Halo is best on Mid-sized Maps

Games Halo Infinite
1

I’ve played Halo from the begining, I would host LAN parties at my place every weekend. I’ve play Halo in every game mode on every map in every way.

In my opinion Halo really shines when players can mess around and try new tactics with crazy stunts in Mid-sized maps. Mid-sized maps allow players to play in more ways. Players that like to aggresively overpower their opponants in tight areas have the bases to to that in. Players that like to control the map and use vehicles can do that, with having light vehicles like the Ghost and Warthog the players running around still have a good chance to not be insta killed from the Heavy ones.
Players that like to hoard Power weapons can hold out postions that can make a bigger differance than larger maps that players can just go around. Snipers have room to breathe, but opponants have cover to counter them with.
H5’s maps to me seem focus on small ones for competition and large ones for monetization. I feel that a return to Zanibar, Highground and Burial Grounds sized maps as a focal point for Halo Inifinte would bring a lot of benefits to gameplay, and the return of players.

What are your favorite mid-sized maps and do you miss the gameplay options that Mid-sized maps bring?

2

it may not be midsize, i do love the guardian map in halo 3.

3

I hope we see the return of H3 maps or something along those lines. Use those maps as a baseline. To me it felt like H4/5 took a huge step back when it came to arena/btb maps. There may be only 1 or 2 memorable maps id like to see return, & that consists of 1 btb map & 1 WZ map.

4

> 2533274826044245;3:
> I hope we see the return of H3 maps or something along those lines. Use those maps as a baseline. To me it felt like H4/5 took a huge step back when it came to arena/btb maps. There may be only 1 or 2 memorable maps id like to see return, & that consists of 1 btb map & 1 WZ map.

Using those maps as a baseline as you say would be great. Really nailing the mid-sized maps again would be great fit for Halo. CoDs known for small rat maze maps and Battlefield for large ones. Each, small and large, seem to have more issues with players than Mid-sized maps do. Spawn camping is a small map epidemic in online play, and spawning running a long way then dieing then having to run all that way again is a problem for the large ones.
I’m not sure if I’ve specifically heard any complains about Mid-sized maps in any game. Has anyone else heard any?

5

> 2781911019823810;1:
> I feel that a return to Zanibar, Highground and Burial Grounds sized maps as a focal point for Halo Inifinte would bring a lot of benefits to gameplay, and the return of players.

> 2781911019823810;4:
> Using those maps as a baseline as you say would be great.

I’m not sure if I agree with the idea that any map size should be a “focal point” or a “baseline” for Halo Infinite. A focus on maps of that size would be great for the subset of players who share your opinion. But more importantly, I think Halo Infinite should have a healthy variety of map sizes to make all players happy, from players who think Halo is best on small maps, to players who think Halo is best on large maps. Here’s hoping for a BTB Heavies playlist at launch!

6

> 2533274904158628;5:
> > 2781911019823810;1:
> > I feel that a return to Zanibar, Highground and Burial Grounds sized maps as a focal point for Halo Inifinte would bring a lot of benefits to gameplay, and the return of players.
>
>
>
> > 2781911019823810;4:
> > Using those maps as a baseline as you say would be great.
>
> I’m not sure if I agree with the idea that any map size should be a “focal point” or a “baseline” for Halo Infinite. A focus on maps of that size would be great for the subset of players who share your opinion. But more importantly, I think Halo Infinite should have a healthy variety of map sizes to make all players happy, from players who think Halo is best on small maps, to players who think Halo is best on large maps. Here’s hoping for a BTB Heavies playlist at launch!

With mid-sized maps as a baseline, in general I think is good for the overall player base. Yes there would still be small maps and larges maps and hopefully even BTB Heavies, I enjoyed that one too. However, with mid-sized maps as the focal point, players that perfer small maps wouldn’t feel so out of place as if they were playing on a large map. Likewise with the large maps players playing on small maps. As I mentioned before the mid-sized maps, have a little something for everyone. Mid-sized maps, too me, can sometimes have a largest small map or a smallest large map feel to them to help blur the lines in map sizes. With 343i really nailing the mid-size maps they wouldn’t alienate players that like one thing over the other.

