Honestly, the thing that concerns competitive gamers the most is the fact that, in default Halo 4, you don’t start equally. They’re also upset that, from the sound of it, there may be only one classic playlist. I think it’s possible to be able to please both crowds (casual and competitive) if there isn’t a classic playlist, and instead two sets of playlists: ranked and social.
Ranked: Everybody starts with the same stuff. There could be different gametypes you could vote on, like BR starts, DMR starts, etc. The playlists have everything that the social ones have, except you have to pick them up on the map. There is also a rank that you gain if you win, or lose if you lose games.
Social: Includes different loadouts, no ranking system.
It’s not that everybody is against the new features in Halo 4, it’s more that you don’t start on fair ground. I suck at Halo, and even I thought the MLG playlist in Reach was fun. There’s something awesome about finding evade and then picking it up, rather than being able to start with it. Even Forerunner Vision could work in ranked, as long as you can pick it up.
There doesn’t need to be a classic playlist; I think competitive players would accept the new Halo 4 weapons, armor abilities, etc. if there was a set of ranked playlists with pickups.
> Honestly, the thing that concerns competitive gamers the most is the fact that, in default Halo 4, you don’t start equally. They’re also upset that, from the sound of it, there may be only one classic playlist. I think it’s possible to be able to please both crowds (casual and competitive) if there isn’t a classic playlist, and instead two sets of playlists: ranked and social.
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> Ranked: Everybody starts with the same stuff. There could be different gametypes you could vote on, like BR starts, DMR starts, etc. The playlists have everything that the social ones have, except you have to pick them up on the map. There is also a rank that you gain if you win, or lose if you lose games.
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> Social: Includes different loadouts, no ranking system.
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> It’s not that everybody is against the new features in Halo 4, it’s more that you don’t start on fair ground. I suck at Halo, and even I thought the MLG playlist in Reach was fun. There’s something awesome about finding evade and then picking it up, rather than being able to start with it. Even Forerunner Vision could work in ranked, as long as you can pick it up.
>
> There doesn’t need to be a classic playlist; I think competitive players would accept the new Halo 4 weapons, armor abilities, etc. if there was a set of ranked playlists with pickups.
I agree that there doesn’t need to be a side-show called “classic playlists” but rather that the game as a whole plays like a Halo game. Even with the new stuff they are adding it wouldn’t be as big a deal as long as, at the end of the day, the game was still Halo. Reach didn’t feel like Halo and this was clear during the Reach beta. Sadly I put too much faith in Bungie that Reach would be fixed before launch. It wasn’t.
I agree with you OP, in ranked playlists it’s logical if everyone starts exactly equal and has to fight over weapons and “pick ups”, but in social change could be good, heck, for certain bigger maps starting with DMR or BR depending on the situation, might make or break the match. Ranked should be equal and simple, no extra nothing.
Social should be crazy and fun, vehicles, weapons, abilities, freedom!
> I love having a classic playlist that includes forged classic maps, I don’t play it a lot, but I like knowing it is there
I don’t want to play the old maps, because if I want to play the old maps, that means I don’t like the new maps. The new maps should be better than the old ones, not worse, like in Reach.
Also, if you play new maps with the same game settings and weapons as Halo: CE had, it feels fresh, yet the same game. Playing new maps, with new game settings, makes it feel like a new game (like Reach).
But honestly, I like a lot of the things they did in Reach that were not in any other Halo games. Aiming and shooting feels more fluid and natural in Reach. It feels better than any other game. Player movement feels more fluid in Reach as well, I could never jump with such precision in the older Halo games. I think Halo: Reach has the best performance compared to the other Halo games, but I think balance and equality between players reached it’s peek in Halo: CE.
I still want a classic playlist. And you seem to claim that everyone is just upset about not being on equal ground with the AA’s. I would rather have a game that was more similar to Halo 3. Will I have to live with AA’s? Yes, I will. Could AA’s be fun in Halo 4? Of course! That still doesn’t mean that I don’t want my classic Halo.
> I don’t want sprint in ranked, or classic playlists. Period. Not even as pick-ups.
Even on maps where it’s been balanced? There are longer, wider sight-lines and less corners to hide in, if that Conan sketch is any indicator.
Even with a slowdown feature to prevent double beat downs or fast escapes? The only way to flee effectively is if the guy never had a chance of hitting you in the first place.
All it really does now is allow quicker movement towards the action. Seems odd that it’s even a point of complaint anymore.
