The frustrations of an aspiring pro

Games Other Halo
1

Before I begin, I apologize to the Waypoint Moderators if I posted this in the wrong section of the forums, as I was unsure where to post this.

Hello everyone, I’m SMARTAN 427 and have only been on Xbox Live since about a month before Halo 4’s 11/6/2012 release date. However, I was introduced to the Halo series via Halo 2 back in fall of '05 at my old church youth group in which we played weekly 8-player LAN customs for about 2 years until Halo 3 was released, when the LAN parties died down to nearly nothing. From then until spring of '12 when I got my first Xbox 360, I only was able to play the Halo: CE and Halo 2 campains on Legendary endlessly since I only had the original Xbox for that 5 year time period between '07 and '12.

The entire time I’ve played Halo games I’ve always been trying to get better, and for a time I believed beating all of the campains on Legendary meant I had reached the peak of possible Halo skill. That thought kept with me for the first 2 months I played Halo on Xbox Live, and at the end of December of '12 I joined a clan and participated in a Halo 4 tournament, and after barely winning our first series of games, the final team we had to play against absolutely demolished us, going about 60-15 3 games in a row. It was then that I realized I was not yet a pro.

Thankfully, the members of that same team were kind enough to take me in over the past year and a half and have taught me many pro tricks of the Halo trade. As such, I have gotten 3-4 times better at the game and I would like to consider myself a semi-pro Halo Player.

I mostly play Halo 4 since it is the current Halo title(and it brings memories of Halo 2 with dat hitscan BR), although I’ve played enough of the other Halos to get a good feel of how they play.

However, as I continue to play recently I’ve been getting more and more frustrated. I’m trying my hardest to play well, and while I can now dominate the everyday noobs, I feel like I’m always just short of holding my own against other good players -even the ones I’m positive I’m better than. As I try harder and harder, it seems that I choke and fail harder and harder. Always missing an easy 4-shot/snipe/melee/grenade that I should have been able to land, missing that jump that would have allowed me to juke my opponent, always panicking in a no radar game afraid I’m going to be caught off-guard, making the slightest fatal mistake in positioning myself correctly, and it seems that my strafe just can’t get as good as the pros’.

It pains me even more that most pros gave up on Halo 4, to the point that there is no competitive scene. Because, at least in my eyes, Halo 4 is still a very skill based game. If it were so easy, then why am I not up there with all of the best players?

I’m frustrated. Tired of playing my best only to always come up short, and for the pros to say that Halo 4 takes no skill -it actually does take skill.

Can anyone offer me some advice to better my game and ease my frustrations? If you want to contact my gamertag directly, it is: SMARTAN 427.

Thanks.
-SMARTAN 427.

2

What really helped me was watching pro players play and comparing what they tend to do to what I tend to do. Good players tend to not chase because the chaser is easily predicted by the escapee. Good players are capable of judging if forsaking an advantage now will lead to a more desirable advantage later, much like Chess players will sacrifice certain pieces in order to get a checkmate.

Another problem is Halo 4’s bad skill matching, which is exaggerated by the low population. If skill matching was tighter and the population was higher, you’d be able to play with and against other players around your skill level pretty much every game. But because of those two problems, you’ll often face opponents who are much less skilled than you one game and much more skilled than you the next. It’s frustrating for me too; I’ve all but given up on playing Halo 4 to get better or raise my skill rank. (In case you didn’t know, you can view your CSR skill rank here and the CSRs of players you’ve played with here.)

The saying that “Halo 4 takes no skill” is an exaggeration. Of course it takes skill–not everyone has a CSR 50, do they? But it is much less skillful than previous Halo games. Sprint is too forgiving of bad decisions; players can easily escape situations in which they should have died. The aim assist (reticle slowing over enemies) is much higher and the magnetism (how far away the target can be from the edge of reticle and still register a hit) on the Beam Rifle in particular is way too high. Armor Abilities such as Active Camo, Promethean Vision, and Jet Pack give players huge advantages in-game that are not balanced by enough skill to use those advantages effectively. Personal and Random Ordnance Drops imbalances games by giving some players better drops than others through nothing but a dice roll. Because players are no longer kicked out of their scope they take damage, sniping is much easier and not as risky. To put it simply, none of these things remove all skill from the game, but they do noticeably lower the skill gap, meaning it is easier for less-skilled players to perform well.

