Real talk about H5 and K/D

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

I’ve been playing Halo since nearly the beginning and I have seen certain trends with each release. Not getting into all of the trends and changes that I have seen, I would really like to focus and open a small discussion about what defines a good, bad, and average K/D. Now to most players this may not be a big deal at all, but I really started taking an interest in competitive play since around H3. From around that time period in my life, it nearly makes me shutter when I go negative on any game; regardless of the other players skill level.

As a personal opinion from you Halo fans, what do you think defines a ‘good’ K/D from a player in H5.

I never paid too much attention to this small detail in H2, so I will move right along to H3. In H3, the game was incredibly competitive with a relatively high skill gap, similar to H2. Seeing anyone with a 1.50 K/D with this particular title were often labeled as skilled and rightfully so. I rarely recall seeing anyone, who did not boost or make fresh accounts, get a K/D over 2.0. It’s not that it wasn’t possible, but the ranking system in Halo 3 was fair and quite competitive. Playing consistently meant that you would meet your match almost every game.

What I have noticed in Reach, was that it became increasingly common to see players with 2.0+ K/D, which was even more common in Halo 4. This is attributed by a lack of ranked playlists, maybe some skill gap decrease, but a change in the way Halo played. It was social, every day, all of the time.

Halo 5, in my opinion, reverted back to a similar format that H2 and H3 were. Only in this latest title, 343 seems to have implemented a system that nearly punishes highly skilled players when searching alone by pairing these players with terrible teammates. Again, this is my experience and everyone has their own story to share. I just don’t think a 2.0 K/D is as common as it once was like the last two games. That is, of course, if you play consistently and are not smurfing.

So in your opinion, what defines a good K/D in this game?

For me, I had to start an entirely new GT for H5, because I kept going negative as this is my main account. I now play under ‘BigUnionGuy’.

2

To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily. KD is easy to pad if you want a high one, just play conservatively/campy and you can increase it. But doing that may lead to not winning as many games. I would rather have team mates that go for the win and doesn’t worry about their stats.

3

Halo primarily being a team based game ive never cared about it. I dont even know what mine is in 5 but id say around 1 is good i guess. Arent there pro players with negative K/D because they are ptfo instead of always slaying?

> 2533274816788253;2:
> To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily.

I know you ply FFA primarily so you probably have a stronger opinion of importance in that aspect.

EDIT: i looked and im at a 1.3 K/D.

4

Doesn’t really matter if you play Social. It’s too easy to pad. Just play WZFF and your K/D goes extremely high. I guess if you play ranked it’s a different story, it pads your ego…lol

5

If you have a really high K/D it just means you play against people way below your skill level its all that means.

6

> 2533274816299345;3:
> Halo primarily being a team based game ive never cared about it. I dont even know what mine is in 5 but id say around 1 is good i guess. Arent there pro players with negative K/D because they are ptfo instead of always slaying?
>
>
>
>
> > 2533274816788253;2:
> > To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily.
>
> I know you ply FFA primarily so you probably have a stronger opinion of importance in that aspect.
>
> EDIT: i looked and im at a 1.3 K/D.

That 1.3 KD includes your WZFF KD. So it is generally not seen as your “true KD”. After clicking your service record you will see you Arena KD which is 1.0, but still even that includes everything with social and ranked so that isn’t even a good idea of a “skill” based KD.

I am not making a comment on your KD. I am making a comment on how to read the KD stats on Waypoint.

7

> 2533274863544717;6:
> > 2533274816299345;3:
> > Halo primarily being a team based game ive never cared about it. I dont even know what mine is in 5 but id say around 1 is good i guess. Arent there pro players with negative K/D because they are ptfo instead of always slaying?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > 2533274816788253;2:
> > > To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily.
> >
> > I know you ply FFA primarily so you probably have a stronger opinion of importance in that aspect.
> >
> > EDIT: i looked and im at a 1.3 K/D.
>
> That 1.3 KD includes your WZFF KD. So it is generally not seen as your “true KD”. After clicking your service record you will see you Arena KD which is 1.0, but still even that includes everything with social and ranked so that isn’t even a good idea of a “skill” based KD.
>
> I am not making a comment on your KD. I am making a comment on how to read the KD stats on Waypoint.

Thanks lol. Just show how much i dont care about my stats xD

8

K/D doesn’t mean much in this game.

The skill gaps between players ar so extreme, looking at K/D alone will not tell you anything.

In Slayer I’m usually high gold, low platinum. If you would let me play against bronze and silver players, I would go positive all the time. If I would get matched against Onyx and champion players all the time, I would get ruined every game.

So, a silver player can average a 1.3 K/D and an Onyx player could average a 1.3 K/D. You can’t compare those two 1.3 K/Ds.

9

> 2533274853036990;1:
> So in your opinion, what defines a good K/D in this game?

As long as it includes kills and deaths from gametypes such as Super Fiesta, it won’t mean much at all.

