Almost an entire year after it’s release, Halo 5: Guardians is proving to be one of the most frustrating games I’ve ever played. While most other titles that fail to complete their game upon release will make an attempt at redemption in the following updates, 343 Industries is determined to not only ignore the ongoing problems faced by it’s once loyal fanbase, but purposely make themselves unreachable. The ongoing issues I’ve found are as follows.
A quick mention for the fanboys that believe anything affiliated with this brand can do no wrong (and who I’ve seen berate any person who disagrees with them in the slightest on these very forums) I want to love Halo as much as you do. I really do. But I can’t overlook a broken game. So if you’re easily offended by what you’d probably consider a ‘heretic’, then maybe closing this window in your browser would be best.
- Booting the game. A few weeks ago, I decided to give Halo 5 another go. I had left it installed on my console since November last year, and autoupdates had doubled the files size. So when I discovered the whole thing was corrupt, and I’d need to reinstall, I was not happy. Let alone the fact that the install process took 8 HOURS to complete, even though my internet was working fine on every other device, including all other functions on the Xbox. - All matchmaking features are unusable. As someone who doesn’t play online regularly, I wonder how frustrating it must be for those who find joy in online competition. There certainly isn’t anything fun about waiting 15 minutes for the ‘Unable To Match’ screen to appear repeatedly. Perhaps it’s the fact that I’m living in Australia? Maybe 343i decided that servers weren’t important for us. - When finally connected, all matches are unbalanced. It’s a roulette between versing a team of highly skilled players who never leave their mother’s basement, or should I be lucky enough to be on their team, they’re attacking me rather than the enemy. Honestly, if you’re going to put a ‘Balanced’ option in the menu, how about actually having it do something. Otherwise you’re just lying to everyone. - Achievements won’t work. This is what motivated me to attempt to contact 343i, and inevitably end up here. I’ve not only followed a guide on one of these inaccessible achievements (Rolling Thunder) but I’ve attempted it 3 times over, while resetting the game between each take, and checking my internet connection repeatedly. As a self confessed achievement -Yoink!-, this is a bit of a game breaker. - Co-op stability. From the first day my 2 best buddies and I set up our Xbox’ side by side with screens accompanying, Halo 5’s co-op connection continued to drop, especially during cutscenes (Which are just a little bit important the first time you play the game). And yet here we are almost a year later, and it plays just like day one. I’ve even tried it on a different ISP at a friend’s house, but to no avail.So I’m certainly not the first one to complain, and I certainly won’t be the last, but in a fortnight’s time from me writing this, it will be Halo 5’s first anniversary. To see the franchise that converted me from my Playstation 2 over to the original Xbox fall into the pit of a money-grabbing scheme hits deep, not only as a gamer, but as a creative person in general. I’ve always hated people who are in it for the money, and now 343i have followed the same path.
I’m not writing this just to have a whinge; quite the contrary. I’m typing away furiously at my keyboard in the hopes that someone will prove me wrong. That perhaps a mysterious email address for complaints might pop up, and I might be able to speak to someone who can do something about it. Rockstar Support is a great example of this, and they’ve managed to fix quite a few problems I’ve had with GTA V, even at it’s launch.
However, if this is the path that 343i wants to take, and they don’t care about making great games anymore, than I can only hope that due to Halo 5’s negative reviews, that I might never see a Halo 6. If my favourite franchise is truly doomed, than I can only hope that it might die with some decency, rather than have a careless team of 'egghead’s further stain the legacy of Halo, in the hopes of profit.
Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
> 2533274829309952;2:
> Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
>
> The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
>
> And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
With 4 years of development time and this is what they provided.
> 2533274883669557;3:
> > 2533274829309952;2:
> > Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
> >
> > The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
> >
> > And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
>
>
> Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
>
> He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
>
> Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
This.
that is what happens when Microsoft wants that the game release earlier so the people buy it before the others and they get more money, which ends being the opposite.
> 2533274809415451;1:
> I want to love Halo as much as you do.
Why?
You either do or you don’t. There’s no need to want to like something. Then you’re just setting yourself up for disappointment.
Accept that you don’t like it and that you and Halo 5 have irreconcilable differences. You’ll feel better.
> 2535455681930574;5:
> > 2533274883669557;3:
> > > 2533274829309952;2:
> > > Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
> > >
> > > The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
> > >
> > > And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
> >
> >
> > Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
> >
> > He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
> >
> > Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
>
>
> This.
How can I say that you completely over exaggerated he statement without offending him?
> 2533274996011466;8:
> > 2535455681930574;5:
> > > 2533274883669557;3:
> > > > 2533274829309952;2:
> > > > Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
> > > >
> > > > The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
> > > >
> > > > And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
> > >
> > >
> > > Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
> > >
> > > He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
> > >
> > > Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
> >
> >
> > This.
