An Idea for Team Based Competitive Play

Games Other Halo
1

There are a lot of people who really are against the old 1-50 system. Obviously 343i is a part of that group. So unfortunately we wont ever have that back. Ive posted a lot about this issue, and there is a lot of confusion about what it is 1-50 brought to the game.

It wasnt about a metric to show off skill, it was about a means to foster competitive play.

At high level play folks had players theyd play with on a regular bases. Youd meet new people via that system, either through another friend, or after a closely contested match. There was an awesome community around it.

So how do we bring that back?

Arena attempted to solve some of the issues of de-ranking or buying rank or cheating for rank by introducing seasons. However, it also very much lost the competitive nature of the game by making it about indvidual skill rather then team accomplishment. Winning didnt matter, killing did. Youd actually root for your team mates to lose so you could mop up the kill rather then work together. It was a mess.

But seasons and leagues was NOT a bad idea.

Halo 4 should look at FIFA for its inspiration. Bring back “clans” or “teams.” Place these clans or teams in different leagues, with random other teams. Have seasons where these clans or teams played against each other (and against other teams on the same teir as them, but outside their league).

Have the top teams of the league end up moving to another teir at the end of the season. Have bottom teams fall down to a lower teir.

Eventually instead of 50s, we would have players who were in the top league or leagues, competiting with eachother for number 1.

Everyone else would move up and down, trying to climb up at the end of the season. Or at least finish high in their current league.

The details would have to be worked out. How long are seasons? Is there a minimum amount of games you need to play to be eligible to move up? A minimum to stop you from moving down? Or some other metric to stop teams from winning a few games then waiting for season end? How do you handle solo players? (I have an idea for a lone wolf league that randomly places players on teams. But those teams would be consistant and youd be locked for the season.)

I would also restrict folks from leaving a team after a certain point in the season to avoid teams from disbanding and remaking to cheat or what not.

Still. Using some of the ideas Arena brought, with a focus on Team result would go a long way to bringing back that competitive nature of 1-50 while reducing or eliminating a lot of the problems.

Solo players could join random lone wolf teams and be locked with those players. Inactive players wouldnt get booted, but then more new lone wolves would be added to their team. This would perhaps foster those players meeting new teammates and sticking with them or even creating a team of their own.

Thoughts?

2

The more I think about it, the more I dont like the solution for lone wolf types. But perhaps this playlist/gametype just isnt for lone wolfs. I dunno, unless there is a better solution for getting those types of players involved, but I can not think of one.

3

You can’t buy rank, and why would you put clans in different leagues? Then it would have nothing to do with skill, just placement. I like the way they are going with the Halo 4 system.

4

I also don’t want to be stuck with other players, what if they suck? Also, why wouldn’t you boot inactive players? I don’t get this “solution.”

5

I dont get whats not “to get”.

Did you play Clan Matches in Halo 2?

Imagine that combined with Arena from Reach.

So you have different tiers of leagues. For simplicity sake just call it gold, silver and bronze (youd have more than 3).

In each tier youd have a number of leagues filled with 10-20 clans. Clans would play teams within their tier (not just their league). At the end of a season the clans at the top of the league move up to the higher tier, clans at the bottom of the league drop to a lower tier.

For now, ignore “lone wolf” players who aren’t in a clan, as that gets too confusing and I believe is what confused you.

So its a system that promotes the competitive nature of 1-50 that Halo reach absolutely lost. But reduces the impact of boosting or cheating or even being a -Yoink- about your rank.

The goal would be to end up in the top tier of leagues, fighting the best teams, trying to be number 1 in your league. Clans that are number 1 in their league in the top tier would be ultimate accomplishment, similar to being a 50 in halo 2 and 3.

> You can’t buy rank, and why would you put clans in different leagues? Then it would have nothing to do with skill, just placement. I like the way they are going with the Halo 4 system.

Folks complain ALL THE TIME about people buying rank in Halo 3 and to a lesser extent 2. And putting clans in different leagues is a way to let each clan feel a more direct impact of their wins and losses. Moving up to number 1 in your league would be great, lsoing some would drop you. Then when the season ends you move to a new tier. So you will always be placed with teams in your skill range. You wont JUST play teams in your league, you will play teams from your tier. But you will move up and down tiers based on your league performance.

Plus it gives players something to shoot for, winning your league. It would be an accomplishment, and LOTS of teams could do it each season. If you have just one pool of players in a tier, only one team can get that experience of winning the season. Winning a league would be something almost any team could do, some would have to do it at the lowest tier, but it would still be a fun season for them.

And you know nothing about what they are doing in Halo 4. Except vague rumors that nobody has sources for.