Are Armor Abilities BAD For Halo?

[@AscendHyperion]

Never underestimate the big effects of small changes! Join my Discord: discord.com/invite/NPAQxGa

[@m16-a2]

I see our Halo skills match each-other...

[@nofacedgoldfish6216]

Who else misses when invisibility worked as long as you didn't shoot instead of being based on how fast/slow you moved?

[@nofacedgoldfish6216]

@Toxsky Wesitos Agreed.

[@spiguy]

H5 invis works fine, but H4 and Reach's invis were disappointing. They were balanced, but they were neutered and less interesting.

[@Theviewerdude]

@@spiguy reach's camo is fantastic since it disables motion sensor regardless if you're invisible or not. You can mask your approach / getaway behind cover, being able to go invisible if you stand still is an added bonus for hiding or setting up a trap.

[@Slender_Man_186]

@@Theviewerdude except the second you see a million red dots on your compass, you know someone is in the area. It’s a similar problem to the jammer perk in CoD, you know someone is around when they’re using it.

[@Theviewerdude]

@@Slender_Man_186 It would probably be too strong without that. That's why you use it more like a radar jammer. But the camo still comes in handy at a distance, or to get the jump on someone who pushes anyways. It'll give you the first shot on someone who comes in the room easy. At the least it acts as a good deterrent as once they know you're in a room and camo'd, they won't push in, or spam and waste nades. I have lots of success using it by waiting for someone to pop up on radar, flipping it on, and sneaking around them. They have no clue I'm coming. Lots of fun!

[@Alzarahn]

Looking at the Infinite campaign footage, Chief has a grappling hook equipment/armor ability by default, but there's a moment when Chief picks up a deployable cover, the equipment is used, and then it switches back to the grapple on the icon at the bottom of the screen. I think this qualifies as grapple is set as an unlimited use default armor ability for Chief in the campaign. But if you look at the multiplayer map screenshots, there are a few equipment icons as on-map pickups, you can see the grappling hook as a pickup, implying that you won't have it by default in the multiplayer. You will probably only have access to equipment that the map creator included and intended, with none as default in the gametype, and a limited amount of usage of said equipment. I would hazard a guess that the default equipment can be changed in the gametype, and maybe have settings for the limited/unlimited uses. If this is the case I think we should bring back every possible equipment/armor ability and even add more to enrich forge mode customs, seeing as some of Reach's greatest custom games involved creative uses of armor abilities.

[@monke_mojo]

Don’t forget upgrades in the campaign, hopefully those can be used in forge as well

[@sealedtugboat9965]

0.0 imagine zombies flying toward you with grappling hooks.

[@ninjan1nja]

So, what you’re saying is that we’ll have a combination of default “spartan abilities” with accessible equipment? I like.

[@civicrider5556]

@@sealedtugboat9965 oh so like COD AW zombies

[@tfninjadoom]

I don't think there will be default equipment in Multiplayer, just in Campaign. It's also what most people think. Just putting that out there... :)

[@hypersonicfalcon6802]

Sees title "You have alerted the horde"

[@d3rgal]

This could go for almost all his video titles lol

[@ThatOneBullet]

Honestly, any armor ability/equipment can be moved into infinite as long as it follows the following rules: 1. It's a map pickup 2. It has a limited "ammo" or "charge" before it is used up.

[@derekk.2263]

Just having a fuel tank on the jetpack would fix it entirely. Maybe make it faster too and then suddenly it's a great, limited tool.

[@MichaelJohnson-uo3ef]

Fuck a map pick up, and fuck limited ammo. The old style of halo is dead and should stay that way.

[@Oghuzpervert1]

@@MichaelJohnson-uo3ef these people want halo to stay the same way just like old cod it wont go nowhere.

[@alexreid5843]

@@Oghuzpervert1 Too bad, Infinite has map pickup equipment so clearly 343 thinks it's worth going back to. Maybe if people actually thought about what other people said other than saying YoU JuSt WaNt HaLo tO Be tHe sAmE or BuNgIe GoOd, 343 bAd then we could have real discussions about things. This guy makes great points about why armor abilities don't work as loadout starts, but some people will just never listen.

[@kapthas59]

Halo infinite did exactly this.

[@mattg8116]

I'm going to miss H5 armor abilities... Never had so much fun with mobility, and I love that everyone had it so it was an evolution of the golden triangle, not an abuse of it.

[@shadowtear101]

Don't let the veterans hear you say that.

[@GallowayJesse]

It was definitely a huge improvement over H4's loadouts.

[@imza5535]

@@shadowtear101 it's ok ascend hyperion's comment section is a lot more civilised than other halo youtubers which I won't name

[@takuame7]

Tbh strafing with the thrusters and ground pound got me killed way more often then anything else when I use to play halo 5. I am going to miss the hovering in place though, it was like a mini jetpack.

[@KevinKoolx]

Personally I like the way Halo 3 added gameplay altering mechanics. Implementing as equipment is easier and less game breaking for 343 to manage.

[@leon90ify]

it IS game breaking because they are implemented regardeless of the structure of the map. That's why h5 is great, h3 to 4 are not.

[@GallowayJesse]

@@leon90ify H3 is the best halo game.

[@leon90ify]

@@GallowayJesse no it isn't. Halo 2 is obj better

[@nosauceorbrothchild8772]

If there is a problem with them then just make them like equipment, ezy gg.

[@jonny45k44]

Didn't Reach Arena do this? Armor abilities were a map pickup, so when you die it is gone and it played into being another style of power weapon.

[@nosauceorbrothchild8772]

@Juelz R Yes.

