Is Core Play never returning?

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Social Arena/Core Play was 90% of what I played, when the playlist actually existed. Without it, I can’t play objective game modes on 4v4 maps, unless I want to play “magnum only” mode in ranked arena.

What happened to the core gameplay of Halo 5? Social Arena has been reduced to a rotating set of novelty game modes, (such as Shotty Snipers, Mythic Shotty Snipers, Rock N Rail, Grifball, Community Game nodes, etc) most of which are, honestly, only fun for about 2-3 matches after they show up. Without Core Play, we literally don’t have a single playlist featuring the basic experience of Halo 5’s gameplay. Our only options are novelty game modes, big team modes (on stale, outdated maps), and ranked arena, which only feautres about two weapons, out of the game’s massive arsenal. Halo 5 players no longer have an option to play on standard-sized maps with all of the game’s mechanics intact. Further, Ranked mode only features precision weapons and offers no variety in options to engage foes. I understand that some players prefer only these weapons, but players less serious about their ranking have no way to play the game in a way they enjoy.

This has been extremely frustrating to me. I find my reasons to boot up the game at all to be fading away rapidly.

Many have said that the playlist population had been low when Core Play was around, but population should not be the only factor considered when selecting permanent playlists. If the game completely lacks a single way to experience the base gameplay, mechanics, weapons, maps, and all, then you’re missing something important. Furthermore, since Core Play has only extremely rarely, if ever, been featured as in the rotating playlists, the server population for it is permanently stuck at zero, which obviously gives it no chance to grow. (As a matter of fact, I have never seen Core Play return even once since it was supposedly delegated to rotational playlists. And I rarely go a week without at least checking the game’s featured modes.)

I strongly implore 343, or whoever controls the playlists, to consider adding Core Play back in. There is plenty of room in the Social Games menu, and if something must, for some unknowable reason, be removed, then I would direct attention to Quick Play, which is redundant with perhaps every other game mode.

2

(I’m the OP)
I would also like to paste here something I wrote in reply on another topic, which discussed also Warzone Assault, another playlist that has been removed from the game for all but a few days per month. My reply below was a more emotion-filled, but I think it would be alright to leave it as-is.

"Removing a playlist does not help its population. It reduces it to zero. Maybe they bring it back for two random days, but I likely won’t even notice its there until they remove it. It’s not like I play only this game, every day. Besides, I never had a problem finding a match in assault, or any of the now-removed playlists, and even if a playlist is lowly populated, that is no reason to remove it from the game. Social arena has been gone for a long time, and it was 90% of what I played. With playlists constantly disappearing, I have fewer and fewer reasons to boot up the game at all. And that’s a shame, since halo 5 has been my favorite shooter game, period. Now, it’s almost completely empty of the content I enjoy. If I want Warzone, I have to play regular warzone mode, which is essentially “play for 10 minutes, then kill the last boss, nullifying your efforts so far”. And if I want to play 4v4 Arena, I have to play simplistic forge maps, with only the magnum. There’s no variety. Halo 5’s developers have taken away the core of what makes the game what it is.

Playlist population should not be the only consideration when deciding whether to keep a playlist. Social Arena/Core Play was the only playlist that featured 4v4 objective games with more than just magnums, and it was removed. Without it, the game literally does not have a playlist representing the core if its unique gameplay aspects. The only available options are gimmicky playlists, like super fiesta or infection. There is no normal, “Halo 5 settings” game mode for teams of four. This is extremely frustrating, as I only play the gimmicky modes once or twice each time I play the game, and afterward I want to go back to the regular gameplay experience. But we do not have that anymore.

Warzone Assault fixed the regular Warzone’s problem of having a final boss that instantly won the game for the team lucky enough to shoot the last shot. With asymmetrical gameplay, the balance is a bit worse, but each team’s efforts throughout the battle actually make a lasting difference."

3

this gametype had very low population, I remember that the last time when was in rotational playlist, 343 removed it before the 2 weeks for that reason

4

> 2533274890267936;3:
> this gametype had very low population, I remember that the last time when was in rotational playlist, 343 removed it before the 2 weeks for that reason

What is your source for the server population numbers? As far as I know, this information is not publicly available, yet it is cited every time a removed playlist is discussed on this forum. Furthermore, I have argued that server population should not be the only consideration here. As I wrote above, the game now lacks any option to experience the core gameplay of Halo 5, and so Core Play should be available to offer one. Without that, the game is literally limited to novelty game modes that appear in short intervals, and a very limited ranked mode.

