Gameplay features for Halo Infinite

Games Halo Infinite
1

Im going to state some gameplay features of Halo and give my reasoning on why the features should be in Halo Infinite or not. Feel free to give your own opinion.

Killfeed - Yes, the killfeed in Halo 5 looks simpler than the other Halos and i am all for it, there isn’t anything more satisfying than seeing your own tag rather than “you”.

Power weapon pads, timers/ countdowns - No, my reasoning for this is because it tears apart a niche skill gap, knowing where weapons spawn comes with the territory of playing Halo

Spartan abilities - No, simply because it over complicates the mechanics of traditional Halo. Ground pound, slide and spartan charge were non existent to me when playing Halo 5 these abilities hindered more than they benefited.

Armour abilities - Yes, armour abilities added variety and didn’t overwhelm the general mechanics of Halo and it was only one at a time, these abilities were also forge items making them a power item like overshield in MLG.

ADS - No, scoping down sights gave Halo it’s own unique aiming style and shouldn’t be changed and melee weapons like the sword and gravity hammer don’t need such a feature.

100% accuracy - No (mainly for PC), not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim in leading your shot and Halo Reach added Bloom onto the weapons this eliminated the ability of new players beating more experienced ones due to natural aim and knowledge of pacing shots, it is more satisfying to build up skill in a game because it has a unique feature that other games don’t, you need to adapt and learn in order to get better (with bloom i mainly mean the increasing reticle which is the centre of the screen by having bloom it distorts that centre making experienced players unaffected while new ones need to learn where that centre is. Bloom in Halo Reach did include random spread, when the reticle reset it was 100% and at max spread it would be 85% changing the max spread to something higher than 85% would decrease luck while also encouraging players to get over a learning curve). edited
(Side note: I would like for Halo’s aiming system to be the middle ground between challenging (CS:GO) and easy (Call of Duty).

Per kill earnings - Yes, although this feature has only been in Halo Reach with the unique credit system getting a kill and seeing your credits for each adds a sense of satisfaction as well as progression.

Medals - Yes, this feature has always been a trope of Halo however the placement of the medals have been changed from the middle left side of the screen to the bottom middle, a setting to change the placement of the medals would be an extremely loved feature for both veteran players and new ones.

2

> 2533274830289683;1:
> 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.

No. This is terribly wrong. The H3 BR is notorious for having random spread, and bloom is one of the worst things to happen to Halo. My bullets not landing where I’m aiming is the opposite of skillful gun play.

3

> 2533274794648158;2:
> > 2533274830289683;1:
> > 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.
>
> No. This is terribly wrong. The H3 BR is notorious for having random spread, and bloom is one of the worst things to happen to Halo. My bullets not landing where I’m aiming is the opposite of skillful gun play.

The Halo 3 br wasn’t entirely random but it was more difficult to land hits and Halo Reach peaked for MLG plus the bloom entitled players to either take it slow and have accurate shots or risk the shots this only applies to longer ranges.

4

I’ll be fine with Armour Abilities if there are no Reach or H4 style loadouts and they drain over time (with a gauge to keep track) so they can’t be used indefinitely. Personally, I think the best version of the jetpack would let the user go as high as they like, but with limited fuel/energy. These Armour Abilities would be like a more advanced version of the Halo CE “pick-ups” (Active Camo, Overshield) or Halo 3’s “equipment” (Trip Mine, Deployable Cover, etc). That’s the best direction they could take AAs in my opinion.

5

> 2533274830289683;1:
> Killfeed - Yes, the killfeed was a new addition with Halo 5 and i am all for it, there isn’t anything more satisfying than seeing your own tag.
>
> Power weapon pads, timers/ countdowns - No, my reasoning for this is because it tears apart a niche skill gap, knowing where weapons spawn comes with the territory of playing Halo
>
> Spartan abilities - No, simply because it over complicates the mechanics of traditional Halo. Ground pound, slide and spartan charge were non existent to me when playing Halo 5 these abilities hindered more than they benefited.
>
> Armour abilities - Yes, armour abilities added variety and didn’t overwhelm the general mechanics of Halo and it was only one at a time, these abilities were also forge items making them a power item like overshield in MLG.
>
> ADS - No, scoping down sights gave Halo it’s own unique aiming style and shouldn’t be changed and melee weapons like the sword and gravity hammer don’t need such a feature.
>
> 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.
>
> Per kill earnings - Yes, although this feature has only been in Halo Reach with the unique credit system getting a kill and seeing your credits for each adds a sense of satisfaction as well as progression.
>
> Medals - Yes, this feature has always been a trope of Halo however the placement of the medals have been changed from the middle left side of the screen to the bottom middle, a setting to change the placement of the medals would be an extremely loved feature for both veteran players and new ones.

