Hello everyone, I want to start some new weapon topics to discuss how a specific weapon fits into the sandbox:
What does it currently bring to the sandbox?
What changes can be made to make it feel more unique?
Does it need buffs / nerfs (taking into considerstion its place in the weapon tiers)?
I had an interesting idea for the Sentinel Beam so I figured this is a good place to start.
Currently, the Sentinel Beam is a unique weapon in the Halo Infinite sandbox. It is classified as an ‘SMG’ type. Comparing it to the only other current ‘SMG’, the Needler, it is totally unique with a different firing mode, a different ammo type, and different projectile behavior. Even outside the class of ‘SMG’ the beam fire is totally unique within the Halo Infinite sandbox. I also believe it is one of the few weapons where the projectile travels through targets allowing collateral damage. So all-in-all 343 did a very good job making this weapon feel unique within the current sandbox.
The only exception I can think of is that it doesn’t play a role that different than the Heatwave in the sense that they are both close range Hardlight Tier 2 weapons). On the topic of Hardlight weapons, the Heatwave has richochet particles, the Cindershot also has richochet, as well as guiding and the explosions pull enemies in. Hardlight weapons feel exotic and unique, but the Sentinel Beam honestly feels pretty plain to use in comparison. Additionally, moving forward if 343 wants to add another ‘SMG’ weapon to the game such as the iconic Plasma Rifle (could be the Brute Plasma Rifle since the Banished are the main force in the game now), then how do they make the Sentinel Beam feel unique? The Sentinel Beam and the Plasma Rifle would both be short range weapons that excel vs shields.
So here is the idea - Holding ‘Y’ to drop the Sentinel Beam make it become a stationary automated sentry. The literal dictionary definition of ‘Sentinel’ is “a soldier or guard whose job is to stand and keep watch.” This would add something totally unique to the Halo Infinte sandbox, at this point there are no automated sentry weapons in the game. This could be used in multiplayer to help turn the tide in 2v1 situations, to watch your flank when holding a position, or to cover your retreat when your shields are down. In campaign this would also add depth, to give you an ally when no marines are around. The Sentinel Beam has limited range so it would not be an OP automated sentry, its impact would be limited to enemies within range and it could be easily destroyed from afar.
Interested to hear input from others on this idea. Do you have any other ideas / suggestions / feedback? Share your thoughts below. Let’s try keep this discussion about the Sentinel Beam - if you want to discuss another weapon create a topic “SANDBOX: Weapon Name” and be sure to tag “weapons”. Lets try to get some official general discussions going to provide some community feedback.
I should add… the damage output of the automatated sentry would have to be lower than manually weilding the weapon (players still need to have an incentive to carry the Sentinel Beam).
The Sentinel beam is literally just the beam that has been used by Sentinels and Monitors since old Halo games. You’re just shooting what they use as a weapon. I don’t think it needs any advanced ability. The ability it has is that it shoots through objects, so you can kill an unlimited amount of Spartans and vehicles in a straight line, while not all bullet weapons have armor piercing. It’s just a piercing laser.
If you want Sentry drops back, maybe 343 will add Halo 4 Sentry armor ability as a pickup again, which would be great for Infection custom games having limited uses
Sure the Sentinel Beam is ‘fine’, but the sandbox is going to have to expand and when it does I feel the Sentinel Beam is gonna need something to seperate itself from the pack.
What is the downside to having one weapon in the game that can be dropped as an automated sentry? It even fits the lore / theme of the game with the Sentinels being automated entities. This would only add depth to the game and it would not be game breaking in any way (Sentry would have lower damage output than manually controlled, sentry could easily be destroyed, and sentry has limited range).
The idea is inspired by the “Laptop Gun” from Perfect Dark, if anyone else remembers that game from back in the day.
Ask yourself:
Does this make the Sentinel Beam more interesting or not?
Does this add depth to the gameplay?
Does this break the balance of gameplay?
If the answer is yes, yes, and no then what argument is there against this change?
The downside is automated damage. How the hell are you gonna balance automated damage? This isn’t the same as Power Drain or Dynamo grenades where it equally screws everyone in its vicinity, it’s automated damage credited to you, detrimental to enemy at basically little cost to yourself because so what if you lost a weapon swap, you effectively increased your DPS output without barring you from picking up another weapon.
Sentinel Beam is already plenty unique: it’s the ONLY weapon in the sandbox right now that can pierce targets at a high fire rate. Sentinel Beam already does very respectable damage against 1 target, and due to its piercing ability it multiplies this damage output when you fire it into a group of enemies. Did you not do the weapon training for Sentinel Beam? It literally demonstrates its unique potential to burn through multiple targets, whereas Heatwave has delays between shots but make up for it with bouncing projectiles.
No, Sentinel Beam doesn’t need more, and even if it did, it doesn’t need automated damage.
I’m aware of the origin of the Sentinel Beam and for the sake of debate I’m going to use the same argument of the ___________ is just the weapon that has been used by __________ since the old halo games.
The Plasma Rifle is just the standard weapon that has been used by the Elites and Brutes (Brute Plasma Rifle) since the old halo games. The argument you are making (if I understand correctly) is that these guns do not need anything special they are just there for story purposes. I disagree with this concept. I support the sandbox being stripped back for Halo Infinite in order to make weapons feel more unique, but a downside to that is a classic iconic weapon like the Plasma Rifle being cut because it likely wasn’t different enough from the Sentinel Beam or the AR.
