Good or Bad: Regenerating Health Meters

The obvious downside of a health bar is that every shot you take is a permanent cripple until you clear the room of enemies and find the next first aid kit/health pack. This isn't so bad when it's just a series small skirmish, but when you get into more large scale battles, one bad move can make your chances of survival plummet.

[T9X69]

In single player I could honestly care less, in MP it needs to go.

[PoSTedUP]

depnds on the game and the mood im in. some games i hate it, others it has saved my ass and i was thankful for it.

i play operationflashpoint and if you get shot you have to temporary stop the bleeding or you will bleed out and die and if you get shot in the leg you cant run anymore or the arm and you cant aim accurately unless you get patched up by a medic.
man i love that game
socom the health doesnt come back and thats the way it should be. uncharted2 the health regenerates and i am cool with that but would turn it off most of the times if i could.

@ below- haha, true that!

[Army_of_Darkness]

Regenerating health is the main reason why I cleared so many games this gen!! wohahaha!

[beans]

It makes perfect sense for a game like Halo to have regenerating shields. Other games not so much unless your in a suit or have super powers.

[NecrumSlavery]

It's dependent. War based shooters where you are continuously defending off waves of enemies(ie Halo or Killzone), regen system suits it. Something more survival horror or exploration(ie resident evil or bioshock), health packs keep the game on suspense of fear of dying over action itself. Games that are high death risk can use regen cause it works. It may not be as realistic but keeps you in the action.

Health is life and no one wants to die. So devs always look for new ways to keep gameplay up. I am interesting in Rage's health system, being you have a chance to defibulate yourself an get a second chance. Borderlands second chance element was pretty brilliant IMO.

And while we are on the topic. Imagine Demon's Souls with a regeneration system?

[Boody-Bandit]

I do prefer games that don't regenerate health to have medic classes.

[BakedGoods]

...is one of the greatest game-design achievements ever.

*From a shooter perspective*

It allows gamers to enter every situation with full health which adds another layer of skill to the mix. If two players meet (assuming both's health has regen'd) it's always the better player that will come out on top. Without regenerating health one of those players could have been injured from a previous battle which gives the other (maybe lesser) player an advantage--there's no even playing field without health regen.

Also, without health regen players are then required to run around maps grabbing health packs after each encounter, this slows down the action. It also allows for players to turn and flee, grabbing health while shooting at pursuers, or simply camping health spawns--> lame. Even if you take away health packs completely we're still left with the problem of uneven encounters mentioned up top.

Lastly, in single-player, it can be extremely exhilaration to enter a large group of enemies and come out barely alive. With health regen it's a relief knowing you can continue the level with full health, whereas without it leaving a battle with a sliver of health leaves you crippled, running the risk of repeating that battle again even if you left it victorious---this can slow down the game and unnecessarily frustrate the player.

From my gaming experiences, health works in elimination-type shooters like Counter-Strike whereas regen works well in most other shooters.

[HolyOrangeCows]

Definitely depends on the game.

But I WOULD like to see a more realistic game some time. One where you get shot in the foot and limp everywhere until you regenerate. One where you get shot in the chest and die in a few seconds as your health drops and you move slower and get less accurate.
Stuff like that.

[PoSTedUP]

i actually disagree on the "no even playing field without the health regen" part

say socom where the health dosent regen and the ppl dont respawn, and say 4v4.. if one person takes out another and loses half his health in the mix, making it 3 on 4, how is it even if that person gets all their health back making it 4 on 3 with the 4 person team back at full strength? and then he or she kills another, so now its 4 on 2 and the damage done by the now-dead-players and their skill at hitting the player with some bullets didnt even matter and isnt taking account for. it really depends on the game and the setting, because what you say makes sense in 1v1's and respawn's only really. not matched where one dies and doesnt come back to life.

but i agree with most of what you said, it all depends on the gamer and the game though. i play operationflashpoint where i could be DEEP into a mission about to finish, and a bullet (just one bullet) hits me the wrong way, and i am dead and have to start over from the beginning. i play thoes games because i like it like that, i dont expect that to happen while i am playing resistance because it would be stupid lol.

[MEsoJD]

I mean would half life be as fun with a regenerative health system?

