More Heavy Support Weapons in Infinite?

Games Halo Infinite
#1

With Halo Infinite’s focus on its sandbox, I hope they take a look at a long-deprived area of Halo’s sandbox: Heavy Weapons. Sometimes referred to as Support weapons. Those often overlooked machines of death, that knock you into a 3rd person view as you haul them around. Having Turrets being detachable was a neat idea stylistically, really feeds into the power fantasy aspects of Halo. But following their introduction in Halo 3, Heavy weapons haven’t seen any significant update or expansion. They have just been stagnant and have seemed a bit underpowered in many titles. Here’s a link to a great video by Latenight gaming about the visual presentation of Detachable Turrets.

Firstly they need to be powerful. Not only do they stop you from throwing grenades, meleeing, and slow down your base movement, but they also lock you out of other movement abilities, like Sprint, and in Halo 5’s case Clamber and thrust. They need to be powerful enough to warrant these penalties. Not to the point that they completely outclass power weapons, but I think they should be at least high tier 2 pick-ups, if not tier 3. You know there is a problem when a SAW LMG can out DPS a Heavy Chain-Gun. I think the Heavy weapons in Ruby’s Rebalance Mods (Halo 3, Reach) are a good benchmark, maybe minus the speed increase.

I like the look of the Scrap cannon, a Gatling Mortar Turret sounds pretty cool. It’s a good start. But it is just another faction turret. I would love to find heavy weapons in new ways. Like the Hunter Cannons, I would love to actually defeat a Hunter, pick up its Fuelrod Gauntlet, and turn it against the Covenant/ Banished. Halo 5 gave us a taste in Warzone, please give us Hunter Gauntlets in Campaign! Could also have a Focus Cannon variant, plus maybe one or two more.

Another way to find heavy weapons could be by shooting off Chin turrets on vehicles like the Spirits or Phantoms. Imagine destroying a Spirit‘s Tri-Plasma Cannon fixings, picking it up, and using it for yourself. Something similar could be done to heavy tank units, like a Juggernaut Sentinel, shooting a week shot to steal its heavy Ion Cannon. There is so much potential.

Additionally, 343 could increase Heavy weapons cohesion in the Sandbox by allowing you to carry heavy weapons in the passenger seats of vehicles. Imagine picking up a squad of teammates all carrying heavy weapons and driving them around on the back of a Razorback, and raining terror. It would be magnificent, or terrifying, depending on your perspective.

What do you guys think? Should Heavy weapons get more love?

#2

I don’t think weapons like the BFG doom style weapons fit well in the Halo universe I thinks that’s why we have vehicles to give that heavy fire power.

#3

> 2535414600922971;2:
> I don’t think weapons like the BFG doom style weapons fit well in the Halo universe I thinks that’s why we have vehicles to give that heavy fire power.

I’m a little confused by the comparison to the BFG, I’m referring to Heavy Support Weapons like the Machine gun turret, Plasma Turret, and Missile Pod. I’m not advocating for a higher tier of weapon above Power Weapon or anything like that. I’ve edited my OP a little, in case I was unclear.

#4

Heavy weapons are pretty much always power weapons outside of detachable turrets. I think they can improve in this space however an arena map has to have balance and adding too many heavies would be detrimental.

#5

Pretty great post! Heavy weapons have always just kinda “been there” without really being expanded in the sandbox. As you said, adding the Halo 5 Hunter Cannons in campaign would be a nice way of addressing this as it would make players re-evaluate how they approach encounters that include Hunters. You could also have Halo 2-esque heavy duty Sentinels make a return along with heavy weapons that you can pick up from their wreckage.

Making heavy weapons available in vehicle passenger seats in MP could be cool, though it would depend on the individual map designs. A map with one or two HMGs for example would be fine, but one with three or four would be too much for balancing. A Razorback with a full compliment of heavy weapons, especially if they get a damage buff, would probably be the single most powerful thing on a given map. As overpowered as it might be, I admit that I would love to at least see it in custom games or campaign.

