HAERBAER

Does anyone mind telling me why 343 is using an entirely new engine separate from Halo 5's, which will include dual wielding, for the anniversary maps just to have it removed again for Halo 5?

in addition to my list, Race with all of its variants should return

Hey, guys. I am new to the forums and i recently joined specifically to get this message out. I feel that i have some really constructive suggestions for Halo 5 and was wondering what other fans would think. Maybe, if we really get it rolling, 343 will listen. I've been adding to my list for about a week and I would appreciate any other useful suggestions that anyone might have. I'd also like to apologize ahead of time if there are any spelling errors i forgot to correct. It can be difficult to do so in a list that is this large. Here's to Halo 5! My list is as follows: Campaign/Presentation: -The Arbiter. (Player 2 in COOP, AI in solo) -Possibly more levels that are longer. (FPS games in general are lacking in the single player department and it would be refreshing to have a campaign big enough for multiple sittings like Halo 2's.) -More action set-pieces. Reasons to play campaign again. (The Scarab for example) -Collectible Skulls to add replay value. (Bring back the halo 3, anniversary, and maybe new skulls and make them collectibles in the story w/ achievements, unlockable armor for getting them all, etc...) -New Skulls. (I loved the anniversary skulls and they could even make new ones that do things like disable sprint in the story for example.) -Terminals. (Again, replay value. Terminals were a great idea and showed a nice bit of back story. They could also have unlockable armor for finding them.) -Halo Theme. (343 has shown that they can, in fact, use the Halo theme in their products like with Anniversary or in Halo 4's campaign briefly. They could have the initial choir and maybe the pounding drums, but put their own spin on it.) -Instrumentation. (This goes along with the last one. The music didn't feel like Halo because it was lacking Halo's signature percussion pieces and its unique blend of strings and choir. They don't have to rehash or remix all halo songs. They just need to create new music in a familiar style.) -Original Weapon Sounds. (I have no problem whatsoever with the human weapons. They do, after all, just shoot bullets and the assault rifle has always been different. The iconic sounds of the covenant weapons, however, need to come back. The sounds of the needler, gravity hammer, and carbine are all just as memorable as the Halo theme itself.) -Better cutscene quality. (We can obviously assume Halo 5 will look fantastic due to the new hardware. But Halo 4 had a major problem with the sound design in the cutscenes. The voices sound 1080p, but the music and effects all sound more like 240p. It is a small issue though and I imagine they already have a solution.) -Theater Mode. (A relatively simple addition that should have already been included.) -Scoring mode. (Team and Free For All scoring modes in the campaign with skulls acting as multipliers like in 3 and Reach.) -More humor. (This one may sound like a bit of a knitpick, but the grunts were noticeably more quiet and lacked their funny, high-pitched voices and wise-cracks. Due to this absence, -Halo 4's Campaign seems to lack personality.) -Returning Characters. (This was a strong reason why Halo 4's campaign lacked that halo feel. After 5 years, a player should be greeted with more than just 2 returning characters to make them feel at home.) Matchmaking/Multiplayer/Forge: -No Story Connection. (I felt that it was highly unnecessary and, in some cases, burdensome to link the multiplayer to the overall story. I feel like this held back a lot of the crazy fun that made Halo the game that it is.) -Remove Loadouts. (I know it seems unlikely and possibly quite drastic at this point, but Halo 4's loadout system just didn't balance the game well. And, say it with me, IT MADE THE GAME FEEL LIKE CALL OF DUTY. We're all sick of hearing it within the community but it's true. Unlockables and customization simply envelope the multiplayer in any game. It becomes more about reaching the highest rank, unlocking all of the weapons, and sinking time into the game mindlessly rather than playing for fun or improving your skill level. It's changes like these that contributed to Halo's recent population drop-off. This is why Call Of Duty is released every year.) -Remove/Improve Spartan Ops. (Spartan Ops didn't hold my attention. The characters and missions were, in my opinion, bland and hard to be invested in. I wouldn't mind its return alongside firefight as long as it has unique missions, a better story, and no recycled multiplayer maps/campaign levels.) -Playble Elites. (Why not? Because Reach gave them different stats? Think outside the box. Do it like Halo 3. If the hunched over heads of the covenant make it difficult to get a headshot, make them stand up slightly more straight like in Reach. They can even have customizable armor again!) -Fixed Weapon spawns. Not Random. (Halo is all about map memorization and controlling the map's resources like weapons. I'm sure it sounded like a good way to balance the game, but it just turns into a run-and-gun after a while.) -A Beta. (Let's be honest. 