensor create terrible map flow.
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Recycled maps. How many remixes have we had and how many more will we get? More original maps or classic maps are required.
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Forge maps. How difficult is it to make non forged maps for an AAA studio? BTB maps play pretty poorly currently especially with the rampant spawn flips. Besides, community forgers made the maps and 343 only made slight tweaks.Forge
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Perhaps the most detailed and in depth forge to date in any Halo game, released over a month after launch. The delayed release was supposed to “iron out the kinks” but still features game breaking bugs, missing items and always online. Always online has been particularly problematic as a disconnect will render a Prominent Features
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The UI and Lobby system: This can’t be stressed enough. Halo 3 featured a nice and functional UI, which was improved on in every aspect in Halo Reach. Halo 4 took a few steps backward with the UI design but was still manageable. Halo 5’s UI completely disregards the successes of previous UI’s and features limited functionality and poor graphical design. No gamertags, spartans, stats, or even a mute button.
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File Browser: How is is that Halo 3 had a file browser, and Halo Reach once again improved on it in every way and here we are in 2015 with a severely limited “File Share” that does not even allow you to keep files private.
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Functional Theater: Sure we have theater mode in H5, but it is a shadow of its former glory. It is extremely buggy, awkward to use and lacks the ability to take screenshots or clips. Game DVR is not a worthy replacement for this due to its limitations and lowered output resolution.Campaign
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Lack luster story with a false advertising campaign. Not nearly as long as they said it would be. A while back I Dr Halsey I linked a nice article about H5’s campaign written by a friend I believe. A Compendium of Lies.
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80% as Locke, 20% as Chief. No one expected this after Franks messages on how Chief is the main character and all the subsequent damage control. In a way Chief is the main protagonist but a 50/50 split would have been much more preferable, much alike in Halo 2.
Once again, this is not fully comprehensive and I am sure I probably missed some points. Please provide any additional points or even sub sections.