- Shai Hulud
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- Exalted Mythic Member
With B.B. gone, the passion of Bungie.net has lessened.
Yes. I've mainly played as an Elite in Halo 2 and again in Halo 3. I do see the inherent problems with the design, but these are things that can be fixed. Bungie proved this with the change from Halo 2 to Halo 3.
In Halo 2, Elites were horribly gimped, especially in close-quarters firefights. Against a Spartan, an Elite with an SMG (which was the main starting weapon in Halo 2 for quite a while) had very little chance of winning a head-to-head battle in most gametypes. There were ways that you could win these fights if you either played "smartly," or simply took your gimp into account before you went charging into a firefight. The gimp was caused mainly by the location of the Elite's head: closer to the center of mass of the body; the easiest place to shoot, and sometimes the best place to shoot with any non-precision weapon.
In fights with BRs in Halo 2, I found that the head of an Elite facing you, for the same reasons, was easier to hit, and thus easier to kill. The Elite's design partially makes up for this in BR fights (and sniper fights as well) when the Elite's back is turned to the attacker. It allowed the Elite to protect its head and get away if need be (though the Spartan could also protect its head when having its back turned by looking all the way down to the ground, it was not as effective as the Elites, due to the physical placement of the head). This advantage was not good enough to make up for the disadvantages.
From time to time, with certain crowds in ranked games, I would switch to the Spartan model in Halo 2 and instantly notice the difference. I was able to last longer in starting-weapon firefights and kill more than I was able to as an Elite. Thus, my conclusion for the Elite in Halo 2 was that playing as the Spartan was simply a better choice in terms of gameplay. But I was driven more by aesthetics, and accepted the Elite model despite its deficiencies.
Now, in Halo 3, I don't notice much of a difference at all. The Elite's head is still a little easier to hit due to its placement, but that's about it. Coupled with the "running away" advantage, I would argue that the Elite model is pretty even with the Spartan in normal games, practically. Lately (well, the last few months that I played Halo 3), I would frequently switch between Spartan and Elite models, and notice no difference significant enough to change the core gameplay.
That is not to say there aren't problems with the Elite in Halo 3. The issue with SWAT comes into play, or any non-standard gametype that relies as heavily on headshots as SWAT (like MLG). Some argue that it's a problem with the hitboxes... whatever. I think it's more related to the animation-reaction of the Elite getting shot in or near the head; the head moves more than the Spartans, allowing for more bullets that would normally hit to miss. There's also the hit-detection problem with certain areas of the neck. In MLG and SWAT playlists, this is something I've noticed, like most everyone else. The Elite's survivability is slightly greater than that of the Spartans. After testing it myself, I feel that though the Elite has the advantage, it is nowhere near that of the Spartan's from Halo 2. Perhaps this is due to the way I use the BR, as I've found that "swiping" the BR for the final headshot rarely misses the target, Elite model or no. Whatever the case for anyone, arguing that the Elite model breaks the game in Halo 3 is an unfounded opinion that is closer to being a sore loser and whining about it than anything else.
Taking the Elite model out rather than perfecting it is like giving up on a good idea. It's quitting something that can be easily fixed with more time spent working on it. Perhaps Bungie doesn't have that time; fair enough. The decision to add the Elite into matchmaking was a good one, in my opinion. Poorly implemented at first, almost perfected the second time, and if tried a third time, I'm sure the practical gameplay differences between the two models will be so close to nil that you won't even notice them.