Progression System - This can really be in any form. The Halo 3 style, Reach Style, 5 style, MCC style or something entirely new. Just some form of account level/progression to show playtime and feel like you are progressing while you play.
Pregame Lobbies - These are helpful especially when they have features such as Party Up and Map Veto. They let you stay in a lobby you enjoyed playing in. They allow you to make new friends to play with. They allow you to see the lobby fill up rather than hope the system is finding players.
In Game Service Records - The waypoint website has a fairly decent service record. But it needs to be in the game itself. You should also be able to view other peoples service records.
A better User Interface - The user interface in Infinite is ok and usable but I think using old Halos and MCC as a guide would be beneficial for making Infinites UI cleaner, better and easier to navigate. For example, the Multiplayer Menu needs to be improved. Choosing âMultiplayerâ at the main menu should bring you to a new menu where you can select âSocial Matchmakingâ, âRanked Matchmakingâ, âCustom Game Browserâ, âHost Custom Gameâ.
Connection Problems
Desync/connection/server problems - These are currently making the game practically unplayable and happen FAR too frequently. Fixing these problems needs to be top priority over the next year (or however long it will take). Right now it is one of the biggest things driving people away from the game.
Social Matchmaking
The playlist problem - Currently the playlist offerings are too restrictive and many staple modes have been turned into rotational playlists (mostly due to population problems). To fix this 343 should use the MCC match composer as an inspiration for creating a similar system for Infinite.
Infinite Match Composer:
This system would allow the user to select player count and game modes. They can select as many game modes as they like at the same time.
Player Count: 1v1, 2v2, 4v4, 8 Player (FFA), 24 Player (BTB)
1v1 Game Modes: Slayer, Snipers (S7s Only)
2v2: Slayer, BR Slayer, Snipers, Fiesta, Action Sack (Ninja Slayer, Rockets N Repulsors, Kong Slayer, etc.), Objective (CTF, Oddball), Survivors (Dodgeball, Attrition, Elimination).
4v4: Slayer, BR Slayer, Snipers, Objective (Oddball, CTF, KOTH, VIP, Land Grab, One Flag, Strongholds), Fiesta, Tactical Slayer, Action Sack, Survivors.
8 Player FFA: Slayer, BR Slayer, Snipers, Objective (Vampireball, Regicide, KOTH), Action Sack, Fiesta, Tactical Slayer, Escalation Slayer.
24 Player: Team Slayer (12v12), Team BR Slayer, Team Snipers, Team Objective (Stockpile, CTF, Total Control), Action Sack, Team Fiesta, Team Heavies, Infection.
Separately there could also be 2 weekly rotating playlists - Weekly Featured Playlist (Last Spartan Standing for example) and Weekly Featured Forge Maps/Modes.
Social SBMM - The SBMM in Social modes should be relaxed a little to be less strict and allow for more variety of skill levels in games. Doesnât need to be removed completely but it should be looser.
Cross Core Customisation
They need to make as much as possible fully cross core compatible and moving forward pretty much everything should be made/sold as cross core compatible.
Ranked
Playlists - Ideally there should be a permanent 4v4 Arena playlist (we already have), a permanent doubles playlist (Slayer, CTF, Oddball), a permanent 6 Player FFA Slayer playlist and a rotating playlist (4v4 Survivors, 2v2 Survivors, 4v4 Snipers, FFA Snipers, Tactical Slayer, etc.). If possible there should also ideally be a permanent 4v4 Slayer only playlist.
Matchmaking - The matchmaking should be rank based and should ideally be matching players within a couple subranks of each other (diamond 3s with diamond 1-5s for example).
Rank Rewards - New rank rewards (coatings, weapon charms, nameplates, armour effects, etc.) are great incentives to get more people to play ranked consistently.
Sandbox Additions
Weapons - Halo has a lot of iconic and fan favourite weapons which havenât made their way into Infinite yet. Stuff like the Fuel Rod Cannon, OG Shotgun, H5 Magnum, H3 Style Magnum, Beam Rifle, Spartan Laser, SMG, etc. would all be great additions to the Infinite sandbox and help give the game a lot of variety.
Equipment - New equipment would also be great. Stuff like the Gravity lift, a Jump Thrust, Bubble Shield, Power Drain, Regenerator, etc. could all be good additions too.
