Halo 4's Multiplayer. What should return from Reach (Long Read)

Games Other Halo
1

Okay so as the title suggests I’m talking about Halo 4 multiplayer, I played Halo 3 two days ago and played Reach yesturday. So I’m going to compare them and make a final decision about what I think H4 Multiplayer should be like!

First lets start off with Reach.

What I like(I won’t criticize what I like, as I’d like to see it in H4)

1.)The challenge system. It was rewarding espically the weekly challenges as it gave you something to do!
2.) Credits. I liked the credit system BUT THE ONLY way I want it to return is if it for unlocking amrour only and not used for increasing your rank!
3.) Commendations. Gave you a little reward for doing certain things in-game. A very good system.

What I dislike.(Here I will give possilbe solutions to problems)

1.) AA’s. How to fix the AA system, to make it less bad and help make things work.

Sprint- Three things can happen here.
I.) Remove it from game
II.) Make it so if you get shot while sprinting you stop sprinting
III.) Make it like a custom power up on some maps. And you can use sprint for two minutes.

Active Camo- I only want one thing happening here. I want them to bring back Halo 3 active camo where you can’t see the invis guy when he moves. It was much better remove this AA.

Armour Lock- Overshield was better and less fair I don’t want this fixed and I want it removed.

Evade- I’m indifferent its pretty balanced so keep it.

Decoy- Seems balanced and is a good idea.

Jetpack- Seems balanced so I think this one should stay.

Drop Shield- This AA replaces the Bubble Shiled so if BS doesn’t return then DS diffently should, as this is a good AA or item to have in Objective based game types.

So I feel like two AA’s should be removed and Sprint balanced.

2.) The leveling system. I think Reaches leveling system caters to COD fans and casuals. I hated the system. I just wasn’t as rewarding as Halo 2,or 3. When I leveled in Reach I didn’t get that same “OMG” feeling as when I got 41 in Halo 3 LW. So I think Reaches ranking system should be removed.

3.) This ties into Number 1. The maps. I disliekd the Reach maps heavily, but I think they were bad for a couple of reasons.
I.) Once they were made for multiplayer Bungie put them into the campaign missions.
II.) They weren’t as great as the Vanilla Halo maps because they had to be built to suit AA’s. This means more up and down and bigger maps.

4.) No incentive to win. In gametypes lots of people just raked up kills and camped to get the most amount of cR. So although H3’s system had flaws atleast everyone had incentive to win.

Conclusion: Firstly I’d like to thank you for reading this thread. Now I believe H4 should add new things to MP but I also believe they should remove AA’s from most playlists as they ruin maps(in some cases) but I think they should be in the game. Whether in specail playlists or map pickups. I enjoyed the Vanilla Halos much more then Reach so I believe 343 should take ideas from them and not so many from Reach. This doesn’t mean I think Reach is a bad game but I do feel it wasn’t as fun. So 343 keep it fun give me incentive to win and I don’t care if you put T’Rexes in multiplayer!

2

Sorry I ended up not doing H3 like I said in the first paragraph ran out of time!

3

Nothing. I can’t think of anything gameplay related other than the return of hitscan that was a positive addition to Reach.

4

The added froge features like phasing, snaps, etc…

5

> Nothing. I can’t think of anything gameplay related other than the return of hitscan that was a positive addition to Reach.

The return on the pistol from being a bad dualie gun to a legitimate weapon. Plasma Pistol was made better as well. Plasma Launcher was a decent addition. Needle Rifle feels a bit better than the Carbine, ignoring the bloominess. Grenade Launcher was a great addition.

Probably some other things will come to mind later but I’ve got class so… yeah that list is still pretty solid.

6

> > Nothing. I can’t think of anything gameplay related other than the return of hitscan that was a positive addition to Reach.
>
> The return on the pistol from being a bad dualie gun to a legitimate weapon. Plasma Pistol was made better as well. Plasma Launcher was a decent addition. Needle Rifle feels a bit better than the Carbine, ignoring the bloominess. Grenade Launcher was a great addition.
>
> Probably some other things will come to mind later but I’ve got class so… yeah that list is still pretty solid.

I don’t agree with some of what you said, but does it really matter? Weapon balance and gameplay mechanics are two different things. Gameplay mechanics dictate how fun a game will be.

