Dispelling the myth.

The myth= AA take no skill to use.

Case in point=If you think I can use AL the same way I do now after 3000 games as compared to my first 1000 games, you would be mistaken. Skill for the most part requires practice, ergo AL can take skill to use. Can the unskilled benefit from its use, yes, but the unskilled players can benefit from almost every mechanic ever created in every game that ever exsisted. Skillful manipulation is possible with any advantage or mechanic, not just head shots and call outs.

The conclusion=While you may say that in the mechanics and parameters of different settings, that you have more skill, but what cannot be said is that those that have began to expand their gameplay beyond the gun as a focal point, have less skill. They represent the next generation of FPS players that have more on their plate than how well they can keep the reticle on an opponents head. Beyond hand eye cordination this represents the next step in digital combat, welcome to the new world of gaming.

> The myth= AA take no skill to use.
>
> Case in point=If you think somebody who has played 1000 games using AL can use it the same way I can after 3000, you are mistaken. Skill for the most part requires practice, ergo AL can take skill to use. Can the unskilled benefit from its use, yes, but the unskilled players can benefit from almost every mechanic ever created in every game that ever exsisted. Skillful manipulation is possible with any advantage or mechanic, not just head shots and call outs.
>
> The conclusion=While you may say that in the mechanics and parameters of different settings, that you have more skill, but what is untrue is that those that have began to expand their gameplay beyond the gun as a focal point, have less skill. They represent the next generation of FPS players that have more on their plate than how well they can keep the reticle on an opponents head. Beyond hand eye cordination this represents the next step in digital combat, welcome to the new world of gaming.

Every halo player mastered AL the first time they used it. It is not that hard to hit one button when ya scared…

Just about anything takes some amount of skill. A great game has skillful elements that are also fun. Armor lock is not fun for the player staring at an invincible boulder. Just my take on the hate directed at AL.

> > The myth= AA take no skill to use.
> >
> > Case in point=If you think somebody who has played 1000 games using AL can use it the same way I can after 3000, you are mistaken. Skill for the most part requires practice, ergo AL can take skill to use. Can the unskilled benefit from its use, yes, but the unskilled players can benefit from almost every mechanic ever created in every game that ever exsisted. Skillful manipulation is possible with any advantage or mechanic, not just head shots and call outs.
> >
> > The conclusion=While you may say that in the mechanics and parameters of different settings, that you have more skill, but what is untrue is that those that have began to expand their gameplay beyond the gun as a focal point, have less skill. They represent the next generation of FPS players that have more on their plate than how well they can keep the reticle on an opponents head. Beyond hand eye cordination this represents the next step in digital combat, welcome to the new world of gaming.
>
> Every halo player mastered AL the first time they used it. It is not that hard to hit one button when ya scared…

At the very least, knowing how quickly to come out of armor lock is a skill. Your inability to understand that suggests that you do not know how to use it effectively.

Armor lock is a crutch for bad players.

> Just about anything takes some amount of skill. A great game has skillful elements that are also fun. Armor lock is not fun for the player staring at an invincible boulder. Just my take on the hate directed at AL.

Neither is watching someone run around a corner when they would have died without that extra burst of speed or jetpack out of harms way or evade at you with a sword. Losing is not fun but it happens AL or not.

> > > The myth= AA take no skill to use.
> > >
> > > Case in point=If you think somebody who has played 1000 games using AL can use it the same way I can after 3000, you are mistaken. Skill for the most part requires practice, ergo AL can take skill to use. Can the unskilled benefit from its use, yes, but the unskilled players can benefit from almost every mechanic ever created in every game that ever exsisted. Skillful manipulation is possible with any advantage or mechanic, not just head shots and call outs.
> > >
> > > The conclusion=While you may say that in the mechanics and parameters of different settings, that you have more skill, but what is untrue is that those that have began to expand their gameplay beyond the gun as a focal point, have less skill. They represent the next generation of FPS players that have more on their plate than how well they can keep the reticle on an opponents head. Beyond hand eye cordination this represents the next step in digital combat, welcome to the new world of gaming.
> >
> > Every halo player mastered AL the first time they used it. It is not that hard to hit one button when ya scared…
>
> At the very least, knowing how quickly to come out of armor lock is a skill. Your inability to understand that suggests that you do not know how to use it effectively.

