Spartan Durability

After playing Halo 4 and watching multiplayer matches on the Halo 5 beta, it seems that the Spartans are dying a noticeable bit quicker than in previous games like Halo 3. I love playing as a big super soldier in Titanium power armor, and the new Spartan Abilities embrace the power feel, but on the durability side of things it feels a bit lacking. So I thought I would share my idea for a solution.

I’m guessing that the new bar under the shield bar is the Spartan’s health, in which case a single headshot from a precision weapon will kill the Spartan once their shields are down. This is how it has been in all Halo games, and how it should stay. What should change though, is the amount of health/Armor the Spartan has. This will make it a must for precision weapon users to score a headshot for the quickest possible kill. I’m only talking about a minor 10% increase in health, so it wouldn’t heavily impact non precision/automatic weapons. Precision weapons like the BR also seem to kill much quicker than previous games even though it’s still a four shot, so maybe decrease fire rate on them.

Summary:
Spartans receive a 10% increase in health/armor
Shield strength remain the same
Still headshot capable
Shots to kill for precision weapons will remain the same as long as a headshot is scored, but fire rate is slightly decreased
EXAMPLE: before, a Spartan could take 3 shots from a Battle Rifle without their shields before dying
After, a Spartan can take 4 shots from a Battle Rifle without their shields before dying. (I am not certain how many shots before dying a Spartan can take without their shields currently, so I used example numbers)

I think the bottom shield is 1/3 of the shield, not your health. But I don’t know how fast it really takes to kill someone, and it will be updated based on what we say when we play the Beta.

Frankie compared kill times in Halo 5 to those in Halo 3.

So far from what I’ve seen, once the second bar is depleted, the Spartan dies. Unless 343 removed health entirely in exchange for larger shields which would be disappointing. Lore wise, Spartans are extremely durable without shields. They are superhumans wearing a suit of power armor that enhances their abilities by double, and endurance by a ton. With gameplay in mind, I would at least like them to somewhat reflect how they really are.

If you are interested in just how super the Spartans are, then check out these pages and you’ll understand where I’m coming from.