Idea for a new Armour Ability: Promethean Jump

[RedStarRocket91]

I was playing some campaign earlier today, when I noticed something about the Promethean combat AI. When they begin to take heavy damage, they will often suddenly stop fighting and disintegrate into a ball of light, then reappear somewhere else a few moments later - usually out of sight, which gives them time for their shields to recharge while the player attempts to track them down. This is particularly frustrating on Legendary difficulty, where players can't afford to waste ammunition taking down shields more than once.

 

But seeing the Prometheans teleporting around the battlefield at will gave me an idea. What if it was possible to use something similar in multiplayer?

 

There are immediately a lot of interesting potential tactical applications. Players could use it to avoid being trapped in enemy-controlled areas, quickly get to ordnance drop locations or vehicle spawns, escape from pursuing enemies, coordinate surprise attacks, flank opponents, or quickly return to their bases in Capture the Flag or Dominion, allowing teams to actually push forward and be aggressive instead of worrying about who's supposed to be defending.

 

To avoid it becoming too overpowered, while players using the teleport ability would be unable to move or attack while disintegrating or reappearing, they would still take damage from all sources, though damage might be higher or lower than normal. Using the teleport would also reset the shield recharge delay timer in the same manner as the Hardlight Shield, so that shields would treat the moment the player fully reappeared as the last time they were hit.

 

The only problem would be determining exactly where the player would teleport to. An arbitrary direction, like toward an initial spawn or objective, might not be very useful, and a random direction or evenn a player-controlled direction could still lead to problems with different surface heights, or falling off the edge of/through the map, especially if the distance to be travelled couldn't be controlled.

 

The solution is therefore a two-part activation system, similar to that used for beatdowns and assassinations.

 

Pressing the armour ability button would mark the player's current location as the teleport destination, for example the Red Flag spawn. This could be done multiple times, though only one location could be active at any time: so if the player pressed the button again at a Warthog spawn, they would instead teleport to the Warthog spawn instead of the Red Flag spawn when they activated the ability.

 

Activating the ability would be done by holding down the armour ability button, and would clear the destination location once the player had reappeared: while they would immediately be able to set mark another destination, there would be a short cooldown before they could activate the teleport again, perhaps fifteen seconds.

 

Once the player's body had begun to disintegrate, it wouldn't be possible to cancel the teleport: however, there would be a half-second of animation in which the button could be released to cancel the jump without activation or penalty.

 

There could also be medals associated with use of the ability, for quickly killing an opponent, securing an objective or just picking up ordnance, as well as for killing players while they disintegrated or reappeared.

 

Obviously it would need a lot of tweaking to make sure it was balanced properly, but what do you think of it in theory? Does it sound like it could be interesting, too overpowered, or too underpowered?

[Absolute Dog]

RSR you never fail to post some interesting ideas. In a way this reminds me of the The Chronicles of Riddick where the Necromonger leader Lord Marshall attempted to 'phase' away from Vaako's apparent death blow only to end up facing Riddick, who had figured out Lord Marshall's weakness, who plunged the blade he had been given by the Purifier into his skull killing him. Awesome fight sequence and scene.

 

If there was some type of trail, like a light trail that preceded the movement slightly and gave the enemy a shot a predetermining the end location of the 'Promethean Jump' it would give it both a unique ability and a weakness. The distance would be limited to the distance of a short sprint length, say 20-25 feet, and once activated the user would be given 3 to 4 preset paths to choose from which would force a quick decision and possibly even limit paths able to be used depending on immediate surroundings. Sprint could be the balancing act as you could sprint to the expected 'landing point' of the enemy using the jump and kill him. Maybe even setting him up for an assassination.......I smell bonus points, achievements and smack talk on that type of kill already!

[Spectral Jester]

There is a youtube video with alledged 2 new armor abilities, they think its something left behind as its only in crimson map pack.

teleport and hacker, the teleport works a similar way, but I know what you mean, having an AA the same as the promethean knights would be awesome, trying to kill me, nope disappear and reappear within a certain radias (random position) now that would be fun, although I bet the anti armor lockers would be out again LMAO.

