It’s been a while since I’ve been on this forum. I have played halo since the release of CE when I was in middle school and have put hundreds or thousands of hours into each game. Every once in a while I get back into Halo 5 arena multiplayer which I think is the best of the series but i’m constantly frustrated by the lack of useful weapons on the map and the lack of a secondary weapon. I personally really liked how H5 arena was when it launched. The assault rifle felt useful and punished people who pushed too close. Every corner of the map had a weapon that was more desirable than the pistol. I actually like the pistol and don’t want it to be nerfed, just don’t want it to be the only gun in the game. Watching the latest pro series stream gets boring after a while with nonstop magnum trades. I feel like 343 listened to the wrong people when it came to weapon balancing early on. They should have stood by the years of research and development they originally put into the multiplayer and let the players get used to the game for a few months before they panic changed it. Just my opinion and I know not everyone will agree. I am very excited for Infinite and hopeful that it is everything we all want from Halo.
> 2535441163523038;1:
> It’s been a while since I’ve been on this forum. I have played halo since the release of CE when I was in middle school and have put hundreds or thousands of hours into each game. Every once in a while I get back into Halo 5 arena multiplayer which I think is the best of the series but i’m constantly frustrated by the lack of useful weapons on the map and the lack of a secondary weapon. I personally really liked how H5 arena was when it launched. The assault rifle felt useful and punished people who pushed too close. Every corner of the map had a weapon that was more desirable than the pistol. I actually like the pistol and don’t want it to be nerfed, just don’t want it to be the only gun in the game. Watching the latest pro series stream gets boring after a while with nonstop magnum trades. I feel like 343 listened to the wrong people when it came to weapon balancing early on. They should have stood by the years of research and development they originally put into the multiplayer and let the players get used to the game for a few months before they panic changed it. Just my opinion and I know not everyone will agree. I am very excited for Infinite and hopeful that it is everything we all want from Halo.
The problem with the strength of the Halo 5 magnum, especially after the few balance patches, was that it became so viable that, like you said, many people don’t swap it out for different weapons. You can’t have a starting weapon that strong and have viable options without just creeping up the entire sandbox. Thankfully, it looks like the precision starting weapon in Halo Infinite will be the sidekick, which is a similar weapon to the Gunfighter Magnum in Halo 5. It’ll be better range than the AR, but not so good that you can ignore a BR or any other weapon in a map. This just sounds like AR start Halo 3 with a more consistent pistol, I’m happy with how it seems to be going so far.
I just hope it is not like halo 5, where every weapon dominates if used correctly. I want it to be combined weapon combos and movement techniques that can make you feel immersed fully
I would love to see variants of guns come back without loot boxes-people loved the nornfang and whiplash and they were variants.
Unfortunately it seems that A LOT of the MP testing at this time has taken place in house and with Pro player teams…if i were to take a guess then the MP will follow closely to H5 in that regard. Having a great sandbox like Halo does kind of defeats the purpose when everyone is using the Magnum or potentially the Sidekick (Infinite). I hope the Sidekick is truly just that, a sidekick to the rest of the sandbox in Infinite.
Halo 5’s “variety” was entirely superficial to begin with, the Halo 5 sandbox retained most of the flaws of most Halo games that came before it.
Mainly that it is full of boring redundant clones weapons that don’t offer any real “choice” outside of aesthetics. Whether people use the Magnum, the burst fire magnum(BR), the green magnum(Carbine), the slightly longer range magnum(DMR), or the orange magnum(LR) it makes no real difference outside of deciding which one of the reskins has slightly better statistics.
Same goes for any one of 4 redundant bullet hoses(Pre-patch AR, SMG, Storm Rifle, SAW). Pre-patch most of those precision weapons were either as good or better than the Magnum at the exact same job. No one was picking up a BR or Carbine because of their unique properties, they were largely just better than the Magnum which doesn’t make it a choice.
