In Reach, Bungie (and eventually 343i) had the ability to tweak the amount of credits each playlist/gametype dealt deep into release (as proved by Gruntpocalypse). This leads me to believe Halo 4 could do the same. Now, if it’s never too late to make such changes, so suggestions may still be considered (when it comes to the Progression System).
Now, let’s cut to the chase:
Progression Systems are more reliant of the amount of time you spend on a game as opposed to how well you play, that said, better players have always had an advantage (though not very meaningful). Halo 4 will have a PS, that is fact, and it is unknown whether a Ranking System (as in 1-50, for example) will be available as well.
Reach’s PS wasn’t as rewarding for competitive players as it should and could have been, but Halo 4’s PS can still be much better. Now, it will never be a true Ranking System (unless there is a RS too), but certain play-lists can give a clear advantage for competitive players, by dealing out a much greater XP profit to players with a high K/D and long winning streaks, and the system can be so rewarding to players that DO follow that path, that it may even become a hub of competitive play for Halo 4 and a place where all the best of the best can compete. All of this can be done WITHOUT a Ranking System and presumably well into the game’s life too (if Gruntpocalypse is anything to go by).
How? Well, let’s get down to business. Keep in mind this is all hypothetical and is just a few suggestions by your average gamer (not an experienced developer):
Let’s say the average post-game XP in normal playlists would be 1000.
Now back to the special playlist (which I will call the “Ranked” Playlist for the lack of a better name)… Completing a match would be worth 100 XP, and will be a set number for all players. Winning a match would initially be worth 300 XP, but with each stacking win, the you will earn 100 more XP (as in 300, 400, 500…) with a max cap of 1000 XP until you lose, at which point your XP will be reset to 200. Instead of a system that calculates your K/D, a better system IMO is a system which gives evey kill more priority than every death. A simple system would work just fine. Each kill gives you 20 XP and each death subtracts 10 XP. if your K/D is so low that your deaths have more weight than your kills, you will not get a Kill Bonus, but nor will you lose XP. This should make people care about their K/D much more, while not bumming them out completely if they have a bad game. The next way to get experience is to complete the match’s objective. Scoring the Flag in CTF should earn you 100 XP, doing so twice should earn you a total of a 200 XP Objective Bonus. Returning the flag, would grant you 50 XP. In Assault, it will work the same but with bomb plants and bomb deactivations, in KotH it will be the same but with a 100 XP bonus for every 30 seconds you spend within a hill whereas the 50 XP bonus would be awarded to players that survive within a hill without being killed during it’s whole life span (basically, don’t lose the hill to anybody else). In Slayer, the 100 XP bonus would be awarded for every ten kills you score and the 50 XP bonus would be awarded for every three assits you get. Players with a postive K/D would get an extra 100 XP bonus.
During a standard match (lets say you get positive in your standard) a competitive player could get around 800 XP in their first game, but every win they stack and the more they improve would shift the numbers up to around 1200. Extremely talented player that tend to play to win could earn significantly more, too.
Moving on from the walls of text, a system such as this would attract competitive players since it has benefits for winning, accomplishing the objectives, getting a high K/D and staying through the length of the games. Competitive players could rank up significantly faster than standard players this way, and can achieve a high level much earlier than them.
TL;DR
If the way XP is delivered is changed in a certain, more competitive playlist to be more about winning and getting a high K/D, this could give competitive players an edge over casuals (in terms of their level and unlocked items) as it should always be. Significantly better players should equal significantly better payoffs, and this playlist it actually could. Please read the longest paragraph.
Thoughts? Improvements? Hate?