Personal loadouts aren’t confirmed, but there is obviously a possibility for their return. I don’t find this to be a bad thing, so long as they address certain problems and prevent any weapon in the selection to be overpowered or easily abused. By this, I’m referring to the options of Plasma Pistol/Plasma Grenades (as this leads to N00B combos and hurts vehicular play), the Boltshot (whether ‘balanced’ or not, I don’t believe a 1-shot-kill weapon should be available at spawn), and by extent, even the Armor Abilities (but that’s a different, albeit-related topic).
I’d personally prefer a UNSC-only selection as it makes little sense to me, canon or gameplay-wise, why Spartans are equipped with such exotic weapons. Using Covenant/Promethean weapons suggests that the UNSC can resupply/recharge these weapons easily (which they can’t, due to the limited access and foreign nature of such firearms). This decision also desensitizes players to the fact that they are using a Forerunner weapon (which could have been stronger to support their legacy, had they not been placed in loadouts).
Anyways, my idea for a UNSC selection to loadouts includes:
Primary- AR, BR, DMR, and possibly add/revisit a second automatic to give the UNSC more options.
Secondary- M6H (Halo 4 Magnum) and another M6 series Magnum, perhaps the M6C/SOCOM (Halo 3: ODST Automag).
Frag Grenades
What do you think? If loadouts DO return, how would you want them implemented?
I liked Reach styled loadouts, that way you never had anything that ruined the gameplay of that map cause the loadouts were made for that specific match, and everybody had the same selection meaning that everybody started off equal.
I want the current selection of unsc weapons as well as new ones. As for Covenant and promethean weapons, both secondaries and plasma grenades must be removed from loadouts. The covenant would get the plasma rifle as a secondary, and promethean faction would get a new weapon entirely. That’s just what I think.
> I liked Reach styled loadouts, that way you never had anything that ruined the gameplay of that map cause the loadouts were made for that specific match, and everybody had the same meaning that everybody started off equal.
Everybody had the same weapons but not the same armor abilities, which were incredibly imbalanced in that game. Camo, jet pack and Armor lock were the worst by far so I really don’t see we’re your getting your info.
> I liked Reach styled loadouts, that way you never had anything that ruined the gameplay of that map cause the loadouts were made for that specific match, and everybody had the same selection meaning that everybody started off equal.
Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember Halo: Reach having static loadouts that were present in every match, regardless of which map it was on.
> > I liked Reach styled loadouts, that way you never had anything that ruined the gameplay of that map cause the loadouts were made for that specific match, and everybody had the same meaning that everybody started off equal.
>
> Everybody had the same weapons but not the same armor abilities, which were incredibly imbalanced in that game. Camo, jet pack and Armor lock were the worst by far so I really don’t see we’re your getting your info.
anybody could use those exact same classes though, not to mention Armor lock was useless unless you were with team mates jet pack makes you a HUGE target and camo is easy to see and the player is always approximately in the center of all the red dotes.
yes there was some unbalancing with the AA’s, but the Reach load out system works better.
> > I liked Reach styled loadouts, that way you never had anything that ruined the gameplay of that map cause the loadouts were made for that specific match, and everybody had the same selection meaning that everybody started off equal.
>
> Correct me if I’m wrong, but I remember Halo: Reach having static loadouts that were present in every match, regardless of which map it was on.
well kinda but they varied with game types, and some maps I think.
> What do you think? If loadouts DO return, how would you want them implemented?
I would much rather go back to the Reach style loadouts. Have everyone with AR/Magnum starts and able to pick the AA that catered to your taste(Or whatever starting weapons are used in said playlist)
I’m really getting tired of the BR’s being used everywhere, I’d much rather have the precision weapons be map pickups unless it’s BR slayer or whatever.
Halo 5 is going to need a major overhaul in terms of multiplayer in order to get me to purchase it.
> > What do you think? If loadouts DO return, how would you want them implemented?
>
> I would much rather go back to the Reach style loadouts. Have everyone with AR/Magnum starts and able to pick the AA that catered to your taste(Or whatever starting weapons are used in said playlist)
>
> I’m really getting tired of the BR’s being used everywhere, I’d much rather have the precision weapons be map pickups unless it’s BR slayer or whatever.
>
> Halo 5 is going to need a major overhaul in terms of multiplayer in order to get me to purchase it.
I think we could similarly accomplish having less predominant BR usage by adding a loadout weapon that can challenge it at mid-range without being OP. The fact that many people choose the BR doesn’t make the choice of what to spawn with bad. Its only a fairly clear indication that the BR needs a competitor at mid-range. Yes, we have the Carbine, but what if we gave the UNSC arsenal (as that’s what people are most likely to use, due to being more familiar/uniform) something different: an automatic rifle with zoom, but not headshot-capable?
I do like the ‘traditional’ AR/Magnum starts, but I don’t feel that giving players a choice is a negative aspect. I think the problems with loadouts are what options the player can choose from (as said before). Maybe precision primaries at spawn are negative, but even if that’s the case, what if we had two primary automatics: AR (better at close range, more damage/bloom) and the ODST SMG, for instance (better at mid-range, less damage/better at range)?
I honestly believe that the loadouts should be bare-bones minimal, if anything at all. Like either choosing between the AR, BR or DMR. Everything else is on the map. Same with AA’s. 343i can create AA’s that overshadow others as long as they’re on the map only. Or maybe ditch the armor abilities in favor of something new altogether.
