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Halo: Reach Beta Thread

UltimaPooh said:
It is a bit better. But the Vehicles are still fairly easy to kill.
I don't understand the reasoning for a Scorpion taking out a Wraith in one hit. That and the mass spawning with Plasma Pistols, Plasma Grenades, and Grenade Launchers.
 
OK.. wow. Spartan vs Elite and even Covy Slayer are ridiculously easy using plasma grenades. Just played my first game of SvE (as Elite) and got 8 sticks, and then the game of Covy Slayer after that I got 7 sticks. I still went positive even though I used only plasma grenades and no weapons for 90% of the time. :lol

Seriously, SvE is just a joke. Evade->Stick->Evade rinse and repeat and you win....
 
Nutter said:
You can play Reach sure.. but you still have a shitty ass connection, and its still causing others to most likely experience lag/latency issues. But Reach does a very good job at masking lag/latency, with that said though over all the Net Code in Reach beats the ever living shit out of the Net Code in 3. I am sure many many many people playing Reach have connections like you, yet FAT PIPE people do not get host. So many games where people quit and they have host. Amazing how they get host over me.

OMG THIS. I have a 30mb/s upload and I hardly ever pull host. Such a fat pipe :lol

Also, I played some Halo 3 today. It's crazy how different it is from Reach. I feel like there's low gravity when I'm jumping. I almost don't know where I'm going to land :lol I wish Reach was kind of in between in terms of jump height and not on the other end where it's currently at. Getting headshots is definitely harder in Reach. I feel like in Halo 3, I can put a shot and turn away because I know that guy is dead. In Reach I feel like I have to baby sit the final headshot and make sure it connects and the guy dies. I'm sure once I get better at the game though, and this headshot stuff that was mentioned in the BWU last week, I will be able to do this once again.

I also played a bunch of Arena games today. I'm convinced now that I don't like it because what the beta offers isn't well suited for competitive play. If I had it my way Reach in its Fall iteration, it would be Slayer Pro on smaller maps(not swordbase or powerhouse) and it would be so awesomely Vanilla. I know I won't be getting this but I'm still gonna check it out.
 
Dirtbag said:
Same here, maybe just make the sword a two hit kill weapon. One slash for shields, anything else for the kill, including a quick melee.
Uh...

That's how it works now.

After the guy blocks your first thrust, hit him with a quick melee for the kill.
 
Oozer3993 said:
P.S. GET RID OF THE DAMNABLE SWORD BLOCK. Hate that crap.

I don't see why this is a problem. It makes things a bit more balanced. In fact, I wish you could block the Hammer with a well-timed melee as well.
 
Well, I've played a lot of Invasion and a bit of Slayer since my last post in this thread, and my opinion of Reach in its beta state is largely unchanged. The gameplay is uneven due to a host of little quirks that individually can be managed or overlooked but together make the overall experience only tolerable most days, and sometimes so frustrating that I stop playing within the first hour. If I had to describe my beta experience in brief, I might say my avatar often fails to react the way I want or expect it to, so I die more frequently than I feel I should and in ways I feel I shouldn't.

I know I'm speaking in general and subjective terms; my purpose at this moment is to express my latest impression of the beta, not submit a report that will help Bungie balance the game. I like to think both forms of feedback are welcome. Let me emphasize that I didn't have these complaints with any of the previous Halo games. Nearly everything had a rightness I've found in no other FPS series.

It's relieving yet somewhat troubling that most of my current complaints apply to a version of Reach that is unlikely to represent its complete form. Relieving because many of the beta's problems will probably be resolved to the satisfaction of most players, and troubling because there is no way to know what the final result will be until the product is finished and shipped. The behavior of grenades, melee attacks, armor abilities and weapons will all be changed—the big questions are, to what extent and to what effect. I trust Bungie to do the best they can. The original Halo is a masterpiece. If Bungie can get back into the headspace that produced such a prize, where innovation and ruthlessly economic design were the only practical ways to realize an ambitious vision with limited resources, I think Reach could be the best Halo yet.

