(Talking about leaders / factions here)
Halo Wars had Cutter, Forge, and Anders for the UNSC units, with The Arbiter, The Prophet of Regret, and a Brute Chieftain (Younger Atriox??). I’m proposing instead of 3 and 3, we have 2, 2, and 2 more unique factions.
Instead of the differences between the UNSC/Covie leaders being minimal, a couple units, a power, an upgrade, and a perk, they should be huge, significant.
UNSC:
Captain James Cutter - Spirit of Fire - more geared towards Halo Wars 1 style units. “Classic UNSC”.
Captain Thomas Lasky - Infinity - modern UNSC units. Not a direct upgrade to the classic units, but different advantages/disadvantages and models more reminicent of Halo 4/5. “Modern UNSC”. Spartan IVs instead of Spartan IIs, Falcons instead of Hornets, Infantry with Railguns, SAWs, etc. Infinity powers would be different from the Spirit of Fire’s.
Covenant:
Atriox - The Banished - Brutish weapons and vehicles. Not modern Covenant, just Brute Covenant.
Jul 'Mdama - The Storm - Classic Covenant, keeping closer to Halo 3/4’s art style and Halo Wars 1 style Covenant. Jul 'Mdama is dead by Halo Wars 2, sadly, so that creates a problem. Which is why I wish the multiplayer/non-Campaign modes would be considered non-canon, so anyone can be a leader, including The Prophet of Truth for a truely Halo 1/2/3 style Covenant, but alas…
Other:
Gravemind - Flood - You know you want this. Need I really say more?
Cortana - The Created - Again, you know you want this. Who wouldn’t want to control a Warden Eternal, or three? I say Created because that is Cortana’s name for her new faction but could also be called Forerunner or Prometheans, using both Halo 4/5 units as well as previously established in lore Forerunner units. Sentinels, Phaetons, Knights, etc.
So, what would you prefer, the old 3 UNSC 3 Covie with small differences, or two very different UNSC factions, two very different Covenant, and two very different factions in general?