That or are trolling with hyperboles in an attempt to degrade the topic.

I rarely if ever use AL. I enjoy killing those that do.
I don’t expect experienced gamers to take long to pick up new skill-sets. I expect newer gamers to use the new skill-sets in ways the previously experienced may never have imagined.

> Armor lock is a crutch for bad players.

So is having AA removed from a playlist because you are unable to obtain victory. Actually I am wrong, thats more like running to your Mommy because someone is better at a game than you and having her remove whatever advantage the other player has over you. What do you call that?

> > Just about anything takes some amount of skill. A great game has skillful elements that are also fun. Armor lock is not fun for the player staring at an invincible boulder. Just my take on the hate directed at AL.
>
> Neither is watching someone run around a corner when they would have died without that extra burst of speed or jetpack out of harms way or evade at you with a sword. Losing is not fun but it happens AL or not.

Sprinting and jetpacking don’t make you invincible. You can still kill them. The only counter to AL is to wait. Even chasing a sprinter down is still engaging. Waiting for an ALer to exit makes me remember I am playing a video game which is the opposite of engaging. I’m not hating on players who use it. I just don’t think it should have been included in its current state so I guess I’m hating on the devs who included it.

I don’t like when sprint, evade and Jetpack get lumped in as “armor abilities” because they gain the stigma that armor lock carries rather than just being referred to as movement abilities.

You know, I’m beginning to think Bungie created AL just to piss you idiots off! I am so tired of everyone saying AL is a crutch. That excuse is a damn crutch! Get over it, learn to counter it, and shut the hell up!!!

This post has been edited by a moderator. Please do not post spam.

> Sprinting and jetpacking don’t make you invincible. You can still kill them. The only counter to AL is to wait. Even chasing a sprinter down is still engaging. Waiting for an ALer to exit makes me remember I am playing a video game which is the opposite of engaging. I’m not hating on players who use it. I just don’t think it should have been included in its current state so I guess I’m hating on the devs who included it.

All of the examples you gave, have an advantage rarely spoken of, but of great importance in combat, that is mobil superiority. This is completely missing from the positive attributes of AL and I should point out if you used those AA to arrive to the AL that you then have to wait for, you would not have been in that spot without using the mobil superiority attributed to jetpack, sprint and evade. You may have picked up a power weapon that I could not reach as fast as you as well, giving you further advantage.

> I don’t like when sprint, evade and Jetpack get lumped in as “armor abilities” because they gain the stigma that armor lock carries rather than just being referred to as movement abilities.

Like it or not they are unique abilities that give the player that select them particular advantages specific to them.

i think your taking it to literally, though i do the same thing but i just think that when they say “no skill” they are just exaggerating and actually mean that they require a small amount of skill allowing the lesser skilled players to play the game more effectively.

> i think your taking it to literally, though i do the same thing but i just think that when they say “no skill” they are just exaggerating and actually mean that they require a small amount of skill allowing the lesser skilled players to play the game more effectively.

To what degree the person diminishes the skill of the person using it does not matter to me. The offending person has failed to relize that this represent a completely different skill set, one people better get use to as almost every single FPS is heading in the direction of.

Plunder do you have any examples or proof of your statement? Just because it took 3,000 (random number) games in H2 for the first person to figure out BXR’ing, and it would take the next person 3,000 had he never heard of it, doesn’t mean that someone who knows about it couldn’t find out about it in 1 game. I think your definition of being “better” with armor lock is more that you have more “experience” than actual “skill”. I’m sure you could tell me all your “tricks” and I could do just as well as you within a short period of time.

