If there’s anything specific I remember about Halo Wars after the patch where they nerfed the Arbiter and Anderson, it was one thing: Halo Wars was finally BALANCED. No matter what was thrown against me, or what I threw down on the table, it could be beaten. There was no “god strategy to win every game” no “This faction > that faction” it was as simple as choosing what you WANT to do, then adjusting to counter your enemy over the course of the game.
If there is anything I’ve noticed since coming back to Halo Wars it’s this: The UNSC has obviously been buffed in the patches since I last played, and is now RIDICULOUSLY overpowered in comparison to the Covenant.
There used to be this great balance, Covies build more units much faster, UNSC built slower, but had tougher units.
The first thing I noticed coming back was that the UNSC now builds as fast as the Covenant, but their units are STILL simply stronger, which instantly throws away any reason to play Covenant in a 1v1 environment, as no UNSC rush is effectively counter-able anymore. They can Hog Rush faster than you can counter with Hunters, or Infantry rush fast enough that honor guards and jackals can’t make a dent. And good luck having more than 2 wraiths out before the Spartans show up. Instant-jacks.
Basically from what I’ve seen, it appears the Covenant CANNOT change strategies to counter fast enough. Even if you scout.
The balance needs to go back to Covies being faster, and capable of rushing, while the UNSC bides their time, and mounts the first counter play. At this point I’m ready to just give up on covies outside of team games. I shouldn’t feel like 9/10 times the UNSC is on my doorstep before I’m on theirs.
I think we need to bring back the PoR’s Mach 10 speed chair. but then you will complain about how prophet reaches your base on chasms at 33 seconds.
hogs are the main problem. the only counter is wraiths(hunters way to slow for anti-hog) and you can’t get enough out. you could skip the leader upgrade and go for factory 5th and upgrade to citadel for 2 warehouses and then attack before they get many hornets. if you see spartans, build ghosts.
> I think we need to bring back the PoR’s Mach 10 speed chair. but then you will complain about how prophet reaches your base on chasms at 33 seconds.
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> hogs are the main problem. the only counter is wraiths(hunters way to slow for anti-hog) and you can’t get enough out. you could skip the leader upgrade and go for factory 5th and upgrade to citadel for 2 warehouses and then attack before they get many hornets. if you see spartans, build ghosts.
Yeah, I used to remember just going Wraiths or Hunters to counter Hogs. Usually I had some out by the time they had 5 and an upgrade, so it worked. But now it doesn’t cause by the time they have 6-7 hogs at my base, I’m just pumping out my very first wraith.
Same thing happened when they hit me with roughly 10 units of infantry, and I’m building these as fast as I can without screwing up my resources for building more.
I don’t mind the slower Prophet. I found when he was faster I’d sit him outside their base for a while so I could actually get at least 2 wraiths out. But now I find he shows up at the bases just in time (after his usual trip around the half world for money.)
There haven’t been any balance updates since then. The arbiter was nerfed, the hunter’s assault beam targeted enemies faster, gremlins were made tech 2, scarabs were buffed…no real buffs to UNSC. The brute chieftain remains the easiest and best leader to use in 1v1, only comparable to Anders, who requires a lot more skill to be good with. Maybe UNSC players have just gotten better since you last played, it has nothing to do with balance updates.
> There haven’t been any balance updates since then. The arbiter was nerfed, the hunter’s assault beam targeted enemies faster, gremlins were made tech 2, scarabs were buffed…no real buffs to UNSC. The brute chieftain remains the easiest and best leader to use in 1v1, only comparable to Anders, who requires a lot more skill to be good with. Maybe UNSC players have just gotten better since you last played, it has nothing to do with balance updates.
Yeah I was just researching this too, as the balance notes in the Original Post didnt seem right, and I agree with what you have found.
As bb2010 said, most of the recent balance fixes have favored covy and nerfed early game UNSC.
> Well, it’s been about 2 years since I last played. So I’m assuming by recent patches you mean long after I was gone.
There have been only 3 title updates for gameplay since the game came out.
(NOT COUNTED) Title update 1: basic network stuff, xbox live stuff
Title Updates 2-4 were all gameplay focused. The fixes mentioned in bb2010’s post are mostly from #4. I believe TU2 was May09, TU3 was July09, and TU4 was Dec09
IN GENERAL, balance fixes nerfed UNSC and buffed Covy, with a few exceptions.
> Well, it’s been about 2 years since I last played. So I’m assuming by recent patches you mean long after I was gone.
Yeah, there haven’t been any patches since then. They accidentally removed the changes from TU4 and then put them back in at a later date, but that’s about it.