On Balancing…
For those who don’t know, “balancing” is a term where a developer attempts to equalize an aspect of a player’s power (units, weaponry, vehicles etc.) whilst attempting to improve the sandbox and/or playing field; this does not translate to everything is the same, but rather it is based upon the fundamental that every aspect is filling a niche position in a player’s featured arsenal. whilst also have a potential tier system, as to not allow constant power imbalances. Now balancing, especially in any competitive format like Starcraft to Halo is not an easy task, and should be taking into consideration that it is mostly trial and error…
What and When to Balance…
Now after explaining balancing, I believe I may have found a new alternative to finding out what weapons need balancing in competitive or Arena, which should be considered for implementation or testing into a future update or most likely a future Halo FPS sequel. The system would be based upon a automatic statistical test every month (or maybe update) where a tally is recorded over time This test would be about how many times a certain weapon is picked up (ie how many player’s go out of their way for it) that occurred during that time frame… which should give an approximate estimation of the popularity of the weapon and its overall influence (power)… This popularity test should then be evaluated against the weapons past months and seen if an increase has been made (more popular) or if the weapon is the same (no favor) or declined (less popular), than previous iterations, giving a clear indication of the communities views about that weapon… If an increase has been seen in popularity, the weapon has clearly been improved. The end result of the testing is that all weapons of their respective tiers are picked up approximately with equal consideration… otherwise that weapon is just pointlessly lying on the map with no absolute purpose…
For Example:
Since last month and prior, the community has shown a decline in using the Bolt Shot, Suppressor, Needler and SPNKr Rocket Launcher (vs its counterpart the Rocket Launcher) due to projectile travel times and/or firing speed? This month we are altering and testing changes to the statistics of these weapons to better accommodate these weapons on the maps and allow players more options when approaching situations.
After the update, the testing shows that the Needler has an increase in popularity since last month and prior, thus been improved. But how improved? This will require further testing…
OP Thoughts
The reasoning I put this idea forward is because the only real way a weapon is balanced by 343 Industries, is through a long arduous process using the Community Managers who manage most affairs involved within the community, like threads being opened on Halo Waypoint about “Why a weapon is bad?” or “How can this weapon be better?” etc. Even professional gamers tweeting Bravo and such… like the only feasible way is through overwhelming opinion which is a long process…
In my opinion, 343 Industries could already be on top of certain weapons popularity in their sandbox and attempt to fix a decline in a less popular weapons (Needler, Suppressor) by giving it a buff based on suggestions and test it, or vice verse and nerf a overly (un)popular weapon and test it (ie Storm Rifle, Splinter Grenade) etc.