Hi guys I have done a video on the topic of automatics and balance. Automatics include the weapons known as the Assault rifle, suppressor, SMG, Storm rifle and Brute plasma rifle.
I believe H5 has the best gun balance in Halo’s history but it doesn’t mean its perfect. There are ways to actually perfect it in H6, which is exciting.
Main problems:
Autos sometimes perform too well outside of their roles (range)
The headshot multiplier effect on autos such as the AR and SMG give them a bit too much unnecessary extra boost. Can cause for unusually quick deaths to precision weapon users at mid range despite landing good shots (headshot multiplier is kind of a luck factor)
The ADS or Smart Link mechanic results in boosts to accuracy and range as bullet spread is heavily reduced. This can lead to really quick kills on targets who have not engaged in a gunfight with you, players who are running at a medium distance away from you, people who have their backs turned against you, but are a medium range target.
Some rifles such as Storm rifle and brute plasma rifle can be too accurate in medium range which can result in quick kills (hip fire)
Solutions:
Remove smart-link functions for all autos (keep for precisions and shotguns)
remove the headshot damage multiplier effect entirely (worst feature)
KEEP THE DAMAGE PER BULLET OUTPUT FOR THE INDIVIDUAL AUTOS THE SAME AS THEY ARE NOW (NO REAL ISSUE WITH THOSE aside from plasma rifle maybe) - AUTOS ARE MEANT TO BE DOMINANT OR CAPABABLE IN CLOSE TO MID RANGE. H5 DOES GREAT JOB AT REWARDING PLAYERS WHO USE RIGHT WEAPONS IN DIFFERENT SITUATIONS. The issues highlighted above are what are resulting them to perform a bit too well outside of their roles
Increase bullet spread in range for SMG (weapon should excel at close range)
Keep AR’s effectiveness in mid range (hip fire) but try and add a layer of skill to it (Josh Menke discussed this possibility when removing it from pro play) so good luck.
increase hip fire spread for storm rifle in range (storm rifle is the strongest auto in terms of power so it would still be useful in mid range with just a teeny bit of added spread)
Reduce time to kill for the Brute plasma rifle against shield depleted players (I like how effective it is as a shield burster)
suppressor is close to being PERFECT - removing the ADS function on it would make it perfect, despite how cool the ADS animations are for promethean weaponry.
What do you guys think about this analysis? Feel free to share your points below
I think they are fine as is really. I absolutely love the weapon balance in H5. Every weapon fills a niche and has a roll. I think the main people who hate it seem to think precision weapons should be the the only effective weapons in the game. To me there is more to skill than ability with precision weapons. It’s knowing what weapon to use in certain situations. Using your abilities effectively, where to place yourself on the map and/or predicting where players maybe and what weapons to use.
They’re fine. Any less competent and they’d just be mostly useless. I do not think they are too good outside their range. Use an AR or SMG against a BR at mid range and the BR would likely win. The ADS wouldn’t help much too because it would be disabled after being hit. The BR doesn’t need to aim at mid range to be effective.
And if we want to really make sure every weapon is strictly for one range and not be capable at other ranges, then all Sentinel sights and long barrels should be removed and remove aim magnetism for mid-range precision weapons at close range completely. Also snipers should then have a larger crosshairs so snapshotting cannot be reliably done at close range.
^ Doing those would make the game frustrating as it removes versatility. That’s why I think autos are fine the way they are. People mostly use precision weapons already, because they are the most versatile and reliable weapons.
Iv always thought the autos in halo were useless. But where they are now in halo is to op. They can keep the damage model for all I care I guess, but being able to ads is ridiculous. If you don’t land all your shots in even some mid range combat the ar can take you out. It just upsets the balance that halo has always had imo.
If automatic weapons are too strong (which they are not, they are perfect) then that’s fine. Whatever makes the game harder for precision users works great.
Are people really defending the storm rifle? The effective range on it is ridiculous, it should remove shields quickly, but not health and the overheating feature needs adjustment since it’s too easy to bypass.
I find them fine. I like in Halo 5 how they added the smart link on so you can somewhat zoom in with an automatic. I like it if your being teamed up on a bunch of people camping with BR’s or a sniper, you can somewhat shoot back now instead of just firing aimlessly (still get wrecked but not as fast).
It is literally a thrill to out gun DMRs BRs, and Magnums at mid-range with the AR (though it would be harder to preform this while holding down the trigger; the spread is too prevalent). My only complaint is that the AR does not shoot as fast compared to H2A and H4 (those things were beast).
Nah, Autos are fine. Don’t see why people keep bringing it up, unless they think that their precious BR should be the top-gun and dominate everything (cough Halo 4 *cough). They preform well in CQC, their intended roll and to an extent, mid-range as well, obviously gonna be outgunned in mid-long range by a competent user with a mid-long range weapon.
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> Nah, Autos are fine. Don’t see why people keep bringing it up, unless they think that their precious BR should be the top-gun and dominate everything (cough Halo 4 *cough). They preform well in CQC, their intended roll and to an extent, mid-range as well, obviously gonna be outgunned in mid-long range by a competent user with a mid-long range weapon.
The BR didn’t dominate everything in Halo 4. The DMR dominated the BR at launch, and automatic weapons were buffed in a title update.
Autos perform too well in mid-range and a perfect AR will always beat a perfect Magnum.
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> > 2533274885952391;5:
> > snipers
>
> Can we please stop referring to sniper rifles as snipers? “Sniper” refers to the person who uses a sniper rifle.
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> Nope, because that’s silly an pedantic.
Pedantic, yeah ok sure maybe I’m being pedantic. But you don’t think it sounds silly to call it a sniper? I’d be very surprised if they called sniper rifles “snipers” in the actual military but maybe I am just not used to hearing it that way. Sometimes things sound silly to one person but not another depending on how they were raised. Like, when I moved across the country, suddenly people thought I was weird for calling soda “pop”
> 2533274904158628;16:
> > 2533274849069111;15:
> > Nope, because that’s silly an pedantic.
>
> IPedantic, yeah ok sure maybe I’m being pedantic. But you don’t think it sounds silly to call it a sniper? I’d be very surprised if they called sniper rifles “snipers” in the actual military but maybe I am just not used to hearing it that way. Sometimes things sound silly to one person but not another depending on how they were raised. Like, when I moved across the country, suddenly people thought I was weird for calling soda “pop”
No, I don’t find it silly. Most don’t, hence the nomenclature. They don’t call them 'sniper’s in the military, but you’re talking about a video game community, dude. Really, it’s just shortening the name, don’t think too much into it… Or better, don’t think about it at all. Not worth it.
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> No, I don’t find it silly. Most don’t, hence the nomenclature. They don’t call them 'sniper’s in the military, but you’re talking about a video game community, dude. Really, it’s just shortening the name, don’t think too much into it… Or better, don’t think about it at all. Not worth it.