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| cheapLEY's Guide to the Reach Beta (So Far) | |
| Posted By: cheapLEY | Date: 4/30/10 4:02 a.m. |
Maps | Weapons | Armor Abilites | Gametypes | Miscellaneous | User Interface This is my look at the Beta through the few short hours I've played it so far. I won't talk so much about what everything is or does, as we've seen plenty of that over the past few weeks. Instead what I'll do is give my thoughts on particular things, their usefulness, some good tactics to employ with them. Basically, just my general take on the beta as it stands at the moment. It can serve as a springboard for discussion here, as those who've played the beta (and aren't too busy still playing) add their own thoughts. Also, it may help you to be better prepared come Monday. MAPS
I’ll start by saying that I think both of these maps are of better quality than almost anything we saw in Halo 3. They play extremely well, and the action is fast and frantic, just as Halo is supposed be. Powerhouse can be dominated by the power weapons, most notably the Focus Rifle. Lots of open space means lots of opportunity for incineration. The map works well for all gametypes: Slayers, Oddball, CTF, and Stockpile. I’ve yet to play Headhunter on it, but I can’t see why it wouldn’t work as well as the others. Swordbase is my favorite of the two maps, at this point. I love the vertical element of the map. The jetpack is useful here, but be careful as extended flight paths make for an easy target. Headhunter is really fun on this map, as is 1 Flag CTF. At this point, it seems like there’s still a lot of confusion on the best path for a flag capture, so it can be a pretty long path depending on the route taken, which makes for fun matches. Slayer also works really well. Long sightlines down hallways and across the atrium make for good DMR and Needle Rifle gunplay. WEAPONS
The reason for this is the new Magnum. This weapon ROCKS. It fires as fast as you can pull the trigger, but don’t expect it to be accurate when used in that manner. Slow down the rate of fire, and it’s possible to get kills from across the map. The new Magnum truly is the perfect starting weapon. Useful in every situation, but dominant in very few. In skilled hands, the zoom allows players to fend off DMRs and Needle Rifles from across the map. It’s not the perfect weapon to face a DMR-wielding opponent, but it works much better than the Assault Rifle did versus the Battle Rifle in Halo 3. Which brings us to the DMR. This weapon is brutal. It is much more difficult to use than the Battle Rifle ever was. Careful timing is an absolute must when using the Designated Marksman Rifle. Slow down that trigger finger! In the middle of a firefight, instinct kicks in, and out of habit I spam that trigger as quickly as possible. This is the quickest way to get you dead. Those shots will not land on a target at any significant distance. The same applies to the new Covenant Needle Rifle. It’s almost an exact counterpart to the DMR, but with the fun addition of pink explosions in some situations. After depleting an enemy’s shields, three landed shots will net you a Supercombine. Fantastically fun! The Focus Rifle is my favorite new weapon. Essentially a powerful Sentinel Beam with a scope, this new weapon will incinerate opponents within a few short seconds. It’s useful and almost all ranges, from very close, to all the way across the map. Powerhouse has plenty of cover, so it’s cross map usefulness can be combatted. My favorite technique with the weapon is the cramped flag base atop the hill in Powerhouse. Taking or defending the room is easy with the Focus Rifle. Opponents within have nowhere to go and are easily killed if you can keep that reticle focused on them. The Needler is slightly more powerful than it’s counterpart in Halo 3. Rate of fire seems faster. Not much else to report. The Plasma Repeater is a fun weapon to use. It feels slightly more powerful than the Assault Rifle, but I don’t really have any evidence to back that up. Works like you’d expect it to; it’s a beefed up Plasma Rifle, basically. Sadly, I haven’t yet had any experience with the Shotgun, Plasma Launcher, or Spartan Grenade Launcher. I just haven’t come across them, yet. :( Grenades pack a bigger punch this time around. The blast radius seems to be bigger, and they just do more damage in general. Frag Grenades also leave a bright orange tracer through the are, so they are much easier to spot as they fly through the air. All of the weapons sound considerably more awesome than they ever have before. They all have much, much more oopmf than previous iterations. Turn up those subwoofers, folks! The DMR sound especially awesome. Listening to its report echo across Powerhouse is eerily satisfying. ARMOR ABILITIES
