Ok, just hear me out on this. I’ve been thinking about how Halo Infinite can help revitalize the Arena shooter that is within the Halo franchise without having too many overly-new or overly-drastic game-changing elements. Both of the titled ideas I had go somewhat hand in hand, so I was wondering what the communities’ thoughts are on the thought of being able to Stow your current weapon and throwable objects.
Stowing weapons is something that is somewhat present and has been since the Halo 3 days, where you can visually see the second weapon a person is carrying, but not using. With the integration of sprint and clamber as abilities, I had the thought of complete weapon stowing as a part of gameplay, where you can essentially have both weapons stowed and run around free-handed. This could pair with a risk-vs-reward element that can very slightly alter gameplay in a way that makes the player more maneuverable at the cost of being exposed to weapons fire.
My thoughts on this is that freeing up the players hands (possibly by holding the button which you normally tap to switch weapons) would give more movement to the player. You can sprint slightly faster due to less swaying from a carried weapon, and being able to clamber at a faster rate, and even the possibility for the extent of a new animation for more of a “vault” over shorter obstacles instead of clambering onto these shorter objects. Melees could possibly be quicker one-two punches with each hand, but to balance damage require 3 melees to kill while unarmed.
With that comes the idea of being able to openly grab objects in the match to throw. My first thought was grabbing a fusion coil that you could hurl at an enemy. We had object throwing with the oddball and assault bomb on Halo 4/5, so there could be a natural extension to this and what items can/can’t be thrown. This brings to mind the flag being thrown like a javelin to get a little extra distance (flag cloth in the wind would be a good reason to hold back a long throw distance for balancing). You can’t grab objects unless you’re stowed, so there’s the trade-off for being stowed and having a viable way to fight opponents.
Stowing a flag/bomb/ball as custom options could also affect elements in the game like putting the carrier waypoint up if a player stows the object in return for being able to run a little faster. This could also get rid of the whole need for “juggling” a flag as the same effect happens but doesn’t require so much annoyance of the multiplayer announcer as well. Just a thought.
I think something different like this opens exponential amounts of gameplay variety, without being ridiculously absurd and “out-there.” I’m not asking to introduce full on fighting mechanics into a shooter, no. But I also feel that stowing a weapon can offer a slightly alternative way or even open completely new doors in how to play the game. Having these options available would be nice, but I wouldn’t expect anything to be mandatory should the community not be as open minded about Infinite having infinite possibilities to fighting.
Id rather 343 finally make a halo with proper halo gameplay. Not add another system that has to be entirely revolved around. Including this as a toggleable feature for customs once the main game is done could work but it cant work as a core feature. Its kind of why base mechanics added since halo ce had been between absolutely terrible to highly controversial.
Theres probably cool stuff to be done with this added as a feature because the community is talented and creative enough. An idea i just thought of could be koth where the score only goes to 1 but its in a hard spot to reach, you could throw/place things to reach it
Edit: the funny idea i thought of could be infection where the zombies dont have weapons and are expected to pick up fusion coils and they run at 300% speed. Humans need to shoot coils to kill them but this idea would need a finely designed map to function
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> Id rather 343 finally make a halo with proper halo gameplay. Not add another system that has to be entirely revolved around. Including this as a toggleable feature for customs once the main game is done could work but it cant work as a core feature. Its kind of why base mechanics added since halo ce had been between absolutely terrible to highly controversial.
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> Theres probably cool stuff to be done with this added as a feature because the community is talented and creative enough. An idea i just thought of could be koth where the score only goes to 1 but its in a hard spot to reach, you could throw/place things to reach it
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> Edit: the funny idea i thought of could be infection where the zombies dont have weapons and are expected to pick up fusion coils and they run at 300% speed. Humans need to shoot coils to kill them but this idea would need a finely designed map to function
Well my reasoning is for something slightly more expansive .with a name such as “Infinite,” the name itself could mean any multitude of things. It could be implied of the expansive universe. It could be the world’s we’ll explore. It could even mean this game being a service, and as such, the last of this “trilogy” and life cycle for the current generation of Xbox one titles. It could also involve the mechanics for the new game. The way we interact in the environment. It could literally be anything.
I understand your skepticism, as was I when 5 reached new grounds and gave everyone integrated Spartan abilities (which makes sense since ALL of them utilize the built in thruster jets to some capacity, minus physical ones like clamber and sprint). But in a world where evolving needs to take place, we cant leave Halo in the CE/2/3 era of gameplay. You’re probably one of those Pro-classic-movement idealists, and while it was much more simple back then, it was only limited by the console’s capabilities and limitations.
