When Sprint was first added to Halo I was pro it’s inclusion. However after a while I came to agree with those opposed to Sprint. I believe there has been a lot of quality well thought out discussion on this topic. Most however I think happened long before this master thread was even created and not all of it on waypoint, I understand why this thread was created but I do think a lot of the ‘good’ posts can disappear into the ether of a 715page thread. I’ll give it a go to try and remember a few points however.
-With the addition of sprint maps need to be designed with two combat speeds in mind, the result being play spaces are not optimised for either. There can be too much cover for a sprinting player in an area ideal for combat and an area can feel like a no mans land at combat speeds whilst ideal for sprinting. There are also many jumps now that cant be traversed without using sprint which is ultimately limits a players options in combat.
-Maps have to be elongated to accommodate sprint and as such the pace of gameplay has not meaningfully changed with the addition of sprint. And rightly so, travel time from spawning and to objectives for example need to be balanced. The problem is this has many other bleed over effects. It effects the effectiveness of short ranged weapons, it effects line of sights which can if not properly managed make long range weapons a bit OP, it reduces the overlap in compact vertical map designs and effects the combat interaction in these spaces. And I love compact vertical map designs. It can also potentially mean melee and grenades end up being used less creating less dynamic peak and shoot style game play.
-The sandbox must be adjusted for two combat speed. explosive radius must be larger in order to hit sprinters but that makes it easier to hit player who have slowed down to fire their weapon. If Aim assist is not increased sprinters are potentially harder to hit but if aim assist is increased strafing players are easier to hit, it creates a tug of war where mechanics are pulling in different directions. Again it creates a scenario when the sandbox is not optimised for either move speed. Larger lines of sight mean short range weapons requiring range buffs which kind of defeats the object of short ranged weapons.
-Sprinting does not work with longer kill times. Sprinting makes the option of disengaging or running away much more viable particularly when combined with Halo’s already long kill times. Long kill times I think work well for duelling and as well for promoting things like team shot. Halo has however a no consequence health and shield recharge system so the ability to punish bad positioning and actually get kills has to be well balanced with the ability to flee. It can create scenarios in competitive play where team shot, rapid kill combos and instant kill weapons are essential not just an advantage as they should be. It can make a player feel underpowered; as such it creates a demand for shorter kill times. But that comes with more problems. You buff AR/ BR/ Pistol kill times then you got to buff power weapons to retain their desirability. And this potentially jeopardises one of Halo’s biggest strengths. NO BS, the feeling that you could have avoided that death, OP instant kill weapons are a big problem for the learning loop that help a player get better.
-Sprinting as it is currently designed is primarily defensive, you can sprint away, but in order for the attacking player to chase and maintain a line of sight they must sprint them selves and in the process not shoot. it really limits offensive options. All mechanics should be designed on the principle that they should be fun/ engaging to use AND fun/ engaging to counter. I don’t think sprint achieves that at all. I don’t really see any real counter play options. The recharge reset upon sprinting I see a weak attempted to add consequence to sprinting but from experience the second line of sight is broken it is usually over and the fleeing player can then recharge their shields. Grenade knock back, area of denial tools, stun effects, lasting overtime damage effects, grapples, tethers, gravity grenades, shooting with momentum… just a few examples of counter play avenues off the top of my head.
-Sprint increases the number of clean up kills. Duelling players must slow down to fight and have given away their position with there noisy guns making them sitting ducks for players sprinting to joint the fight. It makes loosely connected team formations effectively connected. Limiting a players options to isolate another player in a 1v1 duel. And Halo 1v1 duels are so fun.
-The lack of weapon readiness can create first shot wins scenarios which takes away from another of Halo’s biggest strengths: duelling. The whole Idea that it’s not over till a player is respawning, two men enter the better man leaves.
-Sprinting makes other fast track traversal options redundant or less prevalent, man cannons, mongooses, teleporters, which reduces the variety match to match a unique map sandbox can provide.
-Sprint has to be nerfed to near oblivion to work, when it comes down to it any attempts or suggestions to balance sprint typically just seem to minimise it’s effects. So why not just get rid of it? I mean sprint has been reduced from a 65% speed boost to 30% in Halo 5. It has admittedly helped reduced some of the negative effects of sprint but again why? What are the gameplay benefits of sprint? Honestly I’m yet to hear any compelling reasons to keep it, typically all I hear are various versions of: ‘I like it’, ‘emersion’, ‘I get there faster’, ‘it’s expected’. I do think there are good arguments to keep sprint but I never see them. Maybe they are buried. One I can think of is that in OG Halo BTB, there was a poor synergy between open vehicle combat spaces and no mans lands for foot traffic… I do pop on to this thread time to time to see if any new points come up that might reshape my opinions. Please I do want to hear the other side.
percent agree! People make WAY to big a deal about sprint and act as if it’s some game breaking thing… It’s quite lame. I love Halo with and without it. It’s not a big deal really.