- The EAKLE
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- Fabled Mythic Member
Challenge me to a Hawaiian Punch chugging contest. I dare you.
Posted by: mubox47
$.50 in store credit.
It is important that you read this in the right context. I am not a BR hater demanding its removal. I am not trying to state my opinion as facts. I am just making a suggestion.
This is an improved version of my last thread.
This is not about my skill or the skill required to use a weapon. If you make posts claiming that a weapon is needed or not based on skill, i will probably ignore it.
This was made for the discussion of the alteration or removal of the BR from Halo: Reach and how it would effect game play. Please stay on that topic.
The issues with the Battle Rifle.
The Battle Rifle is a good weapon. In fact, it is a great weapon. That is the very issue. It is a very effective weapon that is almost always available. It was meant to be a mid range weapon, but it can be effectively used at long -and sometimes short- ranges. Because of this, the BR makes all weapons obsolete in most battles. The Battle Rifle seems to be the only weapon that appears in every game. It always appears in Halo 3, and it always does its job.
"Unbalances" with the BR.
On top of my other point about the BR being more useful and often more effective than other weapons, it is one of the few weapons that does not balance itself out. Most weapons have magazines only big enough for two kills. Other weapons are so powerful they are balanced by having only enough ammo for one kill in every magazine. Examples:
AR
-16 shots to kill
-32 bullet magazine
-Close range
The AR balances itself out with a 2 kill per magazine if every single shot hitsand short range.
Needler
-Much more powerful than in other games
-Faster rate of fire
-Magazine size reduced to 19
-Needles only home if reticule is red
-Longer reload
-No longer a dual wield
The needler balanced out it's power with many alterations to decrease its effectiveness.
Brute shot
-4 shot kill
-6 shot magazine
-Slightly more powerful melee
The Bruteshot is a very powerful weapon at close range, because a shot or two and a melee will kill. This is countered by slow moving bullets (not really slow, but slower than most),a one-kill-per-magazine-ratio, and an explosion that will also damage the user at close range.
Rocket
-One shot kill (direct or close hit)
-Splash damage
-Two shot clip
-X2 scope
-Slow moving bullets
-Rockets are visible
-High spawn time
Rockets are very powerful. A direct hit will kill, and the splash damage can cause multi-kills. It is also and anti-vehicle weapon. All its power is balanced my small clips, long reloads, and a high spawn time. The rockets are slow moving and visible, so you can see them and either dodge or exit the vehicle if they are fired from a long distance.
Battle Rifle
-Three body shots and a head shot kill
-Bursts of three
-36 round magazine (12 shots)
-X2 scope
-Low spawn times
-Fast moving bullets
-Bullet spread
-Must lead to hit moving players at distances
The BR, unlike most weapons does not balance itself out. It is rather long range, has a scope, a kill-per mag-ratio of three, and has low spawn times. It also appears on every single map, many times with four or more, and it is a starting weapon.
Sure, you are probably thinking "But the KpM ratio is only three if you get perfect shots ever time!" This is true. However, weapons like the AR require you to make all shots hit to get a KpM of two, and weapons like the M6G and brute shot can only get 1 kill per mag. The Battle Rifle, a precision weapon, allows plenty of room for mistakes. You can miss four shots, and still get two kills. This helps it out very much at long ranges.
The Bullet spread was added to make it less effective at ranges, and it does just that. However, because of the size of the magazine, you can open fire and still get a kill in 6 or 7 shots. The same goes for leading targets. If you miss a shot, you can readjust and get the kill, and still have plenty of ammo left. It was nerfed to be less effective at long range, but the magazine allows for mistakes, which means it just takes more shots at long range.
Other weapons also have a KpM larger than two, but they are balanced by long spawn times, and only being effective in certain ranges (i.e. sniper). the BR and Carbine smiply do not balance themselves out.
How this negatively effects game play.
As i said before, the BR is an always useful weapon that makes other weapons useless in many situations. At rather long ranges (Valhalla: from the front of the waterfall base to the base of the center hill) a BR can do some damage. At a slightly closer range, it can be deadly. At short ranges (Just out of an AR's range, in about the M6G's range) it can be effective against CQB weapons. At any farther distances, the CQC weapons dont stand a chance. It makes other weapons entirely useless at multiple ranges, and is only weak at long ranges and very close ranges.