7

> 2781911019823810;6:
> With mid-sized maps as a baseline, in general I think is good for the overall player base. Yes there would still be small maps and larges maps and hopefully even BTB Heavies, I enjoyed that one too. However, with mid-sized maps as the focal point, players that perfer small maps wouldn’t feel so out of place as if they were playing on a large map. Likewise with the large maps players playing on small maps. As I mentioned before the mid-sized maps, have a little something for everyone. Mid-sized maps, too me, can sometimes have a largest small map or a smallest large map feel to them to help blur the lines in map sizes. With 343i really nailing the mid-size maps they wouldn’t alienate players that like one thing over the other.

ok but think back to how 343 was like, “competitive players don’t want a motion tracker at all, but other players like it, so let’s compromise and give everyone a smaller-ranged motion tracker” but it just ended up making everybody hate it. I feel like you’re advocating something similar to that, except with map size instead of motion tracker range. I do enjoy mid-sized maps but sometimes a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t a good idea.

8

Small maps can be good if designed well like guardian, or I guess battle creek if you’re playing it in the older games and not super fiesta. The thing with small maps though is that they need to be interesting to play on and memorable, 2 things every halo 5 arena map wasn’t.
Mid sized maps are nice and all but I think I prefer the big maps. Big as in sandtrap, death island, timberland, valhalla, etc.

9

> 2533274904158628;7:
> > 2781911019823810;6:
> >
>
> ok but think back to how 343 was like, “competitive players don’t want a motion tracker at all, but other players like it, so let’s compromise and give everyone a smaller-ranged motion tracker” but it just ended up making everybody hate it. I feel like you’re advocating something similar to that, except with map size instead of motion tracker range. I do enjoy mid-sized maps but sometimes a one-size-fits-all approach isn’t a good idea.

The motion tracker is just one thing in any match. I’m a casual player an I dislike the motion tracker. Since it is a small part of the over all game play I think it would be more like; should this mid-sized map have ghosts instead of warthog because some players like to drive and shoot or have warthogs instead of ghost so players need to work together to control the map? I think this is a better analogy to fit what your meaning maybe?
The one size fits all approach in my experience is what should happen to bring back casual groups of players. When I played previous Halo’s my groups would have different likes and dislikes for what games we played. Some people only wanted to kill opponants, like in Slayer. For others that wasn’t enough so they prefered CTF and other objective games. Others didn’t care either way as long as they could snipe or ride around in the hog.
The best way we found to make sure everyone was having a good time was to try for these mid-sized objective and slayer matchs. 1 flag CTF on Zanzibar or 2 flag on Stand-off were usually universally enjoyed by our diverse group.
I can’t think of a single H5 mid-sized map let alone a memorable one. I think there might have been one or two in H4 but I’d have to go back and look.

EDIT: Not that our experiences were the same as yours, its just how we did things to have fun playing together.

10

I also really miss asymmetrical mid-sized maps, I’d honestly prefer those along with asymmetrical game mode support than the entirety of Warzone.

11

Totally disagree. LARGE maps all the way. Bloodgulch (coagulation/hemorrhage). Sidewinder (Avalanche). Zanzibar(Last Resort). Waterworks. Sanctuary. Valhalla (Ragnarok). All of Reach’s Invasion.
Those maps are legitimately Halo! Those maps gave me by far the best halo memories. BTB gets a bad rap.

Even tho 4 v 4 is also legitimate Halo, I think we need to see more diversity in our MLG Halo. Tho I also had plenty of fun in the Hang em’ Highs and Lockouts and their new equivalents, Halo shouldn’t be stuck in only standard MLG 4 v 4 on small to medium size maps.
In my experience, the bigger the map, the bigger the battle, the more FUN Halo is. And I think we need to get back to the FUN of Halo. BTB shouldn’t always take a backseat… Vehicles are fun quintessential Halo, we need to expand.
I wish they would start doing more variety in the MLG realm. I would LOVE to see MLG BTB on large maps. I use to have some EPIC games in Bloodgulch that would be worth of an audience… 16 players clashing, a team of three breaks through on a warthog to narrowly escape the enemies base with the flag then has to claw their way across the battlefield to score, the narrow escapes, the narrow recoveries… to me, THAT will always be Halo.

