- last post: 01.01.0001 12:00 AM PDT
I was always against the jackel shield idea, and i was even against the plasma sword being a viable weapon in multiplayer in halo2 before the e3 2004 zanzibar showcase. The whole idea for me was don't bring a knife to a gun fight.
The mentality is kinda like in star wars galaxies MMORPG. Take the rifleman and the teras kasi artist ((TKA)) (hand to hand). The rifleman hit the unhealable mind pool, while the TKA can chose any health pool to hit Health/action/mind (ham). The rifleman had slow attack speed, the tka had ungodly fast attack speed. Their attack rating was so fast, that when you did the same special move twice in a row the animation would just start over and over because you were inflicting damage faster than you could visually show it. And even though the TKA had a lunging attack that covered 30 meters (yes the size of an american football field) and a knock down that covered 20 meters. You wouldn't physically travel that distance, but your fists would somehow. Even with those benefits, all the rifleman had to do to win was walk backwards, and shoot you in the head untill you mind decreased enough to incapasitate you... then they had a ranged deathblow that could take you out 80 meters away. Easy as pie said the rifleman.
But with the energy swords lunging 1hit kill attack where you physically travel the distance, i see the energy sword as no different than a rocket launcher or a shotgun. The guns are great in their respective ranges, but outside of that you might have painted a big red target on your back.
Yet even though i was wrong about the plasma/energy sword, i can't logically think of any reason for the jackels shield to be worth putting into the game as a usuable multi or single player utility. It serves no offensive purpose, short of possible melee. So you'd practically be forced to be duel wielding it with something else. Meaning no grenades and no melee making it even more useless. So what could it possibly bring to the game that an overshield already hasn't? To me it sounds like it would be taking a step backwards with the strategic element of the game.