[@LordGlacier7]

@@jonny45k44 you spawn with them

[@jonny45k44]

@@LordGlacier7 After looking into it, it was the MLG playlist that players had to pick up armor abilities.

[@ObsidionshadowX]

@@jonny45k44 yes, armor abilities were implemented in reach and were equipment that you could switch out. Halo 4 also did this, halo 5 did not.

[@Jackal-xc9sw]

Honestly armor abilities can work as long as they don’t interrupt the flow of gameplay like armor lock.

[@alex123-m8b]

It’s cheated u can get infinite camo or see through the wall That’s shit

[@alex123-m8b]

And we are not in cod so no loadout

[@mdsnoob6278]

@Jackal7783 What about the jet pack, you could get to op spots so early, and you could just camp for the rest of the game.

[@takuame7]

@@mdsnoob6278 your also a giant flying target.

[@recluse9978]

@Talking Chalk Agreed

[@spiguy]

I'd love the hologram to come back as equipment! Its application is much more interesting than the radar jammer's or the active camo's imo, and I think there should be a transparent (lets anything through except light) "orb" inside it to indicate that it's an hologram when you shoot it so it's easier to not make the mistake of shooting it twice. They always spawned with just one weapon "equiped", and I don't think they ever had any AA look-alike attached to them, so you could still tell them apart. If anything, I'd like to see it buffed, but Idk how it could be tbh.

[@lotgc]

I think it would be cool if they were treated like power weapons, like what if there was a mp map that had lots of vertically, and there was a single jetpack in the middle that both teams had to fight for.

[@CertifiedFresh7]

That actually sounds cool

[@danielhalnan]

MLG Playlists back in the 2011-2013 days actually did this.

[@lotgc]

@@danielhalnan is that right? I wish I could have seen that

[@UsurperDeicide]

I’ve always enjoyed your Mature attitude towards these Controversial subjects.

[@papounator8843]

It's a good change of pace from Halo fans acting like apes.

[@imza5535]

@@papounator8843 it really is

[@argo9721]

@@papounator8843 hey don’t make fun of Craig he’s better than them

[@papounator8843]

@@argo9721 Excuse me? You dare insinuate I would compare Craig to these foul uncivilized Primates!?

[@IDarKVorteXXOfficial]

This is going to be such a random question but by any chance were you part of the Ascend Clan during the Reach days? I was part of that clan. They would have Ascend in their name followed by the name of a god.

[@AscendHyperion]

Ozan??

[@IDarKVorteXXOfficial]

@@AscendHyperion YESSSS. Dont want to drop your name but were you the leader? BRoooo how are you? This is unbelievable and so surreal.

[@masterchief9177]

If I'm reading this correctly, then your comment/replies section gave me a nostalgia vibes just now. " Reach days" Ah how friends or comrades still meet even after that sacred time has pass. Nice.

[@drdino2002]

Welp we just got the origin of his name.

[@Neshoba1337]

i loved the Jetpack in reach. i liked to grab a shotgun and having my ODST armor i just went hell jumper on people.

[@trickedraptor]

Out of all the armor abilities I'd like to see jetpack return. Its just so much fun in campaign.

[@jetstreamsamsung1753]

If they made the jetpack in halo infinite it should have no recharge ability

[@trickedraptor]

@@jetstreamsamsung1753 I think that's a fair trade.

[@jetstreamsamsung1753]

@@trickedraptor i have a question for you

[@trickedraptor]

@@jetstreamsamsung1753 Go ahead

[@TheSinDeath]

What is this? A nuanced and decently well thought out take on armor abilities in halo that addresses the issues that have existed in the past and discusses whether or not the potential implementation of armor abilities in the future could address those issues and possibly even be fun? And this didn't include a 40 minute rant about sprint? Unheard of. /s

[@Paddy656]

Sprint bad >:(

[@robgagnon9058]

I mean, can you blame them though?

[@imza5535]

@@robgagnon9058 yeah you can blame them. 40 min rant on sprint is definitely something Halo fans have not heard before

[@sidewire8777]

I honestly love using the jet pack with an elite controller LOL

[@mfspectacular]

Youre the type of player i hate running into 😂

[@TheCartograqher]

@@mfspectacular it's the ones that use jet pack and a needler 😭💀

[@mfspectacular]

@@TheCartograqher ngl, that shit is fun on the rare chance you get into elite slayer.

[@DrBilly619]

I always though it’d be cool to rip a jump pack off a dead brute and use it. I think it could be balanced because you commit to trajectory from the beginning. More like a big jump than a jet pack. It enhances mobility in only one direction and limits your ability to turn in air

[@henryalberts539]

Everyone who plays a video game with a Hologram ability, be it Halo or Titanfall or whatever else, has always wanted for it to be able to have some other effect besides running forward. Make Hologram a one-use equipment that, though it passes right through players, gives off a negative effect when shot or meleed like an EMP or a blinding effect.

[@nonexistent430]

I’d like to imagine the booster pack from halo 5 returns, but as equipment and can be used 3 times before draining

[@BalkanGames]

I'd prefer an overheating mechanic, not unlike a plasma weapon, to be implemented instead. Use the thruster pack two times in quick succession and you have to wait for six seconds before you can use it again.

[@dream8870]

@@BalkanGames it actually already had a delay to it and most pros once they here you use it know you’re a sitting duck with no thrust it makes you an easy 5 shot perfect kill since you can’t evade, i even have clips of myself being killed because i used my thrust at the wrong time and had no way of avoiding the gunfire

[@AgtShadowWalker]

I actually remember that in Reach, Bungie mixed the Bubble shield and regen field equipment. You're health would regenerate if you were inside the shield. I found that to become quite useful at times, and I would enjoy it coming back in some form. And if thruster pack returns, I'd prefer Halo 5 style where it doesn't take you out of the action. You stay in first person and it's quite useful.