But so long as they use Halo 1,2,3,Reach and even 5 as a standard for map diversity, we’ll be ok. We NEED small, medium AND large maps like always, but we need to see them ALL used on the MLG stage.

12

I think a good Halo game has a varied collection of maps of different sizes: some small maps, some medium sized maps, and some BTB maps. Maps of different sizes from tiny arenas like Midship to large sandboxes like Sandtrap all offer unique experiences and should be present in the game.

13

> 2781911019823810;9:
> The motion tracker is just one thing in any match. I’m a casual player an I dislike the motion tracker. Since it is a small part of the over all game play I think it would be more like; should this mid-sized map have ghosts instead of warthog because some players like to drive and shoot or have warthogs instead of ghost so players need to work together to control the map? I think this is a better analogy to fit what your meaning maybe?
> The one size fits all approach in my experience is what should happen to bring back casual groups of players. When I played previous Halo’s my groups would have different likes and dislikes for what games we played. Some people only wanted to kill opponants, like in Slayer. For others that wasn’t enough so they prefered CTF and other objective games. Others didn’t care either way as long as they could snipe or ride around in the hog.
> The best way we found to make sure everyone was having a good time was to try for these mid-sized objective and slayer matchs. 1 flag CTF on Zanzibar or 2 flag on Stand-off were usually universally enjoyed by our diverse group.
> I can’t think of a single H5 mid-sized map let alone a memorable one. I think there might have been one or two in H4 but I’d have to go back and look.
>
> EDIT: Not that our experiences were the same as yours, its just how we did things to have fun playing together.

I mean yeah, maybe for new players first getting into Halo, mid-sized maps might possibly be a good starting point. Halo Infinite should certainly have a good amount of those. But variety is still important.

> 2533274799476365;11:
> Totally disagree. LARGE maps all the way. Bloodgulch (coagulation/hemorrhage). Sidewinder (Avalanche). Zanzibar(Last Resort). Waterworks. Sanctuary. Valhalla (Ragnarok). All of Reach’s Invasion.
> Those maps are legitimately Halo! Those maps gave me by far the best halo memories. BTB gets a bad rap.
>
> Even tho 4 v 4 is also legitimate Halo, I think we need to see more diversity in our MLG Halo. Tho I also had plenty of fun in the Hang em’ Highs and Lockouts and their new equivalents, Halo shouldn’t be stuck in only standard MLG 4 v 4 on small to medium size maps.
> In my experience, the bigger the map, the bigger the battle, the more FUN Halo is. And I think we need to get back to the FUN of Halo. BTB shouldn’t always take a backseat… Vehicles are fun quintessential Halo, we need to expand.
> I wish they would start doing more variety in the MLG realm. I would LOVE to see MLG BTB on large maps. I use to have some EPIC games in Bloodgulch that would be worth of an audience… 16 players clashing, a team of three breaks through on a warthog to narrowly escape the enemies base with the flag then has to claw their way across the battlefield to score, the narrow escapes, the narrow recoveries… to me, THAT will always be Halo.
>
> But so long as they use Halo 1,2,3,Reach and even 5 as a standard for map diversity, we’ll be ok. We NEED small, medium AND large maps like always, but we need to see them ALL used on the MLG stage.

I completely agree, vehicle play is a core part of Halo. I generally don’t care about esports (or regular sports for that matter), but I have been saying for a long time that Halo esports would be much more interesting if it included BTB. That might even make me want to watch it!

> 2533274825830455;12:
> I think a good Halo game has a varied collection of maps of different sizes: some small maps, some medium sized maps, and some BTB maps. Maps of different sizes from tiny arenas like Midship to large sandboxes like Sandtrap all offer unique experiences and should be present in the game.

This is exactly what I was trying to say.

14

> 2533274826044245;3:
> I hope we see the return of H3 maps or something along those lines. Use those maps as a baseline. To me it felt like H4/5 took a huge step back when it came to arena/btb maps. There may be only 1 or 2 memorable maps id like to see return, & that consists of 1 btb map & 1 WZ map.

I agree I think H3 had the best collection of maps. Which included the best from H2 as remakes.