Yet how to do the “SK Strafe” (an MLG pro who had a very famous strafe in H3) in very available knowledge or even any form of complex strafe, although many of us after years of practice can not strafe as well as him and can get out strafed by better players all the time. Sure if all you did was sit in customs and practice strafing for a few days straight you might get it, but that is far from realistic. And if you really want to argue that, I could master the tricks of armor lock within a few minutes if I just sat in a custom doing it; still an EXTREMELY small skill gap compared to a mechanic such as strafing.

Also, just because you enjoy Reach doesn’t mean you need to defend it with false or over exaggerated evidence; There’s not a problem with enjoying Reach. Not saying that you ARE doing that, but I just find it hard for such a smart person as yourself to actually believe some one these things that you say.

I await your reply dear foe.

edit: also I’m not, nor does it seem anyone, is saying that armor lock is overpowered. I don’t think anyone of skill at Halo has said this in quite sometime. It’s OP in the sense of the benefit it provides vs the skill it takes to master, yes, but compared to sprint, evade, and even JP it is no way a “power weapon” or nor does it have a significant overall advantage. We all get that; all we’re saying is that it takes very little skill and has a very low skill ceiling. The graph is parabolic, as with any game and any mechanic. The more you put into it the less you get out of each segment of time you put in.

For example, the BR, You can get “proficient” with to the point of getting kills after a few games, and you can be deadly with it after 6 months, but the time for 6 months to 3 years, the amount of progression per, lets say month,drops greatly; now you only may learn something new every few months as opposed to every few days when you were first figuring it out.

Now with AL, it has this same KIND of curve; someone with 5000 games may have SOME more “skill” than someone with 3000 games, but the actual level of effectiveness that you can use it over them could hardly be considered noticeable.

> Every halo player mastered AL the first time they used it. It is not that hard to hit one button when ya scared…

This is an idiotic comment. People who don’t know how to use it effectively seem to get little benefit from it. They use it at the wrong times. They can’t use it effectively in close quarters. They rely on it to save them in situations where at best it will only postpone their deaths, instead of using a different tactic to deal with a situation. They play stupidly thinking AL will save them when they screw up. Some people clearly use it better than others.

Look,Armor Lock is a good ability that people should use if it suits them for instince the ability Active Camo is my most suitable ability.I’m spesifically trained with it and better with it than any other ability.Try each equipment and see which you like best than perfect your skills with it.

> > Every halo player mastered AL the first time they used it. It is not that hard to hit one button when ya scared…
>
> This is an idiotic comment. People who don’t know how to use it effectively seem to get little benefit from it. They use it at the wrong times. They can’t use it effectively in close quarters. They rely on it to save them in situations where at best it will only postpone their deaths, instead of using a different tactic to deal with a situation. They play stupidly thinking AL will save them when they screw up. Some people clearly use it better than others.

Hell, AL takes no skill, shoot a guy a few times, go into armor lock, wait until he starts to reload his gun, come out and jump alot and shoot him while he’s reloading. Gives you extra shots on him while he’s reloading.

> Plunder do you have any examples or proof of your statement? Just because it took 3,000 (random number) games in H2 for the first person to figure out BXR’ing, and it would take the next person 3,000 had he never heard of it, doesn’t mean that someone who knows about it couldn’t find out about it in 1 game. I think your definition of being “better” with armor lock is more that you have more “experience” than actual “skill”. I’m sure you could tell me all your “tricks” and I could do just as well as you within a short period of time.

3000 games represents the actual amount of games that I have played using AL, that is why I used that example. I am a perfect example, I could not use AL at a 1000 games as I can now after 3000. This becomes relevent as to my assertion, because of a learning curve that is evident in growth as a player through practice, which has resulted in increased skill. Proof that practice garners skill does not need examples however, it is demonstrated everyday in more than games, if you require proof, practice flying in a simulater a couple times, find a real plane, then get in and take off and find out if your theory pans out.(actually dont attempt that)

> Yet how to do the “SK Strafe” (an MLG pro who had a very famous strafe in H3) in very available knowledge or even any form of complex strafe, although many of us after years of practice can not strafe as well as him and can get out strafed by better players all the time. Sure if all you did was sit in customs and practice strafing for a few days straight you might get it, but that is far from realistic. And if you really want to argue that, I could master the tricks of armor lock within a few minutes if I just sat in a custom doing it; still an EXTREMELY small skill gap compared to a mechanic such as strafing.