[Anorexorcist]

if it is done correctly. I think Resistance: Fall of Man provided the best health system to satisfy both sides of this argument since it did provide health regeneration, but in a more additive form.

The people who have played Resistance 1 know what I'm talking about; In Resistance: Fall of Man, the player had a health meter that was separated into four units, like boxes, and after a players health went below a certain box, the health would only regenerate up to the limit of the box that preceded it. Health packs in Resistance were used to raise the players health bar up an additional unit, or box, so that the player's health could regenerate upwards into an additional unit or box.

That, in my opinion, is the sweet spot on the whole debate on whether health regeneration in games is a bad thing or a good thing. It was neither too noob-friendly (where gamers can simply hide out and camp in a corner until they can recharge) or too devastating (where gamers would cross a checkpoint when they only had a little bit of health and had to tippy-toe their way through levels until they found health).

[despair]

have to agree..segmented regeneration like Resistance 1 was great..really missed it in 2 and since they didn't have health packs they added more random trial and error encounters, that left you barely alive and needing to regen...this killed the second one for me a bit.

[PirosThe4th]

I hope in resistance 3 the health segments come back...

[Bubble Buddy]

I'm not a big fan of it but I'm alright with it. I just remember the PS2 days doing Jak 2 missions with one bar of health left, beating a difficult mission, and feeling nice :P

[WhatARump]

Well Demon Souls already has regeneration in a way...
There's a miracle which does so,the regenerators ring and the adjudicators shield +5. Finally if you get a blessed weapon +5, you've got full on health regen!!

Then again I know what you mean, no health bar at all, which would be very cool for an rpg game :)

[nickjkl]

the problem is

when they added regenerating health they ramped up damage

before when we had standard health it would take a while to kill someone

they should just mix them together regenerating health and take a while to kill some one because when you kill some one now its more like i see you bang youre dead before you know it wih no vibration feed back becaus eyhou died so fast

[TheBuIIetSponge]

Halo has it right, in most of its games at least. The shields recharge, but the health doesn't.

I liked how Condemned 2 did it. Health had three parts, if it dropped to the next part the previous one didn't come back but the new one could regenerate. Although I think it may only be good for single player.

[wicko]

Resistance 1 was that way too, but 4 bars. Wasn't a bad idea actually.

[bart999]

health packs add so much to a shooter,it's one of the reasons Left 4 Dead 1 & 2 are so brilliant.

[RememberThe357]

All they do is annoy me. I like regenerating health and I tend to gravitate to those games that have it.

[AliTheBrit19]

I like the whole fade and wait a few seconds to regenerate system.

Much more immersion to be honest, remove the need to pick up and apply health packs, and remove the health meter from the HUD.

Sure, it isn't realistic at all, but neither is bandaging the same Leg/Arm over and over to heal any kind of wound.

[ClownBelt]

I agree.

[Megaton]

I think it was a great step forward for the health systems in shooters and whatnot. People argue it's not realistic, but neither is a health vial patching up a grenade to the teeth.

[RememberThe357]

It seems that there are just two different ways that people like the health systems in their games.

[Qui-Gon Jim]

Regenerating "health" represents your luck. Run out in the open and you'll get some close calls, then you duck into cover, collect yourself, and you can run back out again. Stay out in the open or in one spot too long, though, and your luck runs out and someone gets that fatal hit on you. I used to hate regenerating health because it's extremely unrealistic, but then Uncharted somehow made me think of it that way instead. I suppose because Drake seems to get by on his luck so much.

[TheNocturnus]

The regenerating health is a great improvment in gaming. COD on veteran difficulty would be otherwise impossible, especially world at war. I always hated having to hunt down health packs or trying to beat a boss 1000 times because i didnt have enough health when i got there.

[Timesplitter14]

Health packs : You have a set amount of health and you must plan the fights ahead depending on how much you have left. Real sense of danger because you know you can't just take cover and regenerate. You must use strategy.

Regenerating health : A man can take INFINITE bullets in the head if the shots are fired 10 seconds apart. No planning needed and no sense of danger.

You really think it's a good thing?

[SolidSystem]

just because you can regen doesnt mean you can run around like a mad man.

