I’ve been playing this game since the beta almost 2 years ago! And there’s something that still nags me to this day, THIS GAME IS WAY TO COMPETITIVE! Now before I have someone look at my KD and say I’m a cod player I want to make it clear I’m a “casual Halo player” but before you rip me out I want to point out that I don’t think Halo 4’s multiplayer should return, so what do I want then? I want (at least in Halo 6) a “social” section of matchmaking like Halo 3 so I can sit down and just have fun. Unfortunately, I just can’t do that (at least not in arena gametypes) the game is just full of so many tryhards well at least in most games, and I know I’m not the only one, I see a lot of posts on this andI have my friends saying the same thing. I strongly believe if Halo 6 is to be the next big Halo it really needs to tone down the competitive focus, HALO 5 WAS CREATED FOR ESPORTS FOR CHRISTS SAKE! Also if they do add a social sector it needs to have no effect on kd either otherwise we have tryhards reking casuals for kd
Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
Halo 5 is pretty competitive and I don’t like that much either. But if you’re good why does it bother you? I think calling Halo 5 out in being competitive is kind of an excuse for being bad. It’s all the try hards that get good.
I think a casual section could be beneficial to the game but when it comes to the community, I think it would be a strong divide and would be bad.
* Somebody sends a request to join a spartan company * The answer he gets: “Oh. You play in the casual section? Sorry we don’t want you.”
I know Halo 5 has a very competitive feel to the game compared to the other Halos, but the truth is that the community as a whole is far more competitive than they were back in the day. As much as I wish I could have the same experience I had with Halo 3 years ago, it just won’t happen. We just won’t find that Halo 3 experience ever again
First: Yes, H5 is too sweaty.
Second: Yes, even Warzone. Maybe especially Warzone.
Third: Unranked Halo 3 playlists were not “casual” or “easy” or “scrub-friendly.” They were the opposite of that. They were the places where the sweats went to warm up without risk of losing the ranks they were working on in ranked play lists, and they loved it because search restrictions were looser than in ranked and they were far more likely to get easy matches against lesser-skilled players. So just be aware of what it is that you’re really asking for when you ask for a return of Halo 3 social play lists. They were not in any way a safe space for less competitive players.
> 2533274837720524;2:
> Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
Its terrible. I mean casual players really just don’t have anywhere to go to just have a casual good time without being with/against really competitive people. The Huge population ratios of people that are either Tryhard or highly skilled (smurfs included) to casual and low to average skilled players is very uneven. Not just that but its true casual modes like warzone are full of full teams, large team or even just plain downright really competitive highly skilled players.
The sad fact is casuals just don’t have a place to call their own in the community everything is dominated but the competitive community and casual modes and playlists are quickly overrun by the competitive community to assert dominance or get easy kills (which snow balls quickly until mostly competitive players) because they can pick on easy prey because of the fact casuals usually aren’t as skilled compared to competitive players.
I’m trying to help the casual community but it’s a hard fought uphill battle and I constantly get people messaging me that I’m the cancerous part of the community that casual players like me ruin halo for competitive players, and the most common thing I hear is basically, “You suck, quit playing Halo ( + sometimes “Go play CoD” )”.
Good Luck and don’t forget to Have Fun! (and) Always be nice to your fellow players. 
-Xythazar
> 2535410972998653;6:
> > 2533274837720524;2:
> > Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
>
> Its terrible. I mean casual players really just don’t have anywhere to go to just have a casual good time without being with/against really competitive people. The Huge population ratios of people that are either Tryhard or highly skilled (smurfs included) to casual and low to average skilled players is very uneven. Not just that but its true casual modes like warzone are full of full teams, large team or even just plain downright really competitive highly skilled players.
>
> The sad fact is casuals just don’t have a place to call their own in the community everything is dominated but the competitive community and casual modes and playlists are quickly overrun by the competitive community to assert dominance or get easy kills (which snow balls quickly until mostly competitive players) because they can pick on easy prey because of the fact casuals usually aren’t as skilled compared to competitive players.
>
> I’m trying to help the casual community but it’s a hard fought uphill battle and I constantly get people messaging me that I’m the cancerous part of the community that casual players like me ruin halo for competitive players, and the most common thing I hear is basically, “You suck, quit playing Halo ( + sometimes “Go play CoD” )”.
