Should Invasion Mode Return?

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Recently I’ve been thinking on what game types I’d like to see return in Halo 5: Guardians. There are obvious ones like Oddball, Assault, CTF, and more. But then I thought of one I didn’t expect to even cross my mind, Invasion Mode.

For those who don’t remember, or never played Halo: Reach. Invasion Mode was a game type in which there were 2 teams, one attacking and another defending. A unique trait about these teams was that one was made up of Spartans, and the other Elites. One team would attack the enemy base and try and take one of two capture points. They would do this twice until they reached the final round where they had to steal a data core, and return it to a Phantom/Pelican. The defending team always had the same objective of fending off the attackers until time ran out.

What I really liked about this game type was how the match would evolve.

There were 5 ways the match would evolve.

1: The battlefield would change as the attackers progressed. Once the attackers cleared the first base the other 50% of the map unlocked and the defenders moved to a new base. This was exciting as the flow of the match changed, and things didn’t always dissolve into a stagnate shootout, mobility became important.

2: Objectives changed for the attackers. By the 3rd round attackers were essentially playing one flag CTF. And even though the objective was always the same for the defenders, the way they could complete it changed each round.

3: Loadouts evolved with the match. New weapons, and abilities. Plus each loadout had a purpose. Like the battlefield, the weapons changed themselves.

4: Power weapons came in more and more as the game progressed. In the first round there was nothing, but in the 2nd and 3rd rounds things opened up. It started small with things like shotguns, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers, plus there was only one or two of these weapons at any given time. Then everything got explosive in the 3rd round: Spartan Lasers, Swords, Sniper Rifles, Plasma Grenade Launchers, Rocket Launchers, and more.

5: Vehicles and how they came into the match. None at the beginning, you had to get a feel for on-foot combat. In the 2nd round we got basic vehicles: Warthogs, Mongeese, and Ghosts. By the 3rd we had tanks and air vehicles, and good lord sir, GOOD LORD SIR IT GOT REAL! cough Sorry about that.

Granite there we’re some flaws in Invasion.

  • All of the built-in maps were uphill battles in the beginning, and attacking was an immediate disadvantage due to this uphill fight. - Loadouts were incredibly unbalanced. In round one the elites always had The Needler, which wrecked. In round two the Spartans got the DMR, which also wrecked. Then everyone had a power weapon in round 3 from simply spawning. - There was also the issue of how Elites could recharge health, unlike their Spartan counterparts.
    I do believe these issues could be solved.

On the topic of uphill advantage all of the forge community Invasion maps were not uphill fights, which led to better balance. 343i would simply have to follow that example.
Halo 5: Guardians is going to have “Equal Start” and no loadouts. This would allow the match to stay balanced. I do think it would be good to change the weapon spawns as the match progresses though, as things got large in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and AR’s were entirely obsolete to a DMR.

  • On the topic of uphill advantage all of the forge community Invasion maps were not uphill fights, which led to better balance. 343i would simply have to follow that example.- Halo 5: Guardians is going to have “Equal Start” and no loadouts. This would allow the match to stay balanced. I do think it would be good to change the weapon spawns as the match progresses though, as things got large in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and AR’s were entirely obsolete to a DMR.- And on the issue of elites and their special traits, well lets face it they’re most likely not coming back for Halo 5: Guardians. And even then they should be excluded from this mode to sustain balance.Do you think Invasion mode should return? If so should it be just the way it was in Halo: Reach? Should it be taken back to the drawing board and re-worked? Or do you believe Invasion mode should, “STAY IN HELL WHERE IT BELONGS!”

Please in the comments express your own opinions, and experiences the Invasion playlist. And whether or not it should return for Halo 5: Guardians

Also please be respectful. No complaining, cursing, or insulting to any Users/343i/Microsoft. Please be kind to others. Thank you.

2

Yes, 100%

Invasion was the hidden gem in Halo reach, imo.

3

Here’s the thing though to point things out:

  1. Are the Elite’s going to make a comeback or are we going to end up like Reach 2.0 by restricting them?

and 2. What if the Elite’s were available to be playable in all playtypes and that they need to work alongside with the Spartans when it comes to attacking and defending? It might be Spartans vs Spartans (Which would be boring in my opinion), it could be Spartans vs Elite’s or Everyone vs everyone.

I just figured I’d say this is because we are not too sure if Elite’s will come back or not.

4

> 2533274866682248;2:
> Yes, 100%
>
> Invasion was the hidden gem in Halo reach, imo.

I wasn’t super hot on Halo: Reach. I was never a huge fan of any of the 4v4 maps besides Countdown. I also wasn’t big on any of the other new game types besides Invasion. Something I failed to point out in this post was why I enjoyed Invasion so much. It was a completely new kind of game in Halo. You could deconstruct it to being a mix of territories and one flag ctf, but I still had a lot of fun. The same went for Halo 4 when they introduced Ricochet. It was something we had never played and was incredibly fun, plus it had a whole new learning curve like Invasion. There hasn’t been anything like it, and I don’t know if there ever will be.

