Balancing Spartan Abilities (Once and for All)

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Balancing Spartan Abilities:

Sprint:

In regards to sprint I am not necessarily opposed to it, however, that is not to say it couldn’t be balanced further. In addition to preventing shield regeneration while sprinting, players should be unable to sprint when being fired upon. Desprint would prevent Sprint from becoming an escape mechanism, forcing players to actively engage with their opponents in order to survive.

Ground Pound:

With the right amount of balancing, I think Ground Pound could actually be a meaningful addition to Halo 5’s multiplayer. In order to activate Ground Pound the player would hold down the crouch button (whatever that may be) and aim the ability’s reticle. Upon releasing the crouch button the Spartan would use the Ground Pound in the designated area. How long the player held the crouch button would determine the strength of the Ground Pound. A player could hold crouch for as long as he/she wished, however, after a certain period of time (ideally 5 seconds) the Ground Pound would no longer become any stronger. This would balance Ground Pound because players would have to suspend themselves mid-air (thus making themselves vulnerable) for a longer period of time in order to have a stronger attack. Likewise, if a player only needed to do a small amount of damage, they wouldn’t have to suspend themselves for as long.

Clamber:

I don’t see a reason why Clamber needs to be balanced as it has little to no negative effects on gameplay.

Slide:

With Desprint implemented I think Slide would be balanced enough since reaching Sprint’s terminal velocity would be increasingly difficult during combat.

Charge:

With Desprint implemented I think Charge would be balanced enough since reaching Sprint’s terminal velocity would be increasingly difficult during combat.

Thruster Pack:

Thruster Pack seems balanced enough as it is, however, there should be an indication (such as that in Halo 4) that informs the player how long Thruster Pack needs to recharge.

Smart Scope:

Smart Scope hasn’t really bothered me, however, there are a few changes that 343i needs to make if they want to appeal to the majority of Halo players. The primary issue Halo players currently have with Smart Scope is that it impedes on functionality. For example, when using the DMR it is very difficult to see through the smart scope’s (holographic) sight due to the obstructive physical scope of the DMR. Since Smart Scope is linked to the Spartan’s HUD, there is no need for such large physical sights. Another issue Halo players have with Smart Scope is that it increases the accuracy of automatic weapons, such as the Assault Rifle and SMG, far to much. If the long-range accuracy of these automatic weapons was decreased, Smart Scope could be made more appealing overall.

If there is anything else that you want to see added to this post please point it out in the comments below and I will try to include it.

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Maybe a way to turn ground pound off? With ground pound, there would be no crouch jumping or gandhi hopping. I understand some people wouldn’t mind this, but especially in campaign speedruns the lack of crouch jumping would be pretty bad.

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> 2533274965431753;2:
> Maybe a way to turn ground pound off? With ground pound, there would be no crouch jumping or gandhi hopping. I understand some people wouldn’t mind this, but especially in campaign speedruns the lack of crouch jumping would be pretty bad.

You can just clamber instead now. :\

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> 2533274932540799;3:
> > 2533274965431753;2:
> > Maybe a way to turn ground pound off? With ground pound, there would be no crouch jumping or gandhi hopping. I understand some people wouldn’t mind this, but especially in campaign speedruns the lack of crouch jumping would be pretty bad.
>
>
> You can just clamber instead now. :\

Yeah, honestly to me clamber is one of those things that hurts halo more than helps it. It’s not a terrible idea, but it would completely change how the movement works in the game. There’s a certain feel I get with the movement of h2 and h3 that is a huge part of what feels like halo to me. It’s just so natural.

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> 2533274965431753;2:
> Maybe a way to turn ground pound off? With ground pound, there would be no crouch jumping or gandhi hopping. I understand some people wouldn’t mind this, but especially in campaign speedruns the lack of crouch jumping would be pretty bad.

I think you need to look down and hold crouch to ground pound. One of the devs mentioned crouch jumping as a feature as well as spring jumping.