7

What should return from Reach’ multiplayer?

Well:

  • Proper Forge map integration in Matchmaking
  • Grenade Launcher
  • Armory (but expanded)
  • Invasion
  • It’s voting system
  • Stockpile

Just to name a few. You know, all aspects that were better than in H3.

What should not return:

  • AA’s (and Equipment for that matter)
  • Bloom
  • That Covenant sniper thing that is so un-impressive I don’t even remember it’s name
  • It’s maps (new Trilogy, new maps. No more remakes this time, unless they’re “spiritual”)
8

> What should return from Reach’ multiplayer?
>
> Well:
> - Proper Forge map integration in Matchmaking
> - Grenade Launcher
> - Armory (but expanded)
> - Invasion
> - It’s voting system
> - Stockpile
>
> Just to name a few. You know, all aspects that were better than in H3.
>
> What should not return:
> - AA’s (and Equipment for that matter)
> - Bloom
> - That Covenant sniper thing that is so un-impressive I don’t even remember it’s name
> - It’s maps (new Trilogy, new maps. No more remakes this time, unless they’re “spiritual”)

i can agree 100% with this

9

> What should return from Reach’ multiplayer?
>
> Well:
> - Proper Forge map integration in Matchmaking
> - Grenade Launcher
> - Armory (but expanded)
> - Invasion
> - It’s voting system
> - Stockpile
>
> Just to name a few. You know, all aspects that were better than in H3.
>
> What should not return:
> - AA’s (and Equipment for that matter)
> - Bloom
> - That Covenant sniper thing that is so un-impressive I don’t even remember it’s name
> - It’s maps (new Trilogy, new maps. No more remakes this time, unless they’re “spiritual”)

Agreed. But Reaches voting still system needs to be improved though. If it’s a tie. The map on top is always picked. Instead of the game picking a map randomly.

10

Active roster, but I’d like them to expand on it a little and maybe let us put our friends into groups similar to Halo 2’s clan system.

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First off, I loved REACH. But as far as bloom, sprint (or any AA’s), and the ranking system coming back just wouldnt make sense to me.

Bloom- understandable for a Spartan3 to have, and it actually was a cool mechanic IMHO but not for Halo4.

Sprint-spartan2’s already move faster anyway, so them being able to sprint would just ruin it. The main reason sprint was in Reach is because your default run speed was slowed down. (if AA’s return, they need to be picked up on the map and should be limited)

12

Invasion.

13

Personally i do not want to see anything from Reach make it into Halo 4, especially AAs.

Bring back equipment.

That said, commendations, Challenges and a sort of cR system for unlocking Armour etc (that is in no way connected to rank) would be nice additions.

I strongly support faster movement speed, BR!, Hitscan of course, no strafe acceleration, smaller hitboxes and no bloom.

I honestly believe they should bring back equipment, they worked better than AA’s, Camo and Over-Shield should be back as pickups, i dont see sprint working as that allows you to escape from a certain death/ lose out on a kill you should of got. Hologram would work as a pickup i would think (but a single use style equipment) and Jetpacks should not return simply because that is what breaks the maps the most in my eyes, i played several amazing map’s made in Reach forge that would not possibly make it into general matchmaking simply because they were not designed with the jetpack in mind and that’s a shame.

14

> Nothing. I can’t think of anything gameplay related other than the return of hitscan that was a positive addition to Reach.

All hitscan will accomplish in a game with current-gen netcode is making it mindlessly easy to score kills, and reduce the difference between a good player, and a bad one, leading to a higher likely hood of bad players WINNING.

Bullet Travel Time in and of itself increases the skill gap of the game by giving better players something to be good at, by allowing better players faster kills, because they will be able to land shots consistently.

In a current-gen game, with great netcode and dedicated servers, having hitscan accomplishes little more than dumbing down the game, btt is a MUST.

15

> > Nothing. I can’t think of anything gameplay related other than the return of hitscan that was a positive addition to Reach.
>
> All hitscan will accomplish in a game with current-gen netcode is making it mindlessly easy to score kills, and reduce the difference between a good player, and a bad one, leading to a higher likely hood of bad players WINNING.
>
> Bullet Travel Time in and of itself increases the skill gap of the game by giving better players something to be good at, by allowing better players faster kills, because they will be able to land shots consistently.
>
> In a current-gen game, with great netcode and dedicated servers, having hitscan accomplishes little more than dumbing down the game, btt is a MUST.

