EDIT:The test is still ongoing, submit any suggestions you might have at any time.
This thread was a result of a common persistent belief amoung some players that frequent Halo forums that Reach represents the most “casual” freindly Halo to date. The “proof” presented thus far has been completely based on opinion and perception about AA and their benefits to the casual player. So I set out to apply a mix of soft/hard science, community opinion and my penchant for dogged persuit of the truth to find the answer to this long asked question, <mark>does Reach represent the most casual friendly Halo of all of them?</mark>. The body of this thread was constucted in part with help from players that believe whole heartily that AA have brought a negative effect to gameplay. Even if you have read this before, please take the time to read the entire thread starting from the beginning, I believe this will allow for the maximum amount of validity to the the result that I have been able to provide. While not definitive (nothing ever is) it provides the first physical evidence provided that concerns this matter that I have ever seen.
Enjoy!
Plunderfull
Part 1:<mark>Would the casual player have a better K/D in Reach or a better K/D in Halo 3 within the first hundred games?</mark>
It has been suggested to me by the upper echelon of competitive informed players that AA’s provide a crutch for the casual less skilled player, one that takes away from the pure skill of the game of Halo. Reach alone represents the only abberration from the basic formula of Halo as explained to me by players far more superior in their understanding of the technical side of games then I. AA loadouts according to this line of thought, provide the most benefit for the casual player with the least amount “skill” needed to garner results, results being kills and wins. Although K/D and W/L does not give the complete picture of a players performance, it is the two easiest ways of deducing battle effectiveness and ability and therefore will be the focus of this experiment.
Halo 3 is currently the last Halo that qualifies as competitive settings as compared to Reach, which represents the most casual freindly Halo of them all according to the competitive player. I recognize previous examples of Halo (CE and 2) as a more pure Halo expeirence. However being as they are so far in the past, data collection and informed firsthand opinion, would be prohibitively hard to compile, thus the selection of Halo 3. Competitive does not reffer to a competition, but rather the current competitive players concensus settings that are most conducive to competition in FPS.
Part 2:<mark>How does one identify a casual?</mark>
The casual label in no way indicates skill or success at playing the game, mearly a mindset that would indicate that he/she is just playing a game. There is no single identifier for a casual, it seems that a true “casual” will have most if not all of the qualifiers listed below.
Casual qualifications:
1.A casual will not visit a forum on Halo, but if the casual did, he would most likely dismiss faulty mechanics arguments for Reach as needless.
2.A casual player will either have no care or no concept of mechanics and how they differed from Halo to Halo and how that effects gameplay, this is indicative of a “mindset” that is more prevalent in a “competitive” player. That mindset would be dedicated goal and achievement oriented gameplay through higher understanding of the core mechanics and game design.
3.A casual most likely does not use a mic and therefore does not use callouts or any sort of communication that would benefit team play.
4.A casual will frequent playlist such as Living dead and Team slayer, default settings and “fun” gametypes suit the casual the best.
Part 3: I will attempt to find a candidate that meets all the criteria listed in part 2 which to the best of my ability has been compalated through input recieved directly from the community and 7 months of expeirence on two forums. Submissions will be accepted but only as PM, singling out individuals on the forum is prohibited so the selection submission proccess will have to be conducted with this in mind.
Part 4:After a tremendous amount of work I have found an acceptable player that meets every one of the criteria compiled via community input. I have checked and rechecked the stats involved and can attest to the validity of all statements and information contained within the findings.
Part 5:<mark>The results</mark>
The following gamertags are the same exact person, one gamertag was played when the xbox was bought off the free month given with a new xboxs on Halo 3. The second was opened later with the purchase of Reach and is maintained and played to this day. Both meet every qualification for what makes a player a casual in the context of the first hundred games.
SurficialZeus43 Tabulation for K/D and W/L for first 100 games= 712 kills, 717 deaths giving a K/D of .99. Total wins 41 with game losses at 59.
Plunderfull Tabulation for K/D and W/L for first 100 games= 854 kills, 846 deaths giving a K/D of 1.01. Total wins 56 with game losses 44.
These numbers have been checked and rechecked but feel free to verify the results for yourselves.
The results speak for themselves and in my opinion run contrary to popular beliefs around forums, in fact show some very interesting results.
Point 1. The K/D in both games for the same person are almost exactly the same.
Point 2. The amount of kills for Reach surpasses Halo 3 by over a hundred kills.
Point 3. The W/L is drasticly different between both games, with far more wins in Reach over Halo 3(this is a strange dynamic,which might garner further reveiw).
I will answer any and all questions and try and verify any peice of information called into question.

