One of the problems of Halo 4 that was saw was the lack of longevity of the game. A lot of people quit the game because there was not enough to do (and other reasons) and this needs to be prevented with Halo 5. I would like to share some suggestion on how to make sure Halo 5 has long lifespan.
Map diversity plays a very important part in the longevity of a game. Halo Reach and 4 didn’t offer enough diversity in maps to keep people interested in the game for a very long time. Halo 3 on the other hand really kept people playing for years. The important part of map diversity is making maps that feel different from each other. They should not feel similar or the same, each map should be unique and should have a different feeling.
Map balance also plays an important part in the longevity of a game. Halo 5 needs to offer a good balance between 4v4 maps and BTB maps. The basic maps of Halo 4 offered more maps for BTB than 4v4 which is not a good thing and will reduce the longevity of a game. Halo 5 needs to offer a good amount of maps for both 4v4 and BTB and like mentioned above, all of them should feel different and unique.
Remixing maps is a possible solution in increasing the longevity of a game but it can NOT be a replacement for origininal variants. What I mean with this is that remix maps should not fill the gap of creating more unique/original maps, it should be an extra addition to the mapselection. Original and unique maps will add a lot more variety to a game than remix variants because they still have a similar feeling.
Believe it or not, but graphics can play a very big part in the longevity of a game. When a game looks unique and different it will keep you interested a lot longer than a game that looks similar to other games. At the moment, judging of the beta, Halo 5 is looking to similar to other games. Halo 5 looks more similar to other games because of the shine on a lot of objects and the bright lightning (including the sun). These graphical “problems” ( I don’t know what to call them) make the art look a lot less unique and special. The lack of colors on the maps also makes them look a lot less unique and different. Halo is not a realistic game meaning 343 has the freedom to make some beautiful and crazy art without having to make it look realistic, it just has to look beautiful and ofcourse needs to fit Halo.
A reduced skillgap also reduces the longevity of a game a lot. When people can easily do good at a game it will make them feel good when they start playing the game in the first weeks but when the time passes they are going to get bored because there is no challenge. At the moment the bullet magnetism in Halo 5 is too high making it easier to hit your target. This reduces the skillgap a lot and takes away from the challenge of improving your aim. The hitboxes are also too big making it easier to hit your target which heavily reduces the skillgap and again takes away from the challenge of improving your aim. Giving people a challenge and a way to improve their gameplay adds a lot of longevity to the game. Clamber is an addition to the game that in my and many others opinion reduces the skillgap of the game. Jumping in Halo always took more skill than in other games and the skill of jumping was already reduced with sprinting but clamber reduces it even more. I’m okay with it if it stays but if it’s an option to remove than I would highly suggest to remove it.
Armor Customization has always been an important part of Halo and should not be neglected in Halo 5. I hope it’s just because it’s a beta but the armor customization options we have at the moment are lacking. We need full spartan customization meaning we should be able to customize our helmet, chest, shoulders, forearms and legs. At the moment we can’t customize our shoulders, forearms and legs. Adding more difficult challenges to unlock armor in Halo 5 will also add longevity to the game because it will give people something to work for. Just ranking your SR-level is nothing but grinding but having some challenges to complete to unlock special armor will definitely add more variety and longevity to the game.
An obvious way to increase the longevity of Halo 5 is by adding a lot of gamemodes and a good online playlists selection. The playlists need to offer a good variety in gamemodes and mixes of gamemodes. A permanent DLC playlist is a must to support the DLC owners. In all previous Halo games it really felt like DLC owners were just ignored and didn’t get any option to play on the DLC maps.
Adding player created content and maps to Halo 5’s matchmaking is also a very good way to keep things fresh and interesting and will definitely add some cool and good new maps to the map selection. But again these maps and creations should not be a replacement of creating actual maps.
Custom Games has always been a big part of Halo and should definitely not be neglected this time. In Halo 4 the amount of options were a lot less compared to Halo:Reach. Halo 5 needs to offer tons of Custom Games options for people to play with so the community can create some awesome new gametypes and gametype variants.
Randomness can be a big factor in reducing the longevity of a game and this should be prevented no matter what. There are currently two random things in the game that need change. Spartan Charge is very random and doesn’t allow you as a player to assassinate someone when you are sprinting. Instead of assassinating someone you will do a tackle which is not always a kill. There is a big random factor with this ability and to be honest I rather want it to be removed instead of changing it since I prefer assassinating someone a lot more than tackling someone.
The second random factor in the game is the CSR ranking system. You never lose the same amount of points when you lose and never get the same amount of points when you win. I think this needs to change to consistent system so people can understand it easier. Matchmaking also needs to match players better with people of the same CSR rank because there are still plenty of times I get matched with players who are a lower skillrank.
These are all the suggestions I have for 343i on how to give Halo 5 a very long lifespan and I hope 343 uses these suggestions to make sure Halo 5 will be a game we will play for a very long time.
But I agree this needs more major attention on this forum.