This is very simple; should the next Halo game have Armour Abilities with how they are now, removed them completely or evolve them from Halo 3’s equipment into a hybrid AA/Equipment.
The concept of removing, changing or keeping them the same is highly controversial, I understand, but I think we all should vote on what we think we want and see how far we can get.
So after we vote we should start discussions on this topic and anything else you find relevant!
<mark>Also, one last request, if you like this and wish to spread word, please tweet the link/facebook it, give it to your friends and get your friends to vote!</mark>
Lastly I hope this thread can help the developers on the next Halo game in some way, if only to make them take a little harder look on how they develop AA’s for the game.
The idea of both equipment and AA are good. Some of the AA can just be map pickups like equipment while others you can start with.
I like AA’s, controversial ones like PV and AC could easily become power ups like Overshield, Speed Boost and Damage Boost
From my personal view point I feel that AA’s should be an evolution of Halo 3’s equipment as a usage-based equipment (in applicable types of equipment), that are primarily on-map pick-ups.
Just from me, even though I hate how AA’s have been in Halo Reach and Halo 4, I see that something like the AA-equipment hybrid would be a natural evolution from Halo 3, and I would be fine with it as long as they were designed and balanced for Halo, and went from unlimited usage to either limited usage or a cost for using them depending on what they are and do.
Everything that has been added to Halo I see no reason why it can’t be in it, except for Amour Mods with were taken directly out of the pages of Call of Duty. It’s just that they need to be designed for Halo, not emulated. Which is why Halo likely went from a standard 90,000 player population in Reach down to a constant 30,000 average population in Halo 4.
> I like AA’s, controversial ones like PV and AC could easily become power ups like Overshield, Speed Boost and Damage Boost
I would say never bring back PV, but many could be converted into powerups, like make camo an instant-pickup AA, but it would have a usage limit, and once that limit is reached you can’t use it anymore.
I honestly do like them as well, overall, I hate them due to the imbalanced ones such as Camo and Jet Pack.
I just feel that the devs need to take a hard long look at them and come up with a more balanced approach to them. AA’s should never be a centerpiece in the Halo combat dynamic, but they should be the spice that adds flavour to the Halo dish, but not completely over power it.
I rather leave them the way they are. Like have one separate setting (Infinity) containing AA’s, and another setting (Classic) containing equipment.
If 343 is going to do AAs again . I think it might be like Crysis ; it seems like the natural evolution . If they ever do it hopefully it won’t include camo.
As for reintroducing equipment, 343 might make it so that they encourage far more teamwork . Like buffing your teammates .
> > I like AA’s, controversial ones like PV and AC could easily become power ups like Overshield, Speed Boost and Damage Boost
>
> I would say never bring back PV, but many could be converted into powerups, like make camo an instant-pickup AA, but it would have a usage limit, and once that limit is reached you can’t use it anymore.
>
> I honestly do like them as well, overall, I hate them due to the imbalanced ones such as Camo and Jet Pack.
>
>
> I just feel that the devs need to take a hard long look at them and come up with a more balanced approach to them. AA’s should never be a centerpiece in the Halo combat dynamic, but they should be the spice that adds flavour to the Halo dish, but not completely over power it.
Agreed, I mean the AA’s are ok in Halo 4, nothing is too OP apart from a few
I would say Evolve.
The concept of on demand special tactical abilities based upon sci-fi technology isn’t really a bad one. You can only do so much with power-up style sci-fi tec since they have to automatically activate upon pick up. (PV would work but not much else). I am not however a fan of how AAs have been implemented so far.
I think you should be able to pick AAs up from dead enemy players. Both in Campaign and multiplayer. Defeat a camo or jet pack elite take their AA. Defeat a promethean, use their ability to see through walls and teleport against them. But, and this is important, they should not be unlimited abilities. AAs should have limited battery lives.
I think AA should be implemented in a similar way to weapons and grenades. You can spawn with them, but they have limited usage. You can pick them up off the map and from dead Players. You could even have higher tires AAs. Power AAs that can only be picked up off the map. Like for example: Promethean teleportation.
