In my honest opinion, Reach can be described in one word when compared to previous Halos. Different. This isn’t always a bad thing, as minor tweaks and changes freshen up a game. The problem I see with Reach is that the changes made affected the core gameplay mechanics of Halo 1/2/3. It just isn’t normal for most veteran players. The movement speed, grenade damage, armor abilities, etc. (the list goes on forever), are all some major changes from the core mechanics found in previous titles. In this post, I will outline many of my major qualms with Reach.
1. The DMR
Halo 2 and 3 are often dubbed as the best multiplayer games of the decade, and for good reason. Between these two fantastic games, the weapon sandbox stayed relatively the same. There were several tweaks, some new things like brute vehicles (Chopper <3) and equipment, but the weapon sandbox in both games is very close. This did a lot of good in multiplayer, because the veterans from Halo 2 had a much smaller change between games.
The problem with Halo: Reach, is that it had a very drastic change from Halo 3’s weapons to Reach.The DMR is a hitscan weapon (instantly hits target the second you pull the trigger). The BR was not hitscan, and players had to lead their shots to be accurate at long range. This tends to break down the open maps with little or no cover, because I can shoot from teleporter to teleporter on Hemmorhage without having to lead my shots. This was never possible on Valhalla, Sandtrap, or any Halo 3 maps. Imagine if you could camp on the dune of Sandtrap and pick people off across the map! It would have broken the map completely!
In Reach, a team can win the entire game without even thinking about power weapons. Why? The DMR. The DMR has infinite range, and can be aimed with some skill, across any map in matchmaking. It also tears through vehicles like tissue paper (another thing not present in H3). The DMR IS a power weapon. Give it to a well coordinated team, and it’s an easy win as well.
2. Objective
Halo: Reach has drifted towards being very slayer dominant. What I mean by this is that no matter what the gametype, most players will have a primary focus on getting kills and a secondary or even tertiary focus on getting the objective. Point being, the core focus of objective gametypes has been lost between Halo 3 and Reach.
I would say that 75% of my objective games turn into a bloodbath, with nether team making strong attempts towards the objective. Yes, there is almost always that ruffgonja-ing kid, who rushes the objective countless times, but I mean a full push as a team. Why go for a flag or capture a territory when you can sit nearby with your tank and destroy everyone? The reason players go for kills is because they are rewarded with each one they get. Every time you get a snipe, headshot, beatdown, assist, spree or multikill, a number pops up in the bottom corner saying something like, “+8cR.” There is not a single reward for scoring the objective, aside from feeling good about yourself.
Unfortunately, presented with these options, any smart player will simply go for kills so they can go purchase things like lighting or gold visors or a knife on their shoulder. What do objective players get? Nothing, nothing but death with no reward.
But why in Halo 2/3 was this not a problem? People went for objectives all the time in those games! Its because the only way you could rank up in 2 and 3 was by winning. Trueskill goes up by winning, and experience goes up by winning. When you win objective games you are rewarded with a better rank in 2/3. 2 and 3 had incentive to win objective games while Reach has absolutely no incentive to win except for the satisfaction of winning.
So how can we reward people who go for objectives (as well as give people incentive to go for objectives)? It’s simple:
1. Objective Daily and Weekly Challenges: Right now, challeges basically involve 3 things: kills, assists, and campaign mission completion. Nothing relating to objectives. If we have more objective challenges with large cR rewards, people will go for objectives. Such as:
a. Flagtacular!: Capture 3 flags today in multiplayer matchmaking (1200 cR).
b. Get Off My Cloud!: Rack up 200 points in KOTH gametypes today in multiplayer matchmaking (1000 cR).
c. Lawsuit: Detonate 3 bombs today in Assault gametypes in multiplayer matchmaking (1500 cR)
-If you believe that challenges don’t affect gameplay just pay attention to whenever there is a jetpack multiplayer challenge, because most people use jetpacks during those games.
2. Objective Commendations: These of course are very similar to the challenges but they are long term so that even if there isn’t a challenge, people will still go for objectives because they are consistently rewarded for it. Examples include:
a. Poor Yorick: Get Points in Oddball or Headhunter
b. Conquistador: Capture Territories in Territories
c. Star Spangled Banner: Capture Flags in CTF or Stockpile
If all of these are established, I guarantee that there will be a tremendous rise in objective play.
3. Stats
The addition of stats has slowly begun to consume much of this amazing community. I remember 7-10 years ago, when I would go to Battlefront 2 parties, or 007 Nightfire parties on the PS2, and we wouldn’t care a bit about who had the most kill with what weapon. We played for fun back then. I feel that slowly, throughout the last several years, online statistics have begun to turn many players into ultra competitive, trash talking, K/D card pulling jerks. There is a definite line between being competitive and being an -Yoink-.
4. Vehicles
One of the main staples in all of the Halo games is the variety of drivable vehicles. Honestly, I think this feature sets Halo apart from other games. Nothing is more fun than driving around a buddy in a warthog and watching the wheelmen medals stack up. Halo 3 had a nearly perfect balance between vehicle attack damage and vehicle health. No vehicle was particularly overpowered, but all of them had specific uses. Another major factor in the vehicle success in Halo 3 is that the maps always had a solid balance between vehicles and their counterparts.
My largest issue in Reach vehicles, is the fact that they are made, literally, out of construction paper. Vehicles can be a joke in big team battle, because a coordinated team can take down a vehicle with extraordinary ease. Warthog? 4 DMR’s can rip through that in a matter of seconds. Banshee? I’ve seen that thing go down in less than 5 seconds because the enemy team all looked to the skies and used their DMR. In Halo: Reach, vehicles are imbalanced, with very high attack damage, and low health.
