Let’s sit down and look at the Tactical packages of Halo 4, opinions, ideas how to balance them, your experience using and doing battle against them. The idea of balancing these are mostly for fights, which is the key aspect we’ll be looking at.
Note: If your only opinion is to remove tactical packages, and other aspects of Halo 4, please do not even comment. This thread is not for you. Please express your opinions in a different thread, here we are trying to balance the current sand box with tools we’ve been given. I ask that all people participating in the thread to ignore anyone who is not being constructive.
Shield Package-
Effect: Increases how fast one’s shields are restored
Combat/balance impact: Moderate
It’s a good pick up, but not going to save you in a fire fight, unless you are strafing and dodging like a boss or your opponent sucks at shooting. What it will do is make sure you’re ready for your next fight and makes it difficult for someone to kill you even though you’ve just had a fight. I’m not sure how I feel about this package. It seems strong on paper, but in practice I feel like it’s only useful sometimes or when I’m being an absolute boss/lagging.
Fix: Unsure needs more data/opinions.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Firepower -
Effect: Allows the user to spawn with two primary weapons
Combat/balance impact: Low
Usually people will go with a precision and automatic combo, and most people will usually pick one of them up off a dead opponent (or at least I do). I feel like this is a fair package.
Fix: Good as is.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Mobility -
Effect: Allows Unlimited sprint
Combat/Balance impact: Low to medium
How you see this is really on your opinion on sprint. I personally find this to be the worst of the tactical packages that you can take. Sprinting is great for objective modes like CTF and Oddball, but absolutely useless and will more likely than not get you killed in a fire fight.
Fix: Good as is on a well designed map and non objective modes.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Fast track-
Effect: Allows user to gain more XP
Combat/Balance Impact: None
Does nothing for you in a fire fight.
Fix: Good as is.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Grenadier-
Effect: Increase starting capacity of grenades by +1
Combat/balance impact: Low
I don’t really think this is that big of an issue. Another grenade may or may not be useful depending on the player.
Fix: None. Good as is.
Fix:
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Resupply-
Effect: Allows users to pick up loadout grenades off of dead bodies.
Combat/Balance Impact: Low
I would be more inclined to grab this one if a player could pick up plasmas and pulse grenades off of bodies, but alas you can’t do that unless the user has picked them up across the map. I can’t decide how much of an edge this gives a player in combat. With this you never have to worry about not having that grenade ready, but many of us fight without grenades all the time. So I feel like it’s well balanced and in a good place.
Fix: Fine as is.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Requisition-
Effect: Allows players to “re-roll” an ordnance drop.
Combat/Balance Impact: Medium
I personally don’t like ordnances, I don’t find them imbalanced, but I just don’t like the idea of someone being rewarded more for beating a dead horse. With that being said this package is only useable on infinity play settings. I feel like 343i should have taken a D&D approach to this one. In D&D when a player gets an ability that lets them “Re-roll” a roll usually they take the worse of the two. Now in Halo 4 that’s pure opinion, but I would make the second roll have a higher probability of giving grenades, needler, speed boost etc. And the chance to get a power weapon dropping drastically.
Fix: Reduce the chance of getting a power weapon on the second roll and increase the chance of getting grenades/needler etc.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
Wheelman-
Effect: Increase the durability of your vehicles as well as how they are effected by EMP blasts
Combat/Balance impact: Low
I haven’t really seen this too much (I don’t play too much Big team battle) , but what I’ve gathered is that it’s not the greatest ability. I need conformation though, but if it’s effects aren’t too good then it’ll need a buff. Like I said I can’t tell if people are using a hyperbole or if they’re being honest about it’s functionality.
Fix: Unable to comment/need more observations and experience. Possible buff needed.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix:
AA Efficacy-
Effect: Decrease the cool down of your AA
Combat/Balance impact: Medium
The usefulness of this package is really dependent on how much you use armor abilities, and which one you’re going to use. I’m personally a fan of this and Regen field, which is a nasty combo for various usefulness. I can see it easily being abused with Active Camo and Promethean vision though. I feel like balancing this will not really lie within the package, but with armor abilities.
Fix: Good as is.
Waypoints Opinion and Fix: