This is clearly a subjective post, based on my personal experiences and play sessions with all Halo games.
When you start out in a match in the original trilogy, it was always a good challenge to start with nothing, finding yourself on a small journey to go out onto the map and find the pick-ups–such as camo, regenerator, power drainer, the right weapon–that you need to overpower your enemies.
Don’t get me wrong. Armor abilities, I feel, were a nice but usually frustrating addition for Halo Reach, a game separate from the main games of the story. It’s obviously a rock-paper-scissors component, which is somewhat discouraging. But I feel the fun and rush feel of it all is somewhat diminished when we begin a match with a good number of ‘wanted’ power-ups, such as the preferred weapon or the preferred power-up, at our immediate disposal. Isn’t that straying from what Halo, with the great successes of the original trilogy and with the exception of Reach, has defined itself with: Everyone is thrust into this open sandbox environment with an equal set of abilities and weapons, forcing each player to find the right weapon or power-up with these epic firefights in tunnels and spaces, a generally pleasant challenge.
Now, even though 343i have most likely set in stone the majority of gameplay features at this point, I still believe that we can convince the team to disband the camo armor ability and give it back its proper form as a pick-up, a form perfect and true for the Halo franchise.
What say you?
I agree that 343i probably can’t do much about the armor abilities at this point but getting rid of the camo armor ability would be really great. Great insightful post btw.
Agreed, the power-ups act as a resource management aspect of gameplay that is common of Sandbox Sci-fi shooters. Rather than spam them off spawn and pre-determining you’re guns and tactics like in class shooters, in a Sandbox shooter it is a much more adaptive and open gameplay experience because you are not guaranteed that camo off spawn or that rocket launcher acting as a prize for map control. I feel 343 changed this in H4 and decided to implement AA’s again because power-ups are not “the norm” anymore in FPS loadouts+AA’s. are thus eliminating an important strategical aspect of gameplay and moving it closer to a class-based model which they obviously are more comfortable with. Quake does this resource control model to perfection, the strategy and adaptive gameplay involved in a 1v1 Quake match is like nothing you will ever see in another shooter because of the Sandbox Arena style of those particular shooters that a class-based approach will never accomplish.
I say that WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMN BUBBLE SHIELD? and If they make the jet pack suck ill get a job at 343 and drive the company straight into bankruptcy.
I semi agree with you, but i feel all of you who played the original halo’s (CE and 2) have severe nostalgia and you should play those games if you want that exact feel.
I played 3 and have played the living -Yoink- out of Reach and I know Ill be pissed when my jet pack sucks, but 343 isnt listening to any of us, so well have to adapt.
Halo 4 is gonna be really fun, I expect, but its gonna be Halo 4 not Halo 3, 2, CE, or Reach (not even at all like Halo Wars lol). (or Quake lolwhat?)
My point is give it a chance before you condemn the new features.
> I say that WHAT HAPPENED TO THE DAMN BUBBLE SHIELD? and If they make the jet pack suck ill get a job at 343 and drive the company straight into bankruptcy.
> I semi agree with you, but i feel all of you who played the original halo’s (CE and 2) have severe nostalgia and you should play those games if you want that exact feel.
> I played 3 and have played the living Yoink! out of Reach and I know Ill be pissed when my jet pack sucks, but 343 isnt listening to any of us, so well have to adapt.
> Halo 4 is gonna be really fun, I expect, but its gonna be Halo 4 not Halo 3, 2, CE, or Reach (not even at all like Halo Wars lol). (or Quake lolwhat?)
>
> My point is give it a chance before you condemn the new features.
Glad to see a coherent post from you.
Back on topic. Not all of us oldies are nostalgia struck, I’m looking forward to the changes, the expansion of the universe and the challenges a new game brings, be they good bad or down right irritating at times.
what the heck it has nothing to do with wanting to be halo 1,2 or 3 its just something fun.
Well, it’s a great idea to give people an incitement to fight, to seek out each other. In previous Halo games, it was weapons, then equipment, now we’re back to weapons again. Instead of fighting for over shield or Camo, you get to fight (not camp) for rocket, shotty, snipers and similar weapons. Even a camper has to get into the field to get a weapon to camp with 
Only downside is that they’re keeping camo as an AA, it’s a bad idea, simple as that, no game has managed to balance “invisibility at the touch of a button”, not to mention it makes many players to campers.
Invisibility can’t work as a pick up with AA’s, you would be too powerful. And the logical response to what I said is, “He fought for it so he earned it”. Yeah let’s see how many of you say that when someone craps on you with his sprinting, forerunner vision, invisible shotgun or rockets. I would rather have it as an AA with weaknesses that can be exploited.
