Halo 2 was broken. Two years later, has Bungie
applied their lessons learned to its sequel?
by Nick Suttner, 11.01.2007
Two years ago, 1UP published an editorial entitled Broken Halo: Five Ways Bungie Can Fix Halo 2. Speaking for the collective hearts and trigger fingers of legions of serious Halo fans worldwide, author Luke Smith laid out precisely what fans felt was wrong with the series' multiplayer elements and offered some constructive ideas for fixing it in future releases.
That hazy future is now: We're playing the shiny new Halo 3, and our Mr. Smith has gone to Washington (after a stint as 1UP's news editor). So what has become of those concerns? Is Halo 3 the "broken," imperfect multiplayer experience that its predecessor was? With little more than a month since the game's release, Bungie has yet to tweak or update the game -- the original article came nine months after Halo 2's release, well past its first major update -- but we thought we'd take a look to see whether or not the problems we raised so long ago have been resolved -- and more importantly, what new issues have cropped up.
1. The Weapon Spawn System
What was wrong? Far too many Halo 2 matches were decided purely by which team had which weapons. Some maps, particularly Colossus, were completely dominated by Sniper and Beam Rifles, and after racking up a few kills, the winning team could simply hold on to the almost-empty weapon to prevent it from respawning. The Energy Sword was also much too powerful on smaller maps and again fell victim to the control-based spawn system
Is it fixed? In the vast majority of situations, yes. Almost all weapons appear to be on a timed respawn now, even if some weapons take a while to appear and are only present in limited numbers at any given time. You'll still encounter instances of teams rushing a weapon to start a particular map -- the Rocket Launcher in The Pit, for example -- but it's more for an initial boost than to hold on to it and dominate. Even better, the amount of ammo a weapon spawns with is now more appropriate to the gametype. So in Slayer on Isolation, you can only get a couple of shots off before your shotgun runs out of ammo. And of course, Halo 3's weapons are far more balanced than Halo 2's; a player may still dominate the field with a Sniper Rifle, but the weapon is significantly harder to use now, meaning that the sniper is likely a legitimately skilled individual rather than simply a lucky jerk who grabbed the weapon first.
2. Nerf the Vehicles Next Time
What was wrong? The Banshee and any Warthog with a gunner were unstoppable killing machines when the driver's team held the rockets as well, since rockets are the only reliable way of taking those vehicles out. While this was more a flaw in the weapon spawn system than anything else, sometimes it was a function of poor map planning as well. For instance, taking a small map like Ascension and adding a Banshee -- a vehicle with both maneuverability and the ability to fire almost straight down -- was simply asking for trouble.
Is it fixed? Somewhat. There are still instances of ridiculous Warthog gunner sprees on Valhalla and Sandtrap, but both maps offer enough antivehicle munitions that skillful players can curtail their rampages. Additionally, firing a charged Plasma Pistol shot at a vehicle now disables it with an EMP effect -- the extra defense is much appreciated. The Banshee now has a plasma missile blast for multiplayer -- an ability previously seen in Halo: CE's campaign -- but generally, the Banshee can't aim at extreme angles, making it much less of a threat. Unfortunately, the new Hornet aircraft seems grossly overpowered in the few gametypes where it's found, and we hope it receives a serious revision in the first balancing update. The new Chopper and Mongoose, thankfully, are fine (though the Prowler seems a bit useless).
3. Two Guns Are NOT Always Better
What was wrong? In Halo 2, several of the dual-wield combinations were clearly better than others -- notably, the Submachine Gun/Plasma Rifle and SMG/Magnum combos -- and almost always beat out any single weapon in a straight shoot-out. This resulted in a perpetual scramble for the best combo after every respawn, and this was only amended slightly when Bungie juiced up grenades.
Is it fixed? Yes. Weapons are significantly more balanced now, and the emphasis on dual-wielding is vastly reduced. You're still outta luck toting around nothing but a single SMG, but since you spawn with a very useful Assault Rifle, it's your own stupid fault if that's all you wind up with. And since every weapon now holds its own in most situations, you're never far away from arming yourself more appropriately. Even our old pathetic buddy, the Needler, is now downright deadly under the right circumstances -- even after its downgrade to a single-wielded weapon, no less.
4. The Plasma Pistol is the Best Weapon in Halo 2
What was wrong? The "lock-and-pop" combo of a charged Plasma Pistol shot and Battle Rifle follow-up -- the quintessential "n00b combo" -- was far too deadly in the hands of almost anyone, and it was never really fixed: Bungie simply removed Plasma Pistols from most of the maps in matchmaking.
