Halo Reach Beta Forum
  • Subject: My Beta Review After 35 Games
Subject: My Beta Review After 35 Games

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Posted by: urk
Then there are the people who poop in the mash potatoes. Those people get launched out on their asses.

Posted by: Iggyhopper
Sprint can be used in an offensive or defensive way.
Active Camo can be used in offense or defense.
Jetpack can be used for offense or defense.

Armor lock needs to be changed so it can be used offensively or defensively, otherwise it is a limited ability.

My thoughts. Very good read Foman.


Well, the armor lock does emit an emp, so say you have sword guy chasing you, it disables it. That is somewhat offensive.

  • 04.30.2010 11:32 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: So Slick
Posted by: oneindustriesusa
pretty good sum up of the beta so far.

However I disagree with the armor abilities being too random.

I think it adds a good dimension into the game. It steps away from the shoot first you win style of play.



Halo has never had that style of play, due to the fact that it takes multiple precision shots to take an opponent down.

The only thing AA's like armor lock do is delay the lesser skilled player from dying. It is useless.


precision shots on a auto aim console game

are you kidding me?

  • 04.30.2010 11:32 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

I'm reaching up and reaching out,
I'm reaching for the random or what ever will bewilder me.
And following our will and wind we may just go where no one's been.
We'll ride the spiral to the end and may just go where no one's been.
Spiral out. Keep going, going...

Wow... that's a lot of good input.

I especially agree with the player movement and reaction time differences. It is really noticeable when playing as a Spartan. I feel like I'm running through angle deep mud or jello. However, playing as an elite? Completely different mechanics (as Bungie stated). Playing as an elite in "covey slayer" is one of my new favorites, possibly because it feels familiar and a little closer to H3.

The changes to the melee dynamics really have caught me of guard (yeah, I used to me one of those AR, charge, melee type players). It took me a while to get comfortable with the BR in H3, but I eventually got it. The DMR and new melee may be no different. It's just new & different, not necessarily a bad thing.

I haven't played too much yet, so I think it will just take some time to adjust. I think the hard part in these early days are the match ups. I'm not a great player, so getting teamed up with higher skilled players is just a painful and constant die fest. It's going to take some time to adjust.

  • 04.30.2010 11:33 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: The Big MM Boss
to be honest, i agree with everything that you said, except one part.

the lack of visible rank gives me no reason to want to perform well, or even be a team player, as far as calling out etc.

the competitive edge in previous halo games was what made them for me, and while the ranking systems were not perfect and exploitable in halo 2 and 3, its disappointing that they gave up on it.

they fixed(or it seems so far anyways) the host system up beautifully, why cant they do that with the ranking system?

i feel like im stuck in one long boring social skirmish game, the only challenge we faced all nite was playing xconn and his team of semi pros, on covy slayer on powerhouse, every other team we faced offered no challenge, even the pro Broly Bro, add that to the fact that there is really no reward for doing well or doing bad, i have no motivation to succeed, ehich for me anyways, fueled the fun of h3 and h2
Yeah, I totally understand these sentiments, and even agree with them to a point.

I think that they have made some tweaks to the ranking system for the Arena, and hopefully the Arena playlists will provide awesome competitive gameplay and emphasize teamwork, while the social playlists are a great place to relax and chill with your friends while playing some Halo.

I can't wait to try out both :-)

  • 04.30.2010 11:33 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Alien slavers or fanatical religious aliens, they all bleed in bright colors. Like a box of 64 color crayons when you hit it with a flame-thrower. - Tozt anyone?

* Meet the Ninjas - * Read the Rules - * Recon's Rant

Avatar courtesy of Olole, derived from the art of Craig Mullins and Bungie Studios.

Posted by: ODSTbag
The review seems to have many valid points...but if so, I'm sad halo's run n gun is gone or lessened.

It's certainly changed. Kind of like shaking a snow-globe and everything needs time to settle into its new order.

The banzai AR-charge-melee is certainly discouraged.

  • 04.30.2010 11:34 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

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Posted by: borrowedchief
Posted by: Iggyhopper
Sprint can be used in an offensive or defensive way.
Active Camo can be used in offense or defense.
Jetpack can be used for offense or defense.

Armor lock needs to be changed so it can be used offensively or defensively, otherwise it is a limited ability.

My thoughts. Very good read Foman.


Well, the armor lock does emit an emp, so say you have sword guy chasing you, it disables it. That is somewhat offensive.
But I've even tried to stand behind a single player using armor lock, and I can't kill them as easily as I thought I would be able to. Maybe it's lag, maybe I'm doing it wrong (but I'm sure I can't be), but it's got to change.

Also, I can see it being using in RTS fashion. Four guys all on armor lock, and the weakest one uses armor lock, then when one of the three get hurt badly, they use it, and so on.

[Edited on 04.30.2010 11:36 AM PDT]

  • 04.30.2010 11:34 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: Meteor78
You were not supposed to post yet...