Custom Game Browser
Ability to setup server names
Ability to setup a continuous rotation of maps/modes
So many things that I think we all want and 343i want as well. Hopefully they can pull it off and not make us wait too long.
I really think the connection issues, progression system and match composer are the most important to not only make the game better for the remaining players but to help retain players when they release new content.
Not so sure about these two. SBMM already allows for totally inexperienced first gamers to play against diamond ranked players (could be even higher), not sure how much wider the skill gap can get. If anything I think the allowable gap needs to be narrowed, while still allowing for squads with wider gaps to play together if they want to.
Iâm not against new weapons (I really want the Plasma Rifle because itâs just too iconic to leave out and the OG Shotgun as a power weapon) but I donât think itâs really what the game is lacking or what will make much difference to attracting players.
Some good stuff here, Iâd like to add a few if possible as well.
Gradual improvement in computer AI in general. Over all improvement towards the AI in the game to be done, even if just little bit here and there from time to time. This would help in a load of different areaâs that could gradually improve the game. From AI targets and marines in Campaign. To fill ins for online when an enemy leaves and a bot has to take his space. To potentially future content like Fire Fight and so forth.
Iâd like to see ways Halo, as well as honestly any game with a team aspect to it, work towards making in game communities a thing for people to have an easier time finding other people to play with to better their over all experience with the game going forward. Think something like Steam does with Steam communities. Were people can host events, people in the community can see who is online and active and even maybe lists so you can easily grab people you enjoy playing easily find them in the off chance the community becomes large, full with people to play with.
This is one of my only suggestions. I know there are a lot of fan favorites and liked weapons in the franchise. But I feel that just adding everything is nothing short of a waste of time and resources if they add in a lot of stuff that gets little to no use due to it not being desirable to pick up if there are better options out there.
They should only add weapons, vehicles, tools, and equipment if thereâs an actually reason for that piece to exist that isnât already filled with other weapons/tools/ect. already. Weapons that have meaningful rolls that make them stand out and worth using instead of the 5th SMG like weapon in a roll thatâs already filled unneeded any more.
OG Shotgun ( UNSCâs counter to the Sword / Hammer ), Full Rod Canons would be two potential options IMO they could considerâŚ
I keep seeing people talk about it being a counter but from a gameplay perspective this make no sense to me. I mean what would then be the counter to the OG Shotgun? Itâs effectively just a more powerful sword and it likely wouldnât spawn on the same map anyway except in BTB.
I absolutely want it back as an iconic weapon that would be very satisfying as a power weapon. I mean the Spanker is still more powerful than all other weapons, so I think thereâs scope for a stronger close range type of weapon with a lower amount of ammo that wouldnât wreck the balance.
I think it may be due to the small number of current halo players, but when I solo in a ranked match, I often run into a party of 4. And most of the time, the 4-person party has a higher CSR.
Four-person parties have the advantage of being able to work together. You have to have at least the same level of CSR to be able to compete.
It is true that there is often not much difference in MMR, but in reality, the 4-person party with the higher CSR almost always wins.
I would like to see more matching that allows solo players to participate in the ranks.
This! The skill gaps within matches are often way to extreme. So much that most matches revolve around 1 or 2 players, because the rest just canât compete against them and some are even so underskilled compared to the rest, they can hardly do anything. It is completely frustrating for everybody, because the 1-2 players feel like they dont have a team to build on, the weakest players feel like they canât even play and the only thing they can do to help their team is to not play and hide. That goes completely against the purpose and spirit of the game. Skill gaps within matches need to get way smaller! This is also what creates by far most of the quitter problem, because people donât have fun in those matches.
For the rest:
Agreed.
Agreed with exception of the map veto, that only limits the maps you play up and gets boring over time. I donât want to play the same map over and over and over because its the most popular and the rest gets vetoed.
Agree with the first, mostly disagree with the 2nd. If you let others see some stats like k/d and w/l, you will get that some people will just quit out of losing matches to prop up those stats. I would only make the medalcase, number of matches and rank (both for the ranked games as for the progression system) visible for others, but keep k/d and w/l private to only that player.
Agree
I dont think anyone would disagree with this
Mostly agree, but:
i would include KOTH (preferably old style) in 2v2, since that was also available in the old games.
i would make FFA 6 player and not 8.