Is it fixed? Yup! With two very simple solutions: The charged shot doesn't home in nearly as much (a target is difficult to hit at middle distances, or when moving quickly), and the charge function depletes the weapons ammo if you walk around without discharging the shot. It's still a pretty useful combination if you can finagle both weapons into your hands, but it doesn't show up nearly as often this time -- and will only net you mocking jeers now rather than scathing hatred.
5. Matchmaking and the Host
What was wrong? Halo 2's matchmaking was always a bit of a mess. Lower-level players could tag along with higher-ranked players, easily boosting their ranks to undeserved levels. Considering similarly skilled players were supposed to play only their peers, it basically broke the system. As for the host issue, since online Halo matches are theoretically hosted by the person with the fastest connection rather than on dedicated servers for some inexplicable reason, the player hosting a match was given a slight "I shot first" advantage in close situations like a shotgun showdown or sword duel.
Is it fixed? To be determined. You can't "boost" through the ranks anymore; in fact, you actually level up more slowly when playing with a party of a higher level than you. It doesn't quite make sense; if you can hang with them, you're obviously deserving of the same rewards, but it's better than the more unbalanced alternative. Plenty of players rocketed up the ranks by playing Halo 3 early and often, and it's now a serious investment to catch up -- regardless of skill. It's also incredibly hard to find a match if you have a single player in a party that's more than a few ranks away from anyone else. Now that the majority of people who want the game have it, it might be time to wipe the rankings slate clean. But that's up to Bungie. As for the hosting situation, without dedicated servers host advantage will always be an issue -- an unforgivable situation, really. So far, it rarely seems to affect the outcome of matches, but this remains a nagging annoyance with the potential to become a serious problem as players improve-and the theoretical predictability of combat situations becomes more unpredictable as a result.
Now, let's take a look at some of the new, or "newly significant to Halo 3," problems we've experienced so far. It's still a damn fine multiplayer experience -- arguably the best on consoles -- but we whine because we love. And because these things need to be remedied if we're going to be playing Halo 3 for the next three years.
1. Haphazard Respawn Points
What's the Problem? It's much worse on some maps than others, but spawning nearby a group of better-armed enemies absolutely sucks -- you're spawning, essentially, with a bullet in your brain. On High Ground, you're never really safe; if you try and hold down the rocks near midlevel, players will spawn right behind you on the beach (or alongside you if you happen to be sniping from the beach itself). If you try and hold down the front of the base, they'll simply spawn inside it in the back. Snowbound has its problems, too, as seemingly half the respawn points are right out in the bloody open. In Halo 2, you were usually placed gingerly back on the outskirts of a battle so you had time get your wits about you and arm yourself properly before charging back in. Or so it would seem, at least, since Halo 3 enjoys reanimating you right behind or in front of someone or miles away from your team (or in the midst of the opposing team).
How can Bungie fix it? Bungie needs to take a good, hard look at their game data (psst! It's right there on Bungie.net) and see where players are senselessly being killed repeatedly. Or there at least needs to be a cold hard rule that you can't respawn within 20 feet of another player, and have the game cycle through respawn points until one of them meets that requirement. It's obviously a more technical problem to fix, so it might take some time, but it's probably the single most annoying and much-worse-than-it-was-in-Halo 2 issue right now. At least give us an Overshield that lasts for the first five seconds of a new life so that we're not completely screwed.
2. Too Many Symmetrical/Lame Maps
What's the Problem? The unspoken understanding among most of the regular Halo players at the moment: Halo 3's maps are, by and large, kind of lame. Considering that Last Resort, High Ground, and Guardian seem to be the only maps that aren't vetoed with regularity, it seems to have something to do with the plain-Jane symmetry of most of the other new maps. We know it's a team game and balancing two different sides of a map fairly is challenging, but Isolation, The Pit, Sandtrap, Construct, Valhalla, Epitaph, Narrows, and Snowbound are all shamefully similar on either side. This makes the level design feel entirely too repetitive at times, and the player routes too mundane and predictable. Considering the new weapons, vehicles, equipment, and gametypes available in the game, the map designs play it disappointingly safe. Relative mediocrity has become the order of the day, rather than the exception -- quite the difference from Halo and Halo 2.
