Proposed changes to Warzone

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Warzone is one of my favorite things about Halo 5. Recently my group of friends and I have thought of things that could be changed in order to make Warzone better.

  1. The Whiplash should be REQ level 5 instead of level 4. It’s no secret that the Whiplash is one of the most powerful weapons in Warzone, and quite frankly, I think it’s too overpowered for a level 4 REQ. Players don’t even have their H2BRs out by the time Whiplashes are being pulled.

  2. The speed of the ONI Wasp’s main weapon projectiles should be increased. The projectiles feel too slow and it’s very easy for an opponent to run to cover or simply outmaneuver the projectiles.

  3. The Hannibal Wasp should receive a health boost. Nothing is more frustrating than calling in a Hannibal Wasp only to be taken out instantly by an Arclight, even with Wheelman on (trust me this has happened more than enough times). For a level 6 REQ, it should be able to withstand at least one Arclight round.

  4. Damage Boosts and Camos should trade REQ levels. At the moment, the Camo levels are 4/4/5 while the Damage Boosts are 5/5/6, respectively. Seeing that Camo is one of the most powerful REQs especially in Warzone Assault (you can stall bases), and Damage Boosts are rarely used and not even that game-changing, I feel like their levels should be swapped to:
    Damage Boosts - 4/4/5
    Camos - 5/5/6

Thank you :slight_smile:

2

To me this list doesn’t highlight the fact that warzone needs some fine tuning. It highlights the fact that this arnsel is too large and too complicated. I might not be willing to make such a sweeping statement if this game still had a huge population, but it doesn’t, and it hasn’t for a long time. And I have to think, as in so many other ways, this game just turns off casual players with complexity and difficulty. Over 220 weapons? 75 vehilces? Really? I don’t even mind the idea of them selling me stuff, but at least sell me things that are useful. Complexity is not useful.

So if I was going to fix warzone (and be grateful it isn’t up to me) then the first thing I would do is to cut the number of weapons by two thirds. Then I’d cut the number of vehicles by four fifths. Then I’d shut down warzone firefight while I made the team rebuild it from the ground up. No more individual playlists based on difficulty. There would be only legendary in matchmaking. Other difficulties would be for customs as they were in Reach. And customs there most definitely would be. There would also be an option to play solo (sorry to keep beating that dead horse (can I say, “dead horse,” or is that not politically correct?))

I guess that, for me, the finer points just don’t really matter if all they are is emblematic of larger, structural problems with the gamemode.

3

Lay off the weapons and vehicles. Can tell you don’t play warzone much if you want to get rid of the majority of the fun.

4

REQ Level tweaks like that should be doable, and I’m surprised that Camo/Damage haven’t been switched yet. Surely their data tracking would be able to show how often one is used over the other? Outside of Turbo that is.

I’m not getting my hopes up for any tweaks to Bosses though as nice as it’d be. More random variation as to who spawns. RIP the banshee boss on Stormbreak and the double Wardens on Noctus… Less being able to predict when to spawnkill a legendary - imagine someone gearing up to spawn-splatter the Stormbreak elite only for a banshee to spawn instead, or melee the soldier on Darkstar but a Knight spawns instead and it turns around and one-shots him back.

> 2533274827383562;3:
> Lay off the weapons and vehicles. Can tell you don’t play warzone much if you want to get rid of the majority of the fun.

It’d just be “Very Big Team Battle” then if we took out all the weps and vehicles.

5

i made a similar post, talking about a boss refresh or randomization throughout maps. It got a lot of support. in my opinion one big thing that makes WZ stale are the bosses that are same every match, except for a few 25pt bosses.

I agree about the Camos, and Whiplashs being 5 reqs, 4 is too little for reqs that powerful.

6

> 2533274827383562;3:
> Lay off the weapons and vehicles. Can tell you don’t play warzone much if you want to get rid of the majority of the fun.

Might play more if it wasn’t such a cluster -Yoink- of a gamemode. Then again, if that’s your idea of fun then more power to you.

