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Halo 5: Guardians |OT5| Is HaloGAF irrelevant now?

shanafan

Member
There is a FREE version currently out on Windows 10.

This version houses Multiplayer, Forge, and server browser. There is no campaign nor matchmaking included, since this is a free version. No plans have been announced that the two features i mentioned will come to windows 10 in the future.

Thanks for the info ;)
 
I'm talking about his asinine "but they didn't even ship it in a protected appx format. What was I supposed to do, not crack it open?" defense.

He might be a great guy in the real world. He wasn't spending all his time hacking the game to film him shitting on unsuspecting people, so that's good. But you're saying that there shouldn't be consequences for saying outrageously stupid things on a public forum, and that I just can't agree with. He's reaping exactly what he has sown.
The greatest of guys:
1c820d78b45a4aa5b72375529aa096e6.png
Then it got a little naughty ;]

No one messed with HaloGAF while I'm around. I got you, Ellis.
 

Trup1aya

Member
Am i the only on who thinks 343s upcoming TO12 warzone playlist is the exact OPPOSITE of the approach they should be taking.

The problem: larger parties ruin the soloq experience due to a lack of party matching

The test: limit party sizes to 6 players or less

The conclusion: soloq is more enjoyable when party sizes are smaller


So now that this has been proven, why would 343 think that creating a seperate TO12 playlist would help anything? All that does is create long wait times for a very specific group of people while parties continue to be poorly matched for everyone else.

Why not take the opposite approach and create a playlist for small parties (TO1-4) and a playlist for everyone else (TO1-12). This way everyone could get into matches quickly and those who fear getting donged by farming Spartan Companies have a place to relax a bit.
 
Infection has one of the most consistent baseline population numbers making it an ideal test bed for these XP increases. Simple (and logical) as that.
I have yet to play infection since it was released. Not saying it doesn't have a consistent population though.
I just don't care for peripheral game types. I'll play core Halo and then firefight to relax.


I'm finally getting through to doing my Legendary playthrough of this game. There may or may not be a mega post incoming when I finish.
Legendary is fine, I did it on my first solo playthrough so it was also a blind run. Fought the 3 wardens and all. Have your AI target soldiers and crawlers to save some ammo.
 
I'm talking about his asinine "but they didn't even ship it in a protected appx format. What was I supposed to do, not crack it open?" defense.

He might be a great guy in the real world. He wasn't spending all his time hacking the game to film him shitting on unsuspecting people, so that's good. But you're saying that there shouldn't be consequences for saying outrageously stupid things on a public forum, and that I just can't agree with. He's reaping exactly what he has sown.

About Halo 5 forge leaks or Wars 2 beta?

Thing is though with it would've happened anyways, datamining is common now a days. halo 5's proofread crew is very sloppy and hopefully with the forge leak it taught them that build proofscreening is important if you want leaks to be avoided and with the HW2 beta at least he told somebody at certain affinity about the campaign spoilers in the beta so they had time to remove it (I hope, otherwise were in for some end-game spoilers at the end of the month).

But I'll agree on 2 things: he shouldn't have posted anything about the HW2 beta until the near beta release which was a couple weeks from now and he shouldn't have gone and ranted on twitter when he got his account banned, which now has his words recorded and screenshotted for the rest of time not only that he wasn't very careful with his main gamertag, probably should've hidden it more after what happened to his friend Zedd. yes hes reaping what he sown because of those 2 factors I'll agree with you on that.

The greatest of guys:

Then it got a little naughty ;]

No one messed with HaloGAF while I'm around. I got you, Ellis.

...I can't honestly tell if you're joking or not. but GC wasn't lying, the game is over 50GBs of updates, its absurd you need to go though that much now a days just to even get to the main menu.
 
...I can't honestly tell if you're joking or not. but GC wasn't lying, the game is over 50GBs of updates, its absurd you need to go though that much now a days just to even get to the main menu.
The point is that he was being snarky in a situation that didn't call for it, towards someone who works for the studio he's leaking things from. Not to mention it was Christmas; where's the jolly spirit?!
 
Infection has one of the most consistent baseline population numbers making it an ideal test bed for these XP increases. Simple (and logical) as that.

Meanwhile, Pegasus, no party matching (let's just make yet another playlist instead), BR starts, etc, etc...

