The Flood Meets New Mechanics

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

I was thinking about the Flood, due to their appearances in the recent Escalations comic, and then, I thought of what their return would mean for Halo games. Not in terms of story or narrative, but in terms of mechanics. Mainly, Halo: Reach’s assassinations and Halo 4’s Promethean weapons.

I can see anti-Flood assassinations being particularly gruesome, as combat forms are notoriously tanky, and would probably require being torn in half before they dropped. The knife’s not going to cut it this time (Punpunpun), so we might get some serious displays of Spartan strength.

Then there’s the Promethean weapons. Obviously, as they are designed specifically to deal with the Flood by causing burning and disintegrating corpses to prevent their reuse, they will be devastatingly effective against Combat/Pure forms.

Speaking of Pure Forms, I’m betting we’ll be seeing some new ones. Why? Because of the Halo 4 Flood models. Bash them all you like, it’s hard to deny that the MP models look much more intelligent that the combat forms of old, possibly hinting that we might be facing a fully-developed extra-galactic Flood invasion, possibly signalled by the forms aboard the Spirit of Fire, with all the intelligence that goes with it. This leads me to believe we may see entirely new pure forms, possibly a ‘Soldier’ form that operates in teams, coordinating offense over a variety of ranges.

And with soldiers, come guns… I find it hard to believe that a sufficiently developed Flood infestation would not, given enough time, start producing their own armaments for their stronger soldiers. Imagine a Flood Gun! Organically made, throbbing and pulsing in your hands, firing devastating blasts with damage over time if it breaks your shields. I’m betting the reloads would be disgusting, though.

Anyway, what are your thoughts on these ideas? Please discuss!

2

I’d like to see some of the Flood forms from Halo Wars.

And judging from Halo 4 the Flood seem to be taking a darker and more intelligent turn, almost becoming like Necromorphs from Dead Space.

As far as Flood guns go - Mass Effect 3 introduced organic Collector weaponry which looked (roughly) like someone made a gun from bones and they fired enamel.

So bone weapons that shoot teeth. Sounds pretty insane.

Another inspiration could come from Prey which is an old game but all the weapons in that game were technically organisms. The assault rifle/sniper rifle was basically a kind of fish and it had a tentacle that went into your eye socket as a scope. The grenades were a kind of crab. The shotgun was a kind of acid sprayer/grenade launcher.

Organic weapons would be fearsome but the Flood would most likely take the existing weapons and augment them somehow.

As far as Flood forms would go, I would imagine they would be tiered; ranging from swarms of basic turned forms trying to melee you down, then Pure Forms and Flood forms using weaponry and vehicles, and then…I’m thinking some kind of advanced Flood form that’s an emissary of the Gravemind, an extension of himself - an entire AI construct turned against the Forerunner.
So imagine disgusting Flood-infected Prometheans and turned Ultra-Sentinels hunting you down, along with flying and shooting Flood, and swarms of zombies.

3

If the Flood return, I think it would be really cool if they could emphasize the use of Forerunner and Covenant weapons. I know, traditionally, plasma weapons were never very effective against the Flood, but the opposite should be true. So imagine that, in certain areas, you have to be sure to destroy as much of a Flood forms a possible. Plasma weapons would be good for this, but Forerunner weapons would be ideal (just to add, all Forerunner weapons, or at least all Promethean weapons should disintegrate enemies).

Then, you could have these Flood mini-bosses that would get stronger if you didn’t destroy the whole of a Flood form. This mini-boss would absorb left-over biomass from a downed Flood form, itself becoming bigger and stronger. How cool would that be?!

4

> And with soldiers, come guns… I find it hard to believe that a sufficiently developed Flood infestation would not, given enough time, start producing their own armaments for their stronger soldiers. Imagine a Flood Gun! Organically made, throbbing and pulsing in your hands, firing devastating blasts with damage over time if it breaks your shields. I’m betting the reloads would be disgusting, though.

Okay this…this sounds pretty cool.

5

> If the Flood return, I think it would be really cool if they could emphasize the use of Forerunner and Covenant weapons. I know, traditionally, plasma weapons were never very effective against the Flood, but the opposite should be true. So imagine that, in certain areas, you have to be sure to destroy as much of a Flood forms a possible. Plasma weapons would be good for this, but Forerunner weapons would be ideal (just to add, all Forerunner weapons, or at least all Promethean weapons should disintegrate enemies).
>
> Then, you could have these Flood mini-bosses that would get stronger if you didn’t destroy the whole of a Flood form. This mini-boss would absorb left-over biomass from a downed Flood form, itself becoming bigger and stronger. How cool would that be?!

I’ve heard that idea before and I still love it.

As for OP I’d like to see use of Keyminds as well as more variety in the Pure Forms. The only time we’ve seen them is in Halo 3 and there were only 3 pure forms not including regular combat forms. Just like the Juggernaut was created to take down Sentinel Enforcers, there could be a plethora of forms that are created to take down Prometheans.

I’d also like to see a form that utilizes the biomass, armor and weapons of a hunter pair.

6

> And with soldiers, come guns… I find it hard to believe that a sufficiently developed Flood infestation would not, given enough time, start producing their own armaments for their stronger soldiers. Imagine a Flood Gun! Organically made, throbbing and pulsing in your hands, firing devastating blasts with damage over time if it breaks your shields. I’m betting the reloads would be disgusting, though.

Well there were those “pure form” flood from Halo 3 that shot green projectiles at you.

7

I would love the Flood to have more advanced mechanics in general. The next Halo game needs the flood and it needs to be brutal to see them and fight them and what better way than SMART assassinations and when I mean smart I mean something quick but with the option to kill multiple targets from one special move.

