Im ginger bush

Halo needs a reboot??? Are you in insane? The reason Halo 4 is such utter junk is because they "rebooted" the game way too much to begin with. They need to go back to their roots and focus on a quality matchmaking experience. None of this loadout/feature heavy/AA bs. Strip the game down to its core, a few guns and a couple grenades and make that work first. There's simply no balance in this game, from the weapons, to flinch, jip, respawn, random ordinance. They managed to throw in all these bells and whistles into the game but the foundation is broken to begin with. The only reboot Halo needs, is 343 way of thinking, they desperately need to try and understand what made Halo so successful to begin with, bc frankly they dont have a clue.

Ya supposedly you receive the Halo 5 beta key, with the purchase of Halo 2 anniversary. I only pray that Halo 2 anniversary is essentially a slightly revamped Halo 2. If its the same game BUT with Halo 4's retarded loadouts, perks, ordinance, Im gonna lose my ****. Just give us the traditional Halo feel again pls/ty.

Bravo FleshBack, saying what we're all thinking/hoping. All this Halo 4 hate is with good reason. The game is huge a disappointed, not just a step in the wrong direction but a leap. It's senseless to praise or congratulate 343 in any way regarding this game bc it will only fuel them with false hope that they did a good job on it. They need to know, which Im sure by now they must have a solid clue, this game was a major bust. Some call it meaningless repetitive negativity towards them but its much more. All we are doing as a community is trying to make things crystal clear for them (343), we don't like what they've done with our Halo, and be sure to make manyyyyy notes of that when creating the next installment.

Perhaps I can be of some assistance here. Here's a couple little known facts regarding the skilled ranking system. Firstly, Frank O'Connor, the key knob at the helm of 343i, stated some time ago (8-10 months or so), that Halo would be abandoning the skill ranking system type of system, stating essentially only 1% the Halo community actually cares for it. First off, this couldnt be more innacurate, but more importantly it signified the direction 343i was choosing to go regardless of how many ppl actually wanted it. Second, on the waypoint forums, BS Angel actually decided to respond for once to a thread regarding CSR. Someone had the novel idea of making your own rank present in your service record, in an attempt to by-pass this visible on "way point" only CSR coming in April. She responded, rough quote "Though this is a great idea, there are insurmountable hurdles to make this work and we dont have the resources to accomplish this." So Im just saying, if you read between the lines here, its pretty clear. For whatever reason Frank O'Connor/343i felt/decided that Halo didnt need a skilled ranking system and built the game without it in their plans. We're all aware this game was rushed, its obvious. So now we're at the stage where the fanbase is and has been screaming for a skilled ranking only 343i doesnt have the ability to build it into the current game. Hence waypoint only. All this is, is a near fatal error on the part of 343i, to assume, based on what reasoning I have no clue, that Halo all a sudden did not need a skilled ranking system. Its what you could call an arrogant, bone- headed decision, of mass proportions.

