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Halo |OT 21| Battle is the Great Redeemer | LIVE. DIE. RESPAWN.

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M

Madness

Member
It's sad that I probably have already played half as many matches in Halo 5 beta in one day, than I got in for MCC the past month a half. I'm glad Relic is coming, but H2A needs a few more maps to be viable. Maybe dev polished Forge levels in the rotation?
 
M

m23

Member
Madness said:
It's sad that I probably have already played half as many matches in Halo 5 beta in one day, than I got in for MCC the past month a half. I'm glad Relic is coming, but H2A needs a few more maps to be viable. Maybe dev polished Forge levels in the rotation?
Click to expand...

Lol same.
 
M

Madness

Member
I kind of wish the intense blue and red we saw in the detailed models that were shown is what we got in game. Instead, the Spartan models look no different from H2A or Halo 4, color slightly washed out.
 
P

Poodlestrike

Banned
Madness said:
I kind of wish the intense blue and red we saw in the detailed models that were shown is what we got in game. Instead, the Spartan models look no different from H2A or Halo 4, color slightly washed out.
Click to expand...

That'd help a lot with the visibility problem on the maps as well.
 
F

Fahzgoolin

Banned
Alrighty, my service record says I have played for 10 hours so I think that's a fair enough amount of time to do a write up on my thoughts of the game:

Maps

Truth:
  • Too hazy/foggy
  • Pink tower is labeled "pink", but there is nothing pink about it. Please consider a color change to a pink hue to distinguish it from the "blue/red bend" side.
  • Love the stretched out feel to accommodate for sprint and thrusters. Very well thought out. Kudos.
  • The little hologram of the Prophet of Truth talking at the bottom of pink tower is pretty rad. Great touch.
  • The jump up to top mid is great! Everyone I have spoken with loves it.
  • Prophet's bane glows a bit too brightly and obscures my vision significantly.

Empire:
  • 2 snipers feel like overkill. I don't even think a sniper is a great weapon for that map anyways, but 2 is too much. A camo power up "outside" with a sniper in the "tower" would feel like a more appropriate setup IMO (or vice versa).
  • Getting spawned killed a lot. It's a neat map, but there is a lot of sight lines and the areas you spawn in are often grenade spammed.
  • Great use of clamber edges. Makes cat and mouse exciting. However, it seems like there are too many areas to clamber on making defending a position nigh impossible. There isn't many choke points, which forces a lot of teams to just run around in packs. Maybe this isn't intentional, but it feels awkward.
  • Blue and Red spartans seem to blend too well in their corresponding bases of color.