We expand on what we have not just because we can, but also because we want to and NEED to in order to stay relevant. I’m happy Infinite is avoiding the Battle Royal hype, because we have been in our own league where consistent and fair-start gameplay is a rarity in this gaming culture. I’m happy for new upgrades and even enhancements to existing features, so long as it’s something everyone can do right from the get-go. That includes Spartan Abilities as well as ideas that I suggest as well as other community members.
How does any of this stuff improve the game when theyre base mechanics though? The map would be even more bland and stretched out. Devs would need to make all these ginormous spaces for people playing like sonic and almost no objects would be on the map because balancing issues would arise from everyone throwing stuff lol
and battleroyale is just a game mode. We already have the loot game in matchmaking because of weapon spawns so we technically have 16 player battle royale right now, just 343 doesnt want to start because they know they copy every trend in popular gaming
Honestly I don’t think this is a good idea in an arena shooter. Sprint is controversial enough by creating a “transit” mode vs. a “combat” mode and this would be taking it a step further (which might even alienate some of the sprint advocates).
I like abilities that enhance the gunplay (thrust) but abilities that seek to expand the repertoire outside of shooting seem a little cheesy to me.
This comparison is a admittedly a stretch, but stowing weapons for more movement abilities sounds a little like switching to build mode in Fortnite which is exactly why I don’t play that game.
It just seems like there would be more hoops to jump through before getting to the meat of the match (shooting the enemy).
Yeah please no. For the life of me I cannot understand this seeming infatuation with mechanics that put even more guff in the way of actually getting to experience the whole “shooting” part of a “shooter.”
I don’t play Halo to spend much of my time just traversing through the map, I play it for the simple, refined combat. if I want to enjoy some hardcore parkour then I can always play Mirror’s Edge. If I would to combine some of that with some shooty fun I will play Titanfall.
The movement mechanics we have already are bad enough and I would rather not see anymore when all they do is get between me and the main reason I play these games in the first place.
Personally I’m not a fan of this idea. It sounds incredibly niche, and the idea of having abilities tied to the “hands free” state reminds me of the mobility complexities that turned me off to H5.
I’m honestly surprised by how turned off a lot of you are by Halo 5. I mean I love the golden triangle as much as the next person, just a little freedom feels need with Infinite. Part of my suggestions is based on usability along with interaction. A lot of players prefer the older mechanics in such a way they just want a dry-bones shooter where literally only the triangle exists.
Because of this I feel like maps get boring faster, and more stale because the game mechanics inhibit ingenuity. We were so limited with Halo 2 and CE that maps became linear. Player movement was very predictable. Then, people came up with crazy jumps. Crazy movements on maps led to refreshing ways to play them. That’s why I loved when Halo 3 came out with equipment. Reach had abilities. 4 expanded on that and 5 mastered it. The maps became a tossup between casual players that stayed on the X and Y axis of a map, while more advanced users hit that Z plane hard and worked with new mechanics to give maps an endless element of surprise that could happen.
Halo’s core gameplay involved getting the jump on a player and creating an “encounter.” A lot of shooters today don’t feel that way because they are constant chaos that resulted in quick kills and flashy popups to pull users in. This is why Call of Duty is so popular with everyone, because of the euphoria and excitement it brings to see you do something. Halo is different. It requires constant precision and mastery of each weapon in a balanced sandbox. You will get steamrolled if you don’t know how to handle situations because it’s not a run-n-gun game.
My suggestions merely just brought up the question of how would people see that from a Halo 5 standpoint, but based on current feedback it’s obvious the replies so far are players that don’t like 5’s mechanics anyways, so this would definitely turn them away too. That goes against what I’d want as a community because we’re still divided. However, what I suggested isn’t something totally insane either. It makes sense with basic physics and human capabilities. I mean, were supersoldiers after all, shouldn’t we have basic actions like this?
I could delve into the crazy stuff, such as Spartans being so powerful that our physical nature alone combined in these suits would give extraordinary abilities, but in regards to Multiplayer, it’s a couple slight abilities and some shielding that were allowed to handle. So why wouldn’t it make sense that we could holster a weapon and utilize 2 hands on the battlefield? After all, it’s war and in war, anything goes.