3

Although I’m not a competitive player, it’s hard not to agree with Vektor0. It’s frustrating to play in a match where the skill level of all the other players run to both extremes. JIP doesn’t help any, either.

I would like to suggest custom games with friends, but it’s seems to be harder these days to make new friends and party up. I guess just hang out in Proving Grounds and hope things sort out.

4

By the way I have played a lot of Throwdown customs which has helped a bit and I agree on things like sprint, flinch, PODs and RODs, perks and loadouts generally dumbing down the game, thats why I am looking forward to the Proving Ground playlist.

@ Vektor0, do you or anyone else know any good pro Halo 4 films that I can watch? I seem to be having a difficult time finding post-TU Halo 4 vids on youtube. I know I could watch gameplay for other Halos, but I do not know the gameplay as thoroughly in those as I do Halo 4, as Halo 4 is pretty much the only Halo I’ve spent a considerable amount of Live time on. And I have a slightly difficult time translating the itty bitty details between the games, although I can translate the basics.

Also, Halo 2 had a lot of aim assist and since I had the most fun with Halo 2 LAN, Halo 4’s similarity in this regard causes it to be my favorite online Halo right now.

P.S. Really looking forward to a possible Halo 2 Anniversary with possible multiplayer!(although its unconfirmed and the multiplayer port may be a long shot).

5

In all honesty, your skill doesn’t even match that of a Semi-Pro. I’m trying to put it lightly, so here it goes:

The only way you’re going to get better is to keep playing and adjust your playstyle to effectively help your team the most. YouTube videos aren’t going to help you unless it’s to put together a strategy. A TEAM strategy. Those won’t help you if the skill it involves to pull off is above your level of skill-play. You have to get better skill-wise at the game before strategies will effectively help you.

I, myself, have played Halo since Halo 2. I had a 1.5k/d and 70% win rate, H3 was a 1.9 and 70%, H:Reach was a 2.6 and 82%. My 4 stats are about the same as my Reach ones. As you can see, over the years my skill has developed and increased over time.

If I can give 1 suggestion on how to get better, it’s this:

Force your opponents to guess your next move. People get complacent in their skill and anticipate what their enemies will do next. If you can counter their anticipation, you can usually get a decent jump on them or stay alive in crucial situations.

6

> In all honesty, your skill doesn’t even match that of a Semi-Pro. I’m trying to put it lightly, so here it goes:
>
> The only way you’re going to get better is to keep playing and adjust your playstyle to effectively help your team the most. YouTube videos aren’t going to help you unless it’s to put together a strategy. A TEAM strategy. Those won’t help you if the skill it involves to pull off is above your level of skill-play. You have to get better skill-wise at the game before strategies will effectively help you.
>
> I, myself, have played Halo since Halo 2. I had a 1.5k/d and 70% win rate, H3 was a 1.9 and 70%, H:Reach was a 2.6 and 82%. My 4 stats are about the same as my Reach ones. As you can see, over the years my skill has developed and increased over time.
>
> If I can give 1 suggestion on how to get better, it’s this:
>
> Force your opponents to guess your next move. People get complacent in their skill and anticipate what their enemies will do next. If you can counter their anticipation, you can usually get a decent jump on them or stay alive in crucial situations.

Well, when I said semi-pro I guess I really meant ‘very well above average’ I do not quite think I’m even at ‘ammature’(forgive me if I spelled that wrong) yet.

My gameplay has gotten better over the years, although slowly due to lack of Xbox Live access. But within the last year and a half, I feel as though my skill has skyrocketed.

Adjusting my playstyle to help my team win better on a per game basis is something that I like to think that I do, but I’m never really sure if I’m doing it right.

And I see what you mean about getting complacent, I feel like one of my biggest problems is getting my opponents to guess MY next move. I spend so much effort trying to accurately guess their next move instead, and I often notice that I’m super predictable in comparison as a result. I’m not sure how to turn this trend around.

Thank you for replying.

