Before you say “343 won’t care what you say”, I’m aware of that, but I would still like to highlight some things that should be changed in standard Warzone.
1. REQ level should be team-based, not individual-based
Ever have games where you’re trapped at level 3-4 REQs for a good 8-10 minutes because the enemy team picks on you (i.e. someone randomed a sniper rifle and keeps killing you AS YOU SPAWN), and you can’t even make a comeback with a Ghost because the enemy randomed a Scorpion or Phaeton? That is such a painintheass. Meanwhile, one of your teammates is stealing all the kills and getting all the levels, but he doesn’t have the specific REQs for a comeback (i.e. Banshee availability). Again, feelsbad. To that end, REQ level should be per-team, not per-player, so that all player contributions allow all members of your team to get up to speed.
2. Capture progress should fall off over a duration rather than instantly
I REALLY hate it when your team is trying to cap, enemy keeps reinforcing it, but just before your team’s reinforcements can come back, your last player on the point dies and all the progress toward the cap is reset immediately. That’s one reason why it’s almost impossible for teams to capture points once they’re in enemy hands. While constant enemy reinforcement should not be removed (as that’d make it too easy to cap), the attackers’ progress should not be instantly eliminated once no one is on the point. It should instead fall off rapidly, such that it’ll be gone very quickly (i.e. 2-3 seconds from near-max), but if someone is just sprinting onto the scene they can save the assault from being a total failure.
3. Bosses should be less vulnerable to headshots
Jul 'Mdama is a wuss in Warzone, simple as that. Remember back in Halo 3 where even if you knocked out a Brute Chieftain’s armor, you couldn’t immediately headshot him because of his helmet? Why doesn’t the Supreme Covenant Leader get similar protection? Same thing for any Elite Generals you face. Even if it looks a bit goofy, they should be wearing bulletproof helmets so you have to land more than a single headshot to get the kill. I also hate it when you can ram an Elite General with a vehicle, but I’m guessing 343 feels that’s intended.
4. Alerts for when you are about to lose a capture point
Sometimes my teammates are idiots, so much so that they’re blind to the fact that the East Armory is getting backdoored. And not everyone uses voice chat, so there isn’t always someone available to say “East Armory’s being capped!” Maybe Palmer should give your team a little heads-up when that’s happening? To avoid making it obnoxious, I’d have it be she alerts you when the point is 50% capped or more. Even if that might be too late in some scenarios, it would at least tell your teammates to get their heads out of their six.
5. Spartans should tell you “Watch your back!” when you’re being attacked from behind
This is one that could apply to both Warzone and Arena, but I think it’d be VERY helpful. Overwatch has your teammates say stuff like “Behind you!” when you’re being shot in the back, and I’m baffled as to why Halo 5 doesn’t have this. Sure, it’s probably too late in most situations to do anything by the time someone’s shooting you in the back, but in select other scenarios it could allow you to get a reversal.