>
> -----
> Good Luck and don’t forget to Have Fun! (and) Always be nice to your fellow players.
> -Xythazar
Damn man, that was a nice read. I feel the exact same way and often campaign for a more casual experience. People usually don’t take me seriously though because my stats are either average or slightly above average, so they think I just want easy kills.
But the stats don’t lie, people want a more casual Halo experience alongside the competitive side. Halo 5 stands around 20th place on the most played One games with 10,000 players, usually less. I found that number by using Titanfall 2, which is above Halo 5, has a population counter, and has around 10,000 players daily.
> 2533274873843883;5:
> First: Yes, H5 is too sweaty.
>
> Second: Yes, even Warzone. Maybe especially Warzone.
>
> Third: Unranked Halo 3 playlists were not “casual” or “easy” or “scrub-friendly.” They were the opposite of that. They were the places where the sweats went to warm up without risk of losing the ranks they were working on in ranked play lists, and they loved it because search restrictions were looser than in ranked and they were far more likely to get easy matches against lesser-skilled players. So just be aware of what it is that you’re really asking for when you ask for a return of Halo 3 social play lists. They were not in any way a safe space for less competitive players.
It’s true. Casuals just have a hard time fitting in especially of late where halo 5 becomes more and more sweaty with more and more of the casual community seeming to disappear and the constant growing threat which is HCS and e-sports. Its what sweaty players live for.
Casual/social playlist are and will be abused by competitive people like he said. Social and unranked modes and playlists are basically something that sounds appealing to casual players but in reality its a place for higher-skilled competitive players to warm-up or take advantage of killing lesser-skilled casual players.
I mean its ridiculous I have to try super hard to just barely compete against the majority of people in Warzone and Warzone Assault I’d love to play it more but its no fun when casual players like myself get steamrolled and spawn-camped every game.
They say that Halo 4 was too casual (among a million other complaints) so there was no room for competitive gamers. Now they made Halo 5 ultra-competitive with no room for casual players. Why are so game devs completely unable to find a balance between things?
Which is ironic because alot of pros hate this game
> 2535410972998653;6:
> > 2533274837720524;2:
> > Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
>
> Its terrible. I mean casual players really just don’t have anywhere to go to just have a casual good time without being with/against really competitive people. The Huge population ratios of people that are either Tryhard or highly skilled (smurfs included) to casual and low to average skilled players is very uneven. Not just that but its true casual modes like warzone are full of full teams, large team or even just plain downright really competitive highly skilled players.
>
> The sad fact is casuals just don’t have a place to call their own in the community everything is dominated but the competitive community and casual modes and playlists are quickly overrun by the competitive community to assert dominance or get easy kills (which snow balls quickly until mostly competitive players) because they can pick on easy prey because of the fact casuals usually aren’t as skilled compared to competitive players.
>
> I’m trying to help the casual community but it’s a hard fought uphill battle and I constantly get people messaging me that I’m the cancerous part of the community that casual players like me ruin halo for competitive players, and the most common thing I hear is basically, “You suck, quit playing Halo ( + sometimes “Go play CoD” )”.
>
> -----
> Good Luck and don’t forget to Have Fun! (and) Always be nice to your fellow players.
> -Xythazar
I dont understand who is the competitive community and how do they control all the arena playlist?
> 2535411766416287;11:
> > 2535410972998653;6:
> > > 2533274837720524;2:
> > > Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
> >
> > Its terrible. I mean casual players really just don’t have anywhere to go to just have a casual good time without being with/against really competitive people. The Huge population ratios of people that are either Tryhard or highly skilled (smurfs included) to casual and low to average skilled players is very uneven. Not just that but its true casual modes like warzone are full of full teams, large team or even just plain downright really competitive highly skilled players.
> >
> > The sad fact is casuals just don’t have a place to call their own in the community everything is dominated but the competitive community and casual modes and playlists are quickly overrun by the competitive community to assert dominance or get easy kills (which snow balls quickly until mostly competitive players) because they can pick on easy prey because of the fact casuals usually aren’t as skilled compared to competitive players.
> >
> > I’m trying to help the casual community but it’s a hard fought uphill battle and I constantly get people messaging me that I’m the cancerous part of the community that casual players like me ruin halo for competitive players, and the most common thing I hear is basically, “You suck, quit playing Halo ( + sometimes “Go play CoD” )”.
