I was looking at my stats on Halowaypoint here and saw I’ve put in 21 game days overall on Halo 5. I love the game but I’ve pretty much moved on at this point.
Compared to the shooters out there how does 2015’s Halo 5 multiplayer hold up to the other games coming out in 2017?
Halo is the only shooter I play so I’m curious.
Name me another console shooter with a map editor mode as easily accessible and easy to use as Forge, and that has as many fun community-made maps and mini games that are even supported in an official playlist (Action Sack), and there you see my point.
The thing about halo 5 that appeals to me most is that even when you get sick and tired of the main competitive modes like Slayer, or if you’re just generally bad at shooters, you can always chill and socialise with friends over a silly match of Grifball, or Infection, or any other good Forge-created mjnigame out of the hundreds out there in the Customs Browser/Action Sack. That ability to just forget that you’re grinding for a rank, some new skins, or whatever is the in-game currency, and just load up some dumb scripted Pokemon mini game is indeed refreshing. Can you do that in COD WWII, or Battlefront 2? Perhaps some of the multiplayer shooters out there accomplish this to a certain extent with some social gametypes, but definitely not as well as Halo 5 does right now with Forge and Custom Games.
Personally, Halo 5 holds a special place amongst other new online shooters for me simply because of this. It’s become more of a social party game for me and my group of friends to goof off in, accompanied only occasionally by that one or two serious ranked Team Arena matches, as half the time we’re too busy talking about dank memes together over a game of Ro Sham Bo! 
Ignoring its social aspects, to compare Halo 5’s main Multiplayer experience to other latest online shooters, I admit I have no idea what to say. Its gameplay mechanics don’t feel too generic to me compared to other shooters, and I think its diverse sandbox of alien and human weaponry gives it an edge over most other games. Other than that, I can’t really say much. That’s all my personal opinion.
Even for it’s modest age, Halo 5 is still fun as hell in my eyes. Sure the competition may offer bigger, better things now, but the game still has enough punch to compensate for its slack.
Battered? Yes. Defiant? Absolutely.
It’s probably doing similar to what it’s done in recent previous games. It will have low population, but it won’t be completely dead.
It’s #18 on the most played list, so it’s actually doing pretty good for as old as it is.
> 2535455681930574;5:
> It’s #18 on the most played list, so it’s actually doing pretty good for as old as it is.
Compared to halo 3 rivaling all the CoDs for 1st place during its 3 year lifespan on XBL most played, I’d say the current situation for H5 is downright pathetic, for a flagship console shooter.
Are there other games?
> 2533274968707582;6:
> > 2535455681930574;5:
> > It’s #18 on the most played list, so it’s actually doing pretty good for as old as it is.
>
> Compared to halo 3 rivaling all the CoDs for 1st place during its 3 year lifespan on XBL most played, I’d say the current situation for H5 is downright pathetic, for a flagship console shooter.
Comparing anything to Halo 3’s popularity makes it look pathetic. We all know Halo has been on the downhill for 10 years and with everyone saying how much Halo 5 sucks or how low a population it has, #18 is not bad for a 2 year old game. If you compare it to Titanfall 2, Halo 5 is doing a whole lot better.
> 2535455681930574;8:
> Comparing anything to Halo 3’s popularity makes it look pathetic. We all know Halo has been on the downhill for 10 years and with everyone saying how much Halo 5 sucks or how low a population it has, #18 is not bad for a 2 year old game. If you compare it to Titanfall 2, Halo 5 is doing a whole lot better.
Rocket League, an indie game that released 3 months before H5, is now number 8. GTA 5 is at the top, and it had been released on Xbox one for nearly 3 years. Destiny has also been released for nearly 3 years and is ahead of H5.
You have some seriously low expectations if all you can react to Halo’s 18th place on XBL most played is “not bad.”