#6

> 2533274792737987;4:
> Heavy weapons are pretty much always power weapons outside of detachable turrets. I think they can improve in this space however an arena map has to have balance and adding too many heavies would be detrimental.

Oh yeah, too many heavies on a Single multiplayer map would be problematic. But you could have variety between maps.

#7

> 2533274797849057;6:
> > 2533274792737987;4:
> > Heavy weapons are pretty much always power weapons outside of detachable turrets. I think they can improve in this space however an arena map has to have balance and adding too many heavies would be detrimental.
>
> Oh yeah, too many heavies on a Single multiplayer map would be problematic. But you could have variety between maps.

The weapons need to be interesting and add something else that other power weapons do not as well. 343i has designed some awesome weapons however I am not a fan of the heavies to be honest.

#8

> 2533274797849057;1:
> With Halo Infinite’s focus on its sandbox, I hope they take a look at a long-deprived area of Halo’s sandbox: Heavy Weapons. Sometimes referred to as Support weapons. Those often overlooked machines of death, that knock you into a 3rd person view as you haul them around. Having Turrets being detachable was a neat idea stylistically, really feeds into the power fantasy aspects of Halo. But following their introduction in Halo 3, Heavy weapons haven’t seen any significant update or expansion. They have just been stagnant and have seemed a bit underpowered in many titles. Here’s a link to a great video by Latenight gaming about the visual presentation of Detachable Turrets.
>
> Firstly they need to be powerful. Not only do they stop you from throwing grenades, meleeing, and slow down your base movement, but they also lock you out of other movement abilities, like Sprint, and in Halo 5’s case Clamber and thrust. They need to be powerful enough to warrant these penalties. Not to the point that they completely outclass power weapons, but I think they should be at least high tier 2 pick-ups, if not tier 3. You know there is a problem when a SAW LMG can out DPS a Heavy Chain-Gun. I think the Heavy weapons in Ruby’s Rebalance Mods (Halo 3, Reach) are a good benchmark, maybe minus the speed increase.
>
> I like the look of the Scrap cannon, a Gatling Mortar Turret sounds pretty cool. It’s a good start. But it is just another faction turret. I would love to find heavy weapons in new ways. Like the Hunter Cannons, I would love to actually defeat a Hunter, pick up its Fuelrod Gauntlet, and turn it against the Covenant/ Banished. Halo 5 gave us a taste in Warzone, please give us Hunter Gauntlets in Campaign! Could also have a Focus Cannon variant, plus maybe one or two more.
>
> Another way to find heavy weapons could be by shooting off Chin turrets on vehicles like the Spirits or Phantoms. Imagine destroying a Spirit‘s Tri-Plasma Cannon fixings, picking it up, and using it for yourself. Something similar could be done to heavy tank units, like a Juggernaut Sentinel, shooting a week shot to steal its heavy Ion Cannon. There is so much potential.
>
> Additionally, 343 could increase Heavy weapons cohesion in the Sandbox by allowing you to carry heavy weapons in the passenger seats of vehicles. Imagine picking up a squad of teammates all carrying heavy weapons and driving them around on the back of a Razorback, and raining terror. It would be magnificent, or terrifying, depending on your perspective.
>
> What do you guys think? Should Heavy weapons get more love?

All of this is spot on. I’d add that it be useful if one could find a pick up tripod that can be used to reattach these weapons. It would still have limted ammo but create a defensive position on objectives and help Foster team play. Also variety is sorely lacking i feel like a hardlight turret that makes a shield be useful or one that lets you move like monitor’s in forge be interesting.
On the note of turrets I’d love to see marines and grunts carry deployable turrets like h2 and have them act as equipment with them being deadly but damagable