I’m really torn on the subject of loadouts in the next Halo. On one hand, I’d love if they returned to the arena style of Halo 3, but I recognize that it’s very unlikely for 343 to take what they may regard as a step backwards. I think they need to find a happy medium.
Your point about the UNSC using Covenant and Promethean weapons makes total sense. If the multiplayer is meant to be grounded in the canon, then Spartans should not have these options. Personally, I would love to see the return of Elites in multiplayer; they could have access to the Covenant weapons, while Spartans have access to the UNSC weapons. Promethean weapons in Halo 5 should be more unique (not just a rifle, a shotgun, a machine gun, etc) and unavailable to start with.
Should loadouts stay, then I believe 343 needs to find a way to balance it so that the AR is as viable as a BR. As it stands, unless the player wielding the AR gets the drop on the player with the BR, they will most likely be outgunned (even at close range). I think I’d also remove the DMR as an initial option – concentrated DMR fire just tears through vehicles too easily in my opinion.
Another big problem is the fragility of vehicles against the plasma pistol / plasma grenade start. Should Covenant weapons be an option for loadouts, I think its important that the plasma pistol not be one of them. It wouldn’t be too hard for 343 to come up with a suitable Covenant sidearm to replace the plasma pistol (which would be given a presence on the map instead).
I’d have the Spartans able to chose between the more useful AR and the BR for primary weapons, and the ODST SMG / Magnum for secondary weapons. Then I’d have Elites able to chose between a more useful Storm Rifle and the Carbine for primaries, along with a new Covenant sidearm / debuffed Needler for secondaries.
So tl;dr – if loadouts do return, I would like the options to be more limited, the automatic weapons to be more useful, and the plasma pistol removed as a starting sidearm.
Whilst it doesn’t make sense for Spartans in Spartan ops missions to have exotic weapons so freely available I don’t think it breaks cannon to have them available in the multiplayer War games simulator. Since it is a training simulation it makes sense that Spartans might want to familiarise them selves with weapons they will often encounter in combat. If we are going down the stripping down root I almost think we might as well not include loadouts at all. Which I am not particularly opposed to…
I do have a question however. Can the Plasma Pistol and Plasma grenades be balanced in a way that does not detract from vehicle gameplay? I think they possibly can.
343 seemed to have treated the Plasma Pistol as Halos equivalent to Stinger missiles. The problem is that the plasma pistol and plasma nade combo is probably one of the most effective tools for countering vehicles. Tipped only really by the Spartan Lazar. Honestly I think it can quite often be more effective than a Rocket Launcher. Clearly something is wrong.
Players have always spawned with the ability to fight vehicles. I believe it only took 2 well placed frags to destroy a Warthog in Halo 3 (though I do think the Warthog could heal). You spawned with 2 frags. And a single frag was often enough to flip most vehicle. Many of the vehicles had exposed cockpits making players vulnerable to gun fire. In any game except CE players could also board vehicles. Infantry were not helpless. Then Players also had the option to obtain more effective counters from the map. Rocket launchers, plasma pistols, trip mines, emp grenade launchers, stickies, turrets, other vehicles… Vehicles weren’t particularly unbalanced to begin with so if you add more counters off spawn, vehicles either should become more powerful or the counters should be weaker.
The Plasma pistols homing ability vs players seems to me to be fairly weak. But against a vehicle the charged bolt homes in like a bat from hell. It takes virtually no effort to hit a very fast moving vehicle. I think that is one of the key problem. A good driver should have the ability to avoid plasma pistol bolts just as in past good drivers were always hard to hit with grenades.
The emp effect its self I think needs tweaking/ overhauling. It shouldn’t just cause vehicles to park. It kind of seems silly that a Mantis for example would sit down every time it was emped. Surely you would expect it to freeze. As if it was stunned. I think what should happen is as a driver you loose the ability to steer and apply the gas but I don’t think you should be forced to slam the breaks on. No I think a Warthog for example should drift a bit. Often maybe crashing, but it shouldn’t park. I kind of think maybe it should behave similar to when you are stunned as a player when you are boarded and kicked out of a vehicle. You freeze for a second or so but you gradually regain movement whilst all the time keeping the ability to shoot. Just you can’t turn or aim.
As for the grenades I think the only real outlier is the Warthog. It should at the very least take 3 stickies to destroy. Having multiple players in one vehicle is a big risk. Especially since the Warthog is an exposed cockpit design. There is very little reward associated in getting into a Hog in Halo 4. I think power weapons should play the primary role in countering vehicles again. The Sticky detonator for example I think should become the new plasma grenades. Capable of destroying a banshee in 1 explosive.
I don’t think it should limit people to human weapons, I don’t like using the BR or DMR, I prefer their Covenant/Promethean counterparts and would like the ability to have a Carbine or LR or NR, if it did limit us to human weapons I’d only use the AR, grenade and secondary shouldn’t be a choice imo
I think the best way to deal with loadouts is to simply get rid of them. Start everyone off with the exact same weapons. No AAs, no perks, no tactical packages or any of that garbage. While I’d prefer Equipment to return in place of AAs, if you must have AAs then Halo: Reach’s loadout system works best.
No long range weapons like the DMR or LR should be in the loadouts. They hurt map movement and would be better suited when they’re limited on the map with respawn timers higher than standard precision rifles but lower than power weapons. They should serve as an upgrade you can find on the map.