I mean I figured as much re: population numbers, but considering win bonuses, gambit boosts, etc, wouldn't the xp results give a clearer and more troubleshooting-friendly output with team-based results instead of ffa game types? Wouldn't you prefer to start with something that has the least variables influencing xp instead of the most? Something where it's easier to rule out issue sources?

Also, as others have said, I basically don't touch infection so it's a bummer at the least.
 

Karl2177

Member
Legendary is fine, I did it on my first solo playthrough so it was also a blind run. Fought the 3 wardens and all. Have your AI target soldiers and crawlers to save some ammo.
It's mostly because I see people (well, person) saying that Halo 5 has the best on foot encounters. I don't think that's the case and I'd even make the argument that the only worse on foot encounters are in Spartan Ops. I'll also give the caveat that most of the incredibly awful encounters are when Prometheans are the main bad guys. Honestly at this point, I say cut the losses and find a canonical way to eliminate them in the first half of Halo 6 or just do it in a comic.
 

jem0208

Member
It's mostly because I see people (well, person) saying that Halo 5 has the best on foot encounters. I don't think that's the case and I'd even make the argument that the only worse on foot encounters are in Spartan Ops. I'll also give the caveat that most of the incredibly awful encounters are when Prometheans are the main bad guys. Honestly at this point, I say cut the losses and find a canonical way to eliminate them in the first half of Halo 6 or just do it in a comic.
:D


H5 was my favourite legendary run because the enemies didn't feel obscenely bullet spongey to the point that the noob combo was basically the only viable strategy.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
Halo 5 Legendary was fun.

I'm trying to go through HCE on Legendary. Haven't done it in a long time. Forgot how hard it is.
 

Woorloog

Banned
Halo 5 Legendary was fun.

I'm trying to go through HCE on Legendary. Haven't done it in a long time. Forgot how hard it is.

Hard...? Other than the Library and Keyes, i would not call it hard.

More like tedious... Though at this point, i regard even Halo 2 Legendary mostly tedious rather than actually challenging. I can't even recall how many times i've played it on Legendary, only that i've played it enough i know just about every enemy placement etc.


Still need to play Halo 5 on Legendary, i wonder what i will think about it...
 

jem0208

Member
Hard...? Other than the Library and Keyes, i would not call it hard.

More like tedious... Though at this point, i regard even Halo 2 Legendary mostly tedious rather than actually challenging. I can't even recall how many times i've played it on Legendary, only that i've played it enough i know just about every enemy placement etc.


Still need to play Halo 5 on Legendary, i wonder what i will think about it...

Besides the Warden fights H5 legendary is great.
 

Cranster

Banned
Halo 1 Legendary is the most balanced in that it's not cheap difficult. If you die it's because the AI simply outsmarted and outplayed you as there is not a ridiculous damage bonus for enemy damage and the enemy doesn't rely almost exclusively on homing one hit kill weapons.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
Halo 1 Legendary is the most balanced in that it's not cheap difficult. If you die it's because the AI simply outsmarted and outplayed you as there is not a ridiculous damage bonus for enemy damage and the enemy doesn't rely almost exclusively on homing one hit kill weapons.

It's also a lot easier than later games because you outrange every single enemy you encounter. There's no jackal snipers, no ranged Flood, and your main sidearm is obscenely powerful and the shotgun has tremendous range. If you want you can sit back and pick off most enemies without them reacting to you if you have the right gear, and even close quarters combat isn't too daunting, because you have a plasma rifle to stun Elites until you beat them to death, or else you can backpack reload to keep up fire against masses of Flood.

The only easier campaign is ODST.
 
H5 legendary is a bit of a slog (as per usual) but the AI buddies make it a bit less tedious. There are some great firefights in there, and not just against the Covenant. I would agree that vehicle combat is lacking, there's really only a couple sequences that stick out to me there. The final mission might have had one if the Mantises they give you weren't made of paper mache. Giving vehicles a buff is probably necessary at this point.

Only thing I think I woiluld say needs changing on the enmy side is the Soldiers. They're balanced okay, but they feel like such a firesink because of the lack of hit feedback. Give them some visual effect to indicate damage, like Elite shield flare, and they'll be much more fun to fight.

Factions are probably getting a remix in 6 anyway, tho- Cortana's Created will have a mix of Covenant and Promethean assets (not to mention stuff like the Goblin), and I'm expecting human enemies to finally appear in the form of the new secessionist hardliners. Maybe the HW2 Banished, if they survive that game.
 