> >
> > -----
> > Good Luck and don’t forget to Have Fun! (and) Always be nice to your fellow players.
> > -Xythazar
>
> I dont understand who is the competitive community and how do they control all the arena playlist?
The competitive community are the people who mostly care about testing their limits in games to see who is the best essentially. So most Ranked players. Although its not limited to those players its also people that care about winning, balancing, advantages, and esports a lot of times. Most people associate “Competitive Players” with/as Sweaty Players Who try so hard to be the best at the game to when they get to that skill-level they tend to have a very big ego and enjoy downgrading casual and social players because of their lower skill-level and push to try to just make halo fun for all of us.
If that makes sense. (If anyone wants to add on or correct me feel free).~~~
They control the [majority of multiplayer] because of how many of them there are and they populate every playlist and then (a lot but not all) tend to act like their group (competitive community) are the only people that matter and that casuals don’t have a place in Halo (which in a way we don’t… which is sad). Its not 343’s fault because Competitive Communities are very Dominate in every game that promotes it. 343 actually has one of the best environments for casual players out of most competitive driven games. in most cases Casual communities get driven out almost completely but I feel that way the least about Halo at least I do (but I’m biased I really love playing Halo)
Good Luck and don’t forget to Have Fun! (and) Always be nice to your fellow players.
-Xythazar
What I think is happening is Microsoft and 343 are trying to bring Halo back into the fold of mainstream gaming. Now Halo 5 is by no means not mainstream, but it’s not the same franchise any longer. They’re trying to pull in more audiences and more fans. That’s not necessarily a good or bad thing on its own, but when you design your game around competitiveness rather than making a good game that can be played competitively you’re not making the best decision in the world. Call Of Duty is the best example of thisin gaming. It’s a fun game to play, you don’t have to be good to have fun. But it has a competitive side to it. I know CoD isn’t the prime example for gaming but you can understand my point. I think part of the issue of this game is how fast it is. It’s become more reliant on reaction time. Which again, isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but it’s kind of why people feel that way.
> 2535411766416287;11:
> > 2535410972998653;6:
> > > 2533274837720524;2:
> > > Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
> >
> > Its terrible. I mean casual players really just don’t have anywhere to go to just have a casual good time without being with/against really competitive people. The Huge population ratios of people that are either Tryhard or highly skilled (smurfs included) to casual and low to average skilled players is very uneven. Not just that but its true casual modes like warzone are full of full teams, large team or even just plain downright really competitive highly skilled players.
> >
> > The sad fact is casuals just don’t have a place to call their own in the community everything is dominated but the competitive community and casual modes and playlists are quickly overrun by the competitive community to assert dominance or get easy kills (which snow balls quickly until mostly competitive players) because they can pick on easy prey because of the fact casuals usually aren’t as skilled compared to competitive players.
> >
> > I’m trying to help the casual community but it’s a hard fought uphill battle and I constantly get people messaging me that I’m the cancerous part of the community that casual players like me ruin halo for competitive players, and the most common thing I hear is basically, “You suck, quit playing Halo ( + sometimes “Go play CoD” )”.
> >
> > -----
> > Good Luck and don’t forget to Have Fun! (and) Always be nice to your fellow players.
> > -Xythazar
>
> I dont understand who is the competitive community and how do they control all the arena playlist?
I don’t understand, either. I consider myself an average, casual player and I almost always play alone. Most nights that I play, I’m just playing to relax after a long workday. I usually play a handful of arena/slayer games…sometimes WFF. Occasionally I’ll get completely spanked by a team of uber players, but most of the time I find the matchmaking to be fairly balanced (and my searches are always set to “expanded”). There are always going to be players who are better or worse than me. Getting spanked doesn’t make me feel anxious, or not have a lot of fun, because the next game will likely be a different mix of players and the play will be very close between the two teams. I don’t tend to play much Warzone or BTB, though…is that where most of the “Halo 5 is not for casual players” feelings are coming from? Maybe try different things, like compete against your own stats instead of comparing yourself to the players you’re deeming are playing so “competitively”(?)
All the arena maps are trash because 343 designed them to exclusively cater to the MLG crowd.
This.