5

You’d have my vote.

I would really love to see every game mode come back. Invasion, Headhunter, Stockpile, etc. All fun in their own right.

6

> 2533274829951285;3:
> Here’s the thing though to point things out:
>
> 1. Are the Elite’s going to make a comeback or are we going to end up like Reach 2.0 by restricting them?
>
> and 2. What if the Elite’s were available to be playable in all playtypes and that they need to work alongside with the Spartans when it comes to attacking and defending? It might be Spartans vs Spartans (Which would be boring in my opinion), it could be Spartans vs Elite’s or Everyone vs everyone.
>
> I just figured I’d say this is because we are not too sure if Elite’s will come back or not.

1: I really can’t say, but I doubt it. I know I’ve seen plenty of people playing as elites in H2, H3, and H2A while playing MCC, but 343i didn’t include them in Halo 4, and they haven’t really ever talked about them. If the community is vocal enough though they may listen, and I see a new post about elites in Halo 5: Guardians every 6 hours lately. Although with the lore of multiplayer now being a combat sim for the Spartan IV’s this could get in the way. 343i would have to make a decision with either going for lore, or gameplay. I’d pick gameplay in this case.

2: I could see that working. Elites and Spartans working together could work. It has to be equal start with weapons though. The fact that the elites had The Needler right off the bat was way too unbalanced for my tastes.

7

> 2541987111115424;5:
> You’d have my vote.
>
> I would really love to see every game mode come back. Invasion, Headhunter, Stockpile, etc. All fun in their own right.

I was never one for Headhunter or Stockpile, but if enough people want it it should definitely be there.

8

I love Invasion and want it to make a comeback, even if Sangheili do not return as playable characters. The multi stage battles were really fun and each zone provided a different gameplay experience. Also ricochet is fantastic and is the best objective mode for public matches due to the variety of roles including just shooting.

9

My best memories of Reach are of circling the spire in my falcon, racking up dozens of wheelmans as we laid waste to anybody that tried to touch our Core carrier. Invasion was awesome.

Personally, I’d like to see it integrated into Dominion, so that we get the best of both game modes. Activatable/hackable turrets a la Titanfall (maybe a bit smaller, though), dynamic defences, vehicle combat, the Falcon, bases with resupply… Toss in an upped player cap and you have the definitive BTB experience.

10

> 2533274932540799;9:
> My best memories of Reach are of circling the spire in my falcon, racking up dozens of wheelmans as we laid waste to anybody that tried to touch our Core carrier. Invasion was awesome.
>
> Personally, I’d like to see it integrated into Dominion, so that we get the best of both game modes. Activatable/hackable turrets a la Titanfall (maybe a bit smaller, though), dynamic defences, vehicle combat, the Falcon, bases with resupply… Toss in an upped player cap and you have the definitive BTB experience.

Good lord you’ve done it, the greatest Halo game mode ever conceived.

11

Invasion doesn’t need elites or to be loadouts based. It can easily be upgraded to fit the arena mold, and it should.

12

> 2533274929479318;11:
> Invasion doesn’t need elites or to be loadouts based. It can easily be upgraded to fit the arena mold, and it should.

Personally, I’d see that more as a downgrade. Not everything needs to be arena, and a BTB/Invasion sort of setup is a good place to just kick back and enjoy some mayhem. I say add to Reach, not take away.

13

> 2533274890146922;7:
> > 2541987111115424;5:
> > You’d have my vote.
> >
> > I would really love to see every game mode come back. Invasion, Headhunter, Stockpile, etc. All fun in their own right.
>
>
> I was never one for Headhunter or Stockpile, but if enough people want it it should definitely be there.

I quite likes Stockpile; very fast paced.

14

If it’s Spartan vs. Elite Invasion, I’d only want it if both sides had the same hitboxes and a balanced sandbox for each faction. I don’t want Spartans getting precision weapons right off the bat while Elites are left with the choice of two crappy plasma weapons and the needler. Reach’s invasion was a good concept, but it had a terrible weapon and vehicle sandbox because it heavily favored the Spartans over the Elites. Initial weapon starts should consist of BR and AR/SMG for Spartans, Carbine and Storm/Plasma Rifle for Elites.