Overall Gameplay impressions:
  • The BR doesn't sound right. Need to hear each individual bullet in the 3 shot burst more distinctly. My father and brother walked in to watch and all asked on separate occasions if the BR was single shot now. I think aesthetically it's still ugly, but that's just me.
  • The pistol is starting to feel worthless against skilled players, especially when they have a BR. It doesn't have enough range and 5 shots doesn't feel like they are killing consistently. The awkward recoil after the first shot seems needlessly disruptive, especially considering when you get shot your aim seems to get moved off target. Please also consider making the pistol a lighter color. It's really hard to see on the ground as it's so small. Also, who doesn't like that sexy shiny silver pistol of death?
  • The AR is definitely more powerful/useful especially when aiming down sights. I can reach WAY to far out with it. It almost feels dirty because it doesn't require much precision. If the effective distance was reduced a bit I think it would be better.
  • The SMG is a lot of fun to use and the tighter spread when scoped seems to be balanced out by the fact that you can ping someone out of it and finish the kill.
  • Flinch/aim punch? Plenty of times I get shot or hit with a grenade and my cross-hair moves off target. I don't know about other people, but this doesn't seem right and feels like it doesn't contribute to skillful gunplay. Feels random and frustrating.
  • Grenades seem WAY too powerful. When I have zero shields I can be really far from a grenade (like getting breathed on) and I die. People are noticing this and grenade spam is way too effective. I think this was done to accommodate for the sprinting spartans with thrusters, but frags seem to powerful.
  • Plasma grenades are hardly used. It's way harder to stick someone this time around, so I feel like the frags should be nerfed a bit and the plasma grenades given a wider radius explosion to make up for their nerfed usefulness.
  • Grenade hitmarkers. This seems totally out of place and overpowering. We already have radar, really powerful grenades, spartan call outs etc. I have been charged by enemies when I was crouched and unseen from radar only to be hit by grenade spam. They receive a hit marker and they go in hot pursuit. I really don't see why this is there.
  • Hitmarkers on weapons. I don't mind them, but their usefulness is sort of nullified by the great shield effects and audible ping hit markers. Too much noise. Cut out the fat maybe?
  • I think being able to shoot while thrusting would be a lot of fun and increase skill gap. Just make it so you can't ADS. You can shoot while sprint sliding, so why not with thrusters?
  • Clamber is a welcome addition after spending hours with this. Feels smooth, responsive and really opens up possibilities for map design. My only issue is that it seems too forgiving. Many times I have seen my enemy engage in a clamber when he was out of arms length of an edge.
  • Ground pound is a lot of fun to use, but I hate it taking up the place of crouch jumping (I know this a known issue). My suggestion is to move the ground pound to holding the sprint button while in the air and move the stabilizers to the crouch button when in ADS. Or maybe just allow button mapping...
  • ADS: I still prefer the classic look, however it has definitely impressed my brother (who is a more casual FPS player). Please allow a toggle for this in the menu. I know going back to classic would be an advantage, so maybe could you make it so everything is more dimmed/hazy outside of the crosshair to compensate? My other idea is to make it a toggle so that the BR, Pistol, and DMR have the same sort of ADS that the AR does currently. Would that be a fair trade off?
  • The sniper scope-in HUD is just ugly and busy. It's too blue and obscures my vision. Also, the sniper no longer sounds iconic and distinguishable. It sounds very similar to a DMR shot.
  • Spartan call outs are nice and aren't invasive enough. Obviously tone back the useless ones please (compliments, calling out that "I have a DMR", "watch your friendly fire" when there isn't any).
  • Sprint seems pretty darn balanced. The lack of shield recharge and the ability to slow a person when sprinting by shooting at him is a great touch. Great job 343. If you are going to keep sprint, this is the way to do it.
  • The slide seems under utilized, but it's actually quite helpful since you can shoot while doing it. I think you should be able to engage the slide a little sooner into the sprint though.
  • The announcer sounds pretty good to me. A great example is "Perrrrfect..." However, please remove the announcement that the "sniper will be up in" X amount of seconds. Even my brother, who is a casual player, said that it seemed unfair and that a team should take the risk of checking if it's re-spawned, or time it like we use to.

Last words: I'm blown away by this game. It honestly feels like Halo and I feel even more like a super soldier bad ass than before. Thanks so much for letting us play and test your game and reading our feedback. If this is any indication on how the final game is going to play, then count me excited and as a future consumer that will recommend it to everyone. Just please keep in mind that when you add in more weapons, which is inevitable, that they all play well into the sandbox and have a purpose. If the sandbox becomes too cluttered, it will be no longer fun to play.

Again, thank you Stinkles. You totally made my weekend.
 
T

TTUVAPOR

Banned
Fahzgoolin said:
Alrighty, my service record says I have played for 10 hours so I think that's a fair enough amount of time to do a write up on my thoughts of the game:

Maps

Truth:
  • Too hazy/foggy
  • Pink tower is labeled "pink", but there is nothing pink about it. Please consider a color change to a pink hue to distinguish it from the "blue/red bend" side.
  • Love the stretched out feel to accommodate for sprint and thrusters. Very well thought out. Kudos.
  • The little hologram of the Prophet of Truth talking at the bottom of pink tower is pretty rad. Great touch.
  • The jump up to top mid is great! Everyone I have spoken with loves it.
  • Prophet's bane glows a bit too brightly and obscures my vision significantly.