7

I agree on each and every point and I’d personally go even further with the REQ level adjustements.
For example the over powered ‘unholy trinity’ of Answer, Blaze of Glory and Wiplash I’d pump the Wiplash and Blaze up by 2 to level 6. Answer I’d throw to level 7. Ad Victoriam is also the most effective rocket launcher so I’d put it up to 6. And also the Void’s Tear should be at least a 5 or even 6, a level 4 weapon that can counter anything and everything is ridiculous to be a level 4. I agree on the camo’s level, though were it up to me it wouldn’t be in WZ at all.

Then I’d drop a pile of seldom seen REQs down. For example Oathsworn, Whispered Truth, CE Pistol and Grinder I’d drop each by 1 level. Also with the rocket launchers I’d drop SPNKr EX and High Five by 1 to take Ad Victoriam’s place, they’re a lot less effective than Ad Victoriam. Damage boost should definitely drop to base level 4, it’s not that much of extra damage anyway in Halo 5. Compared to the weapons I mentioned earlier these are much less effective.

With these changes I believe we’d see a lot more variety in the power weapons people go for in WZ. It’s so boring when WZ games get sweaty they always devolve into a spam of the ‘unholy trinity’. I just want to screw around with the less effective weapons instead of always relying on the least common denominator just because the enemy does.

8

> 2533274887841772;1:
> 4. Damage Boosts and Camos should trade REQ levels. At the moment, the Camo levels are 4/4/5 while the Damage Boosts are 5/5/6, respectively. Seeing that Camo is one of the most powerful REQs especially in Warzone Assault (you can stall bases), and Damage Boosts are rarely used and not even that game-changing, I feel like their levels should be swapped to:
> Damage Boosts - 4/4/5
> Camos - 5/5/6

I need this change!!

9

> 2533274887841772;1:
> Warzone is one of my favorite things about Halo 5. Recently my group of friends and I have thought of things that could be changed in order to make Warzone better.
>
> 1. The Whiplash should be REQ level 5 instead of level 4. It’s no secret that the Whiplash is one of the most powerful weapons in Warzone, and quite frankly, I think it’s too overpowered for a level 4 REQ. Players don’t even have their H2BRs out by the time Whiplashes are being pulled.
>
> 2. The speed of the ONI Wasp’s main weapon projectiles should be increased. The projectiles feel too slow and it’s very easy for an opponent to run to cover or simply outmaneuver the projectiles.
>
> 3. The Hannibal Wasp should receive a health boost. Nothing is more frustrating than calling in a Hannibal Wasp only to be taken out instantly by an Arclight, even with Wheelman on (trust me this has happened more than enough times). For a level 6 REQ, it should be able to withstand at least one Arclight round.
>
> 4. Damage Boosts and Camos should trade REQ levels. At the moment, the Camo levels are 4/4/5 while the Damage Boosts are 5/5/6, respectively. Seeing that Camo is one of the most powerful REQs especially in Warzone Assault (you can stall bases), and Damage Boosts are rarely used and not even that game-changing, I feel like their levels should be swapped to:
> Damage Boosts - 4/4/5
> Camos - 5/5/6
>
> Thank you :slight_smile:

I agree with all your points here but regarding the Oni Wasp I think the issue is the accuracy of the chain gun. They already shoot quite fast (listen to the audio ) it just has horrible accuracy soo pretty difficult to hit anything out of close range. What about making it shoot like the Oni Hog or Mantis ? Would that be too OP ?

10

> 2533274873843883;2:
> To me this list doesn’t highlight the fact that warzone needs some fine tuning. It highlights the fact that this arnsel is too large and too complicated. I might not be willing to make such a sweeping statement if this game still had a huge population, but it doesn’t, and it hasn’t for a long time. And I have to think, as in so many other ways, this game just turns off casual players with complexity and difficulty. Over 220 weapons? 75 vehilces? Really? I don’t even mind the idea of them selling me stuff, but at least sell me things that are useful. Complexity is not useful.
>
> So if I was going to fix warzone (and be grateful it isn’t up to me) then the first thing I would do is to cut the number of weapons by two thirds. Then I’d cut the number of vehicles by four fifths. Then I’d shut down warzone firefight while I made the team rebuild it from the ground up. No more individual playlists based on difficulty. There would be only legendary in matchmaking. Other difficulties would be for customs as they were in Reach. And customs there most definitely would be. There would also be an option to play solo (sorry to keep beating that dead horse (can I say, “dead horse,” or is that not politically correct?))
>
> I guess that, for me, the finer points just don’t really matter if all they are is emblematic of larger, structural problems with the gamemode.

