Ideas for Armor Abilities in Halo 4

[RedStarRocket91]

Part of the problem with the Armor Abilities in Reach is that they aren't balanced against one another. While abilities like Sprint or Hologram only have a single effect - increasing lateral movement speed and providing a distraction, respectively - Active Camouflage jams radar as well as providing near-invisibility, while Armor Lock harms vehicles, provides protection from weapons, and can even lower an enemy's shields.

 

The problem isn't that these abilities do different things, or even that some are more useful to certain play styles than others: it is simply that some have more ways in which they can be effectively used.

 

Obviously, it hasn't been confirmed that Armor Abilities will even be in Halo 4 yet. However, I'd like to suggest the following system, whereby instead of each loadout offering one Ability, they are instead based on play styles, combining two elements from existing Abilities: these are activated separately, using a system similar to that of Assassinations and Beatdowns, whereby a single press activates one, while holding down the button activates the other.

 

At present, I suggest the following four loadouts:

 

Offensive

As the name implies, this loadout is tailored to players who are more aggressive, preferring to attack enemies head-on. Radar jamming helps confuse enemies, while the ability to throw enemies away from the player ensures they will be able to conduct melee combat on their own terms.

 

A single press of the button generates Armor Lock's EMP knock-back effect: however, while the blast knocks players as far back as the current maximum level, it only deals a moderate amount of damage to shields: this also fully consumes the energy bar.

Holding down the button generates Active Camouflage's radar jamming ability, slowly draining energy for as long as the ability is active.

 

Defensive

The counterpart to the 'Offensive' loadout, these Abilities favour players who prefer a more cautious strategy. Protection from damage and vehicles is available at the expense of movement and a temporary penalty to speed and jump height, while attention can be avoided with the use of active camouflage.

 

A single press of the button actives Armor Lock's invincibility and allows the user to shed stuck plasma grenades and destroy vehicles, consuming the entire energy bar over the course of a couple of seconds: however, the movement penalties from its EMP effect are applied to the user for a few moments after exiting.

Holding down the button generates Active Camouflage's cloaking ability: while movement speed affects the quality of the invisibility, it drains energy much more quickly than the current version.

 

Mobility

This loadout favours players who prefer manoeuvrability and agility over direct combat bonuses, as well as those who like to rush for power weapons and key points early in the game. Players can get around the level much faster, and have more options for movement while in combat.

 

A single press of the button uses Evade's roll to dive quickly in whichever direction the movement stick is pressed, which also disables the lock of any homing weapons (i.e. the Needler) currently tracking the player: this consumes half of the energy bar.

Holding down the button causes the player's running speed to greatly increase, although just as with Sprint they will be unable to use their weapons for the duration.

 

Aerial

This loadout provides for those whose strategies involve heavy vertical movement, rather than the horizontal provided by 'Mobility'. Players will be able to fly across otherwise impossible gaps and move between levels with ease, as well as being able to 'boost' across the level.

 

A single press of the button causes the player to make a very fast, low-trajectory jump in whichever direction they are facing, in the same manner as ODSTs use their jetpacks in Exodus. This consumes the entire energy bar, but the effect continues until a player touches the ground: it may not be activated in the air. Self-splattering both possible and very, very funny.

Holding down the button causes the jetpack to function identically to its counterpart in Reach, although while in the air even short presses continue this mode of function.

 

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Each of these loadouts has their drawbacks: the former two can leave players slow and vulnerable to attacks beyond their effective weapon ranges, while the latter two won't stand up so well in a direct firefight. They do, however, complement certain play styles more effectively than existing Armor Abilities, and of course 'Mobility' could still be used as a successor to Sprint in Pro and MLG gametypes (only now with even more tactical options).

 

Anyway, I'd appreciate any feedback on the idea as a whole: if people think certain loadouts seem overpowered and unbalanced and why, any other potential loadouts (I want to think of a way to use the regeneration ability of Drop Shield, for one!), and whether or not people would prefer this kind of system (i.e. playstyle-based loadouts, even if not this exact one) over the existing system of Armor Abilities.

 

However, please don't turn this into a debate over whether Halo 4 should/will have Armor Abilities or not. That's already been done to death and the fanbase simply isn't going to agree.

[Quantum]

Dude, that is probably one of the best ideas I've ever heard of on the subject of armor abilities. Thats beast. I think they should implement that into the game immediately. But, Sadly, I think that most of the fans would rather stick to the stuff they already know and are good at, the seperate abilities. But I love it.