10

> 2533274816299345;7:
> > 2533274863544717;6:
> > > 2533274816299345;3:
> > > Halo primarily being a team based game ive never cared about it. I dont even know what mine is in 5 but id say around 1 is good i guess. Arent there pro players with negative K/D because they are ptfo instead of always slaying?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > 2533274816788253;2:
> > > > To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily.
> > >
> > > I know you ply FFA primarily so you probably have a stronger opinion of importance in that aspect.
> > >
> > > EDIT: i looked and im at a 1.3 K/D.
> >
> > That 1.3 KD includes your WZFF KD. So it is generally not seen as your “true KD”. After clicking your service record you will see you Arena KD which is 1.0, but still even that includes everything with social and ranked so that isn’t even a good idea of a “skill” based KD.
> >
> > I am not making a comment on your KD. I am making a comment on how to read the KD stats on Waypoint.
>
> Thanks lol. Just show how much i dont care about my stats xD

LOL, and how much I do. Dude, back in the Halo Charts day I donated to their site! Smh, care too much.

11

K/D is an extremely easy-to-manipulate number which is why no one should put much stock in it.

Big H4 k/ds had, imo, nothing to do with unranked gameplay at all times (which, btw, is not true) - it had to do with a game that was inventive enough to allow different players to use different play styles and still find paths to varying types of success - one of those types of success being k/d. One of the biggest problems with H5, imo, is that it insists that we all play the same way and for the same goals, which leaves speed/accuracy as the only differentiator between players, and that one-dimensional brutality is, imo, a big reason why this game now has a small population made up almost exclusively of sweaty players on secondary accounts.

12

The only ones that I can be certain of in this game (not counting smurfs) are the ones that have overly negative K/D’s. They live up to the hype of not being good at the game (not saying that as an insult).

13

> 2533274863544717;6:
> > 2533274816299345;3:
> > Halo primarily being a team based game ive never cared about it. I dont even know what mine is in 5 but id say around 1 is good i guess. Arent there pro players with negative K/D because they are ptfo instead of always slaying?
> >
> >
> >
> >
> > > 2533274816788253;2:
> > > To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily.
> >
> > I know you ply FFA primarily so you probably have a stronger opinion of importance in that aspect.
> >
> > EDIT: i looked and im at a 1.3 K/D.
>
> That 1.3 KD includes your WZFF KD. So it is generally not seen as your “true KD”. After clicking your service record you will see you Arena KD which is 1.0, but still even that includes everything with social and ranked so that isn’t even a good idea of a “skill” based KD.
>
> I am not making a comment on your KD. I am making a comment on how to read the KD stats on Waypoint.

there really isnt a good way to show skill as there hasnt been a decent ranking system in ages.

14

> 2535449625725537;13:
> > 2533274863544717;6:
> > > 2533274816299345;3:
> > > Halo primarily being a team based game ive never cared about it. I dont even know what mine is in 5 but id say around 1 is good i guess. Arent there pro players with negative K/D because they are ptfo instead of always slaying?
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > 2533274816788253;2:
> > > > To me any positive KD is good. Your KD is by no means a reflection of how good a player you are necessarily.
> > >
> > > I know you ply FFA primarily so you probably have a stronger opinion of importance in that aspect.
> > >
> > > EDIT: i looked and im at a 1.3 K/D.
> >
> > That 1.3 KD includes your WZFF KD. So it is generally not seen as your “true KD”. After clicking your service record you will see you Arena KD which is 1.0, but still even that includes everything with social and ranked so that isn’t even a good idea of a “skill” based KD.
> >
> > I am not making a comment on your KD. I am making a comment on how to read the KD stats on Waypoint.
>
> there really isnt a good way to show skill as there hasnt been a decent ranking system in ages.

Now that I disagree with. The ranking system in Halo 5 is pretty spot on. The only real issue with it in my opinion is the problem with smurf accounts.

15

People still care about their K/D???

16

As a mainly competitive player, a K/D resembles you as a player (obviously).

I’d consider any K/D in arena that is positive (1.0) to be good and achievable for a good amount of people. It tells me that you, as a player, doesn’t just drag the team down (however there is of course always bad games / days) and actually help + You dont just wonder of and get killed (or you are good enough to stay alive on your own).

If you drag Assists into it (KDA) and it’s good, it only further helps. If your assist are good, then your deaths are slightly less important because you convey that you actually help.
This is approach to KD(A) hold true for pretty much every tier of rank (Gold, Platinum, Diamond and so on).

17

> 2533274843127097;16:
> As a mainly competitive player, a K/D resembles you as a player (obviously).
>
> I’d consider any K/D in arena that is positive (1.0) to be good and achievable for a good amount of people. It tells me that you, as a player, doesn’t just drag the team down (however there is of course always bad games / days) and actually help + You dont just wonder of and get killed (or you are good enough to stay alive on your own).
>
> If you drag Assists into it (KDA) and it’s good, it only further helps. If your assist are good, then your deaths are slightly less important because you convey that you actually help.
> This is approach to KD(A) hold true for pretty much every tier of rank (Gold, Platinum, Diamond and so on).