Players should have the option to change there AA mid life so they can adapt to changing battle field tactics. Having limited AAs would encourage players to step out of there comfort zone and use AAs not equipped in there loadout. This way AAs fit perfectly into an Arena styled game but also work just as well with loadouts.
(Functionally I think they should work similar to the Plasma Rifle. Limited Battery life and an overheat function when used too frequently. Maybe 5 or 6 usage…)
> I would say Evolve.
>
> The concept of on demand special tactical abilities based upon sci-fi technology isn’t really a bad one. You can only do so much with power-up style sci-fi tec since they have to automatically activate upon pick up. (PV would work but not much else). I am not however a fan of how AAs have been implemented so far.
>
> I think you should be able to pick AAs up from dead enemy players. Both in Campaign and multiplayer. Defeat a camo or jet pack elite take their AA. Defeat a promethean, use their ability to see through walls and teleport against them. But, and this is important, they should not be unlimited abilities. AAs should have limited battery lives.
>
> I think AA should be implemented in a similar way to weapons and grenades. You can spawn with them, but they have limited usage. You can pick them up off the map and from dead Players. You could even have higher tires AAs. Power AAs that can only be picked up off the map. Like for example: Promethean teleportation.
>
> Players should have the option to change there AA mid life so they can adapt to changing battle field tactics. Having limited AAs would encourage players to step out of there comfort zone and use AAs not equipped in there loadout. This way AAs fit perfectly into an Arena styled game but also work just as well with loadouts.
>
> (Functionally I think they should work similar to the Plasma Rifle. Limited Battery life and an overheat function when used too frequently. Maybe 5 or 6 usage…)
I like the general idea of this, but there are questions that need to be answered. How do you measure a “usage”, considering many AAs are activated and de-activated on the spot, rather than used at a set amount? Active Camo could have a charge of however long, but wouldn’t be as useful if you had to activate it for a predetermined “usage time”. If you mean “usage” as in how long you can use it before it needs to recharge, there’s the problem of using the AA (Jetpack for instance) for shorter durations than the maximum and how players could read how much more/longer they can use the AA.
If the Jetpack has a set amount of activation time (30 seconds or whatever would be balanced) before it is completely depleted, it would be a bit more intuitive and easily readable. Also, I don’t particularly like AAs at spawn (although I realize that is just my personal preference), because the core combat of Halo is meant to be firearm/grenade/melee. The standard inclusion of AAs in all combat situations detracts from that tried-and-true formula. Can you imagine if Halo 3 gave players their choice of Bubble Shield, Power Drain, or Regen Field at spawn?
That said, I would like to see AAs placed on map, with a few more powerful ones designed to behave more like a power-up or power weapon (although still on a limited use basis), like the Lancer Promethean Knights’ zig-zag lunge ability. Couple that and an Energy Sword on opposite sides of the map and map control becomes more important, as you wouldn’t want your enemy to have that combination.
No, Halo should not and should have NEVER had armor abilities.
> No, Halo should not and should have NEVER had armor abilities.
Your opinion, and what makes Equipment so much better?
> > No, Halo should not and should have NEVER had armor abilities.
>
> Your opinion, and what makes Equipment so much better?
You can’t spawn with them and they’re a one time use?
Did you really have to ask?
How about AA’s, but you can only use them a limited amount of times? Instead of spamming the crap out them for an entire match, players will be forced to use them tactfully.
Oh, and make them balanced. So no AC, PV or Jetpack.
They probably will be but ac should really be a pick up.
> > > No, Halo should not and should have NEVER had armor abilities.
> >
> > Your opinion, and what makes Equipment so much better?
>
> You can’t spawn with them and they’re a one time use?
>
> Did you really have to ask?
Did you even bother to read my previous comment on this topic? If you had, you would’ve known that I agree that spawning with them and having unlimited use are bad qualities, but believe the concept of AAs is not bad. The problem really lies in improper execution.
You act as though my question, or rather, my inquiry was irrelevant, but the answers/reasons that you gave can be fixed while keeping the format of AAs (to an extent). Believing that something should be scrapped and never should’ve been attempted is a sure sign of close-mindedness and a resistance to change/experimentation. Who’s to say that 343i hasn’t learned from their mistakes and can manage to fix them without rinsing away what they had built?
