My suggestion is simple and I am probably not the first to suggest it, but funnily enough I have not seen anyone else suggest this before, so here it is.
We are all aware that armor abilities have not been the most welcome addition to Halo, when they were first introduced in Halo Reach, the community was split.
Whilst many people did like them, a whole lot of fans complained about them and continue to after the release of Halo 4.
I can honestly see from both sides of the argument and think that both the people who love armor abilities, and the people who hate them have very good reasons for doing so.
I believe that most of the hate for armor abilities is misplaced.
I think that people who dislike armor abilities in Halo Reach and Halo 4 do not actually hate the abilities themselves, but hate the fact that they are part of the loadouts and how this impacts gameplay, (even if they do not realise this).
I was one of the people who hated them so much, until I eventually realised why that was.
In my opinion, armor abilities should be placed around the maps and should be something that both teams have to fight for.
To help you see what I am getting at with this, think back to the days of team rockets.
You remember how most people did not like team rockets and would veto it?
Yet when playing normal slayer on a map with rockets, most people would love to pick them up and would do what they could to get them.
That’s because there’s a huge difference between everyone starting with something, and everyone having to work in order to obtain it.
Another example is the equipment in Halo 3, such as the bubble shield.
The equipment is really not much different to armor abilities in that they are something that, in their own unique way, give you an advantage over the other player.
Yet the equipment was rarely complained about in comparison to the amount of complaints that armor abilities have received from the community, most people would agree that the equipment in Halo 3 was a balanced and fun addition to Halo, it was an evolution of the series that worked well.
Imagine if the equipment in Halo 3 was actually part of loadouts, and everyone could start with bubble shields and use them as many times as they wanted, with only a short waiting time between each use.
I don’t know about you, but I think that they would have been received very differently, if they had been used in this way.
The fact that they were placed around the maps instead of being loadout options, prevented a lot of problems and complaints that armor abilities have created.
I want people who hate armor abilities to understand that people who do like them, just genuinely like the variety that they add to the gameplay, and might not value balance as much as the majority of other players do.
I also want people who like armor abilities to stop accusing the complainers of being “scared of change”, or telling them to “go and play Halo 3 if you love it so much”.
I can tell you that these people are not scared of change, they want change and growth just as much as you do; they just don’t like changes that compromise the balance of the game.
But I believe there is a way that both can be happy.
So my suggestion is this:
- Armor abilities should definitely stay for Halo 5.
Why?
Because they add more variety to gameplay and many people find them fun to use.
- They should NOT be part of the loadouts, but instead should be placed cleverly around the maps, should have a respawn time, and should have a limited use.
Why?
Because this prevents the chaos of people constantly being able to use them.
Promotes more balanced gameplay.
Promotes more tactical gameplay and teamwork.
Stops the novelty of using them from wearing off so easily.
It is an addition/evolution of Halo without changing the core/balanced gameplay which many of us value.
Thank you for taking the time to read this!
Here are my questions:
People who like armor abilities - Would you still enjoy them if they stayed in Halo but were not a part of loadouts?
People who dislike armor abilities - Does my idea sound like it would fix the issues that come with armor abilities in Halo Reach and Halo 4? Would you enjoy them more this way?
I am interested in everyone’s opinions so please let me know what you think.