In order for this to be true, you have to make a lot of assumptions about what the person is playing

18

> 2533274904158628;17:
> > 2533274843127097;16:
> > As a mainly competitive player, a K/D resembles you as a player (obviously).
> >
> > I’d consider any K/D in arena that is positive (1.0) to be good and achievable for a good amount of people. It tells me that you, as a player, doesn’t just drag the team down (however there is of course always bad games / days) and actually help + You dont just wonder of and get killed (or you are good enough to stay alive on your own).
> >
> > If you drag Assists into it (KDA) and it’s good, it only further helps. If your assist are good, then your deaths are slightly less important because you convey that you actually help.
> > This is approach to KD(A) hold true for pretty much every tier of rank (Gold, Platinum, Diamond and so on).
>
> In order for this to be true, you have to make a lot of assumptions about what the person is playing

Care to elaborate ?

19

> 2533274843127097;18:
> Care to elaborate ?

Sorry yes I mean, what playlist the person is playing. Because what you’re saying about K/D and KDA being useful seems like it would apply more to a person who sticks to the generic ranked playlists, than to someone who doesn’t stray outside of unconventional playlists like Action Sack. In your post, you said any K/D in arena that is positive (1.0) tells you that the player doesn’t just drag the team down and actually helps. However would that really be true for a hypothetical person who plays nothing but Infection and/or Super Fiesta, for example? I’m sure there are players like that.

Here’s a more personal example: for a time in Halo 4, I used to play nothing but Husky Raid, as it had its own playlist in that game. The goal of Husky Raid is to capture the enemy team’s flag, which I always tried to do, regardless of how many times I may have died in the process. Getting that flag was more important to me than how many lives I threw away doing it. I was often successful with this approach, but I’m sure my K/D wouldn’t have reflected that. I just don’t think the things you’re saying in your post would have applied to me then.

Regarding KDA, for some reason, it goes way up if you play a lot of Warzone Firefight. Therefore, the only way KDA could be a useful metric for judging a player’s skill is if you make assumptions (or know) about how much firefight that person plays.

20

> 2533274904158628;19:
> > 2533274843127097;18:
> > Care to elaborate ?
>
> Sorry yes I mean, what playlist the person is playing. Because what you’re saying about K/D and KDA being useful seems like it would apply more to a person who sticks to the generic ranked playlists, than to someone who doesn’t stray outside of unconventional playlists like Action Sack. In your post, you said any K/D in arena that is positive (1.0) tells you that the player doesn’t just drag the team down and actually helps. However would that really be true for a hypothetical person who plays nothing but Infection and/or Super Fiesta, for example? I’m sure there are players like that.
>
> Here’s a more personal example: for a time in Halo 4, I used to play nothing but Husky Raid, as it had its own playlist in that game. The goal of Husky Raid is to capture the enemy team’s flag, which I always tried to do, regardless of how many times I may have died in the process. Getting that flag was more important to me than how many lives I threw away doing it. I was often successful with this approach, but I’m sure my K/D wouldn’t have reflected that. I just don’t think the things you’re saying in your post would have applied to me then.
>
> Regarding KDA, for some reason, it goes way up if you play a lot of Warzone Firefight. Therefore, the only way KDA could be a useful metric for judging a player’s skill is if you make assumptions (or know) about how much firefight that person plays.

Thanks for elaborating.

I did mention in my post : “This is approach to KD(A) hold true for pretty much every tier of rank (Gold, Platinum, Diamond and so on)”.
So my reply was meant to be read as if it was only in ranked.

Also, I’ve never met anyone who mainly plays social gamemodes like action sack or Warzone, who actually cares about their K/D. Thus why I assumed my response would be read as it was geared forward the ranked playlist.

To expand my answer to also take social playlists into consideration :
If a player cares about their K/D(A) in social, then that is completely fine. And your approach to “throw” yourself at the flag (Husky raid as an example here) might be a “good idea”.Considering you might play the objective more, then it is fair to say that your K/D do not really reflect what playstyle you have.

However if I (from a ranked perspective) looked at a negative K/D, I’d be more hesitant to team with you, since in ranked (especially in high tiers) if you die at unnecessary times or, as we say, die dumb deaths, it will make you loose the game VERY fast. The intention of going for the objective / being the objective player is great in theory, but If you approach it with the same mentality as (quoting you here) : "Getting that flag was more important to me than how many lives I threw away doing it. I was often successful with this approach", Then it is highly likely you will loose as it will be very hard for your team to fight 3 VS 4 for a good majority of the game.

But again, can’t really compare Social / recreational <----> Ranked / competitive, as they are very different in objective and playstyle.