LordKastle

Ladies and Gentlemen, the update 343 rolled out today is a success. The update has given most weapons a chance to consistently overcome against each other during a battle. The DMR is now on a much more level playing field when engaging in combat with someone using a different weapon. The LightRifle, BR, Carbine can now consistently engage with a DMR user and have the outcome be determined more by skill rather than simply the DMR winning. The DMR of course still has a purpose in the game. It still has no flinch, no recoil, instant hit, rapid fire and long distance shot-making. But no longer can it just lay waste to a user with a different weapon. Skill will come into the equation a lot more often now. Some may say but its unfair for DMR users. No its not. Let me explain why. Each of the other weapons that may engage with someone using a DMR have disadvantages. The LightRifle is not an instant hit weapon and one has to lead their shots and calculate during the battle. The BR may be a 4 shot but its fire is not a rapid as the DMR, meaning the user has to be precise, and it is not as accurate as distance increases. The Carbine has been buffed but the user is going to need to be relatively closer to the opponent for them to unload with the accuracy needed. This weapon tuneup is exactly what Halo 4 needed.

1. If the game has various weapons that aren't power weapons then custom load-outs are common sense, not copying anything. Designing the game so multiple weapons can be starting weapons like the LightRifle, BR, DMR, Carbine is not such a bad thing and it lends to more diversity. But without a custom load-out how could you utilize the weapons? You can't have endless amounts of weapons laying around the map and there aren't going to be arsenal rooms placed in maps. 2. If you are liking/disliking the game simply because the names of ranks, then you probably aren't contributing much to the community from a competitive standpoint anyway. How about playing in the name of symbolic principle...striving to improve your gameplay and evolve your mind. Keep in mind you aren't saying that you dislike the ranking system because of the way it works. Rather your distain is based on the titles of the rank. 3. The main reason why the population dropped is because Call of Duty is the mainstream shooter of the modern day. Maybe this changes come the new generation of consoles but as of today its a reality. People don't like to work to get kills anymore. They just want to point and click and be on to the next. Halo takes the extra bit of effort to accomplish something and the masses have been conditioned to like Call of Duty's style of play. Even if Halo 4 was designed as a Halo 3 replica in its mechanics and style of play, the numbers would still be similar to today. I am not saying 343 did a perfect job....far from it. And maybe a small drop in the population was from disenchanted Halo supporters, but thats not the true reason for the decline in population.

Could the content in this topic be more wrong? Speaking about the responses as well. To claim that COD is more difficult than Halo 4 is a blatantly wrong statement. Every weapon in COD is an instant kill. Point, Press, Kill...Next. Its very simple why Halo doesn't have the numbers of its predecessor and it has less to do with violating its own legacy when it comes to gameplay (which is a complete exaggeration). When Halo 3 came out it was the most mainstream shooter on consoles. COD had not caught on yet with the masses and Halo was the #1 mainstream shooter. Today this is no longer the case. Call of Duty has become the mainstream shooter. The reason why the population isn't as high as it once was is because the masses, not the dedicated gamers, have become attracted to COD's gameplay mechanics. It really doesn't matter what weapon you choose and its just point and press, followed by a kill. It takes very little effort and can be enjoyable from a casual perspective. Halo 4 is no different than the other Halo's when it comes to basic mechanics. What does the DMR feel like when using it? Poke Poke Strafe Poke Poke (no this is not my technique but I am giving an example). It takes a lot more effort per kill than something like COD. The masses (casual gamer) have been conditioned to indulge in the instant kills of COD. Of course there are some serious issues that drove some gamers away. Abuse of invisibility, DMR spamming across the map, etc. The community has lost its integrity and has decided to exploit every vulnerability in the game. Hopefully in the next update with the slight nerfing of the DMR, slight buffing of the BR/AR/LR/Carb and other changes, that the gameplay will be improved. Halo 4 has some great maps. But whats the problem with them? There is no exploration and adventure within the gameplay. People are too busy using the DMR to shoot across the map and limiting movement. That has never been Halo, even in a Big Team map style scenario in the past. Halo 4 is a much better game than something like Call of Duty. Even with some of its perceived weaknesses, people have become delusional if they think COD is a better game. And if they claim otherwise, then they are likely fans of Call of Duty to begin with and not Halo. COD after World at War became super-casual even though Treyarch consistently puts out the better multiplayer experience over IW from a skill perspective. Halo still has its old-school style FPS vibe. If Halo 4 did not have some of the changes made that it did, such as adding more variability to the weapons, then it would have done even worse from a numbers perspective. If you think gamers would be flocking to Halo 4 if they were forced to use 1 or 2 weapons then you have lost your mind. 343 needs to continue to refine the gameplay, learn from their mistakes, and continue the evolution of Halo. Can't wait for Halo 5 on the new generation of consoles. P.S. 343, would you add Capture the Flag to Big Team and stop doing everything you can not to like making an objective list for 6 v 6 that doesn't get enough attention.