> 2533274968707582;9:
> > 2535455681930574;8:
> > Comparing anything to Halo 3’s popularity makes it look pathetic. We all know Halo has been on the downhill for 10 years and with everyone saying how much Halo 5 sucks or how low a population it has, #18 is not bad for a 2 year old game. If you compare it to Titanfall 2, Halo 5 is doing a whole lot better.
>
> Rocket League, an indie game that released 3 months before H5, is now number 8. GTA 5 is at the top, and it had been released on Xbox one for nearly 3 years. Destiny has also been released for nearly 3 years and is ahead of H5.
>
> You have some seriously low expectations if all you can react to Halo’s 18th place on XBL most played is “not bad.”
Halo should be higher I agree as it is MS flag ship game, but considering the mixed feelings on Reach and the luke warm reception (and that’s putting it nicely) that Halo 4 got and the absolute PR NIGHTMARE!!! that TMCC was, I think Halo 5 being in the top 20 still isn’t too bad considering all the damage that has occurred over the last x years.
> 2724945845976881;1:
> I was looking at my stats on Halowaypoint here and saw I’ve put in 21 game days overall on Halo 5. I love the game but I’ve pretty much moved on at this point.
>
> Compared to the shooters out there how does 2015’s Halo 5 multiplayer hold up to the other games coming out in 2017?
>
> Halo is the only shooter I play so I’m curious.
I think it’s holding up pretty decently considering (see previous post) I do wish Halo 5 launched the way it is today as I feel it would have done even better.
I don’t play too many FPS anymore as I can’t stand the whole Uneven starts, Loadouts, so in so has better stuff available because they have more time to play then me so I’m at a disadvantage games anymore. I MIGHT play the story mode in games like COD, BF, TF, SWBF etc. But ultimately, I generally can’t even be bothered to do that even. I just find those games frustrating more than anything and for the record I’m not garbage at them either.
I do like Overwatch though as to me has many Arena elements. I see x character and I know they can do this, this or that and that’s it. None of this “why didn’t I kill him??? Oh it’s because he’s level 100, so they’ve unlocked that body armor that gives him + 50 defense and he has the attachment that gives his gun armor piercing bullets” Screw that garbage!!
The last game I bought was BF1. I played it for about a week and a half, and then back to Halo 5.
I don’t think I’ve finished another game, or put more than 5 hours into multiplayer on another game, since Halo 5 launched.
I just can’t stop playing!
> 2533274968707582;9:
> > 2535455681930574;8:
> > Comparing anything to Halo 3’s popularity makes it look pathetic. We all know Halo has been on the downhill for 10 years and with everyone saying how much Halo 5 sucks or how low a population it has, #18 is not bad for a 2 year old game. If you compare it to Titanfall 2, Halo 5 is doing a whole lot better.
>
> Rocket League, an indie game that released 3 months before H5, is now number 8. GTA 5 is at the top, and it had been released on Xbox one for nearly 3 years. Destiny has also been released for nearly 3 years and is ahead of H5.
>
> You have some seriously low expectations if all you can react to Halo’s 18th place on XBL most played is “not bad.”
Looking at shooters overall H5 is simply behind its competitors. Rainbow 6 siege(came out in 2015) is #2, CoD BO3 is #3 (came out in 2015), overwatch is #7 (early 2016), BF1 is #10 (came out in 2016), infinite warfare is #12 (came out 2016), destiny is #14 with people simply waiting for D2, it’s already got more pre-orders than the first and more beta players than the first lol, it’s been out since 2014), cod Bo2 is #15 and it’s a backwards compatibile game and has two other CoD games to compete with).
That’s 7 shooters that have been out quite a while as well, what shooters is H5 in front of? A dead TF2(I mean, even the first one struggled getting above 20k players), a CoD remaster(who plays what we’ve already played before? Remasters don’t sell out like the originals), a battlefield 4 that has been slowly getting bogged down with newer battlefield games, advanced warfare and the mcc. To me that’s pretty bad for as you said, a “flagship franchise”. Once D2 and COD WW2 and battlefront 2 launch, I’m expecting H5 to get pushed out of the top 20.
