Not Really Impressed by Warzone Firefight

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Just got done playing my first match, and, honestly… it feels pretty boring and doesn’t seem to justify it’s existence. Even though this is a beta, I can’t imagine how much they are able to change at this point.

From the first match alone, I can’t really find any incentive to come back to it. Don’t get me wrong, I will be playing a few more games just because it’s a brand new mode for the game itself. That being said though, there’s no real challenge in it that makes it interesting, let alone a worthwhile award for being able to complete it. For the final round, my team mates and I spawned in like 5 tanks, while someone else brought in a banshee. We took out every enemy like in 2 or 3 minutes.

I truthfully feel like this game mode has potential… but 343 has to be willing to give us some incentive worth playing towards. I couldn’t really find any element in this mode that would persuade me to play more often. I can use REQ’s in regular Warzone and Warzone Assault. I can fight AI in regular Warzone and in campaign. The only thing that this gametype appears to offer is a unique new boss.

If 343 could make this game mode endless, with enemies that keep getting stronger (like… ODST firefight?), and RP based on the amount of rounds that you survived, I think that this could be a very addicting game mode (let me brag to my friends that I got to a higher round). Otherwise, there’s nothing keeping me here.

2

After playing a few matches of Firefight, I have a lot to cover:

Gameplay:
Warzone Firefight, in its current state, feels more like a Spartan Ops mission. Instead of going through seasons of Spartan Ops, mechanics and objectives are simply randomized into the match. Warzone Firefight is more like Warzone Spartan Ops. For the full release of Firefight, I would recommend making the game feel more like Firefight, more like a survival mode. Insert lives back into the game, remove the timer, and bring back limitless rounds. A simple way to adjust RP earnings for limitless rounds would to base the RP earned on performance and time in the game. Sure this would require much more coding for the AI, but i don’t think its too far fetched, since Warzone Firefight doesn’t fully release until a few months from now.

Difficulty:
At its current state, Warzone Firefight is too easy. Almost every match, I call in no reqs and we still win each time with 2 or more minutes to spare. Possibly adding skull combinations into rounds would help. Maybe more aggressive AI, could help increase difficulty as well.

Reqs:
The req system works beautifully inside Warzone Firefight. The only recommendation I have in terms of reqs, is to add more req stations through out the maps. It is a hassel to get to one in the short amount of time of the intermission.

Intermission:
With only a limited amount of req stations on the map, I is a hassle to get to one and call in a card before the intermission is over. Maybe adding 5 seconds would be a good idea.

Time Limit:
As I stated previously, the time limit should be replaced with a life system.

Rounds:
5 rounds is simply not enough. I feel like I blow through each game. Its not challenging in the slightest. Warzone Firefight has always been a go to game for the casual players. I was always about how long can you survive. This is what made Firefight fun and different, not the current setup.

Players:
8 players is a great amount. However, since the Warzone Firefight is too easy, this might have to shrink to 6 players. This is not what I would recommend, though. Trey other ways to increase the difficulty. I have listed a few ideas that might help.

Carnage Report/In Game Stats:
Deaths and assists should be added to the In Game Stats as well as the carnage report. Assist should also include wheelman assist as well to support drivers.

Additions:
I’ve always believed the buddy system, or Reach system of spawn of players, would work wonders in Warzone. Warzone Firefight is no exception. This should be added to the game. Skulls are another thing that could make the matches more challenging a give them more variety.

Dynamic Challenges/Boasts:
Along with my suggestion of making Warzone Firefight more like a survival game, dynamic challenges and Boasts could still have a place. Instead of a requirement, dynamic challenges should be looked at as optional. Completing this task during a round would grant players with a boast. For example: During a round, a dynamic challenge could be to kill a certain solider in a certain time limit before he disappears. Doing so could grant a damage boast for the next round.