7

Would anyone like to meet up in game and do a friendly 1v1 or something to assess my skill and offer any advice? Thanks my Gamertag is: SMARTAN 427

8

Do u often play nonstop ? Like several hours without a break?
Despite all in-game issues on how to become a pro, IMO also your mind matters…in which mood u are when gaming. When i already played about 5 hours, i play completely disoriented and bad in the fifth hour compared to the first. Or when i made some sport before gaming, i play way better. Even when i paused about 2 days i would play better than when i play everyday 5 hours.
So the more often u play the better you are is not always true in certain situations…imo.
Of course u know by yourself that on some days u play better than on others…playing like a pro everytime u play is not possible, everyone has bad days…

9

> And I see what you mean about getting complacent, I feel like one of my biggest problems is getting my opponents to guess MY next move. I spend so much effort trying to accurately guess their next move instead, and I often notice that I’m super predictable in comparison as a result. I’m not sure how to turn this trend around.
>
> Thank you for replying.

Great job in answering this yourself. I’m going to assume certain situations are frustrating, such as walking around corners and INSTANTLY being grenade+BR’d and/or Sniped. This means the enemy predicted your moves. It’s a situation-dependent tactic on whether you should guess the enemy’s next move or make them focus on your next move.

I’ll set up an example situation for you off the top of my head:

Gametype: Ricochet
Map: Haven
Current Score: 150-140 (Your team is winning by 10)
Time Left: 30 Seconds

Situation: You just died, losing nothing immediately important. The opposing team JUST scored a throw-in goal to cut your 30 point lead to 10. There’s 30 seconds left, and the new ball spawns in 10 seconds underneath Open-Side Snipe. The enemy team has 2 players running for the new ball and waiting for it to spawn, while 1 enemy is Sniping from your top-mid landing, and another Jetpack-DMR’ing from their side top-mid. You respawn at your team’s initial spawn point behind your goal and you have 3 teammates at bottom-lift on your side.
This team is about your skill level. They aren’t tryhards, but they ARE out-slaying your team by a good margin this game.

What do you do?

IF my team was getting outslayed, I’d suggest having your teammates run up towards the goal from their spawn. 10 seconds is an awfully long time, so your teammates WILL have time to bee-line it straight to you. I’d have 2 teammates on the back ramp trying to put shots into the Jetpack-DMR guy across top mid while trying to avoid the Sniper guy on lift-landing. While this happens, you would try to set up behind the wall in front of your goal with your 4th teammate nearby trying to take potshots.

Anticipation: The game for them is on the line. Their train of thought is to score 1 goal; any goal. A throw-in, which is much easier, will win it. You can anticipate a throw-in from open-elbow into your goal. HOWEVER, they can anticipate that you see that coming and instead run it top mid to try and go for a run-in goal with their whole team. This confidence is due to them already out-slaying your team the whole game, so either situation is probable.

Counter: You can give the enemy “false hope” by simply making them think they can simply throw it in. If all 3 of your teammates sit at bottom lift, their sniper could falsely relay that the “whole team is bottom lift.” This means they’ll probably go for the throw-in from the open-side elbow. You would be in perfect protection to jump out, intercept the throw, and throw it off the map before they can kill you. This means there’s about 12 seconds of in-game time left and another 10 second wait on the ball. The enemy team will more than likely not score and the game is yours.

My whole setup is based on making the enemy think differently about what is going on or trying to cloud their judgment.

