AA Explanation : 343 Fix Method

Games Other Halo
1

In this post, I will explain why AA were so bad in Reach.
And I will explain how 343 is going to make AA work correctly in Halo 4.

Why were AA so bad in Reach?
They were bad in Reach because they aided the player in more than one situation.
But not all Reach AA did this. Such as Hologram and Active Camo.
I will explain why Armor Lock, Jetpack, DropShield, Evade, and Sprint were bad AA.

Armor Lock : Effective in 6 situations, making it the worst AA.

-Saved the player from being splattered, also destroying the vehicle.
-Distracted enemy team from continuing on to possibly kill other players.
-Gave the player time to wait for his team to arrive and help or save him.
-Either negated or backfired all explosives.
-Allowed the player to disable vehicles or enemies’ shields.
-Gave player ability to win in a melee battle everytime.

Jetpack : Effective in 4 situations.

-Allowed player to reach map positions he wasn’t supposed to be on.
-Allowed player to take shortcuts.
-Temporarily gave player a higher view point than other players.
-Allowed player to escape death.

Drop Shield : Effective in 3 situations.

-Gave player temporary protection from incoming fire.
-Healed player and his team. (not shields, but health)
-Distracted enemy team from continuing on to possibly kill other players.

Evade : Effective in 3 situations.

-Allowed player to move about the map quicker.
-Allowed player to escape death.
-Allowed player to easily avoid any attack.

Sprint : Effective in 2 situations.

-Allowed player to move about the map quicker.
-Allowed player to escape death.

How is 343 going to fix the AA?
Like I said earlier, AA should have only one purpose.
Luckily, 343 knows this and is fixing it, if they haven’t already.
Allow me to explain each AA in Halo 4 that we currently know of.

Hologram

Allows the player to distract or confuse the enemy.

Active Camo

Hides the player from enemies.
(343 may shorten the usage time as well)

Promethean Vision

Allows the player to temporarily look through walls.

Jetpack (guessing)

Gives the player a quick boost upward to reach higher ground.

What about Sprint?
Sprint, though it is no longer considered an AA, still needs to be fixed.
343 has already fixed it, and has told us how.

In Reach, Sprint allowed the player to move quicker and escape death.
They have fixed this by causing Sprint to slow down when the player is being shot.
So now, it only allows for temporarily quicker movement speed.

So there you have it.
AA will no longer break the game as they did in Reach.
Thanks to the diligent designers at 343.
Thank you.

  • III P u r 3 III -
2

Pretty good post OP. 10/10.

3

Nice, couldn’t have said it better myself

4

Very good points there :slight_smile:

This only emphasizes my faith in 343 making this an amazing game, so far in my eyes they are doing everything right!

5

That’s a pretty optimistic view of jet pack. :confused: But, it’s one I actually quite like the idea of - just a really short boost. We haven’t seen any jet pack play yet, have we?

6

Couldn’t have said it better myself, but in my experience jet pack pisses me off more then armor lock lol

7

Nice job, OP.

Let’s hope 343 is thinking this way.

8

they should also fix that annoying issue with camo where your radar gets scrambled even when your teammates are using it…instead of only enemies.

9

Yes i hope 343i has fixed them .

10

> they should also fix that annoying issue with camo where your radar gets scrambled even when your teammates are using it…instead of only enemies.

Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
They should fix that.
I think Bungie did it to emphasize that ActiveCamo should only be used when necessary.

11

> > they should also fix that annoying issue with camo where your radar gets scrambled even when your teammates are using it…instead of only enemies.
>
> Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
> They should fix that.
> I think Bungie did it to emphasize that ActiveCamo should only be used when necessary.

hey do you know anything about double beat down in halo 4? is it finally fixed?? it is so annoying in Reach! also grenades, they are straight out RIDICULOUS. i am shocked they never got patched.

12

> That’s a pretty optimistic view of jet pack. :confused: But, it’s one I actually quite like the idea of - just a really short boost. We haven’t seen any jet pack play yet, have we?

I posted a large description of how to fix Jetpack before.
A large amount of the community agrred with my suggestion.
So I’m guessing 343 will use the fix I suggested.
If so, Jetpack, or as I named my version, JumpPack, will only be a short boost. (:

Sadly, we have yet to see any Jetpack, or JumpPack, gameplay. ):

OOOHHH! I hope 343 uses my idea!
I’d be so proud of myself!

13

> > > they should also fix that annoying issue with camo where your radar gets scrambled even when your teammates are using it…instead of only enemies.
> >
> > Oh yeah, I forgot about that.
> > They should fix that.
> > I think Bungie did it to emphasize that ActiveCamo should only be used when necessary.
>
> hey do you know anything about double beat down in halo 4? is it finally fixed?? it is so annoying in Reach! also grenades, they are straight out RIDICULOUS. i am shocked they never got patched.

Well, I don’t know anything about double beatdowns.
But my guess is that 343 will simply lengthen the time between each melee.

In Halo 4, we’ll be able to spawn with the grenade type of our choice.
So it’s likely grenades will be downgraded majorly.