I understand fine tuning it but what does having X amount of weapons and vehicles make anything complicated?

11

I agree with you about whiplash. The thing is a beast of a weapon and I’m shocked it hasn’t been pushed back to Req 5 yet. However I’m fine with how the wasps and powerups are for now they don’t seem too game breaking or lackluster for their req level or effectiveness.

12

> 2533274846891077;11:
> I agree with you about whiplash. The thing is a beast of a weapon and I’m shocked it hasn’t been pushed back to Req 5 yet. However I’m fine with how the wasps and powerups are for now they don’t seem too game breaking or lackluster for their req level or effectiveness.

You don’t think the Oni Wasps chain gun is inaccurate ? Or that the Hannibal Wasp has pretty low health for a LVL 6 req ? I think these are two glaring issues with the vehicles. I personally never use the higher tier versions of the wasp in PVP warzone only ever use the basic one. Every time I pull an Oni or Hannibal it’s killed nearly instantly by a laser, rail gun or rocket

13

> 2533274855740591;12:
> > 2533274846891077;11:
> > I agree with you about whiplash. The thing is a beast of a weapon and I’m shocked it hasn’t been pushed back to Req 5 yet. However I’m fine with how the wasps and powerups are for now they don’t seem too game breaking or lackluster for their req level or effectiveness.
>
> You don’t think the Oni Wasps chain gun is inaccurate ? Or that the Hannibal Wasp has pretty low health for a LVL 6 req ? I think these are two glaring issues with the vehicles. I personally never use the higher tier versions of the wasp in PVP warzone only ever use the basic one. Every time I pull an Oni or Hannibal it’s killed nearly instantly by a laser, rail gun or rocket

I don’t mind it honestly you could say that about almost every vehicle in WZ endgames and whiplashes rule the beginning to late part of the game until answers, nornfangs ect. can be spawned in most vehicles aren’t worth having in WZ for the long run unless it is a Phaeton Helios, ONI Tank, or Ult Banshee. One of the big problems in my opinion is the insane amount of Reqs you can use in one game and that you can acquire. If they took out half the items in Halo 5’s Req collection I would be perfectly fine with it.

14

> 2535462450434439;10:
> > 2533274873843883;2:
> > To me this list doesn’t highlight the fact that warzone needs some fine tuning. It highlights the fact that this arnsel is too large and too complicated. I might not be willing to make such a sweeping statement if this game still had a huge population, but it doesn’t, and it hasn’t for a long time. And I have to think, as in so many other ways, this game just turns off casual players with complexity and difficulty. Over 220 weapons? 75 vehilces? Really? I don’t even mind the idea of them selling me stuff, but at least sell me things that are useful. Complexity is not useful.
> >
> > So if I was going to fix warzone (and be grateful it isn’t up to me) then the first thing I would do is to cut the number of weapons by two thirds. Then I’d cut the number of vehicles by four fifths. Then I’d shut down warzone firefight while I made the team rebuild it from the ground up. No more individual playlists based on difficulty. There would be only legendary in matchmaking. Other difficulties would be for customs as they were in Reach. And customs there most definitely would be. There would also be an option to play solo (sorry to keep beating that dead horse (can I say, “dead horse,” or is that not politically correct?))
> >
> > I guess that, for me, the finer points just don’t really matter if all they are is emblematic of larger, structural problems with the gamemode.
>
> I understand fine tuning it but what does having X amount of weapons and vehicles make anything complicated?

