How would you feel about this change to the Sniper

Games Halo Infinite
1

I understand this idea will not be popular with many, mostly because it’s different, and also because it reduces the likelihood of 360* no scopes, but hear me out.

Current Sniper Rifle: 4 round magazine, 1 headshot kill, 2 bodyshots kill.
New, More Balanced Sniper Rifle: Increase magazine size to 10 Rounds; reduced the damage output, resulting in 2 headshot hits for a kill, 3 bodyshot hits for a kill and reduced vehicle damage. First shot destroys the shield, second shot does half health damage and third shot kills the target.

As for “Snipers” and “Shotty Snipers” gamemodes, all 343i has to do is just remove the shields and things play like they used to. It will then go back to the old 1 headshot kill and 2 bodyshot kill system, but only for those gamemodes. Yes, now you’d have 10 shots per magazine instead of 4, but honestly, who wouldn’t like that in a Sniper vs Sniper fight?

So, why? This change helps balance what is a fundamentally broken weapon. The Sniper has not changed that much since Halo: CE, despite many other weapons having done so. It was never perfect; heck, it’s arguably overpowered compared to Halo 2’s and each successive installments’. Since it never was properly changed, like the Assault Rifle, Magnum, Shotgun and other classic weapons, people seem stuck in the mindset that it can’t and shouldn’t. That is where I disagree.

A Sniper isn’t supposed to dominate a map: it’s supposed to assist teammates. While teammates are in the midst of battle, pushing forward towards the enemy side of the map or the objective, the Sniper is supposed to make sure they live. Many other games pull this off far better, such as Team Fortress 2. Heck, that game requires you to actually charge your headshot to get full damage, or use a different Sniper Rifle that either can’t scope (only no-scopes), can only worked while scoped or doesn’t have a scope at all. The Halo Sniper Rifle, on the other hand, works perfectly in all those given scenarios, with no need to charge a headshot, damage being uniform from Shotgun range to the edge of the map and no penalty for a player going HAM and running into a spawn rather than keeping one’s distance.

For the player who ONLY specializes in getting good with it, it’s so easy to get kills with almost no recourse, save only from another sniper shooting at you. At medium range, a 1-2 shot Sniper beats a 4-6 shot DMR, BR or Mangum in a 1-on-1. At closer range, it beats the 50%-75% magazine required kill of the AR and SMG. At closest range, unless the guy with the shotgun is close enough to get a successful melee, the Sniper can and has defeated the Shotgun and the Energy Sword, no-scoped. The shotgun has enough variance to sometimes require a 2 shot kill, and the Energy Sword lunge can be interrupted with a Bull-true Headshot. Really, at ANY distance, both 2 feet and 2 miles, you can get 4 concurrent headshots, 4 confirmed kills, in 4 seconds. That’s excluding collaterals, which is only otherwise possible with the Spartan Laser. It’s not a slow rocket or a giant lumbering vehicle. That’s from a bullet based gun with precision accuracy and the freedom to let the user hide and avoid combat. That is absurd. My changes would fix this problem is several ways.

First, it rewards good players. If you can consistently get headshots, you’ll get the kills. The idiot who gets lucky on a single shot, just happening to be focused on one spot in the map, will not. Secondly, bodyshots accordingly will do less damage, resulting in a 3 shot kill, and making bad shots waste more ammo to get the same kill. With 10 round magazines, a good shot can get 5 kills while a bad shot will struggle to get 3, which is still makes for a more useful teammate than the current Sniper Rifle does with only 2 kills MAX from a bad shot. Lastly, it allows some leeway for new players to learn to how to use the Sniper Rifle by giving them more ammo to work with. It’s a win-win. Ultimately, this change means the Sniper will have a more defined role within the sandbox and more utility for competent and struggling players. With 10 Rounds per magazine, with a good team, a Sniper could theoretically get 10 kills per mag by finishing damaged players off, or 5 kills per mag with headshots alone, opposed to traditional 4.

