What is an Arena shooter?

Games Other Halo
1

Quake, Unreal, Gears and Halo are all Arena shooters whereas Team Fortress, Battlefield, Shadowrun and CoD are Class-based shooters.

Arena

Quake, Unreal and Halo are all in the same boat when it comes to their roots as Arena shooters and while Gears is a third person cover based shooter it does not remove the fact that it too is an Arena shooter. These 4 games all share the same traits which identify them as “Arena”. These traits consist of the following:

[/li]- All players spawn with equal opportunity when it comes to player ability and potential allowing for predictability in encounters.

  • Players are not given weapons, items or abilities through pre-selected loadouts but instead must fight to attain the ones that are placed on the map.
    -exception in the case of Gears 3 where there are different starting weapons but are balanced against each other
  • Weapons and items are placed on the map in such a way as to influence map movement and player positioning.
  • There are no defined roles or specializations for players in the game; everyone is the same and only their play style and skill can influence their performance in game.

Class-based

Team Fortress, Battlefield, Shadowrun and CoD all have some sort of customization be it by class or through personally tailored loadouts. Team Fortress and Shadowrun share similarities with each other in the same way that Battlefield and CoD do, the former have the roles more defined while the latter allows you to tailor a loadout to your liking. The aspects of a class-based shooter are as follow:

[/li]- Players choose in the pregame lobby what class/role they want to play as and are either locked into that choice or can change it in game.

  • Players get to customize their weapons, abilities or traits with loadouts which provide an experience that is unique and hand tailored when compared to all other players in the game.
  • There are no weapons or items on the map to be contested by players and as such there is no way to influence map movement aside from objective gametypes.
  • Typically feature progression ranking and unlocks for loadouts.

Genre Merging

There are a few exceptions to these sub genres of shooters namely Shadowrun on the class-based side and Halo 4 on the arena side.

Shadowrun

Shadowrun features asymmetric gameplay via classes that are chosen in the pregame lobby and cannot be change mid game yet is balanced in such a way that every class has its pros and cons in comparison to the other classes as well as everyone spawning with equal opportunity when it comes to weapons and abilities. Players make income based on their performance in game and that money can be used to purchase abilities and weapons to be used in between rounds(it is important to note that you only get one life and lose whatever weapons you had when you die but retain your abilities).

All the traits of the different classes are subtle and passive which are complemented by weapons or abilities that are purchased making the gameplay predictable. In the event that a player decides to use weapons or abilities that are unorthodox for their class they are at a disadvantage and are relying on the unpredictability factor to get the drop on the enemy. Examples of this would be a Troll with Wired Reflexes and a Katana or using expensive magic like Strangle or Summon; they are playing to the weaknesses of their class(a troll is slow but handles heavy weapons well and is easier to kill the less magic there is to spare). The game is predictable and balanced b/c you see what the player’s traits are and in the event you cannot it is a matter of assumption based on class association. In this game you know(for the most part) what ability a player has or is using before you die, not afterwards when you are looking at the kill cam. This balance and predictability is what makes Shadowrun an extremely competitive title and essentially transcends the genre of Class-based and bleeds into Arena.

Halo

Halo on the other hand is an Arena shooter which has recently see a major transition into loadout based gameplay. Reach introduce Armor Abilities and Halo 4 is introducing specializations and perks as well as customizable starting weapons. Halo is slowly but surely evolving but is still maintaining its Arena roots as can be seen by a lot of the features in the latest title. One addition in Halo 4 is Personal ordinance drops which allow players to call in a weapon or powerup after a certain amount of points accumulated during the match. This pickup system is implemented alongside the traditional on map weapon pickups exclusive to Arena shooters however these pickups can change location based on the events of the match which introduces a dynamic element to map control.

Reach introduced the idea of asymmetrical gameplay via loadouts in the form of Armor Abilities but this was very poorly executed. Certain AAs were blatantly overpowered like Armor Lock, Evade and Jetpack while others were useless like Hologram. However the brunt of the issues with AAs was how drastically it altered the gameplay. Jetpack was devoid of any limitations since it could break the intended path flows of any map to the point that there was little reason to use anything else lest you be handicapped, Armor Lock gave the user a chance to stall for their teammates and rob the enemy of a kill which in turn destroyed the pace of the game not to mention having absolutely no way to counter it and Evade was not made to work with the Spartan player model which allowed the user to avoid damage almost as effectively as Armor Lock but also move across the map better than with Sprint not to mention its extreme speed and fast regeneration which completely destroyed encounters.

