And this is why we can take both. I usually use the AR in close-range so that I can do the damage with the AR, and then follow up with a melee attack. This is also where the map, grenades and more come into play. I think people tend to lose sight of what’s beyond just the weapons in Halo’s sandbox.
In their effective ranges. And when paired. The thing about the AR, as well as the Magnum, is that you aren’t supposed to use either as direct damage dealers. Bounce nades off walls, do damage and then follow up with a melee, get in close and melee, then follow up with a Magnum shot. Fat fingering the trigger at close-range on the AR, or attempting to use it beyond short-range, just isn’t going to work. Automatics in early Halo were designed for shield-stripping, and at close ranges, you have a weapon that can strip shields from a distance and then a Magnum that can kill. Use both!
Swapping it out for something else isn’t a problem, and it does have some situations where I think it could be effective. And again, I think people forget that the AR isn’t just the AR. You spawn with two grenades and a really sharp elbow, as well as the Magnum. A player has to use all of their tools, not just one of them, in order to get a win.
It’s like playing Starcraft and only spawning Zerglings. Or Elden Ring and only attacking, never rolling, running or blocking.
And easily outclasses every weapon in that range, making it the best option by far. And you spawn with it. Some people have also been cross-mapping with the AR. It’s WAY too strong for a starting weapon.
You could easily just say that about Halo Infinite… 81% of the weapons in the game have higher optimal TTK’s than the AR.
The other 4:
BR75: Outclasses 81% of the weapons at range (including the AR).
Disruptor: DoT, Chain Damage, and EMP.
Hydra: Destroy’s vehicles (this could arguably use a buff like the Ravager).
Mangler: Can beat the AR with a drop combo or by weaving in and out of cover.
Is the margin for beating the AR smaller than previous games? Sure.
But every single weapon in Halo Infinite comes down to the skill of the wielder in conjuction with their functionality. I’d argue Halo Infinite has an even bigger emphasis on function.
See its its not like that at all. Its like having a sword that can do everything your hammer can (same swing speed and damage and weight) do but your hammer has half the range.
No one would pick the hammer. Thats the AR. Its just worse at almost everything. It needs a case where it is the mlst useful and in Infinite its the range just above the sidekick but below the BR and commando. Outside of that short window there are other guns better in every situation. In H3 the AR had no window where there weren’t multiple weapons better than it in the exact same situation. No gun should be that way otherwise its redundant and doesn’t need to be in the game.
Which makes the BR even easier to use… it is the easiest ranged weapon to use in the game, it’s near hit scan. Compare that to Halo 3 where there was projectile lag forcing players to lead shots.
The AR is sorta like the pistol over the years as it continues to increase then decrease then increase again. It’s a staple weapon that just can’t truly find a long term balance for its usage.
Finally people are waking up to how OP the AR currently is in Infinite, its basically the strongest its ever been in terms of range and efficacy, and its a spawn weapon lol. Its wildly annoying having people with an AR challenge me across the map with a Commando/BR and still compete, its range is just too ridiculous and frankly just hurts the sandbox because relatively accurate guns are just pointless.
This isn’t happening. They are not cross mapping you. What is happening is the AR can finally reach out to medium range. Previously long range weapons Had nothing at mid range to contend with so they dominated everything above short range.
The AR pushed the long range weapons actually out to long range. This is a good thing, they no longer dominate most of the meta.
Incorrect, the sandbox around them just wasn’t good enough at filling roles that those precision weapons could.
You fail to understand that Halo has never been a range game, it was always a game about utility weapons and tool weapons. You spawn with a utility weapon that lets you play the game off of spawn at any range with some degree of confidence and you swap out for tool weapons that offer utility ( like shield killing ).
Infinite’s meta is braindead bullet hoses and easy kills with no counterplay because of how lethal everything is.
Basically false. CE had 2 tool weapons in the plasma pistol and plasma rifle. Outside of that everything was basically different ranges of lethality.
The utility weapon system was an accidental byproduct of a lone CE dev buffing the magnum just before release. They messed up in H2 making the smg replace the AR and it having abysmal range and damage without dual weilding left the BR the only option as a decent starter.
This carried over into future games because they thought that is what made Halo fun when the utility weapon design actively cuts against a 2 weapon system. Whine all you want but saying the AR is OP is just false.
AR for quick camo and good melee + good at CQC
Magnum for utility
PP for shield kill
PR for movement stun
Rockets are powerweapon
Sniper all range utility but preferred long range
Needler for anti-OS
Nobody cares.
Moreso the AR from CE became the SMG with a damage reduction, recoil and a little worse spread.
This implies the CE AR was the starter weapon, which it wasn’t. The magnum was the starter weapons and the AR became a tool with usage cases.
Except it doesn’t, and if it did I could easily say the Infinite AR cuts against the 2 weapon system just as well.
Except it is, it requires no skill and is incredibly powerful at all ranges and in all situations. The basic logic of weapon balance is easy to use weapons should be weaker, the AR is easy to use but busted in all aspects while other weapons ( like the pulse carbine ) are garbage and have no redeeming aspects.
You want the whole sandbox designed around 1 gun, the BR, and every is basically there to support it. I want guns that have a special use case where they are the most effective and then you can have some support guns like the PP. The AR has just above SK to the middle of medium range where it is the best gun for the job. Outside of that it gets beat by all close range weapons at close range and out ranged by any range weapon.
Its so easy to outkill an AR user if you use your weapon properly. Its not OP, its just useful for the first time ever.
I actually like the AR how it is, my main issue is with the cheaters. AR is their go-to weapon, that TTK when they’re hitting every bullet from mid-range is crazy.
I thought the AR was OP during flighting but honestly, its not that common to fight against unless its in social - and everyone has it i in social. It’s not a game breaker - you can beat it at certain-ranged with other weapons. but you need to consider how far you are from the target. Its a powerful weapon sure but by no means unbeatable.
Again the you’re bad argument, if the AR is not OP in Infinite yet you say it is so maybe you are bad at the game.
I say the AR is trash in older Halos, which it is, and saying i am bad by me acknowledging that other guns are better and that i don’t use the AR because other guns are better doesn’t make sense. That means i know how to play the game and know not to use bad guns.
Yeah we just disagree here. I don’t like it when the whole sandbox is designed around 1 gun and thats why people are pro AR starts.