@op: this answers my side on the topic, I don’t think H5 is holding up well, it’s bottom tier and has been losing out to shooters older than it, just as old as it and even slightly newer than it. People can come up with any excuse they want, but a “flagship” franchise doesn’t just fall out like halo has been if it really was a flagship game. That title was ripped off since Reach/H4 era for me.
I think Halo 5 is the best FPS for MM on the market in 2017 by a decent margin.
> 2614366390849210;12:
> The last game I bought was BF1. I played it for about a week and a half, and then back to Halo 5.
>
> I don’t think I’ve finished another game, or put more than 5 hours into multiplayer on another game, since Halo 5 launched.
>
> I just can’t stop playing!
> 2533274923562209;13:
> > 2533274968707582;9:
> > > 2535455681930574;8:
> > > Comparing anything to Halo 3’s popularity makes it look pathetic. We all know Halo has been on the downhill for 10 years and with everyone saying how much Halo 5 sucks or how low a population it has, #18 is not bad for a 2 year old game. If you compare it to Titanfall 2, Halo 5 is doing a whole lot better.
> >
> > Rocket League, an indie game that released 3 months before H5, is now number 8. GTA 5 is at the top, and it had been released on Xbox one for nearly 3 years. Destiny has also been released for nearly 3 years and is ahead of H5.
> >
> > You have some seriously low expectations if all you can react to Halo’s 18th place on XBL most played is “not bad.”
>
> Looking at shooters overall H5 is simply behind its competitors. Rainbow 6 siege(came out in 2015) is #2, CoD BO3 is #3 (came out in 2015), overwatch is #7 (early 2016), BF1 is #10 (came out in 2016), infinite warfare is #12 (came out 2016), destiny is #14 with people simply waiting for D2, it’s already got more pre-orders than the first and more beta players than the first lol, it’s been out since 2014), cod Bo2 is #15 and it’s a backwards compatibile game and has two other CoD games to compete with).
>
> That’s 7 shooters that have been out quite a while as well, what shooters is H5 in front of? A dead TF2(I mean, even the first one struggled getting above 20k players), a CoD remaster(who plays what we’ve already played before? Remasters don’t sell out like the originals), a battlefield 4 that has been slowly getting bogged down with newer battlefield games, advanced warfare and the mcc. To me that’s pretty bad for as you said, a “flagship franchise”. Once D2 and COD WW2 and battlefront 2 launch, I’m expecting H5 to get pushed out of the top 20.
>
> @op: this answers my side on the topic, I don’t think H5 is holding up well, it’s bottom tier and has been losing out to shooters older than it, just as old as it and even slightly newer than it. People can come up with any excuse they want, but a “flagship” franchise doesn’t just fall out like halo has been if it really was a flagship game. That title was ripped off since Reach/H4 era for me.
Sorry for double post, needed to edit in quotes
First of all, Angel, you’re correct, of course, as far as the numbers.
However, I simply don’t get it. I’m in WhoLikesChicken’s boat. I lose interest real quick in the other FPS games. I just think Halo 5 arena is objectively better from a game play / skill requirement standpoint. Honestly not sure why the numbers are so low… I guess I could just be a fan boy or something. I also have very limited time (Halo 5 is by far my most played game last two years, and sadly it’s pretty low with work / wife / family / blah blah), so maybe I’m being close minded to REALLY letting other games in?
I have put over 70 days of playtime into Halo 5’s Matchmaking, and I am currently rank 151. I really enjoy how crisp, responsive, and smooth Halo 5’s gameplay feels. With Forge and Minigames, Custom matches are basically limitless with their variety, which is a huge win. I can easily find relatively balanced matches in most playlists, and I have fun when my Internet connection isn’t too terrible.
I also enjoy playing other games like Overwatch, Speedrunners, and Trials Fusion. I’m not a huge shooter fan and I prefer creative twists on a somewhat generic genre. Thus, I like the hero approach with Overwatch, and I enjoy the amount of variety provided by Halo’s weapon sandbox.