15

> 2533274890146922;1:
> Recently I’ve been thinking on what game types I’d like to see return in Halo 5: Guardians. There are obvious ones like Oddball, Assault, CTF, and more. But then I thought of one I didn’t expect to even cross my mind, Invasion Mode.
>
> For those who don’t remember, or never played Halo: Reach. Invasion Mode was a game type in which there were 2 teams, one attacking and another defending. A unique trait about these teams was that one was made up of Spartans, and the other Elites. One team would attack the enemy base and try and take one of two capture points. They would do this twice until they reached the final round where they had to steal a data core, and return it to a Phantom/Pelican. The defending team always had the same objective of fending off the attackers until time ran out.
>
> What I really liked about this game type was how the match would evolve.
>
> There were 5 ways the match would evolve.
>
> 1: The battlefield would change as the attackers progressed. Once the attackers cleared the first base the other 50% of the map unlocked and the defenders moved to a new base. This was exciting as the flow of the match changed, and things didn’t always dissolve into a stagnate shootout, mobility became important.
>
> 2: Objectives changed for the attackers. By the 3rd round attackers were essentially playing one flag CTF. And even though the objective was always the same for the defenders, the way they could complete it changed each round.
>
> 3: Loadouts evolved with the match. New weapons, and abilities. Plus each loadout had a purpose. Like the battlefield, the weapons changed themselves.
>
> 4: Power weapons came in more and more as the game progressed. In the first round there was nothing, but in the 2nd and 3rd rounds things opened up. It started small with things like shotguns, sniper rifles, and rocket launchers, plus there was only one or two of these weapons at any given time. Then everything got explosive in the 3rd round: Spartan Lasers, Swords, Sniper Rifles, Plasma Grenade Launchers, Rocket Launchers, and more.
>
> 5: Vehicles and how they came into the match. None at the beginning, you had to get a feel for on-foot combat. In the 2nd round we got basic vehicles: Warthogs, Mongeese, and Ghosts. By the 3rd we had tanks and air vehicles, and good lord sir, GOOD LORD SIR IT GOT REAL! cough Sorry about that.
>
> Granite there we’re some flaws in Invasion.
>
> - All of the built-in maps were uphill battles in the beginning, and attacking was an immediate disadvantage due to this uphill fight.
> - Loadouts were incredibly unbalanced. In round one the elites always had The Needler, which wrecked. In round two the Spartans got the DMR, which also wrecked. Then everyone had a power weapon in round 3 from simply spawning.
> - There was also the issue of how Elites could recharge health, unlike their Spartan counterparts.
> I do believe these issues could be solved.
>
> On the topic of uphill advantage all of the forge community Invasion maps were not uphill fights, which led to better balance. 343i would simply have to follow that example.
> Halo 5: Guardians is going to have “Equal Start” and no loadouts. This would allow the match to stay balanced. I do think it would be good to change the weapon spawns as the match progresses though, as things got large in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and AR’s were entirely obsolete to a DMR.
>
> - On the topic of uphill advantage all of the forge community Invasion maps were not uphill fights, which led to better balance. 343i would simply have to follow that example.
> - Halo 5: Guardians is going to have “Equal Start” and no loadouts. This would allow the match to stay balanced. I do think it would be good to change the weapon spawns as the match progresses though, as things got large in the 2nd and 3rd rounds, and AR’s were entirely obsolete to a DMR.
> - And on the issue of elites and their special traits, well lets face it they’re most likely not coming back for Halo 5: Guardians. And even then they should be excluded from this mode to sustain balance.
> Do you think Invasion mode should return? If so should it be just the way it was in Halo: Reach? Should it be taken back to the drawing board and re-worked? Or do you believe Invasion mode should, “STAY IN HELL WHERE IT BELONGS!”
>
> Please in the comments express your own opinions, and experiences the Invasion playlist. And whether or not it should return for Halo 5: Guardians
>
> Also please be respectful. No complaining, cursing, or insulting to any Users/343i/Microsoft. Please be kind to others. Thank you.

1.&2. I had a base that did just that on Forge World in reach
–attackers would rush from island to any of 3 spots built up onto mountains
–if successful, the shields stopping from entering the room that was built into mountain side would disappear and there would be a bomb point that needed to be defended
–if bomb was detonated it would blow up a wall that a flag was sitting behind and it had to be transported up to the third level in that room for a capture.

16

To this day invasion is my favorite Halo game type and I actually thought it was pretty balanced with Spartans having slightly better weapons but elites moving faster and having more shields and health.

17

Invasion was one of the best Halo gametypes by far, I would love for it to return.

18

I would love to see Invasion return, it was a lot of fun to play. Just include more players and bigger maps and it would be golden in my opinion.

19

invasion should absolutley return. they should get rid of the barriers that spawn the tanks and power weapons for the defensive side i always found it unfair that they could steal the attackers vehicles and weapons but you couldnt steal theirs. i’d also like the main variant to stay spartans vs elites, but it would be cool to have spartans vs spartan and elite vs elite variants too. you could have unsc/oni spartans vs insurrectionist spartans or unsc vs oni if the story goes where alot of people are speculating and for the elites you could do the arbiters faction vs the storm elites. would make for some pretty sick and diverse elite customization.

20

> 2533274829951285;3:
> Here’s the thing though to point things out:
>
> 1. Are the Elite’s going to make a comeback or are we going to end up like Reach 2.0 by restricting them?
>
> and 2. What if the Elite’s were available to be playable in all playtypes and that they need to work alongside with the Spartans when it comes to attacking and defending? It might be Spartans vs Spartans (Which would be boring in my opinion), it could be Spartans vs Elite’s or Everyone vs everyone.
>
> I just figured I’d say this is because we are not too sure if Elite’s will come back or not.

Rebels(covy and humans) vs Unsc
Unsc vs Unsc
Covy vs Unsc
Covy vs Covy
Rebels vs rebels