15

> 2689426384633171;14:
> > 2533274826044245;3:
> > I hope we see the return of H3 maps or something along those lines. Use those maps as a baseline. To me it felt like H4/5 took a huge step back when it came to arena/btb maps. There may be only 1 or 2 memorable maps id like to see return, & that consists of 1 btb map & 1 WZ map.
>
> I agree I think H3 had the best collection of maps. Which included the best from H2 as remakes.

Even near the end of H3s life, the DLC maps were great.

16

I want a selection of all maps, small, mid and large. Especially the BTB maps, I don’t think Halo is best on just mid sized maps, I prefer bigger, others prefer smaller, and some prefer middle. We all have an opinion on what’s best.

17

> 2592250499819446;16:
> I want a selection of all maps, small, mid and large. Especially the BTB maps, I don’t think Halo is best on just mid sized maps, I prefer bigger, others prefer smaller, and some prefer middle. We all have an opinion on what’s best.

Since avalanche was left out of H5, & i think 4? not sure. Id love to see that return. That map played sooo well when it came to both slayer & especially objective. Maybe the hornet can come back too!

18

Well, no, i think that a few medium and large maps are necessary for a good Halo map, maps like blood gulch and sandtrap are really large open maps, perfect for team snipers, while the smaller maps are amzing for standard slayer and etc, and then the medium maps are good for every mode, there needs to be a varied developer made map selection, with good maps for all modes

19

> 2533274826044245;3:
> I hope we see the return of H3 maps or something along those lines. Use those maps as a baseline. To me it felt like H4/5 took a huge step back when it came to arena/btb maps. There may be only 1 or 2 memorable maps id like to see return, & that consists of 1 btb map & 1 WZ map.

I think the Halo 4 maps play surprisingly well. They blow anything in Halo 5 out of the water. While people may feel they aren’t as good as older maps from Halo 3, I’d disagree. I’ve spent a lot of time in TMCC recently and I feel like all the Halo 4 maps are decent. Keep in mind though that I hated Halo 3. So I might be a bit biased. My true love is Halo CE, but I know 343 will never go back to anything like it.

On topic, I feel that all maps have different strengths and weaknesses. I love small to mid-sized maps. They play fast and encourage close encounters. That being said, I’m also a huge fan of BTB. Halo 2 BTB was the pinnacle of BTB in my opinion. Nothing comes close. The only people that would argue 3 is better are vehicle huggers that just want to drive around in vehicles and goof off or take advantage of everyone on foot - and i despise that type of play style. Call me old school or whatever. Anyway, I think you’ll be hard pressed to find a majority of people to agree with you. For many, many people, BTB is halo.

20

> 2533274904158628;13:
> > 2781911019823810;9:
> > The one size fits all approach in my experience is what should happen to bring back casual groups of players. When I played previous Halo’s my groups would have different likes and dislikes for what games we played. Some people only wanted to kill opponants, like in Slayer. For others that wasn’t enough so they prefered CTF and other objective games. Others didn’t care either way as long as they could snipe or ride around in the hog.
> > The best way we found to make sure everyone was having a good time was to try for these mid-sized objective and slayer matchs. 1 flag CTF on Zanzibar or 2 flag on Stand-off were usually universally enjoyed by our diverse group.
> > I can’t think of a single H5 mid-sized map let alone a memorable one. I think there might have been one or two in H4 but I’d have to go back and look.
> >
> > EDIT: Not that our experiences were the same as yours, its just how we did things to have fun playing together.
>
> I mean yeah, maybe for new players first getting into Halo, mid-sized maps might possibly be a good starting point. Halo Infinite should certainly have a good amount of those. But variety is still important.
>
> > 2533274799476365;11:
> >

This is a large point in Halo Infinites success. New players, Halo as it stands right now with H5 being as intense as it is, new players are turned off by the game. I would like to see some stats on how many players are new to Halo with H5. I’d have to guess the numbers pretty low. With HI 343i i believe has already stated will be a good starting point for new players. So having Mid-sized maps, as a “focus” but not an absolute, with a taste of everything would draw the new players, as long as they can chill the intensity a smidge for new players, which might also bring back a lot of casual players. Casuals typically make up the bulk of a games population.