As for population, at this point, I really don’t think it matters at all. Sometimes the most popular things aren’t the best in life. If you enjoy Halo 5, then you shouldn’t worry about how many people are playing as long as you can find a match. If you aren’t having fun, take a break and play something else. You don’t need to feel obligated to play Halo 5 anymore than I feel obligated to play GTA V (I still haven’t touched this game). If you’re in the mood, pop in H5 and run some Multiplayer. You’ll enjoy it a lot more if you play what you feel like playing, and population has no effect on that whatsoever. I guarantee you that most people didn’t look at FIFA 17 and say “This has the most people on Xbox Live right now so I have to play it or else I’m playing a bad game.”. Like I said, as long as there are enough players to keep Matchmaking healthy in H5, then I don’t see any reason popularity should affect one’s enjoyment of the game.
> 2533274804898926;15:
> > 2614366390849210;12:
> > The last game I bought was BF1. I played it for about a week and a half, and then back to Halo 5.
> >
> > I don’t think I’ve finished another game, or put more than 5 hours into multiplayer on another game, since Halo 5 launched.
> >
> > I just can’t stop playing!
>
>
>
> > 2533274923562209;13:
> > > 2533274968707582;9:
> > > > 2535455681930574;8:
> > > > Comparing anything to Halo 3’s popularity makes it look pathetic. We all know Halo has been on the downhill for 10 years and with everyone saying how much Halo 5 sucks or how low a population it has, #18 is not bad for a 2 year old game. If you compare it to Titanfall 2, Halo 5 is doing a whole lot better.
> > >
> > > Rocket League, an indie game that released 3 months before H5, is now number 8. GTA 5 is at the top, and it had been released on Xbox one for nearly 3 years. Destiny has also been released for nearly 3 years and is ahead of H5.
> > >
> > > You have some seriously low expectations if all you can react to Halo’s 18th place on XBL most played is “not bad.”
> >
> > Looking at shooters overall H5 is simply behind its competitors. Rainbow 6 siege(came out in 2015) is #2, CoD BO3 is #3 (came out in 2015), overwatch is #7 (early 2016), BF1 is #10 (came out in 2016), infinite warfare is #12 (came out 2016), destiny is #14 with people simply waiting for D2, it’s already got more pre-orders than the first and more beta players than the first lol, it’s been out since 2014), cod Bo2 is #15 and it’s a backwards compatibile game and has two other CoD games to compete with).
> >
> > That’s 7 shooters that have been out quite a while as well, what shooters is H5 in front of? A dead TF2(I mean, even the first one struggled getting above 20k players), a CoD remaster(who plays what we’ve already played before? Remasters don’t sell out like the originals), a battlefield 4 that has been slowly getting bogged down with newer battlefield games, advanced warfare and the mcc. To me that’s pretty bad for as you said, a “flagship franchise”. Once D2 and COD WW2 and battlefront 2 launch, I’m expecting H5 to get pushed out of the top 20.
> >
> > @op: this answers my side on the topic, I don’t think H5 is holding up well, it’s bottom tier and has been losing out to shooters older than it, just as old as it and even slightly newer than it. People can come up with any excuse they want, but a “flagship” franchise doesn’t just fall out like halo has been if it really was a flagship game. That title was ripped off since Reach/H4 era for me.
>
> Sorry for double post, needed to edit in quotes
>
> First of all, Angel, you’re correct, of course, as far as the numbers.
>
> However, I simply don’t get it. I’m in WhoLikesChicken’s boat. I lose interest real quick in the other FPS games. I just think Halo 5 arena is objectively better from a game play / skill requirement standpoint. Honestly not sure why the numbers are so low… I guess I could just be a fan boy or something. I also have very limited time (Halo 5 is by far my most played game last two years, and sadly it’s pretty low with work / wife / family / blah blah), so maybe I’m being close minded to REALLY letting other games in?