[@grimnargaming]

Another great video old friend. To be honest I never had much issue with the jet pack, the player loses all cover and I usually could pick them off easily.

[@AscendHyperion]

It's moreso about how it pushes player mobility far beyond ever intended and often allowed by map design. People claim halo 5 was breaking halo's movement, Jetpack did that 10 years ago lol

[@grimnargaming]

@@AscendHyperion I suppose. And if you had a smart player it could be very abused (shrug) i just run into so many who fly into the air and think they can beat me and my team as we surround him.

[@SuperMurray2009]

The jetpack was far from overpowered. The armor lock is another story.

[@gosthesoulthief7411]

It wasn’t really that overpowered

[@SuperMurray2009]

@@gosthesoulthief7411 It wasn't but it has more of an argument

[@gosthesoulthief7411]

@@SuperMurray2009 You are worse than those dudes who play destiny and complain about strong exotics to get nerfed into oblivion. I miss being able to armor lock and to decimate a warthog or light vehicle that was coming at me at Mach 3 it was a good counter to denying people splatter kills. And when you can pull it off it’s like a dopamine rush dude you basically looked death straight in the face and said screw off. You want to know what really ruined halo? People who want it to play more like cod and have every single iconic weapon replaced or vaulted and stuff weve had for a long time like the Spartan laser. Toxic cod jerks are what are ruining the halo community and are the only ones that 343 seems to be listening to at this point.

[@gosthesoulthief7411]

@@SuperMurray2009 oh but this never occurred to you because you’re just commenting on this rather than thinking about it’s uses and want it removed because you didn’t know how to counter it. And it’s quite easy to kill an armor locked Spartan wait for the armor lock to overheat then shoot like there is no tomorrow at the guy who had it on who now has to wait for it to recharge. Plain and simple. It’s not freaking rocket science

[@artistanthony1007]

Even though Infinite's already out, I do want to say back in the day, the Invisibility Clock and Shield were my favorite abilities but now, it's Promethean Vision because it's literally Cyber Vision and a very practical kind with ability to distinguish enemies from foes so I'd pick that.

[@relt745]

Honestly, I'm surprised no one has suggested having the armor abilities spawn on the map so it can be better regulated which armor abilities can go where. Also having the ability to take the armor ability from dead bodies would make this work better and would be a nice quality of life change

[@AscendHyperion]

This was a common suggestion from the equipment video cause the end question was about armor abilities

[@relt745]

@@AscendHyperion Ah. Okay then. I just feel like I never see this suggested. It mostly feels like you either have armor abilities the way we always had them, only in loadouts and unable to be switched out easily, or none at all.

[@VPT2]

Was actually a solid video showing the issue with armor lock. I myself only used it on maps with Ghosts because that was the only time I found use in them because there was no way to counter getting run over once seen outside of that. Outside of that I always used Sprint.

[@clichedan7812]

I think Hardlight Shield would make for a pretty interesting addition as it's pretty much just a more interesting and fun-to-use Armor Lock. With Armor lock, the player is invulnerable and can't do anything but standstill, and the opponent fighting someone with armor lock can't do anything but stand still as well and wait for the player to exit. With Hardlight, the player is invulnerable to all attacks from the front and can redirect shots back at enemies if they're close enough to them. The Opponent can counter the Player by throwing grenades or getting behind them which forces them to exit the shield and have to reequip their weapons. It's an ability that provides protection but doesn't slow down the game as neither the opponent nor the player has to wait for the other to do something.

[@Nm_09]

I think the most underrated/balanced armor ability is hologram. I didn't use it much when Halo Reach was new, but I'm now finding it to be a great piece of gear. It's useful to draw out enemy fire from a distance or to trick their radar, but balanced in the way that it's useless if the enemy can see you.

[@stranger59]

A lot of Apex Legend abilities have the feel of Halo equipment or armor abilities. I'm sure a few of those could be inspiration for good armor abilities. Armor Lock was at its best when taking out vehicles, but it worked on everything which was a problem. It should just have been a Terry Bogard style Power Geyser, you just slam the ground and send out a short range, but powerful explosive burst that does extra damage to vehicles. Then you could just shoot, grenade or even melee the guy (if you weren't right in front of him).

[@PhillipAmthor]

I want a Halo game with all weapons, vehicles, abilities and one time usables at least for forge. If halo 343 wants halo infinite to make sense then it should have all the stuff for infinite custom game modes and therefore fun

[@ljhoser5842]

I love the boosterpack in halo 5. They should keep that, get rid of sprint in multiplayer (instead increase movement speed) and get rid of that third person stuff. The boosterpack on its own has so much potential and gives a chance to escape without feeling dumb like sprinting away.

[@Jackal-xc9sw]

What is wrong with sprint

[@kaa8646]

@@Jackal-xc9sw cant aim and you can only sprint in one direction, vs moving at a constiant speed at any direction being able to change on the fly while you can shoot, jump etc, also atleasst in my opinion most fights since sprint has been added end up with closing a gap and turning into whoever can melee first, especially with spartan charge in h5

[@dream8870]

@@kaa8646 thats true in ranked halo 5 i hate fucking spartan charge it’s such a cheap and petty move

[@kaa8646]

@@dream8870 im a big Halo 2 fan it is my favorite Halo, but i will still be one of the first to critisize it if needed, and i understand that BXR and BXB are glitches but atleast with those there can be an argument that it creates a skill gap and with how good the movement and how the BR feels is the intances where its useful are way less than the instances where there are those double melees in h5 happen, especially now where the majority of H2 players are seasoned vets of the game there is more of a necesity to get your 4 shots or nadeshot than the need to close the gap.