#9

> 2535411919953126;8:
> All of this is spot on. I’d add that it be useful if one could find a pick up tripod that can be used to reattach these weapons. It would still have limted ammo but create a defensive position on objectives and help Foster team play. Also variety is sorely lacking i feel like a hardlight turret that makes a shield be useful or one that lets you move like monitor’s in forge be interesting.
> On the note of turrets I’d love to see marines and grunts carry deployable turrets like h2 and have them act as equipment with them being deadly but damagable

I really do like the idea of having a variant of the Machine Gun Turret, with a collapsible tripod that can be re-deployed. Maybe doing so increases the turret’s accuracy but it retains the limited ammo. Additionally, I agree that not all heavy weapons need to be focused on pure firepower, a portable hard-light/ particle barrier attached to a turret-styled weapon sounds very interesting. It would be nice to see weapons with additional utility, and I think heavy armaments are the perfect place to add something like this in Halo. I’m imagining something similar to Titanfall 2’s Legion Predator Cannon Gun Shield. The shield I think would have to be destructible and vulnerable to plasma fire/ EMPs.

343’s apparent commitment to innovating Halo’s Sandbox in Halo Infinite, as opposed to core mechanics, has really got me excited about Halo again. It’s innovations like these I have been hoping to see in Halo for a long time.

> 2533274792737987;7:
> The weapons need to be interesting and add something else that other power weapons do not as well. 343i has designed some awesome weapons however I am not a fan of the heavies to be honest.

Absolutely, they do need to be interesting. I just think if Heavy weapons are going to remain part of Halo, something should be done to push them forward. It shouldn’t be the case of them just ‘being there’ like NINJAinTIGHTS1 said. And I think they are a good platform for creativity.

#10

> 2533274797849057;9:
> > 2535411919953126;8:
> > All of this is spot on. I’d add that it be useful if one could find a pick up tripod that can be used to reattach these weapons. It would still have limted ammo but create a defensive position on objectives and help Foster team play. Also variety is sorely lacking i feel like a hardlight turret that makes a shield be useful or one that lets you move like monitor’s in forge be interesting.
> > On the note of turrets I’d love to see marines and grunts carry deployable turrets like h2 and have them act as equipment with them being deadly but damagable
>
> I really do like the idea of having a variant of the Machine Gun Turret, with a collapsible tripod that can be re-deployed. Maybe doing so increases the turret’s accuracy but it retains the limited ammo. Additionally, I agree that not all heavy weapons need to be focused on pure firepower, a portable hard-light/ particle barrier attached to a turret-styled weapon sounds very interesting. It would be nice to see weapons with additional utility, and I think heavy armaments are the perfect place to add something like this in Halo. I’m imagining something similar to Titanfall 2’s Legion Predator Cannon Gun Shield. The shield I think would have to be destructible and vulnerable to plasma fire/ EMPs.
>
> 343’s apparent commitment to innovating Halo’s Sandbox in Halo Infinite, as opposed to core mechanics, has really got me excited about Halo again. It’s innovations like these I have been hoping to see in Halo for a long time.
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274792737987;7:
> > The weapons need to be interesting and add something else that other power weapons do not as well. 343i has designed some awesome weapons however I am not a fan of the heavies to be honest.
>
> Absolutely, they do need to be interesting. I just think if Heavy weapons are going to remain part of Halo, something should be done to push them forward. It shouldn’t be the case of them just ‘being there’ like NINJAinTIGHTS1 said. And I think they are a good platform for creativity.

Ya really liking the entire thought process here.
I’ve long advocated for more weapon utility.

I’ve been saying for years that hardlight weapons should cause hardlight to fracture turning watcher shields into AOE explosives or creating holes in light bridges as a way to separate them from the other 2 weapon groups. The binary being able to increase jump height and lower fall rate with promethean vision in the scope with holding the trigger making it a beam that skills players can use to mutlikill and trick shot, causing a reload delay or pulling the trigger for a standard shot. The LR ads having built in stabilise was another thought. All this at the expense of need in hardlight generator or melee kills on Prometheans to restock ammo.

