Warzone impressions and possible improvements?

Games Halo 5: Guardians
1

Hey everyone, I wanted to start this thread (not sure if one was already started), to talk about your early impressions and possible improvements to the new mode Warzone.

My early impressions were fairly positive. I have been seeking a mode that was PvP and PvE in a Halo game for quite some time; and while I liked Firefight/Spartan Ops (would be nice to have either one later down the line), this new mode proves to be a nice new addition to the matchmaking suite. The slight MOBA influences are a nice touch and add a bit of competitive chaos to the battlefield.

That being said, I do feel it can be improved. My major problems stem from the AI and balance of the vehicles.

AI:

I love the incorporation of the AI into the battlefield; yet, I feel that their presence is often overlooked and not a challenge to obtain their bonus scores. What I mean by this is that from the footage I have seen, players often ignore the AI bosses because their zone of influence is rather small (case in point the tunnel spawns and the legendary bosses) and they appear to be rather easy to kill (due to intelligence issues or difficulty level). These problems could be easily fixed, by expanding the boss and minion zones of influence and bumping up the difficulty of the AI to present some challenge to the Spartans for their score.
I noticed in the sprint that they had a problem with Baron going outside his zone, but I actually think that is a good thing. Maybe not to the extent of the other side of the map, but expanded to play a larger role over the central portion of the map. If neither zone of influence or difficulty could be changed, they could at least increase the amount of AI at the spawns (especially around the legendary). I have seen far to often the legendary get taken down without a fight, again either due to difficulty or lack of AI intelligence. By providing the legendary with a larger guard of minions they could be a threat worthy of the title.

For example, when the Baron comes out in his Banshee, he could be escorted by a couple other AI Banshees so that he isn’t a complete sitting duck. This escort system would apply to all the legendary bosses.

I have also seen talk among the community about having roaming AI, and while I initially thought of this idea as well, this could bring more problems that solutions. However, if this idea is to be taken into consideration, I suggest only having the legendary boss with his minions roam (within the confines of a specific sector).

For instance, if the legendary was on foot, and after a set time passed without conflict, he and his minions could push (and potentially capture) the central garage base. If he captured it, you would have to retake it from him, his guard, and the newly spawned defenders of the base (either teleport in, if Forerunner, or dropped off by Phantom, if Covenant). This could present some interesting outcomes, and force the players to deal with the legendary. The problem with this is that if one team is dominating then you practically handed the legendary and his score to the dominating team. Need a way to balance this.

Vehicles:

This might be a bit touchy, but I noticed a few games where it was fairly easy to obtain the Phaetons, where one team had 3+ on the battlefield. I realize that there will be REQ cards that you must have in order to spawn in one, but there should be a limit on the number of Phaetons and Banshees so that it isn’t one big cluster of aerial vehicles around one base. This may be a disappointment to some, but everything in moderation. Vehicle spawn options may vary per map, so this would need some tweaking.

Overall, this mode seems to be fairly balanced. While these two suggestions could present problems due to the time constrictions before launch, they can be looked at as development continues.

What do you think of these ideas? Any of your own?

2

The requisition system I am proposing is comprised of 3 basic components: req experience, req levels, and, finally, req tiers.

Requisition Experience:

Players can complete req levels by earning rec experience. Req experience is gained by exterminating AI (granting a slight exp reward), killing players (granting an average exp reward), capturing bases (granting a significant exp reward), and eliminating bosses (granting a large exp reward).

Requisition Levels:

When a player earns enough req experience, they will complete a req level. Each time a player levels up they will earn a req point. (Note: completing req levels does not become more difficult as a player levels up)

Requisition Tiers:

As a player levels up, they will also reach req tiers. Upon reaching a new tier, more powerful weapons and vehicles will be unlocked at requisition stations. The following is a breakdown of what might be unlocked at each tier:

Tier 1:
Loadout Weapon: SMG
Power Weapons: Suppressor, Boltshot, Carbine, and Storm Rifle
Vehicles: Warthog and Ghost

Tier 2:
Loadout Weapons: Battle Rifle
Power Weapons: Plasma Pistol and Light Rifle
Vehicles: Gun-goose? and Siege Bike?
Power-up: Speed Boost

Tier 3:
Loadout Weapons: DMR
Power Weapons: Shotgun, Scattershot?, Gravity Hammer?, and Energy Sword
Vehicle: Banshee

Tier 4:
Power Weapons: Plasma Caster, SAW, Fuel Rod?, and Hydra
Vehicles: Hornet? and Mantis
Power-up: Damage Boost

Tier 5:
Power Weapons: Railgun? and Sniper Rifle
Vehicles: Wraith? and Phaeton

Tier 6:
Power Weapons: Rocket Launcher and Spartan Laser
Vehicle: Scorpion?
Power-up: Overshield

(Note: A weapon’s other variants will be unlocked at the same time as the base weapon, however, they will cost more rec points)

Requisition Points:

Req points will be used to purchase unlocked weapons at req stations. Better weapons will typically cost more req points.

Miscellaneous:

Req cards will be eliminated in exchange for a usage cap on all non-loadout weapons and vehicles. Each power weapon can be used three times, each vehicle can be used twice, and each power-up can be used two times as well.

Instead of unlocking req cards in Arena and Warzone, players will unlock new weapon variants, skins, armor pieces, and assassination animations. However, they may also acquire these assets from purchasable req packs.

3

All I want more from WarZone are custom settings that allow it to play like Firefight.

4

> 2533274876456769;3:
> All I want more from WarZone are custom settings that allow it to play like Firefight.

This.

5

Those are some cool ideas you have, especially the one with the legendary bosses moving in and capturing bases after a while. What I would like to see is having all the bosses accompanied by some sort of dedicated anti-air and anti-armour support, because in all of the gameplay I’ve seen (and I’ve seen a lot) it’s been really easy to pick off even the Knight Strategos from range with a Phaeton or Mantis without taking significant damage. I’d also like to see an Elite Strike Force spawn between the East and West Armouries, with a 25VP Elite General as their boss. I’m sure that would take the carnage to a whole new level, as the first trailer we saw for Warzone showed Elites and Prometheans fighting out on the open battlefield rather than just in confined, pre-allocated spots.

6

My only current thought is that I hope they change Boss names to be more canonically relevant. I just can’t take a Sangheili seriously that’s called “Baron” whatever. Could we perhaps go with Kaidon?

7

> 2533274876456769;3:
> All I want more from WarZone are custom settings that allow it to play like Firefight.

You’d be better off continually asking for Firefight then… The Warzone AIs aren’t designed to be anything like that you would find in Firefight. Neither is the map…

8

As far as AI goes, why not allow bosses and their enemies to possibly attack bases? Perhaps even have a point in the game where a boss attacks each base, forcing players to divert their attention back to their bases? But definitely get the AI more active across the map.