“I just think Halo 5 arena is objectively better from a game play / skill requirement standpoint.”
care to explain to me? The thing is every game has its own way of skill. People love to harp on CoD games for being nothing but quick kills and nothing else but if you look at RB6S you can see what CoD “could’ve” been had it truly emphasized skill for a twitch shooter like RB6S. Quick kills are still a thing in it, however it puts much more emphasis on tactical play benefiting from it being an elimination one life round game. You can’t mindlessly run and gun with your one life, instead you’ve gotta work with your team on call outs, use drones to spy and watch for traps, tease your entries or else risk getting shot, take out cameras or else your position is shown, etc etc. It’s a game that ABSOLUTELY WILL punish you, and much more so for newer and bad players.
Lets look at Destinys own skill to itself. It’s still a random mess with abilities and loadouts, but it’s trials mode is another elimination mode it uses for competitive play. You get one life with no respawn, you have to count on team revives if you go down. You rely on predicting enemy movement and how strategic play changes each round, if you do the same thing each round odds are you’re going to lose unless you doing the same thing can’t be stopped by the opposing team in which case why change from what’s working? Bear in mind however I consider destiny a joke competitively but it still has a sense of it nevertheless.
my impressions on H5? It’s not much of an arena game to me like it semi used to in the past. Todays halo puts more focus on map rotations, spawn locking people and team shooting to the max. There is the lack of self empowerment because the weapon sandbox doesn’t allow it and because of said team shooting. H5s best thing to me is it’s forge and custom games, I’ve probably got 6-7 days of playtime in that, and the rest is more or less screwing around by myself in warzone and arena. In short, I don’t see anything unique to its gameplay that differs from other games to keep me hooked but it’s map/mode creator is probably the best out there for consoles.
Pretty good, I’d say. It is a two year game, yet I still get a lot of enjoyment from it compared to other games.
> 2533274923562209;17:
> > 2533274804898926;15:
> >
>
> “I just think Halo 5 arena is objectively better from a game play / skill requirement standpoint.”
>
> care to explain to me? The thing is every game has its own way of skill. People love to harp on CoD games for being nothing but quick kills and nothing else but if you look at RB6S you can see what CoD “could’ve” been had it truly emphasized skill for a twitch shooter like RB6S. Quick kills are still a thing in it, however it puts much more emphasis on tactical play benefiting from it being an elimination one life round game. You can’t mindlessly run and gun with your one life, instead you’ve gotta work with your team on call outs, use drones to spy and watch for traps, tease your entries or else risk getting shot, take out cameras or else your position is shown, etc etc. It’s a game that ABSOLUTELY WILL punish you, and much more so for newer and bad players.
>
> Lets look at Destinys own skill to itself. It’s still a random mess with abilities and loadouts, but it’s trials mode is another elimination mode it uses for competitive play. You get one life with no respawn, you have to count on team revives if you go down. You rely on predicting enemy movement and how strategic play changes each round, if you do the same thing each round odds are you’re going to lose unless you doing the same thing can’t be stopped by the opposing team in which case why change from what’s working? Bear in mind however I consider destiny a joke competitively but it still has a sense of it nevertheless.
>
> my impressions on H5? It’s not much of an arena game to me like it semi used to in the past. Todays halo puts more focus on map rotations, spawn locking people and team shooting to the max. There is the lack of self empowerment because the weapon sandbox doesn’t allow it and because of said team shooting. H5s best thing to me is it’s forge and custom games, I’ve probably got 6-7 days of playtime in that, and the rest is more or less screwing around by myself in warzone and arena. In short, I don’t see anything unique to its gameplay that differs from other games to keep me hooked but it’s map/mode creator is probably the best out there for consoles.
I agree with your post. I like the Halo 5 gameplay a lot better than other options such as Destiny / COD. Maybe the ‘skill requirement’ wasn’t the most accurate statement.
I didn’t know there were other games.