  • The killfeed has been present since CE…the only change that Halo 5 made was adding the weapon and replacing ‘You’ with your GT. Personally I think it clutters the HUD but I’m mostly indifferent. - Learning where weapons spawn comes with the territory of Halo. The difference between a Classic game and Halo 4 / 5 is that if you take the time to learn maps, you are rewarded with a tactical advantage, and a fair one at that.
    At most I think telegraphed spawns should be limited to Social gametypes, but even then I don’t think they ought to be implemented. - Spartan Abilities also homogenise map design, make sandbox traversal mechanics like vehicles and man-cannons redundant and necessitate a lower time-to-kill reducing the chance for players to execute a reversal while simultaneously making it far easier for them to escape; damaging the flow of gameplay. But yeah, they also make things more complicated. - If Armor Abilities were treated like equipment then I’d be fine with them, personally. - Agreed. Smart-Scoping increased the accuracy of Automatics and was added to bring the game in-line with industry standards; something Halo shouldn’t be concerning itself with. - I’m not as well versed in the projectile / hit-scan debate admittedly. Projectile weapons would function far better on dedicated servers so I could potentially get behind that, especially if it helps to differentiate the BR and the DMR, but Bloom is out of the question because its effects are random and impossible to compensate for, making duels less skill based. - I’d like to see a credit based progression system return as well, provided it is in conjunction with Halo 3 / 5 style ranks in competitive playlists. - I prefer the original medal location because it doesn’t clutter the HUD as much, so I’d be all for this option as well.
6

If Armor/Spartan abilities return, they should make them equipping objects like the Bubble Shield and Regenerator in Halo 3. Man I hated Spartan lock but I wouldnt mind things like that returning to Halo. As long as they aren’t there by default like players having to start off with them in the multiplayer then I’m fine with abilities. I think thats just the problem with abilities, players felt forced to use them so it’d be better if they were just things you can pick up and use throughout maps.

7

The Halo Reach bloom added skill within close/ medium range because you could shoot quicker in that proximity meaning the bloom will get harsher but because of the close range you can hit a shot most of the time if you’re reticle was centred on the target, this feature also leaves a chance of luck to new players but not enough luck to ruin the odds of a more skilled player winning the fight. It also slows down the time to kill over long range making sniping a little less pressuring.

8

> 2533274830289683;1:
> Im going to state some gameplay features of Halo and give my reasoning on why the features should be in Halo Infinite or not. Feel free to give your own opinion.
> Killfeed - Yes, the killfeed in Halo 5 looks simpler than the other Halos and i am all for it, there isn’t anything more satisfying than seeing your own tag rather than “you”.
>
> Power weapon pads, timers/ countdowns - No, my reasoning for this is because it tears apart a niche skill gap, knowing where weapons spawn comes with the territory of playing Halo
>
> Spartan abilities - No, simply because it over complicates the mechanics of traditional Halo. Ground pound, slide and spartan charge were non existent to me when playing Halo 5 these abilities hindered more than they benefited.
>
> Armour abilities - Yes, armour abilities added variety and didn’t overwhelm the general mechanics of Halo and it was only one at a time, these abilities were also forge items making them a power item like overshield in MLG.
> ADS - No, scoping down sights gave Halo it’s own unique aiming style and shouldn’t be changed and melee weapons like the sword and gravity hammer don’t need such a feature.
>
> 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.
>
> Per kill earnings - Yes, although this feature has only been in Halo Reach with the unique credit system getting a kill and seeing your credits for each adds a sense of satisfaction as well as progression.
>
> Medals - Yes, this feature has always been a trope of Halo however the placement of the medals have been changed from the middle left side of the screen to the bottom middle, a setting to change the placement of the medals would be an extremely loved feature for both veteran players and new ones.

Killfeed is meh not game breaking
power weapon timers need to -Yoink- people need to learn timers.
spartan abilitys -Yoink-
AAs -Yoink-
ads -Yoink-
i do not want a crap br like in h3. Hitscan 100% no rng hitscan based on your connection.
Credit system I would be ok with.
Medals keep them h2 style

9

“I want a remake of Halo 3 and Reach”

-OP, 2018

10

> 2533274794648158;2:
> > 2533274830289683;1:
> > 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.
>
> No. This is terribly wrong. The H3 BR is notorious for having random spread, and bloom is one of the worst things to happen to Halo. My bullets not landing where I’m aiming is the opposite of skillful gun play.