Sprint is my default ability. It’s the most useful for just generally getting around. I use it to quickly grab that Focus Rifle on Powerhouse. :) Active Camo is my second favorite ability. When standing still or moving very slowly, the player is pretty much completely invisible. This effect is balanced by it’s radar jamming effect, which lets enemy players in the area know an invisible player is around. Still, move slowly enough and they’ll never find you. I’ve used it most for sneaking into the flag base and making a quick grab. It’s also decently helpful for ducking out of a firefight, making it decently difficult for an enemy to get a draw on you. Armor Lock is extremely helpful in the right situation. Use it to quickly block incoming grenades or rockets. Also, it can be used to block doorways for a short time for one’s team. I’ve seen it used this way to great effect a few times. However, it has it’s drawbacks. It’s is extremely easy to be caught out in the open with armor lock, letting an opponent backtrack out of its EMP range and simply toss grenades as it wears off, pretty much spelling instant death. Strategic use is definitely a must with Armor Lock. The jet pack is my least favorite ability, but it’s not without its uses. I find it to be most effective when used as a small jump jet. Use it to add just a little bit of extra height to the peak of a jump to get to a higher ledge. Extended flights almost certainly will end in death, as once you start getting shot in the air, there’s nowhere to go. The sky has no cover, folks, and you can’t expect to survive for long with the Magnums and DMRs about. Evade is about as you’d expect it to be. It’s lunge distance is pretty significant, and it works well for getting out of the way of grenades and gunfire quickly. However, it’s not impossible for opponents to keep a bead on you as your roll, so it’s not always helpful. Still, it’s fun to do, and useful, so no complaints, here.Bun All of the abilities work as intended, and each have their pros and cons. I find them to be balanced very well, and I can see teams getting very, very good by using different abilities together to absolutely dominate. GAMETYPES
The two new gametypes, Headhunter and Stockpile fit very well within the Halo combat. Stockpile is a fun game that can get very intense. Each minute when the flags are cleared can cause the score to jump up to 5 points at a time, so you never know exactly when the end of the game will come. Also, the lead can change multiple times through the match very easily. I’ve found that Stockpile is as much about asset denial as it is about capturing flags for your own team. Wait until the flags are nearly about to be cleared, then rush the enemy drop zone and clear if of flags. Even if you don’t score for your team, you can easily prevent the other team from getting those captures. I’ve only played one Headhunter match at this point, but it’s the most fun match I’ve had at this point. In this game, killing is very important. But, as they say, it’s quality, not quantity. Pick your moment to strike, and you will be rewarded. My K/D spread in the match was -4. In a Slayer game, this is unacceptable. In Headhunter, I still won the match by 4. I killed two opponents with 6+ skulls right before they hit the drop zone. Targeting players with a high number of skulls works wonders. :) This is one of the most intense Halo games. The score jumps 5, 8, or 10 points at a time, and the lead changes frequently. This creates a great tension in the match unlike anything in any other gametype. MISCELLANEOUS
The death animations are also worth mentioning. I think they’re great. It seems they take into account player velocity and shot placement more than Halo 3 did. I’ve seen cartwheels, backflips, barrel rolls, and the like. Some great stuff here. Spartans vs. Elites:
Not much else to report, yet, as we don’t have any Elites vs. Spartans playlists open, yet. USER INTERFACE
The new voting system rocks, too. You’re present with 4 options. Three of these are some combination of game and map, while the last is none of the above. Just bringing a bit more control over the veto system used in Halo 3. The new Bungie.net stats page is spiffy, as well. Lots of good information there, the same as we've been used to for years now. My only wish for improvement here is that I wish the Spartan that was shown on your B.net stats page was actually your customized Spartan, rather than the generic Noble 6. Maybe for the retail version? Otherwise I'm not really sure what the point of the the Spartan being there is. And lastly, Spartan Customization. Earn Credits by playing the game. Bonuses for commendations and winning are awarded after the match. Unlike previously thought, Credits are actually spent, meaning once you buy an item, those credits are deducted from your total amount. Right and Left shoulder pads must be bought separately, as well. Also, not all the armor is unlocked from the beginning. You must rank up to unlock some pieces. Overall, Reach is shaping up to be Bungie’s best Halo. It’s a blast to play with many improvements over the previous iterations. I can’t wait until Invasion and Generator Defense open up.
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