Overpowering long-ranged weapons.
The Battle Rifle can over power long range weapons. At short-mid range the BR will probably win, and it should because that is the long range weapons weak point, but sometimes at rather far distances the BR can still beat long range weapons. For instance, a sniper rifle. Snipers are made for long-range combat. The have a slow rate of fire, small magazine, and small reticule. They are very accurate, and unless you are a great sniper, only useful at long range.
At a rather far distance, the BR can still land hits on a sniper, forcing the player out of his scope. At this range without a scope, a sniper will have a hard time getting the necessary shots. The sniper needs two body shots or a head shot, the BR needs three body shots, then a head shot or a few more body shots. The BR also has a larger reticule, faster rate of fire, and larger magazine than snipers. The distance would make a four-shot-kill near impossible for the BR, but six or seven shots would not be a problem.
There are countless different scenarios we could bring up, some with the Sniper as the survivor of the battle, others with the BR. The amount of cover, whether team mates can help, if the sniper can escape the BRs line of sight, and countless other variables have to be factored in. The point is that in some situations, the BR will overpower a sniper at a rather long distance, which is supposed to be a sniper's strong point.
BR over powering close range weapons.
The BR will almost always take out a close range weapon from outside its range, but it can also sometimes kill within the CQB weapon's range.This does not happen very often, but it is possible. Lets say an AR user rounds a corner, and sees a BR just outside his range. They rush each other, and open fire. If the BR can land two body shots, it wont be hard to land a third from inside the AR's range and melee. The AR will likely melee as well, resulting in a tie.
That would of course be bad tactics. Charging a BR with an AR is a pretty bad idea. There are other situations that this could still happen in though. The AR would have to strafe to evade the BR. This would make the AR close in much slower, as he would be focusing on dodging rather than closing in. Again, the BR only needs a few shots to end up in a melee trade. If the BR gets a few more shots, the AR may die and the BR may win.
Why is this such a big deal?
You are probably wondering why i care so much that the BR can sometimes win at close/long range against weapons suited for those fields. Well, i think it is an issue because it doesn't work to well from the other side. How often will an AR kill a BR at mid to long range? I have never seen it happen without assistance from team mates or equipment? How often does a sniper win against a BR at mid range? Probably less often than a BR wins at a rather long range. Even though a BR winning against other weapons in their specific field doesn't happen often, other weapons defeating the BR at mid ranged combat happens much less often. ARs have the advantage at close range if the BR doesn't hit them first. Snipers have the advantage at ranges outside of the BR's, which is pretty far.
Factoring in equipment.
Many people told me in my last thread that you need to factor equipment into who will win. A BR can be hit by a power drain and be mowed down at a range by an AR. An AR user can throw grenades to drop the BR's shields then kill him with a quick burst. This is very true, but you can not forget that it works both ways. A BR can throw a power drain at close range and kill the AR with a head shot. The player with a BR can land a good grenade and drop someones shields, then kill in a hit or two. A BR can also use a regenerator to set up a good spot to sit at and kill snipers. If the sniper doesn't land a head shot, the BR's shields will regenerate. If a BR is in a regenerator, grenades wont do much. Yes, a sniper can also use a regenerator, but snipers' magazines are much smaller, and they carry much less ammo. An AR cant use a regenerator too well because at AR range the enemy can also get in the regenerator.
The M6D - The Battle Rifle.
Instead of a Battle Rifle, Halo: Combat Evolved's mid-long range weapon was the M6D pistol. It could effectively kill at any distance in about a second. Weapon balance was only maintained by the power of other weapons. They carried much more ammo and many were way more effective. For instance, the MA5B Assault Rifle carried about twice as much ammo as the MA5C we use now. The Plasma Rifle and Pistol did more damage and had a stun effect. The extremely powerful pistol was only balanced by all the other weapons being more powerful than they are now.
Continued. . .