Variety for varieties sake is not something to aspire to. Variety should be encouraged via filling the sandbox with truly unique weapons that have your their own niche, not by starting players with a weaker weapon.
The big Halo 5 balance patch changed very little outside of some value tweaks. The AR is the only weapon that really had its core design altered in any significant capacity with the goal being to make the AR a more skill based weapon. If some value tweaks was all it took to make Halo 5 a “one gun game” then Halo 5 never had a good sandbox to begin with and nothing of value was lost.
Halo Infinite needs more interesting weapons across the board, not just more “useful” ones.
> 2533274923428997;2:
> > 2535441163523038;1:
> > It’s been a while since I’ve been on this forum. I have played halo since the release of CE when I was in middle school and have put hundreds or thousands of hours into each game. Every once in a while I get back into Halo 5 arena multiplayer which I think is the best of the series but i’m constantly frustrated by the lack of useful weapons on the map and the lack of a secondary weapon. I personally really liked how H5 arena was when it launched. The assault rifle felt useful and punished people who pushed too close. Every corner of the map had a weapon that was more desirable than the pistol. I actually like the pistol and don’t want it to be nerfed, just don’t want it to be the only gun in the game. Watching the latest pro series stream gets boring after a while with nonstop magnum trades. I feel like 343 listened to the wrong people when it came to weapon balancing early on. They should have stood by the years of research and development they originally put into the multiplayer and let the players get used to the game for a few months before they panic changed it. Just my opinion and I know not everyone will agree. I am very excited for Infinite and hopeful that it is everything we all want from Halo.
>
> The problem with the strength of the Halo 5 magnum, especially after the few balance patches, was that it became so viable that, like you said, many people don’t swap it out for different weapons. You can’t have a starting weapon that strong and have viable options without just creeping up the entire sandbox. Thankfully, it looks like the precision starting weapon in Halo Infinite will be the sidekick, which is a similar weapon to the Gunfighter Magnum in Halo 5. It’ll be better range than the AR, but not so good that you can ignore a BR or any other weapon in a map. This just sounds like AR start Halo 3 with a more consistent pistol, I’m happy with how it seems to be going so far.
Ngl Im pretty happy with the Sidekick compared to the Magnum pistols. I loved the speed of the Halo 2 pistol but lamented its uselessness in Halo 2s rigid sandbox where the only good guns were the BR, Carbine, Energy Sword and Plasma Pistol.
Infinite seems to be going the route of quality over quantity, which I appreciate. The Pulse Carbine for instance is different from any utility weapon we’ve ever had, being a true mid-range plasma weapon focused on leading shots as opposed to headshots like every other BR clone. And the pistol is becoming a fast cleanup/backup tool as opposed to, again, a BR clone. I fully expect the DMR, Carbine, Needle Rifle, and Light Rifle not to even make an appearance for this reason.
Instead of having several very similar weapons with a little bit of stat variance, the goal seems to be to have every weapon be clearly distinct in its role in the sandbox. That alone will create more variation, as picking a weapon will directly impact playstyle as opposed to just being a redundant cosmetic change.
I just hope the Pulse Carbine is extremely common in MP because I have a feeling it’s going to be my favorite non-power weapon in the entire franchise. (Too bad I can’t be an Elite to go with it 
)
> 2533274810177460;8:
> Infinite seems to be going the route of quality over quantity, which I appreciate. The Pulse Carbine for instance is different from any utility weapon we’ve ever had, being a true mid-range plasma weapon focused on leading shots as opposed to headshots like every other BR clone. And the pistol is becoming a fast cleanup/backup tool as opposed to, again, a BR clone. I fully expect the DMR, Carbine, Needle Rifle, and Light Rifle not to even make an appearance for this reason.
>
> Instead of having several very similar weapons with a little bit of stat variance, the goal seems to be to have every weapon be clearly distinct in its role in the sandbox. That alone will create more variation, as picking a weapon will directly impact playstyle as opposed to just being a redundant cosmetic change.
