Hello dear internet, and welcome to the forum.
I suppose I should just say it: there has been a lot of talk recently on the subject of Halo 5: Guardians “returning to the roots” of Halo. This is all well and good, and I would love the next iterations of my favourite video game series to share the long-term success of previous titles. However, there is one small feature that I would not want to see return. If you’ve read the title, I assume you know which one: Equipment.
I know I am probably a minority here, but I didn’t like the functionality of equipment in Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST. In short, it felt to me that it was underused, and when it was used, it felt cheap/irritating. Let me give examples:
A lone brute stands his ground in front of my scorpion. I am reloading the main cannon, and am currently awaiting my chance to blow him sky-high. Then, just as my next shell is ready, he drops a bubble shield. I am forced to sit there for a minute or so, picking my fingernails as I wait for it to fail, as I don’t trust the marines nearby enough to leave the tank alone with them, and the terrain makes it impossible for me to splatter him. A cheap, spammy tactic, and a situation that happened to me once or twice in multiplayer as well.
Another: my friend and I are 1v1ing each other with BRs, leik MLGpros, innit. We are both boxed into separate locations on a map with no nearby cover, fighting via a quite narrow line of sight. We jump and strafe, and I seem to be getting the upper hand. Until he drops a regenerator. we battle a little longer, and I fall, having lost to his durability advantage. All because of one panicked button press. (On a further note, I am actually better than him, or was at that point anyway, so the loss cannot be put down to me.)
I could go on. Equipment seems to me to be far too easy-to-use to possess the power it had in Halo 3. The small mercy was that you didn’t see it very often. I know that many people saw it as being a skilful system, and in comparison to AA’s, it was. Infinite recharge meant that they were infinitely spammable, and some (like armour lock/drop shield) had effects that were almost/just as powerful as equipment. But that does not mean that it (equipment) was the best it could have been, or the best system that there will ever be.
Instead, I propose a different idea. There was much talk of weapon attachments after the beta trailer, and although I don’t believe that they’re going to happen apart from maybe purely cosmetic effects (the fanbase would be irritated/enraged/start foaming at the mouth, they’d be too small and hard to see as pickups, even with the H2A markers, etc), I think that I might take inspiration to name my new idea.
Armour Attachments:
These would be on-map pickups that alter the abilities of your Spartan/Elite/Brute/Knight/Grunt/whatever other species they may be implementing, (possibly replacing one of the ordinary Spartan Abilities if we are short on buttons) until the player dies. You have to hold X/RB/whatever to pick them up, much like you would swap a weapon, so there is no confusion as to what you have. There is also a very large visual cue as to which one you are using on your player model, making it possible to see your enemy and strategize your encounter with them before engaging, adding the “pro” element that some people love so much. They would have a modest impact on gameplay, forcing new strategies to be developed, but the more powerful ones would be difficult to use. You could not simply tap a button once and win, like you could in Halo 3.
I’ll list some ideas, for completion’s sake. Feel free to add your own if you like the idea as a whole.
Centurion Shield: A large, white-metal forerunner unit that attaches itself to the user’s arm. This would function similarly to the Hardlight Shield from Halo 4, but hybridised with the Jackal Point-Defence Gauntlet. When the user switches to a sidearm (any weapon affixed on the hip, rather than on the back) they bring their other arm up, producing a hardlight shield with a firing notch on the side through which a weapon would be fired. They remain in first person, unlike the AA, and can use their weapon normally. It could have some drawbacks, such as incomplete cover of the body, but I would not consider it to have to be balanced with the default abilities since it would not be a spawn option, but a pickup, the equivalent of a power weapon. I could see this making for some epic gameplay/custom games, such as a “swords and shields” gametype, or having a user facing off with a default SA user, who would have the advantage of higher mobility. I would love to be in a fight like that.
Stasis Gauntlet: A set of Forerunner Combat Skin Pieces, much like the Didact’s, with a similar functionality. As ever, highly visible, and attaches to the left arm. The player holds down the necessary button, raising the arm in a Darth Vader-esque claw, and any opponent that the reticule passes over suffers a movement speed reduction, which increases the longer they are within the crosshairs. They have an opportunity to escape by moving unpredictably or by moving behind cover, but those without skill (both the user and victim) will suffer. Eventually, they stop, and are lifted into the air, where they are a sitting duck for the user’s sidearm, or simply die from choking if held long enough. (A darkening visual effect would be cool, too.)
Anyway, this probably won’t be received well, but I tried. I just think something like this would be better than rehashing an old system that frankly, I feel didn’t work very well.
Discuss, if you will.