We now know what the controller layout will be for Halo 5 Guardians. This may change when the full game releases. As well, we also finally know what the Spartan attributes are and why 343 is calling them that as opposed to abilities.
Take a look below at the shot of the controller layout:
First, the reason why these are attributes instead of abilities is that they are all available to everyone. In this way, none has the upper hand with any specific ability as was the case in Halo Reach and Halo 4. Now these special moves are all attributed to Spartan and come ‘naturally’ to them. Hence attributes.
Many of the traditional actions are paired with their traditional buttons. However, there are a few that also have added attributes to them. Let’s discuss all of them.
We’ll start with Melee/Spartan Charge in the upper right corner of the pic above and work our way clockwise from there.
Melee/Spartan Charge:
Melee in and of itself has been around since the beginning of Halo. It’s Spartan Charge that has been added. When you’re within range, you can click this button to do a quick distance melee that will shoulder rush into an opponent. While this sounds like ‘Thrust’,the difference is that this is a specific melee rush,while thrust is simply for movement and won’t do the damage that Spartan Charge does.
Thruster Pack:
Working as it did in Halo 4, Thruster Pack is a quick directional boost. It’s not meant to deal damage in and of itself. Rather gamer use this to either evade incoming shots or melees. As well,the more skillful players use it to boost BEHIND a player and attack them from behind. (Classic ninja move with a thrust!)
Jump/Clamber:
To be honest, now that it’s in, I’m actually a little surprised it wasn’t introduced to Halo before now. Clamber just makes sense. Instead of falling just shy of a jump to a higher edge, your Spartan can now ‘clamber’ up the edge. I can see this being very useful. There is minimal animation to this. That might be a small detriment if being shot at from behind while trying to get away. I see this more as an attack move or neutral move. Though I’m sure it will be utilized to get away.
Crouch/Ground Pound:
Of these attributes, this is the one I like the least. It’s the only one that seems out of place. This move is done by holding down on the right trigger. This allows your spartan to make a downward attack. That sounds cool in theory. But smashing down on your enemy isn’t very Halo like. Not to mention, you’re smashing other Spartans who are just as armored as you, so I’m curious as to the damage this will deal.
The other thing to wonder about this new attribute is will it be able to be used from a flat position without falling down on an opponent? In other words, can you simply HOLD down and HULK smash the ground without moving downward?
Sprint:
Yep, it’s back. For all of those still hating on this ability now turned attribute, you’ve got to understand that it’s here to stay now. It makes absolute sense that enhanced super soldiers can sprint. Heck, even the average person can sprint, so why not Spartans?
Smart Scope:
Why this wasn’t just called scope or zoom, I’m not sure. It’s not really a traditional Halo zoom though. It’s ADS which is to say, ‘aim down sights’. Instead of getting a zoom in with a encompassing screen scope, you get a zoom that still shows your view, just from the point of showing the weapons and your surroundings. I’ve already read many complaints about this via the Waypoint forums and twitter.
Are these right for Halo? Well, the BETA will test them out. It does run for 3 weeks. SO that is YOUR opportunity to make your voice heard. Play the BETA, get a good feel for the attributes, then comment on Waypoint’s official forums.
As I’ve said before, I’ll be ‘living’ in the BETA for those three weeks. I plan on having a HUGE amount of playing time then and will give my complete review of the attributes after that time.
-Sal
Well that’s interesting. I agree with you about not liking the sound of ground pound. Scope being on the trigger, and the grenade on the bumper seems like an odd choice imo, as it doesn’t seem like a very halo-ish control layout, even though there will probably be a more classic layout to change at your command anyway. I think that spartan bash is ok; I don’t mind the addition. I like the idea of clamber very much, I can’t tell you how many times that I narrowly missed a ledge while trying to jump to it. I do also like the idea of thruster pack on the B button, it seems look a good addition to me as it wasn’t a very powerful armor ability, but it was fun to use, and, in the hands of a skilled player, it was quite useful.
Halo 5 is looking to be very interesting with the Spartan Abilities. Sorry if my response is long but I just wanted to express my thoughts and hope that you’ll read it.
For Spartan Charge, I’m not sure if you worded it strange but just to make things clear, you have to sprint a certain amount of time in one direction in order to execute a Spartan Charge. Spartan Charge doesn’t seem overpowered as there is probably a good chance of you missing your target and/or you’re exposed to enemies firing at you while you can’t fire back.
I’m neutral to the inclusion of thruster pack because while it may be frustrating to have someone you almost killed just thrust away, everybody has it so its kinda fair.
Clamber does indeed make sense because I’m sure we all had some moments where we jumped somewhere expecting to make it but just fell short of reaching there.
I will also agree with you that the ground pound doesn’t feel like it really belongs in Halo but we’ll see. I don’t believe you can just hold down crouch and ground slam as you have to jump up in the air and hold down the right thumbstick to “charge” and aim your slam, leaving you VERY exposed in the air when doing so.
I don’t have a problem with sprint and it is important to know that your shields and health won’t regenerate when you’re sprinting.
The Smart Scope is basically ADS but not in the “traditional” sense. What I mean is that in other shooters that have ADS, when you’re aiming down sights, you move very slow compared to when you’re not aiming down sights and don’t descope when hit. In Halo 5, you still have the same movement speed as when you’re hip-firing and can get descoped when hit.
One last thing: when you jump and aim, your armor’s “jets” will slow you down a little so you have more time to aim but it also leaves you exposed in the air longer. And that’s it! If you made it this far, good job and thanks for reading! 😀