Also, when was Core Play last featured? I have literally not seen it once since it was a core playlist. It is unlikely that I have just missed it every week for a year. If it does ever show up, 343 obviously does not keep it around long enough to gain insight into its popularity.

5

With every social “Core Playlist”, it usually dies a slow death because it ends up being even more competitive than the ranked experience, or so I’ve heard mention. And that ends up chasing most of that population away into other playlists, which ends up driving wait times between games way up for people looking to play it. Hence why certain playlists are on a 2-week rotational phase since 343 has data showing that the population for these playlists consistently dies off within about two weeks, and bringing them back periodically gives them a spike (albeit temporarily) in population.

6

I wish more maps would be added to Quick Play, as it is the only thing resembling a traditional social slayer playlist in the game.

7

> 2533274859147109;4:
> > 2533274890267936;3:
> > this gametype had very low population, I remember that the last time when was in rotational playlist, 343 removed it before the 2 weeks for that reason
>
> What is your source for the server population numbers? As far as I know, this information is not publicly available, yet it is cited every time a removed playlist is discussed on this forum. Furthermore, I have argued that server population should not be the only consideration here. As I wrote above, the game now lacks any option to experience the core gameplay of Halo 5, and so Core Play should be available to offer one. Without that, the game is literally limited to novelty game modes that appear in short intervals, and a very limited ranked mode.
>
> Also, when was Core Play last featured? I have literally not seen it once since it was a core playlist. It is unlikely that I have just missed it every week for a year. If it does ever show up, 343 obviously does not keep it around long enough to gain insight into its popularity.

Lol, 343I is the source. Server population absolutely should be a major factor in choosing what game modes live or die. As the population for H5 dwindles, the playlist options need to decrease so each playlist has a higher population, otherwise wait times for games will get higher and higher and people will leave faster. The answers are all in this thread, but you seem to not care about the facts, and only care about your own opinion.

8

Say what you want, but it can’t have a lower population than Roaming King. Granted I play nights, but I can’t find a game in that playlist. I’d love for Core Play to come back; there’s really no other social way to play objective variants. It is, by far, my favorite playlist.

9

> 2533274826056477;7:
> > 2533274859147109;4:
> > > 2533274890267936;3:
> > > this gametype had very low population, I remember that the last time when was in rotational playlist, 343 removed it before the 2 weeks for that reason
> >
> > What is your source for the server population numbers? As far as I know, this information is not publicly available, yet it is cited every time a removed playlist is discussed on this forum. Furthermore, I have argued that server population should not be the only consideration here. As I wrote above, the game now lacks any option to experience the core gameplay of Halo 5, and so Core Play should be available to offer one. Without that, the game is literally limited to novelty game modes that appear in short intervals, and a very limited ranked mode.
> >
> > Also, when was Core Play last featured? I have literally not seen it once since it was a core playlist. It is unlikely that I have just missed it every week for a year. If it does ever show up, 343 obviously does not keep it around long enough to gain insight into its popularity.
>
> Lol, 343I is the source. Server population absolutely should be a major factor in choosing what game modes live or die. As the population for H5 dwindles, the playlist options need to decrease so each playlist has a higher population, otherwise wait times for games will get higher and higher and people will leave faster. The answers are all in this thread, but you seem to not care about the facts, and only care about your own opinion.

Again, 343 doesn’t release this information, so you’re basing your argument on conjecture about their decisions. I didn’t say population shouldn’t be a factor, I said it shouldn’t be the only factor. 343 does not provide any game mode offering 4v4 objectives, except those in ranked mode that offer only half of the game’s content, and cater exclusively to highly competitive players. Joke modes like minotaurs, mongoose sumo, and rock n’ rail take complete priority over normal objective game modes. The consideration that Halo 5 does
not have any normal gameplay options should be a factor in deciding what playlists to offer.
Not all of what I’ve written is pure opinion. I’ve also described the state of the game as it truly is: lacking a regular 4v4 objective mode. This is just the fact of the matter, and in my opinion, it is an unacceptable state for the game to be in.

Furthermore, quick play is absolutely redundant with virtually every other regular game mode, since it is literally just casual Slayer. If it was replaced with Core Play, it would achieve both its original objective of being accessible to newcomers, and would also bring back the central gameplay of Halo 5.