How can Bungie fix it? Acknowledge the problem and focus on making the inevitable flood of downloadable maps a little more interesting. Let's see some arenas with vastly different geography and geometry throughout, with nooks and crannies, catwalks, man cannons, and teleporters everywhere. Give us at least one crazy map, and a few more to bring the overall map selection up to the quality of the rest of the Halo 3 package. Oh, and while we're making requests, an Ascension remake.
3. Underutilized Weapons and Equipment
What's the Problem? Halo 3 has usable Incendiary Grenades, a Flamethrower, a Fuel Rod Cannon, and Invincibility. If you only played multiplayer, you might not ever know that. We're all for perfect balance over slightly more variety, but only using them in the campaign is a huge tease. The Halo series has always had weapons exclusive to the campaign, but with a development cycle that wasn't rushed for a change, Halo 3's multiplayer should have a few more selections. Granted, the Flamethrower is on two maps, but it hardly seems a true component of the online sandbox at the moment.
How can Bungie fix it? It seems like a tall order, but Bungie should trust players to adjust to using them properly and rely on matchmaking with the masses to determine just how balanced they are. If it's a problem, take them right back out. The Fuel Rod Cannon could be another excellent defense against vehicles, provided its ammo is strictly limited; Invincibility should be difficult to acquire, brief in duration, and take a long time to respawn, which could add some fun experimental team strategies to the mix. As for the equipment scattered about the maps right now -- particularly the Flare (it's too situational) and Trip Mine (its fuse is too long) -- the frequency and placement seem more of an afterthought than a serious effort to expand Halo's combat beyond the holy trifecta of melee, grenades and guns.
4. Issues with Saved Film functionality
What's the Problem? While Saved Films are an absolutely brilliant idea, their potential is currently held back a bit by their implementation. First, we need to be able to save a film from the postgame lobby, like in the Halo 3 multiplayer beta of yore. It's very inconvenient to either leave the party or make the leader change to the theater, and you can't expect players to finish off a multiple-hour gaming session and go through their last 25 films just to find the match where they stuck a guy in the crotch with a Plasma Grenade. Rewinding Saved Films is awkward (tapping left on the D-pad to jump back 10 seconds in time), and while you can cycle through player viewpoints, you can't view the games from their first-person perspective. Lastly, with the amount of games being played at any given moment -- roughly three million matches every 24 hours -- Bungie Favorites should be updated daily, with a few slots reserved for weekly and monthly favorites. Even if you don't feel like playing, there should at least be a reason to boot up Halo 3 every single day.
How can Bungie fix it? The first few problems are for the tech geniuses at Bungie to figure out and hopefully implement fixes or interface improvement. The Bungie Favorites issue shouldn't be an issue; is it really impossible to find additional people to sift through awesome Saved Films once a day? Bungie gives a lot to its community and is certainly within its rights to take advantage of its fans for a little help.
5. Still Not Newbie-Friendly, At All
What's the Problem? If you didn't play Halo 2 regularly online, chances are you're not going to give Halo 3's multiplayer a serious chance. Because you know that it's still a very inaccessible experience to most casual gamers. It's still hard to run around and have fun when you're constantly being killed seemingly out of nowhere (see problem No. 1), and if you don't know the maps, you're at a substantial disadvantage. For a game with such titanic popularity and expansive reach, it makes no effort to elegantly induct new players. Only dedicated players can enjoy it; it scares away and taunts first-timers. And let's not even bring up bots.
How can Bungie fix it? What happened to the idea of a mode where a more experienced player can guide two beginning players into battle? Or more playlists open only to the lower ranks, where players are given nothing but starting weapons, grenades, and maybe a vehicle on the map? Players currently "graduate" from the beginner playlist far too quickly; it's a fine idea, but wasn't given nearly enough attention. Or -- here's an idea -- a video tutorial on Bungie.net on all the maps, with detailed explanations of every weapon and piece of equipment, general multiplayer tips, and the differences between online play and campaign mode. With Halo as big as it is, these seemingly crazy ideas shouldn't be outside the realm of possibility.
CONCLUSION
Thankfully, Halo 3's biggest multiplayer problems are far less game-breaking than Halo 2's, and it's generally reflected in the more even, more dynamic online matches (so far). But problems are problems, and it's still not a perfect game. With a few updates and revisions, it could be that much closer to one, but the oddball is in Bungie's court now. And as our good friend Luke once said: "It'll be interesting to see how things change in [Bungie's] next title."