8

I’d like the Juggernaut form from h2, and the pure forms from h3 reintroduced

9

Flood are intelligent, I wouldn’t be surprised if a flood form transformed into a pure form with wings. I still think the Halo 4 flood model is generic, not bashing 343, just stating my opinion. An enemy doesn’t have look intelligent to perform like so.

Combat forms looked so deformed with the neck snapped and everything nearly unrecognized, yet can be pretty smart and do more than melee.

10

> > And with soldiers, come guns… I find it hard to believe that a sufficiently developed Flood infestation would not, given enough time, start producing their own armaments for their stronger soldiers. Imagine a Flood Gun! Organically made, throbbing and pulsing in your hands, firing devastating blasts with damage over time if it breaks your shields. I’m betting the reloads would be disgusting, though.
>
> Well there were those “pure form” flood from Halo 3 that shot green projectiles at you.

Except those dudes were just annoying. They tanked most weapons but died in one sticky. So in Halo 3 it was pretty much sticky for you Ranged form and energy sword for you Tank form. Not to mention the relative uselessness of the Stalker forms.

11

> > > And with soldiers, come guns… I find it hard to believe that a sufficiently developed Flood infestation would not, given enough time, start producing their own armaments for their stronger soldiers. Imagine a Flood Gun! Organically made, throbbing and pulsing in your hands, firing devastating blasts with damage over time if it breaks your shields. I’m betting the reloads would be disgusting, though.
> >
> > Well there were those “pure form” flood from Halo 3 that shot green projectiles at you.
>
> Except those dudes were just annoying. They tanked most weapons but died in one sticky. <mark>So in Halo 3 it was pretty much sticky for you Ranged form and energy sword for you Tank form.</mark> Not to mention the relative uselessness of the Stalker forms.

I would always just carry around a Brute Shot. They were plentiful and killed all pure forms with a single melee hit.

If Pure forms returns (and I think they should), they need a major overhaul in terms of combat ability. I love the idea that they could adapt in Halo 3, but the forms were pretty boring to fight.

12

I’m using this color as Flood theme…for teh fludz.

Anyway, if the Flood return, I want them to be (now I know you’ve heard this before) scary.

Remember the Flood form that was constricting the Prophet of Mercy in the new cinematic trailer was PERFECT. It was gross looking, it looked like something out of the Thing, which is one of the places the Flood got inspiration from. So bring out the mishmashed Flood forms!

Modern example: In Halo: CEA the Keyes Proto-Gravemind. Take a GOOD like at it with the new graphics…it’s…pretty gruesome. THAT’S what the Flood should be.

13

As far as the flood goes, new forms would obviously be nice in addition to the traditional, infection/combat/carrier. New pure forms and perhaps including the flood ‘fauna’ we saw in Halo Wars.

In general seeing the larger and more advanced forms that would require heavy weapons or vehicles to deal with.

For more specific mechanics, melee needs to be heavily nerfed against the flood, at least compared to Halo 3.

In Halo 3 it was absurdly easy to melee pretty much any flood opponent for an easy kill. Being able to disassemble them with a single melee really lowered the threat as well.

Melee Rules for the flood
*Normal melee is only really effective at pushing the flood away from you.
*Bladed Brute weapons are the only melee(aside from sword/hammer) that can damage flood/dismember combat forms after several melee attacks.
*Assassination only usable against combat forms(with the animation).

Having usable flood weapons just doesn’t fit. I do think those kinds of weapons are cool for other games but I don’t see them fitting with the flood. That said I could see some native Drone technology being bio based. However there is more room for projectile wielding flood forms.

One last note on gameplay, there should not be any flood ‘headshot’ zones. Maybe a slightly weaker point(see Tank pure form), but being able to drop flood from easily from a distance removes a lot of the tension.

14

> Having usable flood weapons just doesn’t fit.

I think it would be most interesting and add a new sector to the Flood and how terrifying they really are.

In my opinion, the Flood does NOT get the fear factor it so VERY deserves.

15

> Then, you could have these Flood mini-bosses that would get stronger if you didn’t destroy the whole of a Flood form. This mini-boss would absorb left-over biomass from a downed Flood form, itself becoming bigger and stronger. How cool would that be?!

That would be a whole new level of badass.

16

That gun idea reminds me of this

17

So long as I get distinguished classes in Flood/Infection, I don’t mind which way they go with it.

You know, fast one-shot kill zombies with no shields, slow weak zombies with overshields, zombies that can cloak with active camo, etc.

18

Melee attacks of any kind dealing a large amount of damage to combat forms made a lot of sense, as they were heavily decaying and falling apart without your assistance. It would also make sense for bullets to do relatively little damage, as they can easily go straight through a combat form’s already compromised flesh.

Bullets poke tiny holes in combat forms. Melee attacks poke large holes. Bladed weapons cut them in half. I believe that was the reasoning in Halo 3.

Flood assassinations would take some thought. Combat forms could involve ripping out the infection form through the chest or back, but anything else wouldn’t really be effective. A combat form’s head and limbs can be ripped off and it remains just as “alive” as it was with them. Pure forms are strange to consider as nothing seems to imply that they have a specific “weak point.”

Does tearing the head off of a pure form kill it? My guess would be no, because the existence of pure forms implies that the Flood has exited their feral stage, and a central intelligence is in place. It would seem that pure forms don’t need any sort of “brain” (or analogue of such), given that they are merely an extension of a Gravemind.

19

I agree with all of you. but they should also add the ability to the flood to drive vehicles like it did in Halo 2. The Flood is very smart after all.

20

I want to see entirely new Flood ascetics.

I want to see a flood form that has just decayed so badly over the years of isolation, other species merged onto the Flood texture.

343 did a good job already with the proto-gravemind.