 

Nice topic RSR

[Forlorn Penguin]

It's definitely an interesting idea, but I feel that it would be far too annoying. As a result, the community would be in an uproar about it, which is the last thing we need right now.

[Yoshi1176]

That would be cool but i think it would be the new armor lock if they did that, it would definetly be fun though good for new gametypes.

[SatanicBagels]

This is a great idea. I assume that the cooldown rate would have to pretty long for this to be balanced though.

[Cassandra Saturn]

yeah really nice and cool idea

[Skys]

Very nice. I pictured the AA in the game as I play CTF or ODDBALL. It would be useful for objective gametypes

[RedStarRocket91]

RSR you never fail to post some interesting ideas. In a way this reminds me of the The Chronicles of Riddick where the Necromonger leader Lord Marshall attempted to 'phase' away from Vaako's apparent death blow only to end up facing Riddick, who had figured out Lord Marshall's weakness, who plunged the blade he had been given by the Purifier into his skull killing him. Awesome fight sequence and scene.

 

If there was some type of trail, like a light trail that preceded the movement slightly and gave the enemy a shot a predetermining the end location of the 'Promethean Jump' it would give it both a unique ability and a weakness. The distance would be limited to the distance of a short sprint length, say 20-25 feet, and once activated the user would be given 3 to 4 preset paths to choose from which would force a quick decision and possibly even limit paths able to be used depending on immediate surroundings. Sprint could be the balancing act as you could sprint to the expected 'landing point' of the enemy using the jump and kill him. Maybe even setting him up for an assassination.......I smell bonus points, achievements and smack talk on that type of kill already!

 

The only real problems with that would be how the game would work out the paths, and how the player would know exactly where each one was going to end up? Otherwise it basically ends up filling the same role as the Thruster Pack, or even just sprinting, but with the disadvantage that it isn't as precise. That said, I can imagine it being amazing for something like Flood, so that there's a quick escape route when the Spartans get surrounded, or Regicide, to give the King a chance to escape from a big group of enemies!

 

 

There is a youtube video with alledged 2 new armor abilities, they think its something left behind as its only in crimson map pack.

teleport and hacker, the teleport works a similar way, but I know what you mean, having an AA the same as the promethean knights would be awesome, trying to kill me, nope disappear and reappear within a certain radias (random position) now that would be fun, although I bet the anti armor lockers would be out again LMAO.

 

Nice topic RSR

 

I actually haven't seen that video, I'll definitely have to watch it - the 'Hacker' one sounds pretty interesting too, I wonder what it does? Perhaps it disables the HUD or interferes with it, like during Cortana's rampancy moments in campaign? I actually kind of envision it being used more as a method of fast transport, rather than just a way of avoiding damage, as otherwise it would basically just be doing the same job as the Hardlight Shield or Thruster Pack - though imagine how hilarious it could be for someone to waste a long-range shot from the Rocket Launcher or Incineration Cannon, only to watch the target vanish before it hit!

 

 

It's definitely an interesting idea, but I feel that it would be far too annoying. As a result, the community would be in an uproar about it, which is the last thing we need right now.

 

That's a good point. I'd hoped the idea of being able to take damage while unable to fight back might compensate for that, but I suppose it might still be controversial just for existing. If you can think of any ways it could be better balanced, I'd love to hear them!

 

This is a great idea. I assume that the cooldown rate would have to pretty long for this to be balanced though.

 

Depending on where you could actually teleport to (fixed destination or random destination) it might not actually need to be that high. If it was a random jump, it would definitely need to be quite high, but if it was a fixed destination it might only need a few seconds, as if you activated it again very quickly you'd only be moving a few metres and so it wouldn't be worth doing.

 

 

Very nice. I pictured the AA in the game as I play CTF or ODDBALL. It would be useful for objective gametypes

 

That's exactly what I was thinking! Imagine how great it could even be for something like MLG, where teams can afford to push up and be aggressive all the time - it could completely change how defending and attacking objectives works!

