Halo Infinite - Plasma weapons

Games Halo Infinite
1

Hello. This time I want to say a way to combine all of the old plasma weapons and the new ones while keeping them quite balanced aswell with a clear and understandable purpouse. These guns have been overshadowed by human weapons in the past, but not anymore. I’ve put together some other people ideas and some of my own. In my opinion, we should follow these steps:

  • 1º - Elite Plasma Rifle (Blue): this gun will make a return, but in a different way. The other weapons, except guns like the Carbine or the Plasma Grenade Launcher, will be balanced based on this one, because I think it’s better for some reasons (the Red/Brute Plasma Rifle is usually based on it, aswell as the Plasma Pistol). It will be dual-wieldable. First of all, we must address the damage:
  • To break a shield: 6 shots (3 dual-wielded).
  • To kill an unshielded player: 12 shots (6 dual-wielded).
    Total shots → 18 (9 dual-wielded). Note that it is equal to the Halo 3’s kill.
    To make it unique we must give it a stun ability like in Halo CE: each Plasma Rifle will reduce the enemy´s movement speed by 22,5%, resulting in a 45% when shooting both guns at the same time. However, it won’t be as precise as the CE one, it will have the Halo 2’s spread. I don’t think bloom is needed, and won’t be capable of zooming. It will be used in close range fights or surprise attacks due to the stun ability.
  • 2º - Brute Plasma Rifle (Red): It will be dual-wieldable too. As far as I know, the rate of fire should be increased, aswell as the damage, based on the Blue version. While this one won’t have the stun ability, it will be used more to melt shields quickly at close range. It won’t be capable of zooming either, and will overheat faster.
  • To break a shield: 4 shots (2 dual-wielded).
  • To kill an unshielded player: 10 shots (5 dual-wielded). I think it is enough quicker, because otherwise it will become overpowered against human weapons.
    Total shots → 14 (7 dual-wielded).
  • 3º - Storm Rifle: it won’t be dual-wieldable for logical reasons. This weapon should be different than the other ones: it would destroy shields slower than the other rifles, but will kill faster. I think we must add it a bit of bloom, and make the spread like the Halo 5 version. It will keep the zoom, so it will be used as a close to mid range weapon, mainly like the Assault Rifle. It will also overheat at the same time as the Blue Plasma Rifle, and will have the same rate of fire.
  • To break a shield: 7 shots. Just one more than the Blue rifle.
  • To kill an unshielded player: 5 shots (like two Red Plasma Rifles)
    Total shots (note that it isn’t capable of dual-wielding) → 12.

* 4º - Plasma Pistol: i’m not sure about this one, but I think it would be good like this. It will overheat if pressed continuously 5 times (to balance it when dual-wielded). Its battery will be drained 1*% with a normal shot* and a 33,3% with an overcharge (resulting in 3 overcharges only, to be balanced with the Red rifle.). It will use the same system as Halo 2:Anniversary (if you keep it overcharged too much, it will overheat). The tracking should be like Halo 5, but without zooming (it would outclass the rifles) In my opinion, the damage should be adjusted like this:

  • To break a shield: 10 shots (the worst one)/1 shot (Normal/Charged).
  • To kill an unshielded player: 8 shots/2 shots (Normal/Charged).
    Total shots → 18 (like the Blue rifle)/3 (all the battery). Note that it can be dual-wielded, and is more precise than the rifles. It will be used as a mid range shield drainer, and kills if overcharged 3 times.

* 5º - Covenant Carbine: it is obviously a separated balance, and I think it is quite good like Halo 5, due to the balance with human precision weapons. It is actually useful.

  • 6º - Plasma Caster: keep its zoom, but not the tracking (this will balance it with the human one and with the plasma grenades). To help it when killing at longer ranges, make the grenade fragment in 2 grenades that will be thrown in two directions, right and left (if it touches the floor and isn’t stuck), which will deal the same damage as 1**, or make its radius bigger** (it is considered a power weapon). The rate of fire must be the same as normal plasma grenades, and they will have equal damage. This weapon will need some skill combined with luck while being quite balanced. You might think it is not worth to pick it up if you have plasma grenades, but you have to pick it up too and these grenades have more radius and are more powerful (because they fragment in two with the same damage).

* 7º - Energy Sword: this is often a controversial weapon to balance between range, damage and hit speed. Let’s start with the range: in my opinion, it should be half the Halo 2 range (a bit more than the Halo 3 sword) to have an advantage against the shotgun (there isn’t a balance issue with it, because the shotgun has more ammo). The damage and speed should be like this:

  • When lunging, it should kill in 1 shot (this would fit the advantage against the shotgun quite well). This rewards aiming skill.
  • When not lunging or not aiming well, it should kill in 2 shoots, faster than the melee.

By this way, the sword and shotgun are basically the same, but inverted: the sword kills in one shoot when lunging (mid range), and in two fast shoots when not lunging (close range). However, the shotgun kills in one shoot at close and two/three at mid range. So, they’re balanced properly.

* 8º - Needler: I think it is quite good like Halo 5, stats such as fire rate, tracking and damage are perfect in my opinion. I suggest to not make it dual-wieldable.