Halo 3 had maybe two dozen weapons? Warzone has 220? If you’re telling me that memorizing the different characteristics and capabilities of 220 different weapons wasn’t complicated for you then you have my envy. Not only do I still not have a clue (after two and half years) what makes Oathsworn different from Lawgiver - I also couldn’t tell you which one I was carrying if I picked it up off the ground. So in a game with as many variables in it as Halo 5 has, with as much unpredictability as this game has, I would prefer to carry weapons I understand rather than playing a guessing game in the heat of battle. Does this mean I’m too casual of a player or does it mean that this game is too complicated? You tell me.

15

> 2533274887841772;1:
> Warzone is one of my favorite things about Halo 5. Recently my group of friends and I have thought of things that could be changed in order to make Warzone better.
>
> 1. The Whiplash should be REQ level 5 instead of level 4. It’s no secret that the Whiplash is one of the most powerful weapons in Warzone, and quite frankly, I think it’s too overpowered for a level 4 REQ. Players don’t even have their H2BRs out by the time Whiplashes are being pulled.
>
> 2. The speed of the ONI Wasp’s main weapon projectiles should be increased. The projectiles feel too slow and it’s very easy for an opponent to run to cover or simply outmaneuver the projectiles.
>
> 3. The Hannibal Wasp should receive a health boost. Nothing is more frustrating than calling in a Hannibal Wasp only to be taken out instantly by an Arclight, even with Wheelman on (trust me this has happened more than enough times). For a level 6 REQ, it should be able to withstand at least one Arclight round.
>
> 4. Damage Boosts and Camos should trade REQ levels. At the moment, the Camo levels are 4/4/5 while the Damage Boosts are 5/5/6, respectively. Seeing that Camo is one of the most powerful REQs especially in Warzone Assault (you can stall bases), and Damage Boosts are rarely used and not even that game-changing, I feel like their levels should be swapped to:
> Damage Boosts - 4/4/5
> Camos - 5/5/6
>
> Thank you :slight_smile:

It could use some tweaking, especially some upgrades to the Hannibal Wasp as you mentioned. I was talking to my friend and Community Engineer Cizlin recently about how I can perform better in a base wasp than I can in a Hannibal Wasp, and it’s pretty much the way you explained it. The weapons are inaccurate and fire too slowly, not to mention the armor for such a higher level vehicle is terrible as it gets torn through easily.

As for Powerups such as Active Camo and Damage Boost, I cannot speak for that as I do not use them in Warzone and out of my entire time playing, I have only seen a person use damage boost twice. So I have no input on that. Same for the Whiplash as I conserve my Railguns specifically for Hunters as well as Soldiers in vehicles and seldomly ever see people using them when I play.

The thing that surprises me is that I seldomly ever see anybody use the Safeguard Sentinel Beam, and for a Level 3 REQ, it is really good. You can fire from a really long distance and still hit your targets, much so that you can essentially use it as a scopeless Focus rifle/dumbed down Binary Rifle if you will. It melts through promethians, unshielded vehicles and hunters surprisingly fast, and if you hit the weak spot on the back of a Mythic Tier Warden Eternal properly, you can use the entire ammo reserve and by yourself melt off 1/8th to 1/6th of his health in Heroic Warzone Firefight and that is without damage boost.

Also on an upside from my experience are the Boltshot variants as if utilized properly, you can do alot of damage to non-armored enemy units with them due to the homing capability it has.

If anything needs to be changed, it would be an increase in REQ Level for the Ad Victorium, as if you camp spawn points for enemies, you can wipe out the entire squad in one or two shots and rack up massive points in doing so due to the way it fires projectiles and should not be available as early as it is. It can also take out standard and Legendary Tier bosses relatively fast. Bringing it upto at least level 6 would be good.

16

Sadly I must confess the people saying Whiplash is OP are probably right, because even I can kill things with it. I’m so horrible that says something.

