On Vehicles in Halo 4.

Games Other Halo
#1

It’s hard to believe just how close we are to Halo 4, but I still have one glaring concern that I can’t seem to just get over and put behind me. I love vehicle combat in the Halo series, and I’ve watched it die a slow death starting in Halo 3 and we now find it completely dead in Reach.

I’m not sure what to think about Halo 4, but I do know the problems previous games had; Problems that Halo 4 will most likely have if things don’t get changed.

- The Spartan Laser.

I don’t understand why this weapon exists. It’s an instant-kill, impossible-to-counter, anti-vehicle weapon that can be fired from across the entire map from good cover. It might as well be the Binary Rifle for vehicles. If you’re in a vehicle, there’s simply no way to avoid a Laser unless you can find something to put between yourself and it… Which in vehicles is nearly impossible to do in the 5 or so seconds it takes for the Laser to charge… Lest we not even mention that the user can simply charge it up while not pointed at you, and snap at the last second for essentially an insta-gib.

I don’t care how many times they’ve nerfed it: The Spartan Laser is, at its core design philosophy, an imbalanced plague on Vehicle combat. If it were to be removed entirely from the sandbox, vehicle combat would automatically improve and become much more viable overnight.

Frankly, this could go for the plethora of anti-vehicle weapons in Halo 4’s sandbox as well. I liked things back in Halo 1: All you needed were some grenades or a rocket launcher and you were set to destroy. That’s all you need now, it just takes more skill than an insta-gib laser or an anti-materiel sniper rifle.

- EMP and the Plasma Pistol.

Not as much of an issue, but I do consider this a huge concern in Halo 4. Being able to spawn with a plasma pistol means vehicle drivers will have to contend with potentially everyone on the enemy team being able to disable them very quickly.

It’s a concern. Not saying it’s OP, simply a concern.

- Vehicles made of paper.

I think everyone can agree that the amount of damage a vehicle can take in Reach is ridiculously low. Who knows if they’ve fixed this, but we do know that we aren’t getting Halo 3’s system back. It’s some mix of the two. We already have enough ways to kill vehicles instantly, and vehicles having their own health doesn’t help. Nobody wants to pick up a damaged ghost or warthog. It’ll just rot there the whole game or until it respawns.

We really need Halo 3’s system back. Yes, it was unrealistic, but who cares? It worked well for vehicle combat.

I believe that without these changes, we’re going to have another Halo game where BTB is all about infantry and the vehicles are deathtraps.

#2

Yeah i agree… vehicles need to run off the shields of the people inside, i think 343 has said the vehicle life is similar to halo 3’s so i think we are in the clear! hopefully…

7 more sleeps…

#3

Halo 4’s vehicles aren’t made of paper anymore, Infact all of them are very deadly.
Good thing is they removed Revenants and other crap, now the game’s BTB combat is back to Halo 3’s style where there was good balance between infantry and vehicle combat. People will use the warthog again!

#4

> It’s hard to believe just how close we are to Halo 4, but I still have one glaring concern that I can’t seem to just get over and put behind me. I love vehicle combat in the Halo series, and I’ve watched it die a slow death starting in Halo 3 and we now find it completely dead in Reach.
>
> I’m not sure what to think about Halo 4, but I do know the problems previous games had; Problems that Halo 4 will most likely have if things don’t get changed.
>
> - The Spartan Laser.
>
> I don’t understand why this weapon exists. It’s an instant-kill, impossible-to-counter, anti-vehicle weapon that can be fired from across the entire map from good cover. It might as well be the Binary Rifle for vehicles. If you’re in a vehicle, there’s simply no way to avoid a Laser unless you can find something to put between yourself and it… Which in vehicles is nearly impossible to do in the 5 or so seconds it takes for the Laser to charge… Lest we not even mention that the user can simply charge it up while not pointed at you, and snap at the last second for essentially an insta-gib.
>
> I don’t care how many times they’ve nerfed it: The Spartan Laser is, at its core design philosophy, an imbalanced plague on Vehicle combat. If it were to be removed entirely from the sandbox, vehicle combat would automatically improve and become much more viable overnight.
>
> Frankly, this could go for the plethora of anti-vehicle weapons in Halo 4’s sandbox as well. I liked things back in Halo 1: All you needed were some grenades or a rocket launcher and you were set to destroy. That’s all you need now, it just takes more skill than an insta-gib laser or an anti-materiel sniper rifle.
>
> - EMP and the Plasma Pistol.
>
> Not as much of an issue, but I do consider this a huge concern in Halo 4. Being able to spawn with a plasma pistol means vehicle drivers will have to contend with potentially everyone on the enemy team being able to disable them very quickly.
>
> It’s a concern. Not saying it’s OP, simply a concern.
>
> - Vehicles made of paper.
>
> I think everyone can agree that the amount of damage a vehicle can take in Reach is ridiculously low. Who knows if they’ve fixed this, but we do know that we aren’t getting Halo 3’s system back. It’s some mix of the two. We already have enough ways to kill vehicles instantly, and vehicles having their own health doesn’t help. Nobody wants to pick up a damaged ghost or warthog. It’ll just rot there the whole game or until it respawns.
>
> We really need Halo 3’s system back. Yes, it was unrealistic, but who cares? It worked well for vehicle combat.
>
> I believe that without these changes, we’re going to have another Halo game where BTB is all about infantry and the vehicles are deathtraps.

