- Pocket Syndrome
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- Heroic Member
Just so everyone understands, this is about creating a versitile weapon, in between close to medium range, that would not overpower other weapons in their optimum range. Names of weapons are just in reference to how they stand now.
In the Halo series, we have had three weapons that have been considered "starting" weapons for multiplayer. These three being the Assult Rifle (Halo 1 & 3), the SMG (Halo 2), and in some cases, the Battle Rifle (Halo 2 & 3). Each of these guns were considered prime starting weapons for various reasons.
The Assult Rifle
The Assult Rifle is an automatic gun, chosen for a starting weapon because it provides a useful weapon, that anyone can use, regardless of skill. Additinally, it is fairly balanced when compared to other weapons. Optimum use at semi-CQC range, and becomeing less effective when entering medium ranges.
The SMG
The SMG was chosen for the starting weapon of Halo 2, largely because of the introduction of duel wielding. Similar to the Assult Rifle, the only differences are a shorter range, larger ammo clip, and ability to be duel wielded. The advantage as a starter weapon, is the collection of two of these guns, leads to greater damage at all ranges, simply due to twice the number of bullets being put out.
The Battle Rifle
Although not the major starting weapon of Halo 2 & 3, the popularity of this weapon lead it to become a starting weapon in many gametypes. Unlike the Assult Rifle and SMG, the Battle Rifle shoots a three round burst. With a large clip, four shot kill ability, and long range, this weapon is prefered because of its versatility and skill gap. The versatility comes from being able to be used in almost any range, and possibly get a kill. The skill gap makes allows this gun to be used by anyone, but the best can dominate with it. Additionally, unlike the other two guns, the Battle Rifle has a 2x scope. However, some view the versatility of this gun as a negative because it can get a kill at virtualy any range.
Now, I will be speculating on the starting gun for Halo: Reach. I will begin with a few assumptions.
1. The main starting gun should be fully automatic. This is because burst/single shot weapons tend to be highly accurate. Although starter weapons should still be able to compete with other weapons, it should only within their specific ranges.
2. The main starting gun should not be duel wielded. Bullet output shoudn't be the main advantage. However, current assult rifle/SMG rate would be good.
3. The range of this weapon should be semi-CQC to semi-medium. This allows the weapon to be versitile, to an extent. It can be used close up, or up to a range, however, the automatic fire makes the damage drop off quickly passed its max range.
Now, I was going to create a new kind of a gun, that would fit these standards, but earlier today, I saw that it might already exist. This gun is the S-SMG, which will be used in the campaign of Halo 3: ODST.
From gameplay footage, this gun seems to fit the role of a versitile yet balanced starter weapon perfectly.
The S-SMG
The S-SMG provides automatic fire, making it easy to use for all players. However, when combined with a 2x scope, this gun become useful at medium ranges. The varying range makes this gun handy in a variety situation, but the range limit of automatic fire restricts it to this range. This prevents it from overpowering weapons that are optimum at medium to long ranges, such as the Battle Rifle or Carbine. Additionally, the SMG like power makes it less effective at semi-CQC, so it does not beat out weapons such as the assult rifle or plasma rifle at their optimum range.
This limited versitility would create a skill gap where skill would have a greater impact than with the assult rifle or SMG, but not as much as the Battle Rifle or Carbine, so situation of attack would still play a role.
Posted by: MickelPickel
Having played with the S-SMG, I'd have to say that it would be a good weapon for multiplayer. Why? Because it is a versatile close-medium range weapon that doesn't require too much knowledge to use, but has some setbacks ( recoil) that can be taken advantage of against the inexperienced enemy. Just take away the silenced part, and I'm okay with it as a starting weapon.
Discuss your thoughts on the S-SMG being made the starting weapon of Halo: Reach.
[Edited on 08.23.2009 11:02 AM PDT]