[@beastlydookie81]

Reach was perfect imo. Maybe solve this issue by creating an armor ability game mode. All other modes you have to find the abilities on the map, but ‘AA Slayer’ could essentially mimic Reach gameplay without breaking the entire game.

[@user-xw4xu1wi3g]

Armor abilities should just work like overshield and other armor pickups where they run out after a while and you have to pick them up

[@oliverdowning1543]

Armour abilities I think could return and how to modify them (non-Spartan-Abilities are not loadout accessable): Promethean Vision: 3 single scans that do not continue to highlight the player Armour Lock/hardlight shield/Drop Shield/bubble shield: the drop wall Sprint: sprint as a Spartan Ability Thrust/Evade: Clamber as a Spartan Ability and Grapple Shot Jetpack: Grapple Shot Autosentry: Autosentry with single or triple use Hologram: Ditto Regeneration Field: Ditto Active Camo: single or triple use only

[@Avera9eWh1teShark6]

I think there should be a mix of armor abilities and equipment. What gets classified under a certain category is determined by their effect. Something like Hologram or thruster would be a loadout ability as their utility is more determined by the user and are a bit more situational. The grapple and shield wall should be equipment as they have a more prominent effect. The difference between Thruster and Grapple is thruster is more for evasion or short distance high level movement, whereas grapple allows you to easily cover further ranges and higher places with little to no effort and have more impact to map control in ways that thruster never could, even in H5.

[@thunderlightcreations568]

People talk about how jetpack was broken in Reach but tbh I think armor lock was the only real issue

[@fredriddles1763]

Every ability comes with counterplay and drawbacks. In my experience they are perfectly balanced. Hardlight Shield: Blocks damage and restricts your other options. Jetpack: Grants increased verticality and makes you a sitting duck in the air. Promethean Vision: Grants vision and announces the fact you have vision. Thruster Pack: Makes you move fast and takes away your ability to shoot. Cloak: Makes you sneaky and punishes you for moving. Hologram: Makes a convincing body double and....uhh, wastes an enemy bullet? Auto Turret: Creates a turret and....gimme a sec, I'll think of a drawback... Healing field: Creates a healing aura for allies and creates a healing aura for enemies. Now compare this to a game like Overwatch where abilities almost always offer objective benefits with the only downside being the cooldown. If I play Halo 4 multiplayer without armor abilities (which I do on a regular basis) I can still kill everyone. If I play Overwatch without abilities I get slaughtered by my enemies. I couldn't care less if they were brought back or removed in future installments but I believe that armor abilities added meaningful tactical options that rewarded teamwork and strategy while offering exciting new ways to play.

[@artnok927]

And if you master any one of these abilities, you'd do very great. I run hardlight shield and while im no master of it, people for some reason tend to underestimate it and get close enough for me to drop the shield and melee. On top of that, they spam grenades which can be easily blocked and then get close instead of formulating a better plan of either cornering me or just moving around me at a distance since i'm slower. also Auto turret and hologram are what I like to call small abilities in that they are weak but still effective when used correctly. In a gun battle, it's very easy to get your enemy to waste a bullet or two on a hologram if you dip behind cover and ofc with shields and crap, you can easily exploit that and tip the gun battle back in your favor. Autoturret is perfect for suppression on the objective modes but falls everywhere else due to how weak it is unless you plan on doing point defense, in which case, you probably aren't playing the game to your greatest effect.

[@artistanthony1007]

Sooo the Face thing glows orange?

[@realizewave1513]

Grapple hook is an item pick up, confirmed.

[@TheCartograqher]

I would bring back the Hologram ability as a pick-up. I would change the amount of holograms a user can use to only 4 holograms. Once all 4 holograms have been used, the ability will have to be picked up again on the map. The user can choose between sending all 4 holograms separately or all together with no delay. However when the user sends out a hologram, the users raidar will momentarily disappear for 5 seconds everytime a Hologram is sent. To make the Holograms look more convincing and not carelessly walking in a straight line. I would change them so they sprinting, crouching or walking around the map, and will disappear within 30 seconds of being activated or till they take enough damage. Lastly holograms will stop moving when any kind of damage is delt apon them, so enemy players dont go chasing Holograms around the map.

[@sheilaolfieway1885]

The jetpack also effected one corner of the triangle and maybe even 2 melee and grenades because grenades are limited in range someone can jump over the explosion, and it's very hard to melee someone with a jetpack if you don't also have one. I think halo infinites current charges should stay but possibly ad a couple more charges.

[@FallingApplesVids]

If armour abilities were: -Finite. -Counter-able (e.g: if a person has a jetpack you'd be able to shoot and damage it). -Placed on maps specifically designed around them rather than making every map accommodate every ability. I wouldn't have a problem with them, even sprint if it was only featured on large BTB maps and didn't fuck up the core design of the game. Like how there is a hierarchy in regards to weapon balance in Halo, ranging from loadout weapons to power weapons, I think there could be a pick-up hierarchy as well with: Tier 1 = equipment, tier 2 = armour abilities, tier 3 = powerups (over-shield, speed boost, active camo and damage boost)

[@theugliestbarnacle816]

I’d make it to where you spawn with armor ability, but instead of unlimited use with a cool down, you’d have 2 or 3 times you could use it before you have to find a spawn for it on the map, and the recharge should probably be slightly faster since you can only use it 3 times, and you’ll have to choose wisely when to use it so can’t just spam armor lock/jet pack constantly

[@soccergoku24]

I love how Halo Infinite has the Equipment and Armor Ability thing together. In Campaign its a Armor Ability that has a upgrade system and Multiplayer its equipment that's good for 3 or so times. Which in reality all 343 had to do in Halo Reach and Halo 4 was make it so you have to pick up your Armor Ability which can be done in Forge. 343i had plenty of opportunities to change this up in MCC or even come out with a Playlist for Reach and H4 which is sad they don't think in this type of way.