10

> > And I see what you mean about getting complacent, I feel like one of my biggest problems is getting my opponents to guess MY next move. I spend so much effort trying to accurately guess their next move instead, and I often notice that I’m super predictable in comparison as a result. I’m not sure how to turn this trend around.
> >
> > Thank you for replying.
>
> Great job in answering this yourself. I’m going to assume certain situations are frustrating, such as walking around corners and INSTANTLY being grenade+BR’d and/or Sniped. This means the enemy predicted your moves. It’s a situation-dependent tactic on whether you should guess the enemy’s next move or make them focus on your next move.
>
> I’ll set up an example situation for you off the top of my head:
>
> Gametype: Ricochet
> Map: Haven
> Current Score: 150-140 (Your team is winning by 10)
> Time Left: 30 Seconds
>
> Situation: You just died, losing nothing immediately important. The opposing team JUST scored a throw-in goal to cut your 30 point lead to 10. There’s 30 seconds left, and the new ball spawns in 10 seconds underneath Open-Side Snipe. The enemy team has 2 players running for the new ball and waiting for it to spawn, while 1 enemy is Sniping from your top-mid landing, and another Jetpack-DMR’ing from their side top-mid. You respawn at your team’s initial spawn point behind your goal and you have 3 teammates at bottom-lift on your side.
> This team is about your skill level. They aren’t tryhards, but they ARE out-slaying your team by a good margin this game.
>
> What do you do?
>
>
>
>
> IF my team was getting outslayed, I’d suggest having your teammates run up towards the goal from their spawn. 10 seconds is an awfully long time, so your teammates WILL have time to bee-line it straight to you. I’d have 2 teammates on the back ramp trying to put shots into the Jetpack-DMR guy across top mid while trying to avoid the Sniper guy on lift-landing. While this happens, you would try to set up behind the wall in front of your goal with your 4th teammate nearby trying to take potshots.
>
> Anticipation: The game for them is on the line. Their train of thought is to score 1 goal; any goal. A throw-in, which is much easier, will win it. You can anticipate a throw-in from open-elbow into your goal. HOWEVER, they can anticipate that you see that coming and instead run it top mid to try and go for a run-in goal with their whole team. This confidence is due to them already out-slaying your team the whole game, so either situation is probable.
>
> Counter: You can give the enemy “false hope” by simply making them think they can simply throw it in. If all 3 of your teammates sit at bottom lift, their sniper could falsely relay that the “whole team is bottom lift.” This means they’ll probably go for the throw-in from the open-side elbow. You would be in perfect protection to jump out, intercept the throw, and throw it off the map before they can kill you. This means there’s about 12 seconds of in-game time left and another 10 second wait on the ball. The enemy team will more than likely not score and the game is yours.
>
>
> My whole setup is based on making the enemy think differently about what is going on or trying to cloud their judgment.

Well… that was quite a bit to comprehend. Is that assuming both teams are fully communicating or not? All in all its not team strategy as much as individual strategy such as 1v1 situations against good players that screw me up most of the time. …Also there is the enemy bait and switch thing that messes with me sometimes as well, especially when my teammates are randoms.

11

> Do u often play nonstop ? Like several hours without a break?
> Despite all in-game issues on how to become a pro, IMO also your mind matters…in which mood u are when gaming. When i already played about 5 hours, i play completely disoriented and bad in the fifth hour compared to the first. Or when i made some sport before gaming, i play way better. Even when i paused about 2 days i would play better than when i play everyday 5 hours.
> So the more often u play the better you are is not always true in certain situations…imo.
> Of course u know by yourself that on some days u play better than on others…playing like a pro everytime u play is not possible, everyone has bad days…

I do often play for several hours at a time… And it often seems that if I go even one day without playing that I feel like I’m suddenly EXTREMELY rusty at the game…

Anyway good point thanks for bringing that up.

12

From my experience, frustration brings out poor outcomes, when playing a game. When I play Halo with a competitive mindset, I usually do not perform well. After playing Halo for so long, I realized it’s best to just play the game for what it is…a game!I find my Halo experience more enjoyable, now that I play it more with my friends. I really don’t care about my CSR, K/D, or if we even win. I love playing Halo because it is still exciting and rewarding!

13

Hey man I’ve got into the competitive scene just when it began to die down, and as I developed a love for halo, it was dying. It’s quite tragic. So I can definitely relate to your sentiments. Unfortunately, 343 doesn’t give a -Yoink- about the players that are actually dedicated to Halo, they’d rather destroy the game in vain hopes to grab the attention of COD kids. However, there is a small but close group of competitive customs in Halo 4. I happen to be a part of that group. I always have 3 or 4 full lobbies of customs of people that are REALLY good. They all have CSR 40s-50’s in competitive playlists. Add my gamertag if you want to be a part of this group. GT: Dj 2frsh

14

> Hey man I’ve got into the competitive scene just when it began to die down, and as I developed a love for halo, it was dying. It’s quite tragic. So I can definitely relate to your sentiments. Unfortunately, 343 doesn’t give a Yoink! about the players that are actually dedicated to Halo, they’d rather destroy the game in vain hopes to grab the attention of COD kids. However, there is a small but close group of competitive customs in Halo 4. I happen to be a part of that group. I always have 3 or 4 full lobbies of customs of people that are REALLY good. They all have CSR 40s-50’s in competitive playlists. Add my gamertag if you want to be a part of this group. GT: Dj 2frsh

