I remember back in Halo 4, your only options for a primary weapon were a Battle Rifle or DMR. The others stood a chance in most firefights, but they were just straight-up worse than these two. The Boltshot causes much frustration and the Binary Rifle was overpowered in the eyes of many. I think that a big part of why Halo 4’s weapon balance was sub-par (in my eyes) was that 343 had to try and make 7 primary weapons and 3 secondary weapons equally viable yet still unique, which is a tough job that I think they failed in. Halo 5’s Arena has no loadout system - all players spawn with the exact same weapons. This means that the Storm Rifle, Suppressor, Carbine etc can afford to be better because they must now be found and often competed for on the map. Everyone is on equal footing. This newfound freedom in weapon design has, in my humble opinion, allowed 343 to make the weapons that used to be either overpowered or pointless, useful and unique. The Storm Rifle has high DPS, but it overheats very rapidly. The Suppressor has tracking bolts, as does the Boltshot, which no longer has an infuriating one-shot kill capability. The Carbine can easily stand up to a Battle Rifle or DMR. In short, the balancing between what used to be loadout weapons has been lost, but it doesn’t matter because everybody starts on equal footing. Oh, and the Binary Rifle is no longer overpowered and simple. It is now unique in its firing mechanism but not overpowered. In conclusion, I think Halo 5’s weapon balancing is excellent.
But what do you think? Did you prefer Halo 4’s loadout system? Would you rather have the weaker pistol from Halo 3, or maybe the powerful one from Halo CE? Do you think the boltshot was fine the way it was? Let me know below!
I think Halo 4’s loadout system was unique, and it was fun to be able to spawn with a carbine and a STORM RIFLE every time if you wanted to. Or use stability, camo, and the LightRifle and camp like a complete -Yoink- and infuriate people (guilty).
However, I do agree that the weapons are more balanced and unique, and it’s nice to see some of my fav weapons in that game, STORM RIFLE and LR, be buffed to be more powerful.
I don’t think one is necessarily objectively better than the other (at least for Team Slayer in H4, Infinity was annoying AF). I prefer Halo 5 because of overall gameplay and skill gap, and because of the reasons you mentioned about how it goes more back to core halo in terms of map control, even for things like BRs or STORM RIFLES!
I mastered the light rifle in H4. Now that its a power weapon, I have greatly benefited from it. Half the time nobody picks it up. And I can no scope 3 shot kills all day. I’m exaggerating a little, but you get the point.
I think Halo 5 is the most balanced shooter out there right now. When you get kills, you understand why you were killed.
> 2533274883849234;4:
> I think Halo 5 is the most balanced shooter out there right now. When you get kills, you understand why you were killed.
Agreed.
> 2533274902478287;2:
> I think Halo 4’s loadout system was unique, and it was fun to be able to spawn with a carbine and a STORM RIFLE every time if you wanted to. Or use stability, camo, and the LightRifle and camp like a complete -Yoink- and infuriate people (guilty).
>
> However, I do agree that the weapons are more balanced and unique, and it’s nice to see some of my fav weapons in that game, STORM RIFLE and LR, be buffed to be more powerful.
>
> I don’t think one is necessarily objectively better than the other (at least for Team Slayer in H4, Infinity was annoying AF). I prefer Halo 5 because of overall gameplay and skill gap, and because of the reasons you mentioned about how it goes more back to core halo in terms of map control, even for things like BRs or STORM RIFLES!
I agree with everything you said. I don’t think Halo 4 and 5 can really be compared in terms of PvP quality because they are different in core mechanics.
> 2533274825101441;3:
> I mastered the light rifle in H4. Now that its a power weapon, I have greatly benefited from it. Half the time nobody picks it up. And I can no scope 3 shot kills all day. I’m exaggerating a little, but you get the point.
Yeah, it’s so nice to pick up a suppressor and not feel like you are holding a potato gun. However I think that 343 should be careful that they don’t buff weapons to the point that Halo’s TTK approaches that of Call of Duty.
> 2533274798308160;5:
> > 2533274883849234;4:
> > I think Halo 5 is the most balanced shooter out there right now. When you get kills, you understand why you were killed.
>
>
> Agreed.
I’ll third this. I’ve never had to think about my strengths/weaknesses with weapons as much in prior Halo titles as I do now. The balance is truly amazing.
> 2533274883849234;4:
> I think Halo 5 is the most balanced shooter out there right now. When you get kills, you understand why you were killed.
Yes, Halo 5s’ balance still amazes me. 343 obviously put tons of time into getting the balance perfect.