343 identified the failures of Reach and works to correct it in Halo 4. The loadouts are balanced in respect to one another be it AAs or weapons and the specializations are subtle so that they only have a passive affect in the game. This will be a very important element to execute correctly in order to maintain the Arena shooter left in Halo. If balanced correctly, Halo can successfully merge the two different genres into one exceptional experience and join Shadowrun in ranks of the elite, once again innovating the shooter genre.

Closing Comments

What do you think classifies a game as an Arena shooter? Do you agree with the premise brought up in the beginning of this thread? How do you feel about Halo 4 merging genres?

2

> Quake, Unreal, Gears and Halo are all Arena shooters whereas Team Fortress, Battlefield, Shadowrun and CoD are Class-based shooters.
>
> Arena
>
> Quake, Unreal and Halo are all in the same boat when it comes to their roots as Arena shooters and while Gears is a third person cover based shooter it does not remove the fact that it too is an Arena shooter. These 4 games all share the same traits which identify them as “Arena”. These traits consist of the following:
>
>
> [/li]- All players spawn with equal opportunity when it comes to player ability and potential allowing for predictability in encounters.
> - Players are not given weapons, items or abilities through pre-selected loadouts but instead must fight to attain the ones that are placed on the map.
> -exception in the case of Gears 3 where there are different starting weapons but are balanced against each other
> - Weapons and items are placed on the map in such a way as to influence map movement and player positioning.
> - There are no defined roles or specializations for players in the game; everyone is the same and only their play style and skill can influence their performance in game.
>
>
> Class-based
>
> Team Fortress, Battlefield, Shadowrun and CoD all have some sort of customization be it by class or through personally tailored loadouts. Team Fortress and Shadowrun share similarities with each other in the same way that Battlefield and CoD do, the former have the roles more defined while the latter allows you to tailor a loadout to your liking. The aspects of a class-based shooter are as follow:
>
>
> [/li]- Players choose in the pregame lobby what class/role they want to play as and are either locked into that choice or can change it in game.
> - Players get to customize their weapons, abilities or traits with loadouts which provide an experience that is unique and hand tailored when compared to all other players in the game.
> - There are no weapons or items on the map to be contested by players and as such there is no way to influence map movement aside from objective gametypes.
> - Typically feature progression ranking and unlocks for loadouts.
>
>
> Genre Merging
>
> There are a few exceptions to these sub genres of shooters namely Shadowrun on the class-based side and Halo 4 on the arena side.
>
> Shadowrun
>
> Shadowrun features asymmetric gameplay via classes that are chosen in the pregame lobby and cannot be change mid game yet is balanced in such a way that every class has its pros and cons in comparison to the other classes as well as everyone spawning with equal opportunity when it comes to weapons and abilities. Players make income based on their performance in game and that money can be used to purchase abilities and weapons to be used in between rounds(it is important to note that you only get one life and lose whatever weapons you had when you die but retain your abilities).
>
> All the traits of the different classes are subtle and passive which are complemented by weapons or abilities that are purchased making the gameplay predictable. In the event that a player decides to use weapons or abilities that are unorthodox for their class they are at a disadvantage and are relying on the unpredictability factor to get the drop on the enemy. Examples of this would be a Troll with Wired Reflexes and a Katana or using expensive magic like Strangle or Summon; they are playing to the weaknesses of their class(a troll is slow but handles heavy weapons well and is easier to kill the less magic there is to spare). The game is predictable and balanced b/c you see what the player’s traits are and in the event you cannot it is a matter of assumption based on class association. In this game you know(for the most part) what ability a player has or is using before you die, not afterwards when you are looking at the kill cam. This balance and predictability is what makes Shadowrun an extremely competitive title and essentially transcends the genre of Class-based and bleeds into Arena.
>
> Halo
>
> Halo on the other hand is an Arena shooter which has recently see a major transition into loadout based gameplay. Reach introduce Armor Abilities and Halo 4 is introducing specializations and perks as well as customizable starting weapons. Halo is slowly but surely evolving but is still maintaining its Arena roots as can be seen by a lot of the features in the latest title. One addition in Halo 4 is Personal ordinance drops which allow players to call in a weapon or powerup after a certain amount of points accumulated during the match. This pickup system is implemented alongside the traditional on map weapon pickups exclusive to Arena shooters however these pickups can change location based on the events of the match which introduces a dynamic element to map control.
>
> Reach introduced the idea of asymmetrical gameplay via loadouts in the form of Armor Abilities but this was very poorly executed. Certain AAs were blatantly overpowered like Armor Lock, Evade and Jetpack while others were useless like Hologram. However the brunt of the issues with AAs was how drastically it altered the gameplay. Jetpack was devoid of any limitations since it could break the intended path flows of any map to the point that there was little reason to use anything else lest you be handicapped, Armor Lock gave the user a chance to stall for their teammates and rob the enemy of a kill which in turn destroyed the pace of the game not to mention having absolutely no way to counter it and Evade was not made to work with the Spartan player model which allowed the user to avoid damage almost as effectively as Armor Lock but also move across the map better than with Sprint not to mention its extreme speed and fast regeneration which completely destroyed encounters.
>
> 343 identified the failures of Reach and works to correct it in Halo 4. The loadouts are balanced in respect to one another be it AAs or weapons and the specializations are subtle so that they only have a passive affect in the game. This will be a very important element to execute correctly in order to maintain the Arena shooter left in Halo. If balanced correctly, Halo can successfully merge the two different genres into one exceptional experience and join Shadowrun in ranks of the elite, once again innovating the shooter genre.
>
> Closing Comments
>
> What do you think classifies a game as an Arena shooter? Do you agree with the premise brought up in the beginning of this thread? How do you feel about Halo 4 merging genres?