And personally i donât agree with BR-starts on BTB Slayer, since it would only result on sniping around the map with BRâs and would make the middle of the map mostly void of any action, because being there would be completely âselfdestructableâ (as itâs now called apparentlyâŚ). Most of the maps are just not made for 12v12 BR slayer matches.
I would split the 4v4 Arena playlist into a slayer one and a objective one. Those are just to different
Agreed, and there should be party matching. 4 soloâs against a team of 4 is inherently unbalanced.
Disagree on putting coatings behind ranks. I believe coatings should be earnable by everybody and not just based on an elitist me-good-they-bad. The only rank i should put coatings behind would be progression ranks, since everybody can earn that (even though lesser skilled people would take longer to reach it). Also if you have specific coatings for each rank every season, you much restrict what is still available to be earned outside of ranked. Besides: with the emblem you earn each season, you can already show your best rank on your armour. I would then rather have it that you can attach 2 emblems on your armour: a ânormalâ one and one based on your rank (if you want to attach it).
Nameplates are already a thing and since they just change the symbol for the rank a bit for each season, that seems fine to me.
Armour effects are also not a good thing for this i think, since there are not that much and it heavely restrics what is available for everybody.
Weapon charms with the rank emblem for that season could be a nice idea.
Donât know about the Jump Thrust (you can already use the repulsor for that, so people will chose the repulsor over it then) and the power drain (you already have the shock nades for that), for the rest they could be fine.
Disagree on the magnums, since it would just be a different form of the sidekick and that could only get confusing for most of the playerbase. SMG i think is just to weak of a weapon.
For the OG Shotgun i might have a bit of an unpopular opinion, but i think that is just to OP. There is no good counter to that. People are already complaining about the sword, even though you have the repulsor as a possible counter. The OG Shotgun wouldnât even have that. That is the reason i donât like to see that one.
This is a participation ribbon mentality. Not everyone is on the same skill level and those who have higher skill deserve to be rewarded for it. A person may not be able to get the high skill reward now but maybe seeing the reward gives them something to strive for.
Halo 3 had the best armor unlock system to date. Hayabusa and Recon were great examples of how to show skill off and give a great reward for completing difficult challenges.
Recon especially was legendary and if you saw someone with it you were in awe. I personally never earned it because back then i didnât have the skill to do so. I never resented those that had it but rather saw it as something to aspire to.
My biggest issue with Halo Infinite is the armor unlock system. There is not a single piece of armor to unlock in the campaign and nothing aside from an emblem that is small and can be blocked by armor attachments that takes any skill to earn. It gives players nothing to strive for.
As it sits all armor is just FOMO events or paid for in a Pass or the Store. No skill involved and so everything is just meaningless.
And you are rewarded with the visible rank, a nameplate and multiple emblems to show it off. The rest is just nothing else then taking away possible coatings for everybody else for the sole porpuse of âme good, they notâ.
Most people will never be able to get to onyx, or even some of the ranks below it. A rank is not gotten by just playing a lot, but only by being between the best X-percentage. That excludes the fast majority of players. And some players who might have the skill will never get it, because they canât afford the top notch internet connection or top notch PC you need for that last bit.
A difficult challenge is something else then a rank. Even if everybody was very skilled, only a tiny percentage can recieve the top rank, since that is how the ranking system works. It is exclusionary. A challenge is not that and in theory everybody could complete that (in practice not, since not everybody will get the skill needed for some challenges).
You do have armour/weapon/vehicle coatings, emblems and charms to unlock in campaign, although i would agree with you that it is to little. I have completed LASO on it and i agree that that could use some rewards. But that is also different then for ranked, since ranked is exclusionary (only a select percentage can have it) and completing LASO could theoretically be done by everybody (itâs not locked by just a certain percentage).
I totally get that you want to grind something and i would agree with you on that, i only disagree that ranked is a good vehicle for that. Besides campaign (wich we just agree on i think) i would like to see a commendation system where you can unlock stuff by grinding it* and i like to see stuff unlockable behind the comming progression system.
*as an example you could have one for getting multikills. You get 1 point in the progression for that commendation if you get a double kill, 2 if you get a triple kill, 3 for an overkill, etc. And when you get a total of 10k for example you complete it and get a armour core/helmet/âŚ
I am generally against armors that everyone can earn just with a time grind.