Now seriously, I’ve always had this exact feeling about H5. Matchmaking is waaay too competitive everywhere. I’m a high rank (141 as of now) and I’ve unlocked everything you can get out of REQ packs , does that make me a try-hard? Not at all, I’ve just played a lot. My skill is just average or sometimes slightly above that, and I play for fun, does that mean I’m a noob who shouldn’t play Halo? Not at all either. I’m in that minority that’s both veteran and casual. And in H5 I can barely find anywhere to feel comfortable.
Arena? Never really liked it a lot, and as competitive people has been getting better I feel completely outmatched. Warzone? At this point it’s crowded with farmers, last 3 times I played I got spawn trapped.
At this point I mostly play Infection (although half the time there’s a try-hard who gets Killionaires as Last Man and ends with over 40 kills turning the game boring) and Firefight (only thanks to my high rank that makes me have a lot of REQs to effectively play, if not I wouldn’t play it either).
Also, I’m SICK of the HCS stuff. Why does it gets pushed down on us so much? I see it everywhere on H5 and Waypoint, and I’m absolutely tired of it. It just encourages people to be more try-hards IMO. So please I’d like to know why the HCS is so damn important to H5 to the point of being mentioned every 3 days?! Does anyone has the answer to that?
> 2533274837720524;2:
> Yup, this is a long accepted fact. Halo 5 is far too competitive and offers no good place for casual players. Even its casual modes “Warzone and Firefight” are horrifyingly competitive. Warzone was plauged by full teams doing undesirable acts and Firefight is pay-2-win with how REQ reliant it is.
Warzone isn’t so much “competitive” in the same sense that Arena is. It’s competitive in that if one team wants to try-hard, all they have to do is coordinate and all spawn with vehicles and power weapons and the other team will stand no chance whatsoever. So therefore, this casual mode becomes ruined.
The only regular gametypes are always hard-core settings, while the “social” playlist is a clusterfork, completely over-saturated with explosions and power weapons and heavy and aerial vehicles to the point where casual players stand even LESS of a chance against “coordinated” teams.
One last note, the mode that isn’t even competitive, Firefight, is a cheap frustrating mess that’s just upsetting compared to its elegantly designed predecessor.
> 2724275667463138;15:
> All the arena maps are trash because 343 designed them to exclusively cater to the MLG crowd.
Define Thrash. I like the Arena maps except the DLC ones. and the MLG crowd didn’t have any input on the maps the game launched with
I agree whole heartedly that H5 is too sweaty. Even things like Super Fiesta and Griffball are SUPER COMPETITIVE.
A big issue is the lack of social playlists, but that alone won’t solve the issue. The biggest issue I see is that there is a lot of benefit for good players to play against bad players. Such a personal commendation farming, spartan company kill commendation farming, KDR farming, ego booster, WLR farming, and exp/req point farming. This is what makes something like Grifball become far too competitive, because you have full teams of skilled players, going into the game mode with one intention: total anihilation.
So if we are to get a social playlists, there needs to be some downsides or handicaps that will make it less fruitful for the good to punish the average or bad. If there isn’t any incentive other than to play a casual and laid back game mode, then the elitism that is crushing this community would stay away from those game modes. Obviously you would still get people who go in there just to boost their ego, but that’s unavoidable. What is avoidable is the floods of people who would play these playlists as a means of self-gain of company-gain
> 2535411766416287;18:
> > 2724275667463138;15:
> > All the arena maps are trash because 343 designed them to exclusively cater to the MLG crowd.
>
> Define Thrash. I like the Arena maps except the DLC ones. and the MLG crowd didn’t have any input on the maps the game launched with
The maps are almost exclusively there series of tiered corridors that choke off sight lines and force engagements into predefined lanes. There are no true “arena” style maps in Halo 5 except for the ones brought back from previous games (Truth & Mercy). Look at the classic Halo maps that people fondly look back on; Lockout, Hang Em High, Beaver Creek, Warlock. What do these all have in common? Large open spaces that allow for long sight lines but still have cover for people to move around the map.
Sure a few Halo 5 maps have open sight lines, but there’s always some barrier or gap that prevents you from crossing that space. Molten has the lava pit, Plaza has the bottom street, Rig has death pits. These divides all either force long range engagements with no direct path for closing the distance, forcing players to flank around into closed off hallways. In an earlier Halo game you’d simply be able to run up the middle of the map if you wanted to.