I’ve noticed how the Promethean weapons in Halo 4 are simply just ‘reskinned AR analogue, BR/DMR analogue, Sniper analogue, shotgun analogue, etc.’ And the designs of some of these weapons are quite lacking (esp. the Z-180 ‘Scattershot’, being a five-shot break action shotgun created by a civilization that cracks planets apart as part of mining operations, and whose naval tactics saw entire star systems die in fire).
Though I have to say the disintegration effect that happens when one gets a kill with the medium weaponry is a nice [effect]…
Anyway, here’s my opinion on how the Promethean arsenal could be more unique in Halo 4. Due to weapon balancing, they are removed from the primary/secondary weapon selection screen in one’s loadout menu. Instead, they are obtained in ordinance drops only.
First off, remove the Z-180 from the game altogether. The Promethean arsenal already has a shotgun analogue, and that is the Z-110 ‘Boltshot’. Give the Z-110 a limited scope (about half the zoom level of the UNSC M6H Magnum). When firing single shots or pressing the trigger repeatedly for semi-automatic fire, it functions as it does in the game. When one holds down the trigger, however, the weapon’s barrel extends into the shape of the Z-180’s barrel, and the weapon gains the disintegration effect upon getting a kill. However, the charged shot requires at least five hard-light [pellets] in the [magazine] to work, and will consume five [pellets] per discharge. It also has a noticeable cooldown before it can fire another blast, about five seconds or so, so if you miss the initial shot, it’s sort of a big deal.
Next, remove the Z-130 ‘Suppressor’. The Sentinel Beam does everything the Suppressor [did], but better. It also doesn’t lose it’s effectiveness on a target less than 10 meters away like the [hard-light] hose does.
Keep the Z-390 ‘Incineration Cannon’ the same as it is now. It doesn’t need any buffs or nerfs, it’s good enough as is.
Finally, the Z-250 ‘Light Rifle’. Unscoped, it fires three-shot bursts, much like it does now. However, it now has two levels of zoom. Scoped in the first time, it fires single shots like it does in H4… but when you zoom in again, it turns into the Z-750 ‘Binary Rifle’. For balancing reasons, you only get one shot before you have to reload, and you have to hold down the zoom button to remain in Sniper mode. It still emits the targeting laser, so you have a visual cue for when somebody has the weapon and is zoomed in, looking for targets to turn into orange dust in the wind.
Perhaps, if this would be able to be implemented, if you press and hold down the melee button at the same time as one is in Sniper mode, and then press + hold down the fire button, the Z-750 is transformed into a sword for use in melee combat. In this mode, it only can pull off 5 hits before it runs out of AM charge and has to be reloaded.
The Z-040 Pulse Grenade is slightly modified to give off an EMP effect upon the field collapsing, but aside from that, it remains unchanged.
So, what do [you] think? Good idea, bad idea, or what?