> The halo 4 sandbox is a mess and needs to be overhauled in halo 5.
>
> Weapon balancing(only mentioning standard weapons not power weapons)
>
> DMR-6 shot kill/lead shots/slight bullet drop/decreased range.
> BR-4 shot kill/decreased zoom due to red dot/slower fire rate.
> AR-Slower killtime/decreased spread.
> LR-Decreased accuracy/slower reload/slight bullet drop.
> Suppressor-Slower killtime/increased recoil.
> SR-Slower killtime/heavy damage to shields/Extremely accurate like the PR.
> SMG-Extreme recoil/extreme spread/Ineffective after shotgun range.
> Magnum-Increased recoil/more spread like reach.
> BS-Increased range/2 shot kill/2 shots before reload.
> PP-Decrease magnetism.
>
> Share your thoughts!
Sounds good for the most part, although allow me to lend some constructive criticism.
I feel the DMR should be 5-shot kill but just given a slower rare of fire, only so it still feels powerful, plus it’s essentially a sniper/battle rifle hybrid, so higher damage with a slower rate of fire would be more fitting. I think you keep it hitscan for balance and give it a slightly lowered version of Reach’s bloom, but make it MORE CONSISTENT so that if your reticule is widened, your bullets will only go out toward the edge of the circle. It should also be given a pattern to the exact placement of the bullets. My idea is that the DMR would function as a “jack of all trades but master of none” type weapon, being alright at every range but never dominates any.
Keep the BR’s zoom the same, just because it already has it at 2x. I do like the slower rate of fire though, I always felt like the Halo 4 BR encouraged players to be trigger happy, plus it was just too overpowered.
Make the Light Rifle the standard long-range weapon, and keep it just how it was in Halo 4. Although slow down the rate of fire slightly to balance its TTK, and lower the damage of the burst fire, to keep it from dominating any of the close to mid range focused rifles.
Buff the Suppressor, seeing as its underpowered and it’s maximum effective range is that of the Shotguns. Personally I think it would work best as a carbon copy of the SMG, just with a bit of extra damage to compensate for the lack of dual wielding. And because the suppressor would be a carbon copy of the SMG, they could omit the latter from the game for the sake of overall weapon balance.
The Storm Rifle sounds good as a copy of the Plasma Rifle. Maybe you should even give it a small stunning effect upon consecutive hits, just to spice things up.
I personally feel the Pistol should function the exact same as the Carbine and replace the latter, or just get taken out entirely. The reason is that the Pistol is so hard to balance, and in Halo 2 as well as 4, it just performed too similar to the Carbine (both had a fast rate of fire and low damage, both were made for those with an excellent trigger finger, and both were intended for close to mid range combat). Every weapon should be unique from another and fill its own niche; as well as be neither overpowered nor underpowered. The inclusion of both the Carbine and the Pistol upsets this balance. I suggest they keep the Carbine so the Covenant have their precision weapon, and the UNSC pistol should just get dropped from Halo 5’s arsenal. Have it be like Halo 3’s lesser range and accuracy with a max firing rate that’s faster than Halo 4’s (to enhance that “spammy” feel of the carbine), plus make it hitscan (to balance it with the BR) and lower the damage just a hair so the firing rate doesn’t make the weapon overpowered.
The Boltshot’s alternate fire should be 1 shot kill but with mauler range (you have to be nearly touching your target for a kill).
Keep the Plasma Pistol’s magnetism, as charged shots are already fairly easy to dodge in Halo 4 with good timing.
For those who don’t want the SMG and Pistol taken out, they could always include them for custom games and forge as alternate skins for the Suppressor and Carbine, respectively.