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> I dont think people are really against the idea as a whole. Its just something that shouldnt be a base mechanic lol
Not really a base mechanic, but having the option there would be nice to have. I understand it’s something that would be completely new to the series, but what other options do you think there would be to reinvent the wheel at this point? I don’t want Halo turning into call of duty where each game is literally the same one rushed every year.
Very interesting idea. Doing all of this is a little too much for me but if 343i is intent on keeping sprint, I like the idea of having to holster everything to run and being at an even larger disadvantage when you run into someone with their gun out.
I once suggested throwable objects in the past, but now I realized that it’ll become Halo’s version of CoD’s tomahawks and whatnot. Grenades are already very dangerous, and tossing random stuff like a big rock / explosive barrel Donkey Kong style would make things worse.
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> I once suggested throwable objects in the past, but now I realized that it’ll become Halo’s version of CoD’s tomahawks and whatnot. Grenades are already very dangerous, and tossing random stuff like a big rock / explosive barrel Donkey Kong style would make things worse.
I wanted to reiterate not just throwing anything, but Forgeable placed objects. Even then toggleable if they can even be thrown. During matches it’d more or less just be fusion coils on the map.
It’s always good to try and think of ideas, so good job op.
For me personally, I wouldn’t want this. I think it adds just a other thing for people to remember and I already feel halo has gotten too “complicated” for the average user. Just compare Halo 1-3, even Reach to a degree, to Halo 5. Halo 5 just has WAY more things for people to remember. I’d say it’s one of the biggest complains I’ve heard from my circle of friends. Most do not like Halo after reach or 4 as they feel there is just too much going on. Before Halo was moreless, move, jump, shoot and melee. Now it’s move, sprint, slide, spartan charge, jump, climb, ground pound, shoot, hover and thrusting.
That’s a BIG difference from past Halo games and a lot of the average gamer to remember. I think they should go back to move, jump, shoot and melee and then bring back equipment, implement it like it was in Halo 3 (Map pick up items, one time use) and also look into a double jump. Equipment to me can just bring so much and the possibilities with it are nearly endless. A Double jump system that works like thrusters in Halo 5, I think would add a lot too without making things more complex. I think what drew a lot of people to Halo to begin with, other than a story, was the fact that it was so approachable and something that I think Halo needs to get back too.
Well thought out, I like the reasoned ideas. One suggested tweak: the weapons load a player has a small mod to their sprint speed/jump height, with total stowage (free hands) giving a speed/jump boost to this value. I have never liked that a player with two massive weapons moves identical to a player with a pistol and needler.
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> Hard pass. Sprint already breaks up gameplay, this would be far worse.
Sprint really doesn’t break up gameplay. It expands upon it. Maps are built for usage of it. It didn’t work in games previous to Reach because maps were made for the current engine elements. We have sprint now, and it works more than perfect for the direction the series has headed.
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> > 2533274826056477;17:
> > Hard pass. Sprint already breaks up gameplay, this would be far worse.
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> Sprint really doesn’t break up gameplay. It expands upon it. Maps are built for usage of it. It didn’t work in games previous to Reach because maps were made for the current engine elements. We have sprint now, and it works more than perfect for the direction the series has headed.
Absolutely nothing you said here was factual. Sprint is a game breaking mechanic in Halo. If you like it, go play COD and leave Halo to the big kids.
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> > > 2533274826056477;17:
> > > Hard pass. Sprint already breaks up gameplay, this would be far worse.
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> > Sprint really doesn’t break up gameplay. It expands upon it. Maps are built for usage of it. It didn’t work in games previous to Reach because maps were made for the current engine elements. We have sprint now, and it works more than perfect for the direction the series has headed.
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> Absolutely nothing you said here was factual. Sprint is a game breaking mechanic in Halo. If you like it, go play COD and leave Halo to the big kids.
Lol. So where’s your factual evidence that it DOESNT belong? Where’s your facts? And my stance on sprint doesn’t have any bearing whatsoever on who I am as a loyal fan and player. I’ve been a constant and vastly contributing member to this series since Halo CE. Every game I’ve played religiously as my #1 go to game, so don’t dumb down my response with some crap retort that you’re talking can’t even back up yourself.
So don’t be saying anything about leaving it to the “big kids.” I’ve been around just about as long as the longest players and play just as well as some of the better ones, so I understand fairly well the good and bad of each game and how to adapt and what’s broken and what is simply player digress.
Get your mind straight, it’s about the community, not personal bias. That’s why these are ideas. If you don’t like Sprint, MCC is easily accessible for those of you that don’t want to adapt.
