Halo 3 to 4 - From most competitive to least?

Please read this article written by yours truly:
http://www.dablackalbino.com/2012/11/halo-4-visually-beautiful-competitively.html

It looks at how since Halo 3 through Reach and up till now with Halo 4 the franchise that was once the most competitive is now a complete and utter noob fest that’s betrayed the sheer majority of the core fanbase (in terms of multiplayer, the campaign I thought comprised of excellent story-telling, but I digress)

Don’t worry, I made sure it’s funny and interesting so it keeps your crap attention spans in check.

Not written specifically for members of the halowaypoint forum, but I thought you guys may find my perspective interesting and possibly resonate.

Enjoy the read!

Yeh halo 4 need to bring a competitive ranking system to the game similar to that of halo 2 & 3, if it wants to keep its hardcore players. The MLG popularity for Halo 4 will not be as big if there is no ranking system, halo reach showed that.

Rank is not always about hardcore players. You can still have fun while competing.

How could anyone vote for Halo 4 when there is not a ranking system in place…god the blind fanboyism has reached new heights.

Yes I agree, I still have friends from halo 2 and 3 as you had to pair up in order to win. Halo reach and so far halo 4 there is no motive to win and much easier to just que with randoms and not talk as no team work or communication is needed.

Who ever votes Reach/4 is a doofus

I dont think they understand the concept of competition. NO MOTIVATION TO WIN = NON COMPETITIVE.

343 Please don’t kill halo by appeasing the 10 year olds, because they could not get a 50 in halo 3 so they bought it and wrecked the game for all.

> Who ever votes Reach/4 is a doofus

-votes for halo 4-

> How could anyone vote for Halo 4 when there is not a ranking system in place…god the blind fanboyism has reached new heights.

halo 4 does have a ranking system, the main diffence between it’s ranking system and halo 3’s is that it doesnt have the Magic Number

Annnnd we’re back to this. I BELIEVE the definition of competition has no mention of rank but that’s just the dictionary. I find Halo 4 extremely competitive. I rarely get placed into a game that is completely one-sided (unlike 3/Reach) and if that’s not competitive then I don’t know what is. Now, before you flame me and say I suck and couldn’t get a good rank so I don’t want rank: I got a 47 in Halo 3 and broke 40 in Halo 2. Is my opinion valid now?

Danny we are not talking about a ranking, we are talking about competitive rank. If you dont like competition, halo 3 had social play list, why can halo 4 have both to ?

> Danny we are not talking about a ranking, we are talking about competitive rank. If you dont like competition, halo 3 had social play list, why can halo 4 have both to ?

I never said I was against it. But, I did mention the Magic Number which is what people are after.
Edit:Halo 4 is basicly a competitive playlist without the Magic Number which makes it… nothing well atleast to you people when it comes to playing the game for a long time

> > Danny we are not talking about a ranking, we are talking about competitive rank. If you dont like competition, halo 3 had social play list, why can halo 4 have both to ?
>
> I never said I was against it. But, I did mention the Magic Number which is what people are after.
> Edit:Halo 4 is basicly a competitive playlist without the Magic Number which makes it… nothing well atleast to you people when it comes to playing the game for a long time

Rank is obviously a part of the equation and gives people a motive to play the game for a long period of time rather than just move on to something else entirely or only play the game casually when friends come over/for gaming parties etc, but it’s not the sole definition of what defines competitiveness it is merely the represented outcome of ones level of skill, competency and accomplishment in a competitive environment. Rank is related to competitiveness but doesn’t define it by itself so this isn’t a topic about “rank” but everything in a game that makes fair competition.

If you’d read my article, you’d see I mention all kinds of game elements external to rank, such as kill cam giving away positions, ordinance (especially personal ordinance) unbalancing the game instead of weapons being fought for as set pieces, the mid-joining which messes up player stats/chances, the team stacking aka TEAM OF 4 in infinity/slayer pro etc playing 2 teams of 2 or just 4 complete randoms… the list goes on and is not limited to “rank” in terms of “competitiveness” so although your assumption is partially valid in relevance, as a concrete assumption it’s incorrect.

Competitiveness in a game like this cannot be taken seriously or even perceived as legitimate when the game is so damn random, biased and unfair, be it unfair in that it gives one guy an Incineration Cannon, unfair for putting a team of 4 friends in a party against randoms who aren’t communicating or unfair because it makes a game start as a 4 v 2.

Sure you may find this game challenging in multiplayer as everyone has an array of -Yoink- at their disposal, but is it seriously and genuinely competitive? No, I don’t believe so. It’s far too random and easy to be a game that supports a competitive community. Halo Reach showed this, Halo 4 will continue it’s legacy unless there’s a quick turnaround.

To be honest Halo 4 feels like a contender to Battlefield, with all the huge maps and vehicle based gameplay, that’s one perspective I hold, whereas traditional and successful Halo focused on maps that worked well for 4 v 4, not 8 v 8.

4 v 4 - Haven, Adrift and Abandon (only three 4 v 4 maps, says it all really!)
5/6 v 5/6 - Complex, Solace
8 v 8 and you have Exile, Longbow, Vortex, Ragnarok, Meltdown <— 5 of the 10 maps are BTB.

