This is meant to be an interactive post to give 343 some feedback on what the players like, don’t like, and what they could have done better. Below are three different polls, with a choice of 3 - 5 weapons (Energy Sword and Gravity Hammer were excluded due to the 20 option limitation).
What are your favourite weapons?
MA40 AR
Pulse Carbine
BR75
VK78 Commando
Disruptor
Mangler
MK50 Sidekick
Plasma Pistol
Needler
Sentinel Beam
Shock Rifle
Stalker Rifle
CQS48 Bulldog
Heatwave
MLRS-2 Hydra
Ravager
S7 Sniper
Skewer
Cindershot
M41 SPNKR
0voters
What are your LEAST favourite weapons?
MA40 AR
Pulse Carbine
BR75
VK78 Commando
Disruptor
Mangler
MK50 Sidekick
Plasma Pistol
Needler
Sentinel Beam
Shock Rifle
Stalker Rifle
CQS48 Bulldog
Heatwave
MLRS-2 Hydra
Ravager
S7 Sniper
Skewer
Cindershot
M41 SPNKR
0voters
Which weapons would you change if you could (What would you change)?
MA40 AR
Pulse Carbine
BR75
VK78 Commando
Disruptor
Mangler
MK50 Sidekick
Plasma Pistol
Needler
Sentinel Beam
Shock Rifle
Stalker Rifle
CQS48 Bulldog
Heatwave
MLRS-2 Hydra
Ravager
S7 Sniper
Skewer
Cindershot
M41 SPNKR
0voters
Here is a copy and paste template for anyone that wants to share their choices for the discussion:
I quite like, or at least am growing into, most of the weapons.
I struggle with the pulse carbine (haven’t got used to the right range to use it), the hydra (probably just spoilt by the H5 version), and the sentinel beam (can’t keep it on target to save my life).
Surprised how much I’m enjoying the Bulldog. That’s a lot of fun. As is the Mangler and Disruptor. Didn’t like any of those at the start - but now I love them.
I had so much fun with this thing once I figured out it’s use, so good for taking out shields and finishing with a Sidekick or BR. I wish it shot green plasma like the plasma pistol instead, maybe would have made it feel more familiar.
The BR is reliable and performs almost identically to Halo 3’s, this is exactly how the BR is meant to play IMO.
Shock Rifle
This is probably just due to the availability of it and the additional ammo compared to the S7 Sniper, but I love nothing more than getting headshots with this gun in BTB.
MA40 AR
It feels like the AR is the best it has ever been in the sandbox. Maybe it’s the nostalgia talking but the AR deserves to be relevant.
Skewer
A really satisfying “risk it all” power weapon, really fits the Brute theme well too.
S7 Sniper
Always fun to Snipe… I clearly have a preference for ranged precision weapons.
My LEAST Favourite Weapons:
Disruptor
Not really terrible, I just find it not to be very useful. It has the slowest TTK in the game, the DoT doesn’t really matter if I’m already outgunned by an AR.
MLRS-2 Hydra
This gun just isn’t fun for me, it feels so uninspiring for a futuristic anti-vehicle weapon. Just slowly shooting missiles, it lacks a wow factor.
CQS48 Bulldog
In theory this is a cool gun, but I just prefer the classic shotguns and think this is redundant with the Heatwave (why do we need two semi-auto shotguns?).
Mangler
Tactical slayer is probably what drove me not to like this gun.
Weapons I would change and why:
CQS48 Bulldog
As I just stated I think the classic shotgun would be a more unique weapon to have in the sandbox.
Cindershot
The smart-link guided shot is such a cool feature that is wasted in the current weapon design IMO. If the weapon was a one-hit kill for direct shots it would be so much more satisfying to use, imagine guiding a shot across the map to get a direct hit on an enemy. Ammo capacity could be reduced from 6 to 4 to balance this.
Sentinel Beam
In an expanded weapon sandbox I picture the Sentinel Beam separating itself from the pack with a unique feature that utilizes the weapon drop function. Hold Y to deploy the Sentinel Beam as a stationary Sentry that is controlled by your AI. For balancing, the Sentry would deal reduced damage and it would breakdown if you move too far away (as your AI travels with you). It’s a nod to the Laptop Gun from Perfect Dark.
MK50 Sidekick
This 10mm pistol deals more damage per round than the AR, BR, and the Commando… that defies all logic. It also has a faster optimal TTK than all 3 weapons, how did this thing get the name “Sidekick”? I’d prefer it to just be a secondary finisher, add an M6 Magnum if you want a strong sidearm.
VK78 Commando
The Commando is a really cool gun, however it doesn’t seperate itself from the other Tier 1 UNSC Weapons. The BR outclasses it at range, the AR can even outperform the Commando at mid range in certain scenarios since the Commando has descope, and the Sidekick deals more damage. I’d like to see the damage for the Commando increased and have it changed to a Tier 2 weapon (like the Stalker Rifle), then it would really feel like an effective UNSC Rifle. This would also open the door for another one of my favourites to return, the Carbine.
I wanna like the Commando but it’s not reliable enough. The idea of a mid-to-close range automatic precision weapon is very cool and unique for the series, but it feels weirdly floaty and inconsistent to use. I’d probably like it a lot more if they removed the bloom, kicked up the vertical recoil a significant amount to compensate for lack of bloom, and make it require 1 less bullet to kill.
I’m JUST starting to figure out/hit my shock rifle shots which is bananas but it’s had a great learning curve for me even as an experienced halo player. I look forward to continuing to adapt and understand it.
My biggest learning curve is the stalker rifle. Such a quick weapon, but only having it on one ranked map doesn’t allow for the great amount of opportunity to experience and utilize the weapon in situations.
I believe the most underrated weapon is the heatwave. Hot dog or hamburger style Spartans? I enjoy hamburger style because I can hit two shots quickly, drop and finish off with my BR.
The commando is such a unique weapon that I believe more experience with will allow for better control and understanding on how to best utilize it in games.
I actually like pretty much everything. About the only things I don’t are the plasma pistol and the skewer. I think the AR shouldn’t have the headshot bonus, and the sidekick should be a slower fire rate but maybe do just enough more damage to have the same ttk (requiring more aim and less spamming to use effectively)