[@crunchybombed2614]

I think their should be armor abilities and gadgets. Armor abilities gotta be picked up like in campaign and slower recharge tho so no load outs

[@tommunism8778]

That seems very reasonable

[@screamlord9481]

I like armor abilities in concept, and more on a lore single player side like RvB where certain Spartans would have special abilities. But we didn't get that, in multiplayer, it's hard to say. I guess it comes down to can they balance em to not be overbearing while being useful enough to not question why they're even in the game to begin with

[@nerdherd1819]

From what I can see, it's about how much a new gameplay element sends ripples in gameplay. Dual-weilding? That can really change some things, just doubling your firepower. But you can pull back on the reigns with aim penalties or even reload time penalties. Equipment? It's a new factor to account for, and it can increase/decrease time to kill on players or alter tactics needed. But it's single use and you gotta find it first, like a powerweapon. Armor abilities? Kind of like equipment, but without the limiters that held Equipment under control. You can keep making ripples all you want. Double-jump, sprint, ground-pound and more being default? It's a different game, the ripples are sewn into the game, as the maps have to account for these new movement options so "just don't use it" doesn't negate it. We've gone too far, made too many iterations.

[@kingslurpy9774]

Here's how I think armor lock could be "balanced" 1: make it so you would have to time the activation like the drop shield from Reach. 2: Give it one to two charges and maybe give it two modes depending on how many charges. 3: for the modes it could have a reflect or EMP mode, cannot be both.

[@Juanixtec]

Armor lock and combine it with a bubble shield and drop shield. At activation you lose your shields, you need to stay inside the bubble to maintain it, but once enemy players enter the shield they get emp'd. vehicles as well.

[@adnancharif9296]

Jetpack should return to Halo Infinite, it could be a pickup from certain Banished enemies, as seen in the demo. It'd have a certain fuel limit, but it'd be pretty big so that you'd probably have found another pickup by the time it's empty.

[@PcCAvioN]

The worst part of armor lock is the emp attack coming out of it, one gets a free, unwarranted advantage. SImilar to how the spartan charge would knock the opponent back and cancel his melee attack, giving a player a free kill when he should be punished for sprinting around corners

[@MrMcgee-me6bu]

I little bit of a weird example, but I like the way COD Advanced Warfare handled their abilities; or at least one of them. There was an item which was essentially a retractably riot shield. You can deploy it when ever you wanted, you choose it when building loadouts, but it's life span is based of a battery that does not recharge. If abilities in infinite had limited charges for certain ability's, I wouldn't mind.

[@Tesseradical17]

I think at least some armor abilities should be pickups and have some kind of fuel counter for limited uses. Then, if the level designer wants, there could be ammo packs, batteries, or permanent stations on the map for replenishing that counter. For instance, a human jetpack might run on cans of jet fuel, and an Elite jetpack might run on a battery that can only be recharged at a set location. (Insert HEV suit recharge station sound effect here.) And unlike Halo Reach and Halo 4, if you die with an armor ability that you pick up on the battlefield, it will drop next to your body for someone else to take. This would make the armor abilities act more like power weapons, and tying them to map design would give players little mini-objectives, points of conflict, and a new approach to balancing. Loadouts and cooldowns would be fun Custom Game options, though.

[@crimsonking4151]

Speak for yourself. DMR, Magnum and sprint. That’s all I needed to whoop ass in Halo Reach back in 2010-2012.

[@Alpha_Synergy]

I've always liked the hologram, personally. Against the AI, it's one of the best powers when used right, but isn't a "get out of jail free" card. Same as in the multi-player: while less useful, or at least more niche than against the AI, it can and will save your life if you know how to use it right. You can't spam it, or people quickly catch on and start ignoring them. It requires thought and coordination to use right, and can change the fight for the better.

[@warmasterjade8663]

I think all armor abilities should have a downside rather than a cooldown. Like after using armor lock your shields are completely drained.

[@mfspectacular]

That shouldve been added in an update to reach a long time ago. Or just replace w the dropshield in playlists, encouraging teamwork & all.

[@warmasterjade8663]

@@mfspectacular Yeah. Or just have the shields slowly go down as you use armor abilities. Like chief in halo 4 with the ghost, although not instant shield drop. Just slow drop. It'd make for some strategic ability use

[@sanorarosewatson1110]

I'd say we can keep all of them (besides armor lock) but instead of making them available to the player at spawn make them limited use map spawn-able items. Like you can find and pick up Promethean Vision but you only get 3 or 5 uses on it. Then just balance them all accordingly to how powerful they could be in combat. Maybe make invisibility have a set time limit for it's entirety. So you could use say all 10 seconds of invisibility at once or you could use it to sneak around enemies by strategically managing what time you have left.

