In Halo 2 the sword had some momentum shenanigans which could result in a slash not killing the target if you didn’t have enough momentum. With Halo 3 onward the sword was always a one hit kill irregardless of your momentum. I do not recall the brute shot being able to deflect the sword in either of those games.
The lower ping desync wins in a sword/hammer fight every time. Even if you swear you struck first, you die. This and lack of clash melee is why Sword Tournament customs will be impossible in Infinite.
We play swords a bit in customs. Everyone is on the same ping (more or less).
In Halo 5 it seemed more even? I think you tended to get thrown around a bit more in the clash - so there was a chance for the better player to orientate themselves and win the next bit. In Infinite both players seem to be thrown backwards while still facing each other.
Plus, as you touch upon, the melee hit mixed it up a bit.
343 either need to add a skill gap somehow. Maybe the final clash comes down to whose reticule is closer to the centre of the chest?
Or leave it as a tie, but with some sort of consequence. Have the swords explode killing both players and damaging nearby players… or have both swords just cut out for a few seconds and leave the players to switch to secondary weapons.
Exactly my point, the sword needs a way to counter it because its too op