There are obvious things about Halo that just should work the day you ship the product to your consumers.
I know that there are individuals who will always downplay every constructive feedback by bring the “beta” excuse, however, you can’t call this a beta, this is the multiplayer experience as a whole, which has been released 3 weeks prior to the official launch date with all the given features. Other than that, the moment you implement in store purchases with a premium battlepass, it’s not a beta.
And people need to see the bigger picture in terms of mentality & the route the multiplayer is going to take.
There are certain things that takes time - because not everyone shares the same opinion - topics like weapon balance, map design etc… One will say Weapon X is too strong, other ones will say it’s to weak.
That’s not the topic here. The topic here centeres around obvious things. Things that are missing for no reason.
So, I’ve waited carefully, not sure how this situation will be handled, but now it’s confirmed that Fiesta will be removed tomorrow.
Why in gods name would you remove Fiesta just after 1 week? For the sake of Microtransactions, really?
People don’t expect you to fix all the issues witin 2 weeks, fixing bugs, making things prettier takes time. We get it. Understandibly so.
However, it doesn’t mean that you have to take the little content that you gave us away after a short period of time.
I did not expect this game to come out with every core mode in History right at launch - would I want this? Absolutely, but H5 and MCC (at launch) tempered my expectations.
But launching this game with !3! Playlists (This has to be literally 10% of content) and then be like: “Hey, we’ll give you this one mode you like for a week, centered around in Store Purchases and then remove it again” has to be some new level of…I don’t know how to call it…a mess?
Where does this ongoing mindest of: “Yup, the less content we have, the better it is for the health of the existing 3 playlists” come from?
How can people think that restriction is a healthy method to keep the population up?
I mean you’ve done a perfect job with MCC in the last 2/3 years - ever since the new matchmaking system, I’ve been playing more and more. You know why? Because I’m able to choose the things I’d like to play.
If I’m playing CTF in Halo 2, I know that most people were able to choose this game and gametype - you’re not forced to play objective gametypes, you have alternatives.
Not once in my Life have I heard something like: “Man, look at all the option I have…should I play CTF…or Infection…or Grifball? Damn, way too many options here, I think won’t play anything and just turn my console off.”
The beauty of this Franchise is the fact that Halo is not just a regular FPS. A lot of communities come together to enjoy different experiences.
Take me as an example, I’ve never liked Halo 5’s gameplay - however, I’ve still spend a lot of time in this game due to it’s amazing Forge & custom games. Same can be said for games like Reach - never liked the Gameplay, but I enjoyed the customization. Another one will maybe just enjoy grifball or infection.
Do we really have to expect even worse implementations of other missing gametypes? Will we see Infection in 2023 (due to the 10 year plan) for 3 weeks, to earn a Flood themed skin and Firefight in 2024 for 2 weeks for another helmet?
I know that some people will already type into their keyboards and say: “chill, more modes will be added” - no doubt, but that’s not the question - the question is HOW and for what purpose? The first implementation of a “new” gametype left a bad impression.
Currently, the community has every right to be very pessimistic. If you already remove a playlist in this current state of lacking playlists, this should be very alarming. I thought that we would at least get the most basic gametypes one after another as a permanent playlist. Right now it looks like you’re going the route of “give them something, remove something, give them something for 1 week, remove another thing for a week” - what’s the point of this?
By the way, before anyone comes with an argument like: “Dude, who cares about Fiesta?” - that’s not the matter - Personally I’m not a big fan of Fiesta either, but I know a lot of people that genuinely enjoy it. What matters is the fact that everyone has their own favorite feature in this Franchise and limiting them (by removing them, not giving anyone the option to choose or make it available just for a short period) you’re doing more harm, than good.
The only thing restriction will bring to the table is to drive people away. And for the last time: It’s not about getting spoiled with tons of content & gametypes, it’s about taking away what’s already there.
Another topic are things like the lack of statistics or recommendations (like in H5). The only thing you’ll see are the statistics for your last game. It honestly boggles my mind how something like this is lacking in a Mainline Halo Game in 2021.
The core gameplay for the first time in almost 15 years (at least for me) feels great again. You’ve had a great start, everyone now is looking at this game. However, the decisions in the next weeks & months will be important too. There is no the point of shooting yourself in the foot over and over again. You’ve done 2 great steps forward, don’t ruin everything by making 2 steps back once again.