Elements don't take away skill (or add it)

Games Other Halo
1

I don’t agree for a second that Halo 3 or Halo Reach take any less or more skill then Halo 1 or Halo 2. I’m sorry, I just don’t. I honestly find each game to take the same amount of effort, skill and tactics as eachother. In different ways of course. Yet not in a really big way.

I know most wont agree with me, I’m hoping at least some will compromise with this. That adding elements does not take away, nor add skill. There has been randomness in gaming, including Halo since gaming has begun. Randomness can be seen as a understanding and misleading pattern of events, numbers or design.

With this understanding of randomness it’s simple to understand we, ourselves, are random. There is no real structural pattern of each player. Even if each player plays the same way, there actions are not predictable, therefor RANDOM. The weapons we all get, since they are not always the same, and the environment is not the same, Again RANDOM.

So lets get that out of the way. Random exists. You can never take away that element. Ever. It will always exist. There’s random elements with each fight, each player, each weapon, each possible scenario. Thankfully Halo always has elements that are not random.

Things like Equipment and Armor Abilities are really no diffrent then not having them. They just give a new demention of the gameplay. They don’t take away, nor really add much either. Each thing has a counter, a better, a worse, and can be mastered.

Armor Lock for example (I hate) has some skill gap. Believe it or not, Some people don’t use A.L as good as others. Some people masterted the art of it. While some just think “Press it anytime lol” and end up failing.

Jet Pack, Sprint, etc all have the same thing. They don’t break the map anymore then they make you think to counter and use them. Not every Jet Pack user is breaking maps, and not every sprinter is running like a pro. There’s still a gap with this, which some don’t really see.

Take Hologram for example. There’s a lot of people (myself even) who just sent a Hologram out and just hope it tricks someone. Yet there are those who have learned how to completly trick and use it to there advantage. Which, IS SKILL

Not to say they really add much skill to the game. However they don’t close any skill gaps that MAY have existed in Halo before. It just takes harder to be good. Yet good players who master Equipment, Armor Abilities, Weapons, Etc (in Halo 3/Reach) will still always win, Or at least no more or less then Halo1 or 2.

Plus those who think Halo 1 or Halo 2 took so much more skill, Not really. Maybe Halo:1 because it was very simple and to the point. Yet Halo 2 was anything but a skill-gapped game. 1-50 does not mean there was better and worse any more or less then any other game (Ranks or not).

So. Stop whining. Elements don’t take away skill. They don’t close any gaps. They don’t ruin the game. Halo is still Halo. They don’t do much at all. They are elements. I can’t even say they add much skill either. Except to themselves. But that’s all good for me.

2

The new features (AA’s) being added, are more of a crutch, whereas normally in halo 2, i’d get the drop on you, 4 shot you with the BR and down you go.

Halo Reach, i 4 shot you with the dmr, you armour lock before i shoot the 5th shot…your still alive, but shouldn’t be

slows down gameplay, and overall just pisses people off

3

Finally someone talking sense. Well done!

4

AA’s don’t mean you can’t still get a drop. And only Armor Lock really slowed down gameplay. Most others speed it up or leave it the same.

Peace.

5

Oh god I want to believe so bad that OP is trolling…

I didn’t want to bump this at first but I just had to thank you OP for being the cancer of these forums and the reason we have no credibility to 343. Aside from the fact that your grammar and wording make you sound like you’re 12, you’re also just very obviously blatantly wrong

Edit:
I think you literally just gave me cancer

6

> AA’s don’t mean you can’t still get a drop. And only Armor Lock really slowed down gameplay. Most others speed it up or leave it the same.
>
>
> Peace.

jetpack-runaway
sprint-runaway
camo-hide
evade-runaway
hologram-distraction
bubble shield drop - delayed death

7

> The new features (AA’s) being added, are more of a crutch, whereas normally in halo 2, i’d get the drop on you, 4 shot you with the BR and down you go.
>
> Halo Reach, i 4 shot you with the dmr, you armour lock before i shoot the 5th shot…your still alive, but shouldn’t be
>
> slows down gameplay, and overall just pisses people off

I don’t think anyone will argue that Armor Lock was a good idea, but I’m curious what your opposition to the other Armor Abilities is based on.