I would, if Bungie is listening, ask them to bear in mind three lessons from their older games: Halo 1 confirms that simplicity can be a great strength. Halo 2 demonstrates that change for its own sake, paired with compromise, can be ruinous. Halo 3 shows that the new is more likely to work when it supports and refines the old. Yes, I'm being general again, and while I wouldn't presume to lecture experienced designers about the thing they do best, I do think these statements are based on reasonable characterizations of each game.

soldat7 said:
Tough beans. They're fun weapons and the game is more fun and varied because of them. I wouldn't mind if they were tweaked or reduced in power somewhat, but to rip them out of the game wholesale makes no sense.
I agree. I enjoy the Hammer and the Splazer and I'd hate to see them gone. But clearly they need to tempered in some way, because when the wielder knows what they're doing these weapons give him or her a ridiculous advantage.
 
I can't stop referring to the Grenade Launcher as the Dax Pipe or the Plasma Launcher as the Sai_Kun (or when I'm getting killed by it, it's the "Fucking stupid ass thing").

Good games tonight, Church/Pennybags. Should get back on to save that clip of the flag capture. :lol
 
Ajemsuhgao said:
What exactly is wrong with the laser?
I think the main problem people have with the laser is it kills the vehicle game dead, but doesn't quote me on that. Personally, I love the way it feels to use, and since I'm a strictly casual player, I've never noticed the dominating effect it purportedly has in matches with skilled players.

Kibbles said:
How's the Spartans vs Elites mode in Grab Bag?
For my money, more enjoyable than Invasion Slayer. The smaller spaces make the racial differences much more interesting.
 
ZayneH said:
I can't stop referring to the Grenade Launcher as the Dax Pipe or the Plasma Launcher as the Sai_Kun (or when I'm getting killed by it, it's the "Fucking stupid ass thing").

Good games tonight, Church/Pennybags. Should get back on to save that clip of the flag capture. :lol

I saved the film. I'm gonna make a clip of it sometime. :D
 
I've only played invasion a brief amount of times, where do you get the lazer? I've never come across it in my 10 or so games played.

btw anybody want to get some arena matches in with me?
 
Sorry, i'm a bit out of the loop and this thread moves fast. What was changed with invasion, beyond what was listed in the most recent Bungie blog update? People are talking about vehicles being easier to kill?
 
Mayyhem said:
I've only played invasion a brief amount of times, where do you get the lazer? I've never come across it in my 10 or so games played.

btw anybody want to get some arena matches in with me?
From the weapon racks in the highest level of the building that contains the core the Elites have to steal, and from a shed where you can spawn. In Invasion, the Spartan Laser is available only during the third phase.
 
Dani said:
Reach Matchmaking Update Now Live

  • Spartan vs Elites Slayer in Grab Bag
    [*]Fixed Douche Teammate Flag Steals in Stockpile
    [*]No DMR starts in Invasion

Maybe more, no official changelog yet.

Wow. Nice move, Bungleoids. (pronounced bun-guhl-oids) Seriously. *internet highfive.png*
 
Work has horribly reduced the amount of Reach I get to play.

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I flew out to work on the 7th :(
 
Ajemsuhgao said:
What exactly is wrong with the laser?
Not sure why it's included with all the other anti-vehicular elements, at least for Invasion. Weapons you may spawn with include Plasma Pistol and Pro-pipe, both which can disable the vehicles, and a grenade or DMR/Needler Rifle/Pistol wipes out the driver/pilot instantly after if your aim is good. Plasma Launcher, which I personally hope does get nerfed, at least for the homing on the grenades. It's easy to use, really easy... Plus with jetpacks it allows users to rain grenades on slower vehicles, notably the Scorpion and Wraith. The Banshee is not hard to take down right now, because a handful of DMR shots will put it out.

Sorry, i'm a bit out of the loop and this thread moves fast. What was changed with invasion, beyond what was listed in the most recent Bungie blog update? People are talking about vehicles being easier to kill?
While I have yet to play it tonight, I think DMR starts in Phase 1 got removed. I could be wrong. They need to have Expert Marksman later, I think, because Elites got the Needler Rifle for their loadouts in Phases 2 and 3.