[RedStarRocket91]

Thank you : )

 

I had the idea after getting shot in the head one too many times in SWAT: it just struck me as odd that Spartans trained from childhood to be a perfect soldier, who can control armour that breaks bones if misused, operate any weapon and drive any vehicle, human or alien, can either know how to sprint or know how to roll, but not both at the same time!

[Doc/O'Malley]

A Great armour ability is Death Stalker , when you die more than 4 times, the person that last killed you will be marked on the radar until you, the player kills the enemy .

[Unease Peanut]

A Great armour ability is Death Stalker , when you die more than 4 times, the person that last killed you will be marked on the radar until you, the player kills the enemy .

Nah that would suck

[Unease Peanut]

I think these are some awesome ideas for balancing the armour abilities. I hope the Developers read this

[live2rap]

I'm thinking that in halo 4 there should be a mix of sprint and armor lock so the player runs faster and is also invisible but would not be able to use there weapons during use also a cooldown time after use so the player can uses it cant use there weapons again for a limited time such as a 3 second cooldown time to prevent being able to just run around using the energy sword or gravity hammer or any weapon straight away after use.Maybe the cooldown time could be something like the longer they use the armor ability the longer the cooldown time and the the amount of armor ability left is shown in a circle again or even a line it could be like if they use 1/4 of the bar there's a 1 sec cooldown and if they use 2/4 then there's a 2 sec cooldown and so on. But then again 343i might not even put armor ability in halo 4 so this whole thread would be completely useless.

[RedStarRocket91]

A three-second period after using an Armor Ability would be a bit harsh: it takes less than three seconds to kill an enemy with the DMR, after all, and bear in mind that with other AAs players can use weapons immediately afterwards - or indeed, during use if they have a Hologram or a Jetpack.

 

It always actually bugged me that Sprinters can't use weapons but Jetpackers can. They're both about giving you more movement options and getting around quicker, but one has a weapon restriction even after use and the other doesn't have one at all.

 

The idea of a 'Death Stalker' mightn't work so well. For a start it relies on playing badly, rather than augmenting skill and ability, and of course the motion tracker range is limited: I'd also imagine that most players in motion tracker range would be moving anyway, and thus would show up. It would also have to be based on single deaths otherwise it might not be activated in an entire game, and you'd find yourself deliberately getting killed after two or three deaths just so you could use it. We'd also need to worry about how it was implmented: does it track them until they die or until you kill them or just forever? What if they quit? What if you're killed by someone else, does it change targets or track them both?

 

That said, it might be a good idea to have some sort of 'reconaissance' ability, which extends the range of the motion tracker or enhances it to show enemies who aren't moving. Could come in very useful on larger maps, or for teams with mics.

[iTz KeeFy]

Some great ideas, dont get me wrong but that is not what im hoping halo 4 will be. This would be cool if they ever made a Reach 2. I want a direct continuation of halo 3 and maybe add some small things to spice it up. No offense but I dont want alll these loadouts in halo anymore, this isnt cod or bf3, its F-in Halo man and when I say halo I mean halo 1,2, and 3 . I dont put Reach in my book of true halo games and there for want none of the gameplay to roll over from reach to h4. Im so ready to retire AA's and loadouts and get back to some real halo.

[Adro]

Just no armourlock because it's just overpowered.

[yah bono here]

armour lock has its pros and cons, (saying this as to not set the community into a huge fight) but i think the general concensoius is that armor abilities have ruined reach, and that they are not going to be implemented in halo 4. Good idea, though.

[RedStarRocket91]

Why do these things always descend into arguments about Armor Lock, even when that's not the point of the topic...? Is it really that all-pervading...?

 

Anyway, I'd appreciate any feedback on the idea as a whole: if people think certain loadouts seem overpowered and unbalanced and why, any other potential loadouts (I want to think of a way to use the regeneration ability of Drop Shield, for one!), and whether or not people would prefer this kind of system over the existing system of Armor Abilities.

However, please don't turn this into a debate over whether Halo 4 should/will have Armor Abilities or not. That's already been done to death and the fanbase simply isn't going to agree.

 

Hate to be pushy, but can we try and stay away from arguments over whether Armor Abilities in Reach are good/bad and whether or not they'll be in Halo 4? There really are more than enough other topics arguing about that, and nobody knows for sure whether they'll appear or not. But hypothetically, if Armor Abilities were to appear would you prefer them as they are now or something along the lines of what I've suggested here?

[Du Vanger Gata]

I like your idea of different groups for different playing styles, but on defensive instead of armor lock, I would perfer drop shield. Just my opinion.

[capital j]

AA would ruin halo 4.