>
> I just hope the Pulse Carbine is extremely common in MP because I have a feeling it’s going to be my favorite non-power weapon in the entire franchise. (Too bad I can’t be an Elite to go with it )
I resent this, I really do. I greatly value and appreciate the variety provided to me by what you consider “very similar weapons with a little bit of stat variance”. If you look at the weapons with this mindset, you’ll take issue with a very large amount of the sandbox, and not just in Halo, too. Whereas I dont care about that and I am able to see the differences in the weapons and as such, enjoy the weapons as sufficiently different additions. And when I play as an Elite, having these Covenant counterparts is even more important to me as I usually have no intention of using any human weapons.
I guess what I’m trying to say is that since I don’t just immediately compare EVERY new addition to the incredibly overrated BR, these weapons are unique enough to me and, more importantly, allow me more variety in the game both when I am using them and when I am going up against the Covenant in Campaign or Firefight. I would be very disappointed to lose these weapons, especially in the campaign, because of what is no doubt a purely multiplayer focused viewpoint.
> 2533274810177460;8:
> Infinite seems to be going the route of quality over quantity, which I appreciate. The Pulse Carbine for instance is different from any utility weapon we’ve ever had, being a true mid-range plasma weapon focused on leading shots as opposed to headshots like every other BR clone. And the pistol is becoming a fast cleanup/backup tool as opposed to, again, a BR clone. I fully expect the DMR, Carbine, Needle Rifle, and Light Rifle not to even make an appearance for this reason.
>
> Instead of having several very similar weapons with a little bit of stat variance, the goal seems to be to have every weapon be clearly distinct in its role in the sandbox. That alone will create more variation, as picking a weapon will directly impact playstyle as opposed to just being a redundant cosmetic change.
>
> I just hope the Pulse Carbine is extremely common in MP because I have a feeling it’s going to be my favorite non-power weapon in the entire franchise. (Too bad I can’t be an Elite to go with it )
This is why I’m so excited about Infinite’s sandbox, everything is so distinct. I’m glad we’re not seeing some guns return because they have always been sandbox bloat.
> 2535441163523038;1:
> It’s been a while since I’ve been on this forum. I have played halo since the release of CE when I was in middle school and have put hundreds or thousands of hours into each game. Every once in a while I get back into Halo 5 arena multiplayer which I think is the best of the series but i’m constantly frustrated by the lack of useful weapons on the map and the lack of a secondary weapon. I personally really liked how H5 arena was when it launched. The assault rifle felt useful and punished people who pushed too close. Every corner of the map had a weapon that was more desirable than the pistol. I actually like the pistol and don’t want it to be nerfed, just don’t want it to be the only gun in the game. Watching the latest pro series stream gets boring after a while with nonstop magnum trades. I feel like 343 listened to the wrong people when it came to weapon balancing early on. They should have stood by the years of research and development they originally put into the multiplayer and let the players get used to the game for a few months before they panic changed it. Just my opinion and I know not everyone will agree. I am very excited for Infinite and hopeful that it is everything we all want from Halo.
I feel the same way I also started halo since CE was in high school too. At the beginning of H5 arena was cool cause you could use different weapon and still enjoy the game. But now it’s only magnum magnun magnum magnum and magnum and sniper that’s it. It’s actually get boring watching it. 343 needs to address that. The BR, the assault riffle, SMG, needler all those weapons at the beginning it was nice, some will say a weapon might be over powered but it makes you push wisely and think about your moves. Good topic bro
> 2533274819446242;6:
> Halo 5’s “variety” was entirely superficial to begin with, the Halo 5 sandbox retained most of the flaws of most Halo games that came before it.
>
> Mainly that it is full of boring redundant clones weapons that don’t offer any real “choice” outside of aesthetics. Whether people use the Magnum, the burst fire magnum(BR), the green magnum(Carbine), the slightly longer range magnum(DMR), or the orange magnum(LR) it makes no real difference outside of deciding which one of the reskins has slightly better statistics.
