Weapon and other unlocks

Games Other Halo
#1

This past week I was talking to a friend about Halo 4, and he brought up an interesting objection to the weapon unlocks.

In principle he objects to the entire idea of unlocks that take an active part of the game ( especially in connection with multiplayer ), because in it’s most basic form, it appears to give a significant advantage to folks who do not have a life out side of the X-Box, over those that just play for fun, because they have things like spouse, kids, and businesses to manage.

Is there a game balancing mechanic in Halo 4, that let’s part time players, compete with those that earned unlocks by being able to play Halo 4 for 36 hours a day, 10 days a week?

Him and I both grant that anyone who plays that much is probably going to have a skill level that gives them an edge and we both agree that the earning of a skill set is basically fair, which is not the point of his issue with the unlocks, but that basic game play will be compromised with unlocked game dominating weapons and abilities. I have to admit, that I have played a few games where anyone starting late or falling behind just fell farther and farther behind, simply because they could not compete, due to the shear number of unlocks which others ( which appeared to do little else in life other than play ) had, and those games were anything but fun, because it was the unlocks that made things out of ballance.

I have looked for specific answers to this question, and while I have seen several things that appear to skirt the issue, I don’t recall seeing anything that directly addresses it.

#2

343i has said there will be preset loadouts just like Reach, based on the map. So large maps the preset will have the DMR and the smaller ones will have the BR or AR so you are not at a real disadvantage in terms of weapons.

#3

Ok, so some people have preset loadouts, while others will have customized loadouts, tell me how those with loadouts that have been customized with unlocked weapons and equipment will not have a distinct advantage of those with few unlocked pieces of equipment.

CoD, had loadouts based on presets and on what you have unlocked, and those that had the unlocked weapons and equipment had a decided advantage over those that didn’t. Space Marine was the same way, with some battlefield owning equipment and perks, but at least in Space Marine, if you got killed by someone who had unlocked equipment, you had the option of copying their loadout when you respawned, giving you a better chance of competing with them.

Simply put - so what if you have a basic preset loadout with a DMR or BR, if you are trying to compete against someone who has unlocked most of their gear, and has loadouts that puts a basic BR preset to shame?

#4

I think that you will unlock things by paying for them, and that most of the loadout options will cost the same. This way, you won’t have to play much to unlock the things that you want. You will only have to play a lot to unlock everything.

#5

I absolutely agree with you, it will not be fun for less active players. The only advantage I have is that I don’t play anything besides Halo (if I’m gaming at all) but for those that do play other games, this is definately a problem. I agree that we should get a little more information about this.

#6

First: Loadout weapons are starting weapons like BR, DMR, Magnum, AR, ect… Nothing like Rockets, Snipes , or Shotty.

Second: I’m pretty sure people will be matched with people who are on the smae rank.

Thrid: The game will still be VERY skill based.

#7

That’s actually a main concern of mine and many causing all the outrage. Armour pieces are also said to effect gameplay. If I have played longer than you (and I have been peeking at peoples ranks and play time. It seems I have played more MP than most people and the higher ranks than me are abusing campaign and firefight modes to rank up) I’ll have more armours, weapons, and AA choices than you.

#8

> Ok, so some people have preset loadouts, while others will have customized loadouts, tell me how those with loadouts that have been customized with unlocked weapons and equipment will not have a distinct advantage of those with few unlocked pieces of equipment.

You can’t spawn with power weapons. 343i has taken measures to ensure balance of course.

> CoD, had loadouts based on presets and on what you have unlocked, and those that had the unlocked weapons and equipment had a decided advantage over those that didn’t.

If that’s your frame of reference, you are sorely mistaken. There was no decided advantage the more you unlocked. I’ve always had a class that has the basic M16/Starting Assault Rifle of the game, and frags and can still get the top score.

#9

> I think that you will unlock things by paying for them, and that most of the loadout options will cost the same. This way, you won’t have to play much to unlock the things that you want. You will only have to play a lot to unlock everything.

As I under stand it, you unlock things by buying them, but once they are unlocked, they are available for use in loadouts at no cost.

That being said, the entire question that my friend brings up, revolves around those players that have an abundance of time in which to play Halo 4 and unlock tons of stuff, verses those less active players, who are less active because they have things like spouses, employment, and children that take up much of their spare time.

What is going to make Halo 4 fun, for those that don’t have lots of unlocks, when they play against those that do have lots of unlocks. As my friend says - running around and dieing without being able to effectively compete, is not his idea of fun, as the game just becomes an exercise in frustration.

> First: Loadout weapons are starting weapons like BR, DMR, Magnum, AR, ect… Nothing like Rockets, Snipes , or Shotty.
>
> Second: I’m pretty sure people will be matched with people who are on the smae rank.
>
> Thrid: The game will still be VERY skill based.

It’s easy to say that people will be matched to those of the same rank, yet it’s still quite a quite different animal when people attain rank through shear stubborn perseverance through game after game vs. those of the same rank that earned it simply through quick reaction time or through tactics that border on cheating ( like when someone sit there and spawn kills people who don’t have a chance ) - in a nut shell, show me a mechanic that matches people on actual skill rather than on a rank that can be a very unrealistic representation of skill, and your statement about being matched with others becomes more viable.

#10

> > CoD, had loadouts based on presets and on what you have unlocked, and those that had the unlocked weapons and equipment had a decided advantage over those that didn’t.
>
> If that’s your frame of reference, you are sorely mistaken. There was no decided advantage the more you unlocked. I’ve always had a class that has the basic M16/Starting Assault Rifle of the game, and frags and can still get the top score.

I can’t agree with that.

I tried playing for a while, and couldn’t even move out of respawn points without getting sniped by someone who had unlocked virtually everything, and had cusomized his loadouts to the Nth degree to match his play style.

#11

> Ok, so some people have preset loadouts, while others will have customized loadouts, tell me how those with loadouts that have been customized with unlocked weapons and equipment will not have a distinct advantage of those with few unlocked pieces of equipment.
>
>
> CoD, had loadouts based on presets and on what you have unlocked, and those that had the unlocked weapons and equipment had a decided advantage over those that didn’t. Space Marine was the same way, with some battlefield owning equipment and perks, but at least in Space Marine, if you got killed by someone who had unlocked equipment, you had the option of copying their loadout when you respawned, giving you a better chance of competing with them.
>
>
> Simply put - so what if you have a basic preset loadout with a DMR or BR, if you are trying to compete against someone who has unlocked most of their gear, and has loadouts that puts a basic BR preset to shame?

The point is that they are giving you a loadout optimized for that map. The loadout will be one of the better ones for that map, but it may not really be the one you prefer, unlike in call of duty where it just gives you a few mediocre classes that may or may not be any good at whatever map you are playing. Plus, I imagine you would unlock basic stuff like BR, DMR, etc. pretty quickly, and just get some specialized stuff a little bit later on.

#12

> The point is that they are giving you a loadout optimized for that map. The loadout will be one of the better ones for that map, but it may not really be the one you prefer, unlike in call of duty where it just gives you a few mediocre classes that may or may not be any good at whatever map you are playing. Plus, I imagine you would unlock basic stuff like BR, DMR, etc. pretty quickly, and just get some specialized stuff a little bit later on.

Ok so the specialized stuff is unlocked later - that again brings the issue back to an issue of those that play 36 hrs a day 10 days a week, will have a weapon / equipment advantage over those that can not play that much, unless there is a game mechanic in place to balance it - either by putting people with about the same number of unlocks in the same games or some similar method.