What do you think? I would like to discuss these balance. I think it will make plasma weapons useful and viable, while not being overpowered (they’re usually map pickups and some of them need dual-wielding to reach the top of its power).

2

It’s too soon to say really. If Hi has the same or similar moving mechanics of H5G is one thing, and in that case thereain’t going to be a dual wielding. If not the discussion about spread and magnetism would change drastically. Not to mention this are only the basic weapons minus the Plasma canon and a few H5 additions, which I’m not sure we’ll see again anyway. We might get some Brute weapons instead, or maybe one or two Reach left-overs like the plasma repeater or the concussion rifle. Certainly we’ll get something new that could change the balancing completely!

In other words it’s too soon, can’t say what I think about Covi weapons quite yet! :slight_smile:

3

> 2533274795098161;2:
> It’s too soon to say really. If Hi has the same or similar moving mechanics of H5G is one thing, and in that case thereain’t going to be a dual wielding. If not the discussion about spread and magnetism would change drastically. Not to mention this are only the basic weapons minus the Plasma canon and a few H5 additions, which I’m not sure we’ll see again anyway. We might get some Brute weapons instead, or maybe one or two Reach left-overs like the plasma repeater or the concussion rifle. Certainly we’ll get something new that could change the balancing completely!
>
> In other words it’s too soon, can’t say what I think about Covi weapons quite yet! :slight_smile:

Yes, you’re probably right. It’s too early. But at least it can be seen as a base for future balances.

4

That’s a lot to read, but what I will say is that the energy weapons of Halo 4 and 5 (Storm Rifle, Promethean weapons, etc.) did not look, sound or act like they were shooting energy as the energy weapons of Bungie’s Halo games did. They felt more like they were shooting coloured bullets, especially the Storm Rifle. I hope we get a return of the classic plasma feel. I’m not saying we need old weapons to return. Maybe we get a return of previous weapons or maybe we get new versions that feel like evolutions of previous weapons. The Storm Rifle did not look or feel like an evolution of the Plasma Rifle and therefore doesn’t belong as a replacement. 343i, bring back Plasma. Refer to the appearances, sounds and attributes of plasma weapons in the first three Halo games (not Anniversary) and work from there.

Edit: I think ever since 343i started using the concept of “hard light” as opposed to “energy”, things haven’t felt the same. Although, I’d say the Energy Sword has felt wrong as early as Halo: Reach.

5

I would like to get colored swords to come back as well.

6

Reach and 5 have shown that having multiple variations of the Plasma Rifle is redundant (unless some terrible gimmick’s attached to them). As far as strictly plasma weapons go, the devs need to make sense of Halo 5’s cluttered and awful arsenal by only including the mainstays (Plasma Rifle, Plasma Pistol, Energy Sword, Carbine, Beam Rifle, Plasma Grenade) without all of these ridiculous mods shoehorned in.

Ideally, Infinite would feature all of the weapons of Halo 3 in addition to 343’s Promethean weapons and some new ones as well, but realistically the studio probably isn’t of that calibre. The best to hope for is that Infinite has at least as many weapons as Halo 4 with the balance of the original games—meaning don’t spawn in power weapons every two seconds, don’t have them fire out singularities or nukes, and don’t telegraph their presence on the map.

7

Just wanna clarify on one thing; the 6th weapon you’re talking about is the Plasma Caster, not the Plasma Launcher. The latter is a shoulder-mounted weapon that was only seen in Halo Reach. I know, many people often confuse one for the other.

8

I think H3 had it perfect in regards to these weapons. Look, feel, sound, & damage.

9

> 2535429593088083;7:
> Just wanna clarify on one thing; the 6th weapon you’re talking about is the Plasma Caster, not the Plasma Launcher. The latter is a shoulder-mounted weapon that was only seen in Halo Reach. I know, many people often confuse one for the other.

True, I was confused. I’ll correct it.

10

There are way to many weapons of all types as it is a few of them do anything worthwhile or interesting.

Just bring back the CE Plasma Rifle with no spread and pick a skin to go on top of it. Whether it looks like a Plasma Rifle, Brute Plasma Rifle, Plasma Repeater, or Storm Rifle it doesn’t really matter. No more blue or red SMGs, just bring back the one true plasma rifle from CE with whatever skin folks prefer.

We don’t need dozens of weapons tripping over themselves doing very similar jobs, it is easy enough to fill out each factions sandbox without stuffing it full of redundancy. I would also point out trying to nail down specific numbers or percentages at this stage is rather pointless given how little we know about how the game plays. Without anything concrete to compare it adding certain percentages to things like plasma stun is totally meaningless.

11

Halo 1 Plasma Rifle is real fun. That’s what I want. I like the ol’ plasma rifle sounds as well.

12

> 2535429593088083;7:
> Just wanna clarify on one thing; the 6th weapon you’re talking about is the Plasma Caster, not the Plasma Launcher. The latter is a shoulder-mounted weapon that was only seen in Halo Reach. I know, many people often confuse one for the other.

Wouldn’t mind seeing the Launcher come back honestly, I kinda miss it.