Boltshot vs Mauler

[Admiral Ackbar]

I just had an epiphany. I'm not sure if anyone else has realized this. Well I'm sure someone has. In Halo 3, you had the the maulers. A very very powerful pistol/shotgun. Now you had the ability to dual wield maulers. Which if used correctly would result in an instant death to the enemy, much like the Boltshot.

 

Now there are a few differences between the Boltshot and dual wielding Maulers. But in essence it's the same thing. If you fired both Maulers at the same time, you'd instantly kill the opponent. With the Boltshot you are able to get a one shot kill, or instant kill, but only if the gun is fully charged. Which when that occurs, there is a high pitched whistle that can be heard by the enemy.

 

I don't remember there being that big of a fuss when Maulers were introduced. I was an active member of Bungie at the time, and there was the occasional thread about it. But no where near the chaos that the Boltshot has caused. I'm interested to hear your thoughts on it. Why is the Boltshot treated so much differently?

[Harbinger]

Well I'm guessing there wasn't that big of a fuss because you couldn't start out with it in a loadout. So the mauler was scarce.

[Admiral Ackbar]

You couldn't start with them. But they were fairly easy to get. Most maps had a couple of spawn points for them.

[Sarge]

I think that because a pistol that you can receive as a loadout weapon can kill someone that fast is why everyone is complaining. A pistol is supposed to be a like a 4-5 shot kill *dont quote me on that* and a last resort weapon. But, with the bolt shot you can just obliterate people although it does have a few seconds to warm up it still shows as an unfair advantage incomparison to someone who has the magnum out. The Mauler was found on the map it wasn't given out as a weapon that you can start out with.

[Admiral Ackbar]

It wasn't given out. But I never had any problem finding them. They were all over the place! Honestly most games I could get a mauler right away. And get the first kill of the match with it. Just like if it was a loadout weapon.

[Harbinger]

Plus most people ran for the Mauler so most of the time you only got 2 kills then scavengers loot your body.

[Admiral Ackbar]

I just don't see the big difference. Yes, you can start with a loadout Boltshot. But a lot of people had Maulers in Halo 3, and no one seemed to care..

[Harbinger]

Maybe it was because the Mauler was BA and fun?

[Yoshi1176]

Bolt shot all the way baby mauler was good just not as good

[SatanicBagels]

The Mauler wasn't able to start in a loadout... In all fairness it probably wasn't as useful either.

[Caboose The Ace]

i think it becase the boltshot is like runniing around with a power wepon pretty much no diffrence

[Admiral Ackbar]

What do you mean running with a power weapon? My point is that the Mauler was also a power weapon in the form of a pistol. I guess I'm the only one who thinks that they are basically the same thing..

[Sadly Just AL]

I love the mauler, reminds me of Halo 3. Boltshot's ok but I'll go with the mauler.

[Admiral Ackbar]

So, more people liked the Mauler and there weren't many complaints about it. Why is there so many complaints about the Boltshot? Is it really all because you can start with it in the Loadout?

[Hᴜᴍᴘsᴛʏʟᴇs]

...Because the realm of FPS video games has evolved into a maelstrom of complainers.

 

/thread

[Bloody Initiate]

Aside from being very much like pistol-sized shotguns they aren't really that similar gameplay-wise.

 

The mauler could not kill in one shot when you wielded only one, and even when you wielded two its 1sk range was shorter than that of a normal shotgun. The mauler WAS a good shot + bash weapon, but in Halo 3 you had a more significant melee lunge that allowed such weapons to work. That longer lunge is absent in Halo 4.

 

The boltshot kills in one shot beyond shotgun range and has all the charge-up/cooldown stuff going for it. You can also start with it, but there is no dual-wielding in Halo 4 to add the ammo consumption limitation of dual-wielding maulers.

 

In MLG settings for Halo 3 the mauler would kill in one-shot if you were right in their face, but usually those guys still shot + bashed with it.

 

I am thankful that we no longer have that long melee lunge and equally thankful that we no longer have dual-wielding. Dual-wielding was stupid, and that long melee lunge was one of those creeping cancer type issues that had an enormous impact on gameplay despite being a relatively small feature. Most people don't realize how much it changed things, I believe we're better without it. In its absence I think we're also better off without the mauler, I liked maulers but they were dependent on that lunge. They wouldn't work in Halo 4, no shot + bash weapon does.

[Baeztoberfest]

...Because the realm of FPS video games has evolved into a maelstrom of complainers.

 

/thread

 

Yes this. And to answer OP, there is no difference between them really.

[Admiral Ackbar]

Yes this. And to answer OP, there is no difference between them really.

 

I was wondering if anyone else felt the same way. But most people tend to think of them as two very different guns.

[Bloody Initiate]

They're two very different mini-shotguns, but they are both definitely mini-shotguns.

 

I would rather have a mauler in Halo 3 than a boltshot in Halo 4 though. I disliked the long melee lunge and am glad it's gone, but the mauler WITH that lunge was a more effective weapon than the boltshot. You could kill 5 people in 5 seconds with a mauler, assuming they were dumb enough to line up for it. The boltshot doesn't have that kind of killing power even in perfect circumstances. That's why I prefer a shotgun or scattershot, they don't kill at the same range but if you need to fire again it's there for you.

[Xoxex]

Well the mauler had weaknesses. The mauler was not present on every map and you actually had to go pick one up. I can start every map in Halo 4 with a boltshot. If you wanted to dual wield them then you had to actually go find another mauler. The mauler did not beat the shotgun in any way. A single mauler would never kill you in one shot either. The boltshot beats both shotguns and kills in one shot from a decent range. The boltshot however also has the pro of being a pistol with headshot capability and one shot potential depending on how you use it. That alone is amazing compared to the mauler having only close range properties. In Halo 4 I can start with this weapon that outranges both shotguns and has the option of just being a pistol. I couldnt start Halo 3 with a weapon that could one shot you. That alone already screams wtf to me.

[Cluegiver]

The Boltshot is far superior to the mauler. WAY more powerful and has much greater range. The great thing about the mauler was that it wasn't ever really a one shot kill, it was a one shot-beatdown kill. And you didn't freaking spawn with it...

[IElitePredatorI]

Because the majority of people online result to a Boltshot when they know they can't win and everyone can spawn with it or just spam plasma grenades without even shooting their gun. The fact is, it has a more reliable and better impact of damage and range compared to the Scattershot so clearly something should be done about that?

[Twisted Oracle]

I dont like them because people will boltshot rush you, its a tactic used in CTF a lot where the enemy team rushes the flag with boltshot. Its very annoying

[SykoWolf]

The guns work on the same principle, just name,sound and look is changed.......

[TheGodfatherS117]

I like more the mauler than the bolltshot.