If you are like me you probably have a problem with Armor Abilities in Halo 4. So, I have been doing some thinking on this subject and would like to see some input from the fans of the game and how you feel about them.
Do we keep the AA’s as they are, or get rid of them all together?
I personally think a middle ground can be reached in this area. If AA’s were a map pick up item only such as the power ups were in previous Halo’s, and only had a limited charge to them I think I could live with AA’s.
For example: Armor Lock (The most dreaded AA ever created). Now, if you had to go to the middle of the map to get it, and you only had a solid 2-3 uses out of it before it was completely depleted, would it have been so bad? You would never come across a team of Armor Lock users. It would have also have a risk/reward aspect to it.
pv i feel is only there to counter camo. id probably be ok if this stayed.
regen field and hardlight seem like no one would miss them. so i guess id be ok if they stayed too.
if they do keep aa, i hope there is a game type for slayer pro that let syou use the rest of the load out. i really like the tact and field packages and the multitude of weapons you can start with. and i prefer no radar.
I think that for Halo 5 AA’s should not be in loadouts and should either be on the map like OS and AC, or come in ordnance drops because then AA’s would be more rare.
Jetpack and Camo should become map pickups though. And Jetpack changed so that it effectively provides a double jump instead of letting players hang in the air. Alternatively, I would like a Hover Pack to allow hovering, but not made part of the loadouts or placed on the map.
As for the rest of the AAs themselves?
Rather than regenerate, I would rather like them to be more weapon like. As in you use them, their power drains, and it doesn’t regenerate. Each AA would have a set number of uses varying depending on the power of the particular AA.
I’ve been proposing AA’s be used as equipment since before Halo 4 came out, so I fully agree with the OP.
This is the BEST solution, and I’ll tell you why.
It means 343i can keep the variety they bring and add to the sandbox in interesting ways without stripping the game down to basics.
But more importantly! It means that MLG variants can be made, where the AA’s are outright not available on competitive maps, also this means AA’s are no longer accessible by everyone or as an integral part of Halo, they are infrequent and must be earned, like overshield or active camo in Halo CE-3, where you had to earn it, not spawn with it.
The main problem is that they are still an add-on, not part of the core gameplay. I think the abilities themselves need tweaking, not anything else. I use jetpack as my armour ability almost without exception, but I only use it to skip annoying ledges and perhaps skip a slow staircase. Its not tactically viable to use it like in reach. Armour lock was OP, needed to go. The problem with regen field and autosentry was they didn’t add to core gameplay, and should be campaign only. Hardlight shield was against core gameplay, so it should go. I think camo needs to be returned to its original CE pickup form. Thruster pack adds to core movement gameplay, so it should stay. Hologram and PV are odd. If buffed and implemented better, then they add to core gameplay (motion tracker upgrade and what is effectively a movement/strafe enhancer). The main thing is, these abilities need streamlining and need to be implemented into core gameplay/movement. It would benefit no one to remove them completely, however.
I love the way you described it in the OP, it’s like a nice evolution of equipment from Halo 3, it’s how things should have been in Halo Reach, so my vote goes for that!
Not only should the Infinity style AAs (and everything else remain as is) but there should be more AAs, tac packages, support upgrades etc added to the existing list.
However, on launch day of the next Halo, there must be two sets of play lists/game modes. One which is the new Halo that Bungie (Halo Reach) started and 343i has expanded upon and the other for the more traditional Halo player. That is, Infinity with everything and more and the other forced load-outs, no AAs, no ODs etc etc.