From a weapon sandbox balance perspective, it makes more sense. In a battle with the BR, DMR or Magnum, the Sniper would need 2-3 shots to get the kill, meaning the Sniper needs to land 2 headshots perfectly or just be lucky enough to land a 3rd body shot before the mid-range weapons get the kill first. That reinforces the need for skill. In a shorter range fight, unless you are absolutely perfect with those 2 headshots, the Sniper won’t win the fight, which makes sense since the AR and SMG need to have an effective range and the Sniper an ineffective range. Against Shotguns and Energy Swords, forget it. The Sniper will do some shield damage, but just like the AR and SMG aren’t defeating the Shotgun or Energy Sword at the closest range, nor is the Sniper. That is balance.

While the Sniper now would lose out to short range fights, it STILL won’t lose out at long range. The precision of the 2x zoom BR, 2x zoom Magnum and 3x zoom DMR are not great enough to overcome the 10x zoom of the Sniper. The Sniper will still dominate with an already powerful 2 headshot kill, that even at their effective ranges, the DMR, BR and Magnum never have been able to achieve. Now, with more ammo per mag, it will compete a little better with normal weapons too.

Anyway, that was my idea. After playing four Halo’s where the Sniper dominates in areas where it shouldn’t, I would like to see it balanced, not nerfed.

2

You’re suggesting that the sniper turns into not a sniper? Flat no.

The sniper is supposed to dominate the map like any other power weapon does; when it’s wielded by a good player. You’re suggesting that we punish players who get good at it. You say that players specializing in it can kill someone with no recourse… is that a bad thing? If they’ve trained that hard they deserve every kill they get, no matter the fact that the sniper is intended for long range kills. Very few players can kill someone with sniper in close range consistently. And who said the sniper is supposed to assist teammates? This reads like a complaint.

You’re not suggesting balancing. Going from one-headshot kills to two is a 50% nerf. You’re suggesting we punish players who get good at sniping; that we take the skill out of the sniper.

3

> 2535418979567138;2:
> You’re suggesting that the sniper turns into not a sniper? Flat no.
>
> The sniper is supposed to dominate the map like any other power weapon does; when it’s wielded by a good player. You’re suggesting that we punish players who get good at it. You say that players specializing in it can kill someone with no recourse… is that a bad thing? If they’ve trained that hard they deserve every kill they get, no matter the fact that the sniper is intended for long range kills. Very few players can kill someone with sniper in close range consistently. And who said the sniper is supposed to assist teammates? This reads like a complaint.
>
> You’re not suggesting balancing. Going from one-headshot kills to two is a 50% nerf. You’re suggesting we punish players who get good at sniping; that we take the skill out of the sniper.

Let’s keep this civil and NOT make false insinuations about my intent. It’s not a punishment for good players. Rather, it helps separate them more from bad players, as I’ve explained.

A good player could theoretically have anywhere from 5-10 kills (depending on how damaged the enemies already are) with the new Sniper, where a bad one, at best, would see between 3-5 kills (which would make for a more useful bad teammate than the current Sniper does). The current Sniper has a possibility of 4 max kills from a good player (damaged or undamaged enemies, it makes no difference) where a bad player is looking at 1-2 kills. That a very large difference.

Secondly, there is a fundamental problem from a weapon that gets instant kills without needing a charge (Spartan Laser), isn’t slow (Rockets, Grenades, etc) or isn’t a large, easy to see and attack vehicle (Tanks, Banshees, etc). The Sniper has a short time to kill and does massive damage despite it not even making a great deal of sense in-universe (Spartans can fall from space unharmed for crying out loud. I expect their shields to withstand a bullet without immediate user death.) It doesn’t matter how “good” you think the Sniper player is (which is relative, since Halo does have bullet magnetism and aim assist; not exactly Counter Strike). The “best” theoretical player with the DMR, BR or Magnum, who never misses and perfectly times his/her shots, can’t beat the “best” theoretical Sniper at mid range, the range that should benefit the DMR, BR and Magnum. The 4-5 shots those weapons take are a lot longer than the instant to 2 shot kill the Sniper makes. Same goes for the rest of the weapons. The “best” AR or SMG player will never beat the Best Sniper at close range. Hell, it shouldn’t be a contest since they’re SUPPOSED to occupy different spaces. However, as things are now, the Sniper can be brought to any battle and win. For any semblance of balance, this shouldn’t be the case.

Lastly, why wouldn’t a Sniper be around to assist teammates? What else is a Sniper supposed to do? Occasionally shoot someone and just wait? Run out of ammo due to only ever having 8 rounds at most and just sit there for 2 minutes until a new Sniper Rifle spawns? Since they shouldn’t be playing the objective and shouldn’t be doing nothing, a Sniper should do their best to make sure their team doesn’t get killed and get some kills for themselves. My change improves that situation.

