- Shai Hulud
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- Exalted Mythic Member
With B.B. gone, the passion of Bungie.net has lessened.
Posted by: fifthderelicte
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.
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.
It's not that I dislike "skill and precision," I just think that your reasoning is short-sighted in terms of Halo gameplay.
For example, let's say we make a weapon more precise, single-shot, larger zoom, and take away auto-aim. Yeah, it will technically take more "skill" with the controller to use effectively, due to the inherent difficulty in aiming the weapon and its precision, but you run into two rather large problems with this:
1.) Take away the auto-aim (or magnetism, whatever you want to call it), and you're left with the reason why shooters were much preferred on the keyboard and mouse of PCs. Console controllers do not offer the level of control to make unassisted aiming feel natural. It's "too difficult." You can still use it, but I'd be willing to put money on a bet that if Bungie took away the magnetism, Halo as a console shooter would cease to be as fun as it is.
Now, granted, magnetism is not the only mechanic that has made Halo such a fun shooter in terms of the feel of your aiming. There's a smoothness to the aiming that Bungie and the makers of Modern Warfare seem to have nailed down, but that auto-aim-assist does add a lot to it. But really, go into a team game, and focus on trying to kill your teammates with a BR while they're running around doing other things. It's challenging yes, but it isn't fun. When aiming at teammates, the magnetism isn't there.
2.) Increase the accuracy and zoom of the BR and you're left with a weapon that makes counter-sniping too easy in Halo. At long range, in terms of Halo's gameplay, I feel that if you have a sniper, you should be able to snipe, not have it ruined by constant pings of another long-range weapon that, while it may not kill you, makes picking up a sniper a near useless endeavor.
Now, this second point is an argument against something that may not be that bad. Really, having a longer-range weapon could work, but there are a few things that would need to change to make it work. You can't just add a weapon like this in Halo and say "see, isn't that better?" It would be awful for the sniper rifle as a weapon, not to mention anyone not starting out with the made-better BR.
One of the things that would have to change is making everyone start with this weapon to even the playing field. This creates gameplay that's as stale in terms of weapon choice as MLG (sorry, that's just the way I feel). What does the point of the other weapons become outside of very specific circumstances? Second, another change that would need to be made is to the maps themselves. Any map with a sniper rifle would need to have certain areas tailored to maximize the reduced effectiveness of the sniper itself. More cover on sniping posts, for one example.
See, this is why I said "short-sighted." You can't just say that Bungie should change a weapon for the sake of so-called "skill," and leave it at that. The changes that you ask for require a almost-complete re-working of the way Bungie makes their weapons, their gametypes, and their maps.
And the reason why I keep leaving "skill" in quotations is that skill with weapons is only a small fraction of total skill in general gameplay. I'm sick of hearing people complain about how they can't counter snipers with BRs on some maps because the BR is too imprecise at long ranges. My argument is that if you're trying to counter a sniper on a large, open map, with a BR, you're just using bad tactics. I daresay that you lack tactical "skill," and are too concerned with your skill with a specific weapon. Just because you're "better" with a certain weapon than someone else should never, ever mean that you should be rewarded for it.
The best way to make a sniper-whore useless on a big map? Take cover. What's he going to do? Shoot through a wall? Yeah, you're pinned down, but that's just how it works. Take cover, wait for him to focus on something else, then move forward, take more cover. I did this on Coag back when we started with SMGs. I'm not saying I'm really more skilled than other people, I'm just saying it isn't that hard. I don't see how it's reasonable to spawn with the ability to counter snipers on a map.
Furthermore, there are ways to make the AR compete against someone with the BR. The best way is to, as stated before, take cover. Draw him near you. AR > BR in close quarters. And if you can't do that, try to get him to walk into a spot where you can trap him with a grenade. You need to out-smart your enemy more than you need to out-gun them. I do think that the AR is a bit too weak against the BR, but I still find ways to change how I play in order to make it work. I'm constantly baffled at the number of people that I see with ARs in-game charging at someone with a BR at mid-range. That's not being out-gunned. That's just being stupid.
If you want the BR changed, fine, but please admit that it's in no way a change that can be made alone.