14

That doesn’t mean they aren’t just plain annoying. And adding a nerf still doesn’t mean they won’t be overpowered.

It’s in their nature. Why put armor abilities into a game if they don’t give you any advantages?

If they have a use, it means you will never be safe from having bad luck because that one guy abused that one armor ability, no matter how skilled you are. (aka rock, paper, scissors) If they don’t have a use, they shouldn’t be in the game.

How do you adress camo snipers, for example? make them visible? Then why have camo in the game in the first place? Or the fact that jetpackers can get to vantage points where others can’t reach them? Or gain map control at the press of a button? Not make them go as high? Then why have jetpack in the game?

I’ve said it before. The only true fix to armor abilities is to place them on the map as pickups, so that they can be earned in a match by winning the fight over it. It worked in Halo 3, and they would actually be useful and rarely forgotten, because you can use them infinitely (with a recharge). If there’s only one armor lock in the game that spawns every 3 minutes like a power weapon, it won’t break the game nearly as much as giving it to the players on spawn.

by placing them on the map, you can even increase their effectiveness without it breaking the game. I can imagine a match with a custom powerup in the center that only spawns every 3 minutes. It would give the guy that picked it up evade and faster shield regeneration, for instance. Overpowered, yes, but the shield regeneration would be limited in duration (like a regular powerup), but the evade would stay. Pickups are supposed to make you overpowered.

343i can get so creative and still create a perfectly balanced game, yet now they have created a tweaked version of Reach, that further adds to the inequality on spawn with specialisations, ‘perks’ etc.

15

> That doesn’t mean they aren’t just plain annoying. And adding a nerf still doesn’t mean they won’t be overpowered.
>
> It’s in their nature. Why put armor abilities into a game if they don’t give you any advantages?
>
> If they have a use, it means you will never be safe from having bad luck because that one guy abused that one armor ability, no matter how skilled you are. (aka rock, paper, scissors) If they don’t have a use, they shouldn’t be in the game.
>
> How do you adress camo snipers, for example? make them visible? Then why have camo in the game in the first place? Or the fact that jetpackers can get to vantage points where others can’t reach them? Or gain map control at the press of a button? Not make them go as high? Then why have jetpack in the game?
>
> I’ve said it before. The only true fix to armor abilities is to place them on the map as pickups, so that they can be earned in a match by winning the fight over it. It worked in Halo 3, and they would actually be useful and rarely forgotten, because you can use them infinitely (with a recharge). If there’s only one armor lock in the game that spawns every 3 minutes like a power weapon, it won’t break the game nearly as much as giving it to the players on spawn.
>
> by placing them on the map, you can even increase their effectiveness without it breaking the game. I can imagine a match with a custom powerup in the center that only spawns every 3 minutes. It would give the guy that picked it up evade and faster shield regeneration, for instance. Overpowered, yes, but the shield regeneration would be limited in duration (like a regular powerup), but the evade would stay. Pickups are supposed to make you overpowered.
>
> 343i can get so creative and still create a perfectly balanced game, yet now they have created a tweaked version of Reach, that further adds to the inequality on spawn with specialisations, ‘perks’ etc.

I believe my suggestion will better appeal to the majority of players.
And not just the overly-competitive, “stick-to-the-same-old” players.

16

Thank you, OP. Good stuff

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> I believe my suggestion will better appeal to the majority of players.
> And not just the overly-competitive, “stick-to-the-same-old” players.

The competitive players and Halo veterans would be pleased as they finally have a Halo game that isn’t frustrating due to its inconsistency.

The casual players, however, don’t even notice there is imbalance when they see it. You can never do something wrong when you make the game more competitive. After all, nobody is going to complain that the game is too balanced.

All the casuals would be able to complain about is perhaps how the game is dull or that they keep losing to better players.

But those issues are fixed easily by creating a proper matchmaking system that matches up similar skill levels perfectly. It would solve both problems. Lesser skilled players will win once in a while because they face equally skilled players, and the matches won’t be dull because they are so close in skill.

And who says AA pickups will be less interesting? Armor abilities would actually feel more powerful and fun if you had them as powerups. Just like powerweapons are fun to use.

So while you think the majority of all players will prefer just nerfing the AA’s, I believe that having armor abilities as pickups will be more fun, and more competitive (and therefore even more fun), than having them as loadouts. And I believe that everyone will agree once they will play a game like that, whether they realise it or not.

18

MAKE ACTIVE CAMO A PICK UP! GOOD GOD HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO SAY IT!

19

I agree with you here.
Why is camo still an armor ability? If used correctly its almost impossible to reach the camo-sniper guy on an open map. I believe camo should just be a power up like in the older halo games. Please someone agree with my pain

20

I think that in Reach, Camo is as annoying as Armor Lock and Jetpack, if not more. The radar scrambling effect just makes it unfair. I really hope 343 does something to nerf or remove the radar jamming effect. Hell, I’d rather have Armor Lock in the game than Active Camo with a Reach-style scrambler. And that’s saying a lot.