Retuning Halo’s Multiplayer
Ever since Reach, the community has split themselves because of the sprint debate. A lot of veterans want sprint removed, yet lots of the newer fans want it kept in. However, solving the problem to satisfy one side ends up distancing Halo away from the other, and we all know how important population is for the franchise. I propose a middle-ground solution, which should address the points made by both sides.
Overview:
What I propose, is to keep in Spartan Abilities, but make them limited, so the game can retain the “old Halo feel” while still keep fans who like the newer movement system. Sprint would be very limited, and other abilities would be tweaked to follow suite.
Sprint:
This is probably the touchiest part in the proposal. As we all know, Halo 5 has unlimited sprint, so I propose that sprint should be tweaked, so that it is limited. The sprint time and recharge rate would be different for Arena, BTB, and WZ. When recharging, once at least 30% of the sprint meter is refilled, the player can initiate sprint again. When shot, the player does not stop sprinting, and shields can recharge while sprinting (does not recharge for WZ while sprinting).
Arena:
Sprint time: 3 seconds
Recharge time : 1-2 seconds
BTB:
Sprint time: 6-8 seconds
Recharge time: 2-3 seconds
WZ:
Sprint time: Unlimited
Recharge time: -
Sprint is changed for each of these modes to fit the styles. Arena has a shorter sprint and recharge time, because of a smaller area, BTB with longer times to fit with a larger area, and WZ has unlimited sprint, due to the large size of the maps, distance between objectives, and to keep a casual feel to it. I also limited Arena’s sprint and recharge times, because this (in theory) can bring a hybrid feel between old and new Halo. With this feature, it is not necessary to elongate maps, and remakes of older maps can still stay true to the original dimensions, and player movement does not change radically. BTB’s settings brings a more casual feel, and it doesn’t frustrate players with limited movement, while also containing the movement to make BTB maps flow more nicely, in terms of player movement. WZ’s settings appeals to the more casual player base, and also fits with the dimensions of the maps.
I am not sure what to propose for the sprint settings for unranked (casual) arena, whether to keep it to the limited ranked arena settings, or make it the same as BTB or WZ’s settings.
Spartan Charge:
This is perhaps most frustrating Spartan ability, but my proposal can keep it balanced, and it will not be overused. In Arena, SC would be available on the last moments of sprint, giving a small window to utilize it, to compensate for it’s small window, SC would deal more damage (bring down 75% of health) than a standard melee, but not enough to kill the person. In BTB, it would work similar to Arena, but it will have a larger window to activate it, and it would still deal more damage than a standard melee, but less than it does in Arena. In WZ, it will work similar to how it does now, except if you are being shot, you cannot activate SC. SC will have a lesser range, and as many have noticed, one using SC will lock on to the target, much like bullet magnetism, and the victim cannot escape, this will be disabled.
Thruster:
I feel that this Spartan ability doesn’t need much tweaking, all it needs is a small distance reduction per thrust, and a slightly longer time interval before being able to use it again.
Ground Pound:
GP works well in Halo 5 because of the way the maps are designed, but with GP, we do not see an extent of verticality in H5’s maps that classic Halo has, GP doesn’t work well with vertical maps such Construct, Damnation, or Prisoner. My proposal is after a certain height, the player using GP would receive damage. The marker for the ground pound turns more red, the higher you GP, showing that you would take more damage as you land, the higher you are, the more damage you take, until you die after a height limit. At the height where landing causes death, the GP marker turns crimson red, and a cue would notify the player that using GP at that height would mean death. The time to start ground pounding after activation of the ability, would be 1.5 seconds, and the max time to stay in the ready position is 5 seconds, so if the player does not want to go through with GP, they can cancel with a thruster boost.
2nd Ground Pound proposal:
Credits to Dead End 24 for this idea, it is simpler to remove GP’s area of effect, and to make it so that it deals damage if it only directly hits another player.
Benefits:
-Can satisfy a lot of fans
-Mixes both old and new styles, to appease both sides
-Old style maps do not have to be radically changed
-Spartan Abilities are balanced to be supportive, not aggressive
-Allows for a more diverse range of environments to be played in
Disadvantages:
-Lot on one side could still reject the idea
-May not be tuned well with weapons balancing
The purpose of this proposal is to attempt to bring both sides to consensus. This can mix both old and new styles of Halo into a fresh and unique style that hopefully many can come to like. I know my proposal isn’t perfect, but I hope that it shows the community that we can come to a compromise between both sides. If 343 looks at this thread, could adopt a similar idea for future Halo games. Like all of us fans, I only want to see this franchise thrive, and continue giving joy to the players. If there’s anything you disagree with, please point it out, I’d like to get into a civil discussion, please don’t blindly hate, state a reason and a justification.