This topic is purely made for discussion on what I think NEEDS to be in the game to ensure that it features the best of both worlds in the sense of the original trilogy and the direction 343 seeks to take the franchise.
This is not a topic thread for random whining or hating. This is made in the hopes that the guys & gals upstairs at 343 will run across this and other threads like it, and see what should be done to ensure the next games overall success in the communities eyes.
I will update this topic with any new added ideas and anything of the like.
Halo 5: Guardians is, in the best sense, the tipping point for the beloved Halo franchise as we know it. After the release of Halo 4, many fans were underwhelmed due to over-hyping of the game pre-launch. Now, one of the biggest reasons of Halo 4’s downfall was not because the developers had not tried hard enough, it’s because the fans expected TOO much from the game as a whole, on the 360 no less.
I can recall a certain post about drive-able scarabs and an entire forge-able planet for reference, and that was just one of the hundreds upon thousands of over-hyped rumors tainting the minds of many a Halo fan.
But that is a discussion for an entirely different time, what matters is how 343 needs to approach their upcoming launch title and it’s fans.
Ranking -
Now this is a huge issue with Halo 4, I am afraid. As much as I personally enjoyed it, Halo 4 had a sub-par ranking system that I found myself maxing a month into it’s lifespan. That immensely hampers replay value because you don’t feel any progression or achievement after each game as you would with something like Halo 2/3 or Reach.
A promising idea running through a ton of Halo fans minds is this:
Establish a multi-ranked system, for example, you would have three different achievable ranks that would always be different from each other, Halo 3’s 1-50 system for ranked matches only, then Halo 3’s experience system for every Multiplayer match won, and finally, the Halo: Reach like credit system, where you receive credits for customs, forge, multi-player, campaign, etc. All three ranks would compliment each-other and act separately, but would culminate on a player card, such as someone who’s highest achieved rank in the ranked playlists was a 42, their Halo 3 styled rank would be the Navy ranks, so he would be something along the lines of Commander grade II, and then, (this is the part where it changes the most) instead of Navy and then the millions ranks after Field Marshall, it would be a bunch of new ranks, either Forerunner titles, Spartan titles, or something of the like, but just something different. Having this system is the best for everyone, making the competitive proud to show off their newly achieved 50 in Team Slayer, their Force Colonel rank from experience in the game, and then the Credits system would be just acclimated play-time value, irrelevant to the skill of the player, but giving the player a feeling of accomplishment no matter what they do.
Armor and Permutations -
Now I chose to put this here as the ranks above have an effect on said armor, obviously we are not in the Halo age of 10 or so armors max in a characters customization, we have literally tons of armor and customization options, and that is where, even though it may seem rather irrelevant, another issue lies. People in Halo 3 and even slightly in Reach could feel like the armor they wore was symbolic and spoke something of their achievements or veteran status, no example is better than the of course famous Recon armor. In Halo 3, each armor was unlocked by either an Achievement, series of Achievements, or by the devs themselves. This gave each piece an emotional value and therefore, truly meant something to the player, leading them to wear it with not just it’s ability to look cool, but with the knowledge that everyone knows they just got the ‘Mongoose Mow-down’ Achievement. This is something, I feel, that need needs to return, not every armor has to be this special, but we need Vidmaster like Achievements and armor unlocked from it, we need certain armors to only be obtainable, not through commendations, but through Achievements. Commendations are easily acquired, and that takes away the feeling of accomplishment. My idea, and one that is shared by quite a few others, is that we have special specific armors achievable as they were in Halo 3, and then armor you can buy with Credits achieved from overall playtime, in the same sense of Reach.
And PLEASE, no multiple Pre-Order armors, that is literally one of the most frustrating things for a fan of completion or someone who can’t buy the game from a UK store in the US, or vice versa.
Multiplayer and Playlists -
This is the biggest issue people seemed to have with Halo 4, and it’s a very simple equation to solve and fix. An issue Halo 4 had at launch was that it brought new things to the table, but did not present any comfortable things to allow players to have them if they so chose, such as the introduction of Infinity Slayer, but no Vanilla type to boot until a much later update. The way to fix this is to understand the saying “If it isn’t broke, don’t fix it.” Meaning that it is okay to introduce new gametypes and styles, but you have to keep the old stuff as well, otherwise, you will just end up alienating a lot of fans who aren’t pleased with the newer gametypes and then they will have nowhere else to go other than previous Halo installments or other games at that. There must also be a division of Ranked and Social playlists as well, this was a huge cry for Halo 4 that went seemingly, unanswered. Leaving many fans to feel that their voices were not heard or simply were ignored. CSR, although a decent substitute, is not what hardcore Halo fans yearn for, however. Those fans want specific playlists that show their skill and make sure that everyone knows and can see that they worked to get it. (as is the same effect with the armor i.e. the before mentioned post).
As for gametypes, to be completely honest, the best thing to do is focus on making sure the new stuff is in, and then try to go above and beyond the normal things you see thus far, hell, try a multiplayer space battle similar to Battlefronts or try doing that for Invasion. It is rather easily doable and an interesting way to make Veteran Halo players feel like they are playing both something new, yet something similar, the feeling that we should get when playing every Halo game.
Maps and Forge -
These two will be added together for the sake of space and time, but I digress, this is also almost just as important as the ranking system. Maps need to FEEL like Halo, be balanced and overall, be a space you can play and say in 3 years to come “Hey, do you remember ________? It’s one of my favorite maps!” This is a feature that Reach and Halo 4 have lacked immensely, maps aren’t as memorable as before and they feel like a dime-a-dozen package instead of feeling like a competitive arena as they should. As for Forge, make sure that pieces blend well, that the maps don’t make them just stick out, and that the pallet gives enough room for aesthetic as well as actual gameplay style. Forge is not only just for fun, but for competitive maps, as we have seen in their additions in Multiplayer playlists.
If you can think of anything else that needs to be in Halo, post it below!