I think equipment and AA’s should return but severely slow the recharge rate of AA’s. They could even make them have a so called universal recharge (even after respawning the AA is still recharging). This way it’s more of a players trump card and has to be used very wisely.
Players could coordinate their AA usage in taking a flag, securing equipment and power weapons, or maintaining control over an area. The kids that spam them at anything that moves will get destroyed.
Should Halo 5 have armor abilities? See current Halo 4 population for answer
All armor abilities should be map pickups (and not random drops). Sprint should remain default, but picking up an AA would disable sprint. If you die, you lose your AA. This would bring tactics back into Halo. A teammate picks up Regeneration? Form up on them and hold down a choke point! Enemy picks up a jetpack? Team needs to look out for flanking maneuvers (because the 1-2 guys with jet packs can take more indirect routes to an objective/power weapon. Camo? Needs to become a one-and-done and have at least a two minute respawn.
For Spartan Ops and Campaign, the status quo is fine by me.
> > I would say Evolve.
> >
> > The concept of on demand special tactical abilities based upon sci-fi technology isn’t really a bad one. You can only do so much with power-up style sci-fi tec since they have to automatically activate upon pick up. (PV would work but not much else). I am not however a fan of how AAs have been implemented so far.
> >
> > I think you should be able to pick AAs up from dead enemy players. Both in Campaign and multiplayer. Defeat a camo or jet pack elite take their AA. Defeat a promethean, use their ability to see through walls and teleport against them. But, and this is important, they should not be unlimited abilities. AAs should have limited battery lives.
> >
> > I think AA should be implemented in a similar way to weapons and grenades. You can spawn with them, but they have limited usage. You can pick them up off the map and from dead Players. You could even have higher tires AAs. Power AAs that can only be picked up off the map. Like for example: Promethean teleportation.
> >
> > Players should have the option to change there AA mid life so they can adapt to changing battle field tactics. Having limited AAs would encourage players to step out of there comfort zone and use AAs not equipped in there loadout. This way AAs fit perfectly into an Arena styled game but also work just as well with loadouts.
> >
> > (Functionally I think they should work similar to the Plasma Rifle. Limited Battery life and an overheat function when used too frequently. Maybe 5 or 6 usage…)
>
> I like the general idea of this, but there are questions that need to be answered. How do you measure a “usage”, considering many AAs are activated and de-activated on the spot, rather than used at a set amount? Active Camo could have a charge of however long, but wouldn’t be as useful if you had to activate it for a predetermined “usage time”. If you mean “usage” as in how long you can use it before it needs to recharge, there’s the problem of using the AA (Jetpack for instance) for shorter durations than the maximum and how players could read how much more/longer they can use the AA.
>
> If the Jetpack has a set amount of activation time (30 seconds or whatever would be balanced) before it is completely depleted, it would be a bit more intuitive and easily readable. Also, I don’t particularly like AAs at spawn (although I realize that is just my personal preference), because the core combat of Halo is meant to be firearm/grenade/melee. The standard inclusion of AAs in all combat situations detracts from that tried-and-true formula. Can you imagine if Halo 3 gave players their choice of Bubble Shield, Power Drain, or Regen Field at spawn?
>
> That said, I would like to see AAs placed on map, with a few more powerful ones designed to behave more like a power-up or power weapon (although still on a limited use basis), like the Lancer Promethean Knights’ zig-zag lunge ability. Couple that and an Energy Sword on opposite sides of the map and map control becomes more important, as you wouldn’t want your enemy to have that combination.
Basically I think they should work pretty much exactly as they do now except if you use an AA all the way up to a cool down period that will use up about 15/ 20% of the AAs charge. So you can use it more than 5/ 6 times if you use it sparingly in shorter bursts. AAs like the Thruster Pack maybe could be 8/ 10x usage.
Also I think AAs should appear on the Spartan as more visible armour attachments. So that using an AA is not always a surprise attack. The Jet Pack is fine in this regard but maybe PV could be a helmet attachment with a small red light and the Hardlight shield could be some kind of wrist attachment with a blue light for example.