Lately, bickering about Halo has been very high on the forums. Things like why weapons are bad, why 343 removed certain medals and what is just generally poor pertaining to noticable elements to gameplay and canon alike are not uncommon. 343 has lost attention of longtime Halo fans within the initial weeks of H4’s release. Despite 343’s suggested behavior of neglegence to the community, I am posting this thread to try and find solutions to the numerous things Halo 4 is riddled with, or just find justification to it. I’ll go through each category, starting with medals:
Medals:
These have always signified a reward and accomplishment for feats, some simple as sticking an enemy with a plasma grenade or as hard as getting 15+ kills in a match without dying. 343 has removed some of the most renowned medals in Halo (including Stick, Sniper Headshot, and Perfection, and added very numerous new ones to accomodate most situations a player may encounter. Plenty say that things like getting a single kill after dying three times in a row (Comeback) or getting a single kill with a Sword/Laser/Rocket/etc. (giving general ordnance medals) are not worthwhile situations where someone should be profoundly rewarded.
For those saying medals should be removed/added, it is not so simple. Mostly for the reason that medals signify feats you have accomplished, and removing an entire medal may suggest that you have never fulfilled any requirement to have earned that medal while it was still in play, but adding a new one in the midst of the game is not an accurate tally of how many times you could have earned that medal (say you pick up a sniper in H4 today, and get a headshot with it. You have gotten one headshot with it. Later, 343 adds the snipe medal again and you get another headshot. You performed two headshots, but everyone will only see that you earned one) Despite a large portion of these new medals not requiring a large amount of skill to earn, they very much play a role in the new ordnance system for Slayer gametypes. These medals give cadence for how much ordnance you’ve earned to fill your meter (an assist is obviously not worth a generic kill). Similarily onto the new weapons system…
Loadouts:
It could be speculated that 343 added loadouts intending to give the player more individuality. You earn Spartan Points in various levels as you progress, and you use them to unlock new abilities and weapons to use. This system is not as effective as it may have been intended, mainly because just about everything you would need for multiplayer is available to you within the first few tens of levels. Thankfully, no power weapons were added into the mix of this system (despite stickies). It doesn’t necesarily give anyone an edge, but it is not as effective a system as 343 likely intended it to be.
Weapons:
343 has given their own spin on many of the old weapons this time around. I personally do not find it unfair for people to utilize what they want at the beginning of a match, but rather the general effectiveness of that weapon. Here are some of which bug me the most:
-DMR: It is essentially the sniper’s little brother. It does not have as much power, but it certainly packs a punch. Considering how it can be used in very versatile fashions, I would reccomend a RoF nerf, but no change in power.
-Carbine: It might just be me (probably is), but it felt severely underpowered in this game. I had no problem with using it in H3, but ever since Reach and beyond, the Covenant rifles have lacked severly. It already has a good punch in it, but possibly a slight (and I mean VERY slight) damage boost might help.
Now the infamous…
-Boltshot: In reality, there is little alterior use out of this “mini-shotgun”. I may not be proud of trying my hardest to master its commendation, but I have to say I do find it ideal in close-quarters situations for its power. But the biggest thing that bugs me is how you can go straight back for more if you miss with a charged shot the first time. I would suggest requiring a full clip for a charged blast. And to compensate for the (surprisingly large) range, increase its spread.
Armor Abilities:
Back with some old and in with some new, these have made a return from Reach. Everyone is pretty familiar with these I suspect (and I’m running out of room to write an entire paragraph for each category), so I’ll just go through the list of changes I would suggest.
-Thruster Pack: People try to compare this with the exact same Evade from Reach. In reality, this was intended to be a maneuver buff in close-quarters situations for things like side-stepping enemy fire and grenades. I personally find its use good as a general, like I did with Sprint. No special edge; you just have it when you need it. That being said, its cool time (five seconds) seems fairly long. Maybe cutting a second or two would improve it. Also, I am severly annoyed with how whenever I have a long jump ahead of me, I think using TP will help me cross it (in reality, it brings you down to the ground faster). It would be nice if you were able to carry momentum, so if you’re sprinting and then use it you’re actually going somewhere (rather than moving equivelantely to trying to use a fart as propulsion).
-Hardlight Shield: WAY too overpowered. It will literally block any oncoming fire coming your way (be it a grenade or Scorpion). It also doesn’t break very easily. Reducing its health/duration would be a formidable diagnosis.
Vehicles:
There’s not much point for using one beyond suicide. Literally shooting a Ghost a few times will bring it down to size dramatically. I used to fear pretty much everything except Mongeese, but now it’s the other way around. Biggest thing I would suggest is a general increase in health for all vehicles, and maybe even increase ballistic damage with ones such as the Warthog and Mantis.
Now that I’ve gone through everything I wanted to go through, I thank you all for taking the time to read this. Feel free to speculate (or troll) my suggestions, or add your own.
Another quick note:
343 may not be as socially active as Bungie was, but it’s been less than three weeks since H4’s release. They are aware there are a lot of problems arising each day. They might just not have enough time between responding to your pleas of help and fulfilling them.