I'm just going to say this, I think that if they go for a faster gameplay instead for longer battles this game have huge potential to be amazing. And even if I haven't played it I wouldn't mind to walk faster by default.

  • 04.30.2010 11:35 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: Recon Number 54
The banzai AR-charge-melee is certainly discouraged.

But the Crouching Camo Hidden Roboto style is flourishing.

  • 04.30.2010 11:36 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: Duardo
I'd love to be a 10 year old and tell my mom I'm going on an adventure out into the world catching Pokemon, with her full support. Never mind the fact that there are rapists, criminals, and murders out there, or the fact that I may get killed by a Pokemon.

Luckily I have Pikachu.

I agree with you Foman 100%, especially on the issues of movement/jumping and armor abilities.

  • 04.30.2010 11:39 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Posted by: The Big MM Boss
to be honest, i agree with everything that you said, except one part.

the lack of visible rank gives me no reason to want to perform well, or even be a team player, as far as calling out etc.

the competitive edge in previous halo games was what made them for me, and while the ranking systems were not perfect and exploitable in halo 2 and 3, its disappointing that they gave up on it.

they fixed(or it seems so far anyways) the host system up beautifully, why cant they do that with the ranking system?

i feel like im stuck in one long boring social skirmish game, the only challenge we faced all nite was playing xconn and his team of semi pros, on covy slayer on powerhouse, every other team we faced offered no challenge, even the pro Broly Bro, add that to the fact that there is really no reward for doing well or doing bad, i have no motivation to succeed, ehich for me anyways, fueled the fun of h3 and h2
Yeah, I totally understand these sentiments, and even agree with them to a point.

I think that they have made some tweaks to the ranking system for the Arena, and hopefully the Arena playlists will provide awesome competitive gameplay and emphasize teamwork, while the social playlists are a great place to relax and chill with your friends while playing some Halo.

I can't wait to try out both :-)


i know, im waiting to see what arena offers, grab bag was fun, although the 2 maps do get stale after a while, i love the voting system, no complaints there, so, im hoping arena offers something different and challenging.

but i would like to add some emphasis to how overpowered the grenades are, especially with slower movement speed and less jump height.

  • 04.30.2010 11:39 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

You have been killed by -:Cl!QuE:- (by the sniper rifle Halo 1 Style)

(Halo 1 will always be remembered)
Halo 3 >>>>>> Halo 2

I think I've played about 50 games now and some of my concerns are 1 flag ctf on powerhouse and 1 flag ctf on swordbase.

The defending team gets free access to the rockets and can camp in the base with them until the round is over.

Also, sudden death time seems too short. If your playing 1 flag on swordbase and you have about 20 seconds left before sudden death it's almost impossible to score the flag which in turn makes the overall time you have to score the flag much less.

  • 04.30.2010 11:40 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

I guess 11,559 games of Halo 2 does not warrant a Halo: Reach code. Oh well, my bro played 97 and got one so I'll just use his.

Posted by: oneindustriesusa
Posted by: So Slick
Posted by: oneindustriesusa
pretty good sum up of the beta so far.

However I disagree with the armor abilities being too random.

I think it adds a good dimension into the game. It steps away from the shoot first you win style of play.



Halo has never had that style of play, due to the fact that it takes multiple precision shots to take an opponent down.

The only thing AA's like armor lock do is delay the lesser skilled player from dying. It is useless.


precision shots on a auto aim console game

are you kidding me?


Are you? I can do a full 180 and start BRing an opponent who has the first shot or even two and kill him, as long as the skill gap between us is large enough. Hell, I can even do it with an AR.

What other game can you do that?

P.S. PC gaming is whole different animal.

  • 04.30.2010 11:40 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

What can happen will happen.

Do any of the AAs seem to be overused by everyone?

  • 04.30.2010 11:41 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

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I think I love the credit system. Then again, everybody loves "points", no matter how they get them, they love getting points according to a well-presented speech at TED this year (or late last year).

This will sustain reach for the players that really don't care. They get tons of points at least.

  • 04.30.2010 11:43 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Posted by: Kaiser TheGreat
Do any of the AAs seem to be overused by everyone?
The Elite Roll seems to be overused in-game when available, but that's probably just because it has such a quick recharge time and is the only option available on Covy Slayer.

Other than that, I have to say that I've seen a pretty good variety of armor abilities being used amongst different players so far. Nothing seems to be overwhelmingly used by all players.

  • 04.30.2010 11:44 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Alien slavers or fanatical religious aliens, they all bleed in bright colors. Like a box of 64 color crayons when you hit it with a flame-thrower. - Tozt anyone?

* Meet the Ninjas - * Read the Rules - * Recon's Rant

Avatar courtesy of Olole, derived from the art of Craig Mullins and Bungie Studios.

Posted by: Kaiser TheGreat
Do any of the AAs seem to be overused by everyone?