SCHUEY F1

Unconfirmed Member
It's also a lot easier than later games because you outrange every single enemy you encounter. There's no jackal snipers, no ranged Flood, and your main sidearm is obscenely powerful and the shotgun has tremendous range. If you want you can sit back and pick off most enemies without them reacting to you if you have the right gear, and even close quarters combat isn't too daunting, because you have a plasma rifle to stun Elites until you beat them to death, or else you can backpack reload to keep up fire against masses of Flood.

The only easier campaign is ODST.

Hard...? Other than the Library and Keyes, i would not call it hard.

More like tedious... Though at this point, i regard even Halo 2 Legendary mostly tedious rather than actually challenging. I can't even recall how many times i've played it on Legendary, only that i've played it enough i know just about every enemy placement etc.


Still need to play Halo 5 on Legendary, i wonder what i will think about it...

Yeah, tedious is probably a better term.
 

lybertyboy

Thinks the Evil Empire is just misunderstood.
I mean I figured as much re: population numbers, but considering win bonuses, gambit boosts, etc, wouldn't the xp results give a clearer and more troubleshooting-friendly output with team-based results instead of ffa game types? Wouldn't you prefer to start with something that has the least variables influencing xp instead of the most? Something where it's easier to rule out issue sources?

Also, as others have said, I basically don't touch infection so it's a bummer at the least.

What we're studying is more about player behavior. We know the math about actual XP earned per match or match minute and that stays consistent regardless of bonuses used at the scale we're talking about.
 

Woorloog

Banned
The only easier campaign is ODST.

Ironically the ODST is the only one where you can survive a beam rifle shot on Heroic, and even Legendary if i recall correctly.
The only really difficult section in ODST Legendary is the Elephant escort section. So many Wraiths, Ghosts and Banshees at once, and all you've got is Buck as a gunner and he is bad at that.

Reach is the only one where i feel cheated, mostly because it is the only Halo where the AI can actually head-shot the player (usually the AI does not get the instant-kill headshot bonus). It doesn't help the Needle Rifle's aim assist is basically broken since it auto-hits head if shields are dropped, this can be seen in zero-bloom multiplayer, and it seems this applies to AI as well (goddamn Skirmishers!). And rest of the time you're fighting the bloom and sluggish movement more than enemies.

The rest just need either time or perfect play. In Halo CE and 3 i can wear down enemy slowly, in Halo 2 i need to defeat enemies on the first try usually (easy once you know where they are). Halo 4... I can't actually recall, mostly tedious, probably.
In any case, noob-combo rules supreme in all Halos.

Halo 1 Legendary is the most balanced in that it's not cheap difficult. If you die it's because the AI simply outsmarted and outplayed you as there is not a ridiculous damage bonus for enemy damage and the enemy doesn't rely almost exclusively on homing one hit kill weapons.
The AI isn't actually smarter on Halos on Legendary than on Heroic. Or at least, i've never perceived it to be that. It just gets stronger, faster and more accurate, and the player is weaker. And it seems health is the thing that varies, not damage, though the end result is effectively the same. But it does not exhibit new tactics or better awareness.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
H5 legendary is a bit of a slog (as per usual) but the AI buddies make it a bit less tedious. There are some great firefights in there, and not just against the Covenant. I would agree that vehicle combat is lacking, there's really only a couple sequences that stick out to me there. The final mission might have had one if the Mantises they give you weren't made of paper mache. Giving vehicles a buff is probably necessary at this point.

Only thing I think I woiluld say needs changing on the enmy side is the Soldiers. They're balanced okay, but they feel like such a firesink because of the lack of hit feedback. Give them some visual effect to indicate damage, like Elite shield flare, and they'll be much more fun to fight.

Factions are probably getting a remix in 6 anyway, tho- Cortana's Created will have a mix of Covenant and Promethean assets (not to mention stuff like the Goblin), and I'm expecting human enemies to finally appear in the form of the new secessionist hardliners. Maybe the HW2 Banished, if they survive that game.

I'm really hopeful they take the opportunity of the universe getting topsy-turvy and the biggest ex-Covenant faction getting wiped out to get creative with the enemies we face and give us plenty of multi-faction battles to play around with.

