This isn’t to the players but to 343, seriously look back at any halo game their comp modes dye quickly while their casual modes constantly have players, example it is easier to get a zombies match in MCC then any competitive mode.
Halo has never been competitive the only times it has been was reach in one mode which was widely panned. Stop trying to make it competitive let us have our dumb fun.
It’s both.
I prefer it as a competitive game to a casual one though.
You can have competitive game modes while also having plenty of social ones, like H3 did so beautifully with and Infinite is lacking.
It’s not so much that it’s lacking as much as both the casual and ranked modes are tuned near identically due to the SBMM to favor a even footing strictly head-to-head gameplay experience.
There certainly needs to be more casual modes added, but casual modes will only go so far if the algorithms creating the experiences are meant to be purely a sweat fest.
*die
If we’re going off modern standards then sure, MCC’s ranked modes are rather difficult to find matches in. That doesn’t mean that Halo is a casual game as much as it’s a competitive game though, MCC is one low population example against a catalog of successful references.
In 3 and Reach Ranked was remarkably easy to find a match in and existed healthily beside the more casual playlists, if I’m not wrong it was also a healthy and popular mode in Halo 2 as well.
Can we stop with the revisionist history lessons?
Reach’s competitive mode was panned due to the functionality of the hitscan mechanics making engagement ranges ridiculously far with the DMR, alongside bloom and shield mechanics. It wasn’t the ranked mode itself that was bad, it was the choices made to the mechanics and sandbox that also hindered the casual modes as well. People still played the ranked mode a lot.
You can have your “dumb fun”, but that doesn’t mean you can take away someone else’s serious fun as a compromise. The modes can exist side by side and there is precedence for this in Halo 2, 3, Reach and even 5.
Reminder that Halo has almost always been both a casual and competitive game we do not have to choose.
Also a reminder the competitive aspect of Halo is in no way responsible for the dire state of Halo Infinite and Halo at large.
Halo Infinite is not a game built for competitive Halo, not one Halo game has been outside of a few token concessions.
Anyone thinking there was some massive competititive focus was the reason behind Infinite’s dire state has completely lost the plot.
343 is probably thrilled that people are latching onto this one quote because it inevitably turns into casual vs competitive infighting rather than rightly blaming 343 for the problems they created.
I mean, no. Post-2003, the beauty of Halo was that it could appeal to casual and competitive demographics, and that’s how it SHOULD be. Catering only to the casual base results in Candy Crush-level trash; catering only to the competitive base encourages toxicity; and catering to neither gives us Halo Infinite.
What if people want to play seriously in social? I’m pretty sure they’re allowed to if they want. They’re not breaking any rules and all.
Why does every game have to be competitive to me that’s not what made Halo popular what made Halo popular was its great storytelling and gameplay
Ever stop and consider that it could be all the above?
Halo’s story and gameplay were great in the solo portion of the title, but the majority of players stuck around for the multiplayer.
I play casually in ranked. Sue me.
Yeah I posted in anger, there has always been a good mix, but 343 just going after comp just rubbed me the wrong way.
Why this Yappening event is so much fun! It’s crazy and wild. I’m super enjoying the change of pace of playing Infinite right now with it.
Agreed, the less serious less balanced gameplay is fun.
Halo had always been both.
I agree the balance in Infinite has been more to the competitive side of the coin.
But recent playlist changes have started to address this.
And Forge will bring a balance to the Force.
(OP, this isn’t necessarily addressed at you even though you’ll probably get a notification)
Why do so few people seem to understand this?
Halo is not a competitive game, but it isn’t JUST a social game.
It is a social game that CAN BE PLAYED competitively.
Look at Smash Bros. That is one of the most casual, party games out there. It’s so simple a child can understand it and have fun. Yet, it has one of the most popular competitive scenes in gaming. Why?
Because its social settings can be CONFIGURED for competition.
Comp. settings usually turn off smash balls because they are basically insta-kill buttons. Certain maps are banned, because of unfair dimensions or geometry. There’s even rules about how players can choose maps. Items are usually turned off because they give random and unfair advantages. Certain OP characters are banned. Games are usually 3-stocks. The list goes on.
Competition is born from fun experiences. That is, competitive Halo is the mastery of social Halo.
Problem is the use of SBMM in social modes. Social should be free of any skill restrictions. Let Onyx and Bronze player play together social modes.
I dont think that this would be a problem. I know a lot of high ranked player, that take it really easy in social. If you take away the gamertag, you wouldnt recognize them in ranked. A complete other playstyle.
Oh God please no.
It would be a massacre…
I imagine they are the exception.
Most would be salivating over the double digit KD and screaming at everyone to “get gud”. Most of the people I’ve discussed SBMM with over the years have been quite clear… They want to play “normally” - it’s their opponents that are making it sweaty.
If a player genuinely takes it easy in social. And is consistent at that intensity - they will generate a lower MMR in social anyway.
The problem comes when they keep carrying their side to victory… Because they can.
I dont think so. Some time ago (long time, dont ask), another shooter from another company, i was in the top 500 world wide. When you play on this level you have a lot of friends with the same skill level.
On ranked most of my matches in stacked teams. Social, both solo and ranked, everyone of us played complete differently. Social was for fun. Nobody of us cared to win.
But we were a nightmare in ranked.
Last season i played with a high diamond ranked and social. In social he just leaned back and had fun. Yes, he always went positive. Ranked, absolte deadly an focused.
Since this season we cant play anymore together. Its absolute ok for ranked.
If everyone was like that the world would be a better place.
If more people would leave the sweaty stuff in ranked and just chilled in social we really could have a lax SBMM.
Or more to the point, nobody would notice it.
Most of the time, if I point out in SBMM threads that you don’t have to sweat in social, I get howled down. A lot of people openly say that you shouldn’t do anything but go 100%. And that smashing noobs is a rite of passage.
Ok
Most of the time, that Bronze player is going to be curbed stomp, and that player is not going to have a fun experience at all. Social is for everyone yes, but we still need to let new players enjoy the game enough to want to stay and keep playing it.
If you want an more casual experience, push for a customs game server browser instead of asking SBMm removed. Those have always been more casual then matchmaking setups ever have.