343 was a bit cocky prior to Halo 4's launch. They weren't very interactive with the community and didn't even hold an open beta. This came back to bite them, however, when the game was released due to a wide variety of glitches and hiding spots.) -Better DLC support. (As someone who owns all halos AND all of their DLC, it can be frustrating when my hard-earned money is spent on maps that either rarely or never appear in matchmaking. There needs to be a PERMANENT DLC playlist and search restrictions that can be toggled to search for gamers with shared DLC.) -Floodmode. (I feel that floodmode is the perfect extension of Infection and should be included from now on. There could be even more variety with the addition of elite player models such as infected elites being playable.) -Firefight. (What else can I say? We all want it. Including generator defense, versus, gruntpocolypse and all the other modes returning. Maybe even a classic firefight survival mode with playable ODST models, similar to flood mode. This could add a great deal of variety.) -More FF modes. (A mode with waves increasing in rank or a mode eventually resulting in a scarab encounter every few waves.) -Forge Firefight? (This would obviously be limited to maybe just enemy spawns and generator placement. But a nice feature nonetheless.) -Other modes return such as Juggernaut, Assault, Invasion, Stockpile, Headhunter, etc... -More close-quarters maps. (One of Halo 4's big problems with multiplayer was the lack of close-quarters maps. Haven was an excellent addition, but the rest of the game felt focused on BTB maps.) -Classic Maps. (Seeing Valhalla and The Pit restored was a great pleasure, but 343 needs to add maps that haven't gotten the recognition they deserve. Sandtrap, Bloodgulch, Guardian, etc...) -A Pro/MLG Playlist. (I feel that armor abilities and sprint fit well within halo. I also feel that dual wielding should return. However, for those who do not share these opinions and prefer a more "pure" experience, include a playlist without these settings. That way, more people can be satisfied with the final product.) -Ranked/Unranked Playlists. Halo 2/3 Ranking System. (I'm assuming that the reason 343 hasn't already included this feature is somewhat due to the current system of unlocking armor. This, however, can be replaced with the use of other features. The commendations, challenges, campaign on multiple difficulties, total matches won, total kills, terminals, and the collectible skulls i mentioned earlier could offer just as many, possibly more, ways to unlock armor. This could also be used as a way to unlock Chief and Arbiter's armor in Matchmaking.) -Bigger/Better Forgeworlds. (The decision to add more than one forge world in Halo 4 was genius. Halo reach grew stale after staring at the same grey block structures over and over. However, they seemed to be quite small and the level visuals were quite bland. Maybe they could have multiple forge worlds that take place on different Halos and have differing environments.) Weapons/Vehicles/Armor: -Dual Wielding. (This is a big one for me and most of the Halo community. Dual wielding added a great deal of variety to the experience and was just plain cool. I've heard a few complaints about it being imbalanced. While I've never had any trouble dropping someone who was dual wielding SMGs with a BR in my hands, they could always further balance dual wielding to appeal to the other fans by disabling sprint and armor abilities while using it. Others feel the weapons are useless single wielded. While I disagree with this, there is always the new crosshairs. Add the bloom of automatic weapons to the mix. Single wielding could provide more accuracy, while dual wielding is less accurate but adds more bullets. If the plasma pistol or magnum complicate things, just make them non-dual-wieldable. Heck, they did it to the needler in Halo 3 and we didn't question it. They can always add new dual wieldable guns if there aren't enough.) -Dual Wield Bolt Shot. (Okay. Here me out! This is only if they do not bring back the Mauler. The reason the Bolt shot was imbalanced was the fact that you spawned with it. If the changed the damage of the charged shot to something closer to Halo 3's Mauler, then it would be acceptable to dual wield, and could be even more balanced.) -Returning Weapons. (SMG, Plasma Rifle, Mauler or Bolt Shot, Spiker, Flamethrower, Sentinel Beam.) -Remove Storm Rifle. (This may also come as a surprising choice, but the weapons in Halo 4, old and new, are too similar. The promethean weapons are all just slightly