The same issue of people not being able to get the skill necessary to unlock high skill rewards is in a time grind unlock except instead of skill many people would lack the time necessary to unlock said items.
Ideally i would love a unique armor set for:
Onyx in ranked (Once you make it there you always have and it doesnât change with the seasons)
static difficult PvE challenges like Recon had (here i would love multiple sets tied to different challenges of varying difficulty like all Halo 3 armors)
some time grind challenges for anyone who may have that time
a credit system for everything else that way people can have easy access to a diverse armor offering like Halo Reach had
People will only be turned of by having a cool armour core/coating being only achievable by a very select group of elite players, it will make them play less. People like to play to unlock stuff, but then it has to be achievable for them, if itâs not it will lead to many of them playing less, since it works demoralizing. That is where i am coming from and why i think it should be unlockable for everybody.
I donât think thatâs true. Maybe if people have a lack of self motivation they might find ranked rewards demoralizing but outside of that people would either be inspired or not care.
Its like pro sports players. 99.99% of people will never be anywhere near that good but if someone wins the heavyweight title it doesnât demoralize everyone else in the sport. Its just a reward and should be what everyone strives for.
Growing up my dad never let me win at anything. I was only allowed to win if i truly did fair and square. I think this is something everyone should go through because along with learning that nothing is handed to you and winning is fun and rewarding you should also be taught that your value as a person doesnât come from those achievements but you do have a value as a human being because God created each and every one of us.
I forget where i heard this but someone said in an interview one time something to the effect of: âIts fun to watch people who are the best in the world because its just God showing offâ meaning that along with this personâs hard work that them even being able to achieve such greatness was a blessing and people shouldnât feel demoralized by that.
If you tell people there is no reward (or in the case of current ranked rewards they just arenât worth it) then you are just punishing players for actually putting in time to get good which i donât like.
Your comparison falls flat a bit, since the equivelance of that in Halo would be winning the Halo Championships, so then in your comparison you should not have a prize for being âjustâ onyx, because that then would already be as you would call it an âparticipation trophyâ. And in sports they donât have a special uniform for the best player/team, because everybody can buy that one and walk in it. Since they realise that that is what people would want then. That is also why for instance the pro-coatings are all in the shop, because 343 knows it would be bad to only have that available for just the select few that make it into those teams.
But in reality sports know very well that it seeing a pro might attract players, but only if they have something to win for themselves. Otherwise they will leave the sport just as quick as they entered it. That is why sports is always cut up into little leagues based on skill, so everybody has a chance to win a trophy/championship. They do that deliberately so they keep players motivated to keep playing. Like it or not, but that is just how the human brain works.
So if you want to compare ranked to sports, then you should not get a prize for being in onyx, but you should get it when you are Onyx-6 (it should also be cut up in 1-6 like the other ones), diamond-6, platinum-6, gold-6, silver-6 and bronze-6, because that is how sports do it. And then suddenly you already have a system where everybody is able to get it.
I really think itâs important that the game strikes a balance between what both @Super87Ghost and @The_Cool_Spoon want.
People do like to be rewarded for how skilled they are and for how much time and effort they put in. Itâs also true that lots of people will never be able to unlock these things. Making sure that the unlocks are suitably desirable without making people feel too left out is essential.
If there are enough other free rewards available to people with lower skill and less time available then it shouldnât be a problem.
I do feel like with the new challenge system all the unlocks are pretty much participation trophies. Thatâs not a problem by itself but with nothing else for people to aspire to unlock it does sometimes make me log off sooner. Healthy for my personal life but not ideal for keeping the player count high.
Especially the connection problems are super frustrating right now. That goes double for ranked. My game freezes and crashes ever fourth or fifth ranked game and of course I lose points.
So important this one! the fact they all have mics and are communicating is a huge advantage in Halo infinite most single players joining rank are not turnings mics on or are in own partyâs with their friends so we need to balance this out and structuring the playlist is vital here.
lets create armor mode like forge mode but we all get to create our own armor maybe start with just skins and ready made parts have like a tiers system .
Iâd pay 15-20$ for custom coating creator alone for real. Very few of the ones 353 gives us are actually cool/good, itâs all mostly those bright, pastele colours, not to mention itâs basically impossible to match the armor and weapon coatings outside just a very few combos, let alone have a matching emblem or AI colour.