Spartans vs. Elites I'd like to try out, but will have to wait until tomorrow once I arrive home from work.
 
ZayneH said:
I can't stop referring to the Grenade Launcher as the Dax Pipe or the Plasma Launcher as the Sai_Kun (or when I'm getting killed by it, it's the "Fucking stupid ass thing").

Fuck you too, buddy :lol

<3
 
dilatedmuscle said:
i just shot someones grenade midair. pretty cool.
What a coincidence, I just had a freshly thrown grenade blow up in my face due to an AR bullet.

Been seeing some really weird stuff online tonight. Grenades literally passing through people, melees being completely ineffective, and the kicker: a rocket that directly hit an enemy, stripping his shield by the impact of the missile, and then having it explode somewhere along the midpoint of the contrail. I can rationalize some of this as lag, but man, it's frustrating.
 
So I haven't played SWAT since like, the first day the beta was open for everyone, and I suuuuucked back then. Couldn't nail a headshot for the life of me, crazy - spread, etc.

Just played a few with checking out SvE (love it, btw), and boy have I gotten the feel of shit so much over the past week and a half.

I dunno when things "clicked", and I still definitely have horrible off games (especially with no teamwork and such), but damn did it happen and boy do I love it.
 
Crunched said:
What a coincidence, I just had a freshly thrown grenade blow up in my face due to an AR bullet.

lol that sucks. Yeah this guy had terrible luck i shot his grenade mid air, then he tossed another grenade that would have detonated near me but it bounced off of a neutral grenade on the floor and bounced away from me. He then tried backing up but got blown to hell by 2 grenades and 1 rocket at the same time LOL.

I havent played this game in days, it was fun to jump back in. I cant wait for the retail game so i can actually play the gametypes i wanna play.
 
dilatedmuscle said:
I havent played this game in days, it was fun to jump back in. I cant wait for the retail game so i can actually play the gametypes i wanna play.
Yeah, it'll be a good time.
 
dilatedmuscle said:
I havent played this game in days, it was fun to jump back in. I cant wait for the retail game so i can actually play the gametypes i wanna play.
Same, I haven't played in days. The will to boot it up is just not there. Will check out Overlook on friday, and be done with it. But still looking forward to the final game's mp, with all the balancing and tweaking in place, plus tons of maps, playlists, etc.
 
soldat7 said:
I don't see why this is a problem. It makes things a bit more balanced. In fact, I wish you could block the Hammer with a well-timed melee as well.

You should be able to block rockets, shotgun, laser, etc. The sword is a power weapon, why is it blockable? Just take it out of the game at this rate.
 
Ramirez said:
You should be able to block rockets, shotgun, laser, etc. The sword is a power weapon, why is it blockable? Just take it out of the game at this rate.

I say we do this. If you can melee one of those perfectly then you should be able to block them!
 
chapel said:
20,000!

BTW I like a lot of the changes, I hope to make a detailed post soon about any criticisms I have.

Any chance on a render? http://www.bungie.net/Stats/Reach/FileDetails.aspx?fid=1132680
Rendered. *thunk*

I hopped on for a bit to try out the changes, but the only tweak I got to test was the flag return. I didn't notice a big difference, but I think it seems about right. Mad defense, yo.

Played 4 1/2 games tonight, three of which were SWAT on Sword Base, alas. Did result in an amusing game of chicken, though. (Probably more amusing since I won.)
 
Playing as an Elite during the initial phase of Invasion is so much more enjoyable now that Spartans don't always spawn with a DMR. I'm not constantly getting hammered down to no shields/little health by the time I reach the base. And when playing as a Spartan, it doesn't feel like the Elites got this overwhelming advantage all of a sudden, either. Everything feels much more even now.

I do still feel like the Spartans get way too many power weapons for the second and third phases, but taking out the DMR loadout for the first phase is definitely an improvement.
 
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