First off, sorry if anything I say is already covered. I just moved over to 343i from b.net a week or so ago so I might not be up-to-date on all the changes. Also, for the impatient among us, I’ll list the basic issues up front. The ones with asterisks are personal opinions, which I would personally like but don’t necessarily contribute to game balance and quality.
1: Invasion: Move spawns closer to objective in round 1, Balance round 2, Add more spawns/spawn access
2: Infection: Turn off friendly fire
3: Action Sack: Make Hockey and Non-extreme HaloBall more common, Shotty Snipers and Dino Blasters less common.
4: Add Playlist devoted to the Race gametype, possibly making use of the numerous forged race maps.
5: Overall: Change Booting System (seems to favor those who betray for power weapons or just to be -Yoinks!-), Swap out Power Weapons (Change sniper to focus rifle on Hemmorhage, specifically), Make vehicles more resistant to sniper rounds.
6: Armor Abilities: Hologram Buff
Explanations:
1: I measured, and it takes ~30 seconds to get from spawn to the first cap, allowing for only 8 full-on rushes, unless you make use of the spawn-bro system. However, some of us hate being purely spawn-bros or have partners who hate being spawn-bros. I recommend that main spawns are moved forwards to allow quicker access to the phase one caps, but that the back spawns still remain so that people can choose to sacrifice time for stronger weaponry (needle rifles/DMRs in this case). I have never played a game of Boneyard or Spire in which defense won round 2 in any remotely even match. Finally, to reduce spawn-killing, the aforementioned multiple spawns will alleviate the issue if not downright remove it.
2: Whenever I go to any common “base camp” in infection as human, I am almost always greeted by a shotgun round to the face. I respawn, but I’m far from any defensible position and am inevitably infected. In an effort to fix a different glitch/exploit, Bungie turned off Betrayal Booting, but this means that those who betray on purpose are free from any punishment except for lost points, which are outweighed by the points gained from killing someone who might “kill-steal” them.
3: I just never seem to encounter either of these game modes and I think it’d be fun to try them again.
4: I like the race gametype. I’d like to see more. Perhaps there could be a footrace version called “marathon” or something.
5: Purposeful betrayers get away too often in my experience, and accidentals get away too little. The sniper rifle takes people down instantly when properly wielded, whereas the focus rifle gives them a chance. Finally, the sniper should be more anti-personel. It should take at least 2 clips to down a ghost or banshee.
6: 343i handled AL and Camo EXACTLY the way I hoped they would be handled, so all that’s left if to make hologram slightly more worthwhile. Perhaps let the player’s name appear over it, or make the reticule go red, or make it make auto-aim go funny or something.