>
>
> How can I say that you completely over exaggerated he statement without offending him?
Who me? Yeah, there are some exaggerations there. But OP’s complaints weren’t about Halo 5. They were about the game’s servers and how they perform specifically in Australia, which isn’t something the developers have any control over. That’s not me defending 343 or being a blind fanboy. That’s just me being a reasonable person with a basic understanding of how that sort of thing works. And the other exaggerations weren’t directed towards the OP, but rather towards the guy I quoted for suggesting that “343 don’t give a damn about Australia”, as if it makes sense business-wise to disregard an entire continent.
Those all sound like they don’t have to do with Halo 5. At least most. Either way, sucks dude.
This sounds more like an issue on Xbox Live’s end, not 343’s.
As for download times, well, it sucks almost everywhere from what I’ve heard. I’m in the US, and it took at least eight hours for Halo 5 to download initially, and that was when it only had, what, one update? Eight hours for Halo 5 plus all of its updates doesn’t sound all that bad.
These sound more like you problems than 343 problems. Most, if not all, of these problems stem from you having -Yoink- Australian internet. The only problem I can sympathize with is your update times. I have good internet speeds (roughly 50 mbps, both up and down), and Halo 5 still took several hours to install, when other, albeit smaller, games install in a fraction of the time.
I know those numbers are accurate, as I ran a speed test right before posting.
> 2533274883669557;9:
> > 2533274996011466;8:
> > > 2535455681930574;5:
> > > > 2533274883669557;3:
> > > > > 2533274829309952;2:
> > > > > Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
> > > > >
> > > > > The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
> > > > >
> > > > > And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
> > > >
> > > > He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
> > > >
> > > > Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
> > >
> > >
> > > This.
> >
> >
> > How can I say that you completely over exaggerated he statement without offending him?
>
>
> Who me? Yeah, there are some exaggerations there. But OP’s complaints weren’t about Halo 5. They were about the game’s servers and how they perform specifically in Australia, which isn’t something the developers have any control over. That’s not me defending 343 or being a blind fanboy. That’s just me being a reasonable person with a basic understanding of how that sort of thing works. And the other exaggerations weren’t directed towards the OP, but rather towards the guy I quoted for suggesting that “343 don’t give a damn about Australia”, as if it makes sense business-wise to disregard an entire continent.
So these problems shouldn’t be fixed and possibly looked over til it’s finally time for Halo 6 and that’s when they’ll fix them? (Exaggeration) Matchmaking side I can understand somewhat to an extent. However, the unbalanced games could be fixed with a better ranking system which wasn’t addressed.
He’s mostly complaining about a game that is basically unplayable to him and the best excuse is that it is out of their control. To me there’s something wrong there
> 2533274996011466;13:
> > 2533274883669557;9:
> > > 2533274996011466;8:
> > > > 2535455681930574;5:
> > > > > 2533274883669557;3:
> > > > > > 2533274829309952;2:
> > > > > > Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
> > > > > >
> > > > > > The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
> > > > >
> > > > > He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
> > > > >
> > > > > Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > This.
> > >
> > >
> > > How can I say that you completely over exaggerated he statement without offending him?
> >
> >
> > Who me? Yeah, there are some exaggerations there. But OP’s complaints weren’t about Halo 5. They were about the game’s servers and how they perform specifically in Australia, which isn’t something the developers have any control over. That’s not me defending 343 or being a blind fanboy. That’s just me being a reasonable person with a basic understanding of how that sort of thing works. And the other exaggerations weren’t directed towards the OP, but rather towards the guy I quoted for suggesting that “343 don’t give a damn about Australia”, as if it makes sense business-wise to disregard an entire continent.
>
>
> So these problems shouldn’t be fixed and possibly looked over til it’s finally time for Halo 6 and that’s when they’ll fix them? (Exaggeration) Matchmaking side I can understand somewhat to an extent. However, the unbalanced games could be fixed with a better ranking system which wasn’t addressed.
> He’s mostly complaining about a game that is basically unplayable to him and the best excuse is that it is out of their control. To me there’s something wrong there
Yes, they should be fixed by Microsoft putting dedicated servers in Australia, not video game developers. That’s not their job.
And I did address the ranking system and the unbalanced matches when I said “aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible”. Usually once you get past those, you’re matched pretty nicely. But either way, I’ve always stood by the “we should go back to the 1-50 system Halo 3 had” argument that most people seem to agree with for good reason.