But now I’m wondering if those concepts would better serve the heavy weapon archetype.
Also I can’t be the only one that feels the railgun makes way more sense as a heavy weapon. Give it an emp aoe effect on top of the high damage from direct hits.

#11

Perhaps what would definitely be good is the introduction of this weapon, the Disintegrator because that weapon looks so cool.

#12

> 2535411919953126;10:
> Ya really liking the entire thought process here.
> I’ve long advocated for more weapon utility.
>
> I’ve been saying for years that hardlight weapons should cause hardlight to fracture turning watcher shields into AOE explosives or creating holes in light bridges as a way to separate them from the other 2 weapon groups. The binary being able to increase jump height and lower fall rate with promethean vision in the scope with holding the trigger making it a beam that skills players can use to mutlikill and trick shot, causing a reload delay or pulling the trigger for a standard shot. The LR ads having built in stabilise was another thought. All this at the expense of need in hardlight generator or melee kills on Prometheans to restock ammo.
>
> But now I’m wondering if those concepts would better serve the heavy weapon archetype.
> Also I can’t be the only one that feels the railgun makes way more sense as a heavy weapon. Give it an emp aoe effect on top of the high damage from direct hits.

I am an advocate of weapons having more depth to them than just the damage they can deal. How about a Heavy Railgun weapon, that has such an extreme recoil that it pushes you back? It could be used to propel jumps or accelerate vehicles forward when fired backward by a passenger.

I suspect Hardlight will have its own defining characteristics in Halo Infinite, with all the talk about different damage types. I don’t know what they are planning for Hardlight but suspect it will be bouncy. The new forerunner weapon revealed I suspect is a Hardlight weapon. Hardlight damage overloading Hardlight tech for explosive results, is a cool concept, could be interesting. I could also envision a heavy forerunner weapon with a holographic targeting display, that features a Promethean Vision style enemy highlighting feature, it would certainly be a more controlled way to include such an ability than having it in a loadout.

#13

Scrap cannon sounds like they copy and pasted the splinter turret from 5, but in brute form. I’m going to laugh if it is.

#14

> 2533274797849057;12:
> > 2535411919953126;10:
> > Ya really liking the entire thought process here.
> > I’ve long advocated for more weapon utility.
> >
> > I’ve been saying for years that hardlight weapons should cause hardlight to fracture turning watcher shields into AOE explosives or creating holes in light bridges as a way to separate them from the other 2 weapon groups. The binary being able to increase jump height and lower fall rate with promethean vision in the scope with holding the trigger making it a beam that skills players can use to mutlikill and trick shot, causing a reload delay or pulling the trigger for a standard shot. The LR ads having built in stabilise was another thought. All this at the expense of need in hardlight generator or melee kills on Prometheans to restock ammo.
> >
> > But now I’m wondering if those concepts would better serve the heavy weapon archetype.
> > Also I can’t be the only one that feels the railgun makes way more sense as a heavy weapon. Give it an emp aoe effect on top of the high damage from direct hits.
>
> I am an advocate of weapons having more depth to them than just the damage they can deal. How about a Heavy Railgun weapon, that has such an extreme recoil that it pushes you back? It could be used to propel jumps or accelerate vehicles forward when fired backward by a passenger.
>
> I suspect Hardlight will have its own defining characteristics in Halo Infinite, with all the talk about different damage types. I don’t know what they are planning for Hardlight but suspect it will be bouncy. The new forerunner weapon revealed I suspect is a Hardlight weapon. Hardlight damage overloading Hardlight tech for explosive results, is a cool concept, could be interesting. I could also envision a heavy forerunner weapon with a holographic targeting display, that features a Promethean Vision style enemy highlighting feature, it would certainly be a more controlled way to include such an ability than having it in a loadout.

Now thats an idea. You could even use it to duck behind cover if its extreme enough essentially being thrust from 5.
Bouncy is a good guess. If they have a light rifle you can bounce around corners people will do insane things haha