Given that Warzone Firefight is pretty much slated as a good idea by a fair few people, it got some gears turning in my head as to how 343 can make it better in terms of content and substance in terms of how gameplay and sandbox elements go into it. So to get a bit more of that epic sci fi feel that many of the older titles have (along with a bit of Section 8 and Tribes inspired content), it could make Halo feel competitive still, but still be fun for the other players. Warzone is a good gametype that still needs more to make it feel like a widespread battleground and not to mention content to give more of that atmosphere for its players to get immersed in. Hence ideas in this DLC content wishlist.
What would be best included in this type of update:
Newer and bigger maps
Maps in this game are very fun so far, ranging from UNSC bases in the middle of a large body of water, an old industrial mining facility, an urban human city, a beachhead on what appears to be a fairly large island, and a snowbound mountain area by a cliff’s side. Even still, this game could use some of the charm from older maps as a reference towards more diverse landscapes, having more Covenant and Forerunner inspired themes, as well as other natural terrain. What made the forerunner facilities amazing in the past was how nature and technology came together to make an amazing viewing experience. Knowing I was on a massive ring in the middle of space, looking into the sky as clouds, greenery and blue met my eyes as it winds into the apex of the horizon leading all the way into the other parts of the ring just left me in awe. But when I enter the fray as a superhuman soldier, that same feeling I got while looking at the sky was reintroduced through the surroundings I was fighting in.
-How about a map in the middle of a massive dark forest with lots of gargantuan trees to block sniper fire that have derelict forerunner structures spotted across the landscape for cover, some of which being guarded by swarms of sentinels and other drone based forerunner tech.
-A desert graveyard with crashed covenant and human ships that could be used as bases and cover, using their facilities in order to bring in requisitions and vehicles from their remains.
-An underground cavern system or a massive hallowed out asteroid in the middle a large belt from a previous occupation by insurrectionists with winding tunnels that hides passages that could lead to various parts of a map without having to be confined to the narrow hallways and service tunnels.
More bases, access to the map and new ways to defend your positions.
So part of warzone is capturing bases, along with finding bosses and taking them down. But having just 3 bases and having one central location that is vital towards the success of the entire game has been a large frustration on my end. Maybe that is just me, but having more bases, like 5 or even 6 bases, 2-3 being close to each team’s home core location, it would give more options as to how you would be able take back territory, or push toward a position that is more favorable for calling in vehicles, sniping, or simply trying to keep your core from being exposed too quickly.
Even still, part of that is that you need to defend your bases, but sometimes its almost too easy to do just that. So now you need new ways to defend it, whether by yourself or with your fellow allies. Adding new kinds of automated turrets that could be activated simply by occupying it and defending it would add to a base’s level (Think Halo Wars) Once you get it to a certain level, you can add resources to your bases that can help you defend it. For example if a group of players get a base level to 2, they can arm it with multiple types of shielded turrets, ranging from a medium damage, fast turning Chaingun for anti infantry, a slow turning, low rate of fire, but high range plasma mortar for vehicular defense, or a top mounted anti air turret for aerial vehicles that comes standard on the base at level 1 (For another reason if you read on).
If there was ever a reason to spawn in using an ODST drop pod from orbit, this would be a great way to do it. If a player spawns in by this method, they will have up to a certain amount of time in which they can steer the drop pod towards their desired location. If a player wanted to help some squad mates taking out a boss, they can pilot the pod (Both turning and directing its nose) as close to them as possible. If they want to capture a base, they can try to. Of course if there are anti air measures put onto the battlefield, they could still die before they land, but time it right, you can still get as close to the location you want, but with less shields that have to recharge, with your pod as the only obstacle
(More to this will come)