It seems that in recent Halo games the differences between projectile weapons and energy weapons have been considerably reduced. In Halo 4 the only weapon that still feels like it does noticeably more shield damage is the plasma pistol.
It no longer feels like there is any significant difference between the damage output of a projectile AR and a plasma storm rifle.
This is something I hope gets fixed with Halo 5 in future installments.
I am sure most of this is not a huge surprise for most people but lets go through it anyway.
Projectiles
Projectile weapons include human weapons, most brute weapons, as well as a few odd weapons such as the Needle rifle.
These weapons should be very effective against unshielded targets and they are very effective at dismantling flood. They should suffer against shields and constructs such as Sentinels and Prometheans.
Plasma/Energy
Energy weapons include most Covenant weaponry as well as select Forerunner weaponry such as the Sentinel beam. They should be highly effective against shields and constructs. This makes them most efficient at dealing with Prometheans and other Forerunner constructs at the cost of being inferior against unshielded targets and the flood in particular.
We would also introduce a separate category for hardlight.
Hardlight
The most advanced weapon type, effective against both shielded and unshielded enemies. The most versatile weapon set and most the best choice for permanently dealing with flood due to the disintegration. However they are not as efficient as the other two in their respective niches.
These are the types of differences we really ought to highlight going forward. Picking up a weapon in a certain category should have a consistent behavior in addition to their own unique mechanics.
Anyone else really want to see 343 highlight the differences between plasma and projectile weapons?
Rather than focusing so much attention on the shield damage a weapon’s projectile deals vs the health damage a weapon’s projectile deals, we should be focusing on “special projectile properties” instead. The Needler’s projectiles track enemy infantry if fired during red reticle. The Missile Pod’s projectiles track enemy vehicles if fired once locked on. The Sniper Rifle’s projectiles ricochet predictably off of hard surfaces. The Concussion Rifle’s projectiles push players back. The Grenade Launcher’s projectiles can be remotely detonated by the user.
These are the type of things we should be focusing on rather than just damage to shields damage to and health.
I’d rather energy weapons get the damage they had in the Halo Reach Beta. Picking up a plasma repeater or focus rifle actually meant something. I don’t care for this specialization stuff. Halo CE and Halo 4 worked fine with it being nonexistent.
Actually, I would rather have a canon difficulty. Plasma melts face mode.
Every weapon does what it does in canon. So plasma can burn through flood, organic matter, and some contstructs.
I think at this point we could even turn the damage effects around, what I personally think would make more sense as well.
After all, MJOLNIR armor was designed to counter projectiles and shields were designed/added to counter plasma.
So basically, give plasma “melting energy” and projectiles “kinetic energy”, just like it actually is.
That could also lead to plasma weapons like the Storm/Plasma Rifle becoming the new effective weapons against vehicle armor plating while projectile weapons like the DMR become ineffective.
The Forerunner’s hardlight or anti-matter or whatever they use should be effective against everything, with a significance though, in my opinion.
I think trying to encounter Promethean Knights or Forerunner combat constructs with anything but Forerunner weapons should not be advisable.
Anyway, I would like to see more distinctions between the weaponries of different fractions as well.