Halo 5 Feature Ideas and Wishlist: Part 1
Rank and Skill System: The simple solution to the ranking “epidemic”, would satisfy both the competitive, and the social community’s needs. There would be 2 systems. Rank, which is the credit based system that earns you the basic new armor, stances, player cards, etc. But next would be the Player Skill, using the 1-50 system that Halo 3 and 2 had implemented, or along those lines. Matchmaking would be based upon player SKILL, not rank. It would be shown in lobbies on the Player Cards just below the rank. Also, for the Social Playlist, player rank would be deactivated (or at least not visible).
Social and Ranked Playlists: This is quite near an absolute MUST have. I can go into further detail about why this should be implemented, it would satisfy both community’s needs, it would have further competitive and social optimizations for quite near every game-mode as there are 2 copies of them, good players vs good players, competitive vs competitive, casual vs casual, or I can show you a funny cat picture. Or nothing at all…
Community Playlist: This will be an extra playlist, to fit in with the more, action sack game-play. Stuff like Griffball, Tennis, Avalanche, Race, Parkour, those really fun little extra things that made Halo Reach’s Custom Games awesome! It made Halo Reach awesome. The bad thing about it was that if you didn’t have 10 friends on at the same time, playing Halo, up for matchmaking and had the knowledge of these fun game-modes, then you couldn’t play. With this playlist, 343i could test out different custom games and map and only those of which are worthy enough will be featured to the open matchmaking.
Armor Abilities: I believe armor abilities should be like the equipment from Halo 3. They should be spawned on the map where the players will have to fight in strategic locations and secure the spawn to take them. Imagine, when you and your teammates are holding up in a tower and there is one ramp, that ramp leading up to the backside. You and your team have an overlook of the majority of the map, making this a strategic vantage point. The opposite team will then have to push up the ramp and secure the location for a, let’s say a shotgun drop (never wanna place power weapons where they will be most useful). So the enemy team coordinates an attack up the ramp. It is pretty simple enough for you and your team to defend, there is only one way up. At least that’s what you guys thought. When the enemy begins to finally retreat back down the ramp from an unsuccessful assault, you hear a slight noise of fire slicing through the air behind you. One of the enemies have a jetpack. He assassinates one of your teammates, then goes on to melee another. You and your 2 remaining comrades turn to take out the Air Assault unit, when the enemy retreating down the ramp pushes back up in full force. You and your remaining teammates find yourself stuck between 2 enemy units. This happened because while your team was focusing on the vantage point, one of the enemies seized a Jet Pack, then flew up there behind your guys backs. Now that you learned from your mistakes, you will be sure to watch out for that one guy with the jet pack, possibly take a sniper up there with you as a lookout. But if everyone had a jetpack, there would be no team coordination, no vantage points, or even teams. The whole enemy team would have jet packed up there and it would be a random shoot fest. And, imagine just that one guy with a certain armor ability, and how relieved you will be once he’s dead, and the tactical callouts. Whew, that was long. Also I should mention that spawning with Armor Abilities could/should be aloud into certain game-modes and/or playlists (social). NEXT!
Customization: I, myself, am a heavy RPG player. Though a prefer shooters over RPGs, I still love them. So when my most favorite genre collides with the greatest feature about another, I go ballistic. For me, customization will make a terrible game great. Customization in Halo Reach turned (for me) a great game awesome! Here’s what I think should be customizable in, if not Halo 5, future Halo games. Helmet, Visor, Chest, Arms, Gloves, Shoulders, Legs, Knee Pads, and of course, attachments. Why were attachments not in Halo 4! And I think attachments should then be featured for; Helmets, Arms, Shoulders, and Legs. You can add utilities, knives, bullets, grenades, tactical equipment, etc. Then complete button mapping should be featured. Something so simple can go SO far. Next is Player Cards, with different stances, emblems, colors, boarders and Spartan IDs.
Companies: Companies are guilds, just fit into the lore. You will be-able to invite players, promote, de-rank, and kick players. You will be able to personally customize the ranks of your Company, along with the emblem, and home map with a game-mode. You can set certain roles for certain players, along with set events and what-not. Company wars would be featured.
New Vehicles: It’s a time for an upgrade in our arsenal. What ever happened to that bada** concept art of that UNSC boat for Halo Reach. Feature some kind of Tropical Island map and throw that in there! It would make all the sense in the world! Imagine that boat speeding across the river placed slicing through the black rock of a tropical island, with everyone sprinting towards it and chucking grenades at it, with a gunner on the back of it mowing people down. Then there is the Light Assault VOTL, acting like the Manta from Unreal Tournament 3. Use that thing for 5 seconds, and while your using it, imagine that in Halo. Also, if the brutes aren’t in Halo 5 or future Halos, you can remake the Brute Chopper as a smoothly rounded, purple chromatic, plasma fueled machine of death. The center could be made up of plasma or energy sword like projectiles. Or for the center it can just be an opening into a gaping maw of plasma that will be sure to feast upon any who dare get too close. Or a Promethean remake of the soft, grey rounded material. When you jump on it, the frontal part will then begin sliding away from the center until it opens up to whatever the hell that magma like stuff is.
Halo Soundtrack: Let me just clarify something here really quickly, Halo 4’s soundtrack was in NO way bad at all. I really enjoyed the soundtrack! But it’s missing that certain flavor of Halo in it. I mean, the music in the BETA trailer caught a little bit of that Halo, especially at the end when showing off the Master Chief Collection. But just a little more of the classic feel to it would make it alot better. I don’t mean start trying to compose exactly like Marty O’ Donnel, unless…unless you hire him. But a mix of Halo 4’s music and the classic music would be perfect (ala what the trailer was starting to hint at).
Ordnance: I believe Ordnance Drops should only be allowed in the Ordnance game-type that would take place in the Community Playlist. We all know why…
And I have officially ran out of room…soo…Part 2!