[Forlorn Penguin]

That's a good point. I'd hoped the idea of being able to take damage while unable to fight back might compensate for that, but I suppose it might still be controversial just for existing. If you can think of any ways it could be better balanced, I'd love to hear them!

 

The only thing that I can think of without actually doing any extensive competitive testing would be to give it a masive cooldown timer. And I really mean massive. I'm talking like a full minute or so. However I'm not entirely sure as to how bad such a cool down would really be. After you've warped away, you're probably safe and might not even need to use it within the next minute. In which case, the long cooldown might not even be a viable con at all.

 

It's such a risky AA to implement, that I honestly don't think it even should be implemented, despite how cool it could possibly be. I'd definitely like an open beta for something like that.

[TornadoFlame]

i think we need a AA that gives us oversheild just like invisability.

[Flame Haze]

Dude Yes! this is an amazing idea!

[OutGunnd]

No, we have enough gimmicks and perks as it is why can't you learn how to use map control rather than to 'bypass' and 'hack' everything.

[Cortar]

The only real problems with that would be how the game would work out the paths, and how the player would know exactly where each one was going to end up? Otherwise it basically ends up filling the same role as the Thruster Pack, or even just sprinting, but with the disadvantage that it isn't as precise. That said, I can imagine it being amazing for something like Flood, so that there's a quick escape route when the Spartans get surrounded, or Regicide, to give the King a chance to escape from a big group of enemies!

 

 

 

 

I actually haven't seen that video, I'll definitely have to watch it - the 'Hacker' one sounds pretty interesting too, I wonder what it does? Perhaps it disables the HUD or interferes with it, like during Cortana's rampancy moments in campaign? I actually kind of envision it being used more as a method of fast transport, rather than just a way of avoiding damage, as otherwise it would basically just be doing the same job as the Hardlight Shield or Thruster Pack - though imagine how hilarious it could be for someone to waste a long-range shot from the Rocket Launcher or Incineration Cannon, only to watch the target vanish before it hit!

 

 

 

 

That's a good point. I'd hoped the idea of being able to take damage while unable to fight back might compensate for that, but I suppose it might still be controversial just for existing. If you can think of any ways it could be better balanced, I'd love to hear them!

 

 

 

Depending on where you could actually teleport to (fixed destination or random destination) it might not actually need to be that high. If it was a random jump, it would definitely need to be quite high, but if it was a fixed destination it might only need a few seconds, as if you activated it again very quickly you'd only be moving a few metres and so it wouldn't be worth doing.

 

 

 

 

That's exactly what I was thinking! Imagine how great it could even be for something like MLG, where teams can afford to push up and be aggressive all the time - it could completely change how defending and attacking objectives works!

 

Sorry but MLG would never in a million years allow that kind of AA into their playlists.

[pkmaximum]

As awesome as the teleport AA sounds (the one mentioned from the code in Crimison map pack), it would render things like the thruster pack (probably jet pack too) completely useless. Teleporting through walls....come on lol.

[RedStarRocket91]

The only thing that I can think of without actually doing any extensive competitive testing would be to give it a masive cooldown timer. And I really mean massive. I'm talking like a full minute or so. However I'm not entirely sure as to how bad such a cool down would really be. After you've warped away, you're probably safe and might not even need to use it within the next minute. In which case, the long cooldown might not even be a viable con at all.

 

It's such a risky AA to implement, that I honestly don't think it even should be implemented, despite how cool it could possibly be. I'd definitely like an open beta for something like that.

 

I was actually hoping that with the 'marking' system, it wouldn't be necessary to put in overly long cooldowns - if you used it again very quickly, you wouldn't really be moving far enough too make it worthwhile compared to just sprinting there. That said, I suppose there's no harm in a long cooldown - it at least would make people try to use it tactically, rather than just to try and escape from fights, which is something I really don't like the idea of.

 

 

i think we need a AA that gives us oversheild just like invisability.

 

I think an Overshield might be going too far - the ability to effectively double your health at will is an advantage in any situation and doesn't need to be used tactically - plus there's no real downside. Overshield drops are already pretty powerful, after all - imagine what that could do to gameplay if that was just whenever you wanted?