Natural ability makes up the other portion that practice cannot produce. I could practice methods mastered by others for years and not match someone who has amazing natural ability. But with practice I can gain ability beyond whatever my natural ability stops at. While you make claims that you could achieve the same mastery that I have after 3000 games in a few custom games, that really is far from reality. You may be naturaly better right from the start, but that is highly unlikely.

> Also, just because you enjoy Reach doesn’t mean you need to defend it with false or over exaggerated evidence; There’s not a problem with enjoying Reach. Not saying that you ARE doing that, but I just find it hard for such a smart person as yourself to actually believe some one these things that you say.

My belief is emphatic due to my complete faith in its validity, the things that I say are a result of what I believe and that is where the true power comes. If I believe it I say it and I make no apologies for what for me is truth, but in the arena (pun intended) of opinion, one mans truth is anothers heresy.

> I await your reply dear foe.

Halo and those that play it have transcended the average stranger in that I consider them friends, even if we disagree or I am disliked by them. I believe this is a result of being part of the beginning of the phenomenon and forming a stong correlation with the sense of community then and applying it as the standard now. It literaly pains me to have left that enviroment to return to what the community has become. We are and should be brothers in what is our chosen grand pursuit, Halo.

> edit: also I’m not, nor does it seem anyone, is saying that armor lock is overpowered. I don’t think anyone of skill at Halo has said this in quite sometime. It’s OP in the sense of the benefit it provides vs the skill it takes to master, yes, but compared to sprint, evade, and even JP it is no way a “power weapon” or nor does it have a significant overall advantage. We all get that; all we’re saying is that it takes very little skill and has a very low skill ceiling. The graph is parabolic, as with any game and any mechanic. The more you put into it the less you get out of each segment of time you put in.
>
> For example, the BR, You can get “proficient” with to the point of getting kills after a few games, and you can be deadly with it after 6 months, but the time for 6 months to 3 years, the amount of progression per, lets say month,drops greatly; now you only may learn something new every few months as opposed to every few days when you were first figuring it out.
>
> Now with AL, it has this same KIND of curve; someone with 5000 games may have SOME more “skill” than someone with 3000 games, but the actual level of effectiveness that you can use it over them could hardly be considered noticeable.

I understand what you are saying, its a perfect example of a gradual declining scale and you are correct, I have noticed that the way to apply and use it have begun to become second nature and seem to have progressed as fast as it can to this point, but it has slowed considerably in the last 500 games. I cant imagine that it will be able to progress much farther in the next year as it did for the last.

Just for kicks here is some tricks I have learned.

I have a better connection rate with sticky nades when comming out of AL, if I direct myself away from the opponent as opposed to going twords them. At first I tought I was imagining things, but I took the time to keep track for a few days and found it to be close to 12% more effective.

I have never personely fell victim to this trick so I like to think that it is an original of my own making, but there is no way to tell. When I can see on my radar that an opponent is going for a lift and I am at the top, when he arrives at the top he will find me with AL activated and an EMP blast and a punch to his head in his future, this trick has yet to fail to deliver a death blow, if I am there and can activate it long enough to get the EMP burst.

> > Every halo player mastered AL the first time they used it. It is not that hard to hit one button when ya scared…
>
> This is an idiotic comment. People who don’t know how to use it effectively seem to get little benefit from it. They use it at the wrong times. They can’t use it effectively in close quarters. They rely on it to save them in situations where at best it will only postpone their deaths, instead of using a different tactic to deal with a situation. They play stupidly thinking AL will save them when they screw up. Some people clearly use it better than others.

Forgive him, he knows not what he says.