Anyway, you have successfully proved my point about the mindset post Halo: CE. You don’t want it to change because it’s all you know. That is why I ask you to expand your mind.

4

The simpler solution is just to tone down aim assist and bullet magnetism across the board along with slower projectiles. The sniper in CE was nowhere near as powerful as later versions of the same weapon even with its high rate of fire. The sniper isn’t as oppressive provided it is actually difficult to use, some of the maps in CE had it on 30sec respawn timers.

5

No offense, but this is a terrible idea. And good luck getting most people to read all of that.

The whole point of a sniper is to quickly eliminate enemies from a distance. First of all, there are already sniper variants in halo 5 similar to what you are suggesting - 1) lower damage, faster rate of fire, and 2) bigger magazine, more recoil, lower rate of fire. These snipers are already frustrating enough to use and don’t make the game more enjoyable. The only thing they really do is slow down the gameplay since you need to spend more time aiming at one player and waiting until you can pull the trigger again. Think about it like this: Do you really enjoy sinking two or three sniper rounds into a player with an over-shield? Because that’s effectively what this “new” sniper would feel like to use.

Besides that it would just inherently make the weapon less fun to use, it also either rewards enemy players for bad positioning, or delays the inevitable. If a player is out in the middle of nowhere and gets hit with a headshot from a sniper and doesn’t die, then they can simply run to cover and wait until they have full health again. Repeat popping in and out of cover until the sniper is out of ammo, and you’re in the clear. On the flip side. If there’s no cover around, all you’re doing is prolonging the players death. Neither of these scenarios improve the experience for either player.

And regardless, it takes skill to become a proficient sniper. All this change does it takes the satisfaction out of sniping. And it’s not like one shot kills from a sniper are unique to halo. In literally every other game I can think of, one shot to the dome with a sniper, and two to the body, is a kill. It’s called a power weapon for a reason.

You also brought EU stuff into the argument, which is completely pointless. Game design isn’t based on lore, and never should be. End of story.

6

> 2533274879237791;3:
> > 2535418979567138;2:
> > Snipped for space
>
> Let’s keep this civil and NOT make false insinuations about my intent. It’s not a punishment for good players. Rather, it helps separate them more from bad players, as I’ve explained.
>
> A good player could theoretically have anywhere from 5-10 kills (depending on how damaged the enemies already are) with the new Sniper, where a bad one, at best, would see between 3-5 kills (which would make for a more useful bad teammate than the current Sniper does). The current Sniper has a possibility of 4 max kills from a good player (damaged or undamaged enemies, it makes no difference) where a bad player is looking at 1-2 kills. That a very large difference.
>
> Secondly, there is a fundamental problem from a weapon that gets instant kills without needing a charge (Spartan Laser), isn’t slow (Rockets, Grenades, etc) or isn’t a large, easy to see and attack vehicle (Tanks, Banshees, etc). The Sniper has a short time to kill and does massive damage despite it not even making a great deal of sense in-universe (Spartans can fall from space unharmed for crying out loud. I expect their shields to withstand a bullet without immediate user death.) It doesn’t matter how “good” you think the Sniper player is (which is relative, since Halo does have bullet magnetism and aim assist; not exactly Counter Strike). The “best” theoretical player with the DMR, BR or Magnum, who never misses and perfectly times his/her shots, can’t beat the “best” theoretical Sniper at mid range, the range that should benefit the DMR, BR and Magnum. The 4-5 shots those weapons take are a lot longer than the instant to 2 shot kill the Sniper makes. Same goes for the rest of the weapons. The “best” AR or SMG player will never beat the Best Sniper at close range. Hell, it shouldn’t be a contest since they’re SUPPOSED to occupy different spaces. However, as things are now, the Sniper can be brought to any battle and win. For any semblance of balance, this shouldn’t be the case.
>
> Lastly, why wouldn’t a Sniper be around to assist teammates? What else is a Sniper supposed to do? Occasionally shoot someone and just wait? Run out of ammo due to only ever having 8 rounds at most and just sit there for 2 minutes until a new Sniper Rifle spawns? Since they shouldn’t be playing the objective and shouldn’t be doing nothing, a Sniper should do their best to make sure their team doesn’t get killed and get some kills for themselves. My change improves that situation.
>
> Anyway, you have successfully proved my point about the mindset post Halo: CE. You don’t want it to change because it’s all you know. That is why I ask you to expand your mind.