10

They don’t release the raw numbers, but they have released “Popularity Rankings” for playlists in the matchmaking feedback threads, which correlates with what playlists have come and gone and are now rotational playlists if you go back and look.

11

> 2533274815711361;6:
> I wish more maps would be added to Quick Play, as it is the only thing resembling a traditional social slayer playlist in the game.

The existence of quick play really bothers me. Its literally just Slayer with a description that greets newcomers. Core Play would be just as good, if not better, as an introduction to the game, as it would feature a wide range of gameplay experiences while keeping itself isolated from the ranked scene.

I’m baffled that Quick Play has outlasted so many other game modes. I imagine that most non-newcomers who play it mostly do so because they don’t have another option in 4v4 social.

12

> 2533274859147109;11:
> > 2533274815711361;6:
> > I wish more maps would be added to Quick Play, as it is the only thing resembling a traditional social slayer playlist in the game.
>
> The existence of quick play really bothers me. Its literally just Slayer with a description that greets newcomers. Core Play would be just as good, if not better, as an introduction to the game, as it would feature a wide range of gameplay experiences while keeping itself isolated from the ranked scene.
>
> I’m baffled that Quick Play has outlasted so many other game modes. I imagine that most non-newcomers who play it mostly do so because they don’t have another option in 4v4 social.

I think it was added due to an expected influx of players when Halo 5 was added to Game Pass.

343i didn’t want them to get immediately stomped on and not return to the game, as they weren’t necessarily financially invested to play it from buying it.

13

> 2586218893181855;10:
> They don’t release the raw numbers, but they have released “Popularity Rankings” for playlists in the matchmaking feedback threads, which correlates with what playlists have come and gone and are now rotational playlists if you go back and look.

That’s good. I’ll have to find that data, as I’d be interested to see what could possibly be more desirable than something like Core Play. I can’t imagine people would play Rock N’ Rail all day, every day, instead of the regular game modes. I think 343 weighs this single data element far, far too heavily. They should look at the game as a whole and see what they are and aren’t offering.

14

> 2533274815711361;12:
> > 2533274859147109;11:
> > > 2533274815711361;6:
> > > I wish more maps would be added to Quick Play, as it is the only thing resembling a traditional social slayer playlist in the game.
> >
> > The existence of quick play really bothers me. Its literally just Slayer with a description that greets newcomers. Core Play would be just as good, if not better, as an introduction to the game, as it would feature a wide range of gameplay experiences while keeping itself isolated from the ranked scene.
> >
> > I’m baffled that Quick Play has outlasted so many other game modes. I imagine that most non-newcomers who play it mostly do so because they don’t have another option in 4v4 social.
>
> I think it was added due to an expected influx of players when Halo 5 was added to Game Pass.
>
> 343i didn’t want them to get immediately stomped on and not return to the game, as they weren’t necessarily financially invested to play it from buying it.

That’s a good idea for creating the playlist. Still, it’s outlasted the both game pass and Core Play. I personally think Core Play would be newcomer-friendly. It’s a social playlist, so the newbies wouldn’t be fighting players wanting just to rank up, and it would offer the new guys a lot of fun objectives, showing off the best parts of the game.

To be honest, if I were a new player, I’d find it condescending to see that only Slayer was offered as an introductory game mode. It’s as if the developers are saying I can’t handle anything more involved or tactical yet. :stuck_out_tongue:

15

> 2533274859147109;14:
> > 2533274815711361;12:
> > > 2533274859147109;11:
> > > > 2533274815711361;6:
> > > > I wish more maps would be added to Quick Play, as it is the only thing resembling a traditional social slayer playlist in the game.
> > >
> > > The existence of quick play really bothers me. Its literally just Slayer with a description that greets newcomers. Core Play would be just as good, if not better, as an introduction to the game, as it would feature a wide range of gameplay experiences while keeping itself isolated from the ranked scene.
> > >
> > > I’m baffled that Quick Play has outlasted so many other game modes. I imagine that most non-newcomers who play it mostly do so because they don’t have another option in 4v4 social.
> >
> > I think it was added due to an expected influx of players when Halo 5 was added to Game Pass.
> >
> > 343i didn’t want them to get immediately stomped on and not return to the game, as they weren’t necessarily financially invested to play it from buying it.
>
> That’s a good idea for creating the playlist. Still, it’s outlasted the both game pass and Core Play. I personally think Core Play would be newcomer-friendly. It’s a social playlist, so the newbies wouldn’t be fighting players wanting just to rank up, and it would offer the new guys a lot of fun objectives, showing off the best parts of the game.
>
> To be honest, if I were a new player, I’d find it condescending to see that only Slayer was offered as an introductory game mode. It’s as if the developers are saying I can’t handle anything more involved or tactical yet. :stuck_out_tongue:

I just wish quick play and core play were amalgamated even with those three maps but give us truth flag coliseum flag and plaza strongholds to mix in at least that way we would get some social obj mixed with slayer ! This game already has way too much slayer and way to little obj

16

> 2586218893181855;10:
> They don’t release the raw numbers, but they have released “Popularity Rankings” for playlists in the matchmaking feedback threads, which correlates with what playlists have come and gone and are now rotational playlists if you go back and look.

Yes, like 2 months ago 343 put that list in the forum, I remember that Wrzone was in first place and Castle Wars in second I think, but I cant find the post

17

> 2533274890267936;16:
> > 2586218893181855;10:
> > They don’t release the raw numbers, but they have released “Popularity Rankings” for playlists in the matchmaking feedback threads, which correlates with what playlists have come and gone and are now rotational playlists if you go back and look.
>
> Yes, like 2 months ago 343 put that list in the forum, I remember that Wrzone was in first place and Castle Wars in second I think, but I cant find the post

That would be because Warzone and Castle Wars have never been top of the popularity list since they started doing that.

18

<mark>This post has been edited by a moderator. Please refrain from making non-constructive posts.</mark>

*Original post. Click at your own discretion.

> 2533274859147109;9:
> > 2533274826056477;7:
> > > 2533274859147109;4:
> > > > 2533274890267936;3:
> > > > this gametype had very low population, I remember that the last time when was in rotational playlist, 343 removed it before the 2 weeks for that reason
> > >
> > > What is your source for the server population numbers? As far as I know, this information is not publicly available, yet it is cited every time a removed playlist is discussed on this forum. Furthermore, I have argued that server population should not be the only consideration here. As I wrote above, the game now lacks any option to experience the core gameplay of Halo 5, and so Core Play should be available to offer one. Without that, the game is literally limited to novelty game modes that appear in short intervals, and a very limited ranked mode.
> > >
> > > Also, when was Core Play last featured? I have literally not seen it once since it was a core playlist. It is unlikely that I have just missed it every week for a year. If it does ever show up, 343 obviously does not keep it around long enough to gain insight into its popularity.
> >
> > Lol, 343I is the source. Server population absolutely should be a major factor in choosing what game modes live or die. As the population for H5 dwindles, the playlist options need to decrease so each playlist has a higher population, otherwise wait times for games will get higher and higher and people will leave faster. The answers are all in this thread, but you seem to not care about the facts, and only care about your own opinion.
>
> Again, 343 doesn’t release this information, so you’re basing your argument on conjecture about their decisions. I didn’t say population shouldn’t be a factor, I said it shouldn’t be the only factor. 343 does not provide any game mode offering 4v4 objectives, except those in ranked mode that offer only half of the game’s content, and cater exclusively to highly competitive players. Joke modes like minotaurs, mongoose sumo, and rock n’ rail take complete priority over normal objective game modes. The consideration that Halo 5 does
> not have any normal gameplay options should be a factor in deciding what playlists to offer.
> Not all of what I’ve written is pure opinion. I’ve also described the state of the game as it truly is: lacking a regular 4v4 objective mode. This is just the fact of the matter, and in my opinion, it is an unacceptable state for the game to be in.
>
> Furthermore, quick play is absolutely redundant with virtually every other regular game mode, since it is literally just casual Slayer. If it was replaced with Core Play, it would achieve both its original objective of being accessible to newcomers, and would also bring back the central gameplay of Halo 5.

The specific numbers don’t matter. The playlist wasn’t popular full stop. The facts are there, if you don’t like them, too bad. You can go pound sand. The rest of your reply is so rubbish it isn’t even worth disecting.

