Halo's lack of boss fights.

Community General Discussion
1

So some people may already know this, but for me, I just realized that Halo has been having a lack of boss fights.
Here are the games that did have boss fights:

In Halo:Reach (Yes even Reach had a boss fight) on the mission Pillar of Autumn, Noble Six had to stay back because Emile was killed and could not man the gun. Now we had a sort of mini boss fight with the Elite zealots, but the real thing was the gun we got to use against phantoms and the carrier. Now I call this a mini boss fight because it was challenging trying to fend off the phantoms and the elites while trying to target the ship.

In Halo 2, we got to kill the Prophet of Regret, which was personally my favorite boss fight. He would teleport everywhere and you would have to board his chair and punch him while avoiding the constant honor guards with swords chasing you. His chair would even shoot you too, which made it even more challenging and fun.
Another boss fight we had in Halo 2 was Tartarus and Arbiter. This one was really fun and is also my favorite as well. Especially if you do that trick where you bring in a seraph and duplicate Johnson and Miranda. It was pretty damn exiting as we entered in with all our Elite friends too.

In Halo 3, We had to fight Guilty Spark. Now this one was not as great as all we had to do was shoot him with a laser like three times, but in my opinion, the awesome warthog driving part makes up for it.

As for Halo 3: ODST, this game may have not had a boss fight, but the last mission Coastal Highway was really fun. I could call it more of a boss defense as we had to defend Dare and VRGL throughout the mission. This mission was very strategic and fun.

Now here are the games I feel that it lacks boss fights.
Halo 4 lacked boss fights big time. The only part that felt closest to a boss fight was the part where we shoved a grenade in the Didact’s chest, but was that really a boss fight? I mean yes just barely, but it didn’t feel like a boss fight. It just felt like I was clicking a button at the right time.

In Halo 5, in my opinion, had the WORST boss fights ever. Let’s start off with Jul Madama. His death was very unnecessary at the time and the least 343I could have done was make him into a boss fight so that he could have died, or left strongly. Instead, we get to watch Agent Locke, that MURDERER, kill him like it was nothing. I mean, really? Seriously even Spartan Assault’s boss fights were better than this! Another cutscene that COULD have been a boss fight was the ULTRA MANIA WWE SPARTAN WRESTLING OH WAIT I MEAN SPARTAN’S FIGHTING OVER A DIGITAL GURL. “LOCKE IS TRYNA TAKE MY GURL, BUT HES GONNA HAVE TO GET PASSED ME, WHICH HE NEVER WILL!”
“CHIEF THINKS HE’S TUFF N STUFF, BUT IMMA- Oh wait”
Sorry about that, but anyways, This scene could have been a boss fight. I could see a wrestling game’s mechanics being used in this situation. That would have been fun.
Now on to the real boss fights in Halo 5. The warden eternal fights. I mean, I’m sure ya’ll already know this one, but it was so darn repetitive. Like, we could have had more interactive environments. Like if there was a loose boulder, we could shoot it to fall on the Warden.
Now I do have to admit, Halo 5 had that one Easter egg boss fight where you’ll be given a Prophet’s Bane, but the question is, are most people really gonna try to get that easter egg? I mean not all people would be interested. In my opinion, I think the singing grunt was better than this. What kind of boss fights would you guys like to see in the future Halo? Post in the comments!
I’d like to see maybe a Guardian fight, or a Flood boss fight.

2

Halos never been much for boss fights, the closest we came to a real one in my opinion was the Tartarus and heretic leader fight other than that we really haven’t had any other than that but other than that you make some really good points.

3

Traditionally the Halo “Boss” fights have been disliked by many, with the exception of some of the Scarab fights.

4

I wasn’t a Halo player in the early years, but remember reading that the player base really didn’t like the attempt to put boss fights into Halo.

I think it was why Bungie largely quit trying them early into the series.

5

Boss fights in halo were always “real”

What I mean by that is that it seemed like what fighting them would be like.

Blast the Monitor with a spartan lazer a few times? He’s going to blow up. He isnt a bullet sponge.

Same with Tartarus, he may have had his shield, but realistically he wasnt mush stronger than a normal brute.

Do I like this?

Yes, however this can cause the fights to end rather quickly causing a little dissatisfaction.

What shouldn’t they do? Bullet sponges. Those are tedious to fight, and usually end up causing the fight to drag on. Just look at the Warden Eternal, he is annoying to fight because he just stands there and literally soaks of damage. (He’s got a crazy cool voice though!)
Also, quick time events… ech… uhg… stop with that… please… let me toss a grenade into didacts chest… If I run out of grenades thats my fault and I should be punished.

In conclusion, Halo has always had realistic boss fights, but should never touch quick time events or bullet monkeys.

6

I just got done playing through the Halo 2 Campaign again on the MCC, and I have to say I enjoyed the boss fight with Tartarus but I also could’ve gone without it.

Over the 10 years I’ve played Halo I haven’t really cared much for the boss fights personally.

I enjoy them both cinematically and up-close and personal. Punching them in the face!

Obviously there’s more to dive into about the whole situation. But… my previous opinion still stands for me.

7

The Prophet of Truth isnt a boss fight.
The real boss fight is to survive all these honor guards.
But no,I dont need bossfights,as on harder difficulty,they just become rather annoying.

8

Halo has never had a good boss fight. So, with the expectation that 343i won’t suddenly succeed at something both Bungie and 343i have repeatedly failed at, I’d rather not have something that in all likelihood would only decrease the quality of the campaign.

9

Halo never was a good game for boss fights. It’s FPS genre mixed with its combat system made the series unsuitable for bosses. Heretic Leader, Regret and Tartarus were very unsatisfying due to the things they had in common which made the fight more of a slog on Legendary; inherent ‘invincibility’ (as in they can’t be killed normally), annoying bodyguards that are more of a threat than the boss itself and rinse and repeat attacks. 343 Guilty Spark, although considered a boss fight, is mainly a boss fight cinematically. The Didact’s “boss fight” was a QTE to ‘Fire Machine Gun’.

The Warden Eternal in Halo 5 is the most unnecessary thing I’ve seen in a Halo campaign. In terms of story, many including me have said he is pretty much a tool to make the campaign last longer and almost brings nothing to the story, he also was made from scratch and had no origins in the lore. In gameplay he is very badly designed for a boss especially for Legendary. He has 3 instakill attacks (laser beam, vortex and sword slashes and swipes), bullet sponginess and a generic inherent weak spot. This means the boss fights almost consist only of spamming at long range, using the squad to flank and shoot the back (ai is so unreliable) or using power weapons that your squad stockpiled. Add that to the fact that you have to fight the Warden in 5 levels and 8 Wardens doesn’t make for a very fun campaign experience, especially in the not-so infamous ‘3 Warden’ Room on the Breaking, it’s not hard, but it’s not fun either.

10

I wouldn’t count halo reach or odst. They never had a boss to fight, you basically just fought off waves of enemies until the end of the game.