[@Tsuyeong]

I guess 50% of what you said is right because Sometimes your spartan ability can save you from death or you can save someone. The spartan abilities aren't that bad, it's not so easy to express myself but I think abilities are placed there for a reason, I guess they bring balance to the game but sometimes people abuse of that balance and make it his most powerful weapon. If you don't want abilities the game would be and need to be more dynamic like in Halo 5, crouch, shoot, sprint, punch, thrusters,ground pound. But if you don't want armor abilities or a dynamic gameplay there is no halo reach, or 3 or 4 just halo 1 with different graphics. Spartan abilities are essence of difference between the halo games and franchise. They tried to make a mix of different abilities and they bring us halo 5. People says halo 5 is one of the worst games but I think people keep saying that because for them it's not so easily for them to adapt to a new game which is halo 5. As I said, armour abilities are the essence of difference between halo games, not only armour abilities but each weapon. Abilities, weapons and every stuff placed in the game was placed to bring a balance through the games.

[@JBzucc]

The problem is that they aren't as well balanced and jetpack is a pretty big game changer, it allows you to get up to higher places and if your being aggressive if you are 1v1 with another person and they go into cover, instead of usual means of getting aro u nd tha tg obstacle yu just fly up and see him sitting behind cover, cowering for their life, then that's when the jetpack becomes unbalanced and inst e ad of something like a one time use that you have to time properly to get use out of it, you have it the whole game

[@Tsuyeong]

@@JBzucc as I said every spartan ability was placed for a reason, if you see someone abuse the ability of jet pack then go cover and use bubble shield or spartan lock shield, there is no need to discuss here, every spartan ability has his counterpart. The armour abilities aren't broken or does not bring unbalance to the game, is you that you don't know how to use the right ability in the right moment. Is like the fight that everyone knows, if you bring fire to water the water will turn off the fire but were there is a forest in fire the water does not do nothing, if they abuse of jet pack you should abuse of lock armour, if they sprint away, go get them while you are with your camouflage, if they think they can tease you with the armor lock; when they are lock use the hologram so they hit the hologram and you get the kill. There is no reason to get mad or angry, just you should learn to use the right ability in the right moment.

[@JBzucc]

@@Tsuyeong but it's not so much like a scissor, paper, rock situation and the in you saying that is like you have to already know what ability they have and have an ability that counters that, not every situation is gonna be like that, jet pack in my honest opinion is extremely unbalanced not just cause of reach but you look at 4 and its the same case, in comparison to the other abilities it towers above them in functionality, a lot of the others are more situational where jetpack can be used in and outside of combat, it could be more balanced if the same places you reach with jetpack you can reach normally but some of the time you really can't or you can reach it 10× slower than it would of with a jetpack Their is no problem in admiting what we have now is unbalanced and it could still work with a better line up of abilities, if your somehow fine with how it's balanced then that is like saying it can't get any better, which I'd say with the current abilities no but with new better abilities and ones that don't overshadow the others then sure, I'm sure it could be better, I can see you either really love reach or the games with armor abilities but there is no reason to not look at it with a critical eye and think how could we make it better, my favorite Halos are 3 and 4 but my gosh they are both far from perfect, I could think a bunch of things wrong with how they are balanced and how they play, always leave yourself open for a different perspective

[@arcanezedreaper793]

In reach if you had a jet pack you could avoid a lot of the issues like sword base sprint meant you had to travel through the dangerous areas jet pack avoided 70 percent of the choke points. So there is always a balance check

[@Westy1724]

See if the reports are true that the Equipment is picked up on map but functions like Armour Abilities, Recharge and limited usage, With the Grapple Hook and Drop Shield we saw, the Abilities I could see would return are the Regen Field, Invisibility, Sentry Turret and maybe the Bubble Shield if the Drop Shield doesn't technically replace it.

[@Evan-or6ip]

I kinda wish they just moved equipment into the grenade slot. So rather than it being a 4th side to the golden triangle its more interesting grenades

[@guido95com]

I would like to see gadjets/abilities that encourage team work ( like shields or helth regen) instead encrease the player letality(spartan charge)

[@bloodgulchpatrick]

Interestingly, one of Bungie's reasoning factors for AAs in Reach was that they're always available to the player, and aren't gone after a single use, like Halo 3's Equipment, because as they said, people often refused to use them, saving them for time "when I need it more than now" and died.

[@AscendHyperion]

You know what they say the road to hell is paved with 🙃

[@darthsackboy]

Most armor abilities can easily be changed to equipment, I think that that should be the case. Since they are so similar to equipment, I believe that they should be made to require more deliberate usage with single-use being a component of that design philosophy. Other than certain weapons like the rocket launcher, there are ways of retaliating against map pickups, and I have a way of turning even Promethean Vision into an equipment compatible with this philosophy. Because PV ignores map geometry when giving information, the user's positioning isn't weighed in it's usefulness. If it were to account for said geometry and only highlight players within sighline, then it would be useless to have the scan be projected at the point of the player camera because simply looking around would do the same task. In accepting the initial change, we must address the resulting problem; having PV's scanning cast from an external item's position rather than the players, like a thrown item similar to other thrown equipment in Halo 3, would give such an effect usefulness once again. Additionally, we should have this scan appear for all teammates to see so that, even in public matches, the whole team gains value from it. Personally, I feel that it needs more risk to be involved. To address this, the scan will be available to both enemies and allies alike with only a difference of red and green colors based on whether those scanned are, well, enemies or allies. To prevent users from immediately showing where they are upon use, the equipment's effect would only begin a second or two after being thrown. This aligns with other Halo 3 equipment where both teams can gain value from an item in use, especially in the case of power drain and the regenerator. This allows for more interesting combat encounters surrounding the equipment itself. tldr; Promethean vision can be changed into a thrown equipment with its effect being universal rather than selfish to encourage more deliberate usage and interesting engagements/scenarios

[@L1LegoAnimations]

For Reach, I see the issues with Armor Lock, Jetpack and others, but tbh with the exception of Armor Lock I don't think they seriously break the combat loop. Active Camo is alright, Hologram can be spotted with minimal experience, Sprint just makes the user vulnerable, Jet-Pack can be considered in strategies, it really isn't that bad. Halo 4's were a bit different as they tried bringing abilities better suited as equipment, over to a reusable armor ability. Plus, a couple of them were just shy of useless.