IMO, too soon to tell.

Right now, people are using the hell out of them to get a feel for how they work. It will take a while before the AA spamming evolves into a more cohesive tactical use.

Of course, the Bungie guys made it clear that AA is a tweak-fest for devs. So the usage data from the Beta is something they are likely to grind over for a while.

  • 04.30.2010 11:45 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas
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I have a lot of the same thoughts:

Agree

- Melee/CQ weapons mixed with sprint are ridiculous, and I agree that AA's need some tweaking

- Grenades are a bit strong

- I love the weapons and melees

- I love the subtle effects of blur and sounds

- SPEED REDUCTION IS HUGELY NOTICEABLE AND I HATE IT! This was one of the first things I noticed. H3 was bad enough, why exacerbate the situation!

DISAGREE

- I think the idea behind the motion tracker was cool, but honestly, I like the basic tracker. I pride myself on knowing exactly where on a map someone is, including their level, even with a basic tracker. It makes you need to know the maps well and interpret the tracker correctly.

- I don't know how far proximity voice reaches, but it's something I really wanted back. I remember crouching around and figuring out enemy plans in H2 due to careless people, and I think it's a huge part of strategy.

[Edited on 04.30.2010 11:49 AM PDT]

  • 04.30.2010 11:45 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

i am the last

Posted by: x Foman123 x
Other Miscellaneous Observations

* The new-and-improved radar is superb for helping awareness, especially on highly-vertical maps like Sword Base

* The "location indicator" that tells you what part of the map you're currently in is excellent, though I don't typically pay much attention to it.

* Proximity voice is, in my opinion, too strong. I can hear players who are fairly far away and even players who are on different floors above or below me. If a floor is closed off, you shouldn't be able to hear players above or below you unless there is some kind of opening in the floor/ceiling.

* Connections and lag have been beautiful. I have not experienced any laggy games whatsoever, and host migrations are quick and painless. The network engineers have done an amazing job with the netcoding for this Beta, and I can't imagine how they can make it any better, though I'm sure they'll find a way.

* No visible skill ranks is a good change. I support it, I like it, and I feel a lot less pressure to perform in-game because of it. I think that the occasional month where I try for an Arena rank will be more than enough to fill my competitive desires :-)


Your comments are welcome and I'll respond to any questions or disagreements you may have :-)

You said everything that I was thinking:)I am a 100% with you on all of this.

[Edited on 04.30.2010 11:50 AM PDT]

  • 04.30.2010 11:45 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

What can happen will happen.

Thanks for the answers, I have one more question regarding player movement and jump height.

Are the maps designed towards the slower movement and lower jump height or does it seem like it takes too long to move across the map? Do many of the jumps seem too hard to reach?

  • 04.30.2010 11:49 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

"I like the Battle Rifle, but I can survive without it. A good player uses all of his assets that are available to him. " - Blue Max70

So true...

How to counter Armor Lock: Use your own AA! Sprint away and out off the EMP range, or Jetpack above it! Or activate your Active Camo and sneak away and ninja him when he comes out of it! :D

Use your head!

(Not you aren't already using it...)

  • 04.30.2010 11:50 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Long may you run.

Foman you said AA need tweaking to reduce randomness and frustration. Knowing what someone has is one part, and is a good step. What tweaks do you propose Bungie do to each AA?

  • 04.30.2010 11:51 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

I have to agree with all your points.

My main issue is the lower movement speed and also the lower jump speed. With a higher movement speed it would allow players to dodge grenades a bit more, but even so they woudl still need toning down a bit.

I'm not overly concerned over not being able to tell who has what AA's, but it would certainly be helpful knowing.

  • 04.30.2010 11:51 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

Alien slavers or fanatical religious aliens, they all bleed in bright colors. Like a box of 64 color crayons when you hit it with a flame-thrower. - Tozt anyone?

* Meet the Ninjas - * Read the Rules - * Recon's Rant

Avatar courtesy of Olole, derived from the art of Craig Mullins and Bungie Studios.

As to the Motion Tracker/Active Camo issue, I could see a "solution" in creating two loadouts for stealth.

Assassin = Active Camo, but when it is on, the user gets NO motion tracker of their own. They must rely on their visual situational awareness. They are not deafened by AC.

ECM (Electronic Counter Measures) = Active Camo, with the jammer, but they go deaf as a result of the jamming.

  • 04.30.2010 11:51 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

I disagree with the OP, I think the armor abilities should be a complete surprise. A true spartan is ready for any situation, he is 100% adaptable.

  • 04.30.2010 11:52 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas

"I like the Battle Rifle, but I can survive without it. A good player uses all of his assets that are available to him. " - Blue Max70

So true...

Question: How's the AR's range compared to Halo 3's? 'Cuase I use the AR alot more then other H3 players I know, it's my go-to weapon for CQC.

  • 04.30.2010 11:52 AM PDT
  • reply edit unleash ninjas