First, a re-examination of Halo history. In Halo 2, the SMG. An imprecise, close-range starting weapon that almost instantly created problems of cascading advantage. Whoever grabbed the BRs first could gain an almost permanent match advantage, because there was nothing on-spawn to bridge the gap between the weak CQC automatic gun and the precise and easy to use precision weapon. So to make the game even function, Bungie almost completely replaced the SMG with the BR to introduce on-spawn versatility. This was not an ideal compromise, because the BR was SO GOOD in Halo 2 that it kind of ate the sandbox. But it worked better than SMG starts, which proved to be completely broken.
With Halo 3, they brought back the AR, which was more balanced than the SMG. A solid buff. What happened? Players who got to the BR first had an large advantage over the CQC AR in almost every context, and there was nothing in the starting loadout that bridged the range gap. The BR became the dominant starting weapon in almost every playlist. The lesson? No matter how much you buff the full-auto starting weapon, there’s nothing to fully bridge the gap between it and the precision weapons.
Bungie finally cracked the code. Despite the unfortunate introduction of heavy bloom, Bungie realized that introducing a versatile (but not dominant) secondary precision weapon on-spawn (magnum) helped bridge the gap between the AR and the map-dominant precision rifle (in this case, the DMR). Reach did a lot of things wrong, but it actually had one of the tightest weapon sandboxes in the series.
After a brief journey into a different design philosophy (Halo 4), 343 came back with Halo 5. A deeply troubled game. But one of the strongest ARs in the series and probably the most versatile magnum (after CE) in the series. A strong, versatile starting loadout that didn’t exclude players who wanted to use a powerful, lower-skill AR OR a magnum that rewarded skilled play. But you could venture out into the map and pick up other weapons that offered enhanced utility without giving an excessive advantage over just-spawning players. A Halo game is as good as its starting loadout. Despite its other shortcomings, Halo 5 really sang in this regard.
Coming into Infinite, my biggest fear was that 343 would throw the baby out with the bathwater, because Halo 5 failed to attract a large and sustaining casual audience. I think most of the reason for this is actually attributable to missing content. There were other loud complaints. Low-skill casual players tend to favor the AR in every context and demand buffs that reduce the need for precision weapons (utopian fallacy I’ll address later). High-skill casual players tend to request limited skill-ranking so that matches aren’t too “sweaty,” which in my experience tends to indicate a desire for noob-stomping. Interestingly, Infinite seems to cater to both of these player demographics simultaneously, which I think works to the detriment of everyone.
Ok, so we’re finally here. The Infinite weapon sandbox. If we imagine this as a direct sequel to Halo 3, we can sort of position this as a third full-auto failure. The AR is very strong. At close range, it’s folly to use any other weapon. But what is the AR NOT good at? It is not good at being a reliable medium-range weapon. Don’t get me wrong. It has longer range than ever before (with a confounding headshot bonus), but it is not a path to consistent medium-range kills. This means that ONCE AGAIN, players spawn into a radical range disadvantage. As a solo player, you can certainly ping enemies with wild spray from across the map, but it is not effective or satisfying. Likewise, you can be the recipient of wild spray from across the map, which ends up feeling immensely irritating without being deadly. UNLESS you’re the recipient of (sometimes deadly) long-range team shot from across the map. With the spawn loadout, you have no recourse in these contexts, which over-incentivizes running away. Running TOWARDS what? It’s hard to say, because every 4v4 map only has 2 precision spawners, so players who want to have any kind of reliable medium-range capability have to huddle around wallspawners with teammates just staring at a loading bar. The AR has been so over-buffed that it is without question the best all-around gun at close range, but the buff hasn’t really successfully made it into the bridge it would need to be an all-around, mixed-range gun. Because such a goal is impossible in the first place.
This game, as yet, doesn’t have a Magnum. What it has instead is one of the most confused weapons in Halo history. The Sidekick is very strange, because like many other guns in the sandbox, it is simultaneously over-buffed and under-tuned (notice the 50/50 split in the community?). It has a short effective range that does not outclass the AR. It has bloom (?). It has a high shot requirement to kill (7) and a relatively shallow mag (12). It is not a versatile precision weapon. Some say it is “correctly, a sidearm” meant for cleaning up kills. But one might imagine that such a weapon would be slower-firing and easier to shoot. This is a gun that does not provide empowerment to the low or medium-skill player, ideally bridging some of the gap between full-auto and precision weapons. It’s not even really a gateway gun to get auto-players accustomed to precision play. It is a weak sidearm, but it is also a fast-firing gun with a super short TTK (one of the lowest in the game). A high skill player, in certain situations, can get one of the fastest kills in the game with this gun that is “just a sidearm.” This is to say nothing of the fundamental difference between pulling an analog trigger 7 times and clicking a mouse 7 times. It’s a gun that feels specifically designed for noob-stomping, both between regular skill tiers and between users of different input methods, because it offers almost no value-add to the average player.
So we have this dynamic where thousands of casual Halo players are celebrating the super powerful AR, while simultaneously complaining that the game feels too hard. The AR buff, rather than empowering players who love full-auto guns, has created a canvas for horrible abuse of the skill gap. And when I say “skill gap” here, I don’t mean a spectrum of skill-expression with a high ceiling and room for growth. I mean a skill chasm that’s ripe for major exploitation. The only way the current balance can work is if EVERY playlist has super strict skill-based matchmaking, but it still wouldn’t address the predominance of AR play, which will not feel rewarding in the longterm to seasoned players.
In a perfect world, the AR is nerfed (particularly in the cross-map spray department) and the Sidekick gets a buff (increased red reticule range, reduced fire speed, and reduced shots-to-kill). I’m totally happy if the AR still out-classes the Sidekick in close-range encounters. But there simply needs to be an at-spawn precision weapon that works well at medium range (without being completely dominant at short and long-range). If the AR-lovers are still dissatisfied, I think there simply needs to be a dedicated AR playlist, perhaps one that doesn’t even include precision weapons.
EVERY gun in the game is a glass cannon. OP in a really specific use-case and completely outclassed in most others. There is no utility weapon. Even the BR doesn’t feel like it was designed to co-exist with the AR, as it has a much slower optimal TTK at close range.