Non-hitscan doesn’t work in an online environment. You can have whatever netcode you want but until the online speeds around the world are at a point to reduce latency to a minimal level, or if we get dedicated servers (though this won’t necessarily make a difference) non-hitscan will end up making multiplayer a frustrating experience.

It’s one thing leading your shots, then having to compensate for the lag makes it a nightmare. It just makes host advantage even worse.

Besides, I prefer to be rewarded for aiming at my target. But that’s just me.

16

I can agree with almost everything you said about Reach. I only ask that you do your opinions for Halo 3 as well.

17

> Personally i do not want to see anything from Reach make it into Halo 4, especially AAs.
>
> Bring back equipment.
>
> That said, commendations, Challenges and a sort of cR system for unlocking Armour etc (that is in no way connected to rank) would be nice additions.
>
> I strongly support faster movement speed, BR!, Hitscan of course, no strafe acceleration, smaller hitboxes and no bloom.
>
> I honestly believe they should bring back equipment, they worked better than AA’s, Camo and Over-Shield should be back as pickups, i dont see sprint working as that allows you to escape from a certain death/ lose out on a kill you should of got. Hologram would work as a pickup i would think (but a single use style equipment) and Jetpacks should not return simply because that is what breaks the maps the most in my eyes, i played several amazing map’s made in Reach forge that would not possibly make it into general matchmaking simply because they were not designed with the jetpack in mind and that’s a shame.

I agree equipment was a solid idea, but the defensive equipment slowed the pace of the game. If all the equipment is more offensively oriented, the gameplay should become more fast paced and aggressive, which is IMO fun.

> > > Nothing. I can’t think of anything gameplay related other than the return of hitscan that was a positive addition to Reach.
> >
> > The return on the pistol from being a bad dualie gun to a legitimate weapon. Plasma Pistol was made better as well. Plasma Launcher was a decent addition. Needle Rifle feels a bit better than the Carbine, ignoring the bloominess. Grenade Launcher was a great addition.
> >
> > Probably some other things will come to mind later but I’ve got class so… yeah that list is still pretty solid.
>
> I don’t agree with some of what you said, but does it really matter? Weapon balance and gameplay mechanics are two different things. Gameplay mechanics dictate how fun a game will be.

You said gameplay related. Weapon balance is gameplay related. Try again.

18

Alright TBearrr asked for my opinions on Halo 3 so here it is!

Positives:(What I believe should return)

1.)Ranking System. The 1-50 system had flaws but overall it was well done. It gave me for example incentive to play Halo 3 almost everyday when I got home from school. It also gave incentive to win because if you contiually lost you would rank down.

2.) Equipment. Equipment when used properly was awesome, none of them felt OP and they felt like they fit perfectly definately want to see them return to Halo 4.(This includes active camo and overshields.)

3.)The movement speed and jump height. This felt good because the higher movement speed compensated for no-sprinting and also helped make maps smaller and more well designed to fit everyones niche.

Negatives:(Must be fixed)

1.) The BR. WAIT CALM DOWN! I love the BR it was my favorite gun but it was too powerful at close range (Which can discourage some players, I’m not sure how to fix it I just think it should be fixed.

2.) The Ranking System. While the 1-50 was excellent it had flaws that must be fixed. Boosting needs to be discouraged they need a way to lesser it or to police it better. Also the system was a little slow for ranking so perhaps a way so that winning gives you 2 exp, losing gives you 0 while commendations can give you a maximum of 10 if you get it to Onyx level.

3.) This is something I’d like to see added. A way to track your wins and loses so that way you can see how many more games you need to win in order to rank up, or how many you need to lose in order to rank down.

In conclusion I think H3 was a much better game than Reach! It was better and gave you an incentive to win and continue playing everyday which I enjoyed. If 343 can replicate this experience while adding new feautres I will be very,very pleased!

19

<mark>Armor Lock</mark> of course!

;] lol, just kidding. Could you imagine?