I’ve played Halo since 2001, shooters before that and play on controller and KBM (depending on the game) respectively. There has never been a shooter that feels worse to aim in than Infinite, which is a shame because Halo as a series has always had feel good aiming. So many threads say the game has no AA, others say too much, here is why:
The problem is baffling, the game does have a ridiculous amount of AA but not where the player actually needs it. In every Halo the player aims and tracks with the right stick, moves, strafes and counter strafes to throw their opponent off with the left stick. In Infinite the LEFT STICK has an absurd amount of AA and barely any with the right stick. With any drift the AA literally tracks for you. This cripples Halo at its core.
In Halo it was never tough to snap to a target and track them. The skill gap didn’t come from finding the opponent, but using your left stick to throw off their shots by counter strafing, mixing up movement, traversing a map backwards, jumping at the right moment, etc. You can fundamentally do these things because the left stick is free, the right is where you’re aiming while doing these things.
People uneducated to the Halo formula think AA in Halo is too easy, but a bad player NEVER out BR’s a good player because of the above movement and knowledge, performed by the left stick.
Infinite takes all of this away by making the AA on the right stick so small that it feels jerky and removes that smooth, methodical aiming and instead forces players to use the egregious amounts of AA on the left stick to track. This equates to boring and predictable battles where not much happens other than the same micro strafes. Instead of counter strafing you’re literally strafing the same to keep the target lined up.
Ever wonder why the strafe in Infinite is so “cracked” and lacks de-acceleration/acceleration when changing direction? It’s because you actually aim with the left stick in this game and thus it has to be instantaneous.
Out of everything wrong with this game, this departure from Halo feeling like Halo is the worst offender. We played with two colors, no skins and on one map Lockout for almost 20 years and never get bored, content matters, but a great core lasts forever. Infinite’s core is fundamentally flawed. It’s a fun game on its own but lacks that feel good aiming Halo always had.
There’s tons of videos on it search a few up for visual evidence (not sure if linking is allowed). AA used to kick in around the player, now only directly on top of them. Most of this was done to balance KBM and Controller, I get it. But as has finally happened in the latest update, give KBM optional AA to even the playing field and make controller control the way it always has for 20 years. I’m usually 50-60 with pistol lately and 55-almost 70 with BR, but it’s not a performance issue, it’s a “feel good” issue. It’s immediately noticeable after going back to any classic Halo, it’s like taking off the shackles.