[The Great Melon]

If anything regeneration allows you to fight more enemies without slowing the pace down too much. Getting through a room of 50 enemies is kind of difficult without regeneration or magical health packs strewn about the floor.

Games with health packs just tend to be slower. You can't just that a game should have used health packs instead of regeneration because the fundamentally changes how the game is played.

[Timesplitter14]

Games with health packs happen to be the fastest FPSs out there. Quake, Timesplitters, Unreal Tournament, etc...

[ER-AM]

It wasn't that the enemies were smarter or more of them, well there may have been more of them, but the only real difference is the fucking grenades that were thrown 10 at a time, only at you, non-stop from beginning to end.

[bjornbear]

health regenerates 2/3 of what your health was before you lost it

this means theres health regeneration, but its not perfect, and med packs ARE needed =3

however i think it depends on the game:

fast games = regenerating health

slower paced games = health bar

[RememberThe357]

You hit the nail on the head. Well done sir bubble up.

[smashman98]

im playin killzone 2 as we speak and i can tell u there are absolutely no med packs

[Unicron]

Depends on the pacing and design of the game. It can be great in some titles, terrible in others.

[AusWarrior]

I don't really care, I just play the game and hopefully have fun.

[smashman98]

thats the smartest reply ive seen on this site since ive joined...

why cant it be about the fun anymore, i mean its a freakin GAME for heavens sake
your comment has made my day

[Hellsvacancy]

Operation FlashPoint 2 had it made, if u got shot above the chest you die instantly, if u get shot in the arm it affects your aimin and if u get shot in the legs u cant sprint

Its just the rest of the game was flawed

:-(

[SolidSystem]

for me it keeps the pace of the game, and just because i messed up again i dont find myself going for the load button.

sometimes the regen health is a bit too strong taking out the challenge.

[TheIneffableBob]

I prefer not having regenerating health in multiplayer, but Bad Company 2 did it decently. The health regenerates extremely slowly in that game--3 HP per second, I think, so it would take 33 seconds to recover to full health from 1 HP.

[A LIVING LEGEND]

Personally,health regen is typically a sunday event and it takes time,never regens completely and....my constitution and body shields are impressive.
I kind of preferred KZ2's system and dislike insta-regen shields+health+god-like field medics....
Only cats should be afforded 9 lives and only statues survive head shots.
MAG made it workable as did KZ2,and I agree,the pace of the game must be considered.

[zatrox]

Casualization at its finest, unless done right.
It's like auto aim, except that last one CAN'T be done right.

[TheBand1t]

I prefer a hybrid system like Resistance did. You start with 3 that will regen minor damage, but if you take too much damage you lose a health bar.

[MGOelite]

bad in bullet sponge games, good in 2-5 hit kill games

[tiamat5]

Exactly. Insomniac refind the regenerating health bar and didn't even get credit for it. People wouldn't be so gungho to rush into battle if you knew that once one of the bars was gone you couldn't just get it back by hidding behind a wall.

[BYE]

I prefer instant death to both of those systems. /jk

[Crusade]

The getaway invented regenerating health. The reviewers bashed it for it because they preferred health packs instead of sitting back and waiting for the guy to heal. They said it slowed down combat too much. Regardless, they gave credit to halo for it's regenerating health system. The getaway also had a cover system and blindfire before killswitch did. Regardless they gave all of the praise for this "innovative" system to gears of war.

[GrilledCheeseBook]

i like regenerative shields with an actual life bar that goes down when shields are down

[omimasum]

is when the screen is covered in red like mw2

[EXID]

all games should just have a "hardcore" mode where your health doesn't regen. problem solved. as for mp, it should be set up like mag. you get hurt and you have to use a med kit or something, and it heals you SLOWLY.

[GameViews]

Personally, I think its very frustrating to wound someone, they run around the corner for 3 seconds and they are magically not hurt anymore.
I like dedicated medic classes on FPS games.

[lzim]

applies to crackdown 2 sadistic mode, you'll waste half a clip in a guy only to have him keep regenerating. while you are wasted by his sixteen buddies. If that game needed health packs, orbs, or for you to run to a healing spot, it would be ridiculously hard.