You’re right about vehicles in Reach not being able to take much damage. But I’ve kind of become addicted to the “lazar.”

#5

Idk- I think Reach had super dominant vehicles. At first they were weak to EVERYTHING but then they must have did a buff or something cause I’ve seen too many games w/ vehicle domination.

H3 was good times, Reach BTB is just… Sad day.

#6

Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and it takes skill to aim. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.

I love my laser…

#7

Luckily from what we’ve seen paper vehicles are out! So people will actually start using the regular Warthog again and not having to worry about it flipping on a fricking pebble and flying all over the place because of DMR fire.

For Reach, the vehicle balance was all over the place. The Wraith, Banshee, and Gauss Hog felt really OP, while the Warthog and the Ghost feels really UP.

I long to return to the days of Halo 3-styled vehicle warfare. I think we’ll have a chance with that in Halo 4, as things seem a lot more balanced.

#8

> Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and <mark>it takes skill to aim</mark>. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.
>
> I love my laser…

^This.
I suck at aiming with it, so I’m not op with it lol.

#9

Halo 3 was the golden age of vehicle combat.

#10

I wonder what kind of damage the incineration cannon does to vehicles…

#11

The weaker vehicles didn’t bother me that much, considering that promoted hit-and-run tactics, which you should’ve been using anyway.

However, I agree with your other points, especially about Plasma Pistol spawns. Have you tried driving a Warthog as a Spartan in Invasion? You got EMP’d every five seconds.

#12

> Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and it takes skill to aim. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.
>
> I love my laser…

Surprisingly enough, I agree with the op on this. While I think the other issues he brought up are marginal at best in respects to halo 4, the spartan laser’s only counter is mobility… and tanks are the easiest things in the world to hit. The only vehicles that have a chance of evading the average lazerer is the ghost and banshee in Reach. It’s kind of sad.

#13

> > Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and it takes skill to aim. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.
> >
> > I love my laser…
>
> Surprisingly enough, I agree with the op on this. While I think the other issues he brought up are marginal at best in respects to halo 4, the spartan laser’s only counter is mobility… and tanks are the easiest things in the world to hit. The only vehicles that have a chance of evading the average lazerer is the ghost and banshee in Reach. It’s kind of sad.

I never said tanks are hard to hit, only that the driver could easily kill the Spartan laser before he dies. The gunner, pilot, driver or even passenger just needs to be wary of the charging laser.

#14

> > > Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and it takes skill to aim. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.
> > >
> > > I love my laser…
> >
> > Surprisingly enough, I agree with the op on this. While I think the other issues he brought up are marginal at best in respects to halo 4, the spartan laser’s only counter is mobility… and tanks are the easiest things in the world to hit. The only vehicles that have a chance of evading the average lazerer is the ghost and banshee in Reach. It’s kind of sad.
>
> I never said tanks are hard to hit, only that the driver could easily kill the Spartan laser before he dies. The gunner, pilot, driver or even passenger just needs to be wary of the charging laser.

Huh, I hope you mean in halo 4, since I wouldn’t know for sure then… since I haven’t played the game. But this does not apply in either halo 3 or reach. Most shots are made from across the map, the tank rarely has the time to make out and respond to the source in the half second you’re given, and no other vehicle has the effective range to do anything about it. I mention others because the warthog, wraith, and mantis are all easy to hit as well.

#15

Don’t forget that in Halo CE the vehicles could be damaged by shooting any part of them, so they had to be tougher. Also, the only really anti-vehicle weapon was the Rocket, and it had no homing capacity.

You want to talk about the ruination of vehicle combat, let’s talk about Halo 2. The locking capability of the rockets in that game made all vehicles death traps. The Scorpion and Wraith, in particular, were useless because of those rockets. Halo 2 rockets were easily just as devastating to vehicles as the SL, but it was harder to track a rocket use because there wasn’t a giant red laser pointing to him as he locked on. Also, the Halo 2 rocket was fire and forget, whereas the SL actually has to be aimed.

