Alright, I’m coming in here with the Solo-Queuer perspective of a Sweat Lord who’s played Halo their entire life (since CE) to make a big argument on a few things I’ve taken issue with thus far. The first being The Entire Premise of This Post.
The post is brought up to argue against nav points, arguing that it makes the maps less memorable. My argument: Maps like Live-Fire which have non-intuitive names for places like OS-Spawn [Called Turbine) are made more memorable by having a Power Item Spawns linked to them. It’s made a lot more intuitive by actually placing them in the UI when getting into the map.
It’s also said that this kills exploration. I’ve decided I’m going to use two examples for this: One from Infinite and One from Halo 5 Yes; I played the hell outta that game.
I will again use the example of Live Fire from Infinite.
Yes; there are icons and announced timers (this is something I will get back to) for the Tier 3 power items (you know, the ones that can heavily sway the match when in the right hands?) of Snipe Spawn (in Hallway), and OS-Spawn.
(Btw, did you know that Snipe Spawn is called Hallway? I’m sure you’ve called it either Snipes or Top-Mid. Another argument for my memorability point.)
But you know what doesn’t have Navs? Tier 2 items and below. This means there’s no on-screen icons/timers for Bulldog/Heatwave Spawn (in bottom-mid called Tunnel), Drop Wall Spawn (Ramp Side of Brutes near the railing.), Sentinel Beam (also on Turbine), Repulsor Spawn (Yard door of Green House), or Spikes (River side of Green House), Commando, Plasma Pistol, etc. These are not trivial items in the hands of a player who knows how to use them and can give them an advantage when well implemented into their game play. Knowing where to find them is the hallmark of a good player. That is still achieved by exploring and familiarizing yourself with the given map.
In Halo 5’s Example, I’ll use the wonderful map of Plaza God, I can’t wait to see this map officially remade in Infinite.
There is only one item on the map (Yes; One!) that has an icon/timer (and remember, item spawns didn’t have built in timers in this era), and that’s Snipes at Cinema. However, there are a number of very powerful items to look for if you want the advantage. These include the Storm Rifle in Bottom Mid, Plasma Pistol in mid Plaza, The Splinter Grenade in the Hotel Entrance of Plaza, the Light Rifle on Orange Platform, etc. This doesn’t even include OS on Top Mid which also doesn’t have one (I don’t believe it was considered a Tier 3 Item in this game.) and can easily give a good player the advantage they need to team wipe in a single fight.
As to Halo Infinite’s Universal Timer System (in which timers are built into item spawns), I think this is a great thing! In previous Halo games, if you went for an item and it wasn’t there, it could have been taken a minute ago or ten seconds ago, with no real way to tell how long you’d have until that item becomes available again. That guessing is no more, as now we can look at the item spawn and make a decision based on how long it’s going to be until the item spawns again; whether that’s to return when it’s closer to spawn; look for the player that has and fight for the item; or, if it’s close to respawning, lock down and defend the item spawn to secure it for our self. This takes what was previously a mix of guessing and skill and pulls it entirely into the skill component of game play.
Next up, let’s tackle this notion that it removes being able to sneak the item for yourself. All it really does it remove the obfuscation of when power items will spawn. I have played a ton of games where I’ve seen that the power item is close to spawn and decided to secure it for myself. Often times, getting there early means I’ll be able to secure the item uncontested and make a break for it without so much as being seen by the enemy. It seems that a lot of people tend not to notice/change their game play according to when power item spawns are coming up, especially in objective based game modes. Either way, it is objectively more skillful (and more fun imo) to fight for the item and be challenged then to just grab it and sway the match in your favor a la Halo 3. Also, it’s quite literally never forced. You can fight enemies for them after the fact or ignore it entirely, and it also just helps to know when the item has been taken because you can usually tell whether it’s your team or the enemy, which is something you couldn’t always tell in older Halo (ever been on high alert because rockets was taken just to find out your teammate has it anyone?) and also adds to the play dynamic. I saw it said this alerts the enemy team of where you are, which is true, but it’s not like it puts a marker on you. Get out of dodge and play around it, and you’ll be rewarded greatly, but now the enemy knows to expect that fight and not be on alert for no reason.
Overall, this entire thread and most of the arguments against it just seem to boil down to a skill issue and wanting the game to be dumb down instead of remedying that issue. “Every single change that has happened since Halo 3 needs to be undone”? No thanks; I like the AR actually being useful, Plasma Pistol getting single shot attention instead of just being a charge shot or suffer, and the OS/AC equipment change. I like the Looser Feel of Infinite and the Sentinel Beam being Ammo Based. I like being able to see my remaining stamina. If I wanted to play Halo 3, I’d load up MCC.
Btw, you asking for a No Nav Point Playlist is insanely privileged. You’re asking to split up the player base and have matchmaking queued by something incredibly trivial; do better.