Like this post, cause its true.

3

I think an arena shooter must feature equal starting weapons and equipment with pickups available on the map.

As for how I feel about Halo 4 deviating, I have mixed feelings. They are doing it in a reduced and restricted way. I think it will produce a good result, and as long as it still provides the bare bones arena style along with the newer style it will create a very interesting online ecosystem for the game.

4

> Like this post, cause its true.

5

Good write up.

I’ve largely preferred arena shooters, but I’m not opposed to Halo trying out some class-based ideas. As long as it still maintains its foundation and doesn’t dramatically change how the game plays at its core, I’ll still enjoy it.

6

As long as Halo plays and feels like Halo I’m up for some class based action.

7

A small difference between most Arena shooters and Class Based shooters.

FFA

8

> A small difference between most Arena shooters and Class Based shooters.
>
>
> FFA

I didn’t even think of that. You’re right.

9

A fast paced first person shooter with equal advantage given to all players involved that is balanced from 1v1 to small scale teamplay.
Basically, anything that has movement speed faster than something that’s humanly possible and has an Arena-type map (Arena: A field of conflict).

MLG Halo has always been the most “Arena” playlist in Halo others vary. I see Halo as more of a slower-paced Team-based Arena shooter as it tends to focus on teamwork more than individual skill in recent years. The slower kill-times and switch to load-outs is proof of the devs desire to be make it more team-based than based on individual skill.

The Arena shooter to me is the most individually skill-based and dynamic kind of shooter there is a pure FPS that is very skill intensive.