That was not a false insinuation.

> For the player who ONLY specializes in getting good with it, it’s so easy to get kills with almost no recourse, save only from another sniper shooting at you.

This sentence a) complains about players who only specialize with it (which is wrong because that’s their choice) and b) insinuates that it’s somehow unfair that the player who trains with the sniper is able to get easy kills (which is exactly how training works).

I’m being civil. There’s no reason to get offended. It would be a punishment to good players, because you’re suggesting it’s changed because players who train good at it are able to get easy kills which you’re claiming shouldn’t be the case. This is your argument: players who train hard are good> good players get easy kills> all easy kills are bad> sniper should be nerfed. Therefore, my claim that you are trying to take the skill out of the sniper still stands. Easy kills that are earned by hard work are justified. As for players who get lucky shots, that doesn’t happen nearly as often for it to be a problem (and will never be solved because it’s just a matter of statistics).

Your theoretical kill numbers make no sense and are completely unfounded. What are they based on?

The sniper does make sense in-universe. The claim that because Spartans can fall from space and therefore snipers shouldn’t one-headshot them is wrong because the contrary can be said as well; if there are enough advances in shielding tech, wouldn’t there be just as many advances in making the sniper a lethal weapon? Also, falling onto a planet and being shot with a ballistic weapon are two different types of impact. One is spread out (and is taken with lock-down mode which basically bricks the Spartan) and the other is being hit with extreme force with an extremely focused, dense object.

The problem that it isn’t very hard to use (technically; by not being slow, needing charge, and not harming view) was already solved by map pick-ups. If two players went to the same area that the sniper was to retrieve it, they would fight, and whoever was skilled at the BR (or whatever other utility weapon they had) would succeed in the initial fight and retrieve the sniper. They got the reward because they were skilled enough in a different weapon to retrieve the weapon they wanted. On top of this, the sniper has limited ammo, and has a relatively thin bullet (yes there’s aim assist because it’s a console shooter; Counter-strike is a PC game 100%, not counting the abandoned 360 and PS3 versions). Once again, if the player is good at it, they absolutely could win. If the enemy team is alerted to this they can team on him and try to take him down. But remember, he got that reward by being versatile at not just the sniper, but at the utility weapon as well.

The sniper is around to be a sniper. There’s no inherent play-style for any weapon that a player must absolutely be dedicated to in Halo. The sniper is there for players who want to use it to kill their enemies more effectively, same as other power weapons. I’ve never felt that I should be tied down to following my teammates, and they probably wouldn’t want me around because I’d be trying to headshot all of the enemies they want to kill. Is it a foreign concept that players might want to fight enemies to gain access to a superior power weapon? The sniper is no more a team assist weapon than any other Halo weapon is, and players who get it shouldn’t be rewarded by being forced to play the way that you want them to play.

Not to mention, there’s no incentive to go and get the sniper that you want to be made because it’s not a power weapon (or even a textbook sniper) anymore. I would simply ignore it if I could easily beat it with an AR or BR.

Of course TF2 did it differently because there were no weapon pickups and it’s a class based game. You can literally spawn as the sniper. There would be outrage if you could spawn as the sniper without earning it as a pickup and it was a one-headshot.

> Anyway, you have successfully proved my point about the mindset post Halo: CE. You don’t want it to change because it’s all you know. That is why I ask you to expand your mind.

On the contrary, ^this doesn’t prove that I am the blind or close-minded one. That’s not a good tactic because obviously in the mind of a close-minded person the opponent is the one who is close-minded (the problem with a slew of real world issues). So I’m not going to say whether you are or not, because it’s irrelevant. Read my argument, give me yours. Consider mine as I have yours (and I happen to think it’s incorrect, which somehow makes me close-minded…?). Stop trying to make quips about who’s close-minded. And stop false insinuating, as you’d say.

