This came to me in a dream last night. I normally get up at noon on weekends, but I’m typing this at 7:20. The Halo gods are trying to tell me something.
Halo 5 only has one problem, sprint. All of the other gameplay issues arise directly from accommodating sprint. I’m going to explain why, using the cause-and-effect storytelling model of “If You Give a Mouse a Cookie.” Some gameplay concessions create multiple issues, so the different threads are labeled.
If you give a Spartan sprint, he/she’ll want to run real fast, so you increase the map size (see A, B, and C) and decrease the base movement speed (see D and E) to keep him/her from getting around too quickly. Spartans also like to run away from fights, so they’ll use sprint to do that (see F.)
A: When you increase the map size, you increase its verticality, but you can’t increase jump height because that makes close-quarters fights unpredictable and frustrating. You have to introduce clamber, which allows for vertical movement without negatively affecting combat.
B: When you increase the map size, you need to increase the Red Reticle Range and bullet magnetism on weapons, give hitscan properties to the precision weapons, and give accuracy-boosting smart-scope to the less-useful automatics. This makes all weapons less skillful to use.
C: When you increase the map size, you have to increase the explosive radius of grenades and explosive weapons. Since the base movement speed is reduced, you need to add thrusters so Spartans can have a chance at dodging these weapons.
D: When you decrease the base movement speed, strafing is less effective, making mid- to long-range battles less skillful and reducing players’ ability to dodge explosives. You need to introduce the Thruster Pack to accommodate these problems.
E: When you decrease the base movement speed, melee becomes less effective. This is also due to increased map size and reduced shields, because the Spartans will get shot to bits before they can close the distance. To correct this, you introduce the charge attack.
F: When you let Spartans run away from fights, the game slows down because fewer kills are happening, so you need to reduce the time it takes to kill someone. To do this, you reduce shield strength (see G.)
G: When you reduce shield strength, encounters can end before the player getting shot at has a chance to react. This makes them more likely to sprint and thrust away, since they know they’re unlikely to kill their attacker.
I think this post explains how all of Halo 5’s gameplay issues can be traced directly back to sprint. If I missed anything, let me know.
EDIT: Fixed bolding of sub-issues.