 

 

As awesome as the teleport AA sounds (the one mentioned from the code in Crimison map pack), it would render things like the thruster pack (probably jet pack too) completely useless. Teleporting through walls....come on lol.

 

I envision it more as a tool of map mobility, rather than something to be used in combat - the Thruster Pack is about dodging attacks, while the Jetpack is there to let you fight from unexpected angles or speed up your ability to get to higher areas, rather than very quickly moving to new areas laterally. Plus, it would have to be used tactically - you'd be very vulnerable to attack whilst using it, especially if the level of damage taken was increased (DMR and Battle Rifle become 3sk, Frag Grenades inst-kill, etc).

 

 

Sorry but MLG would never in a million years allow that kind of AA into their playlists.

 

Oddly enough, I think MLG is one of the areas where it would work best. Perhaps not so much in their Slayer matches, but for things like Capture the Flag or Dominion, where quickly moving across the map can be the difference between life and death.

 

 

No, we have enough gimmicks and perks as it is why can't you learn how to use map control rather than to 'bypass' and 'hack' everything.

 

I actually see it being used to enhance map control - it's a way of quickly moving between two places at once, not just ignoring it altogether.

[IElitePredatorI]

I think this should replace Jetpack (has no disadvantages) or the useless Thruster Pack (unless your playing Flood or Custom Games) but I really hope it has a short/limited range so it isn't like teleporting halfway across the map..

[Vehicle Destroyer]

The though and ideas, the downs and ups behind this is amazing.  
Heres a great idea though, during the time your person is disappearing it will make you "run" in a ghost mode to control where you want to be.  So when you totally disappear it will reappear where you ran to.  Since for Prometheans it is a little fast for that, I would say make it slow enough to get a little bit of a distance atleast.  Take no damage, but when you reappear somewhere so from point A to B lets say.  From point A to B a quick red path is made so you cant exactly hide.  Cool down should be about 45 seconds to a minute.   Great idea though, I support it.

[Banehalo]

I was playing some campaign earlier today, when I noticed something about the Promethean combat AI. When they begin to take heavy damage, they will often suddenly stop fighting and disintegrate into a ball of light, then reappear somewhere else a few moments later - usually out of sight, which gives them time for their shields to recharge while the player attempts to track them down. This is particularly frustrating on Legendary difficulty, where players can't afford to waste ammunition taking down shields more than once.

 

But seeing the Prometheans teleporting around the battlefield at will gave me an idea. What if it was possible to use something similar in multiplayer?

 

There are immediately a lot of interesting potential tactical applications. Players could use it to avoid being trapped in enemy-controlled areas, quickly get to ordnance drop locations or vehicle spawns, escape from pursuing enemies, coordinate surprise attacks, flank opponents, or quickly return to their bases in Capture the Flag or Dominion, allowing teams to actually push forward and be aggressive instead of worrying about who's supposed to be defending.

 

To avoid it becoming too overpowered, while players using the teleport ability would be unable to move or attack while disintegrating or reappearing, they would still take damage from all sources, though damage might be higher or lower than normal. Using the teleport would also reset the shield recharge delay timer in the same manner as the Hardlight Shield, so that shields would treat the moment the player fully reappeared as the last time they were hit.

 

The only problem would be determining exactly where the player would teleport to. An arbitrary direction, like toward an initial spawn or objective, might not be very useful, and a random direction or evenn a player-controlled direction could still lead to problems with different surface heights, or falling off the edge of/through the map, especially if the distance to be travelled couldn't be controlled.

 

The solution is therefore a two-part activation system, similar to that used for beatdowns and assassinations.

 

Pressing the armour ability button would mark the player's current location as the teleport destination, for example the Red Flag spawn. This could be done multiple times, though only one location could be active at any time: so if the player pressed the button again at a Warthog spawn, they would instead teleport to the Warthog spawn instead of the Red Flag spawn when they activated the ability.

 

Activating the ability would be done by holding down the armour ability button, and would clear the destination location once the player had reappeared: while they would immediately be able to set mark another destination, there would be a short cooldown before they could activate the teleport again, perhaps fifteen seconds.

