Idea: How Forerunner Weapons Will Work

[RedStarRocket91]

It's basically been confirmed now that Forerunner weapons will appear in Halo 4, and not just as Sentinel Beams.

 

This got me thinking of how exactly they're meant to fit into the existing weapon sandbox. I don't mean as whether they'll have equivalents of the Pistol and Plasma Pistol or the Rocket Launcher and the Sniper Rifle, but how as a faction of weapons, they'll fit into the existing structures, given that Covenant weapons are also likely to make a return.

 

By 'faction', I mean general characteristics of how that group's weapon work. While Covenant weapons are generally based on Plasma, UNSC weapons are based on Bullet.

 

This matters because from a gameplay standpoint, Plasma does extra damage to Shields but reduced damage to Health, while Bullet does the same amount of damage to each. Obviously, there are exceptions. The Plasma Repeater, for example, does Bullet damage, while the Spiker in Reach, surprisingly, actually does Plasma damage even though it fires conventional projectiles.

 

So, how will Forerunner weapons work? Well, this is where it gets interesting. What if their own weapons are the antithesis of Plasma weaponry, and actually deal reduced damage to Shields but bonus damage to Health?

 

This is something that hasn't been tried before, and it certainly opens up a lot of possibilities for the weapon sandbox, as well as tactical options in-game. One player grabs a Plasma Rifle, another grabs a Forerunner Rifle. The first fires to destroy Shields very quickly, but would then normally have a very difficult time actually finishing off the enemy player. The latter would normally have a lot of difficulty in actually lowering the Shield to begin with, but in this case can finish off the enemy player in the blink of an eye.

 

It would also make Campaign more interesting, as suddenly the player has to be a lot more aware of their Shield levels, as losing it outright is now much more deadly than previously, where Chief could lose his Shield and still have more than enough health to defeat the enemy.

 

It also makes sense from a canon perspective too, as Forerunner weaponry is designed to fight the Flood, which is a purely biological target.

 

What do you think?

[Azaxx]

LASERS, just that

 

[Stealth Pilot]

I think your right...I just wanted to point out that health is in every halo game, reach just showed it as a part of you HUD.

[Drizzy_Dan]

This is all logical Redstar but I don't think It makes the Forerunner weapons superior enough. These were the best weapons of their time, I think they'll only make a few and they will be power weapons

[Absolute Dog]

Rockstar from what I saw in the videos and screen shots there was only a single "health bar". If what you propose is true, the weapons would be devastating to the humans as much as they were the Flood. What is your thought on that?

 

[I Dont Screw Up]

forunner weapons... are going to be awesome...

[MCPO Mayh3m]

Good idea... but question.

 

If it removes all of your health, don't ya think a no health=dead? So would the Spartan would be dead inside a fully charged shield?

[Archangel Tyrael]

It probably does more damage to health, i mean if they were fighting the flood why would they need weapons against shielded enemies?

[Twinreaper]

well.what we do know.from novels and such...is that Forerunner technology and.weapons are mostly neural energy based. Meaning that their weapons are similar to plasma.weapons but have a devastating effect on nervous or neural pathways. That being said, I envision the weapons firing similar lasers or sentinel beams with enigmatic particle flows or shapes to the particle projectile physics. Think of what a Proton Pack + Plasma Rifle firing might look like in short bursts....and.viola! Forerunner weapons.

[Lᴜᴋᴇ]

I'm not sure - I thought about this, and it could be very cool, especially if you could work together in a party.

[Krinn3]

I like this idea, sounds cool =) hopefully it works out this way

[Unease Peanut]

I think the forerunner weapons will mostly consist out of laser weapons... like the sentinel beam (and the focus rifle was originally designed by the forernners right?) and in the video on halo waypoint the show them fighting the flood with also a laser based weapon.

[DoctorB77]

I Dreadfully hope that they change this. This is hard for knowing whenever you "pop" someones shields and know when they are prone to headshots.

[DoctorB77]

And for the forerunner weapons I am going to guess that they will sound like star wars.

 

 

and i was watching the st.louis blues game when i saw that new kia commercial. And i thought this might be what enemies look like

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4zJWA3Vo6TU

[Mr. DJ]

I just hope they bring back the sentinal beam

[RedStarRocket91]

Rockstar from what I saw in the videos and screen shots there was only a single "health bar". If what you propose is true, the weapons would be devastating to the humans as much as they were the Flood. What is your thought on that?

 

I think the bar in that image works the same as in Halo 3, i.e. you do have Health as well as Shields but you just can't see it.

 

I do think any Forerunner weapons should be devastatingly powerful, and it would feel quite good from a gameplay perspective if you went up against a Forerunner with a whole platoon of marines and they got wiped out straight away because they don't have shields. The Chief would seem more badass in comparison, and Forerunner weapons should definitely seem like they're incredibly powerful.

 

 

Good idea... but question.

 

If it removes all of your health, don't ya think a no health=dead? So would the Spartan would be dead inside a fully charged shield?

 

You would still need to destroy the Shield first to start damaging Health, it's just that once your Shield is down it would kill you much quicker than either Human or Covenant weapons.

[Absolute Dog]

The Chief would seem more badass in comparison, and Forerunner weapons should definitely seem like they're incredibly powerful.

Maybe the reason for his armor upgrade. Cortana or the on ship navigation, realized where they were headed and figured an armor update was in order. Having no information on the campaign in detail, it may begin with a cut scene showing this information.

[TerribleTimbo]

If covenant weapons aren't in multiplayer then I expect the forerunner weapons to pretty much function almost identically to them. But if covenant weapons are included then I have no idea what to expect.