Empire:
  • 2 snipers feel like overkill. I don't even think a sniper is a great weapon for that map anyways, but 2 is too much. A camo power up "outside" with a sniper in the "tower" would feel like a more appropriate setup IMO (or vice versa).
  • Getting spawned killed a lot. It's a neat map, but there is a lot of sight lines and the areas you spawn in are often grenade spammed.
  • Great use of clamber edges. Makes cat and mouse exciting. However, it seems like there are too many areas to clamber on making defending a position nigh impossible. There isn't many choke points, which forces a lot of teams to just run around in packs. Maybe this isn't intentional, but it feels awkward.
  • Blue and Red spartans seem to blend too well in their corresponding bases of color.

Overall Gameplay impressions:
  • The BR doesn't sound right. Need to hear each individual bullet in the 3 shot burst more distinctly. My father and brother walked in to watch and all asked on separate occasions if the BR was single shot now. I think aesthetically it's still ugly, but that's just me.
  • The pistol is starting to feel worthless against skilled players, especially when they have a BR. It doesn't have enough range and 5 shots doesn't feel like they are killing consistently. The awkward recoil after the first shot seems needlessly disruptive, especially considering when you get shot your aim seems to get moved off target. Please also consider making the pistol a lighter color. It's really hard to see on the ground as it's so small. Also, who doesn't like that sexy shiny silver pistol of death?
  • The AR is definitely more powerful/useful especially when aiming down sights. I can reach WAY to far out with it. It almost feels dirty because it doesn't require much precision. If the effective distance was reduced a bit I think it would be better.
  • The SMG is a lot of fun to use and the tighter spread when scoped seems to be balanced out by the fact that you can ping someone out of it and finish the kill.
  • Flinch/aim punch? Plenty of times I get shot or hit with a grenade and my cross-hair moves off target. I don't know about other people, but this doesn't seem right and feels like it doesn't contribute to skillful gunplay. Feels random and frustrating.
  • Grenades seem WAY too powerful. When I have zero shields I can be really far from a grenade (like getting breathed on) and I die. People are noticing this and grenade spam is way too effective. I think this was done to accommodate for the sprinting spartans with thrusters, but frags seem to powerful.
  • Plasma grenades are hardly used. It's way harder to stick someone this time around, so I feel like the frags should be nerfed a bit and the plasma grenades given a wider radius explosion to make up for their nerfed usefulness.
  • Grenade hitmarkers. This seems totally out of place and overpowering. We already have radar, really powerful grenades, spartan call outs etc. I have been charged by enemies when I was crouched and unseen from radar only to be hit by grenade spam. They receive a hit marker and they go in hot pursuit. I really don't see why this is there.
  • Hitmarkers on weapons. I don't mind them, but their usefulness is sort of nullified by the great shield effects and audible ping hit markers. Too much noise. Cut out the fat maybe?
  • I think being able to shoot while thrusting would be a lot of fun and increase skill gap. Just make it so you can't ADS. You can shoot while sprint sliding, so why not with thrusters?
  • Clamber is a welcome addition after spending hours with this. Feels smooth, responsive and really opens up possibilities for map design. My only issue is that it seems too forgiving. Many times I have seen my enemy engage in a clamber when he was out of arms length of an edge.
  • Ground pound is a lot of fun to use, but I hate it taking up the place of crouch jumping (I know this a known issue). My suggestion is to move the ground pound to holding the sprint button while in the air and move the stabilizers to the crouch button when in ADS. Or maybe just allow button mapping...
  • ADS: I still prefer the classic look, however it has definitely impressed my brother (who is a more casual FPS player). Please allow a toggle for this in the menu. I know going back to classic would be an advantage, so maybe could you make it so everything is more dimmed/hazy outside of the crosshair to compensate? My other idea is to make it a toggle so that the BR, Pistol, and DMR have the same sort of ADS that the AR does currently. Would that be a fair trade off?
  • The sniper scope-in HUD is just ugly and busy. It's too blue and obscures my vision. Also, the sniper no longer sounds iconic and distinguishable. It sounds very similar to a DMR shot.
  • Spartan call outs are nice and aren't invasive enough. Obviously tone back the useless ones please (compliments, calling out that "I have a DMR", "watch your friendly fire" when there isn't any).
  • Sprint seems pretty darn balanced. The lack of shield recharge and the ability to slow a person when sprinting by shooting at him is a great touch. Great job 343. If you are going to keep sprint, this is the way to do it.
  • The slide seems under utilized, but it's actually quite helpful since you can shoot while doing it. I think you should be able to engage the slide a little sooner into the sprint though.
  • The announcer sounds pretty good to me. A great example is "Perrrrfect..." However, please remove the announcement that the "sniper will be up in" X amount of seconds. Even my brother, who is a casual player, said that it seemed unfair and that a team should take the risk of checking if it's re-spawned, or time it like we use to.