[@MrDgf97]

I think that they shouldn't go away entirely. Maybe for a lot multiplayer modes, but in game modes like warzone/action sack/custom games it should stay. Gives the game more variety

[@RockmanX82]

I loved armor abilities. I’m not happy with the nerf of armor lock in Reach though. It made it very difficult to get a super easy achievement once the abilities effect changed. Luckily I got it in the first week of launch but it hurt later gamers who struggled with the achievement after the nerf

[@l4dhuntel]

The Armor lock should have been reworked to counter vehicles from splatting you or heavy weapons but you can get killed by spawning weapons

[@HANDLEHANDLEHANDLEHANDLE27]

My favorite armor ability has probably got to be the Jet Pack. The ability to jump up to higher places you normally can't reach, or even jumping down from a high height and slowing your decent safely to the ground was always so much fun to me in Reach. It made me feel like I was a part of a massive sci-fi military special forces. Being able to "exploit" a game's terrain in such a way is a nice treat, especially when you are playing as a super soldier. It messed with the core design of Halo by adding a massive advantage to mobility. That's kinda the point of a jet pack though: to say fuck you to people who don't have one. I don't know what I would do to balance the Jet Pack, or most armor abilities, but I am sure the first step is to make it an equipment piece just like Bubble Shield, or even the new Grapple Hook in Infinite. If armor abilities become on map pickups that we can fight over to get the advantage rather than being given the advantage outright, then I would like to see most or all (not Armor Lock lol) armor abilities return. Evade was also an ability I liked a ton. It makes too much sense for a super soldier (especially one as "agile" as Spartans) to be able to dive out of the way of danger. Am I supposed to be dumb enough to believe a super soldier would just stand on top of a grenade or in front of a vehicle just to get merc'd? That's a waste of training and money on the UNSC's part with both the soldier and armor itself being. As for making it a suitable armor ability for Halo's multiplayer? Yeah, I got nothing. Personally that just feels like something I would naturally be able to do as a Super Soldier like the UNSC Spartans.

[@HaloGrunt15]

Absolutely hell no. Armor abilities are great and need to be reinstated for future halos (sure they should be tweaked a bit and rebalanced. Maybe add some new abilities/remove ones that didn't work as well) but, They are the perfect resolution to the enhanced movement no enhanced movement debate. The reason why? Its simple. All 343 would have to do is make two different play style playlists. One with and one without armor abilities. (No spartan enhanced movement abilities like halo 5 because that's just garbage) All features, maps, game variations will carry across both playlists. This is honestly the best way to cater to all fans and the easiest imo. There should also still be on the map power up pickups like active camo, and overshield (active camo would be removed as an armor ability. Possibly made one in custom games/forge) and a doom style speed power up instead of sprint (this would allow faster movement and dual wielding to make a return without altering halos core gameplay, the golden triangle).

[@normaaliihminen722]

I think that is not fair comparison. Halo Reach also had bubble shield armor ability so why you did not included it to halo 3 bubble shield to Halo reach bubble shield?

[@Frappelychee]

I miss armor abilities. It allowed skilled solo players to somewhat fight against good partied-up teams that would corner randoms and usually make them quit. Invisibility was my all-time favorite, Decoy/Hologram another, Halo Reach's jetpack was extremely fun and had a learning curve to get headshots long distances while mid-air, not to mention also staying up longer by pulsing to save fuel or jumping for height boost. Maps like Spire felt like mini open-worlds in Reach with jetpacks and invisibility haha. I also love invisibility in terms of going against cheaters 🤔

[@iamgavenburnsred]

I think if they kept armour abilities the way they are but just made them not load out specific and you had to pick them up on the map or you could pick them up off enemy players that would work fine. That way they really have no more effect on the gameplay meta than vehicles.

[@puerconiox]

Dude i love your vids, and your voice is so relaxing to me, keep it up bud! 👍

[@Arachnoslayer117]

I disagree with how armor abilities in general, "break" the Golden Triangle. If you go into depth on how most of them truly function, most of them actually bend it, but it's how frequently it can be bent that can be a small issue. Only a few armor abilities actively destroy this triangle, or force entirely different approaches, which gets frustrating (depending on the severity). Armor Lockup however, I will agree, that it is a direct upfront to the Golden Triangle in many ways, shapes, and forms. Not to mention how many can use it as a quick means to prevent damage, while not consuming the entire ability.

[@Ruminations_24]

All we need is an option for custom games / specific game typed to allow for equipment to be infinite and boom, armour abilities. Add everything back, let arena make them a limited use, and in some game types have them infinite on a cooldown.

[@joehill4094]

Armour abilities as a concept was fine, it is just that the abilities we got really werent that useful besides the broken ones (armour lock) and the jet pack

[@iko4670]

I'd say so. They don't allow us to have those little backpackss that Carter and Jun have without massive clipping issues

[@onikai7055]

I’d port active camouflage and sprint as a armor ability in halo infinite but you have to fight for the active camouflage

[@mfspectacular]

Should just be an option. Reach played pretty damn smooth with no bloom or abilities + speed turned up (minus the lacking sandbox atleast)

[@jacobfaro9571]

The problem isn’t that they stagnated play by limiting options, but rather they were not readable . A good FPS needs varied but readable enemies. Ex: you know what a sword is good for and can see when it’s coming at you, but ram an armor lock player and there is NO WARNING. Player may have any ability and you can tell till it’s used.? Compare this to tf2, you knew a player class abilities by looking at them. Cod black ops one did this too to a limited extent with perks. But then You take away customization. See the dilemma? Equipment is set by map and a one time use. But it too has this problem, to a lesser degree.

