The Removal of Grenade Indicators:
Halo 4 and Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer had grenade indicators: if a grenade enters your general vicinity, your HUD displays an indicator showing your orientation relative to the grenade’s location. No other Halo had this feature. In Halo 5, 343i corrected this, and there are no grenade indicators displayed on the HUD. Grenades are visible and make a distinctive sound, which alerts the player to avoid the explosion.
In the final version of Halo 5, there must be no grenade indicators, just like the Multiplayer Beta.
The Relative Lack of Aim Assist:
Halo 5 had very little aim assist, which was awesome. It further promotes skill in accuracy, widens the skill gap, and makes the gunplay more challenging and rewarding. The aiming is punishing and unforgiving - but it’s fun. You just feel awesome when you get better at aiming.
In the final version of Halo 5, there should be very little aim assist, just like the Multiplayer Beta.
Shields Being Tied to Sprint:
Sprint is a very controversial topic in the Halo community, but this post is not here to discuss sprint and its effects. 343i wanted to balance sprint more, and they did so with a great feature. If your shields have taken damage, there is a timer that starts to count down. When this timer has counted down to zero, your shields start recharging. However, if the timer starts counting down and you sprint, the timer resets and will not count down at all unless you stop sprinting. Once you have stopped sprinting, the timer will be at its full length, and when the timer counts down to zero, your shields will start recharging. Sprinting therefore directly stops and delays shield recharging.
In the final version of Halo 5, this feature must be present just like it was in the Multiplayer Beta.
The Removal of Custom Loadouts, Reinstating Equal Starts:
Halo 4 had a custom loadout feature very similar to Call of Duty’s “Create a Class” and perk system. This feature is not part of the Halo formula, and tampers with gameplay. Halo 5’s removal of custom loadouts is a correct decision. All players should spawn equally, with no player being different from another. Equal starts have returned, and are very much welcomed to Halo 5’s gameplay.
In the final version of Halo 5, instead of custom loadouts, there must be equal starts, just like it was in the Multiplayer Beta.
The Removal of Ordnance:
Halo 4 also had ordnance, a gameplay feature very similar to Call of Duty’s “Kill Streak” system. In Halo 4, upon acquiring enough points the player would be rewarded with an ordnance drop, a selectable random assortment of power weapons, power ups, or grenades. This upsets the balance of the game, and the random choices for ordnance adds an unpredictable change of strategy to the game. Halo 5 removed the ordnance feature, a definite step in the right direction.
In the final version of Halo 5, there must be no ordnance system, just like the Multiplayer Beta.
The Assault Rifle, SMG, and Magnum Are Effective Weapons:
As opposed to most Halo games, the Assault Rifle, SMG, and Magnum in Halo 5 are effective weapons in their respective engagement distances. In many other Halo games, precision weapons would almost always overpower the automatic weapons (even in close range), and the Magnum would not be very powerful (looking at you, Halo 2). The effectiveness of the automatic weapons and the Magnum in Halo 5 is great. However, the Assault Rifle, SMG, and Magnum all need some tuning (Time to Kill, Smart Scope’s accuracy buff, rate of fire, etc.) for the final game.
In the final version of Halo 5, the Assault Rifle, SMG, and Magnum must remain effective in their respective engagement distances, yet they still need tuning.
The Return of Friendly Red X’s:
When a teammate dies, the location of their death is marked by a red X. This provides valuable information to enemy placement, situational awareness, and team support. Halo 4 did not have friendly Red X’s, a fact disliked by the community. The return of friendly red X’s in Halo 5 is welcome and desired.
In the final version of Halo 5, the friendly red X’s feature must be present, just like it was in the Multiplayer Beta.
The Addition of Slide:
Slide has never been in Halo before, and in Halo 5 slide’s addition could bring some interesting gameplay moments. I feel slide does not affect gameplay very much at all, and I like it because it’s an awesome animation and you are slightly faster than sprint when sliding.
In the final version of Halo 5, slide must remain a Spartan Ability, and function just like it did in the Multiplayer Beta.