Thanks for the offer, I do not get to play other good players of rivaling skill or higher enough(I mostly am forced to play casually as a result-although I’m often more relaxed then also) and I would be glad to accept, however I could not add your gamertag because your friends list is full. My GT: SMARTAN 427

Also a fun fact for ya Dj 2frsh: we both have had our gameplays reviewed by Hard VVay. Yours was the most recent I believe. Mine were the first two gameplay reviews and yours is the 5th.

15

It’s cool seeing some players who have a drive to get better.

It reminds me of the Halo 2 and Halo 3 days when most forum posts were about strategies, set-ups, and map movement. Currently, it seems like no one has any urge to improve.

16

> It’s cool seeing some players who have a drive to get better.
>
> It reminds me of the Halo 2 and Halo 3 days when most forum posts were about strategies, set-ups, and map movement. Currently, it seems like no one has any urge to improve.

Yeah man I miss those days. Its so hard to find all those tips and tricks that were once easy to find. I’ve been wanting to get better than I already am yet most people want to complain about how H4 is trash instead of thinking over ways to get better at the game. H4 is still Halo at the core, it may be wearing somewhat of a mask right now but it is still Halo at its core, especially after the weapon TU.

17

> By the way I have played a lot of Throwdown customs which has helped a bit and I agree on things like sprint, flinch, PODs and RODs, perks and loadouts generally dumbing down the game, thats why I am looking forward to the Proving Ground.

Oh don’t listen to that hocus pocus. New halo features like sprint and loadouts vastly increase the intelligence needed to do well, as opposed to dumbing it.

With loadouts the gameplay is much more balanced. I like the carbine better than battle rifle for instance and can pick it instead thanks to loadouts. Also I have a couple of perks I really like, much more so than inherent/mandatory resupply and explosives, which mix with my particular playstyle like oil and water. This choice is a good thing.

Teamwork is also greatly encouraged. Sprinting lets you assist teammates better, and some loadout options let you work as a team better. For example when my friends and I play on solace I pick hardlight shield and ammo, quickly get to sniper and can poke out much more on balcony to support my team because of the hardlight shield defending me from too much heat. This increased teamwork potential is very good for halo.

18

> > By the way I have played a lot of Throwdown customs which has helped a bit and I agree on things like sprint, flinch, PODs and RODs, perks and loadouts generally dumbing down the game, thats why I am looking forward to the Proving Ground.
>
> Oh don’t listen to that hocus pocus. New halo features like sprint and loadouts vastly increase the intelligence needed to do well, as opposed to dumbing it.
>
> With loadouts the gameplay is much more balanced. I like the carbine better than battle rifle for instance and can pick it instead thanks to loadouts. Also I have a couple of perks I really like, much more so than inherent/mandatory resupply and explosives, which mix with my particular playstyle <mark>like oil and water.</mark> This choice is a good thing.
>
> Teamwork is also greatly encouraged. Sprinting lets you assist teammates better, and some loadout options let you work as a team better. For example when my friends and I play on solace I pick hardlight shield and ammo, quickly get to sniper and can poke out much more on balcony to support my team because of the hardlight shield defending me from too much heat. This increased teamwork potential is very good for halo.

Uh…I don’t think that means what you think it means…

19

> > By the way I have played a lot of Throwdown customs which has helped a bit and I agree on things like sprint, flinch, PODs and RODs, perks and loadouts generally dumbing down the game, thats why I am looking forward to the Proving Ground.
>
> Oh don’t listen to that hocus pocus. New halo features like sprint and loadouts vastly increase the intelligence needed to do well, as opposed to dumbing it.
>
> With loadouts the gameplay is much more balanced. I like the carbine better than battle rifle for instance and can pick it instead thanks to loadouts. Also I have a couple of perks I really like, much more so than inherent/mandatory resupply and explosives, which mix with my particular playstyle like oil and water. This choice is a good thing.
>
> Teamwork is also greatly encouraged. Sprinting lets you assist teammates better, and some loadout options let you work as a team better. For example when my friends and I play on solace I pick hardlight shield and ammo, quickly get to sniper and can poke out much more on balcony to support my team because of the hardlight shield defending me from too much heat. This increased teamwork potential is very good for halo.