7

> 2535418979567138;6:
> > 2533274879237791;3:
> > > 2535418979567138;2:
> > >

8

Just saying, its a power weapon that should require a good shot by the player. Given its not a weapon that’s always up, it should have impact and a 2 shot headshot sniper loses impact. The issue with 5’s sniper is the ridiculous amount of bullet magnetism there is. Reduce that severely and the sniper remains impactful while also possessing a higher skill ceiling. There is no need to adjust clip size, reload speed, fire rate etc.

9

> 2535466533436400;5:
> No offense, but this is a terrible idea. And good luck getting most people to read all of that.
>
> The whole point of a sniper is to quickly eliminate enemies from a distance. First of all, there are already sniper variants in halo 5 similar to what you are suggesting - 1) lower damage, faster rate of fire, and 2) bigger magazine, more recoil, lower rate of fire. These snipers are already frustrating enough to use and don’t make the game more enjoyable. The only thing they really do is slow down the gameplay since you need to spend more time aiming at one player and waiting until you can pull the trigger again. Think about it like this: Do you really enjoy sinking two or three sniper rounds into a player with an over-shield? Because that’s effectively what this “new” sniper would feel like to use.
>
> Besides that it would just inherently make the weapon less fun to use, it also either rewards enemy players for bad positioning, or delays the inevitable. If a player is out in the middle of nowhere and gets hit with a headshot from a sniper and doesn’t die, then they can simply run to cover and wait until they have full health again. Repeat popping in and out of cover until the sniper is out of ammo, and you’re in the clear. On the flip side. If there’s no cover around, all you’re doing is prolonging the players death. Neither of these scenarios improve the experience for either player.
>
> And regardless, it takes skill to become a proficient sniper. All this change does it takes the satisfaction out of sniping. And it’s not like one shot kills from a sniper are unique to halo. In literally every other game I can think of, one shot to the dome with a sniper, and two to the body, is a kill. It’s called a power weapon for a reason.
>
> You also brought EU stuff into the argument, which is completely pointless. Game design isn’t based on lore, and never should be. End of story.

Firstly, no offense taken. Secondly, I wouldn’t know about Halo 5 Sniper variants since I don’t own an Xbone nor has 343i ported the Windows 10, x86 based game onto the PC, for whatever reason (I know about the Forge, but you know it’s not the same.

But, I would like to reinforce that the Sniper I’m proposing wouldn’t have a long refractory period between shots, which seemed an odd “balance” change for Reach in specific, but better than nothing I guess. It wouldn’t stop a person from taking a couple shots before a player could run away. It would just require the Sniper to be more engaged. As for your example of an overshielded player: no, I don’t mind. In the case of the overshielded player, they had to take the risk in getting the overshield, since it often is in lower spots on the map. They deserve to have some slack from damage. If anything, it’s ridiculous that even with that shielding, me, as the Sniper, can still take them out in a few shots rather than a whole magazine from a DMR, BR, AR, etc. In the case of the Sniper change I’m proposing, if it means I, as the Sniper, no longer can take out players with ease and little risk to myself, I’m fine with it. A good player, even with a weapon as “nerfed” as you believe it’d be, can still get the kill. The change means the enemy now has a chance, even if a slim one, of fighting back. It means if the guy with the Sniper is crap but still competent to land 2 shots out of a magazine, I don’t die after getting him down to a sliver of health. It suddenly becomes fair.

Also, just because other games do it doesn’t make it right for Halo, or even a valid argument. Other games have loot boxes and micro-transactions, shouldn’t Halo: Infinite? I didn’t think so. Now, if you’d like to mention a game in specific (not another Halo) where you believe a one headshot kill and 2 bodyshot kill is perfectly balanced and helps makes the game fun and keep people coming back, I’m all ears.

10

Yea this is kinda a horrible idea

11

Sorry but I’m gonna have to agree with everyone else that this is a bad idea. And this is coming from someone who can’t stand snipers. But I can also admit that they work great for what they’re meant to be, which is a long distance one shot kill.

Snipers in every game, whether it’s a Halo game or not, are always one shot head kills. That’s the whole point of them. This idea basically nerfs the sniper and turns it into a long range marksman rifle.

Also keep in mind that while snipers have a long distance advantage, they are also at a huge disadvantage in close quarters combat.

