First, I will go over what each game did right:
Halo 2: Halo 2 had the best formula, in my and many others’ opinion, for determining rank based on games won, as it did not freeze. Gamers didn’t have to worry about the fact they sucked when they picked up the game; as long as they played well, they ranked up. I do not believe they will use this formula as Microsofts TrueSkill system seems to be something they are pretty dedicated to.
Halo 3: Halo 3 did a good job at separating the casual from the hardcore. It had a 1-50 ranking system that was assisted by the amount of experience you gained. This game used the TrueSkill system, which I believe is actually really good at determining a player’s current skill. The only problem is that no one wants to be stuck at the same level just because they used to be bad.
Halo Reach: Halo Reach turned out to mostly cater to the casual as the prominent rank was only progressed by play time. They did have a good idea with arena as it helped fix the problem with level freezing in the TrueSkill system. However, it didn’t start out as a win only system, and your arena ranking effectively hidden in every other playlist.
My Proposal:
I suggest that they have ranked and social separated again, Reach’s credit system was a good way to assess social progress. However, for ranked, a 1-50 system is used and the number is based off of Halo 2’s formula. There will also be an invisible TrueSkill rank based off of seasons that can be used to better select matches. For general display purposes, they should use halo 3’s combination of experience and highest 1-50 ranking to determine a player’s overall ranking, which will determine the symbol to the right of the nameplate. Also, the highest 1-50 rank achieved should be easily viewable on a hover.
Any thoughts on how this can be improved?