You can have Created-allied Prometheans along with their Covenant, you could have Insurrectionists, you could have rethought ex-Covenant factions (like what about Chol Von's wannabe Covenant-for-the-Jackals faction from Mortal Dictata? You could build out classes from the Skirmishers and Jackals, and plus then you could throw in some classic Jackal looks to sedate the people still salty about that.)

Ironically the ODST is the only one where you can survive a beam rifle shot on Heroic, and even Legendary if i recall correctly.
The only really difficult section in ODST Legendary is the Elephant escort section. So many Wraiths, Ghosts and Banshees at once, and all you've got is Buck as a gunner and he is bad at that.

Reach is the only one where i feel cheated, mostly because it is the only Halo where the AI can actually head-shot the player (usually the AI does not get the instant-kill headshot bonus). It doesn't help the Needle Rifle's aim assist is basically broken since it auto-hits head if shields are dropped, this can be seen in zero-bloom multiplayer, and it seems this applies to AI as well (goddamn Skirmishers!). And rest of the time you're fighting the bloom and sluggish movement more than enemies.

The rest just need either time or perfect play. In Halo CE and 3 i can wear down enemy slowly, in Halo 2 i need to defeat enemies on the first try usually (easy once you know where they are). Halo 4... I can't actually recall, mostly tedious, probably.
In any case, noob-combo rules supreme in all Halos.


The AI isn't actually smarter on Halos on Legendary than on Heroic. Or at least, i've never perceived it to be that. It just gets stronger, faster and more accurate, and the player is weaker. And it seems health is the thing that varies, not damage, though the end result is effectively the same. But it does not exhibit new tactics or better awareness.

Reach is probably there too, because there's that whole alley of homing FRG turrets which made me tear my teeth out, and the fact that bloom and the instal-kill kicks Elites will hammer you with mean that a lot of the engagements are really meant to noob combo or just sit back and shoot at range until people are dead... aka not enjoyable gameplay.

Dan Miller suggested one of the reasons that the ODST Coastal Highway mission is so difficult is that Buck tends to over-prioritize tracking and fighting air enemies, to the exclusion of ground vehicles. He definitely seems to be terrible at gunning, even compared to normal marines.

I do wish they had some enemy behaviors that only appeared on higher difficulty levels, but making AI "smarter" rather than "tougher" is hard to do, doubly so if you're expending all this effort on a difficulty mode most players will never actually touch.
 

Woorloog

Banned
The AI should have advanced maneuvers and things it does only rarely on easier difficulties. That way it would seem more smart on Legendary.
Additional randomness as far as actions are concerned might help as well, so that it would be harder to predict.
 
What we're studying is more about player behavior. We know the math about actual XP earned per match or match minute and that stays consistent regardless of bonuses used at the scale we're talking about.
Player behavior? So like xp payouts for different actions in game or something?
 

lybertyboy

Thinks the Evil Empire is just misunderstood.
Player behavior? So like xp payouts for different actions in game or something?

No, I think you're misunderstanding and just focusing on the XP payout. We know what the average XP payout will be in Infection. I don't want to get too far into the weeds on specific metrics, but we're more interested in how much the increased XP payout acts as a mechanism for player migration and ensure there are no unintended knock-on effects for example, the average playlist session length.
 
No, I think you're misunderstanding and just focusing on the XP payout. We know what the average XP payout will be in Infection. I don't want to get too far into the weeds on specific metrics, but we're more interested in how much the increased XP payout acts as a mechanism for player migration and ensure there are no unintended knock-on effects for example, the average playlist session length.

This one is for the people

btb pistol starts?
 
No, I think you're misunderstanding and just focusing on the XP payout. We know what the average XP payout will be in Infection. I don't want to get too far into the weeds on specific metrics, but we're more interested in how much the increased XP payout acts as a mechanism for player migration and ensure there are no unintended knock-on effects for example, the average playlist session length.
So seeing how effectively you can manipulate the masses? Got it. 343 evil corp confirmed.
 

FyreWulff

Member
The hardest content for me in any Halo game ever is still the Heretic Elites setting for Firefight in Reach on Legendary.

It's basically AI using human weapons with zero restrictions. Also, then they use projectile weapons like the Rocket Launcher, the AI rockets home in on you, even when you're just on foot.


Heretic waves + Installation 04 I only ever completed with massive, massive amounts of cheese. In the rare spots it showed up in matchmaking it was guaranteed to wipe everyone out and end the game.

