Personal Context-(Easily skip-able)
Let me give you some background. I entered into the Halo scene at the end of Halo 3’s life span the last summer/fall before Halo reach launched. I don’t know what was more of a draw, Halo’s 3 unique skill based combat, or the endless possibility of casual fun to be had in halo’s forged custom games. What ever the reason, that summer/fall i played hundreds of online custom and match-made games meaning that I put many more hours into any video-game in that amount of time than I had ever before. While I did spend many hours searching in matchmaking trying to get my pathetic 32 in team slayer any higher than i could reasonably get it, i spent a substantially higher amount of time in forge or custom games where I was being introduced to classic community created game-types such as “Fat Kid” and “Jenga” or making my own maps and game modes. When Halo Reach launched things started to change. I started finding myself playing match-making more and more whilst playing custom games less and less. Whether it was because Halo Reach’s custom game population was on the decline (In comparison to Halo 3) or whether the diversity of matchmaking playlists were so diverse while the skill gap decreased significantly; i was becoming a competitive casual.
Yes Reach, I loved Reach. IMO Reach was the best halo i had ever played because (Insert I stoped reading when comment here)
<ul class=“yiv5162985148”> - Reach featured the most comfortable skill-gap game game in any halo game before or since. (IMO) - The most broadly appealing playlists available in any Halo Game (At least in terms of Launch) - Changed the game in terms of forge and custom games. - Had the best customization and (Non skill based) progression systems[/list]Going forward however when 343i took up the mantle things became dreary.
Approaching Halo 4’s launch the hype was real. 343i had me and many other gamer’s believing that Halo 4 was going to be the golden child, as evidenced by its incredibly lucrative launch. In the weeks following it’s launch however, it was evident that this was not the case. Halo 4 had it’s share of problems and they have been discussed extensively by the community but I would like to call to attention my opinion on why i believe Halo 4’s population suffered a massive drop.
<ul class=“yiv5162985148”> - Missing custom game support due to missing (Delayed) file-share systems lead to players who didn’t care for the matchmaking to drop the game as new and old players couldn’t experience community produced fun. - The onslaught of (lets just say) un-innovative mechanics introduced turned off many OG fans as the borrowed game mechanics soured the experience of many old players, and left new players with a taste for COD. - And competitively un-viable game-play caused a drop in competitive interest and support for the game, leading to a general decline in player base.[/list](Any of this looking familiar)
Following Halo 4’s launch however, me and many community members left extensive feedback which i have to admit was at least eventually responded to. Though too late to regain the players who left to purse other more interesting games, 343i’s responses where substantial enough for the community to believe that they would not miss the nail again with it’s sequel. My self induced as i was certain that Halo 5 would be 343i’s Halo 2. So when Halo 5’s game-play was first revealed, you can imagine my disappointment.
At a distance, it seemed as though 343i had dived head deep into everything players had cautioned them against the first time around. Halo 5 was looking to completely kill the series. CODsk kill times and aesthetic as well seemingly randomly conceived spartan ability threatened to finally put Halo down under. Upon playing the beta though, i was shocked to find how much i enjoyed the game-play. Don’t get me wrong, i had/have a massive problem with the game’s kill times, but other than that, Halo 5’s game-play was competitively and casually serviceable. The added ranking system also helped to create a sense of purpose and drive to the game’s competitive game-play. All that was left was some minor game-play tweaking, new and innovative game modes, the next step in forge world, and Halo would be back.
Only, this is where Halo 5’s launch has failed.
Though this time around Halo 5 presents us with serviceable game mechanics and skill rankings, Halo 5 has completely dropped the ball in terms of the breath and depth of playlists offered on it’s launched, which is only underlined by lack of forged custom games to create our own varied experiences.
Honestly, Halo 5’s launch playlists are the most dry, lifeless and lacking playlists that any Halo title has ever launched with. Looking at the playlists in sheer numbers does not do the issue justice, as when we really consider the amount of things to do in each playlist, as well as the variety offered, the game’s playlist are just simply unexceptionable.
Guys, there are only 7 game-types available in Arena matchmaking. Not 7 playlists, 7 game-types. 3 Of the game types are just gametypes that may as well be slayer variants as they are possible to create in custom games via the slayer game-type.
Even halo 4 launched with enough of playlists to offer a variety of experiences to incoming players.
There was an 8v8 slayer variant, two 4v4 slayer variants, three 5v5 objective variants, 2 free for all variants, and an 6v6 objective variant.
What do we have in Halo 5?
Strong Holds, CTF,
three 4v4 slayer variants (Break out, Team Slayer, Swat) and two 4v4 objective variants (CTF, and Strong Holds) Which both have to be randomly selected to even be experienced. That’s it, thats all, and looking over these playlists i have to wonder how anyone new to this game still be playing 3 weeks from now.
If you want to play anything that doesn’t resemble ranked 4v4 slayer or Battlefield, go play another Halo which leads me to my next issue.
The ranking system is a welcomed addition, but to have literally no playable playlists without ranks limits the experience of players who care about their ranks. In a nut shell, im sure by now many of you (At least on the more competitive side) have faced the following dilemma. You have no friends on and want to play an Arena playlist but you don’t because you know your random teammates are going to cause you a loss, so you have 3 (Matchmaking) options. A.) You can play FFA, which is easily the most frustratingly ill designed playlist. B.) You can play Warzone which many of us (My self included) are not a fan. Or C.) You can just not search.
On the flip side, on several occasions players will be in a party with more or less than 4 players who want to play arena and either simply cant or has to deal with randoms in competitively ranked playlists.
I can understand 343i’s thinking when they sat back and looked at these playlists and felt that there was something for everyone but you didn’t look hard enough, because that is simply not the case. Im not going to say that Halo 5 will die as quickly as Halo 4, but if the above issues are not resolved asap, i could see Halo 5’s population dwindle similarly.
Dont get me wrong, i am enjoying Halo 5’s multiplayer as it is. As i said the game-play is competitively and casually serviceable. Only, i believe that like Titan-fall, the fun game-play will not be enough to sustain a player base for long without varied experiences in multiplayer.