10

This is very well though out

11

> Quake, Unreal, Gears and Halo are all Arena shooters whereas Team Fortress, Battlefield, Shadowrun and CoD are Class-based shooters.
>
> Arena
>
> Quake, Unreal and Halo are all in the same boat when it comes to their roots as Arena shooters and while Gears is a third person cover based shooter it does not remove the fact that it too is an Arena shooter. These 4 games all share the same traits which identify them as “Arena”. These traits consist of the following:
>
>
> [/li]- All players spawn with equal opportunity when it comes to player ability and potential allowing for predictability in encounters.
> - Players are not given weapons, items or abilities through pre-selected loadouts but instead must fight to attain the ones that are placed on the map.
> -exception in the case of Gears 3 where there are different starting weapons but are balanced against each other
> - Weapons and items are placed on the map in such a way as to influence map movement and player positioning.
> - There are no defined roles or specializations for players in the game; everyone is the same and only their play style and skill can influence their performance in game.
>
>
> Class-based
>
> Team Fortress, Battlefield, Shadowrun and CoD all have some sort of customization be it by class or through personally tailored loadouts. Team Fortress and Shadowrun share similarities with each other in the same way that Battlefield and CoD do, the former have the roles more defined while the latter allows you to tailor a loadout to your liking. The aspects of a class-based shooter are as follow:
>
>
> [/li]- Players choose in the pregame lobby what class/role they want to play as and are either locked into that choice or can change it in game.
> - Players get to customize their weapons, abilities or traits with loadouts which provide an experience that is unique and hand tailored when compared to all other players in the game.
> - There are no weapons or items on the map to be contested by players and as such there is no way to influence map movement aside from objective gametypes.
> - Typically feature progression ranking and unlocks for loadouts.
>
>
> Genre Merging
>
> There are a few exceptions to these sub genres of shooters namely Shadowrun on the class-based side and Halo 4 on the arena side.
>
> Shadowrun
>
> Shadowrun features asymmetric gameplay via classes that are chosen in the pregame lobby and cannot be change mid game yet is balanced in such a way that every class has its pros and cons in comparison to the other classes as well as everyone spawning with equal opportunity when it comes to weapons and abilities. Players make income based on their performance in game and that money can be used to purchase abilities and weapons to be used in between rounds(it is important to note that you only get one life and lose whatever weapons you had when you die but retain your abilities).
>
> All the traits of the different classes are subtle and passive which are complemented by weapons or abilities that are purchased making the gameplay predictable. In the event that a player decides to use weapons or abilities that are unorthodox for their class they are at a disadvantage and are relying on the unpredictability factor to get the drop on the enemy. Examples of this would be a Troll with Wired Reflexes and a Katana or using expensive magic like Strangle or Summon; they are playing to the weaknesses of their class(a troll is slow but handles heavy weapons well and is easier to kill the less magic there is to spare). The game is predictable and balanced b/c you see what the player’s traits are and in the event you cannot it is a matter of assumption based on class association. In this game you know(for the most part) what ability a player has or is using before you die, not afterwards when you are looking at the kill cam. This balance and predictability is what makes Shadowrun an extremely competitive title and essentially transcends the genre of Class-based and bleeds into Arena.
>
> Halo
>
> Halo on the other hand is an Arena shooter which has recently see a major transition into loadout based gameplay. Reach introduce Armor Abilities and Halo 4 is introducing specializations and perks as well as customizable starting weapons. Halo is slowly but surely evolving but is still maintaining its Arena roots as can be seen by a lot of the features in the latest title. One addition in Halo 4 is Personal ordinance drops which allow players to call in a weapon or powerup after a certain amount of points accumulated during the match. This pickup system is implemented alongside the traditional on map weapon pickups exclusive to Arena shooters however these pickups can change location based on the events of the match which introduces a dynamic element to map control.
>
> Reach introduced the idea of asymmetrical gameplay via loadouts in the form of Armor Abilities but this was very poorly executed. Certain AAs were blatantly overpowered like Armor Lock, Evade and Jetpack while others were useless like Hologram. However the brunt of the issues with AAs was how drastically it altered the gameplay. Jetpack was devoid of any limitations since it could break the intended path flows of any map to the point that there was little reason to use anything else lest you be handicapped, Armor Lock gave the user a chance to stall for their teammates and rob the enemy of a kill which in turn destroyed the pace of the game not to mention having absolutely no way to counter it and Evade was not made to work with the Spartan player model which allowed the user to avoid damage almost as effectively as Armor Lock but also move across the map better than with Sprint not to mention its extreme speed and fast regeneration which completely destroyed encounters.
>
> 343 identified the failures of Reach and works to correct it in Halo 4. The loadouts are balanced in respect to one another be it AAs or weapons and the specializations are subtle so that they only have a passive affect in the game. This will be a very important element to execute correctly in order to maintain the Arena shooter left in Halo. If balanced correctly, Halo can successfully merge the two different genres into one exceptional experience and join Shadowrun in ranks of the elite, once again innovating the shooter genre.
>
> Closing Comments
>
> What do you think classifies a game as an Arena shooter? Do you agree with the premise brought up in the beginning of this thread? How do you feel about Halo 4 merging genres?