Last words: I'm blown away by this game. It honestly feels like Halo and I feel even more like a super soldier bad ass than before. Thanks so much for letting us play and test your game and reading our feedback. If this is any indication on how the final game is going to play, then count me excited and as a future consumer that will recommend it to everyone. Just please keep in mind that when you add in more weapons, which is inevitable, that they all play well into the sandbox and have a purpose. If the sandbox becomes too cluttered, it will be no longer fun to play.

Again, thank you Stinkles. You totally made my weekend.
Click to expand...

Would you welcome toggles for the Spartan Abilities so that specific game modes could be made and thus, specific playlists?
 
F

Fahzgoolin

Banned
TTUVAPOR said:
Would you welcome toggles for the Spartan Abilities so that specific game modes could be made and thus, specific playlists?
Click to expand...

I'm on the fence about this. I feel like the spartan abilities are a learning curve and should be the dedicated experience of this game throughout all playlists. I'm a CE/H2 guy, so this is all foreign to me, especially in Halo...but removing sprint from some playlists I think actually encourages the naysayers and would make an already dissenting community even more split on the issue.

For customs, why not? I see no issue with that at all. The more options the better. However, I still would hope that the competitive scene would use the same abilities that are in the common playlists in matchmaking. This promotes unity and popularity in the esport as a whole.
 
T

Tawpgun

Member
Fahzgoolin said:
I'm on the fence about this. I feel like the spartan abilities are a learning curve and should be the dedicated experience of this game throughout all playlists. I'm a CE/H2 guy, so this is all foreign to me, especially in Halo...but removing sprint from some playlists I think actually encourages the naysayers and would make an already dissenting community even more split on the issue.

For customs, why not? I see no issue with that at all. The more options the better. However, I still would hope that the competitive scene would use the same abilities that are in the common playlists in matchmaking. This promotes unity and popularity in the esport as a whole.
Click to expand...

I think base Halo 5 is already good for competetiveness. Only slight tweaks to stuff might be needed. I always hated how in later Halo games MLG and base game became so different.
 
FUNKNOWN iXi

FUNKNOWN iXi

Member
Fahzgoolin said:
  • 2 snipers feel like overkill. I don't even think a sniper is a great weapon for that map anyways, but 2 is too much. A camo power up "outside" with a sniper in the "tower" would feel like a more appropriate setup IMO (or vice versa).
Click to expand...
It's funny, my eyes went straight to this.. But yes, I said this after the first game of using it and I was called crazy. This one will die if people get the BR starts they're asking for.

If 343 is serious about AR/Magnum starts, they need to be serious about the Magnum being a contender at range. It needs an RRR boost and the zoom needs to be improved (ADS obstructs the view, the reticle is tiny, etc.). I'm telling you, once people get their BR starts (rightfully so in this current state of the Magnum), the Magnum is going to fizzle off. People are begging for BR starts now because the Magnum isn't as consistent or as ranged as it should be IMO.

If there was no motion tracker, getting in on people wouldn't be as problematic and the Magnum could get be more effective. But you know, something something Halo motion tracker something something
 
T

TheOhrenberger.

Banned
Tawpgun said:
I think base Halo 5 is already good for competetiveness. Only slight tweaks to stuff might be needed. I always hated how in later Halo games MLG and base game became so different.
Click to expand...

The competitive game and the base game NEED to be as close to identical as possible. The reason I enjoy watching competitive CSGO is because its the same game I play in matchmaking. I learn new things when I watch the pros. When I used to watch Halo Reach competitive play I learned nothing because the maps and weapon placements and rule sets were all so different from what I played in matchmaking.
 