altered clones of the existing weapons. They even removed the plasma rifle and replaced it with the storm rifle. This was likely to coincide with the new loadout system, but ends up dumbing down the weapons into similar categories. The only similar ones from before that i can think of were the BR and Carbine, Beam Rifle and Sniper and the FRG and Rocket Launcher. It's okay to have some similarities, but Halo 4 took it too far.) -Slower Plasma Pistol Drain/Force-fire. (I felt the plasma pistol was already balanced enough in Reach, but Halo 4 overdid it. They should have a slower drain and a force-fire mechanism similar to that of the Railgun or Boltshot.) -Balance/Remove Promethean Vision. -Hornet. Chopper. Spectre. Elephant. (I don't think i need to explain why they need to bring back the Hornet or some kind of human aircraft. The Chopper, however, is often overlooked. At least by the developers. It was a blast to use in Halo 3. The Spectre hasn't even really had a chance to return due to the timing of the releases since Halo 3. The Prowler was often criticized in that game and rightfully so. It was just a poor man's Spectre. We all want these three back. Also, if it weren't for the elephant, would anyone have even remembered Sandtrap?) -Forerunner Melee Weapon/Vehicle? (The variety in Halo 4's promethean weaponry was just plain disappointing, but the lack of a vehicle to represent their race was quite the surprise. It would also help to include a promethean melee weapon. It could be some sort of lance taken from the arm of a promethean. Similar to the way a Sentinel Beam is acquired. Upon attacking, it would charge straight forward in an uncontrolled dash, making it avoidable through evade. Could also make for a fun gamemode.) -Armor Accessories. (Remember the Katana? What if they brought it back along with other accessories for your armor, such as chief's new cloak, a spear or small flag on the back of the elite player model similar to the royal guards, and emile's knife. Maybe the blades could change your assassination animations. -3 Colors, Black, and a more Visible Emblem. (I simply cannot believe that Halo has gone back to only two colors. And the fact that you can't make your armor black is just... why? Part of what makes the emblems cool is actually being able to see them on your Spartan. Make them larger and on your back/shoulder. This is just another case of "think outside the box.") -Armor Effects. (Not including these in Halo 4 made customization less fun than in Reach. Bring back the ones from reach and maybe some new ones.)

Thanks for the feedback! I also just realized i forgot to mention de-scoping after being shot as opposed to the flinch they added in 4. Promethean vision should also be either removed or heavily balanced.

I am new to the forum and i recently joined specifically to get this message out. I feel that i have some really constructive suggestions for Halo 5 and was wondering what other fans would think. Maybe, if we really get it rolling, 343 will listen. I've been adding to my list for about a week and I would appreciate any other useful suggestions that anyone might have. I'd also like to apologize ahead of time if there are any spelling errors i forgot to correct. It can be difficult to do so in a list that is this large. Here's to Halo 5! My list is as follows: Campaign/Presentation: -The Arbiter. (Player 2 in COOP, AI in solo) -Possibly more levels that are longer. (FPS games in general are lacking in the single player department and it would be refreshing to have a campaign big enough for multiple sittings like Halo 2's.) -More action set-pieces. Reasons to play campaign again. (The Scarab for example) -Collectible Skulls to add replay value. (Bring back the halo 3, anniversary, and maybe new skulls and make them collectibles in the story w/ achievements, unlockable armor for getting them all, etc...) -New Skulls. (I loved the anniversary skulls and they could even make new ones that do things like disable sprint in the story for example.) -Terminals. (Again, replay value. Terminals were a great idea and showed a nice bit of back story. They could also have unlockable armor for finding them.) -Halo Theme. (343 has shown that they can, in fact, use the Halo theme in their products like with Anniversary or in Halo 4's campaign briefly. They could have the initial choir and maybe the pounding drums, but put their own spin on it.) -Instrumentation. (This goes along with the last one. The music didn't feel like Halo because it was lacking Halo's signature percussion pieces and its unique blend of strings and choir. They don't have to rehash or remix all halo songs. They just need to create new music in a familiar style.) -Original Weapon Sounds. (I have no problem whatsoever with the human weapons. They do, after all, just shoot bullets and the assault rifle has always been different. The iconic sounds of the covenant weapons, however, need