Ghaleon and I got bored once while we were hiding
and sobbing
during a Heretic wave, and we turned it into a game of who could survive the longest going out the door. I would jump out and not even hit the ground before I was dead.
 
The hardest content for me in any Halo game ever is still the Heretic Elites setting for Firefight in Reach on Legendary.

It's basically AI using human weapons with zero restrictions. Also, then they use projectile weapons like the Rocket Launcher, the AI rockets home in on you, even when you're just on foot.


Heretic waves + Installation 04 I only ever completed with massive, massive amounts of cheese. In the rare spots it showed up in matchmaking it was guaranteed to wipe everyone out and end the game.

Ghaleon and I got bored once while we were hiding
and sobbing
during a Heretic wave, and we turned it into a game of who could survive the longest going out the door. I would jump out and not even hit the ground before I was dead.

So that's where they got the idea for the homing pro pipe
 
Gotta laugh at the extreme lengths 343 will go to. Creating an ENTIRELY new playlist for WZ 12's which will 100% not be successful due to population and insane search times...Instead of just putting in PARTY MATCHING that will fix a massively glaring issue with the game experienced by EVERYONE. At this point its either 1. 343 knows the low population can't support party matching matchmaking times or they 2. physically cant implement it for some reason (it did take them several months to hide ranks for social lol)
 

op_ivy

Fallen Xbot (cannot continue gaining levels in this class)
So with the news that the hw2 blitz beta will auto update the old beta i wanted to make sure i had that at least installed on my hdd before the 20th. Problem though, i hid it from my "ready to install" tab. Solution! On that same screen, hold lb + rb + X to toggle between ALL content (hidden and unhidden) and your unhidden list! Very cool to know, now i can clean up that list without worry of losing stuff forever.
 
So with the news that the hw2 blitz beta will auto update the old beta i wanted to make sure i had that at least installed on my hdd before the 20th. Problem though, i hid it from my "ready to install" tab. Solution! On that same screen, hold lb + rb + X to toggle between ALL content (hidden and unhidden) and your unhidden list! Very cool to know, now i can clean up that list without worry of losing stuff forever.

Good to know, thanks.
 

Fuchsdh

Member
So with the news that the hw2 blitz beta will auto update the old beta i wanted to make sure i had that at least installed on my hdd before the 20th. Problem though, i hid it from my "ready to install" tab. Solution! On that same screen, hold lb + rb + X to toggle between ALL content (hidden and unhidden) and your unhidden list! Very cool to know, now i can clean up that list without worry of losing stuff forever.

Kinda' wish you could permanently hide stuff you know you aren't gonna' ever touch. Revoke my license or whatever, I'm not going to play some of these cruddy GwG games I got when the service got started :p
 
Kinda' wish you could permanently hide stuff you know you aren't gonna' ever touch. Revoke my license or whatever, I'm not going to play some of these cruddy GwG games I got when the service got started :p

Standard hide works fine. The option to bring back stuff like the HW2 client was a handy trick I didn't know about.
 

Madness

Member
snagged that 40% off gold from the dashboard, so you'll see me online in this now

time to warm up the forge hands

Going for the pig helmet?

Halo 5 Legendary was fun.

I'm trying to go through HCE on Legendary. Haven't done it in a long time. Forgot how hard it is.

I stopped Legendary Halo runs after Bungie one day deleted my Reach legendary campaign progress. One day I logged in and everything was reset to brown Noble Six and yet I kept everything in MP. But campaign all was deleted. I have achievements for things like tank beats everything, completing Reach on heroic, but had zero progress and couldn't even do challenges until I had to beat the missions again in easy or normal.

Halo 4 I just straight up disliked the poor ammo management on Heroic. Halo 5, a bit too easy on Heroic but Wardens just killed any enjoyment. The one on Genesis with Chief and Blue Team, I swear, I was at a point where I was at the top corner of some area and Knights with Incineration Cannons and the Warden were below, all out of ammo, if I moved I died, I had to literally wait like 1 and half hour to 2 hours of having teammates be downed and then respawn to shoot warden by my Dpad targeting him for them, before he killed them again over and over. Obviously now it would be easy. But H5 without Wardens is a better campaign than with. Others may disagree but they artifically lengthen campaign time by almost double with so many useless Wardens.
 
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