On your TLDR really quickly SENCHIEF10: I could certainly also be classified as a “343 hater”. I agree that has always been an issue of 343i’s; trying to fix what isn’t broken. I disagree on the idea that the game will fail, I think it’ll do quite well, and the player base will be quite large due to f2p. Though of course, it won’t be anywhere close to Bungie’s games, which took over the entire world. So, Infinite, no way in hell is going to be a 10-year game.
> Gunplay: This game feels like it was made for M&K first. I’ve had to do way too much tweaking to make it feel anywhere close to good and it still feels wack not PUBG on console bad but still really bad out of the box on default settings. I think there is too much of halo 5’s gunplay DNA in this as well. It’s like they are trying to emulate CoD or apex legends gunplay but it’s so much worse than those 2 games. infinite seems to have the tightest hitboxes of all the halo games which would be a good thing if the gunplay wasn’t so weird. Cross play is going to be an absolute uneven nightmare for console players.
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> Graphics: still looks worse than games from 2018. I can’t believe they are really sticking to the cross gen 10 year plan. It’s a terrible idea to have this game be supported and updated all the way through 2031 for 2013 hardware. Just wait in a few years when some other multiplayer game leverages some newer innovative tech that infinite will be incapable of doing later on.
I’ve had issues with gunplay as well. Seems lots are actually, hopefully, 343i is looking into it. I do agree on a bit much of Halo 5’s DNA, most notably I hate 343i’s microscopic crosshairs on every weapon. Which I think is why the hitboxes feel tight, mixed with the very fast base movement speed. Graphically, can’t deny it, it’s nothing impressive.
> Physics: probably worst in the franchise. Unacceptable to not have player collision and the worst explosive physics effects in all the halo games. It’s frankly unacceptable. I mean really the gravity hammer doesn’t have a gravity effect?
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> TTK and pace: like Halo 5, infinite’s pace is too quick. I think this is a fundamental issue since 343 took over the Franchise. They’ve had the view that halo should be fast like CoD or other older arena shooters. The problem is what made halo successful and what differentiated it from other arena shooters was similar core mechanics and philosophy but slowed WAY down. Halo’s pace in the bungie games was dictated by tactical decision making and planning. Whether in FFA or in team games. This is the root of the difference in opinion of the classic vs new halo camps. All I can say is how many people showed up and stayed for halo 5? Not many. And infinite is largely making a lot of the same mistakes as 5.
100% agreed, the physics are horrendous for all the reasons you note. Not to mention, in its current state, Grifball is literally impossible with Infinite’s physics. I agree, 343i has constantly tried to make Halo faster because that’s what other games do, you think they would’ve noticed by now, Halo at its peak was the slowest of all FPS games. The TTK being too fast I believe is mostly a fault of the AR and the way too fast BxB (I think BxB should stay, just toned down so its more like Halo 2). The AR is way too powerful atm, but you address balance later so I’ll add more there. Yeah, Halo 5 sold nowhere near Bungie’s game, and the player retention was almost non-existent, so it sucks they’re keeping so much of it, considering in all honesty a small portion of the fanbase actually likes 5.
Not much to add on maps, I think they’re all like a 6.5/10.
> sandbox: I think the sandbox and many weapons are very badly balanced. It’s not really a secret that 343 must hate the precision meta as they’ve constantly increased the effectiveness of automatics in all their games. Infinite takes it way to far. You can cross map with an AR, strike one. You can ADS (smart scope) with AR and basically every weapon, strike 2. The commando just doesn’t work with the sandbox. It’s way to good. It’s a low skill weapon (once you figure it out) that can demolish anything short of a rocket, long range sniper or shotgun up close, strike 3.I’m not a fan of elevating automatics to be on par with precision weapons. It’s like they listened to the smallest part of halos community who have been complaining about weak automatics since halo 2 and designed the whole multiplayer around them.
Agreed, the AR definitely needs a lower range, since for some reason 343i doesn’t want to fully remove ADS even though the overwhelming majority hates it. Commando, at least as a MkB player, I’ve had the opposite experience, I find its almost unusable and the AR and Sidekick outclass it substantially. I agree, I think precision weapons, for the most part, should be better than automatics. That way skilled players win with their accuracy and tactics, not just spraying first, which Infinite has to an extent, though at least not as bad as CoD. Overall, I like automatic starts, but the automatics shouldn’t be more powerful, making the precisions more powerful encourages you to explore the sandbox and pick up weapons. Infinite seems to have the reverse issue of Halo 2. Halo 2 had a BR meta, with an unusable SMG(which is H2 is just a worse CE AR), and Infinite has a AR meta, with a far weaker BR.
> Bloom: awful way to balance all of these poorly designed weapons. We have a sidekick that can fire very rapidly and drop people in seconds. So 343 adds tons of bloom to make it difficult to get the headshot. Instead they could have just put in a slower firing magnum. I don’t get their obsession with making pistols viable against main weapons. It doesn’t need to stack up to an AR or BR.
I definitely prefer no bloom, but can tolerate it. I disagree the pistols should absolutely be viable, but shouldn’t outclass regular weapons. That way you’re not screwed when you spawn, but are still encouraged to scavenge. I agree, just doing something more in line with the CE magnum w/o bloom would’ve been a lot better like you noted.
> Equipment pickups: mostly useless except for the grapple hook and repulsor.
> The hook by the way will probably be deemed OP after the community has had more time with the game.
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> Drop wall: there’s a reason bungie didn’t put the deployable cover in normal multiplayer maps in halo 3. It sucks that’s why and so does the drop wall. Its not very effect and probably worse than the deployable cover. Should have just brought back the bubble shield.
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> target sensor: just a garbage tier pickup. The radar jammer of infinite. Sure it can help a little bit but it’s mostly useless as it’s easy to figure out where people are in halo. This isn’t battlefield.
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> repulsor: it’s solid. Not much else to say.
The hook I could see becoming a crutch pick-up for sure, but its fun so I quite like it atm. Drop wall I actually like, since its meant to be used proactively, instead of reactively like the bubble shield. Though, it could definitely use a slight health boost. Agreed, target sensor I haven’t grabbed ever since I first tried it. Repulsor I actually hate, not that I dislike the equipment itself, but it seems like that is their excuse to get rid of grenade and hammer physics, which is stupid.