> Invisibility can’t work as a pick up with AA’s, you would be too powerful. And the logical response to what I said is, “He fought for it so he earned it”. Yeah let’s see how many of you say that when someone craps on you with his sprinting, forerunner vision, invisible shotgun or rockets. I would rather have it as an AA with weaknesses that can be exploited.
Don’t want someone to have Sprint/Camo/Rockets?
Get map control.
> > Invisibility can’t work as a pick up with AA’s, you would be too powerful. And the logical response to what I said is, “He fought for it so he earned it”. Yeah let’s see how many of you say that when someone craps on you with his sprinting, forerunner vision, invisible shotgun or rockets. I would rather have it as an AA with weaknesses that can be exploited.
>
> Don’t want someone to have Sprint/Camo/Rockets?
>
>
>
> Get map control.
You must not have read my whole post, I saw a response like yours coming. But I’m telling you, guys would start to complain when things like my example start becoming common place.
> > > Invisibility can’t work as a pick up with AA’s, you would be too powerful. And the logical response to what I said is, “He fought for it so he earned it”. Yeah let’s see how many of you say that when someone craps on you with his sprinting, forerunner vision, invisible shotgun or rockets. I would rather have it as an AA with weaknesses that can be exploited.
> >
> > Don’t want someone to have Sprint/Camo/Rockets?
> >
> >
> >
> > Get map control.
>
> You must not have read my whole post, I saw a response like yours coming. But I’m telling you, guys would start to complain when things like my example start becoming common place.
So? Anyone who would complain about it would be the people that do not understand the concept of map control.
> > > > Invisibility can’t work as a pick up with AA’s, you would be too powerful. And the logical response to what I said is, “He fought for it so he earned it”. Yeah let’s see how many of you say that when someone craps on you with his sprinting, forerunner vision, invisible shotgun or rockets. I would rather have it as an AA with weaknesses that can be exploited.
> > >
> > > Don’t want someone to have Sprint/Camo/Rockets?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > Get map control.
> >
> > You must not have read my whole post, I saw a response like yours coming. But I’m telling you, guys would start to complain when things like my example start becoming common place.
>
> So? Anyone who would complain about it would be the people that do not understand the concept of map control.
Ok bro whatever you say, but I guess it doesn’t matter cause invis won’t be a pick up. I’m just saying if invisibility was a pickup on top of AA’s and sprint the forums would eventually blow up.
maybe if you shoot a gun you wont be invisible for a short time. that wouldnt be as bad. i agree though its scary and it shouldnt even be an AA.
there is no way they will let you stay invisible if you are sprinting. that would just be stupid i have a little faith.
> maybe if you shoot a gun you wont be invisible for a short time. that wouldnt be as bad. i agree though its scary and it shouldnt even be an AA.
That’s what the Camo powerup already does. If you shoot or take damage, you become slightly visible.
> maybe if you shoot a gun you wont be invisible for a short time. that wouldnt be as bad. i agree though its scary and it shouldnt even be an AA.
I agree. Honestly, i still can’t believe 343i are still going ahead with camo as an armor ability. 
Camo as an AA is good for certain customs. For matchmaking, I prefer it as a gametype option and a power-up.
I’d like to see a game type or two where all AA’s become pick ups. Equipment like in H3. Maybe another mode where they’d be power ups like in H1-2.
> I’d like to see a game type or two where all AA’s become pick ups. Equipment like in H3. Maybe another mode where they’d be power ups like in H1-2.
I think all of us Trilogy fans would thats just how Halo is best played to me competitively. Even starts, power weapons/power-ups placed strategically on the map. I think maybe choosing you’re Primary or Secondary weapon could add another layer of tactics, but making the power-ups AA’s removes a whole set of tactics and strategy to me in favor of accessibility. Giving the players power-ups off spawn(AA’s) cheapens the game and many times encourages cheap tactics such as camo sniping or unstoppable combos like sprint+sword that you would not have otherwise with power-ups. It also ruins the whole Sandbox aspect of Halo and favors pre-determined tactics over adaptive tactics which I think better fit Halos Sandbox style of gameplay. I would much rather have it like GoW with choosing you’re primary/secondary but still have power weapons/power-ups/equipment on the map to keep the Sandbox aspect of Halo intact Its part of what makes Halo, well Halo.
> I agree that 343i probably can’t do much about the armor abilities at this point but getting rid of the camo armor ability would be really great…