Bloom was nice imo never had a problem killing anyone because I didn’t spam right trigger

11

> 2533274907586463;6:
> If Armor/Spartan abilities return, they should make them equipping objects like the Bubble Shield and Regenerator in Halo 3. Man I hated Spartan lock but I wouldnt mind things like that returning to Halo. As long as they aren’t there by default like players having to start off with them in the multiplayer then I’m fine with abilities. I think thats just the problem with abilities, players felt forced to use them so it’d be better if they were just things you can pick up and use throughout maps.

I think that only came around on 4 and reach. To me armor abilities in reach felt natural bubble shield especially. On halo 4 it felt like most of them I had to think about using. And for halo 5 I almost never used ground poundnd or spartan charge. Halo 3 and halo reach with their abilities it wasn’t a though it was just I have to use this naturally

12

I did not care for Armor Abilities at all. I preferred Spartan Abilities, as they are universal, and create a level playing field, as everyone is equipped with the same exact mechanics.

If they were to re-introduce any kind of equipment, then throw Halo 3’s 1 time use equipment back into the mix, such as Bubble Shields, Power Drains, etc.

13

> 2535462450434439;10:
> > 2533274794648158;2:
> > > 2533274830289683;1:
> > > 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.
> >
> > No. This is terribly wrong. The H3 BR is notorious for having random spread, and bloom is one of the worst things to happen to Halo. My bullets not landing where I’m aiming is the opposite of skillful gun play.
>
> Bloom was nice imo never had a problem killing anyone because I didn’t spam right trigger

Whats the canonically reason for it though? You’re telling me a Spartan wearing a battleships-worth of powered armor and liquid metal crystal can’t keep their gun stead after ONE SHOT?!

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> 2533274830289683;3:
> The Halo 3 br wasn’t entirely random but it was more difficult to land hits and Halo Reach peaked for MLG plus the bloom entitled players to either take it slow and have accurate shots or risk the shots this only applies to longer ranges.

There is nothing inherently wrong with projectile bullets and the idea of leading your shots, but if I’m ratted out of a kill because of a completely random element I have no control over (random spread), that is not promoting skill. This is precisely why H3 MLG settings had 110% damage - to make BR battles more consistent.

> 2533274830289683;7:
> The Halo Reach bloom added skill within close/ medium range because you could shoot quicker in that proximity means the bloom will get harsher but because of the close range you can hit a precise shot most of the time, leaving a chance of luck to new players but not enough luck to ruin the odds of a more skilled player winning the fight. It also slows down the time to kill over long range making sniping a little less pressuring.

Again, adding randomness/luck into gun fights just lowers the skill gap, and there is no debate about this. It’s been proven. Why do you think nobody encourages the use of spray weapons in HCS? For the very same reason.

The last thing you should want is longer times to kill. All it is doing is robbing you, the player, of power.

> 2535462450434439;10:
> Bloom was nice imo never had a problem killing anyone because I didn’t spam right trigger

That’s not the point. Bloom still adds randomness to gunfights if one chooses to spam. I have a better solution: just scrap bloom and lower the rate of fire. There, now you’ve achieved the balance you desire without some of the consequences of a bloom mechanic.

15

Im suprised op wants armor abilities but not spartan abilities. Because armor abilities can be a bit unbalanced, given that players know how to counter or play well against certain armor abilities, or play well with them. But with spartan abilities at least everyone has a chance, its like opportunity fair starts. And i think we can all agree on the kill feed and medals, noy even sure why its part of the post. But yes i would like kill feed and corresponding medals to remain the way they are, as well as be improved upon.

16

> 2533274830289683;1:
> Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.

No, it didn’t, because there never was a clear optimal strategy for playing with Bloom. For it to be at all skill based, the most advantageous rate of fire should have been the fastest one at which a shot fired while the reticle is on the opponent’s will hit with 100% probability. However, the issue was that if you look at the statistics, a player firing at, say, only 95% accuracy will win more often in an encounter with a player who paces their shots to have a 100% probability of hitting. Simply put: the optimal rate of fire is not the same as the most consistent rate of fire.

The issue is further exacerbated by the fact that what is the optimal rate of fire is completely dependent on the opponent’s rate of fire. if the opponent is shooting at a rate of fire that gives them a 100% probability of hitting, you’re better off just shooting a tiny bit faster, say, at 95% probability of hitting, because you will get your shots in faster and will still be more likely to win the encounter than the opponent. On the other hand, if the opponent is shooting at 90% probability, you obviously don’t want to shoot at 95%, because that puts you at a disadvantage. This goes all they way down to about 87% probability of hitting, at which point the probability of landing five out of five shots is 50/50. This is, in principle, the most optimal strategy for bloom in Reach: a total crapshoot.