I thank you for your response shootin sammy but I have to say a few things:

#1: I initially had the same point of view on Halo 4 as you, supporting the new features and such, and I say that as a veteran of the Halo franchise, despite my short amount of Live time. However as I have gotten better and better at H4 and it’s predecessors I’ve been understanding more and more all of the problems with it.

#2: I personally believe that being able to use AND COUNTER ON THE SPOT every weapon, vehicle, and Armor Ability/Equipment is a large and tedious to learn skillset that I pride myself in being profficient at with the current loadout system. PODs and RODs, however, these really do dumb down the game because it removes the necessity to control the map and gain your power weapons that way instead which is much more skillfull.

#3: HOWEVER, all of these things, Sprint, Flinch, the current Loadout setup, PODs, RODs, and perks may not exactly DUMB the game down so much as they OVERCOMPLICATE it. That I believe is the predominant reason most people hate H4, it’s too OVERCOMPLICATED for them. And Halo has always been a game of simplicity, not complication.

#4: I too like being able to choose my faviorite starting weapon and I personally wish Ammo was a default trait(finally I can start with more than just 3 clips of BR ammo). I am not against loadouts in general just the overcomplicated mess we have now.

-SMARTAN 427

20

> > By the way I have played a lot of Throwdown customs which has helped a bit and I agree on things like sprint, flinch, PODs and RODs, perks and loadouts generally dumbing down the game, thats why I am looking forward to the Proving Ground.
>
> Oh don’t listen to that hocus pocus. New halo features like sprint and loadouts vastly increase the intelligence needed to do well, as opposed to dumbing it.
>
> With loadouts the gameplay is much more balanced. I like the carbine better than battle rifle for instance and can pick it instead thanks to loadouts. Also I have a couple of perks I really like, much more so than inherent/mandatory resupply and explosives, which mix with my particular playstyle like oil and water. This choice is a good thing.
>
> Teamwork is also greatly encouraged. Sprinting lets you assist teammates better, and some loadout options let you work as a team better. For example when my friends and I play on solace I pick hardlight shield and ammo, quickly get to sniper and can poke out much more on balcony to support my team because of the hardlight shield defending me from too much heat. This increased teamwork potential is very good for halo.

Sammy, how are loadouts more balanced than equal starts. With equal starts everyone is on level footing from the get go. With loadouts I am always at a disadvatage to one player in the lobby. That is unless we all have identicle loadouts. I could chose the Suppressor which is clearly imbalanced in comparrison to other weapons. You have even said it yourself. Tell me, is an AR v Suppressor start more balanced than AR v AR starts? If you answered yes, I’m afraid you may be slightly delusional. That or a troll.

I’m not going to bother with the Sprint argument. I guess unlike the loadout argument which could be argued as fact, this is more opinion based. However everything you argue above about it has a counter argument that you have heard and likely ignored before so I won’t bother you with any more.

As for the last point. I don’t really understand it much. I mean had Solace been in Halo 3 and Reach, I could get the Sniper and do the exact same thing just with less Ammo. Less ammo meaning that I would have to be careful with my shots and my team mates would die had they run out of position into a horde of enemy players. If I had started to take shots it’s because of one of the following reasons:

A.I had been flanked. Chances are because not with team mates to support and that staying in the same position for the whole match is a terrible idea (they catch on after the second or third kill…). In this situation you should be punished.
B.Being shot from the other tower. However having a Sniper this shouldn’t be a problem. You fail to beat the opponent and you deserve to be punished.
C.They used the jump ups on either side of the tower. If you didn’t spot this coming on your radar, you were likely tunnel visioning. You deserve to be punished.
ect

You see a common theme? You deserve to be punished and there shouldn’t be some easy to use get out of jail free card every time this happens. This being Sprint and the Hardlight shield. It doesn’t add skill to the game nor does it promote team work. It’s just there and doesn’t benefit gameplay. However feel free to ignore this post as you have done every other post. Ever.