IMO, the Brute Plasma Rifle (fits the banished theme) has a place in the sandbox as a “Tier 1 SMG”. Faster kill time than the AR, but quickly overheats. The challenge of adding an SMG is that it needs to have a faster TTK than the AR but it also needs to be different than the Sentinel Beam. The solution to this problem for me is to make the Sentinel Beam different than the new SMG (the Plasma Rifle) rather than figure out how to make the new SMG different than the Sentinel Beam. The Sentinel Beam is a Tier 2 weapon and to me that means it should feel special.
Lastly, I’m not really a fan of the equipment Sentry Drop… mainly because when you spawn you do not have equipment so any equipment pickup is ‘free’. If you tie the Sentry Drop to a weapon, then when you drop that weapon you are trading out a weapon for that Sentry Drop. There’s a downside to doing it, which improves balance IMO.
Credit to you for pointing out that the Sentinel Beam is used by the Sentinels, it would be wierd to kill a sentinel, pick it up and then activate it against its friends. For lore puroposes, perhaps your AI could be used to hack it and bring it back to life? This would help add a role for you own custimized AI in multiplayer (in campaign this could be “The Weapon”). Seems like a nice way to bring your AI into the fight with you. isn
Love this idea. The slowing effect needs to make a comeback for at least one plasma/energy weapon. Especially with all the tactical emphasis in Infinite, I think it’d make a nice fit.
Mmmh, sorry, but I think this is too easy. You could insert any weapon. You could ask if it makes the BR more interesting to be deployed as auto-turret. Or course it would. It’s a damn auto-turret
The lore-aspect is quite important in this case. It needs to make somewhat sense. And a weapon, which was carried by Sentinels before, which could become sentient on its own…this is too much/lore breaking.
Besides that, I think @Sodium_Bath explained it correctly. The difference between Heatwave and Sentinel Beam is low rate of fire vs. high rate of fire. If(!) you’re precise, the Beam can melt enemies unlike any other weapon.
And compared to other SMG weapons, It’s good against vehicles.
Does it fit the theme / lore of this weapon? In my opinion the answer is yes. I guess it depends if you view the Sentinel Beam as a “weapon” or if you view it as a part of the Sentinel (I know it is a weapon but it could easily be reworked to a part of the Sentinel for gameplay mechanics).
It would be like reactivating the sentinel however its lost most of its functions and now all it can do is hover in a stationary position and shoot… it would be a half brained version of a Sentinel haha.
The Heatwave actually has a faster optimal TTK than the Sentinel Beam so I’m not sure it is accurate to say it melts like no other weapon in the game. It melts stationary targets standing in a line for sure. Again, the Sentinel Beam is great as is, I’m just looking towards the future when other SMG’s will be added.
Not sure if there is an edit option… but the point I’m trying to make is the Sentinel Beam is the only weapon that is tied to an AI enemy in the game. It’s not like the Sentinel’s are dropping there sentinel beams and picking up rocket launchers, its literally a part of them. Therefore to an extent the Sentinel Beam is a part of the Sentinels, which is why this feature makes sense for this weapon and only this weapon.
Also, I’d have to check but in the weapon drills I got a similar score with the Sentinel Beam and Heatwave even with the Sentinel Beam’s penetrating damage (I’d have to check exactly but it was 30000+). This is just stationary targets for 30 secs.
I kind of like this. One thing I would add is giving the SB turret an “activation range”. Basically you have to stay within a certain radius for it to stay active, else it “breaks” and can be hacked or stolen by someone else. Also it would prevent dropping in Zone A, then running off to attack Zone B.
But honestly your idea might just be better off as an entirely new item. I think it was an Ascend Hyperion video where he was talking about how the Promethean weapons were designed to be at the top their weapon classes (Binary Rifle is a sniper that one-shots the body, Scattershot is a shotgun that bounces rounds, etc). I think this should apply to heavy turrets too.
Introducing: The Suppressor!
(Yes, I’m rebranding the H4 suppressor because that thing was cheeks) Real talk though, it should just be called the Heavy Sentinel Beam or something.
It’s a stationary turret like the Plasma Cannon or the Chaingun. It shoots out a sentinel beam like… beam that penetrates targets and does heavy damage to vehicles. Unlike the SB, it has an indefinite range and no recoil (or maybe more since it’s a bigger gun, idk). But unlike the other turrets, you don’t “rip” it from its mount. Instead, the tripod fold ups and you can carry it with you and set it back down to act as a sentry gun. Ammo would be a balancing issue since heavy guns traditionally have unlimited ammo until they are separated from their mount.
Another option is to have it be more like the shade turret.
Technically the heatwave is also carried by Sentinels in the campaign, so if you did this for the SB then you’d have to do it for the HW as well (as far as lore is concerned).
@Windjammer19 amazing feedback. A real issue with the idea of an automated sentry weapon is players would just be looking to drop it anywhere hoping it gets a kill… but your idea of needing to stay in a proximity or else it breaks down solves this issue entirely (plus it fits in with the theme of your AI controlling the Sentry, your AI stays with you so if you go to far it loses control).
“Technically the heatwave is also carried by Sentinels in the campaign, so if you did this for the SB then you’d have to do it for the HW as well (as far as lore is concerned).”
Oops i must have missed that detail, I’ve only played through the campaign once so far… an automated sentry Heatwave would not feel right to me lol.
