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Posted by: Shai Hulud
Why does a weapon like that need to be in the game? A single-shot, non-randomized version of the BR? Mid range is where the majority of the game takes place. It's how you control a map, and in Halo, controlling the map is the game. You can hold onto your shotgun, but you won't get anywhere with it. As soon as you try to move, the mid-ranged weapons will own you.
Since most of the gameplay is centered around mid ranged combat, it should be assured that skill takes place here, particularly more than it needs to be assured of anywhere else.
Posted by: Shai Hulud
The way I see it is this: Do as you asked, and what your asking for creates a very crowded potential-long-range category. You would have the carbine, a single-shot, mid-to-long range weapon. The sniper rifle, A single-shot, long-range weapon. The beam rifle. A single-shot, long-range weapon. And possibly the automag, a single-shot, mid-to-long range weapon. The carbine would be the only mid to semi-long ranged weapon. The very limited scope it currently has prevents it from killing at its maximum potential with ease at anything beyond medium range. But if you're skilled and steady enough, it comes down to just that as opposed to randomness and luck.
As far as the automag, it is single shot, and IMO limited in effectiveness to mid range. It would fill the category of the current BR and would be less deadly than the carbine at anything but the beginning of medium range. You have a carbine and a BR now and we're not overburdened? You have to remember that Bungie often puts themes to their maps. Carbines on one side and BRs on another. You act like there are so many different mid ranged weapons, but you often only find either BRs or Carbines, Beam rifles or sniper rifles. OR, you find covenant on one side and human on the other.
I think you just have Halo 2 syndrome (as I did for some time), where you think the game should not emphasize range. For competitive gameplay you need range, at least in Halo. The CQ weapons are rock, paper, scissors. If you reduce reticule sizes and take away autoaim, you have a larger skill gap and more divided players. It's actually better for the game and means a kill takes skill.
Posted by: Shai Hulud
That's four weapons that fit your description. Granted, two are snipers. So what are you asking for? A less-powerful sniper/beam? A more-powerful automag? A more-accurate carbine? All with the ability to aim with precision of a sniper rifle, and the lack-there-of of the same weapon when not zoomed in (by that I mean, no aiming magnetism). I'm asking that a burst weapon not be headshot capable. Talk about taking the fun/skill out of SWAT (in terms of aiming, anyway). Anyone can use a BR. You use a carbine or magnum in SWAT and let me know how it goes. All I'm asking for is skill. You keep the carbine as it is, maybe bumping down the power just a little - bump up the accuracy and reduce autoaim and you have a longer ranged weapon (range like the H1 pistol or H2 BR but without the magnetism and autoaim of H2 and the burst shot of H2) that takes skill and holds down a map in skilled hands. It separates the good from the bad and it fits a HUGE gap we're missing now.
Just think about this. If we had Blood Gulch back and you had a sniper, I had a BR and we're all the way across the map from each other. As it stands, I couldn't even ping you until you got at least half way across the map. Sure, the sniper is meant for long range and the BR isn't...in a sense. The BR is supposed to be effective at mid, but it's supposed to do some damage at long range. As it stands, there are quite a few maps (Sandtrap being one) where even with a BR, you don't have a chance to even defend yourself against a sniper. And even in a BR fight at MID range, you find yourself 20 shotting because of the random spread, inaccuracy, and horrible range.
There is a huge discrepency in ranges here in Halo. Everything is CQ, then you've got the BR/Carbine at semi-mid, and then the sniper at long. AR can't even touch the BR at mid to ping it out of scope, the same goes for BR to sniper.
Posted by: Shai Hulud
In my eyes, the 3-round-burst of the BR is what allows it to remain in the game without creating a weapon redundancy. It gives it a unique usefulness in certain situations that no other weapon has (the ability to "spread" across the target, or targets). Why take that away? Because you're upset that people who "aren't as good as you" are able to kill you, when you think that they shouldn't be able to since "you're better than them?" Well, you've got a lot more redundancy to address in Halo. What isn't redundant? Everything has its counterpart. Like I said, a three round burst is fine. Keep the BR unique. But DO NOT make that burst weapon headshot capable. It ruins the gameplay and takes away skill. And please don't resort to debating with me by telling me I'm worried about people who aren't as good as me beating me. That's very lame, especially for a mythic member.
I miss the days of H2 where I was a 32. I got up to a 40 in H3 in the first week I played, and stopped there for months because I thought it would be too hard to get any higher, having the H2 mindset I did. But I was wrong. This game does little to cull the mediocre from the good anymore. A lot of that has to do with dumbed down weapons. I want a game that allows for better matches. The problem isn't that bad people beat good people, the problem is that good people don't get matched against good people nearly as often as they should (except in MLG). What's wrong with wanting to have a game that allows for larger diversification? Why is it wrong to ask for more variation, more challenge, etc for those who want it? Halo has been decreasing in this, not increasing.
Posted by: Shai Hulud
When people like you start describing what they want for a battle rifle, I can hardly see how it really comes down to an argument of skill. It comes down to an argument of aesthetics and personal preference; nothing objective at all.
There definitely is skill in Halo apart from weapons. There's timing, map control, communication, etc. What I argue is that the weapons do not fit this category. What do I have to do to prove that randomness detracts from skill, unless of course you're going to argue that the skill you're testing is predicting the odds that the 3rd BR bullet from my bullet will miss your head according to the %spread factor. I was pretty sure precision aiming is what we're looking for. Sure, weapons in Halo and other games are limited in range by randomness. But with only certain weapons having HS capability here, which is HUGE, that shouldn't come down to luck and randomness.
I understand where you're coming from. I was anti-BR after H2 as well. I'm not arguing for that BR back, but for a weapon that takes skill to use, not centering gameplay around one that's random. You can keep your random weapons, but why does precision and skill bother you so much? It's amazing that most mythic members I've run into are exactly like you. Just open your eyes and realize that you can have a fun game with precision. You may not be as good at it, but others will have fun with it and the skill level will be redistributed more evenly again.