Furtheremore, you can likely go even lower, because if you manage to squeeze in six shots in the time the opponent only gets five, or seven in the time the opponent only gets six, that displaces some of the advantage of having a higher probability of hitting. The statistics just never worked in favor of pacing your shots. This is also evidenced by footage of high level play in Halo Reach, where the players hardly pace their shots, because it’s just not effective.

All in all, these are the reasons that led to the removal of Bloom, and Shiska famously admitting in one Bulletin on Halo Waypoint (that has now unfortunately been lost to Waypoint’s crappy management of old content) that Bloom was a mistake. It’s done, finished, everybody should know by know that its net effect on the skill content of gun fights was negative for the reasons mentioned above. It should never come back, because it has nothing to offer to gameplay. It will never come back.

17

Dude, 100% accuracy is a main feature of Halo. Part of the reason I love Halo is because I don’t have to jump through hoops to hit anything; I don’t need to aim down the sights, slow down, go into prone, or have certain attachments on my guns to be accurate. You just have to aim and shoot.

The DMR in Reach was bad for the competitive scene because it added too much randomness to the game. The way the BR worked in H3 was largely disliked, and most definitely would piss people off if it was in Infinite.

Your reasoning for this seems to be that you want Halo to be more skill-based. 343 has tried way too hard to appeal to the competitive audience with many questionable changes, so adding back in this factor would be too much, in my opinion. Stop trying to overcomplicate things and just keep it simple!

18

> 2533274907200114;13:
> > 2535462450434439;10:
> > > 2533274794648158;2:
> > > > 2533274830289683;1:
> > > > 100% accuracy - No, not all weapons need to be 100% accurate Halo Reach and Halo 3 are good examples of this, the br in halo 3 wasn’t hitscan so it took more precise aim to be good with it and Halo Reach’s Bloom on the dmr made dueling against another player a challenge making the fights more skill based.
> > >
> > > No. This is terribly wrong. The H3 BR is notorious for having random spread, and bloom is one of the worst things to happen to Halo. My bullets not landing where I’m aiming is the opposite of skillful gun play.
> >
> > Bloom was nice imo never had a problem killing anyone because I didn’t spam right trigger
>
> Whats the canonically reason for it though? You’re telling me a Spartan wearing a battleships-worth of powered armor and liquid metal crystal can’t keep their gun stead after ONE SHOT?!

What’s the canonically reason for red spartans to fight blue Spartans there is none and who cares it’s for fun. There doesn’t have to be a reason so it goes with canon. At least that’s what I think

19

> 2533274794648158;14:
> > 2533274830289683;3:
> > The Halo 3 br wasn’t entirely random but it was more difficult to land hits and Halo Reach peaked for MLG plus the bloom entitled players to either take it slow and have accurate shots or risk the shots this only applies to longer ranges.
>
> There is nothing inherently wrong with projectile bullets and the idea of leading your shots, but if I’m ratted out of a kill because of a completely random element I have no control over (random spread), that is not promoting skill. This is precisely why H3 MLG settings had 110% damage - to make BR battles more consistent.
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274830289683;7:
> > The Halo Reach bloom added skill within close/ medium range because you could shoot quicker in that proximity means the bloom will get harsher but because of the close range you can hit a precise shot most of the time, leaving a chance of luck to new players but not enough luck to ruin the odds of a more skilled player winning the fight. It also slows down the time to kill over long range making sniping a little less pressuring.
>
> Again, adding randomness/luck into gun fights just lowers the skill gap, and there is no debate about this. It’s been proven. Why do you think nobody encourages the use of spray weapons in HCS? For the very same reason.
>
> The last thing you should want is longer times to kill. All it is doing is robbing you, the player, of power.
>
>
>
>
> > 2535462450434439;10:
> > Bloom was nice imo never had a problem killing anyone because I didn’t spam right trigger
>
> That’s not the point. Bloom still adds randomness to gunfights if one chooses to spam. I have a better solution: just scrap bloom and lower the rate of fire. There, now you’ve achieved the balance you desire without some of the consequences of a bloom mechanic.

Halo is a game that caters to causal players wanting to have fun with a sandbox for comp players to play. That’s how it was anyways. But that’s another topic. MLG In reach had that. No bloom for the comp players. Players who plays for fun like randomness if it’s small or they just don’t pay any attention to it because it didn’t do anything.

20

> 2535462450434439;19:
> Halo is a game that caters to causal players wanting to have fun with a sandbox for comp players to play. That’s how it was anyways. But that’s another topic. MLG In reach had that. No bloom for the comp players. Players who plays for fun like randomness if it’s small or they just don’t pay any attention to it because it didn’t do anything.

I don’t get it. Are you saying you find enjoyment in the fact that your bullets don’t land where you aim? Because I don’t think any player would want that whether they’re playing casually or competitively.