[Kurt S-501]

Great ideas, Red. If AA's are included in Halo 4 (I hope they're not), then this system would work great!

[Doc/O'Malley]

Suicide Bomber, when a person got two or more kills with a melee weapon and kills you, you blow up giving them a KILLJOY

[undyinghijack]

that may be the best idea I've ever heard for armor abilities. I was also thinking that you could go over the limit on the abilities but with increased recoil at the end. for example: you sprint for too long and your speed is greatly reduced as well as your melee attack damage. This would not be a big increase maybe just half again what the origional did and the ability would take twice as long to recharge for the next use. Coments?

[Roronoa Larry]

Red star good job i really like those ideas a lot more than Reach and a regeneration-support one would be also good. But i'm still on the side of no abilities on Halo 4 (ok sry couldn't hold myself. ignore the second sentence )

[frozeterminator]

i loved the armor locked

[RedStarRocket91]

I was also thinking that you could go over the limit on the abilities but with increased recoil at the end. for example: you sprint for too long and your speed is greatly reduced as well as your melee attack damage. This would not be a big increase maybe just half again what the origional did and the ability would take twice as long to recharge for the next use.

 

That's an interesting idea, there are lots of things you could do with that, depending on what's activated when the button is held down - a small reduction in speed if Sprint is overused, the radar jammer begins to affect your own motion tracker, or your shield actually starts to drain at a geometric rate in order to support invisibility once the ability itself needs to recharge.

 

Perhaps using a jetpack while out of power could count as it being overheated? For every second you try and fly above 'safe' heat levels, there's a one in three chance that something will go horribly wrong and the whole thing will explode, sending your flaming Spartan back to the ground wishing he'd paid attention to Timothy Dalton in flight school.

 

The link really is worth a watch for everyone who has a bad memory about someone using the Jetpack. Which is, I think, almost everyone.

 

Red star good job i really like those ideas a lot more than Reach and a regeneration-support one would be also good. But i'm still on the side of no abilities on Halo 4 (ok sry couldn't hold myself. ignore the second sentence )

 

Hah. I don't mind if people want to talk about which system they prefer, I just think that a thread which isn't about that question should have replies about that question. Besides, the community isn't going to agree and it's been discussed lots of times before!

 

OT: I actually wondered about some sort of regeneration-based powerup, but I can't think of a way of balancing it properly: it'd either heal too quickly to let players die at all, or wouldn't be powerful enough. Unless it's some sort of system whereby the first mode emits a one-time burst that restores a small amount of Shield to all nearby players, and the second slowly regenerates Health at a slow but constant rate? That's relaint on using the Reach/Halo: CE/ODST health system though, instead of the one found in Halo 2 and Halo 3.

[InsaneBear]

 

Part of the problem with the Armor Abilities in Reach is that they aren't balanced against one another. While abilities like Sprint or Hologram only have a single effect - increasing lateral movement speed and providing a distraction, respectively - Active Camouflage jams radar as well as providing near-invisibility, while Armor Lock harms vehicles, provides protection from weapons, and can even lower an enemy's shields.

 

The problem isn't that these abilities do different things, or even that some are more useful to certain play styles than others: it is simply that some have more ways in which they can be effectively used.

 

Obviously, it hasn't been confirmed that Armor Abilities will even be in Halo 4 yet. However, I'd like to suggest the following system, whereby instead of each loadout offering one Ability, they are instead based on play styles, combining two elements from existing Abilities: these are activated separately, using a system similar to that of Assassinations and Beatdowns, whereby a single press activates one, while holding down the button activates the other.

 

At present, I suggest the following four loadouts:

 

Offensive

As the name implies, this loadout is tailored to players who are more aggressive, preferring to attack enemies head-on. Radar jamming helps confuse enemies, while the ability to throw enemies away from the player ensures they will be able to conduct melee combat on their own terms.

 

A single press of the button generates Armor Lock's EMP knock-back effect: however, while the blast knocks players as far back as the current maximum level, it only deals a moderate amount of damage to shields: this also fully consumes the energy bar.

Holding down the button generates Active Camouflage's radar jamming ability, slowly draining energy for as long as the ability is active.

 

Defensive

The counterpart to the 'Offensive' loadout, these Abilities favour players who prefer a more cautious strategy. Protection from damage and vehicles is available at the expense of movement and a temporary penalty to speed and jump height, while attention can be avoided with the use of active camouflage.

 

A single press of the button actives Armor Lock's invincibility and allows the user to shed stuck plasma grenades and destroy vehicles, consuming the entire energy bar over the course of a couple of seconds: however, the movement penalties from its EMP effect are applied to the user for a few moments after exiting.

