Infinite vs MCC, lessons that Infinite can learn from past games in the series

Games Halo Infinite
#1

A few days ago I finished my ultimate weekly challenge and realized there wasn’t much incentive to keep playing, with a paltry reward of just 50 XP per match. So I decided to re-install MCC and play it some. I will be comparing my experiences playing the various games in MCC against my experience playing Infinite so far, to see which areas Infinite is already strong in, and which areas need improvement.

(Note that almost all of my MCC playtime was from the original 2014 release when the servers were complete jank garbage, so playing MCC again feels pretty much like a totally new experience to me, as they have added seasonal battlepasses, challenges, and alot more since I used to play.)

Movement

  • I’ve got to give the edge to Halo Infinite on this one. Movement in 1-3 feels downright lethargic, and sprint in Reach has a time limit, is super loud for the enemy to hear, and is one of several spartan ability choices. Jumping feels super floaty and weird in Halo 3 to me now going back to it after so many years, like the whole game is set on like 70 or 80% of earth’s gravity, even on the maps set on Earth, it’s so weird. Add in clamber, slide, and grappleshot and Infinite easily has better movement than any game in MCC.

Radar/Motion Tracker

  • Halo 3 and Halo Reach take the win on this one. Halo 3 and Reach have the radar range set at 25m which is the perfect amount imo. Halo 1 claims to have 15m radar, but that is apparently a bug, as the range is clearly at least 30m if you look at the actual range compared to other games in the series, too large imo. Halo Infinite has just 18m and Halo 2 feels like it’s also about 18m, but Infinite has sprinting and grappleshot speed which Halo 2 lacks, so Infinite’s radar feels like the worst in the series to date. Enemies will just blind side you out of nowhere in Infinite, it drives me crazy.

Weapon Balance

  • I have got to say that Infinite might have the best weapon balance in the series to date, especially so early into it’s lifecycle. While the current balance is far from perfect, almost every gun feels like it has a place in the sandbox, and there is currently only 1 gun that feels like it’s not even worth picking up, the Ravager, which was good ion the flighting but got nerfed into the ground for this open beta. From what I’ve played of past games in MCC so far, I have been reminded that every past Halo game had at least 1 weapon that was too weak for the entire duration of the game’s existence, and since MCC never touched weapon balance on legacy titles, those games still have guns that are too weak.
  • That being said, there are some aspects of weapons in previous games that I prefer. I like the faster hammer swings in Halo 3, I like the AR balance in Halo 3 better than this AR in Infinite which feels too powerful for a full auto starting weapon. Needlers in 4, Reach (and I believe 5 as well, though this thread isn’t about 5) are better than the current Infinite needler I think, though I’m not sure if the stats back that up.

Equipment/Spartan Abilities

  • I think Infinite is the best here. While Halo 3 had some cool equipment, the balance was a mess, some pieces of equipment weren’t very good while others were so good they could allow a whole teamwipe. I never liked the Spartan Abilities in Halo 4 or Reach, so I definitely think that equipment in Infinite is better. Each piece of equipment feels useful at times, nothing too powerful or too weak.

Vehicle Balance

  • I think Infinite really suffers here. The only vehicle that actually feels pretty powerful is ironically the ghost, one of the weakest vehicles in past games, it’s durability is next level now, it can tank damage for ages, especially from standard UNSC bullets and frag grenades. Everything else feels like it gets destroyed too easily, and the shock weapons and grenades disable vehicles too easily and leave them disabled for too long. Couple all of that with the slow vehicle respawning and the once per match power vehicle spawns, and the vehicles just don’t feel fun in Halo Infinite. Past games really did vehicles better.

Playlists

  • Infinite gets absolutely obliterated on this one, it’s no contest. We got just 4 playlists so far (5 if you include the limited time Fiesta). Most past games had at least twice as many playlists on release, some of them had like 3x as many playlists. Infinite is missing Ranked Team Slayer, Ranked Team Objective, Team SWAT, Infection, Team Snipers, Free For All, Team Doubles, Social Slayer, Social Objective, and more currently.

Maps

  • On the plus side, Halo Infinite has some of the best maps of any Halo game. There is no map currently in the game that I actively dislike, which might be a first for the series for me. On the downside, launching with just 10 maps puts it’s map count towards the bottom of the pack for the series in terms of launch map count. Hopefully the missing 3 maps that were datamined are added on the Dec 8th full launch.