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I honestly think that all of the spartan abilities are well balanced aside from the thrust (I am ok with the game presenting some new things now that we have MCC). I’ve had plenty of “barely got em” moments in halo and hardly any “I should’ve got em” moments. I’m sure the thruster will create some pretty rage moments for us competitive players, especially if they end up using it when they’re one shot.

343 made it so that the player slows down to regular speed when youre sprinting so that the game has a balance to the second layer of movement (sprint); when you’re in combat there is no second layer because shields do not regenerate and you cannot gain speed. There is a second layer of movement when getting from point a to point b and that is perfectly fine. So the movement is pretty balanced at this point right? Yeah. But now they’ve added this third layer of movement that has no downsides in combat. Now rather having one layer of movement (in combat) now we have two in guardians, which I personally am not fine with considering its halo and you shouldn’t have an advantage in combat simply because your thrust cool down is ready.

Unlike many die hard halo fans I play call of duty every now and then (rarely, as I prefer halo), and those thruster on the exo suits can create some frustrating moments even though players die very quickly in CoD. Now im just imagining the same situations but worse considering the kill time in halo is much longer

That being said,!I say just remove the thrusting ability in the second half of the beta just to see how things work out. If 343 decides to keep the thrusting then I say balance the way it works. Rather than having it boost you, have it move you the same speed as walking. Whats the point of having it then? Well first off you’ll still be able to perform longer jumps because you’ll be able to burst forward mid air. Secondly, you’ll still be able to get to cover/dodge but not as drastically. How so? Well in halo when you strafe from one direction to another you need to gain some momentum before you start moving at regular speed. The thruster will counter this and allow you to move at walking top speed immediately in which ever direction.

Those are my two cents. I personally hope that the thruster is removed but I doubt it will. If they do keep it I hope they follow my advice as i think it makes sense. Im ok with:

Sprint - your shields do not recharge and you’re slowed down upon being fired on

Ground pound - you need to lead it, it takes a while to strike with it, and it needs to be charged up before going in for the pound

Smart scope - you really don’t need it to be good at the game. It seems completely pointless having it on non-precision weapons

Camber - little bit skeptical, is this replacing crouch jumping or is it just a new addition? If its just a new addition then I think that is fine

Slide - I believe it doesnt speed you up, correct? It just allows you to move while crouching at sprint speed for a short distance? Not any faster nor slower?

What do you guys think? I don’t post often but I thought this was worth mentioning.

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You can’t balance something “further” (what you wrote in the Sprint section). You just want to Nerf sprint.
But there is an indicator on Thrusters, its the alert symbol to the right of your shield.

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What if you can only ground pound and charge with full shields?

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> 2533274877056440;7:
> You can’t balance something “further” (what you wrote in the Sprint section). You just want to Nerf sprint.
> But there is an indicator on Thrusters, its the alert symbol to the right of your shield.

Yes I want to Nerf sprint. Sorry for the misuse of terms. As for the alert system, I was requesting a charge meter, like the one that Halo 4 had for Armor Abilities (although just to be clear I don’t want Armor Abilities).

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While I am one to be pro-sprint, even I have to say it needs to be toned down more. Like you said, sprint stops when fired upon, can’t sprint when being fired upon, and one that I really think needs to implemented, a limited use of sprint.

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> 2533274974457747;10:
> …one that I really think needs to implemented, a limited use of sprint.

I actually disagree with you here. With Desprint implemented, unlimited Sprint really isn’t that bad. Limited Sprint forces recklessly players to be more cautious whereas an intelligent player will be cautious regardless. Unlimited Sprint gives players the freedom to be reckless, which is quite beneficial to more skilled Halo players who understand the value of strategy. Thus, unlimited Sprint widens the skill gap even further.

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Forgot to mention that assassinations should also be sped up to adapt for the faster paced gameplay of Halo 5. Didn’t put this in the primary post since it really doesn’t pertain to balancing the existing Spartan Abilities, although in my opinion Assassinations should be classified as a Spartan Ability.