Okay - you got me. I’m not a leet pro. I’m some filthy ugly ‘casual’ who believes games should be fun, and indeed enjoys playing games… for fun. Not looking to make millions here, or prove my worth. I’m part of the infection and the filth of Halo now. Or something. Whatever you all say.
So, now that we got that out of the way - because I know it’ll be said - I do enjoy playing Warzone. And, despite being some “scrub” I do believe in balance and that competition can be fun and all of that.The current state of warzone, in my opinion, has potential but a number of issues are standing in the way of helping it be what it could be. My main concern is that Warzone pushes the Xbox to its limit, and nothing more than what is on offer - save for new maps and Reqs - can be achieved. If that’s the case, that is a huge disappointment.
Understanding that Warzone is designed for the use of the entire Halo sandbox, that it is - in some ways - a lighter affair than arena does not mean that the game must be a rampant mess. Unpredictability, and over the top action have been part of my Halo experience since the original. Normally, I do have fun playing warzone, until a few issues seem to creep up, and unfortunately, they creep up fairly regularly.
So, not that this will likely garner much support or attention from the right people, I present my suggestions on how to make Warzone a more fun experience, while keeping some of the original perceived design intentions.
1: Boss Kills
A number of threads have appeared about boss kills recently, many offering suggestions as to how to do it. Let’s be honest, it’s disheartening when your team has three scorpions, a gauss hog and SMGs unloading on Warden when some one with a DMR pot-shots him randomly at the last minute through the bullet storm to steal the kill. It’s very disheartening, but it’s the nature of the game. This kind of tactic is prevalent in MOBAs, where precise timing can of one player or a team can turn a battle around upon killing the big boss camp.
The importance of boss stealing (for lack of better term) cannot be over-stated. It alows a team to make a turnaround from a loss, and stay in the fight. Staying in the fight keeps the game fun.
However, presently, 30-45% of the necessary victory points to win a game are achieved through these boss kills. Unlike MOBAs, where it is highly unlikely for a close game to see the big bad boss camp respawn, we have two or three critical bosses spawning per game. Now, in my opinion, this is a very high percentage, and that’s just counting the legendary bosses.
This means that a team can be coordinated enough to hold 2/3 bases for the duration of the match, and exert a strong map presence and control, but lose due to pot-shots on legendary bosses. Having played around 300 games of Warzone, I can say from experience that I have seen this happen multiple times on both sides of the fence.
The high percentage of points given out for AI kills translates into an uneven experience with a very high focus on these bosses with mixed results.
Suggestion:
It has been suggested to have a % of the boss damage be distributed amongst both teams. This eliminates boss stealing - a viable and important tactic for any team - entirely, so it can’t be fully accepted. However, if it were to be broken down and distributed better, it may have its merits.
If the standard legendary kill is to be 150 points, then that can be broken down and distributed if the points are to be split. The team that lands the killing blow, for instance, is granted a base of 100 points, whereas the other 50 points are distributed by damage dealt. This gives the other team something for contributing, for throwing out what they could. Similarly, if one team is dominating, good map control will minimize the amount of points given to the team that isn’t doing the most damage, while the killing blow is still rewarded the most.
The various AI that spawn with the bosses are, presently, there to be just a nuisance. Giving them weight from the bosses point total would a good way to make those AI important targets rather than a quick annoyance. Turning the two Soldiers that spawn with Warden into 25 point targets means that they are worth killing, rather than hoping their unpredictable behaviour goes after the enemy team.
2: Bases
Congratulations, you’ve been three capped. Either you were rushed early on and never mounted a defence because your teammates were too busy ground-pounding you and spartan charging you in your armory to realize that a fight was happening, or you were simply out-played and have been pushed back. Now that your three capped, you best hope you have some req’s to call out, because you know the enemy team is calling out everything. And, because they’re winning, they can call out more and better items due to their higher req level.
You need to find a way to get through what has now turned into a firewall. The outside of your core has become the butcher, and your core base is now the farm. You walk out, and you are targeted by scorpions, banshees, and snipers. They could push in, they could destroy the core - but, it’s farm time. Time to get that KD up so you can feel good about yourself.
You have few options, but on every map aside from Apex 7, those options are: Go through the farm. There is a firing line, and you must somehow break through it. There is no other way. Mongoose, ghost, invisibility, scout warthog - whatever. You need to make a desperate escape, but in order to do that you must go through a giant choke-point.
Suggestion
Backdoors are good. Give a team that has been pushed completely back an opportunity to actually escape their base. A second or third route out of their base rather than a large hallway and bridge where that scorpion is sitting watch with his sniper buddy.
Just as boss kill stealing allows a losing team to stay in the game, a backdoor out of the base allows a losing team to attempt a comeback. Apex 7 benefits from this heavily, though their backdoor is also an impenetrable sniper-post.
Opening the bases up, and giving them more complexity can only add to the life and health of the game.