I would like to point out that this thread is specifically about stuff I would like to see in CAMPAIGN, and not stuff I could ever see in multiplayer that wouldn’t take an incredible amount of balancing (and apology in advance for it being long, I just have lots of ideas, so bear with me). Anyway, these are just some ideas for stuff I’ve always wanted to see in Campaign, considering we have a whole new trilogy and now and anything could be possible! And since 343 is trying to tie everything together, some of this stuff would be sick if seen in-game. Also some of this stuff may be more suited to Spartan Ops, considering it’s a specific mission based type of campaign.
• Mission customized weapons. In Halo lore Spartans were known to use variations of certain weapons, like the Sniper Rifle for example. It was described in the books as being able to be customized to fit certain mission requirements, like having different stocks, barrel lengths, caliber sizes, and silencers. I think it would be interesting to see different variants of weapons in the campaign. The AR also was described as being able to support 40 mm grenade launchers, underbarrel shotguns, and shredder rounds (very effective against soft targets). I just think it would be super cool if depending on mission types. ie. sniping, assault, recon, that weapons would be customized to fit that role.
• More vehicle variation. In modern militaries there are many variations of combat and support vehicles. Since Halo has been somewhat grounded in real world and possibly feasible technology, it just doesn’t make sense to me that we see such a lack of variation. The scorpion tank for example has 2 different variants, one with 40 mm auto-cannons, and the other with rocket pods according to the Halo encyclopedia. On this note it would also be totally awesome if we got to see and use vehicles introduced in Halo Wars. A lot of them were really cool and would provide for interesting vehicle based missions.
• More moments that make you feel like you’re in the middle of an incredible intergalactic war. With the Xbox 720, this might be more feasible, but none-the-less I’ve never felt like I was part of some kind of huge spanning war. I was hoping to get that feeling in Reach, but they left stuff like that up to cut-scene (In particular the opening cut-scene in Tip of the Spear). I want bigger more immersive battles in Campaign. The COD: MW series I thought did a great job of making you feel like a soldier in the middle of the absolute chaos of battle, I wouldn’t mind seeing that more in Halo’s campaign (I’ll point out that I do like COD for some things, but that Halo will always be my favorite shooter).
• Related to the above bullet, I would really love to see more specific types of missions, like a seriously dedicated sniping mission. Another mission I would like to see is one where you Para-drop. In the Halo Graphic novel, the Spartan Maria uses this Airfoil Carapace for a low level atmospheric drop. It would sweet if one mission you were in freefall and started shooting targets below you to clear a landing zone. Stuff like that would give some serious variety to missions, considering I think Halo has suffered from a lot of backtracking in Campaign.
• Make the Spartans (not necessarily the Chief) look more like they are soldiers geared up and ready for battle. This idea/look was explored somewhat in Reach, but it always bugged me that the Spartans looked “naked” having no real visible gear to hold ammunition and other gear needed for combat operations. I like to see things more realistically, and I just think Spartans would looks so much cooler all geared up and ready for battle, so when you look at them, you know they mean business.
• The ability to dual wield certain single handed weapons with a specific dual wielded weapon. The best example that comes to mind is in the Halo Legends episode, “The Package.” In this episode you see Fred dual wield a Spartan Laser and an SMG. I’m sorry, but that’s F****** awesome. I also wish that if dual wielding returned, that when you went to switch weapons from a dual wield to a single wield, you wouldn’t drop the one dual wielded weapon. I think it would be super fun if you could have two sets of dual wielded weapons on hand during campaign. Your primary could be dual wielded SMGs and your secondary could be dual wielded Magnums!
• The ability to pick up and move turrets around the map, without having to tear them off of their tri-pods (this is more a multiplayer addition, but could be useful in campaign). As seen in this picture you see a Marine carrying a machine gun turret. I think it would add some depth to support gameplay. Turrets aren’t always in the most ideal locations to be effective when firing form a stationary position, that’s why we all tear them off and walk around with them. I hate having to sacrifice all that infinite ammo by tearing the turret off, why not let us move it around? I mean it would be balanced because while moving it you would be vulnerable, and with clever map design, only skilled teams would be able to move a stationary turret to a more ideal location.
All I can think of now, share your ideas! I love hearing what other people would like to see in their favorite video game franchise!