 

Once the player's body had begun to disintegrate, it wouldn't be possible to cancel the teleport: however, there would be a half-second of animation in which the button could be released to cancel the jump without activation or penalty.

 

There could also be medals associated with use of the ability, for quickly killing an opponent, securing an objective or just picking up ordnance, as well as for killing players while they disintegrated or reappeared.

 

Obviously it would need a lot of tweaking to make sure it was balanced properly, but what do you think of it in theory? Does it sound like it could be interesting, too overpowered, or too underpowered?

i love the idea only thought is how do we make it complain porf lol so none says he is teleporting to soon or some other junk i love it though  

[Vehicle Destroyer]

The though and ideas, the downs and ups behind this is amazing.  

Heres a great idea though, during the time your person is disappearing it will make you "run" in a ghost mode to control where you want to be.  So when you totally disappear it will reappear where you ran to.  Since for Prometheans it is a little fast for that, I would say make it slow enough to get a little bit of a distance atleast.  Take no damage, but when you reappear somewhere so from point A to B lets say.  From point A to B a quick red path is made so you cant exactly hide.  Cool down should be about 45 seconds to a minute.   Great idea though, I support it.

In addition to what I said here, to prevent going through walls (I feel like this needs to be said), when running in "Ghost mode" during the activation, you are still bound to game physics, so you need to actually move about the map as per usual.  That being said, maybe turn up the movement speed a tad bit 25-50%, lower gravity by 25-50%.  If used when moving the Flag or Ball, or carrying any objective, the movement and gravity are effected by that as well.  75% speed, 100% gravity.   Effectively evening it out, and again showing the A - B path once you reappear using a redish fog.

[haloman 2]

The though and ideas, the downs and ups behind this is amazing.  

Heres a great idea though, during the time your person is disappearing it will make you "run" in a ghost mode to control where you want to be.  So when you totally disappear it will reappear where you ran to.  Since for Prometheans it is a little fast for that, I would say make it slow enough to get a little bit of a distance atleast.  Take no damage, but when you reappear somewhere so from point A to B lets say.  From point A to B a quick red path is made so you cant exactly hide.  Cool down should be about 45 seconds to a minute.   Great idea though, I support it.

yes i agree totally with you.

 

i also totally love and support the idea too. it's a really go one

[Sadly Just AL]

It would be pretty cool, but it can't be spammable or it'll just become broken, though if a fair limit is offered it would be cool.

[FleshBack]

I like the idea but I wouldn't want to see it implemented. It just screams OP.

 

It would break map design, which is already being thoroughly done by the Jet Pack.

 

It would make grenade placement pretty irrelevant. "I am not even gonna turn that corner, cuz I can just teleport around it."

 

It would be totally dominating if a whole team were abusing it. Imagine you are by yourself and all of the sudden three guys come out of nowhere and massacre you before you even know what hit you.

 

Thruster pack already performs a similar function to this, getting you out of hairy situation fast or giving you that extra boost to certain areas. In fact, it gives you all the benefits and none of the OPness of teleporting.

 

People with Swords and this AA would be absolute monsters.

 

Granted, it would be fun, but that doesn't always translate to balanced. Those are some of my thoughts on the subject.

[Chris Hansen]

Sounds retardedly over powered.

 

Imagine every person you're shooting teleporting away.

 

You even said that this is a "Frustrating" technique when used by Knights, and it is.

 

What happened to bubble shield? At least that harkens back to halo 3.

[paulic83]

Sounds retardedly over powered.

 

Imagine every person you're shooting teleporting away.

 

You even said that this is a "Frustrating" technique when used by Knights, and it is.

 

What happened to bubble shield? At least that harkens back to halo 3.

 

I agree with u, it would be way to OP and the game would be filled with it! Though I think the bubble shield doesnt work as AA either as it proved in reach they took it off everythin bar firefight, thats been replaced with the regen field or whatever its called, which I feel is a bit more balanced

 

Or did it not heal u on halo3? I forget!! Cuz it'd be good if tbat were the case!!