I understand that there’s something wrong and it needs to be fixed, but what’s wrong and who he’s yelling at are … let me put it this way: if you’re at a restaurant and your food isn’t cook properly, that’s the cook’s fault. Not the waitstaff. So yelling at the waiter and leaving him a bad tip because a cook didn’t care to check if your steak was done properly isn’t solving anything but punishing the wrong person. The waiter didn’t cook your food. And in the same sense, if the food was fantastic and the service was horrible, you wouldn’t go yell at the dishwasher. One way or another, the point might get across, but don’t blame Halo for a problem with where Microsoft decided to not build servers. Yell at Microsoft.
But now that I think about it, making noise to a Microsoft owned franchise about the need for more attention in Australia can’t do any harm. It’s probably just going to be more effective on the Xbox or Microsoft forums directly.
> 2533274883669557;14:
> > 2533274996011466;13:
> > > 2533274883669557;9:
> > > > 2533274996011466;8:
> > > > > 2535455681930574;5:
> > > > > > 2533274883669557;3:
> > > > > > > 2533274829309952;2:
> > > > > > > Prepare to either be ignored completely or bashed by all the blind followers and fan boys…
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > The franchise isn’t doomed. Its already dead.
> > > > > > >
> > > > > > > And another thing, 343 don’t give a damn about Australia, they proved this with TMCC.
> > > > > >
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Well, he’s not really complaining about Halo 5, is he? (aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible). There’s no “sprint ruined my childhood” or “make it grittier like Reach” stuff, is there?
> > > > > >
> > > > > > He thinks a video game developer has something to do with where on the globe servers are located or how well his ISP works to the extent of thinking that it’s “the path 343 wants to take”. As if a part of their plan for Halo is that Australians have to wait 8 hours to install an update because some devs in Washington State who design Grunts have any control over his internet speed and deliberately make it take so long to intentionally make Australians unhappy so they can lose money on future Halo titles. Because that makes all the sense in the world. Because 343 is Microsoft and that’s why map designers aren’t traveling the globe building new servers so people can play their games because they certainly aren’t annoyed at the suits at Microsoft for making fans of the franchise in Australia upset. Because spending 3 years making a game that an entire continent can’t play properly must give you a warm fuzzy feeling inside.
> > > > > >
> > > > > > Either that or they just hate Australia. I only added that last part so you wouldn’t dismiss the entire rational thinking aspect of the post as “blind fanboyism”
> > > > >
> > > > >
> > > > > This.
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > How can I say that you completely over exaggerated he statement without offending him?
> > >
> > >
> > > Who me? Yeah, there are some exaggerations there. But OP’s complaints weren’t about Halo 5. They were about the game’s servers and how they perform specifically in Australia, which isn’t something the developers have any control over. That’s not me defending 343 or being a blind fanboy. That’s just me being a reasonable person with a basic understanding of how that sort of thing works. And the other exaggerations weren’t directed towards the OP, but rather towards the guy I quoted for suggesting that “343 don’t give a damn about Australia”, as if it makes sense business-wise to disregard an entire continent.
> >
> >
> > So these problems shouldn’t be fixed and possibly looked over til it’s finally time for Halo 6 and that’s when they’ll fix them? (Exaggeration) Matchmaking side I can understand somewhat to an extent. However, the unbalanced games could be fixed with a better ranking system which wasn’t addressed.
> > He’s mostly complaining about a game that is basically unplayable to him and the best excuse is that it is out of their control. To me there’s something wrong there
>
>
> Yes, they should be fixed by Microsoft putting dedicated servers in Australia, not video game developers. That’s not their job.
>
> And I did address the ranking system and the unbalanced matches when I said “aside from the ranking system, though he’s probably stuck in those annoying 10 placement matches which I can’t stand; they’re always unbalanced and terrible”. Usually once you get past those, you’re matched pretty nicely. But either way, I’ve always stood by the “we should go back to the 1-50 system Halo 3 had” argument that most people seem to agree with for good reason.
>
> I understand that there’s something wrong and it needs to be fixed, but what’s wrong and who he’s yelling at are … let me put it this way: if you’re at a restaurant and your food isn’t cook properly, that’s the cook’s fault. Not the waitstaff. So yelling at the waiter and leaving him a bad tip because a cook didn’t care to check if your steak was done properly isn’t solving anything but punishing the wrong person. The waiter didn’t cook your food. And in the same sense, if the food was fantastic and the service was horrible, you wouldn’t go yell at the dishwasher. One way or another, the point might get across, but don’t blame Halo for a problem with where Microsoft decided to not build servers. Yell at Microsoft.
>
> But now that I think about it, making noise to a Microsoft owned franchise about the need for more attention in Australia can’t do any harm. It’s probably just going to be more effective on the Xbox or Microsoft forums directly.
Ok I see from your view point now. At first it just seemed like a huge exaggeration.