Halo: On precision weapons...

Games Other Halo
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As any veteran Halo fan knows, precision weapons have dominated Halo multiplayer and general gameplay since the start, with the well known “M6 Handcannon”. The next installment brought about the Battle Rifle and Carbine, and after that we next receive the Needle Rifle and DMR.

As any veteran Halo fan also knows, they dominated gameplay at almost all ranges unless CQC(or sniper) power weapons were present. (Occasionally there was that one guy who dual-wielded and/or had brains when using the AR).

Yet again as any veteran fan knows it’s always been the UNSC precision rifles that dominate even amongst the precision family itself. BR, DMR…etc. The covenant carbine was a joke compared to the Halo 2/3 BR, and even in Halo 4 it remains somewhat of a joke. So do/did the automatics.

While the Halo: CE Assault Rifle was indeed versatile and powerful, it was definitely overshadowed by the magnum. The Halo 2 SMG (Was basically an AR clone) suffered greatly against the Battle Rifle, and the Halo 3 stage wasn’t much better, but it was. The AR was somewhat viable, and the plasma-SMG combo tore -Yoink-, the turrets have always kicked butt, but again, the BR was undoubtedly king.

Of course, Reach didn’t change that, and the DMR threw the Needle rifle under the bus and even more so once title-updated. Also don’t forget about that TU Beta ZB magnum. Painful.

Now we have Halo 4. Variety is the motto, and we have four utility precision rifles! Four! We also have three utility automatics, the Assault Rifle/Storm Rifle/Suppressor. Except now, we actually have automatics built to fit their roles now, which is good now that they aren’t a joke anymore. The precisions had trouble fitting their roles, as some were designed a bit awkwardly. But, it mostly turned out OK, and with the June 3rd TU, they will hopefully be OK. What about Auto’s though, they seemed worthless in the showcase on Friday.

There you have that, a history (albeit brief) of the Halo precision weapons. That now said, I’m not happy with quite a few things that have gone on, and may continue.

  1. Automatics have suffered much abuse by precision weapons, and have not ever really been effective unless dual-wielded or used in tandem with an explosive. Turrets are a given exception, but not completely. What scares me is this: ‘What if the new TU renders automatics obsolete again?’

  2. Why only the UNSC rifles? When I read balance threads it is always “BR needs to be more powerful!” or “DMR is fine!” I fail to see the Carbine given clear concern or regard, and the LR may end up ignored by bias and nostalgia for the BR and DMR.

I just want to voice my concerns for automatics, and make sure we get the ultimate balance of rifles. I do not think any weapon should be king, and I just want to again make sure that we are actually getting a balanced sandbox rather than a re-run of Halo 2 with the BR being king, or in Reach with the DMR being king. I want balance across the board!

TL;DR: There isn’t one, read the post or keep silent!

This is the Lord of Admirals signing off. /End transmission/2401pt92394_w343i/

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Thankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyouthankyou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be serious, you are 110% correct and it’s the thing that’s always bothered me about weapon balancing in Halo. Unfortunately most people don’t care for automatic or other faction weapons as much as the UNSC and even in this TU, the carbine and maybe the automatic weapons are getting the short end of the stick.

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I think that this new update to the weapons is going to be a very positive thing for all the weapons except the DMR pretty much. The BR is getting a welcomed buff down to 4sk and the carbine is getting buffed too! Sure the assault rifle and the other automatic weapons are going to lose some of their aim assist but is that really a bad thing? I’ve seen so many assault rifles lately! People just jumping up and down as the aim assist rains bullets on me with little effort on their part. Sure it is going to be a little harder and take more skill to get kills with it but it already takes skill to use the precision weapon and to do anything in Halo really.

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Also I don’t think the faction weapons are getting the short end of the stick in this update. Both the covenant carbine and the promethean light rifle are getting boosts! If you check out ninja’s blog he even says that the light rifle is maybe a little too strong the way it is!

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> Also I don’t think the faction weapons are getting the short end of the stick in this update. Both the covenant carbine and the promethean light rifle are getting boosts! If you check out ninja’s blog he even says that the light rifle is maybe a little too strong the way it is!

I can agree with the LR possibly being OP, but the BR is now a 4sk, can destroy a DMR in closer ranges, and has a slightly, and I mean slightly, slowed down RoF that’s barely noticeable. If the DMR could already beat the carbine at close range and the carbine’s just getting one shot less to kill, as a carbine user, I can tell you that only puts it on the level if not slightly higher of the DMR in close/medium range. Therefore if the DMR can be demolished at short/medium range by the BR, then the carbine has a good shot (pun not intended) of suffering the same fate. Chances are there is going to be a carbine buff because this is going to be an issue. The carbine was only used once anyways during the play test by 343i. so that could be a sign the carbine isn’t favored as much as the BR.

Not saying this will happen, but it’s my biggest fear with this TU.

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i can assure you 7SK carbine is deadly… i beaten the mighty 4SK BR in customs with it a few times

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I’m worried too. The BR can shred automatics in close quarters as it is.

BR vs an automatic can turn into some really awesome and skillful CQC fights. If ones given power over the other this could be ruined.

I’ve heard the AR is going to get a damage boost so it’s 3 kills per clip and not 2 along with a range boost. The suppressor and SR should be getting the same enhancements.

I can’t complain with the aim assist reduction even if I wanted to.

After watching these new weapons in action I’ve gotta admit that I’m a bit scared.

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