@Bloody Initiate First off, bravo sir, A++. I was kinda hoping all along for a response like this, no offense Caboose. But you clearly have a remarkable thorough grasp on the gaming industry today, from a business perspective, which was the direction I wanted this thread to go. Ill have to keep this short though as time is of the essence and frankly I'm not nearly as eloquent. Basically you hit the nail on the head, with everything. I couldnt agree more with the direction/business model gaming company's are following today, and yes Ive been saying it all along Halo 5 and 6 will be coming out a lot quicker then the general public expects (ie def not the 3 yr Halo norm). My whole conundrum is this and its a dangerous one. Halo 4 sold like crazy, had generally very high reviews, but in reality did not deserve either. I strongly believe this isnt even debatable. So that being said, for a lover of the Halo franchise, we might just very well be doomed going forward. My question is, is there anyone at Microsoft essentially, that has the insight to realize they are in dire trouble going forward with 343i as is? Or is it simply going to be a case of looking at the bottom line. "Great sales, great reviews, go do again it 343 with H5, green light!". I hope/pray someone is taking note of the dying population, the frustration from fans on allllll the forums, and the sloppy/slow patch work 343i has offered to remedy things. Again from the business point of view, I feel I can safely predict, if things don't change at 343i, Halo 5 will tank, hard. Im not even speaking about the quality of game, which Im confident will not be great, but by the number of sales. Think about it from this perspective, the hype surrounding Halo4 was through the roof, then it sold nearly 10 million copies (in or around the most of any Halo), now nearly 4 months removed can't even get 50k online at one time. Basically the percentage of ppl still playing the game who bought the game is atrociously low, especially this early on. All this is a reflection of the quality of the game. Now looking forward to Halo 5. Halo 4 pissed off soooo many of the oldschool, hardcore halo players (i guess u could throw me in there), with all the terrible decisons they made, with the no ranking system, weapon balance issues, loadouts, ordinance etc etc etc etc, some have left for good, and others on their way out. The few millions that bought the game out of hype and positive word of mouth about the franchise from ppl like myself, are no longer playing as well, cuz the game, well just isnt that fun. All Im getting at is, how do they expect to sell Halo 5 when Halo 4 was such a let down. I doubt the few million who bought (tried out) Halo for the first time, then stopped playing after a month or two, will be stupid enough to fork over another $60 for it. And more importantly, the loyal Halo fanbase who feels 343i turned their back on them, I doubt will be back. No matter how impressive the ad campaign for the next installment, I feel the negative word of mouth from the formally diehard faithful, might cause a much bigger hiccup than expected for Microsoft. Remember, the best way to keep ppl coming back in the future, is to keep your client base happy, and provide them with a quality product. They've seem to have forgotten that notion entirely and Im worried for the future of the franchise if things remain as is.

Oi, at the end of the day, I just listed 14 pretty recognizable flaws with the game, some you agree with, some you dont, and thats fine. Never meant to get into a debate, feature by feature whats works, what doesnt. Fact is, as a whole, the game is very flawed, and essentially a major disappointment in comparison to its previously impressive standards. I appreciate you seem to love the game, but there used to be soooo many more ppl like you feeling the same way, but thats not the case anymore, and I dont blame them one bit (you can through me into that category too.) Ive sure youve seen this before, but visuals always help. http://www.halocharts.com/2012/chart/dailypeakpopulation/all All factors aside, Halo should never be that low, its an embarrassment, but its also an accurate reflection of the quality of the product. Heck even Reach still 6 figures playing just before H4 came out, and everybody hated Reach supposidly. So back the question at hand, who's getting fired for this sub par product? I seriously would love to know, especially if they expect me/anyone to purchase H5

@TornadoFlame "you forgot one of the biggest issues social interaction in the game." Yes i missed that part, but it hasn't been hard to notice that aspect while playing, theres virtually zero interaction. I guess there's two theories, from how I see it. One, without a competitive (ranked) aspect to the game, the need for communication is essentially minimal, everyones playing for 'fun'. If visible ranks were present and winning actually mattered youd likely have a spike in social interaction, with teammates communicating with one another to win, team work 101. Either that, or head sets and first person shooters in general are just a diminishing fad these days, not really sure tbh.