12

> 2533274879237791;7:
> > 2535418979567138;6:
> > > 2533274879237791;3:
> > > > 2535418979567138;2:
> > > >

13

Hell no

14

I’m with replies against. It seems to me you’re trying to turn it into something else and punish the players that are good with it, and / or make it easy to use. I think every game I play has elements I don’t enjoy or don’t like because I can’t use them or do it. For example wall bouncing in Gears of War, I hate it, cannot do it and look like a fool trying, so I stay well clear.

That does not mean I want it changed, players have made it their own. Same with Halo, sniper gets ignored by me. I leave to those that can use it, I would not want it ruined for others, if I want to use it I need to learn how to use / do it. Halo 3 was the same, I remember some players that could pull off the most amazing jumps. Should they have been punished because I couldn’t do it ?

Certain players are better at certain things, certain games. I’m not even average at Halo, but give me Ninja Gaiden Black and the Vigoorian Flails and I’ll show you some skills, or stealing dog tags in BF 4, I was top dog of the leaderboard (pun intended) for quite some time at one point, or Maple Valley Short in Forza. What I’m getting at is we’re all good at certain games or something in games we’re proud of.

Same applies to Halo sniping imo, no need to mess it up for those that made it theirs.

15

I’d hate to join teams and sides on this… but here is my opinions and thoughts and feelings.

initially, repulsion…
lets face it, change is often uncomfortable , and this change certainly makes many feel like you are changing halos identity. This reason is irrational… but bear with me , maybe there are underlying subconscious reasons or perhaps even unexplored reasoning that can justify this repulsion.

then I tried to play devils advocate … if there was a reason to agree with you, how would I do it. Immediately what comes to mind is the experience of the person being on the dying end. Sometimes you don’t even have the opportunity to know an enemy even exists and before you know it your dead.
One could argue that it violates a fundamental rule of halo being giving everyone a fighting chance (especially in campaign … you know how broken jackle snipers were in halo 2)
So there definitely can be points made for why sniper needs to be managed.

I selectively chose the term managed rather rather than changed or nerfed … because … there are fixes we can manage via map design and game philosophy.

Like many have previously mentioned there is the power weapon philosophy. But also as you have mentioned it shouldn’t be a garunteed kill. So what’s the trade off.
What id say is make snipers only accessible in wide space encounters where players can move around in all directions.
why? Well in corridors you literally have very little chance against a sniper if you are at the other end of a hallway. Also if you turn the corner and there isn’t a camping sniper at the other end again… you aren’t going to have a pleasant experience.

Nerfing the sniper rifle isn’t the solution imo. Except perhaps by reducing bullet magnetism and aim assist. The weapon should be harder to use at close range… since clearly it has the advantage at long range.

given those circumstances. You can avoid getting shot by running zig zag… or avoiding open spaces , sticking closer to walls unless you have a vehicle.

Another thing you could potentially add… as many other games have is that scope flare … helps tell a player a sniper isn’t aiming at them.

The binary rifle tried to tell you it was aiming at you through a laser…
Funny thing isn’t I’ve actually already come across someone else who suggested attaching a laser to the sniper rifle.

I wouldn’t mind … but people can get around that easily.

Why not two shot headshot ? Well because … then it’s not a power weapon anymore.
Power weapons are supposed to be easier to kill with… if you are skilled with the sniper … you still have to watch your six … If you scope you don’t see your radar… so there is a serious trade off. And especially because you have a power weapon you don’t want to Die.

if I were to have a unique sandbox that wasn’t halo… but played similarly to halo… id give the sniper a gauss canon like mechanism where it would charge up, And charging up is noisy and very visible (maybe a 1-0.5 second charging up) Maybe it would even do decent damage against light vehicles. 6 shots to destruction for ghost or mongoose?

Thats my two cents.

16

Insert the “HA! HA! HA! No. <beam>” Gif meme here.

