While I do agree 100 percent with this, I really hope there is ranking. I just can't trust "trueskill is working behind the scenes" Just divide the playlists competitive and social like in Halo 2 and Halo 3.
plssss 343
Same.
And those looking down on people for wanting skill based ranks are naive. Some people enjoy the grind of experience, it's massively successful, and that's fine. Halo wants to riff on the work that games like Battlefield 2, and COD implemented, and there's nothing wrong with that, it works for many, many people.
I personally gain
zero satisfaction from such a thing. I enjoyed Battlefield 2 on PC, and COD 4, but these kinds of experiences have burnt out on me and I'm no longer stimulated by it. I've eaten too many carrots, now I'm tired of them.
What does satisfy me and has always fuelled my love for competitive Halo is playing to win, and being rewarded for that. In my opinion it's both beneficial to gameplay (team's united in their desire to win, not grind or play for personal gain), and benefits how motivated I am to play. Look down on me all you want, those who SLRP, but I used to love pushing for that next numbered rank, and playing to improve and challenge better players. That is my motivation to play, that is how I progress, not by unlocking a new Battle Rifle skin or a new helmet.
So as others have said, sure the core might be great, and I'm sure the game will hold my attention for a couple of months at least, but my long term appreciation for the experience just isn't there if the main hook for continued play is experience based, centred on unlocks and abilities.
The motivation isn't there to just play and drop into random matches hoping that trueskill does it's bit. It's frustrating when I match with and against poor teammates, as I blame the game, whereas in prior Halos I have a universal measuring stick to understand why I played with those that I did. And the frustration wasn't there, the lure of staying on and playing a couple more with my friends, to reach a new level (which was always tantalisingly close), was.