A masterpiece! A work of art! Groundbreaking maturity! Well thought out and 100% unbiased! This, my friend, was very well written! Kudos to you! HERE HERE, I say you! HERE HERE!

12

Arena shooter? Not codified Halo 4. No weapons on map. Loadouts. Perks. Killstreaks.

“It evolved!!” Into cod…

Glad im replacing my yearly cod purchase with this though… less money i have to spend now thatthey are the same genre.

13

If we replaced 90% of the people on this forum and just had you, I’d be ok with that.

14

> Arena shooter? Not codified Halo 4. <mark>No weapons on map</mark>. Loadouts. Perks. <mark>Killstreaks</mark>.
>
> <mark>“It evolved!!” Into cod…</mark>
>
> Glad im replacing my yearly cod purchase with this though… less money i have to spend now that <mark>they are the same genre</mark>.

Nope, all wrong

15

I’m finding that Arena games aren’t as appealing, as they lose interest quicker than class-based games. Class-based games can be changed each time for a different experience, but Arena game are the same every time. The only thing that kept me playing Reach this long was all the armor you could get.

16

> Arena shooter? Not codified Halo 4. No weapons on map. Loadouts. Perks. Killstreaks.
>
> “It evolved!!” Into cod…
>
> Glad im replacing my yearly cod purchase with this though… less money i have to spend now thatthey are the same genre.

In what way is that constructive?

Makes me wonder why you haven’t been banned yet. This guy makes a convincing, well thought out thread, and you just have to ruin it by saying “Halo is COD now”. It’s alright to disagree with him, but these kinds of posts make me really want to put Waypoint’s profanity filter to the test.

17

I love what loadouts do in terms of the weapons. It removes a step from general play that I don’t think will be missed much. As much as I would want to go out of my way to pick up that Plasma rifle/repeater or Carbines they don’t do enough practically different to warrent searching them out when I could be learning the ins and outs of the starting weapons and be just as successful.

If the weapons are properly balanced with one another I don’t see an issue. I like that Halo 4 seems to be growing into its own genre with both loadouts and pickups. AAs seem to be better this time around as well.

The only thing I am iffy on at the moment is the armor mods. I don’t forsee many happy things coming out of them but at the same time I am hopeful that 343 could make it work with time even if it didn’t at first. For example I hated specializations in Battlefield Bad Company 2 but DICE reined them in and made them much more balanced and unobtrusive in BF3.

I don’t think we can really define many games, let alone shooters as one genre very often anymore. I certainly don’t think Halo is losing its core whether you consider it to be a Arena shooter or something unique in its own right. Genres are constantly evolving and even though you could possibly classify many shooters as class based or arena how each game plays out is often radically different.

The loud cries of apocalyptic doom that Halo has somehow completely abandoned its core are rather silly. C&C fans like myself know when a franchise has gone off the deep end. The changes in Halo 4 are nothing to worry about.

18

> I’m finding that Arena games aren’t as appealing, as they lose interest quicker than class-based games. Class-based games can be changed each time for a different experience, but Arena game are the same every time. The only thing that kept me playing Reach this long was all the armor you could get.

You mean the Sandbox set-up is the same correct? Because Arena games are by the most dynamic games there is you really have to think on your feet and adapt to survive. The Sandbox is your playground, and you must adjust according to what your opponent currently has.

Just Watch this you see how many different actions and items he is juggling on the map? Sure Arena games tend to have “routes” you take for power items/weapon spawns but to me that is just like a planned “set-up” you might have in a class-based game before the match starts.

19

> Good write up.
>
> I’ve largely preferred arena shooters, but I’m not opposed to Halo trying out some class-based ideas. As long as it still maintains its foundation and doesn’t dramatically change how the game plays at its core, I’ll still enjoy it.

I want to see if it can be implemented well enough and if not then 343 can switch back to equal weapon starts and maybe have armor abilities be pick up items that last for a short duration but keeping sprint would seem wise larger maps could be made to accommodate for it oh but I am getting ahead of my self but yes if it can be done correctly maybe halo can start influencing games once again.

20

> Good write up.
>
> I’m not opposed to Halo trying out some class-based ideas. As long as it still maintains its foundation and doesn’t dramatically change how the game plays at its core, I’ll still enjoy it.