17

Hey, now, let’s not talk about buffing wasps until I’m finished with the ‘Wasp Destroyer’ commendation…

18

> 2533274874385787;7:
> I agree on each and every point and I’d personally go even further with the REQ level adjustements.
> For example the over powered ‘unholy trinity’ of Answer, Blaze of Glory and Wiplash I’d pump the Wiplash and Blaze up by 2 to level 6. Answer I’d throw to level 7. Ad Victoriam is also the most effective rocket launcher so I’d put it up to 6. And also the Void’s Tear should be at least a 5 or even 6, a level 4 weapon that can counter anything and everything is ridiculous to be a level 4. I agree on the camo’s level, though were it up to me it wouldn’t be in WZ at all.
>
> Then I’d drop a pile of seldom seen REQs down. For example Oathsworn, Whispered Truth, CE Pistol and Grinder I’d drop each by 1 level. Also with the rocket launchers I’d drop SPNKr EX and High Five by 1 to take Ad Victoriam’s place, they’re a lot less effective than Ad Victoriam. Damage boost should definitely drop to base level 4, it’s not that much of extra damage anyway in Halo 5. Compared to the weapons I mentioned earlier these are much less effective.
>
> With these changes I believe we’d see a lot more variety in the power weapons people go for in WZ. It’s so boring when WZ games get sweaty they always devolve into a spam of the ‘unholy trinity’. I just want to screw around with the less effective weapons instead of always relying on the least common denominator just because the enemy does.

I agree

19

> 2533274887841772;1:
> Warzone is one of my favorite things about Halo 5. Recently my group of friends and I have thought of things that could be changed in order to make Warzone better.
>
> 1. The Whiplash should be REQ level 5 instead of level 4. It’s no secret that the Whiplash is one of the most powerful weapons in Warzone, and quite frankly, I think it’s too overpowered for a level 4 REQ. Players don’t even have their H2BRs out by the time Whiplashes are being pulled.
>
> 2. The speed of the ONI Wasp’s main weapon projectiles should be increased. The projectiles feel too slow and it’s very easy for an opponent to run to cover or simply outmaneuver the projectiles.
>
> 3. The Hannibal Wasp should receive a health boost. Nothing is more frustrating than calling in a Hannibal Wasp only to be taken out instantly by an Arclight, even with Wheelman on (trust me this has happened more than enough times). For a level 6 REQ, it should be able to withstand at least one Arclight round.
>
> 4. Damage Boosts and Camos should trade REQ levels. At the moment, the Camo levels are 4/4/5 while the Damage Boosts are 5/5/6, respectively. Seeing that Camo is one of the most powerful REQs especially in Warzone Assault (you can stall bases), and Damage Boosts are rarely used and not even that game-changing, I feel like their levels should be swapped to:
> Damage Boosts - 4/4/5
> Camos - 5/5/6
>
> Thank you :slight_smile:

  • I definitely agree a change is needed for the damage boosts, camos. I posted that request a while back and seemed to get a lot of folks in agreement. Though I’d suggest 4 / 5 / 6 for the camos (the Tier 1 camo isn’t that amazing, REQ L4 is okay), and 3 / 4 / 5 for the damage boosts. Nobody ever uses damage boosts now - they are way underpowered. And the Tier 1 REQs for camo and DB should be cheaper than the Tier 2… since they only last half as long. - I’d be a bit sad if they changed the whip to L5, but it probably would be for the best. Maybe it should get +2 reserve ammo though at L5, since it doesn’t deal nearly the vehicle damage of the other L5 REQs like the endgame and arclight. - 100% agree about the Oni Wasp. It’s currently awful… the L4 wasp is better. Faster machine gun projectiles would be a huge help. - Base lightrifle should be L3. - Random weapon L5 should be L6. You’d have a much higher chance at a really powerful L6-7 weapon, like a Jorges or nornfang. Half the time they seem to give you some crap L5 REQ like a rocket turret. - CE pistol L6 → L5. Why would I call a pistol when I could call an H2 Alpha, SotF, Answer, Jorges, or a damn hani wasp…?
20

The Knight Blade should be bumped down to Level 7 REQ as the Energy Bayonet outclasses it for the same cost.