The Commando doesn't need to compete with the DMR

Games Halo Infinite
1

So some people have the view that the DMR won’t get added because the Commando is pretty much the same thing in their opinion and the DMR would be redundant, they also say that the BR has issues with the DMR, and what’s interesting is that they are correct. The DMR has never been executed since Halo Reach in a way that allowed it to have a unique section of the sandbox. Its always had very high overlap with the BR and now the Commando is interfering as well.

However, I think that the reason that these issues are happening is that the DMR was never implemented in a way that allowed it to coexist with other mid/long range weapons other than the Sniper Rifle. This happened because the DMR was introduced in Halo Reach, a game that lacked the BR so eliminated its chief competition. However, rather than edit the DMR once it came up against the BR in Halo 4, 343 kept it almost the exact same which resulted in Sandbox havoc. And in Halo 5 the issue still wasn’t fixed.

I am here to give a possible solution to the problem. The BR is a burst weapon that favors mid/long-range but performs decently in short-range while the Commando is an automatic weapon that favors close-mid ranges but performs decently in long-range, but has to be MANUALLY shot in bursts to perform well in long range. This means that the BR has the edge in long-range, the two weapons are tied in mid-range, and the Commando has the edge in short-range due to its automatic nature. Also, we can’t have a proper discussion about the DMR without mentioning the Sniper Rifle, a weapon that is the undisputed king at long-range but is outmatched by the BR and the Commando in both mid-range and short-range.

Now the proper solution for the DMR is actually a SET of tweaks, and here they are:

#1) The Firerate must be toned down significantly but must be faster than the Sniper Rifle, this results in the DMR having a disadvantage in short-range due to each shot being more costly if missed. But allows it to still perform better than the Sniper Rifle at lower ranges.

#2) The Damage for each shot must be turned up to between the Commando and the Sniper Rifle, allowing it to deal more damage with each shot than its direct competition.

#3) The DMR’s slower firerate results in its kick and bloom not mattering as much, this gives it a trait rather like the Sniper Rifle, meaning that while a missed shot sacrifices time that it doesn’t for your enemies, it doesn’t sacrifice your aim, a problem which they have to deal with. Which gives the DMR an aiming edge over the Commando and BR.

#4) The DMR has high long-range capability, its shots are predictable in trajectory, this allows it to have a longer effective range than its opponents.

#5) The DMR has low Bullet Magnetism, but is high enough to make it a less skill-based weapon than the BR.

These combine to make the DMR essentially a Pseudo-Sniper Rifle that loses some of its long range power for greater efficiency at mid-range, but it about as helpless at close-range as its power-weapon cousin. Resulting the DMR having a role of its own as a sort of user-friendly Sniper-Rifle that has far more situational flexibility. Rather like how the Bulldog is a user-friendly Shotgun.

2

Personally, I still have a bad taste for the DMR after it replaced the BR in Reach. And moving forward I would always pick the BR over the DMR.

My worry is that the Commando is a replacement for the SAW. The SAW was my favourite addition in H4, and I love how the design is like a futuristic Tommy Gun. I’d be pretty let down if it get replaced by the boring looking Commando, which to me at least, is toting very close to the line of looking like a generic COD gun.

3

Your solution sounds like the light rifle from Halo 5. Not really a bad thing, but I think 343 hasn’t revealed all the weapons in the game yet. If the light rifle is returning then that may be a reason why the DMR isn’t, and why they introduced the Commando. 343 doesn’t seem to want sandbox weapons over lapping too much this time around taking inspiration from Halo CE’s diverse and unique weapon niches. Just a theory, but if the light rifle doesn’t return then your plan could work.

4

I wouldn’t mind having a dmr with a lower fire rate, zero bloom and low/nonexistent recoil. It could be a pinpoint accurate long range weapon with a high magnification scope, but it would need to have a longer time to kill than the battle rifle, and it should not spawn on any of the maps we’ve seen so far in the technical test. It would be for larger maps and modes, like big team battle. I think the magazine size should be significantly reduced however. 10 rounds or less preferably.

5

Imma be honest here, I don’t like the commando at all. I prefer DMR over this joint anytime.

6

I love the DMR… But sometimes old weapons don’t fit into the sandbox anymore.

What do you do then?

Dropping them out of rotation is often far more palatable then nerfing them beyond recognition.

7

> 2533274810945725;2:
> Personally, I still have a bad taste for the DMR after it replaced the BR in Reach. And moving forward I would always pick the BR over the DMR.
>
> My worry is that the Commando is a replacement for the SAW. The SAW was my favourite addition in H4, and I love how the design is like a futuristic Tommy Gun. I’d be pretty let down if it get replaced by the boring looking Commando, which to me at least, is toting very close to the line of looking like a generic COD gun.

agree 100% the saw will be sorely missed if it does not make its way into infinite

8

> 2533274810945725;2:
> Personally, I still have a bad taste for the DMR after it replaced the BR in Reach. And moving forward I would always pick the BR over the DMR.
>
> My worry is that the Commando is a replacement for the SAW. The SAW was my favourite addition in H4, and I love how the design is like a futuristic Tommy Gun. I’d be pretty let down if it get replaced by the boring looking Commando, which to me at least, is toting very close to the line of looking like a generic COD gun.

I love the SAW, but I have one problem with it, being Infinites TTK. The SAW in Halo 4 and 5 had similar (?) TTK to the AR in Infinite, so I’m worried that the gun would either be too weak or too strong.

9

> 2535447979542749;8:
> > 2533274810945725;2:
> > Personally, I still have a bad taste for the DMR after it replaced the BR in Reach. And moving forward I would always pick the BR over the DMR.
> >
> > My worry is that the Commando is a replacement for the SAW. The SAW was my favourite addition in H4, and I love how the design is like a futuristic Tommy Gun. I’d be pretty let down if it get replaced by the boring looking Commando, which to me at least, is toting very close to the line of looking like a generic COD gun.
>
> I love the SAW, but I have one problem with it, being Infinites TTK. The SAW in Halo 4 and 5 had similar (?) TTK to the AR in Infinite, so I’m worried that the gun would either be too weak or too strong.

Mmm, I didn’t get to play the flight so I don’t know how the AR performs in hand.
But yeah, it would be a shame if the Saw got squeezed out by the AR and Commando.

Perhaps the SAW could be repurposed as a quasi-power weapon, functioning a bit like the detachable turret, with higher accuracy, but a lower rate of fire?

10

Honestly I don’t seenhow your version makes it any less redundant it just makes it differently redundant.
I don’t care if we get redundancy post launch for dlc. Particularly for the campaign portion.
The dmr firing as fast as you pull the trigger balanced by greater inaccuracy and recoil is still a more interesting weapon in my eyes.
Having it be projectile based in opposition to the brs hit scan.
One addition I think would make it interesting is if it had a longer bayonette based melee animation that can be avoided with timing that gives it an added utility of CQC killing potential and more of a niche.

But honestly the LR for me seems more interesting. Give hard light more unique properties, perhaps it can shatter light bridges sending Spartans to their doom. Or it causes hard light to explode like doom eternals plasma rifle. Tie a stabilise function to it’s smart scope and presto something unique is born.