Aiming

  • Aiming just doesn’t feel right in Halo Infinite on controller. Playing the legacy games in Halo MCC feels as smooth as butter, my reticle goes right where I want it to go, no strange acceleration in certain directions that I don’t want, no herky jerky movements past my intended target. Something is wrong with aiming in Infinite and I just don’t know if it’s something that the devs need to fix or if it’s something I can fix on my end through the settings (I’m scared to experiment for fear of making things even worse).

Progression

  • Infinite gets absolutely demolished here in my opinion. Not only did each individual game in MCC have better progression on it’s original release, but MCC itself has better progression with the way the seasonal battlepasses work. I like how completing challenges gives you points you can use to unlock items in each tier in any order you like, including past season battlepasses. I like that there is a career progression system in MCC in addition to the seasonal one. Why in the world did 343 design such a good progression system in Halo MCC only to drop it entirely for Infinite? It just doesn’t make any sense. Infinite needs alot of work here before it is even close to being good.
  • Infinite has got no career progression system, with level based unlocks or lifetime challenge based unlocks. It has no way for free players to earn store credits, locking free players off from 95% of the cosmetics in the games. Color combos and armor pieces only work on a single armor core, which is super limiting and feels like it was designed solely to bilk players.
#2

I agree with you here. Movement in Infinite is good and I feel like it changes depending on the weapon. I do feel faster holding the sidekick and running than I do with say the AR.

I don’t agree with this that strongly. It could be extended for sure, but because of how many levels of combat (distance, ground level and airborne), I don’t feel it’s much of an issue as I rarely use it. It’s a tough one though. I think the map plays a huge part in this depending on size.

I completely disagree with this. I think Infinite has an awful weapon balance really. Halo 3 probably had the best I think as everything had a place. Infinite’s could be better but quite frankly, weapons behave differently in Infinite multiplayer all the time, to a point where I feel like picking up a rocket launcher could go either way. I might get a kill, I might not. In previous titles I knew that unless I got sniped, I will get a kill with it.

I mostly agree with this. I think there’s some really good equipment. I just think they should have used some from the Halo 3 days as well that were a bit more offensive on the battlefield. I’m think things like trip mines, power drains etc. But overall most equipment is good, but grapple shot is the best, easily.

I’m not going to comment much on this simply because I’ve not used vehicles much in Infinite yet as I’ve never felt I wanted or needed to yet. I’m still battling with the weapon variety and the issues they pose to the game in my opinion (as stated above, re: inconsistent).

100% agree. Every Halo game to date has had a great selection of playlists. Halo 3 was brilliant in terms of having ranked and unranked. Halo Reach also had a great variety that always had a new mix each week without simply removing certain game types from being played.

Meh, Infinite maps are good. Don’t get me wrong, there aren’t any I actively dislike. But there aren’t any that I remember the names of because they’re really good. Halo 3 easily had the best maps of any Halo game.

Agree that aiming doesn’t feel right. It’s because there isn’t aim assist like there is in previous games. The only way I can describe aiming in Infinite is imagine you’re trying to shoot a teammate in Halo 3 to betray them. There’s no aim assist as they’re a friendly / non-target. That’s what it feels like trying to aim at enemies in Infinite. I just don’t believe aim assist exists in Infinite. 343i have a huge amount of work to do here in my opinion.

Yep. Progression in Infinite is just trash. My biggest problem is there isn’t even ranks in social games like in Call of Duty. You have absolutely no rank whatsoever. The only focal point of progression is the battle pass and once that’s done there’s literally nothing to work towards. This is probably my biggest concern with Infinite multiplayer. It honestly makes the game feel unfinished.

Thanks for coming to my TEDx talk.

#3

You’re joking right? Halo infinite has literally the worst weapon balancing… 80% of the guns are one hit kills or have a crazy amount of splash damage while the other 20% might as well be a water gun… I agree aiming in halo infinite is also wonky af I am still trying to figure out good controls and the games been out a week or so lol all the other halo games i set it with in 30 seconds and never touched the sensitivity. I’ve tried 3 different controllers wired and wireless and it doesn’t feel right

#4

There is aim assist in Infinite. The way its implemented is just slightly different. And the AA in Halo 3 was designed around 30fps, low field of view, SD resolution, and smaller screens. Infinite will never “feel” like Halo 3.

As far as maps go, I truly dislike Launch Site, and I don’t love Behemoth either. Nor am I totally sold on Bazaar. Thats pretty much half right there :rofl:.

I disagree about Halo 3’s movement. It has some of the best in the series, largely because the maps are designed for one speed and no clamber. But thats an entire rabbit hole. Otherwise, I agree that Infinites movement isn’t too bad.

Most other things you say are pretty on point. There is more than just the ravager that could use a look, but the ravager is probably the most obvious one.