Some quick background…I started playing Halo when H2 came out (I was 16), my friend got it, and I was hooked not long after. I went out bought an Xbox, Halo 2 and Xbox Live. I began playing 6 hours a day on weekdays, and all weekend long. I gained a close-nit group of friends that lanned and played Live all the time. We played a ton of customs and in tournaments, but also a lot of ranked matchmaking.
In Halo 2 these ranked games were a place where when there were 2, 3 or 4 of us, we could go in and have a great competitive game. There was always something on the line in these games. Even though it was only a rank, everyone in the games at our level (which was around a 35) cared about every game). It was a fierce battle most of the time, sure sometimes it was a blow-out one way or the other, and occasionally cheaters as well, but for the most part it was an incredible environment for competitive gaming. We we
In Halo 3 it was similar, but to a lesser extent, the ranking system was very different in Halo 3 than in Halo 2. In Halo 3, it seemed almost a sure thing that players would jump up the rankings to at least a 45, and people almost expected a 50. In Halo 2, players were lumped everywhere from the low 20s to the low 40s, with no one really above that. This gave a huge skill gap where you could tell if someone was good by seeing their ranking. If someone was a legit 37, they were a great player. In Halo 3, even a legit 50 meant nothing.
In Reach there was no ranking system and those competitive games of old were completely gone. Not one time did I get the same environment that I did in virtually every Team Slayer Halo 2 game. The same will happen in Halo 4. Even with a perfect matchmaking system that creates balanced teams, there will be nothing on the line. There will be no difference between a social game of slayer and a competitive game of slayer. Sometimes when I go into a game, with no rank, I just don’t care very much. In Halo 2, I used the unranked playlists for this, because I didn’t want to hurt my rank. But in Halo 4, I will be hurting the players looking for a competitive game.
I do not believe a 1-50 like Halo 3’s should return. I do not even care if a 1-50 like Halo 2s returns. My plea to 343i is to reconsider their stance on visible ranks. I believe that there needs to be some sort of visible skill based rating system in place to promote competitive games. Whether this is incredibly simple or complex I do not care. Previous games have shown that a rank system in place makes the games more competitive and having a social environment gives players a place to not worry so much about going hard-core.
This Video provides a good example of why the two environments are necessary. While it is based upon a joke, there is some truth to it. Competitive players may go in and get matched up with people who don’t care and it ruins the experience for them, and people who do care; thus the matchmade game had failed both the competitive and non-competitive communities.