[@armonicxbox3867]

I would like to see the abilities mixed in with equipment in halo infinite were you find them on the map but with multiple uses. like limited air time in a jetpack before running empty or three time uses on the bubble shield. And things like invisibility can be started at any time you want when you pick it up but once you start it you can't turn it off then it runs out of power.

[@Atriox2004]

They should bring back armour lock but take away the emp ability and increase the time used so you can recharge your shields but not do a nade barrage.

[@LennoxParsec]

What if the armor abilities were managed as "mini-Vehicles", pick ups from the map, with a weak spot that players could make use in order to fightback, and focusing only on change how the player moves without buffing or nerfing health or damage.

[@S1deshowRob]

I still would’ve preferred the jet pack in particular being a map pickup, it messes up the opening phase of matches for me but after that phase of the match it doesn’t really mess with the flow that badly for me

[@S1deshowRob]

Also giving it a limited fuel supply per pickup would make it way more rewarding to actually use well since you’d have to be more strategic with it

[@giantonions3810]

I’d like a jet pack that’s not a boost pack that can be used twice and it just hurls you in the direction you want ( also great video )

[@AiringAustin]

Halo is all about gaining the advantage through map control. That’s the game at its essence. An example being who gets to the rocket launcher first in the pit. That’s why I prefer equipment. You don’t spawn with a powerful tool, you have to compete to earn it. And if your teammate takes your sniper rifle you kill him dead.

[@Cameron088]

For me, yes and no Armour Abilties CAN indeed work, as long as they dont break 2 rules 1. Do not slow down gameplay or bring it to a halt (like Armour Lock) 2. They do not allow players to get a massive advantage (Active Camo, Promethean Vison) I think if they revert Camo back to equipment, and dont bring back the Armour lock, I say they are fine.

[@masterarthius8752]

I hope the bubble shield returns. It's very cool.

[@VEN0M415]

Make them pickups on the battlefield, have sprint lower shield strength and raise recharge time, and it would have been peeeerfect

[@derekk.2263]

The way armor abilities and equipment worked in ElDewrito was exactly like they are describing for infinite. You could spawn and pick up a power drain or a jetpack and even pick up the armor ability from someone you killed. AAs work great when you don't spawn with them.

[@SAClassHunterZero]

I look at it this way: It took Bungie an iteration or two before they could refine CE's multiplayer into 3's multiplayer, just in terms of guns/grenades/melee. Who could forget CE's nuke grenades and assassinations from the freaking side instead of just the back? In the same way, I think Bungie really just needed another iteration or two of Reach's armor abilities, but alas, they got cut short. It might sound weird to say, but sometimes I view Destiny as the evolution of Reach's armor abilities into a class system, but admittedly that gets overshadowed quickly by how ridiculously unbalanced that multiplayer was in other aspects.

[@____________838]

It really was. If they’d been just equipment, and therefore part of the sandbox, I wouldn’t have an issue with them though.

[@S1deshowRob]

Honestly armor lock doesn’t even bother me anymore, it’s always an easy kill for me, I’ve gotten my grenade timing just right for when it ends. It was definitely annoying before we knew how to play around it, now it’s just kind of a quirk of reach for me

[@TIMS3O]

Alot of the reach AAs would not be gamebreaking if they were map pickups. Having the jet pack as a pick up on maps with verticallity would be very interesting instead of gamebreaking as in reach. The hologram and drop shield would work without any problems and the active camo ability would be replaced with the superior active camo pick up. Armor lock even though I think it is terrible for matchmaking since it completely breaks the flow of the game can finds its place in custom games and would be less annoying in matchmaking if it was a rare pickup. Sprint would not be gamebreaking as well if it was a rare pickup but I would prefer it not to be in matchmaking since it also ruins the flow of the game.

[@ShmeeGrim]

I always thought AAs would be a great fit for Halo as map pickups. The only real issues I had with them were that a few were disruptive to the gameplay flow, and everyone spawned with them. I'm glad to see that Infinite seems to be revisiting them in a new way.

[@kurttrevelyan051]

The December update clearly showed the grapple hook would be a pickup. Compare it to the grav lift in 3, but limited to one person instead of the whole lobby.

[@guido95com]

If the problem with armour abilities is that you con spawn with them, the solution are gadjets to find on the map

[@rosegraham5283]

The execution in Reach and Halo 4 wasn't good, but there are ways to improve upon it in theory... 1. Add a limiter on each one of them like 20 seconds limit with Jetpacks and you can only drop the drop shield three times Etc. 2. Make them map pickups instead of spawning with them 3. Remove all game-breaking and redundant armour abilities like Armour Lock, Promethean Vision and Active Camo Etc.

[@T-Rex_Slap]

Gwad I love Halo 3’s equipment, it was so good to use something like the bubble shield or the energy drain in a quick reaction to what was happening.

[@UNSKIALzPSN]

Just found your channel. Would love to see a video on Spartan abilities in the same vein! How do they compare in terms of gameplay impact. Are they a good thing?

[@thecookiemeister5374]

I’d actually like the halo 5 in air movement system to be an armor ability in halo infinite, i think that might be kinda dope