P

Poodlestrike

Banned
Fahzgoolin said:
I'm on the fence about this. I feel like the spartan abilities are a learning curve and should be the dedicated experience of this game throughout all playlists. I'm a CE/H2 guy, so this is all foreign to me, especially in Halo...but removing sprint from some playlists I think actually encourages the naysayers and would make an already dissenting community even more split on the issue.

For customs, why not? I see no issue with that at all. The more options the better. However, I still would hope that the competitive scene would use the same abilities that are in the common playlists in matchmaking. This promotes unity and popularity in the esport as a whole.
Click to expand...

Pretty much my thoughts exactly. Having a no-Spartan-Abilities matchmaking queue would just divide the playerbase, especially since you just know there's a large chunk who'd never so much as try the conventional stuff. But it should absolutely be in there for customs.
 
F

Fahzgoolin

Banned
Tawpgun said:
I think base Halo 5 is already good for competetiveness. Only slight tweaks to stuff might be needed. I always hated how in later Halo games MLG and base game became so different.
Click to expand...

I totally agree. Halo 3 started this trend and competitive Halo started it's sad decline. The base game needs to be the same. Since 343 has the reigns over the Halo competitive scene, I am optimistic.

FUNKNOWN iXi said:
It's funny, my eyes went straight to this.. But yes, I said this after the first game of using it and I was called crazy. This one will die if people get the BR starts they're asking for.

If 343 is serious about AR/Magnum starts, they need to be serious about the Magnum being a contender at range. It needs an RRR boost and the zoom needs to be improved (ADS obstructs the view, the reticle is tiny, etc.). I'm telling you, once people get their BR starts (rightfully so in this current state of the Magnum), the Magnum is going to fizzle off. People are begging for BR starts now because the Magnum isn't as consistent or as ranged as it should be IMO.

If there was no motion tracker, getting in on people wouldn't be as problematic and the Magnum could get be more effective. But you know, something something Halo motion tracker something something
Click to expand...

Yes, I agree with this as well. The magnum needs a buff. At first I thought it was glorious, but as soon as I got more skilled and played against Onyx's/semi-pros/pros (literal pros lol), I soon stopped using it and just spammed AR until I got a BR.

I want the magnum to be more viable as a starting weapon. I like the mad rush to BR and DMR's, but if the AR/Magnum start remains this way, then BR starts will be the norm again and will deteriorate part of the weapon control gameplay we love.
 
K

KidA Seven

Member
Deadly Cyclone said:
Is it a crutch, or a tool to be even better?
Click to expand...

If matchmaking were placing players of similar skill with each other in matches, radar literally has no benefits. It's only a crutch for newer players if they are going up against skilled players. A crutch isn't needed if matchmaking works as it's intended. Even then, it won't do much. A skilled player will win regardless.

What I hate about radar above all is the following:

1. Radar only allows you to be stealth at a painfully slow pace. You have to crawl to go undetected. No radar allows any player to sneak in behind the other team at normal speed. The chances of being stealth increases without radar.

2. Radar makes it easier for campers. They know whenever someone is coming near them so they can abuse a power weapon. No radar forces the campers to be more aware of their surroundings and players have a better chance at killing them.

Both of these points show that the game gets slower with the radar. The individual battles become less exciting as you know where the player is at all times as well.
 
L

LinkToTheFuture

Member
Is this a known bug? every time i try to start co op h2 with someone it loads for awhile then boots us back to menu saying lost connection to game session, game session connection timed out and other things :| wanted to get a legendary halo 2 level in during h5 beta maint but spent the past 40 minutes trying to start the mission lol. it worked on first try then one of us died and strangely it reset the whole mission. no iron skull was on. then after that we could never get the level to load up again.
 
M

Mix

Member
I know this is kinda late, but I figured that I'd go ahead and post my first impressions of the Halo 5:G Beta.

-The new movement options are fun and satisfying. Thrusters are awesome, Clamber is so-so, I guess, it's not something that I hate but at the same time it doesn't always work as easily as I thought it would so that's definitely good.
-Charge and GP are both bad. They don't really feel that satisfying to use and the risk is much higher than the reward. After a few matches I barely saw them being used so I guess it balanced itself out.
-Sprint felt really good, especially with this mechanic. I too was one who was against it's inclusion but if it has to stay, this is the best way to do it.
-Smart Scope works very well, I found it to serve pretty much the same purpose it did before, but that I use it now because of where it's mapped to.

