> > I mean, I don’t want to say sprint has to do with this problem, but I’m pretty sure sprint is a contributor to this problem…
> >
> > people either sprint up and double melee or run away. CQC situations are some of the most prefabricated boring scenarios in this game.
>
> Sprint as a base trait leads to elongated map design.
>
> With elongated maps, the power positions are going to be those that offer the longest lines of sight.
>
> And since maps are elongated and bigger in general, Rifle Play is favored heavily over CQC Play.
>
> See: Complex
>
> I swear I’ve made this post word for word before…
Sprint didn’t require maps to be bigger. Certain Affinity chose to make maps bigger. Sprint as an optional ability does little to necessitate larger spaces. If it did, maps like Skyline wouldn’t work, and it’s arguably one of the best 4v4 maps in the game.
Put players in smaller maps and you’ll find them using sprint less.
As it is, though, I actually think sprint has helped make CQC more interesting. Along with the thruster pack, it enables players to be more agile in enclosed spaces, giving greater depth to player movement skills and abilities.
The problem is ranged fighting has inherent advantages in Halo, and it always has. Playing this way is just safer. Also, as per legacy, long-range rifles have been typically more powerful and more flexible in usage than automatic weapons, such as the AR. They’re also much more dynamic relative to player skills.
Basically, CQC in Halo has always suffered because the CQC weapons just aren’t that interesting, and it’s even more a problem now that we have the ability to choose our primary weapons. Who would choose to use a risky, less powerful CQC weapon like an assault rifle or suppressor (HAHAHAHA) when you can choose a more powerful weapon that empowers you at a wide range of distances and grants you the safety of range and cover during engagements?
Finally, with a lack of objectives to move players in big-team games, and power weapons that are bestowed upon players without them having to really do anything, why would any player move from a sniper nest?
One of the largest flaws in Halo 4’s design is it doubled and tripled up on player incentive in certain areas while leaving others out to dry. Dominion is a perfect example. The territories already are a huge incentive to capture because you can’t win the game without taking them. 343 then decided it would be a good idea to also drop tons of vehicles and power weapons in those very same locations, ensuring a much greater concentration of player presence in those areas while leaving other spaces on these maps empty.
It’s just careless design as a whole, but the CQC thing? That’s just 343 and Certain Affinity being incapable of thinking outside of the box while forcing popular game mechanics into Halo. CQC’s always been a problem in Halo. Always, and it would have been a great area to improve on by, I don’t know, making the CQC weapons worth using and perhaps giving players incentive to play that way?
Crazy idea, I know.