> > > Danny we are not talking about a ranking, we are talking about competitive rank. If you dont like competition, halo 3 had social play list, why can halo 4 have both to ?
> >
> > I never said I was against it. But, I did mention the Magic Number which is what people are after.
> > Edit:Halo 4 is basicly a competitive playlist without the Magic Number which makes it… nothing well atleast to you people when it comes to playing the game for a long time
>
> Rank is obviously a part of the equation and gives people a motive to play the game for a long period of time rather than just move on to something else entirely or only play the game casually when friends come over/for gaming parties etc, but it’s not the sole definition of what defines competitiveness it is merely the represented outcome of ones level of skill, competency and accomplishment in a competitive environment. Rank is related to competitiveness but doesn’t define it by itself so this isn’t a topic about “rank” but everything in a game that makes fair competition.
>
> If you’d read my article, you’d see I mention all kinds of game elements external to rank, such as kill cam giving away positions, ordinance (especially personal ordinance) unbalancing the game instead of weapons being fought for as set pieces, the mid-joining which messes up player stats/chances, the team stacking aka TEAM OF 4 in infinity/slayer pro etc playing 2 teams of 2 or just 4 complete randoms… the list goes on and is not limited to “rank” in terms of “competitiveness” so although your assumption is partially valid in relevance, as a concrete assumption it’s incorrect.
>
> Competitiveness in a game like this cannot be taken seriously or even perceived as legitimate when the game is so damn random, biased and unfair, be it unfair in that it gives one guy an Incineration Cannon, unfair for putting a team of 4 friends in a party against randoms who aren’t communicating or unfair because it makes a game start as a 4 v 2.
>
> Sure you may find this game challenging in multiplayer as everyone has an array of -Yoink!- at their disposal, bus is it seriously and genuinely competitive? No. It’s far too random and easy to be a game that supports a competitive community. Halo Reach showed this, Halo 4 will continue it’s legacy unless there’s a quick turnaround.
>
> To be honest Halo 4 feels like a contender to Battlefield, with all the huge maps and vehicle based gameplay, that’s one perspective I hold, whereas traditional and successful Halo focused maps that work well for 4 v 4, not 8 v 8.
>
> Haven, Adrift and Abandon are the only 4 v 4 map in there.
> 5/6 v 5/6 - Complex, Solace
> 8 v 8 and you have Exile, Longbow, Vortex, Ragnarok, Meltdown <— 5 of the 10 maps are BTB.

id say that halo 4 is more competitive then halo reach, but not as competitive as halo 3 since it lacks the Magic Number, and has too many power weapons in infinity slayer (thought i would prefer less power weapons)

> > How could anyone vote for Halo 4 when there is not a ranking system in place…god the blind fanboyism has reached new heights.
>
> halo 4 does have a ranking system, the main diffence between it’s ranking system and halo 3’s is that it doesnt have the Magic Number

OOOh you mean the super intense and detailed ranking system that they went through all the trouble to make, but then made it invisible.

> > > How could anyone vote for Halo 4 when there is not a ranking system in place…god the blind fanboyism has reached new heights.
> >
> > halo 4 does have a ranking system, the main diffence between it’s ranking system and halo 3’s is that it doesnt have the Magic Number
>
> OOOh you mean the super intense and detailed ranking system that they went through all the trouble to make, but then made it invisible.

Yes, it does seem a little ironic.
They’re using it as a mechanism to matchmake now, removing the visible rank. Interesting. Even Saints Row 1 (using TrueSkill) shows you the “magic number” as it has been referred to here. Halo 3 made it popular, but I believe TrueSkill was a generic rank system designed for competitive play across Xbox Live. I believe FarCry 2 uses it also, although I may be wrong on that final point.

Halo: Reach felt the most competitive for me. I never got those intense matches on Halo 3 like on Halo: Reach.

CSR is going to be in the game at some point, each playlist will go to 50 and will be viewable via Halo Waypoint.

While I agree that instant spawns do mess up games on occasion, especially in Slayer Pro, this mechanism can easily be overcome by playing as a team and covering flanks. Random global ordinance drops are every two minutes and should be timed to gain a competitive advantage, this mechanism does not degrade competitive play at all. A point that I do agree with op on is personal ordinance drops, they are random and do alter matches when more useful ordinance drops are acquired by one team. Halo 4 though different from past Halos still maintains the same game play foundation that captivated so many fans 10 years ago.

Halo 4 will become more competitive when CSR is implemented, when more maps are released and when most of the player population has all of the specializations.

Sorry but halo 4 is much more competitive than halo 3 or reach. And no bloom no sprint reach was more competitive than halo 3. Halo 3 was the worst excuse of a halo game up to this point.

> Sorry but halo 4 is much more competitive than halo 3 or reach. And no bloom no sprint reach was more competitive than halo 3. Halo 3 was the worst excuse of a halo game up to this point.

No need to be sorry, I accept your opinion, but the lack of decent maps to support Reach would suggest it’s an illogical opinion.

Halo 3’s competitive 4v4 maps

  • Heretic
  • Citadel
  • The Pit
  • Guardian
  • Narrows
  • Isolation (with ghost taken out)
  • Orbital
  • Blackout
  • Construct

Halo Reach’s competitive 4v4 maps

  • MLG Sanctuary/Asylum
  • Powerhouse (without jetpacks)
  • Synapse
  • Zealot

and a few other forge variants/h2 remakes I forget the names of…

Halo 4’s competitive 4v4 maps

  • Haven
  • Abandon

Maps that are too big don’t keep the pace due to size/design, EG: Complex/Solace have too many hiding spots/buildings to allow effective camping and are essentially -Yoink- for BTB but too big for TS. Solace would be a good map with less greenery at the back of the map and less walls in the centre middle though - feels a bit flawed and could work with a few changes.