Latest Community Update (Golden Clouds)

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

For those who are interested. Some interesting tidbits, including an update on weapon tuning, as well as changes to matchmaking and Warzone.

Link: Golden Clouds

> “Over time, the Warzone battlefield has changed as players have become more and more skilled at the game mode. However, not all of these changes have benefited all parties – since launch, we’ve slowly seen the Warzone “blowout rate” (how often matches end in lopsided or blowout scores) continue to rise. The Warzone team is experimenting with some significant changes to the way REQ Leveling works to facilitate more balanced Warzone matches.
>
> “These changes adjust the REQ Level awarded for match actions and add a REQ Level “drip” that slowly increases everyone’s REQ Level over the course of each match. In our internal playtesting, these changes have resulted in more back-and-forth Warzone matches with considerably fewer players stuck at low REQ Levels over the course of each game.
>
> “These experimental REQ Level changes do not impact Warzone Firefight or Warzone Assault. We’ll be monitoring game data closely and welcome players to share feedback regarding these changes over in the Waypoint forums.”

It strikes me as more of a matchmaking quality issue, so I’m not sure I’m sold on this, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

2

2XP Mythic Firefight is gonna be sweaty good. Well, as sweaty as Firefight can be.

Also, the slow REQ gain seems interesting. I want to see more about it.

3

The “drip rate” concept is something many WZ players and a couple of Youtubers have been suggesting for a loooong time. It is great to hear that it is finally being looked at. I’m curious as to how the drip rate will function; how much progress over how much time. For it to be considered a “drip”, it would have to be low enough to still take a good while to reach a new level while still maintaining a good flow so as to not seem insignificant. It also has to change sightly based on the current level of the player. A good speed for a guy going from Level 3 to Level 4 might turn into a negligible factor for a guy going from Level 7 to Level 8. If those criteria were met, I have no issue seeing this be a very positive change for combating triple caps and farming.

The changes to the REQ level pertaining to match actions is both intriguing and concerning. For one thing, it would be more of a reward for the various actions a player may do for their team, such as back-capping an armory during an assault on the Core or being the one that steals a boss from the other team. As such, it is very likely we may see an increase in attention devoted to such goals, which is a good thing in my eyes. I don’t know how many games I have lost from people stealing bosses off me or my teammates failing to capture a base once the Core is open. This has the potential to fix that. However, I can see boss stealers becoming a much bigger problem than it was in the past, with players at mid REQ levels stealing a boss and giving their team the edge in what they can spawn with.

All these changes are good, however there is one part that I feel can counteract all of this, and that is REQ Recharge Rate, which I will be calling RRR from here on out. The fact that teams can unlock these high tier weapons and vehicles faster and easier is great, however that means nothing if players have to wait to call them in. The current RRR is, IMO, enough to nullify any attempts to call in higher level REQs, which is bad in the sense that it rewards steamrolling enemies who can effectively kill the players calling the weapons in, leading to an easier push. The only solution is to increase it. Not so high as the Turbo RRR is, but faster than the one we have now. I’d say upwards or around a 10% increase would be a good place to start with.

If this experiment is going to take form in a “Proving Grounds” type playlist, I look forward to trying it out and hearing about the results. Otherwise, Ske7ch, Uny, keep us informed.

4

> 2535405116054664;3:
> REQ Recharge Rate, which I will be calling RRR from here on out.

I thought that already meant “red reticle range”

5

> 2533274904158628;4:
> > 2535405116054664;3:
> > REQ Recharge Rate, which I will be calling RRR from here on out.
>
> I thought that already meant “red reticle range”

It does

6

I hope that they add to the list the plasma brute and the storm rifle, those weapons are so OP and they need an adjustment.

7

this is fantastic for warzone. hopefully we can stop the farming now and more people will have access to counters such as banshee spams

8

> 2533274904158628;4:
> > 2535405116054664;3:
> > REQ Recharge Rate, which I will be calling RRR from here on out.
>
> I thought that already meant “red reticle range”

¯_(ツ)_/¯
For the sake of less confusion, I just used that.

9

A change in the Railgun, eh? That won’t stop me from hauling it around during Infection.

10

> 2535429593088083;9:
> A change in the Railgun, eh? That won’t stop me from hauling it around during Infection.

Why would you use it in Infection?

11

> 2535405480355640;10:
> > 2535429593088083;9:
> > A change in the Railgun, eh? That won’t stop me from hauling it around during Infection.
>
> Why would you use it in Infection?

There’s a Arclight glitch that is useful in Infection.

I’m not sure if it has or will be patched in the sandbox update.

12

Hmm. This “REQ Drip” seems interesting, can’t wait to see how it plays out. It’s a good idea.

