Why Halo 3 Needs a Single-shot Battle Rifle

One can easily trace the multi-player balance and game play development of the Halo series by following the features of the mid-range weapon of each game. The mid-range weapon of the game seems to always serve as central to the game's weapon balance, and a change to the mid-range weapon affects every other aspect of the game.

In Halo 1 (or CE, as the fanboys love to call it) it was the Pistol.

The Pistol gave spawning players a way to defend themselves, and proved to be a very skilled weapon, serving as the backbone of all intermediate to expert competitive play. In the end, it was labeled by the mainstream as "overpowered", and justifiably so, for a few reasons...

In Halo 2, the mid-range role was served by the Battle Rifle. This served the immediate purpose of solving problem #2 of the Halo 1 Pistol. The weapon now acted like a rifle AND looked like a rifle. However, the Battle Rifle had it's own weaknesses.

Fortunately, there is a solution to all this…

I've been saying this for a long time and usually found myself alone in supporting the idea, but now even kids on the Bungie forums are starting to think of it on their own. A semi-automatic Battle Rifle would solve almost all of the issues with both Halo 1's Pistol and Halo 2's BR. However, there are specific ways this would have to be implemented to get things right...

[markfield]

bungie have spent years balancing the weapons and maps and I am able to sleep at night knowing that they'll do a good job in Halo 2 too.
Not all the weapons have to be equal - that would be boring - an also not appropriate for all situations. the BR is fine for mid range, as was the Halo 1 pistol - they were both crap for long range and short range. I think Halo 1 worked fine. I think Halo 2 worked fine. I think Halo 3 will work fine..... just relax dude and enjoy the game. It's 99% about skill & 1% about weapon balance. If you've got the goods, you can overcome any perceived weapon balance. (eg. put a sticky on the guy with the sword on midship, shottie, plasma/BR combo etc etc)

[GnaM]

If Halo 1 worked fine, then why has Bungie publicly stated that the H1 Pistol was a mistake never to be repeated? And why does the mere mention of the Pistol or TSK cause huge flame wars and debates to break out on any Halo message board?

If Halo 2 worked fine, then why did Bungie openly admit that the SMG starts, spawn system, and dual-wielding use were problems in H2 to be remedied in Halo 3? …not to mention the fact that IGN, 1Up, other websites, and legions of fans harshly criticized Halo 2, labeling as inferior to Halo 1, or downright broken?

Every aspect being overhauled in Halo 3 indicates an area where Bungie knows they screwed up in the past, and where they’re acknowledging players’ criticisms of the game. That said, it doesn’t mean everything they’re doing in Halo 3 is perfectly on track.

And the game is only 1% about balance? On the contrary, Halo's multiplayer balance is universally recognized as being the best on consoles, and is one of the primary reasons (aside from sheer marketing) that the game has become such a huge success, particularly on XBL.

[Caxtus750]

they say that the BR is easyish for headshots but everyone knows a decent BR player can out BR a "noob" with no problem. Ss it can be mastered but also good for starters alike.

Leave Bungie to do the job, I trust them more than this artcle thats for sure

[ASSASSYN 36o]

The pistol in halo 1 could snipe you a mile away and kill you...Good. Why, bungie removed it I know! The person who got sniped with the pistol couldn't use it and complained like a little baby. That gun saved my tail so many times I miss it. It was a balanced weapon on foot but a weak weapon in a passanger seat in a vehilce. It was a weapon for the truly skilled players to use and distinguish themselves as a quality player. I even held on to the pistol when all my ammo was gone because it could be used as a teloscope. Good guns should never be replaced.

[Marceles]

Yeah the pistol was awesome and most people who would say "what?????" and complain was because they didn't know how to use it. I just hope the weapon is balanced and it's not like the sniper rifle in gears of war where there's only one in the stage and everyone is rushing to get it and try to headshot people.

[Daxx]

That is very true. Most people complain about the weapons in the Halo series because they don't know how to use them properly.

[Daxx]

I'm really indifferent about this whole thing. Halo's and Halo 2's weapons are more balanced than any other game's weapons and Halo 3's will probably the most balanced out of both games.

Stop complaining about what you don't have and rejoice on what you do have.

[GnaM]

Halo 1 and 2 more balanced than any other game? Not really, in terms of balance, the Halo series has nothing on anything from the Quake or Unreal franchise...particularly given the issues it's struggled with in each iteration.

The BR does the job, but it's nothing to rejoice about; it could be better.

And the new AR only seems so great because the old AR was the least balanced, least effective, and overall crappiest weapon Bungie ever made. The new AR is essentially just a Quake 3 machinegun with magazine reloading...it's a huge improvement over the SMG or old AR, but in the end it's something very basic and simple that the series should have had from the beginning.

[toughNAME]

Halo 3 Assault Rifle > BR and pistol!

[Daxx]

The Halo 3 assault rifle has to be the most balanced and most effective weapon bungie has ever made.

[gamerriffic]

i believe they call that the "carbine"

[GnaM]

There's a special part of the article dedicate to that argument:

"4) The Carbine is already single-shot."

Scroll down and read it. In short, it needs a slower fire rate and higher damage per hit, otherwise it's just glorified bullet spam, just like the BR.

[TrenchaunT]

He makes a REALLY convincing argument. I wish there was some way his suggestion could be implemented. I definitely think his BR would be much more balanced than the BR as it is in Halo 2 (but I did not play the Halo 3 beta). It'd also stop a lot of the whining about the "noob combo" by making it harder to do.

[GnaM]

Actually, I did implement it as a mod for Halo 2:

http://juliangnam.wordpress...

To bad we're stuck with the same old for Halo 3.