to come back. The sounds of the needler, gravity hammer, and carbine are all just as memorable as the Halo theme itself.) -Better cutscene quality. (We can obviously assume Halo 5 will look fantastic due to the new hardware. But Halo 4 had a major problem with the sound design in the cutscenes. The voices sound 1080p, but the music and effects all sound more like 240p. It is a small issue though and I imagine they already have a solution.) -Theater Mode. (A relatively simple addition that should have already been included.) -Scoring mode. (Team and Free For All scoring modes in the campaign with skulls acting as multipliers like in 3 and Reach.) -More humor. (This one may sound like a bit of a knitpick, but the grunts were noticeably more quiet and lacked their funny, high-pitched voices and wise-cracks. Due to this absence, -Halo 4's Campaign seems to lack personality.) -Returning Characters. (This was a strong reason why Halo 4's campaign lacked that halo feel. After 5 years, a player should be greeted with more than just 2 returning characters to make them feel at home.) Matchmaking/Multiplayer/Forge: -No Story Connection. (I felt that it was highly unnecessary and, in some cases, burdensome to link the multiplayer to the overall story. I feel like this held back a lot of the crazy fun that made Halo the game that it is.) -Remove Loadouts. (I know it seems unlikely and possibly quite drastic at this point, but Halo 4's loadout system just didn't balance the game well. And, say it with me, IT MADE THE GAME FEEL LIKE CALL OF DUTY. We're all sick of hearing it within the community but it's true. Unlockables and customization simply envelope the multiplayer in any game. It becomes more about reaching the highest rank, unlocking all of the weapons, and sinking time into the game mindlessly rather than playing for fun or improving your skill level. It's changes like these that contributed to Halo's recent population drop-off. This is why Call Of Duty is released every year.) -Remove/Improve Spartan Ops. (Spartan Ops didn't hold my attention. The characters and missions were, in my opinion, bland and hard to be invested in. I wouldn't mind its return alongside firefight as long as it has unique missions, a better story, and no recycled multiplayer maps/campaign levels.) -Playble Elites. (Why not? Because Reach gave them different stats? Think outside the box. Do it like Halo 3. If the hunched over heads of the covenant make it difficult to get a headshot, make them stand up slightly more straight like in Reach. They can even have customizable armor again!) -Fixed Weapon spawns. Not Random. (Halo is all about map memorization and controlling the map's resources like weapons. I'm sure it sounded like a good way to balance the game, but it just turns into a run-and-gun after a while.) -A Beta. (Let's be honest. 343 was a bit cocky prior to Halo 4's launch. They weren't very interactive with the community and didn't even hold an open beta. This came back to bite them, however, when the game was released due to a wide variety of glitches and hiding spots.) -Better DLC support. (As someone who owns all halos AND all of their DLC, it can be frustrating when my hard-earned money is spent on maps that either rarely or never appear in matchmaking. There needs to be a PERMANENT DLC playlist and search restrictions that can be toggled to search for gamers with shared DLC.) -Floodmode. (I feel that floodmode is the perfect extension of Infection and should be included from now on. There could be even more variety with the addition of elite player models such as infected elites being playable.) -Firefight. (What else can I say? We all want it. Including generator defense, versus, gruntpocolypse and all the other modes returning. Maybe even a classic firefight survival mode with playable ODST models, similar to flood mode. This could add a great deal of variety.) -More FF modes. (A mode with waves increasing in rank or a mode eventually resulting in a scarab encounter every few waves.) -Forge Firefight? (This would obviously be limited to maybe just enemy spawns and generator placement. But a nice feature nonetheless.) -Other modes return such as Juggernaut, Assault, Invasion, Stockpile, Headhunter, etc... -More close-quarters maps. (One of Halo 4's big problems with multiplayer was the lack of close-quarters maps. Haven was an excellent addition, but the rest of the game felt focused on BTB maps.) -Classic Maps. (Seeing Valhalla and The Pit restored was a great pleasure, but 343 needs to add maps that haven't gotten the recognition they deserve. Sandtrap, Bloodgulch, Guardian, etc...) -A Pro/MLG Playlist. (I feel that armor abilities and sprint fit well within halo. I also feel that dual wielding should return. However, for those who do not share these opinions and prefer a more "pure" experience, include a playlist without these settings. That way, more people can be satisfied with the