Combine firefight with forge. But also have 343 dish out some “firefight ready maps” And have weekly/monthly Sp Ops episodes. I don’t see any negatives? We have all the resources now, time, servers, new engine.
I wouldn’t assume that until we know what the new engine can do. The only thing we know so far is it can push Halo 5: Guardians to 60FPS.
> We have all the resources now, time, servers, new engine.
Yep, 'cause cloud servers + new engine = everything is possible.
It should be possible to have both. Firefight is basically a more static version of Spartan Ops with repeating waves of enemies. Firefight doesn’t even need its own maps, as Halo 3:ODST and Reach were both successful from pulling sections out of Campaign. With the possibility of a new and improved Forge the possibilities just increase.
I think Firefight and Sp Ops could just be there own things. As you said, new engine. It could work.
And as far as canon goes, Firefight could be a War Games simulation testing Spartan/Elite endurance (with editable variables), while Sp Ops remains a secondary story mode for the Spartan-IVs (and hopefully Thel’s Elites).
> I think Firefight and Sp Ops could just be there own things. As you said, new engine. It could work.
>
> And as far as canon goes, Firefight could be a War Games simulation testing Spartan/Elite endurance (with editable variables), while Sp Ops remains a secondary story mode for the Spartan-IVs (and hopefully Thel’s Elites).
Exactly 
Make each their own mode, it seems Spartan Ops didn’t know whether it was a Firefight or second Campaign mode in Halo 4 and caught itself between the two.
Let Firefight be an endurance mode. Let Spartan Ops be a collection of episodic co-operative story-driven missions, thus being more of a “second campaign” as 343 promised. I think quality should be valued over quantity because there were many missions in Halo 4 that were lacklustre or too alike.
Firefight, Spartan Ops, Both? All of these answers have merit but…
Each needs specific features that other sections do not have! They are a separate part of the menu… just like how the multiplayer is completely separate from the campaign, your not playing slayer as Master Chief…
Firefight needs to have squad base survival, mortality feeling… like that of Halo 3: ODST. Timed waves, rounds and sets; Lives; Static Pickups (Weapons, Vehicles and Equipment/AA); Different Tactical (Gameplay) Methods (Defenses, Map Control, Orbital Drop Bonuses, Bosses); Spartan-IV and Sangheili Separatist Hitbox… as long as its not arcade based… and a way to Loss/Win (punishment/reward).
Ops… on the the other hand, needs to feel like a squad-based story-driven campaign. Multiple objectives per mission; Checkpoints; One life per objective… respawn next objective after completing objective and clearing area… Support Rewards (Ordance Drops, Vehicle Drops, AI); Different Tactical (Gameplay) Methods (Stealth, Aggro, Vehicular, Support AI); Spartan-IV and Sangheili Separatist Hitboxes; one episode (different locations) per week… one mission and introduction/closing cutscene… length of a campaign mission; and a way to Loss/Win (run out of lives… and surviving squad members/complete mission)
Easier said than done.
> Easier said than done.
I could actually make a fundamental in-depth section to explain what the Community intendeds from each section… but 7500 characters limits… the end.