-The weapons were hit or miss for me, the auto weapons were too OP in my opinion and often was out gunned by an AR at medium range while I was using the BR.
-I want to say it again, AR and SMG are too freaking powerful.
-The DMR's scope definitely balanced out it's range in a way I hadn't expected, by closing off that much screen real estate it was nice to not be able to dominate from every corner of the map because of the handicap.
-Sniper was a little off, I don't know what it was and sword lunging only worked about half the time for me, as did clash.
-Also, to be a bit nitpicky here, spawning with two grenades seems a bit much, I think it may be that they're a little too powerful as they were in the preview, but I'm not too sure yet.

-The sounds were much better than I expected as well, the pings when landing hits weren't as annoying as I thought they would be and became positive for me. the music is fantastic, all except for the track that plays every time you die. I got more frustrated that way because it felt like the game was rubbing it in your face that you had. It was unnecessary.
-Shield recharge sound is weird too. I don't understand why it was changed as it's change doesn't better the experience, it's just change for change sake and I didn't really like it.
-BR sounds more like a BR than I thought it would. In the videos before I got hands on it seemed off but works fine in the game.
-Spartan Chatter is cool, I think it needs to be toned down a bit as it's been said before, but it's also already been addressed. There was one instance that I didn't like it because while I was scoping with the sniper on Empire from Outside to Tower Three a spartan told me that a bad guy was spotted in Blue Outside so I descoped and searched for him instead. Idk, technically someone with a mic would do the same thing, but it felt like I was being babysat.

-The maps were a lot of fun, Truth especially was my favorite. The map flow was great and the gameplay was fun. My biggest complaint with the maps are the colors being just a tiny bit too washed out as well as the haze. The haze made some spots of the map feel like I was being punished for being in them. But thankfully, this has already been addressed.
-I also think that Empire could use different power weapons. I felt like it was too small for twin snipers. Maybe one on Tower Two and a different option on Outside.

-Dudebros need to chill. Seriously, it was funny at first and to see the different iterations with different team sizes, but it's already old.

-The only real bugs that I saw were the menu ones. If you go to the Spartan Hub to customize your Spartan after a match,wouldn't render like at all. He's essentially a big pink (and always pink, even if I change the colors) blob with a blue rendered visor.

All in all, the gameplay was super fun and satisfying, I never felt cheated out of a kill due to mechanics, only due to skill, and what all I didn't enjoy seems as though it's been addressed already. This is leaps and bounds better than Halo 4 was ever and I am super excited to play non-AR starts when the full beta goes live and on some new maps, and the final product next fall.

I love Halo 5 y'all. Smart scope is cool, autos are OP and thrusters are godly. #WeBack
 
C

Computron

Member
I want to use stabalizers effectively, I can think of several scenarios in which they would be very usefull (avoiding grenade blasts, peaking over ledges, faking out enemies) but with the current state of bumper jumper it is nigh impossible.

They often get in the way when enabled by default.
If you set them to off by default, when you want to use them you are supposed to press (Right-Stick + A) at the same time.

Instead, I propose that bumper jumper control schemes should activate stabilizers by pressing the jump button again in the air while scoping.
 
P

Prinz Eugn

Member
Computron said:
In bumper jumper it is impossible to effectively use the stabilizers.

They get in the way when enabled by default and if you set them to off by default and end up wanting to use them in some circumstance you are told to press (Right-Stick + A) at the same time.

Instead, I propose that bumper jumper control schemes should activate stabilizers by pressing the jump button again in the air while scoping.

I want to use them effectively, I can think of several scenarios in which they would be very usefull (avoiding grenade blasts, peaking over ledges, faking out enemies) but in the current state of bumper jumper it is nigh impossible.
Click to expand...

I play bumper jumper and I support this message.
 
D

DeadNames

Banned
Just watched the newest Sprint.

343, I do not like that new Rocket Launcher at all. Nope, not one bit. Bring back the SPNKr

Or maybe the one in the Sprint was just the 'legendary' version?
 
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