19

> 2533274826056477;18:
> > 2533274859147109;9:
> > > 2533274826056477;7:
> > > > 2533274859147109;4:
> > > > > 2533274890267936;3:
> > > > > this gametype had very low population, I remember that the last time when was in rotational playlist, 343 removed it before the 2 weeks for that reason
> > > >
> > > > What is your source for the server population numbers? As far as I know, this information is not publicly available, yet it is cited every time a removed playlist is discussed on this forum. Furthermore, I have argued that server population should not be the only consideration here. As I wrote above, the game now lacks any option to experience the core gameplay of Halo 5, and so Core Play should be available to offer one. Without that, the game is literally limited to novelty game modes that appear in short intervals, and a very limited ranked mode.
> > > >
> > > > Also, when was Core Play last featured? I have literally not seen it once since it was a core playlist. It is unlikely that I have just missed it every week for a year. If it does ever show up, 343 obviously does not keep it around long enough to gain insight into its popularity.
> > >
> > > Lol, 343I is the source. Server population absolutely should be a major factor in choosing what game modes live or die. As the population for H5 dwindles, the playlist options need to decrease so each playlist has a higher population, otherwise wait times for games will get higher and higher and people will leave faster. The answers are all in this thread, but you seem to not care about the facts, and only care about your own opinion.
> >
> > Again, 343 doesn’t release this information, so you’re basing your argument on conjecture about their decisions. I didn’t say population shouldn’t be a factor, I said it shouldn’t be the only factor. 343 does not provide any game mode offering 4v4 objectives, except those in ranked mode that offer only half of the game’s content, and cater exclusively to highly competitive players. Joke modes like minotaurs, mongoose sumo, and rock n’ rail take complete priority over normal objective game modes. The consideration that Halo 5 does
> > not have any normal gameplay options should be a factor in deciding what playlists to offer.
> > Not all of what I’ve written is pure opinion. I’ve also described the state of the game as it truly is: lacking a regular 4v4 objective mode. This is just the fact of the matter, and in my opinion, it is an unacceptable state for the game to be in.
> >
> > Furthermore, quick play is absolutely redundant with virtually every other regular game mode, since it is literally just casual Slayer. If it was replaced with Core Play, it would achieve both its original objective of being accessible to newcomers, and would also bring back the central gameplay of Halo 5.
>
> The specific numbers don’t matter. The playlist wasn’t popular full stop. The facts are there, if you don’t like them, too bad. You can go pound sand. The rest of your reply is so rubbish it isn’t even worth disecting.

You resort to simply insulting me rather than commenting about anything said so far. You assert that my reply is “rubbish” without explaining why you think so or providing any counterpoints whatsoever.

The only thing of any substance you state in this reply is that specific population numbers don’t matter, which actually reinforces my point that population numbers are weighted too heavily. I conceded already that the playlist may have had a low population compared to other game modes, but I also asserted that other important points should be considered in the playlist setup. You don’t address those points at all, except to call them rubbish, for no stated reason.

I can’t tell if you’re just trolling, without having any actual reasons or logic behind your stance. If you think your view about the removal of Core Play is defensible, then you ought to elaborate if you’re going to post here. But insulting my perspective and presenting a vague and unproductive claim do not contribute anything useful to this conversation.

The fact is that the game currently lacks any playlist representing its central gameplay options and appeal. So far, you’ve had nothing to say about this point. I’m trying to offer a good, reasonable discussion about a very significant problem in the state of the game. Please don’t lead the discussion toward insults and trolling. That has been the extent of conversation on this topic before, which is likely a reason it hasn’t been taken seriously by the developers. For that reason, if you just disagree but don’t want to discuss it civilly, I’d ask that you simply not participate in this particular thread.

20

> 2533274859147109;19:
> The fact is that the game currently lacks any playlist representing its central gameplay options and appeal. So far, you’ve had nothing to say about this point.

If you need insight into how they manage playlists, then you just need to read through this thread which addresses just about all those points. It’s discussing BTB, but it has similar issues like being a core playlist and not having representation if it goes. Josh Menke (ZaedynFel) also discusses the reasonings about why those things don’t matter and that it’s mainly about population numbers and what people want to play.

As a bonus, he also mentioned why Core Play was removed in a previous thread and basically implied that it was just based on population numbers which is quoted below. I should also mention that it’s a rotational playlist so it will return eventually, but there are a lot of rotational playlists now so it could be awhile.

> Core Play will become a rotational since its performance has also been in line with rotationals.

Link.

If you need more info though, you could always ask the source in that first thread I linked above.