In rebuttal to Caboose's statement. 1 we do have a ranking system in game 1 to 130 but as well as that a true skill one as well coming in april 2 343 have fixed the worst and only big noticable wepon the boltshot with SUPERNERF 3 forge is not impossible to use at all 4 343 have fixed some issues in custom games but the only issues with custom games is the flood gametype but some fixes have been made 5 yes jip has some issues but is worth keeping 6 343s playist choice is preety good thi year they have turned them selves around doubles sniper action sack GREAT 1) The SR 1-130 fails as a ranking system bc it simply isn't one. Its experience points based, so it might as well be a clock saying how long someone has played. Virtually no indicator of how 'good' a player, just how much they play. Which leaves zero incentive to keep playing. Not to mention caps at 130, then what? The long awaited semi-proper CSR coming in April will fail, bc it is only available on Waypoint....this won't please the masses, at all. Wait for the backlash. 2) Yes they have nerfed the boltshot, thankfully, but have done nothing remedy the most used gun in the game, the DMR. Its far overpowered, make BR, lightrifle, + others obsolete. 3) Sorry i dont use forge personally, but have heard numerous complaints about the mechanics and capabilites of it. A down grade for Reach's version. 4)Custom games ppl cannot disarm the 'flagnum' feature as well simplify the game, like removing loadouts and other features. Plus ppl cannot join. Id eloborate but again dont personally play too many customs. 5) Agreed, i like jip but it simply isnt working, at all. See failed Team throwdown for proof. Not to mention quit ban in affect. 6) Agreed but should have been all along. Its rather obv, many types of playlists are near extint now. Time to delete them, or combine in a multi-team setup, so ppl can actually find matches. Perhaps BT objective. More topics 7) Maps in general, something just feels missing. They become tiresome, quick Lag, why no dedicated servers for such a 'huge' game? 9) Aim assist, the game has been realllly dumbed down, wayyy to forgiving, takes the skill out of it. 10) Friendly fire, perhaps the only game that didnt have it all along, again more a skilled player request 11) Loadouts, ordinance drops. Very COD'esk, personally not entirely opposed but a lot to digest 12) User interface, very difficult to navigate, just generally not user friendly 13) Endless medals, get a medal for a "generic kill', what next one for finishing a game? Whyd they remove the "sniper spree's" and other weapon spree's? 14) No firefight .....This list can actually keep going. Point is Im actually a fan, still, kinda, of this game, but this is far too much change for the sake of change. And worse yet it wasnt even properly executed. Its just reallly disappointing and near impposible not to take note.

Invalid? no no no, sorry that's pure denial talking on your part. Perhaps not denial, but definately the minority perspective.

An honest question here. We're all well aware 343i decided to take Halo in a new direction from its predecossors with this new installment. And no one can argue the quality marketing and hype surrounding this game was through the roof, and furthermore was well reflected through its impressive sales. But that being said, we're roughly 4 mths after the release of this game and things aren't so rosy anymore. Im not gonna take the stance, 'Halo is dead' or make any dramatic claims here, but if you look at the facts, community feedback for the most part and online population, this game is, well 'dying', I think is fair enough to say. Personally Ive played all installments of the franchise, and I mean a lot, and Ive never encountered so few players online, and furthermore the struggle (time) to find a match even. Scary part is, is this game is still essentially new. I personally feel its about fair to proclaim 343i has failed with this game. For those who feel otherwise, if the population continues to decline at this rate, no one will be able to find a match, and thus will have to agree. My question is, assuming this inevtiblity progresses, what next? If/when that day comes, will 343i have some (in my opinion needed) turnover? The bottom line is, they "sales wise" killed it, but "quality of product wise", failed miserably. Im just reallllly curious if they'll be given another chance with Halo 5, or will they attempt to go a new direction? Just so we're clear here on the negatives w this game. -No proper ranking system was a really bad call -weapon balancing issues -forge impossible to use -custom games unacceptable -jip issues -playlist choices etc (sorry this can go for a longgg time) But back to the question at hand, will 343i or perhaps even Microsoft implement/demand a changing of the guard in the creative dept? Someone who is more in touch with what made Halo, Halo and possibly ressurect this game with Halo 5. Thanks

Problem being w/o a skill ranking system, the incentive to win, and eventually even bother playing at all, fades, and its happening fast

But am I the only person in the world you doesnt give a damn about "Experience Points" and gaming? I dont really see how the two mix, well more accurately I dont care for it nor enjoy it. Similar to Cod, i dont play it after a while cuz I simply have no incentive to play any more, there isnt any reason. Unless I want to get more experience points... Thats the same with Halo, again gain more experience ponits, to what, buy armor? who the h cares. What made Halo special and somewhat unique was a skilled ranking system. Playing to better your rank was everything, they need to go back to their roots of what made them so succussful. Why do you think Reach was so unpopular, they shouldve made an obvious note about that.

Just a simple question, will this ever happen? I don't feel its asking too much and I know the majority of players want it, so I'm just wondering why not. Why not create a ranked and social playlist like in the previous Halo's? Make everybody happy. I'm aware there is soon to be a bulletin update regarding CSR (Competetive skill rank) this month, but from all I've heard they've (343) has kinda missed the boat on this. By that I mean you will be assigned some sort of skill ranking but only available on waypoint, which defeats the purpose. I'd just like honest feedback regarding Skill ranking. When? Why not? How come? etc