Vehicle shielding system (VSS) - Okay, why the HELL does the covenant put energy shields on their spaceships and not on their vehicles? I mean seriously, sure in halo wars but oh, did they just decide that after harvest they didn’t want their ground vehicles to dominate? Or did it not look good?
What i propose is that covenant vehicles have rechargeable energy shields. They would work similar to the players shields and have a bar maybe next to the boost icon or under the player’s shield bar. The shields deflect all conventional weapons (assault rifle, machine gun etc.) and they do minimal damage to the shields. Plasma weapons are a little underpowered and so, another use for them is born. Plasma weapons do much more damage to shields or vehicles, especially overcharged plasma pistol shots which neutralize shields and still temporarily disable the vehicle. The shields still are down for a while but once they start recharging, they do so almost instantly. Or the other way around. Im not sure, i’d need to play-test to make up my mind. But the point is, once a Covenant vehicle’s shields go down, they are vulnerable. There are weak spots such as the canopy that can even be taken down by small arms fire.
Just imagine it, there is a wraith that has a pilot and a gunner, it is heading into battle. It passes by a tight spot. Suddenly, a plasma pistol overcharge comes flying out of nowhere, striking the hull and bringing the tank to a halt. The gunner swerves around and opens fire in the direction, hitting nothing but air. Suddenly, a sniper shot comes from another side, blowing out the brains of the gunner from behind. The driver panics. “C’mon, you lousy tank, move!” He shouts. Finally, the wraith starts hovering again and he just makes it out with a second shot to the vent bringing blue flames and smoke coming out the back. Imagine the options the ambushers had. Would the sniper have chosen to shoot the canopy instead? Would one of them have chosen to throw grenades? Would the plasma pistol have somehow missed and the sniper would’ve needed a plasma weapon of his own or a heavy weapon? Would the pilot use the so aptly leaked ‘Vehicle Equipment’ to maybe instantly regenerate the wraith’s shields? Or would it make them cloak so that the sniper would have a hard time?
You can do SOOOO much with Halo, 343i. Also, the reasoning with covenant shields, especially with balancing purposes, is that the material in covy vehicles is weaker than that of UNSC vehicles. The great variety and balance of these factors is that covy vehicles with shields isn’t as strong as UNSC vehicles, but they can recharge. And it offers different tactics to taking on the different vehicles. It will be a great bundle of fun if you listen to some of the community.
Troop/carrier warthog - This was originally to be in Halo 3 multiplayer, but Bungie took it out due to balancing reasons. Apparently, as they say, it was “A killtacular on wheels”. My argument to that is that it dosent have to be in matchmaking. If put in forge and customs, it is placed by the map maker. If it is underpowered, the map maker will change the other aspects of the map to suit it. If it is overpowered, the map maker will maybe put a counter in, like a rocket launcher or laser. If a map is done well and makes its way into the community playlist, then that will be because it is placed well. Also, if someone scores a killtacular, what does it matter? It is the fault of the players if they all get slaughtered. It adds to the Risk vs Reward factor that halo is so loved and renowned for. The risk is that if the vehicle is destroyed, the team will lose many players at once. The reward balances it out, being that the passengers add to the firepower greatly, the team is more mobile, they can carry more people in one vehicle which is both easier, but also means that they are harder to find then if they are split into two warthogs. If there is a maximum player cap increase (i.e 32 players), then that means it will have even less impact on the team.
The Troop/carrier warthog has a total of five seats, one for the driver, one for the guy riding shotgun beside him, and three at the back. In campaign, the marines in the back can fire, although in a limited 180 degree arc. The replacement of a turret in exchange for two passengers has pros and cons. The pros are that those passengers may have weapons beneficial to the situation, they might need a drop off which is made easier with more troop space, the team is more mobile as without Troop hogs you need many more vehicles to carry the team which might not be available and it equals a smaller force which is harder to hit. The cons are that the other team will get more points for an easier kill. The team can decide upon wether the reward is worth it. It also adds to the number of tactical options which is always better in games.
It is also great for machinima. Hell, why not just go ahead and add civilian vehicles into forge. They would be the absolute best for machinimas and aesthetics.
<br
