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This topic has moved here: Subject: Improvements needed to the Brutes
  • Subject: Improvements needed to the Brutes
Subject: Improvements needed to the Brutes

The Brutes. First seen in Halo 2 as a plot mechanic, and the main common antagonists of Halo 3.

Designed to reply the Elites as the enemy, people generally thought they weren't as good as their predessors. It's a shame, because they had the potential to be great enemies. I think Bungie made a mistake though, in Halo 2 it's obvious; they're just damage sponges. In Halo 3, I think Bungie tried too hard to make them like Elites; which they are not.

Now, assuming that Brutes will be in Halo: Reach, I think Bungie can afford to turn them into a unique enemy, likewise assuming that the Elites are back.

Berserking

In Halo 2, when Brutes reached a certain stress level, animal instincts would kick in and they would go berserk, doing much more melee damage at the expense of agility.

Now for some reason, Bungie took this out of Halo 3. Now I know that they sometimes run at you with their arms outstretched when their armour is knocked off, but all they do when they reach you is hit you with a weak attack.

My suggestion is that they bring back the normal berserking to Reach, these could be the reasons why a Brute would start berserking.

- When their armour is knocked off (Assuming they use armour),

- When another Brute is killed in sight of one.

- When they face overwhelming odds (Eg - You have a lot of allies with you)

- If they are pressed into a corner

You get the idea. In any case, beserking Brutes would be one of the ways they could differentiate from Elites.

Pack Mentality

It's often been said that Brutes roam around in packs, and take down enemies simikar to the way a wolf pack might, surrounding their enemies from all sides and closing in, constantly relaying information to each other.

Evidence of this in game is yet to be seen though. Sure, there was that section at the end of The Ark in which the Brute Chieftan challenged you to a 1 on 1 whilst the rest of the pack watched, but that was pretty much.

In the rest of the game, you just see them taking cover, and once again, trying to act like Elites when they are not.

I suggest that Brutes act like the pack they are supposed to be, with them climbing up rocks and moving around you in an attempt to surround you. Brutes should move in front of those without armour, as seen in Contact Harvest when Tartarus steps in front of another Brute, saving his life from the wrath of the humans.

They should exclude Grunts and Jackals, preferring to work together. Elites should be treated with disdain when Brutes are great in number, showing that they have greater confidence when there are many of them.

Basically, Brutes should act like the Brutes they are meant to be.

More unique weapons/vehicles

Back before the Great Schism, Brutes weren't trusted by the Sangheili. Rightly so, it turned out. Regardless, the Brutes were not trusted with much technology; Grav lifts were removed from ships, luminaries were damaged, some weapons were prohibited.

This should be shown in Reach, with the Brutes using more of their own technology from back before they joined the Covenant. Halo 3 showed this rather well, but whilst all the weapons certainly felt Brutish, they still had signs of the Covenant in them.

Thus, this being before the Prophets betrayed the Elites, these Brutes should have limited technology. No longer should they use Grav lifts, carbines, and other such weapons. The weaponry they use should be relatively similar the human weapons, mostly gunpower propelled projectiles, with explosives. Gravity hammers, should they be in the game, should lack the actual Gravity of said hammer, being more like a big cudgel than a high tech weapon.

Vehicles too should show that these are indeed Brutes. The Prowler should fire Spiker rounds rather than plasma rounds. And the Brutes should have no qualms about using Warthogs and such, unlike the Elites who would rather die than use such a means to fight.

A more aggressive AI

Brutes should always be on the offensive. Save the taking cover and retreating for the Elites, Brutes should always be pushing forwards, on the prowl. They shouldn't fire in short bursts or care about whether or not any Grunts happen to be in the vicinity, these Brutes should have one objective on their mind : The death of you.

I don't expect to see any Prowler or Jetpack Brutes in Reach, save that for the Stealth and Ranger Elites. Brutes should be used as footsoldiers that you get no respite from, if you duck behind cover to recharge your shields, they should carry on moving, even in threat of death.



Anyway, those are just some of the ways they could be improved. It's certainly negotiable, so don't start attacking the thread and it's ideas.

I'm just hoping Bungie change the Brutes enough to fill the void left by the absence of the Flood in Halo: Reach. We need variation with the enemies we fight, fighting two species with the same combat styles will get boring, fast.

Thanks for reading this thread. If you hav any of your own suggestions on how Brutes could be improved, please post them below.

