Willeth said:
I don't think it's a problem; it's been rebalanced. It's still a great CQ weapon, it just plays slightly differently (I think for the better).
Agree 100%. I find the shotgun incredibly effective but not as godly as it used to be. I'm not sure what it is, but I find it more difficult to get 1 shot kills with it now, whether that be due to shorter range, or possibly a tighter bullet spread - I'm not sure, but it certainly feels more fair now... and not a rape all CQC weapon... the sword actually has a shot at taking a shotty user down now.
Also some thoughts about the game since my last post.
The DMR is godly. I'm +116 with it in Arena - it's amazing in everyway - and I think any modifications to it are going to seriously throw out its balance (4sk, bloom adjustment etc). At the moment, it's a perfect mid/long range weapon - and can still be a reliable short/mid range weapon if you can hit all your shots fast enough.
Pistol I find a little lackluster - but only because I'm fairly bad with it. I find the AR more useful close-range, and frequently swap the pistol for a Nerfle/DMR whenever I get a chance. That being said - I think that's the way it should be. A reliable mid range backup for the AR - but not a tool of destruction unless you are excellent with it.
Assault Rifle is pretty much exactly how I want it to be - however I think it feels a little underpowered now due to the over-powered nature of the grenades. There's no real benefit in blasting a whole AR clip into someone for a kill, or going for the melee if you can toss a mini-nuke in their general direction and get the kill, while taking less damage as you run away.
The needler is perfect, Rocket Launcher is perfect, Pro-pipe is awesome - though hard to use, focus rifle is just right - while it has a lot of ammo, you have to be good with it to get a kill with each burst. Sniper feels good, PP is fine, not a big fan of the plasma launcher - definitely needs to tone down the homing and lock on effectiveness. Also, needle rifle is fine. It has waaay less bloom, allowing for more rapid shots - and it just as effective as a DMR if you're fast enough.
Movement speed, jump height, and AA's I'm all fine with. Jetpackers are annoying - but hand me plenty of DMR kills, Armour Lock needs to lose the 1 second of invulnerability after they break AL. Sprint is fantastic, and combined with sprint-jumps allows you to move around the map without ever really having to wait, in a vulnerable position for the recharge. Active camo is shit at the moment. Outside of camping a corner/elevator etc with a power weapon, it's only use remains moving in the open mostly invisible. I think the radar jammer needs to change. It should be - if player A is within X range of player B (using camo) then radar is scrambled/jammed etc. As it stands, I can tell the general direction a camo user is coming from and jump him nearly everytime. To explain further, it should be how MW2 handles it. With no real indication of where the scrambler user is coming from - just that your whole radar is jammed when within X range of a player.
Finally, Invasion is awesome. While I can see the balance issues etc. It's fantastic and a lot of fun. I've won as elites once, spartans twice, and I find that a well-organised team (not helped by party splitting) of elites won't have too many issues. That being said, loadouts need to be looked at. There needs to be a 3rd loadout available in section 1 for elites - with no AA, but a Nerfle start. As it stands - 2 nerfles is not enough, and in no way allows for any decent distraction/cover fire. Also, the active camo class is useless in section 1 (unless a change to the AA was implemented). Evade allows you to kill, escape, control, and leave territories far more effectively. Fact is, you can make your way up the stairs, kill a spartan or two, evade INTO a territory - stay for a few seconds, and then when grenades start flying at you, evade straight down the stairs while you get ready/spawn your team-mate for attempt # 2. While a repetitive exercise, an Active camo user is seriously disadvantaged outside of a needler start.
Also,
pic of my plasma grenade rape of a warthog. Absolutely love the theatre mode of Halo 3/Reach - it takes the game to a whole new level - allowing me to see detail like this, and effectively 'save' replays that I can view however I like. The fact that this hasn't become a standard across online games in general - tells me that Bungie is without doubt, the best console developer around at the moment. And despite my disappointment of them leaving the Halo franchise behind - I am seriously excited for whatever they come up with next - because I know it will shit all over the games in whatever genre they choose to rape next. Bravo.
