This thread is intended to discuss different definitions of sandbox balance and to explain which I believe is the one that Halo 4 would benefit the most from.
Without further ado:
Balance. To some people this means abolishing the idea of a utility weapon and differentiating slightly between weapons with things like aesthetics, rate of fire and damage per shot in order to create situations where any weapon can win but there is enough variety for players to gravitate to a weapon that they feel most comfortable with.
However in Halo balance has typically been done differently, hence we have balancing around a utility weapon:
From a pro-utility weapon standpoint (and arguably a pro-Halo standpoint) the sandbox should be balanced around the utility weapon. Every “niche weapon” should differentiate itself significantly, with notable weapon properties.
Examples of this are the Plasma Rifle in Halo CE being able to deliver a “stunning” effect which reduced the turn speed of the player being shot. Despite having a longer kill time than the Pistol this was a notable advantage which made it into a desirable weapon. Likewise the Plasma Pistol makes itself unique with the ability to overcharge itself to fire shield draining bolts which (from Halo 3 onwards) could EMP vehicles.
Further examples are “pseudo power weapons” such as the Shotgun, Grenade Launcher, Brute Shot/Concussion Rifle etc. Whilst these weapons are usually quite powerful, their effectiveness is greatly determined by positioning and you typically pick them up to supplement your main weapon and to give yourself an advantage in specific situations.
Then we have the genuine power weapons that everybody wants if for no better reason than the deny them to your opponents. Weapons like the Rocket Launcher, Sniper Rifle, and Spartan Laser are incredibly powerful in a fairly wide variety of circumstances and are almost always guaranteed to benefit their wielder significantly.
With this in mind I find myself preferring the concept of a sandbox built around the utility weapon. Every other weapon should still be useful and their minimum killtimes should be reasonably close together in order to prevent redundancy. However it should be possible for a skilled user of the utility weapon to beat a niche weapon within its own niche (provided the niche weapon misses a certain percentage of shots, and the utility weapon misses none for example).
By starting players off on equal footing with a capable utility weapon they will never feel that they’re limited by their weapon, yet providing the rest of the sandbox is desirable there will also be variation within the gunplay as players vie for as many advantages over each other as they can. Re-introducing powerups would further increase the variety within the gameplay whilst also boosting the competitive spirit of the game by placing more objects on the maps to be controlled in order to make and break setups.
And now on a different note - random spread/bloom and its effect on the sandbox. At its core bloom artificially extends killtimes. Whilst this can seem good for allowing players to demonstrate individual skill in 1v1 encounters (providing the bloom is implemented well and punishes the player who shoots worse) in team based games it falls apart by limiting flanking capabilities and restricting a player’s ability to make on the fly decisions. This is because the individual player becomes unable to make more than a single kill quickly before his bloom prevents him from accurately continuing his flank.
By punishing smart tactical plays like this the strategical portion of he game is dumbed down as the best course for players is to get close enough to make bloom or spread a non-factor and then just teamshoot their way to success. Unfortunately this linear aggressive style of gameplay prevents other aspects of good teamwork showing through very often and makes the game much less interesting to play due to the reduction in variety of gameplay scenarios and solutions to in-game problems.
And with that I’ll end this post and ask that the people who read this discuss the merits of the different types of balance, offer their own definitions and to even touch on my thoughts regarding spread & bloom and how they factor into a balanced sandbox of your definition.