13

> 2533274862181038;1:
> For those who are interested. Some interesting tidbits, including an update on weapon tuning, as well as changes to matchmaking and Warzone.
> Link: Golden Clouds
>
> > “Over time, the Warzone battlefield has changed as players have become more and more skilled at the game mode. However, not all of these changes have benefited all parties – since launch, we’ve slowly seen the Warzone “blowout rate” (how often matches end in lopsided or blowout scores) continue to rise. The Warzone team is experimenting with some significant changes to the way REQ Leveling works to facilitate more balanced Warzone matches.
> > “These changes adjust the REQ Level awarded for match actions and add a REQ Level “drip” that slowly increases everyone’s REQ Level over the course of each match. In our internal playtesting, these changes have resulted in more back-and-forth Warzone matches with considerably fewer players stuck at low REQ Levels over the course of each game.
> > “These experimental REQ Level changes do not impact Warzone Firefight or Warzone Assault. We’ll be monitoring game data closely and welcome players to share feedback regarding these changes over in the Waypoint forums.”
>
> It strikes me as more of a matchmaking quality issue, so I’m not sure I’m sold on this, but it will be interesting to see how it plays out.

I think you missed what might help with that, and I don’t think it is just a matchmaking issue. In Warzone the matchmaking parameters are so big, potentially 4 tiers, that lower skilled players need some type of way to fight back those high tier players. When you get bogged down, without being able to progress on your Reg level it really hinders you.
This quote from the Update is just as important for Warzone matchmaking as well:

> After monitoring match data and listening to community feedback, we have decided to make a change that will tighten matchmaking back up again, but with additional adjustments to try and make sure we don’t orphan our high-skilled Spartans:
> - Expand to only 1 tier separation (roughly since this is MMR-based).

In my opinion this is the most important part of the update. It affects all of us in every single game. I only hope that it works well. They changed it to help the higher players find matches and now they’re tightening them up. It is a little concerning, since it has change one week to the other. It makes me wonder a bit.

> 2533274942897518;6:
> I hope that they add to the list the plasma brute and the storm rifle, those weapons are so OP and they need an adjustment.

> 2535429593088083;9:
> A change in the Railgun, eh? That won’t stop me from hauling it around during Infection.

Please make sure to post all of your weapon feedback here: Weapon Tuning Update - Early Discussion Thread. We need all the feedback there we can get to help them decide on final changes and whatnot.
How could we not acknowledge our own Timmy the k1d!? Congrats brother for being in the Community Spotlight. Nice screenshot! Now I know what you’re doing when you spend so much time in Forge and Customs. :wink:

Edit: I am so happy that HCS one of the double XP playlists. Come and join in for some bare bones H5 action!

14

Nerfing the railgun is not a great idea. How about looking at the overpowered evasive tactics of the Banshee? NO other aircaft has the luxury of dodging with no cooldown.

15

> 2535405486667568;14:
> Nerfing the railgun is not a great idea. How about looking at the overpowered evasive tactics of the Banshee? NO other aircaft has the luxury of dodging with no cooldown.

Judging by past comments, vehicle retuning isn’t in the cards for this update.

16

> 2535405486667568;14:
> Nerfing the railgun is not a great idea. How about looking at the overpowered evasive tactics of the Banshee? NO other aircaft has the luxury of dodging with no cooldown.

What gets me about the Banshee (and I might make a new thread because this is serious) is that you can no longer lock-on to a dodging Banshee. Additionally, dodging temporarily removes lock-on from already fired projectiles. I can deal with the lack of cooldown if they remove this bug, since it basically makes the Banshee far more powerful than all other air vehicles. Not even the Phaeton can remove lock-on.

17

> 2535405480355640;10:
> > 2535429593088083;9:
> > A change in the Railgun, eh? That won’t stop me from hauling it around during Infection.
>
> Why would you use it in Infection?

Aside from being my favourite weapon, I like to give myself a bit of a challenge when facing against the infected, especially as Last Man Standing. It is also the only explosive hit-scan weapon that still retains the ability to multi-kill infected players (within its small blast radius) in a single shot from a reasonable distance. It’s very useful when triggering environmental explosives or catching someone hiding behind a corner.

> 2533274870717152;11:
> There’s a Arclight glitch that is useful in Infection.
>
> I’m not sure if it has or will be patched in the sandbox update.

The Arclight glitch on Power Installation 484 is still present, although it has changed dramatically from its original form.

18

> 2533274862181038;15:
> > 2535405486667568;14:
> > Nerfing the railgun is not a great idea. How about looking at the overpowered evasive tactics of the Banshee? NO other aircaft has the luxury of dodging with no cooldown.
>
> Judging by past comments, vehicle retuning isn’t in the cards for this update.

So far, doesn’t seem weapon variants are either. Everything that’s been said so far seems to imply they’re mostly - if not entirely - looking at how things perform in Arena. Which is good that it’s getting looked at, that’s an important part of the game. However, there’s weapons in WZ that are in dire need of attention. I mean, in WZ look at the powerups first. Speed Boost and Camo are useful whole game. How many people use Damage Boosts outside of Turbo? If Camos were pushed up a level each and Damage down a level each, that might make Damage Boost almost worth calling in.