I am tired of all these paid informants from Activison spouting propaganda and deceit. Lets talk about the reality of the Halo 4 population instead of living in a fantasy land. When Halo 3 was released it was the most mainstream/trendy FPS game to hit the market. Call of Duty had not penetrated the market completely yet. Although it did start making some real noise as a "competitor" with Call of Duty 4 and Call of Duty World At War. Late in Halo 3's life you could begin to notice the impact of Call of Duty on the masses. Once Halo Reach was released there was still a nostalgic factor that many in the mainstream (beyond the Halo core) but then once the game was played, reality set in. These people were COD'ers at heart now. The ease of gameplay was something that they were hooked on and COD was simple/superficial/in your face action. Halo Reach never could take back the throne that Halo 3 held. This is when Call of Duty was revealed to be the true mainstream/trendiest FPS shooter. Now as Halo 4 is released it enjoys record sales and a strong starting population. Then there was a drop. These people simply went back to Call of Duty for reasons already stated. The population drop doesn't have to do with "pros" leaving. It has to do with Call of Duty simply being the mainstream shooter of its day. Get over it people. Halo is still a better game than COD. But COD, not Halo, is the mainstream shooter of its day much like Halo 3 was in its day. Stop polluting the boards online crying that Halo is dying. Its not. It has a strong core. Everyone seems to forget that Halo 2 and Halo 3 were the mainstream shooter of their days on and were major factors of XBox Live's growth. We are in a new day now. People like simple stupid.

"fun, in your face action" was more or less an inaccurate statement on my part. Something more appropriate might be: COD is shallow, superficial fun (giving their supporters the benefit of the doubt), while Halo has depth and symbolic priniciple within its core.

I have played both games and generation of games going back quite some time now. I have given my all in both but there is something I noticed. The #1 reason why Halo is better than Call of Duty is simple.... Halo just has this spiritual/cosmic/love feeling to it. Call of Duty is fun, in your face action, but it lacks the depth within its core.

i was considering posting this at Halo Waypoint but I refuse to give my gamertag. Here are some thoughts and ideas in making sure Halo 4's Big Team Battle will sustain its population and possibly grow in the future. 343 needs to stop being ridged/scared and just create their own Halo experience. Why do you think the casual population has declined in Halo? It feels like a 1 weapon game. A 1 weapon game that has already lived through a couple generation of consoles. 343 needs to spice up the playlist for Big Team Battle a bit to give the game that extra variety so people can change things up every now and then---join it and then go into other playlists that they symbolically identify with. Keep the Big Team Battle playlist together. Do not segregate it into "Big Team Objective" (potentially) and "Big Team Slayer". Keep it as one so the playlist is not fractured. Now onto some ideas: --Big Team Rockets (and related ideas) : Every now and then in the Big Team Battle playlist, a game of Rockets should pop up as a choice. Anyone remember Halo 2? Anyone remember Halo 3's Rocket/Laser gametype in BTB? Something like this should be added to Halo 4. Why? Because it adds variety to the experience. It breaks up the intensity of the grind of battling match after match and give the mind a little time to regroup and recuperate before the next match. --Capture the Flag/Objective: As many have stated before, there needs to be Capture the Flag. If you want to add Dominion, fine, but CTF is necessary. Its classic Halo and with the size of the majority of the maps, there is no excuse in not having it. Stop being so concerned about if it works perfectly or not. Its BTB. --Maps: Lets get some more variety in the maps. Every map doesn't need to include a marathon in order to get to the other side of the map where campers with the DMR are hanging out. Remember, its Big Team Battle. It doesn't need to be "perfect". There is some understanding that with 16+ gamers there is always going to be some margin of error and wiggle room in the game mechanics. 343 just needs to breathe a bit. Relax. Stop listening to the whiners about every little thing and try to focus on the overal experience. I focused on Big Team Battle because its the one playlist that always has the ability to throw a curveball, to have a little variety, and to spice things up from the mundane grind. If you have an inner "will" then you can adapt to the changes and still come out on top (overcome the adversity). If you are dogmatic and stuck in your ways, then you will lose. Where there is a will, there is a way. Skill is always vital and essential, but will and heart are what initiate and command your skill to victory.