Okay, I like the concept of it, it works very well when performed the right away…BUT, there is a major issue I’ve encountered few times which, IMO, 343 needs to tweak badly.
When sprinting at full speed to a guy (he is running away from you, meaning he has his back vulnerable to beat down/assassinations) and when pressing the punch button, your spartan does Spartan Charge instead of melee making you very vulnerable to die…And the worst is, Spartan Charge is not an instant KILL!
What are your thoughts?
…but shoulder charge IS an instant kill from behind. I’ve done it several times. It’s quite possible they turned before you completed the animation. ‘Melee Magnetism’ has been turned way down, meaning you really have to be on point with them. It’s not as bad as H:CE, because there’s still a little pull if you’re close, but I’ve often found myself ‘whiffing’ a melee because I’m used to H3’s melee crutch lunge.
Shoulder charge is not meant to be a ‘good’ ability. It is INTENDED to put you in a bad spot if you use it thinking you can just run in there and get a free kill. By having it do normal melee damage, two hits from the front, one from the back, it balances out with sprint. If you sprint in and shoulder charge someone, they can get two melee’s off before you’re finished with the shoulder charge animation.
This game is balanced fantastically with all it’s new elements, and I hope that 343 disregards a lot of the feedback surrounding the negativity of those abilities. Many people don’t even stop to consider the design decision behind it. It’s obvious that they’ve put a lot of thought into the balance, moreso than any other game H5G is getting compared to. CoD has no disadvantage to sprinting around the map. In H5G, you get a gimped melee, and no shield recharge. It’s all thoroughly thought out, and I implore you to actually think about why certain things have been done before you make a post complaining.
I think it is an instant kill if you hit him in the back. Also, it does slightly stun the enemy if you don’t kill him; it knocks him back a few feet and shakes the screen up pretty badly. I’ve only gotten one kill with it, and it was after a grenade. I just charged around the corner and slammed him up against the wall. There’s actually a medal for it.
I think the best way to use it is as a follow-through, like when the enemy ducks behind cover after a grenade or a few shots. Either that, or use it as an opener on an enemy who didn’t see you coming. Suddenly getting thrown across the room and shaken like a shakeweight is pretty hard to come back from in under a second if you weren’t expecting it.