final product.) -Ranked/Unranked Playlists. Halo 2/3 Ranking System. (I'm assuming that the reason 343 hasn't already included this feature is somewhat due to the current system of unlocking armor. This, however, can be replaced with the use of other features. The commendations, challenges, campaign on multiple difficulties, total matches won, total kills, terminals, and the collectible skulls i mentioned earlier could offer just as many, possibly more, ways to unlock armor. This could also be used as a way to unlock Chief and Arbiter's armor in Matchmaking.) -Bigger/Better Forgeworlds. (The decision to add more than one forge world in Halo 4 was genius. Halo reach grew stale after staring at the same grey block structures over and over. However, they seemed to be quite small and the level visuals were quite bland. Maybe they could have multiple forge worlds that take place on different Halos and have differing environments.) Weapons/Vehicles/Armor: -Dual Wielding. (This is a big one for me and most of the Halo community. Dual wielding added a great deal of variety to the experience and was just plain cool. I've heard a few complaints about it being imbalanced. While I've never had any trouble dropping someone who was dual wielding SMGs with a BR in my hands, they could always further balance dual wielding to appeal to the other fans by disabling sprint and armor abilities while using it. Others feel the weapons are useless single wielded. While I disagree with this, there is always the new crosshairs. Add the bloom of automatic weapons to the mix. Single wielding could provide more accuracy, while dual wielding is less accurate but adds more bullets. If the plasma pistol or magnum complicate things, just make them non-dual-wieldable. Heck, they did it to the needler in Halo 3 and we didn't question it. They can always add new dual wieldable guns if there aren't enough.) -Dual Wield Bolt Shot. (Okay. Here me out! This is only if they do not bring back the Mauler. The reason the Bolt shot was imbalanced was the fact that you spawned with it. If the changed the damage of the charged shot to something closer to Halo 3's Mauler, then it would be acceptable to dual wield, and could be even more balanced.) -Returning Weapons. (SMG, Plasma Rifle, Mauler or Bolt Shot, Spiker, Flamethrower, Sentinel Beam.) -Remove Storm Rifle. (This may also come as a surprising choice, but the weapons in Halo 4, old and new, are too similar. The promethean weapons are all just slightly altered clones of the existing weapons. They even removed the plasma rifle and replaced it with the storm rifle. This was likely to coincide with the new loadout system, but ends up dumbing down the weapons into similar categories. The only similar ones from before that i can think of were the BR and Carbine, Beam Rifle and Sniper and the FRG and Rocket Launcher. It's okay to have some similarities, but Halo 4 took it too far.) -Slower Plasma Pistol Drain/Force-fire. (I felt the plasma pistol was already balanced enough in Reach, but Halo 4 overdid it. They should have a slower drain and a force-fire mechanism similar to that of the Railgun or Boltshot.) -Hornet. Chopper. Spectre. (I don't think i need to explain why they need to bring back the Hornet or some kind of human aircraft. The Chopper, however, is often overlooked. At least by the developers. It was a blast to use in Halo 3. The Spectre hasn't even really had a chance to return due to the timing of the releases since Halo 3. The Prowler was often criticized in that game and rightfully so. It was just a poor man's Spectre. We all want these three back.) -Forerunner Melee Weapon/Vehicle? (The variety in Halo 4's promethean weaponry was just plain disappointing, but the lack of a vehicle to represent their race was quite the surprise. It would also help to include a promethean melee weapon. It could be some sort of lance taken from the arm of a promethean. Similar to the way a Sentinel Beam is acquired. Upon attacking, it would charge straight forward in an uncontrolled dash, making it avoidable through evade. Could also make for a fun gamemode.) -Armor Accessories. (Remember the Katana? What if they brought it back along with other accessories for your armor, such as chief's new cloak, a spear or small flag on the back of the elite player model similar to the royal guards, and emile's knife. Maybe the blades could change your assassination animations. -3 Colors, Black, and a more Visible Emblem. (I simply cannot believe that Halo has gone back to only two colors. And the fact that you can't make your armor black is just... why? Part of what makes the emblems cool is actually being able to see them on your Spartan. Make them larger and on your back/shoulder. This is just another case of "think outside the box.") -Armor Effects. (Not including these in Halo 4 made customization less fun than in Reach. Bring back the ones from reach and maybe some new ones.)