Let me start off by saying that I like Halo 4 and am in no way saying that it is a bad game.
With that said, this is going to be a message to 343 Industries.
I want to speak for the community.
First off, we all know there is the spectrum of gamers. The recreational players and the competitive players. There is always a struggle between the two on how a game should go, at least now there is. There needs to be both types of players AS WELL as both types of gaming in one game. In no way should a game cater to one type of gamer, especially a First Person Shooter. It’s sort of like discrimination and it upsets people, causing a gaming company to lose possible revenue. I’ve been playing Halo since the good days of Halo 2 and have played every Halo game. I loved Halo 2 and Halo 3. Hands down my absolute favorite games. Halo is honestly the only game I truly play. So, I’ve seen the way this game has changed and all it’s been through. Halo 4 is a good game as well as 343 being a good company. They have the talent and the passion to make this game great and push it to it’s full potential.
Halo 4 already has the recreational side to it, all it needs is a good competitive side to make it great. What I am proposing is a whole new MatchMaking set up. There will be two choices, obviously being Recreational and Competitive. Once you choose the style, you have individual playlists to choose from.
Recreational will have:
-Big Team Battle
-Infinity Slayer
-Classic
-Team Objective
-Multi Team
-FFA
-Dominion
-Extraction
-Flood
-Griffball
-VIP
-Action Sack
Competitive will have:
-Team Slayer
-Classic
-Team Objective
-Team Doubles
-Team Snipers
-SWAT
-FFA
Recreational playlists will have pretty much the same setting they do now. Custom loadouts and all that good stuff. No visible ranks other than your 1-130. There will be a Join in Progress system as well. Ordinance Drops, Armor Abilities, Tactical packages, Instant Respawn for the appropriate playlist.Pretty much just how Halo 4 MatchMaking is now. The playlists will be a little different though.
Big Team Battle will not be just slayer. It will have a mix of objective games in there as well, like King of the Hill and Capture the Flag. FFA will also feature objective gametypes like Oddball and King of the Hill. Action Sack will be various gametypes revolving around just fun. Much like previous Action Sack playlists having gametypes.
Competitive playlists however will be different. There will be no custom loadouts, no armor abilities, no personal ordinance drops, anything like that. There will only be BR and DMR start with a secondary of a Magnum with 1 grenade each. There will be no join in progress system as well as no instant respawn in any of the playlists. There will be of course power weapons set on map. The only weapons that should be on the map though are: Sniper Rifles, Rocket Launchers, BRs, DMRs, Carbines, SAWs, and Swords.
Team Slayer will be of course, just slayer. Team Objective will be a mix of Oddball, King of the Hill, and Capture the Flag, Team Doubles will be 2 on 2, Team Snipers will be snipers obviously, and the FFA playlist will be similar to Lone Wolfs on Halo 3.
Team Slayer, Team Objective, and Team Snipers will be 4v4, Team Doubles will be 2v2 obviously, and the FFA will be 8 players. The 4v4 slayer playlists will go to 50 kills. 4v4 Oddball will go to 350 points. 2v2 Oddball will go to 300. 4v4 King of the Hill will go to 350 points as well and 2v2 King of the Hill will go to 300. Both 4v4 and 2v2 Capture the Flag will go to 3 caps. Team Doubles and FFA will go to 25 kills.
There will also be a 1-50 visible level for each of these playlists. The ranking system will be based on a true skill ranking system meaning that you can lose that rank if you lose games or quit. You will also be paired with players similar to your level.
That pretty much sums up the competitive playlists and section.
343, I believe this to be a very good and reasonable idea for Halo 4.
This way it gives both types of players a reason to play and it’s fun for everyone. No one if left out and everyone can play what they want to play. The recreational side of Halo loves the way Halo is pretty much aside from some small factors outside of MatchMaking. So as I said, not much would be needed there. The competitive side needs work though, and me being a long time player that has been with the competitive scene for some time now, I believe this is what the game needs to continue strong.
I know this would bring back players and satisfy everyone. With a 1-50 visible rank, it adds a HUGE incentive to play the game. It makes you want to work for something and the fact that you can lose it by not doing good, makes it an even bigger challenge. This keeps people playing. It keeps them with something to do on the game. Nothing is better than actually earning something on a game. That’s what made Halo 2 and Halo 3. You had a big reason to play. It was much harder to rank up to the highest level. You could lose that rank at any time, so you had a reason to play well. You also had that rank in multiple playlists, not just over all.
Halo 2 and Halo 3 were amazing games and I will always remember the great times I had on them. I believe the reason they were so popular and people loved playing them was because of this though. They had two sides that people could play. Recreational and Competitive. Other wise known as Social and Ranked. It kept players coming back. With a ranking system that is based on just playing, it is achieved all too easy with no real challenge. This is one of the reasons why Halo Reach failed in so many peoples eyes. I know that there is a ranking system that is 1-50 coming in April, but a visible one is what the people
want and what makes the whole point of having a rank that is based on true skill. People can see it, giving you the reason to play better.
I know that this would take planning and thinking through, but I firmly, along with many others, think that this is what is needed to bring Halo 4 up. I know that you guys are working hard for this game and want to continue Halo for what it is. I know that you guys can do it too. Just listen to us, the long time players that have been here. The ones that know the game well. Continue to work with us.
I miss the endless amounts of custom games with friends of any type. I miss the going to my friends houses and playing Halo all night. I miss when people used to actually talk to each other over Xbox Live. I miss all the random stuff people would say and do in the game. I miss the Halo I know where everyone was friends and shared the same love for a game. Lets get that back.
I’d love to experience the good times of Halo and make many more memories, just like I did with past titles.
Post your thoughts on this. I would really like this to stay up so at least one can see. I can not really see anyone disagreeing with this, no matter which side you are on.
EDIT:
Recreational and Competitive classic playlists have been added. Details in comments.
Added Multi-Team and VIP as well.
Added SWAT.