Seriously dude, no. You just described a DMR with better zoom. You want the sniper to be more balanced? Make it harder to use like it was in H2/3… Or at least like Reach or H4! Dunno if it’s because magnetism, bigger area of effect or because it’s not projectile based anymore, but even I am not half bad with the sniper in H5 and my aim is beyond garbage! :joy:

17

> 2533274795098161;16:
> Insert the “HA! HA! HA! No. <beam>” Gif meme here.
>
> Seriously dude, no. You just described a DMR with better zoom. You want the sniper to be more balanced? Make it harder to use like it was in H2/3… Or at least like Reach or H4! Dunno if it’s because magnetism, bigger area of effect or because it’s not projectile based anymore, but even I am not half bad with the sniper in H5 and my aim is beyond garbage! :joy:

Dude, I am TRASH with the sniper Rifle and I can say this is a bad idea. Although disable aim assist is a good idea for the sniper, everything else isn’t. You’re punishing guys like me for getting a lucky headshot yelling “GIT GUD TRYHARDS!” I’m more of a Focus Rifle person myself, but don’t make the sniper into one of those. I already have that issue in Borderlands. Just shut up, quit your -Yoinking!-, and play the game, or don’t because now you’re always gonna get sniped out because the snipers are too powerful. Get off the forums with this crap, we shouldn’t have to tell you.

18

Good players play with cover, the act of making the killtime non-instant is a nerf to good players, the added effort also makes it more difficult for bad players. lower the red reticle range, magnetism and aim assist and you will see a sudden drop off in capability outside of elite players. It’s like arguing the rocket launcher is too powerful so must use more shots to be some weird halfway point between an actual rocket and a bruteshot.

The role and purpose you are describing is a beefed up DMR, not a sniper. You say its role is not to dominate… no it is to dominate, that has and is the purpose of the sniper rifle, to snipe, to pick off.

Another suggestion is by making the base weapon powerful it should allow for more weapon and item spawns on map ala CE. Doing this will allow more counterplay. Maps being more asymmetrical and vertical also helps as vertical aim and a greater variation in line of sight will make it more difficult to snipe than a flat, open, symmetrical map. Another could be to make the ammo 8 instead of 12 on pickup. Making the fire rate even higher means that players might spam and miss more shots than they would otherwise and the possession time would be less.

Each weapon needs to have an optimal situation and for that to be fun. If the optimal situation is powerful then difficulty needs to be the factor altered, not some weird hybrid weapon. The suggestions provided will increase the difficulty of use.

19

> 2533274909729760;17:
> > 2533274795098161;16:
> > Insert the “HA! HA! HA! No. <beam>” Gif meme here.
> >
> > Seriously dude, no. You just described a DMR with better zoom. You want the sniper to be more balanced? Make it harder to use like it was in H2/3… Or at least like Reach or H4! Dunno if it’s because magnetism, bigger area of effect or because it’s not projectile based anymore, but even I am not half bad with the sniper in H5 and my aim is beyond garbage! :joy:
>
> Dude, I am TRASH with the sniper Rifle and I can say this is a bad idea. Although disable aim assist is a good idea for the sniper, everything else isn’t. You’re punishing guys like me for getting a lucky headshot yelling “GIT GUD TRYHARDS!” I’m more of a Focus Rifle person myself, but don’t make the sniper into one of those. I already have that issue in Borderlands. Just shut up, quit your -Yoinking!-, and play the game, or don’t because now you’re always gonna get sniped out because the snipers are too powerful. Get off the forums with this crap, we shouldn’t have to tell you.

Pardon me? First of all I’ve become trash in Halo in general over the years. My rank 50 days are long over, between work and other hobbies I just don’t have the time to “git gud”. Therefore I’m the last person to tell you that.

What I said is that the H5 sniper is just a hell lot easier to use compared to olde titles. In this state I agree with OP that it needs to change. My disagreement is the how. I really don’t see a Dragunov like sniper to work well in Halo, also it would be a slightly more powerful DMR by doing so, making the weapon just redundant while missing out on the PW niche that this version of the sniper occupy. Maybe another solution would be reducing the fire rate or increasing recoil if you think magnetism is fine as it is. But making it a double headshot weapon is not a good skill based change imho… Like other said level design has a lot to do with it as well.

Also I never said to disable aim assist on every weapon. I really don’t know where this is coming from… :thinking::woman_shrugging: Welp, if we’re at it let me say this: in case Hi is more like Reach/H3 over H5 I would say slightly reducing aim assist and bullet magnetism overall is a good thing, highly reducing the magnestim of the sniper is a must! If they keep a H5ish movement mechanism I’m fine with how most weapons are right now, but the sniper is just too easy to use in its current form.

20

Nah I like it the way it is. It’s meant to be feared when someone has it and can shift the tide of battle.