Hey everyone!
So I decided to really sit down and see just what Specializations will be useful, and which ones I am probably going to avoid. This is all based off of just the small paragraph descriptions. I understand that I have not played the game yet, so I’m not sure exactly how everything will work, but as I understand them, this is my opinion:
Wetworks-
Unfortunately, this is going to be one that I immediately shut down. I like that 343i was going for a more stealthy thing here, but unfortunately, for it to stay Halo, they can’t go all the way, and if you can’t go all the way, it just wont be worth it.
This armor mod lets you become LESS loud while sprinting. Right off the bat, this doesn’t really appeal to me unless it is SERIOUSLY quite. Reason being is that you are still making a noise. I wear an Astro A40 headset. Many other players wear headsets, and with them you can hear people CROUCHING up behind you. Unless this mod makes you completely silent, I will still be able to hear you, and I will know you’re there.
Second, the armor mod changes how Promethean Vision detects you. Instead of showing your entire body, you see an outline. Well, to me that pretty much doesn’t do much, as the enemy will still see you that you are there, which is 90% of the AA’s use. After time, I’m sure we’ll also be able to tell what weapons they are carrying due to the outline.
Thus, this Specialization mod just doesn’t really seem like it will do much.
Pioneer (Fast Track mod)-
I like this one. Extra XP gain while using this ability. I am sure half of my loadouts will have this mod. However, here’s the thing… I am going to only use this when I can tell that the enemy is not going to be putting up much of a fight. Thus, I will use one of the other Specializations until I can see that we outmatch our opponents. That way, I can still get the bonus of one of the other Specializations, until I see that I do not need the extra advantage.
Engineer (Drop Recon mod)-
I can see this mod only working if some things are changed. As it is written, it says that you are given a couple seconds of advanced notice on the timed drops. A couple seconds isn’t enough to really cause too much of an advantage. What you need to think about is each and every player’s distance from that drop. If you an an opponent are exactly the same distance from the drop, these extra couple seconds will be an advantage. However, if your opponent is an extra 6 seconds closer (running time) to the drop, those 2 seconds early aren’t going to help you get there before him.
Thus, I don’t really see this mod really giving too much of an advantage unless you are in the VERY unlikely event that you and an opponent are equidistant from a timed drop.
Tracker (Drop Recon mod?)-
This one can definitely be useful so you’re not stuck with an ordinance weapon that does not suit the map (ex: shotgun on Longbow). However, it seems as though this will only let you re-roll YOUR drops, which to me means that you can only use this in Infinity Slayer, unless they go through with giving players random drops outside of Infinity Slayer.
Rogue (Stability mod)-
Well, this one definitely has some potential here. At the same time, there is a bit of a downside. The potential is that you can become an unstoppable sniping machine as long as shots fired at you aren’t too distracting (screen flare, bounced reticule, etc). At the same time, you will win long distance DMR battles. If you can shoot an opponent out of scope, and you can remain IN scope, you’ll win.
However, this mod’s strength is also it’s weakness. In some situations, it’s best to be shot out of scope, as it immediately pulls you back to the normal firing mode which is preferable in mid range & close range fights. With this mod, you’ll have to manually unscope, which could allow your opponent to land an extra shot on you in that time. Tough choice here.
Stalker (Nemesis mod)-
Ugh. I can see this one becoming quite the go-to mod. At a standard 1:1 kill/death ratio, this means that you will constantly have some enemy’s location on your HUD. In doubles, if both of you have the mod, and each of you were killed by a different enemy, you will be aware of both opponent’s locations. This is really going to allow for some camping and preparing to get the jump on you opponent, pretty much guaranteeing you a kill if you play smart.
I would highly suggest to 343 to change this so that the marker goes away after like 30 seconds.
Thus, this Specialization is another of of those mods that will be strategically a good choice.
Pathfinder (Gunner mod)-
This is a fun Specialization. Decreased turret cooldown, and increased movement speed with detached turrets. However, that’s all it is. If you’re not planning on being a constant Warthog gunner, you have better options. However, if you die, and you know your teammate has an empty hog, it may be beneficial to switch to a Gunnar mod and jump in his turret until you die.
Thus, unless you are a constant BTB player, I would save this one to do a quick-swap with your Specialization mods.
Operator (Wheelman mod)-
Another one of those situational mods, however, I believe you’ll run into situations where this mod is useful more often than the Gunner mod. Vehicle health recharge as well as some Plasma Pistol overcharge resistance… definitely would be useful to have one of these in your hog. I could see one vehicle class being set up with this mod, and then switching it to Gunner if you see that your squadmates in your vehicle already have the Wheelman mod.
>
Narrowed Down
So here are the mods, their descriptions, and how I see them working out. I’ve given pros and cons for each one, and stated how to use each one effectively. So, what is the most strategic? Read on.
I’ve narrowed the choices down to Fast Track, Stability, and Nemesis.
Fast Track- Keep at least one class with Fast Track selected. Do not choose this class right off the bat, but rather when you see that you’re playing against opponents of much lower skill level to the point where it’s not going to be a challenge. Instead of wasting through the game trying to just get it over with, reward yourself with extra XP! Thus, those matches that aren’t hard are not wastes of time.
Nemesis- While this mod seems to be a huge issue, it’s really only a problem in certain game types. FFA and BTB really make this not an issue with there being so many other enemies. However, in Team Doubles, this could DEFINITELY land you some free kills.
Stability- This mod is just one that you cannot avoid. Without this mod, you will almost always lose any long-distance DMR fight. If you can learn to quickly get out of scope (Melee is quicker than pressing scope twice!), you’ll be golden at distance.
>
Conclusion
I have concluded that Stability is going to be the most useful Specialization that fits in most situations. In Team Doubles, I would recommend switching to Nemesis. However, I would always have at least one class set up with the Fast Track mod for those games that aren’t much challenge.
How do you guys feel about my conclusions? Do you agree/disagree? What changes do you think should be made to balance these more?