And don't just post "Take them out." Because to me, that would show that Bungie aren't capable enough to successfully create an interesting enemy that differ from the other species of the Covenant.

  • 07.25.2009 1:12 PM PDT

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I agree Wolvey. They need to be better enemies and your points would help.

Post this in SSO

  • 07.25.2009 1:13 PM PDT

Will do boss. Thanks for reading.

  • 07.25.2009 1:14 PM PDT

They have supposedly improved the Brute AI a lot for ODST. See them there, and then decide how much improving they need.

I heard they set up ambushes for you.

  • 07.25.2009 1:18 PM PDT
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Yes to everything you said

  • 07.25.2009 1:21 PM PDT

Posted by: Hylebos
They have supposedly improved the Brute AI a lot for ODST. See them there, and then decide how much improving they need.

I heard they set up ambushes for you.


Well that would be pretty good, I must say. I can still see them acting as replacement Elites though, due to the fact that there are no Elites.

  • 07.25.2009 1:23 PM PDT

SPIKEY KITTEN! I WILL TEAR YOU APART WITH MY ENERGY SWORD OF DOOOM! Have a nice day.

I would like to make a couple of points.

1:Play legendary with all the skulls on in halo 3 then try to tell me its easy fighting a brutes (especially fuel rods O_O)

2: in halo 3 the Brutes ARE using their own techbnology from their planet. what you think using a red version of an elite plasma rifle in halo 2 was more brutish?

3: the brutes arent stupid, they are more barbaric in nature due their animal instincts and tribal society but their technology was already at a higher than human level before they joined the covenant.

4: furthering the point above brutes are still technolocally behind the rest of the convenant a good factor in this point is the fact they use ballistic weapons and wheels.

5: The fact is in halo 3 the brutes ARE the elites whether you like it or not. they just retuned the technology that was meant for the elites and became the main fighting force if they would have had their halo 2 abilities the game would be all about you grabbing a shotty and waiting for the ape to run at you.

6: I do however agree that for the story sake brutes should be DOWNGRADED because the elites are the main fighting force at reach. Actually. the brutes hadnt even joined the covenant at that time so yeah it would make sense if bungie took them out.



PS there is no way a brute can fit in a warthog unless they made the brutes smaller.

[Edited on 07.25.2009 1:28 PM PDT]

  • 07.25.2009 1:26 PM PDT

Posted by: GnarlyGore
I would like to make a couple of points.

1:Play legendary with all the skulls on in halo 3 then try to tell me its easy fighting a brutes (especially fuel rods O_O)

I didn't say they were easy, I said they were boring.

2: in halo 3 the Brutes ARE using their own techbnology from their planet. what you think using a red version of an elite plasma rifle in halo 2 was more brutish?

[b]No, but some of the aesthetics are clearly Covenant. And I'm not saying that the existing Brute weapons aren't Brutish, I'm saying there should be more.


3: the brutes arent stupid, they are more barbaric in nature due their animal instincts and tribal society but their technology was already at a higher than human level before they joined the covenant.

No. Check the bestarium. Apparently, they were even further behind than humanity, being a tier four race whilst we are a tier three. The higher a tier, the more advanced the race.

4: furthering the point above brutes are still technolocally behind the rest of the convenant a good factor in this point is the fact they use ballistic weapons and wheels.

Indeed. This is due to choice. But their weapons have Covenant influence in.

5: The fact is in halo 3 the brutes ARE the elites whether you like it or not. they just retuned the technology that was meant for the elites and became the main fighting force if they would have had their halo 2 abilities the game would be all about you grabbing a shotty and waiting for the ape to run at you.

No, I'm not saying they should act exactly like the Halo 2 Brutes. But whilst they may have filled the place of the Elites in the social hierarchy, doesn't mean they have to behave like them.

6: I do however agree that for the story sake brutes should be DOWNGRADED because the elites are the main fighting force at reach. Actually. the brutes hadnt even joined the covenant at that time so yeah it would make sense if bungie took them out.

Contact Harvest is set in 2525, 28 years before Reach was attacked, yet Brutes are in them then. So, yeah.



And if a Brute can fit into a Ghost, they can fit into a Warthog. They really aren't much taller than Elites, and Elites fit.

[Edited on 07.25.2009 1:34 PM PDT]

  • 07.25.2009 1:33 PM PDT