Competative multiplayer balance issues - With suggestions for possible fixes.

[Bandersnatch786]

I'm less than compelled to play the competative multiplayer of Halo 4 anymore. I'm a veteran FPS gamer, and Halo 4, to me, has got to be the most horrid for competative online.

 

First and foremost, the "Matchmaking" is more of a "Connect to Match", as there really is nothing other than choosing a gametype that allows for any kind of "Matchmaking". This is largely due to the fact that you cannot set parameters for matches that you are interested in, such as maps, games starting/in progress, and other parameters that make it a "Matchmaking" experience in the truer sense of the word. One huge oversight that I cannot understand why 343i made, was a setting to match you with players of the same skill level. Every match I get thrown in a game, I get put in with players who are Spartan level 30+. It's aggrivating to say the least. What makes a setting to match you with players of the same skill level so important is that it gives more experienced players the challenge of playing against people of the same skill level, and avoids new players the agony of being thrown into a slaughterfest caused by higher level players, as well allows everyone to progress at a comfortable pace to get to the skill level they want to be in while providing a fun experience for all players.

 

Second, the progression system in unlocking weapons, armor abilities, support ect. causes a huge unbalance in the game, giving players who spend more time on the game an advantage over those at lower levels, as their unlocks allow them to have extra armor or firepower. Everyone should have equal access to unlocks, period. I won't make the arguement of "Halo 4 is like CoD" because that's just a silly argument. What I will say is that what made the Halo experience unique from other FPS games is it put players, new and experienced, on an equal platform, because it didn't matter how much time you invested into the game, you still had the same access to the equipment you needed to pop the other guy's head off.

 

Third, why wasn't SWAT included?

 

Overall, I'm "meh" on Halo 4. The campaign had some issues, but those I can live with. The competative online needs these two issues addressed in order to really make it more captivating. I think 343i did an adequate job of making a "new" Halo game, and I can only see things going on the up with further iterations, however, I'm disappointed that 343i seems to have made some similar mistakes that Bungie did with previous Halo titles when it comes to the multiplayer. They had access to all the information they needed to make this game as good as it should have been, instead of making it as mediocre as it is. I think that if 343i can't pull it together with their next Halo title, not only would they be viewed as the wrong studio to take over Halo, but would very effectively kill the Halo franchise.

 

Perhaps they're trying to cater to a new crowd, but driving away older fans of the series by doing so would be extremely nonsensicle.

[Quantum]

SWAT and many other gametypes will be included to the game in due time. I remember specifically many videos that demonstrated Grifball and many of the ways the got creative to make it much more entertaining, including the fact you could throw the the grifball. If they spent time on it, I'm sure they wouldn't just leave it out. And keep in mind, we are not the real 343i.

[Caboose The Ace]

its only been a cople days from launch swat extraction doble team team snipers and griffball will be addeaded soon

 

ps i have bad spelling

[W01FE]

i hate swat...always seemed to be for people who wanted to play military shooters

[tecn1n3]

I agree that they should give more options for matchmaking and try to put players of similar levels together for games. However, I don't think the loadouts are ever unbalanced. The support upgrade and tactical package are pretty minor augmentations, and you have the DMR from the get-go, which trumps basically everything at a reasonable distance.

 

Don't get me wrong, I would love to see a playlist with no loadouts and regular weapon spawns. 343i has plenty of time to add things like that and update the game. Don't forget this is only the sixth day it's been out.

[DoctorB77]

Level 30 and 15 will not look so far apart in a couple of months. I think that matchs seem fair..

[twistedforsaken]

im freaking loving the games mp tbh, i agree that match-making should be a skill based system but maybe they can add that in over time and if not ill still have fun kicking those higher levels asses, gotta love beating an sr58 xD, although im starting to think the DMR is overpowered that thing beats everything and i don't mean at distance but full blown close combat i still kick their ass.

[RedStarRocket91]

Second, the progression system in unlocking weapons, armor abilities, support ect. causes a huge unbalance in the game, giving players who spend more time on the game an advantage over those at lower levels, as their unlocks allow them to have extra armor or firepower. Everyone should have equal access to unlocks, period. I won't make the arguement of "Halo 4 is like CoD" because that's just a silly argument. What I will say is that what made the Halo experience unique from other FPS games is it put players, new and experienced, on an equal platform, because it didn't matter how much time you invested into the game, you still had the same access to the equipment you needed to pop the other guy's head off.

 

This. So much.

 

It doesn't matter how well you balance weapons, people will find some more comfortable and suited to their playing style than others.

 

Let's use Team Fortress 2 as an example. There's a class for everyone in that game, and (arguably) they're perfectly balanced: if you're better at using your class than the person you're against, you'll win. If they're better, they'll lose. If you're both equally good at using your classes, flip a coin to see who wins.

 

But what if you had to unlock classes over time? If, say at the start you could only play as the Scout and the Heavy. That's great if you're the kind of player who likes those, but if you're the kind of person who likes to play as a Sniper, you're in trouble. It doesn't matter that everything's balanced, because while your friend gets his ideal class from day one, you have to wait three weeks to get yours. You could be a MUCH better player than him overall, and yet he does better purely because he gets his ideal setup earlier.

 

So fully agreed with that, I'd love to see the entire armoury unlocked for everyone. Doesn't bother me if I start losing more because my opponents are better, because at least that's something in our control.

[Perfectious]

I haven't played a team that stood a chance yet. Every team I play is just absolutely terrible. I don't think it pairs you up with the same skill level because THERE IS NO SKILL RANKS YET. I think you just get steamrolled because they are better than you. The ranking system and unlock system is stupid to be honest. Let's reward people for playing all day and hitting their xp cap. Halo 3 ranking system was way better and I don't even know why they decided to make it the way they did.