8

> I don’t think anyone will argue that Armor Lock was a good idea, but I’m curious what your opposition to the other Armor Abilities is based on.

Sprint is the same idea, which is the worst now that 343 made it default. And OP I guess I’ll explain other problems with the AAs while I’m posting again.

Skill gap isn’t even the biggest problem with the other armor abilities. Jet pack -Yoinks!- up the tactics of the map by eliminating advantages of controlling high ground and forcing enemies through tight spaces, thus “breaking” the map like you’ve probably heard. Sprint -Yoinks!- up the pacing of the game by prolonging encounter and ultimately the game (especially when combined with reticle bloom). The other ones are okay, but I wish they would have some sort of cooldown

9

AA’s do take away skill. It may seem like they add skill but overtime, relying on AA’s sorta zaps a player from using basic tactics that would prove useful for classic matches. I wouldn’t have a problem with AA’s if they were only on the map and set in or near the blue’s/red’s base.

10

> > AA’s don’t mean you can’t still get a drop. And only Armor Lock really slowed down gameplay. Most others speed it up or leave it the same.
> >
> >
> > Peace.
>
> jetpack-runaway

By going up in the sky, hanging around with limited movement and being an obvious target for everybody?

> sprint-runaway

With Halo’s map sizes you’d likely to run into others, besides:
A: those with sprint can easily run after him
B: by the time you get to cover you’re already most likely to be in such a bad shape you will inevitably lose the next confrontation.

> camo-hide

Has always been in Halo…so that makes your point irrelevant.

> evade-runaway

Hardly…

> hologram-distraction

So? A good player recognizes a hologram after 1 shot…

> bubble shield drop - delayed death

A: It’s hardly anywhere to be found in Reach…
B: It also was in H3, were you against it then as well?
C: It only delays the inevitable moment the opponent will step inside and still kill you.

On topic:
OP: you nailed it. Well done.
Besides that, I think you can’t really say this game is anything less competative than any other shooter just because it now has AA’s again. Every multiplayer is competative in its core. It all comes down to preferences, and how fanatically you yourself are playing the game.
Hell, I could play From Dust competatively to get on top of the leaderboards if I wanted to. I could play Rayman Origins or any modern Mario game in co-op competatively to beat the other players.

Changing things, adding things, removing things doesn’t make a game more competative. It might simply mean you don’t like the new version, but that still doesn’t mean it’s not competative anymore. Just because MLG doesn’t like something doesn’t mean it’s not competative. Just because H3 fans don’t like it doesn’t make it less competative and the list goes on.

A game is as competative as you make it out to be for yourself.

So instead of complaining, try and adapt to new gameplay like any great player would and play H4 with a new competative mindset.

AA’s change nothing to the “amount” of skill needed, nor to the competativeness of the game.

11

I agree with the OP’s premise. Everything you do in Halo can be done better with a better understanding and some experiencing. Map movement is a skill. Weapon choice is a skill. Nuance of weapon use is a skill. There is no general “skill” value that can succinctly weigh somebody’s merits in the game. MLG-style gameplay seems to try to do this, but all it accomplishes is measuring movement, aim and management (and y’know, a bunch of smaller implied things I’m not smart enough to deduce); Halo gameplay can also require timing of particular weapon use, deception, retreat, and so on. Those are all skills that can be applied to improve your performance in the game. And they apply to armour abilities like anything else.

That said, evidently armour abilities in Reach did not go over great. So much of the community has made a raucous about them that something must be off about them. 343 Industries presumably is aware of this and has made the changes. What’s off about them is probably unrelated to player skills and player application of skills. A different topic.

12

> With Halo’s map sizes you’d likely to run into others, besides:
> A: those with sprint can easily run after him
> B: by the time you get to cover you’re already most likely to be in such a bad shape you will inevitably lose the next confrontation.

A, a majority of confrontations don’t happen at a range where you can easily chase someone and finish them before they find more cover. B, Then why add sprint if it just prolongs encounters like that

> Has always been in Halo…so that makes your point irrelevant.

Rocket launchers have always been in halo. Should 343 add the ability to spawn with a rocket launcher than has a 5~ second cooldown and unlimited usage?

13

Pretty much everything you just said makes less than no sense.