Then there’s weapons like Beserker’s Claw, Oathsworn, the infamously underpowered Pool of Radiance, and so on. Light of Urs could use a look at its RoF, as its way too fast as it is - in contrast, the Pool’s RoF is terribly slow for the damage it does (Or more often than not, damage it fails to do)

I saw for the first time in what felt like ages, someone actually use the CE Magnum a couple days back. Generally I don’t see people use that very often. Maybe because it’s a Level 6? What if it was 5 instead? It is a legendary, I think it could stand to go down a level and still retain that strength.

For a weapon that’s supposedly meant to have anti-armor capability, the Twin Jewels doesn’t really seem any more effective against vehicles than its lower leveled members. Does wonders against infantry obviously, but the massive cooldown between shots doesn’t help much when it doesn’t seem to do significant damage to vehicles anyway

19

> 2533274850869596;18:
> > 2533274862181038;15:
> > > 2535405486667568;14:
> > > Nerfing the railgun is not a great idea. How about looking at the overpowered evasive tactics of the Banshee? NO other aircaft has the luxury of dodging with no cooldown.
> >
> > Judging by past comments, vehicle retuning isn’t in the cards for this update.
>
> So far, doesn’t seem weapon variants are either. Everything that’s been said so far seems to imply they’re mostly - if not entirely - looking at how things perform in Arena. Which is good that it’s getting looked at, that’s an important part of the game. However, there’s weapons in WZ that are in dire need of attention. I mean, in WZ look at the powerups first. Speed Boost and Camo are useful whole game. How many people use Damage Boosts outside of Turbo? If Camos were pushed up a level each and Damage down a level each, that might make Damage Boost almost worth calling in.
> Then there’s weapons like Beserker’s Claw, Oathsworn, the infamously underpowered Pool of Radiance, and so on. Light of Urs could use a look at its RoF, as its way too fast as it is - in contrast, the Pool’s RoF is terribly slow for the damage it does (Or more often than not, damage it fails to do)
> I saw for the first time in what felt like ages, someone actually use the CE Magnum a couple days back. Generally I don’t see people use that very often. Maybe because it’s a Level 6? What if it was 5 instead? It is a legendary, I think it could stand to go down a level and still retain that strength.
> For a weapon that’s supposedly meant to have anti-armor capability, the Twin Jewels doesn’t really seem any more effective against vehicles than its lower leveled members. Does wonders against infantry obviously, but the massive cooldown between shots doesn’t help much when it doesn’t seem to do significant damage to vehicles anyway

I agree, they seem to have little interest in a comprehensive effort. However, it’s probably worth adding your comments to the weapon tuning thread.

I’d love to see them publish usage statistics for weapons and vehicles in Warzone.

20

> 2533274862181038;19:
> > 2533274850869596;18:
> > > 2533274862181038;15:
> > > > 2535405486667568;14:
> > > > Nerfing the railgun is not a great idea. How about looking at the overpowered evasive tactics of the Banshee? NO other aircaft has the luxury of dodging with no cooldown.
> > >
> > > Judging by past comments, vehicle retuning isn’t in the cards for this update.
> >
> > So far, doesn’t seem weapon variants are either. Everything that’s been said so far seems to imply they’re mostly - if not entirely - looking at how things perform in Arena. Which is good that it’s getting looked at, that’s an important part of the game. However, there’s weapons in WZ that are in dire need of attention. I mean, in WZ look at the powerups first. Speed Boost and Camo are useful whole game. How many people use Damage Boosts outside of Turbo? If Camos were pushed up a level each and Damage down a level each, that might make Damage Boost almost worth calling in.
> > Then there’s weapons like Beserker’s Claw, Oathsworn, the infamously underpowered Pool of Radiance, and so on. Light of Urs could use a look at its RoF, as its way too fast as it is - in contrast, the Pool’s RoF is terribly slow for the damage it does (Or more often than not, damage it fails to do)
> > I saw for the first time in what felt like ages, someone actually use the CE Magnum a couple days back. Generally I don’t see people use that very often. Maybe because it’s a Level 6? What if it was 5 instead? It is a legendary, I think it could stand to go down a level and still retain that strength.
> > For a weapon that’s supposedly meant to have anti-armor capability, the Twin Jewels doesn’t really seem any more effective against vehicles than its lower leveled members. Does wonders against infantry obviously, but the massive cooldown between shots doesn’t help much when it doesn’t seem to do significant damage to vehicles anyway
>
> I agree, they seem to have little interest in a comprehensive effort. However, it’s probably worth adding your comments to the weapon tuning thread.
>
> I’d love to see them publish usage statistics for weapons and vehicles in Warzone.

Mostly parroting what I’ve already said over there, sans the Beserker’s Claw which I was only reminded of how lackluster it is once I got it in a random weapon card earlier and struggled to take down a paper banshee that wasn’t even doing flips or boosting AND was in reticle range. The tracking and damage on it was that bad. I remember prior to its addition, they teased how cool the two new weapons were… Wicked Grasp is pretty good, I’ll admit. It shreds spartans pretty fast. The Claw? Eh, might be good for a standard Wasp, if you can get close enough without the pilot gunning you down, but at that level wouldn’t you just call in the Arclight instead? It’s more common in packs and is “only” a Rare to the Claw’s Ultra Rare status…