>
> Same goes for any one of 4 redundant bullet hoses(Pre-patch AR, SMG, Storm Rifle, SAW). Pre-patch most of those precision weapons were either as good or better than the Magnum at the exact same job. No one was picking up a BR or Carbine because of their unique properties, they were largely just better than the Magnum which doesn’t make it a choice.
>
> Variety for varieties sake is not something to aspire to. Variety should be encouraged via filling the sandbox with truly unique weapons that have your their own niche, not by starting players with a weaker weapon.
>
> The big Halo 5 balance patch changed very little outside of some value tweaks. The AR is the only weapon that really had its core design altered in any significant capacity with the goal being to make the AR a more skill based weapon. If some value tweaks was all it took to make Halo 5 a “one gun game” then Halo 5 never had a good sandbox to begin with and nothing of value was lost.
>
> Halo Infinite needs more interesting weapons across the board, not just more “useful” ones.
I can of disagree with you if you use the SMG and some one has the assault rifle close range the SMG will smoke you but at long rage the assault rifle wins the same apply for BR and DMR so if you experienced player you know if you should challenge a player depending on the weapon he has and how far he is from you.
Halo 5’s sandbox was perfect for a while, then they messed it up. I pretty much stopped playing Arena in any serious capacity after I realized the magnum could wreck the BR. Might as well have just balanced the game based off Cursed Halo’s sandbox.
The headshot multiplier with the automatics is a cool idea, but getting one-shotted from across the map by an AR when your shields are down is a bit much. I mean, being able to zoom an AR+headshot damage all while the BR can’t even stand up against the magnum anymore? I’ll be in Firefight thank you very much.
I hope they handle weapon tuning a bit more carefully with Infinite.
> 2533274873198179;12:
> I can of disagree with you if you use the SMG and some one has the assault rifle close range the SMG will smoke you but at long rage the assault rifle wins the same apply for BR and DMR so if you experienced player you know if you should challenge a player depending on the weapon he has and how far he is from you.
Marginal differences in range does not a new niche make. Your tactics are exactly the same, despite the attempt to give the AR some depth post patch. The bottom line is that there are too many weapons doing virtually the same job, all the balance patch was ever going to do was swap around which weapon in any given category happened to be the statistical best.
> 2533274883669557;13:
> Halo 5’s sandbox was perfect for a while, then they messed it up. I pretty much stopped playing Arena in any serious capacity after I realized the magnum could wreck the BR. Might as well have just balanced the game based off Cursed Halo’s sandbox.
> The headshot multiplier with the automatics is a cool idea, but getting one-shotted from across the map by an AR when your shields are down is a bit much. I mean, being able to zoom an AR+headshot damage all while the BR can’t even stand up against the magnum anymore? I’ll be in Firefight thank you very much.
> I hope they handle weapon tuning a bit more carefully with Infinite.
Halo 5’s sandbox was far from perfect. A utility Magnum and BR were always going to end up being a problem because they fill the exact same role. Pre-patch, the BR was just better than the Magnum, post-patch the Magnum is just better than the BR, the only real difference is aesthetics. I don’t think you were enjoying Arena as much as you think you did if a BR nerf was all it took to put you off arena multiplayer.
I don’t really agree with giving high spread automatic weapons headshot multipliers either, but at least they tried to give the AR something more interesting to do. In both cases the problem is a sandbox filled with redundant clones and there was only so much they were ever going to be able to do with such a shallow sandbox.
The bigger problem with 343’s weapon tuning process is that it was far too slow and infrequent. Tweaks to the sandbox smaller, faster and more responsive rather than dropping a bunch of changes all at once regardless of how long they tested it. Still the fundamental problem isn’t the balance patch but the sandbox itself. If you don’t want to see something similar happen in Infinite than the sandbox needs to be truly diverse from the beginning which is what 343 is trying to do, at least on paper, we will see whether they can actually deliver.