Holding down the button generates Active Camouflage's cloaking ability: while movement speed affects the quality of the invisibility, it drains energy much more quickly than the current version.

 

Mobility

This loadout favours players who prefer manoeuvrability and agility over direct combat bonuses, as well as those who like to rush for power weapons and key points early in the game. Players can get around the level much faster, and have more options for movement while in combat.

 

A single press of the button uses Evade's roll to dive quickly in whichever direction the movement stick is pressed, which also disables the lock of any homing weapons (i.e. the Needler) currently tracking the player: this consumes half of the energy bar.

Holding down the button causes the player's running speed to greatly increase, although just as with Sprint they will be unable to use their weapons for the duration.

 

Aerial

This loadout provides for those whose strategies involve heavy vertical movement, rather than the horizontal provided by 'Mobility'. Players will be able to fly across otherwise impossible gaps and move between levels with ease, as well as being able to 'boost' across the level.

 

A single press of the button causes the player to make a very fast, low-trajectory jump in whichever direction they are facing, in the same manner as ODSTs use their jetpacks in Exodus. This consumes the entire energy bar, but the effect continues until a player touches the ground: it may not be activated in the air. Self-splattering both possible and very, very funny.

Holding down the button causes the jetpack to function identically to its counterpart in Reach, although while in the air even short presses continue this mode of function.

 

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Each of these loadouts has their drawbacks: the former two can leave players slow and vulnerable to attacks beyond their effective weapon ranges, while the latter two won't stand up so well in a direct firefight. They do, however, complement certain play styles more effectively than existing Armor Abilities, and of course 'Mobility' could still be used as a successor to Sprint in Pro and MLG gametypes (only now with even more tactical options).

 

Anyway, I'd appreciate any feedback on the idea as a whole: if people think certain loadouts seem overpowered and unbalanced and why, any other potential loadouts (I want to think of a way to use the regeneration ability of Drop Shield, for one!), and whether or not people would prefer this kind of system (i.e. playstyle-based loadouts, even if not this exact one) over the existing system of Armor Abilities.

 

However, please don't turn this into a debate over whether Halo 4 should/will have Armor Abilities or not. That's already been done to death and the fanbase simply isn't going to agree.

 

Are you ******* serious!???? **** aa's. The trilogy destroys reach in every way.

[SixWaysToSunday]

I feel as if Mobility is unbalanced. Being able to evade and sprint means you can have more map presences and spawn trap since you can get there faster than the other groupings. Also, it has no downside as the others do. What are you sacrificing for that amazing burst of speed? The first shot?

But I find aerial to be flat out funny with its "killer jump!"

I think your on to something with this combination, it feels halo to me. But I think the combinations need more work, right now they dont feel like the right parings or which aspect has been correctly chosen.

[Woolba]

Honestly, I hated AA's in halo reach, that's why I still play halo 3. If I ever go on reach the only thing I play is anniversary classic. If they do put in AA's I just hope there is a variant of that gametype without it.

[RedStarRocket91]

Are you ******* serious!???? **** aa's. The trilogy destroys reach in every way.

 

 

However, PLEASE DON'T TURN THIS INTO A DEBATE OVER WHETHER HALO 4 SHOULD/WILL HAVE ARMOR ABILITIES OR NOT. That's already been done to death and the fanbase simply isn't going to agree.

 

I'm wondering how I can make it any clearer that this isn't what this thread is about.

 

Anyway.

 

 

I feel as if Mobility is unbalanced. Being able to evade and sprint means you can have more map presences and spawn trap since you can get there faster than the other groupings. Also, it has no downside as the others do. What are you sacrificing for that amazing burst of speed? The first shot?

But I find aerial to be flat out funny with its "killer jump!"

I think your on to something with this combination, it feels halo to me. But I think the combinations need more work, right now they dont feel like the right parings or which aspect has been correctly chosen.

 

Thank you for the feedback!

 

The downside of Mobility would be that it doesn't provide any combat bonuses: you can't use any weapons while it's activated, and it doesn't directly help you weaken opponents, as with Offensive's EMP blast and radar jammer, nor protect you from damage, as with Defensive's invincibility and cloaking.

 

I agree that it isn't properly balanced yet, though. If you have any suggestions, I'd appreciate it!

[The Director]

A Great armour ability is Death Stalker , when you die more than 4 times, the person that last killed you will be marked on the radar until you, the player kills the enemy .

I actually kinda like this idea... Bring the newbs TO me instead of having to search them out... > Btw, newb is a relative term >.>