So, I’ve played Halo over several iterations, but this is the first Halo I’ve had my own xbox+xbox live with. I’ve played a lot of Slayer/SWAT, and have more recently been reaching out into Oddball, CTF, Regicide, etc. I like these games for the most part…
But I saw a tactic in Oddball the other night which was extremely annoying and in my opinion childish. Mainly I’m wondering if this tactic is considered smart, or abusive, or is very common/rare and I shouldn’t worry about it either way.
I was playing versus a team who seemed semi well organized. The player who had the balle would immediately head to a part of the map which was an edge or ledge to off the map. The other three would spread around them and defend. When all three fell the Oddball holder would either suicide w/ ball, or throw the ball off the map.
All this does is reset the ball, with no penalty that I could see. The 3 newly-killed teammates were almost always near a ball respawn point and grabbed it as soon as it reset and started the process again… just curious if this has always been a part of Oddball, is a rare tactic, or really annoys people It just didn’t seem liek it was how the mode was meant to be played.
Really made the game tiresome/stupid. I realize it can be countered with a well-organized team but as a player who mainly matchmakes solo, since as I said xbox live is new to me I don’t know a bunch of Halo players, it was a killer. To see them get the ball, run to map edge, run back and forth, then jump off, and get no penalty was a real downer haha
> So, I’ve played Halo over several iterations, but this is the first Halo I’ve had my own xbox+xbox live with. I’ve played a lot of Slayer/SWAT, and have more recently been reaching out into Oddball, CTF, Regicide, etc. I like these games for the most part…
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> But I saw a tactic in Oddball the other night which was extremely annoying and in my opinion childish. Mainly I’m wondering if this tactic is considered smart, or abusive, or is very common/rare and I shouldn’t worry about it either way.
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> I was playing versus a team who seemed semi well organized. The player who had the balle would immediately head to a part of the map which was an edge or ledge to off the map. The other three would spread around them and defend. When all three fell the Oddball holder would either suicide w/ ball, or throw the ball off the map.
>
> All this does is reset the ball, with no penalty that I could see. The 3 newly-killed teammates were almost always near a ball respawn point and grabbed it as soon as it reset and started the process again… just curious if this has always been a part of Oddball, is a rare tactic, or really annoys people It just didn’t seem liek it was how the mode was meant to be played.
That tactic is called “Playing the Ball”, It’s been a part of Halo since at least Halo 3. The simplest way to counter it is to kill the carrier first and before he/she can do anything. If the carrier goes down, finish off as many of the defenders as possible. If the carrier plays the ball, disengage and pick up the ball wherever it spawns.
Personally, coming to this mode with no pre-conceived notions from previous iterations. Just seems there should be some sort of penalty when the ball goes off-map. Or at the very least a countdown time to ball spawn so people have a chance to move, instead of inta-spawn ball being grabbed by the last player to die (basically).
‘playing the ball’ is a legitimate tactic used by pros in previous Halo games, though actually throwing the ball like a grenade made it rediculously easy.
Best thing one can do is just hurry to the ball spawn, which is usually in the centre of the map. A team that has map control usually also controls the centre of the map, so if your team really is better when the other team plays the ball, your team should be the first to get to it…
But that specific feature is a lot worse for highly competitive play. Hopefully, new strategies will evolve that fully benefit passing the ball to teammates that will eventually be more efficient than just having your carrier place himself near the edge of the map…
> Hmm alright.
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> Personally, coming to this mode with no pre-conceived notions from previous iterations. Just seems there should be some sort of penalty when the ball goes off-map. Or at the very least a countdown time to ball spawn so people have a chance to move, instead of inta-spawn ball being grabbed by the last player to die (basically).
Agreed, a short countdown until the ball spawns again would be an ideal fix. The team that just lost the ball should be dead, allowing for the team that killed the carrier to set up around the incoming ball spawn, giving them the advantage they deserve.
> > Hmm alright.
> >
> > Personally, coming to this mode with no pre-conceived notions from previous iterations. Just seems there should be some sort of penalty when the ball goes off-map. Or at the very least a countdown time to ball spawn so people have a chance to move, instead of inta-spawn ball being grabbed by the last player to die (basically).
>
> Agreed, a short countdown until the ball spawns again would be an ideal fix. The team that just lost the ball should be dead, allowing for the team that killed the carrier to set up around the incoming ball spawn, giving them the advantage they deserve.
Basically this.
Although, with instant respawns, it’s less a losing-team advantage and more of a fair 50-50 sprint to the middle of the map to fight over the ball.
It just didn’t seem liek it was how the mode was meant to be played.