Basically I feel the SL is balanced and has found a good place in the Halo Sandbox. That being said, the SL should ALWAYS be an uber power-weapon, and no more than one should ever be on a map, (no, not even Sandtrap). Controlling the SL should be a priority on vehicular maps, just like controlling the Rockets on Blood Gulch or Coagulation was in Halo CE and Halo 2.

I also agree with you, OP, that vehicles lost their luster in Halo Reach. They were super-weak, and things like AL made them very non-frightening. When you’re on foot, I think any vehicle, except the Mongoose, should be frightening. Two guys with DMR’s should NOT be able to blast apart a Warthog. I actually like the ideas of vehicles having their own health. That way very skilled players can take out the driver without damaging the vehicle. However, to damage the vehicle directly, any vehicle, it should require a tremendous amount of firepower. So basically up the vehicle health significantly.

#16

No Elephant, no Chopper,( Most awesome vehicle in the series yet) nor a Hornet.
Overall no flying vehicle besides the 1-man Banshee.

A stinking, Wapanese-mech doesn’t make up for this.

#17

> > > > Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and it takes skill to aim. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.
> > > >
> > > > I love my laser…
> > >
> > > Surprisingly enough, I agree with the op on this. While I think the other issues he brought up are marginal at best in respects to halo 4, the spartan laser’s only counter is mobility… and tanks are the easiest things in the world to hit. The only vehicles that have a chance of evading the average lazerer is the ghost and banshee in Reach. It’s kind of sad.
> >
> > I never said tanks are hard to hit, only that the driver could easily kill the Spartan laser before he dies. The gunner, pilot, driver or even passenger just needs to be wary of the charging laser.
>
> Huh, I hope you mean in halo 4, since I wouldn’t know for sure then… since I haven’t played the game. But this does not apply in either halo 3 or reach. Most shots are made from across the map, the tank rarely has the time to make out and respond to the source in the half second you’re given, and no other vehicle has the effective range to do anything about it. I mention others because the warthog, wraith, and mantis are all easy to hit as well.

When charging the spartan laser it emits a thin red laser that is easily traced back to the source. if someone is charging their laser up at you from across the map then you can see which direction they are coming from, most warthogs and such can’t do much about this other than move but a scorpion can instantly fire at the source, the laser.

#18

I don’t like the laser either. There really needs to be a counter for it or maybe just give it fewer shots, like 2. I hate how there are about 10 lasers on BTB heavies. You can’t use anything that flys.

#19

> > > > > Spartan laser is easily countered by Sniper Rifle, Scorpion, Gauss Turret and on occasion Rocket Turret. It’s also traceable because of it’s charging laser and it takes skill to aim. With the addition of having only 4 shots, I’d say it’s pretty balanced.
> > > > >
> > > > > I love my laser…
> > > >
> > > > Surprisingly enough, I agree with the op on this. While I think the other issues he brought up are marginal at best in respects to halo 4, the spartan laser’s only counter is mobility… and tanks are the easiest things in the world to hit. The only vehicles that have a chance of evading the average lazerer is the ghost and banshee in Reach. It’s kind of sad.
> > >
> > > I never said tanks are hard to hit, only that the driver could easily kill the Spartan laser before he dies. The gunner, pilot, driver or even passenger just needs to be wary of the charging laser.
> >
> > Huh, I hope you mean in halo 4, since I wouldn’t know for sure then… since I haven’t played the game. But this does not apply in either halo 3 or reach. Most shots are made from across the map, the tank rarely has the time to make out and respond to the source in the half second you’re given, and no other vehicle has the effective range to do anything about it. I mention others because the warthog, wraith, and mantis are all easy to hit as well.
>
> When charging the spartan laser it emits a thin red laser that is easily traced back to the source. if someone is charging their laser up at you from across the map then you can see which direction they are coming from, most warthogs and such can’t do much about this other than move but a scorpion can instantly fire at the source, the laser.

I’ll put it another way, since you didn’t get my underlying meaning.

The speed at which you can turn with a tank is limited. Moreover the guy with the spartan laser can be across the map, and indistinguishable from the background (i.e. hard to aim at accurately so your shot hits).

OF course, this all assumes he’s pointing the laser right at you the entire time.

#20

> No Elephant, no Chopper,( Most awesome vehicle in the series yet) nor a Hornet.
> Overall no flying vehicle besides the 1-man Banshee.
>
> A stinking, Wapanese-mech doesn’t make up for this.

No UNSC Aircraft has been confirmed in wargames, but they havent been confirmed out either. I would be very surprised if they leave it out, im hoping that when/if they do release it, it better be damn awesome.