I frequent HaloWaypoint.com everyday, several times a day. To be quite honest, it gets boring seeing the same/similar complaint threads time and again. (Oh how I wish the moderators would merge those threads)

So what are these threads about and related to? Well, that is the topic of discussion in this article.

I’ve broken down the Halo fanbase to four generic types.
Cloners: These are the fans who do not want Halo to change much if at all between games. They want virtual clones of the previous Halo games and do not at all like change. Usually complaining most about Armor Abilities and Ordnance drops.
Traditionalists (Trads): While these are much like cloners, they can at least accept some change though they’ve deemed Reach, then Halo 4 went a bit too far for their tastes.
Progressives (Progs): These are the forward thinking fans who like that Halo changes from game to game and find/make ways to adapt to those changes. While they may have some concerns about those changes, those changes are minimalized in comparison to perceived great new gameplay. (I consider myself a Progressive Halo fan.)
Nonchalants: These fans are usually the most casual of Halo fans. They could care less about any changes and just play the game. They are also the least vocal of any of the four generic fans types.

While perusing Waypoint daily, I notice that there is a constant “war of words” between Trads and Progs, with Cloners chiming in from time to time.

Trads constantly complain how Halo 4 is unbalanced due to weapons drops, unfair advantages in armor abilities, etc. While Progs challenge them to “adapt.” That one word, “adapt” has become a hated word within the non-Prog Halo fan community. Since I’m a self proclaimed “Progressive” Halo fan, I just can’t wrap my head around wanting the same gameplay, game after game. Yes, the core style of gameplay is what made Halo original. But that was at a time when there wasn’t as many competitive games in the market.

Cloners and Trads would have you believe that Halo needs to remain what it has been for the past 10 years to continue to succeed. While Progs counter that without evolving, Halo would be stagnant and die an early gaming death (with no re-spawn…). Nonchalants just play the game.

Regardless of which of the four above you may consider yourself, everyone can pretty much agree that Halo needs to look like Halo. So did Halo 4 achieve that? I’d say yes on pretty much every count. The campaign certainly looks  very much like Halo, as does Spartan ops. Multi-players (War Games) does too for the most part. Trads and Cloners will disagree with new maps Landfall and Skyline though as they are too realistic of CoD-like.  (Oh gawd, don’t get me started on the CoD comparisons…yet I will later in this article.) I for one firmly believe Halo 4 not only achieved the look and sound of Halo, but excelled at it. Overachieved if you will. What 343 was able to do with the 360 and the Halo game engine is amazing. How one can not applaud their effort for vastly superior graphics and sounds, amazes me.

Now one factor that does come up often by 3 of the 4 subsets of fans is the campaign’s story. The story itself if you didn’t read the books can be a little confusing. However, if you play through the whole campaign, there is enough to fill you in on the basics that the story isn’t lost. Hopefully, this would create a desire in Halo fans to seek out the novels and read them for a greater understanding of the Halo-verse. It’s not required of course, but I have to say, if you haven’t picked up any of the Forerunner Saga trilogy and/or the Kilo 5 trilogy you’re sorely missing out.

Okay, so getting back to gameplay as it pertains to War Games. When Reach came out, there were similar cries about gameplay being changed. However, most people adapted and Reach (however it seemed unpopular) became fun for some, or at least recognized as a legitimate Halo game by others. I for one LOVED Reach. As a fan of Boba Fett from Star Wars, the idea of being able to jet-pack around, be that in matchmaking, firefight or campaign, was not just appealing to me, but exhilarating. I used it to my advantage frequently. It’s been nerfed a bit in Halo 4, but I’ve adapted. The thing is with armor abilities (AAs), they slightly changed gameplay, but at it’s core, Reach was still a Halo game. yes, trads and cloners will be quick to say AAs broke map control. However, as a Prog, I say, that if you are skilled enough, AAs won’t matter. Yes, the jet-packer can see you and tell his teammates where you are, but it also puts the jet-packer at a disadvantage giving up his position and being killed in the process. There IS a give and take or balance if you will in that analogy. Balance…another word that often comes up in threads and arguments.

Balance as perceived by Cloners, Trads, and Progs is quite different from group to group. Cloners want to same weapons for each player with little to no power weapons so that slaying is based on skill rather than a higher powered or faster weapon. Trads might allow for slightly different weapons, but often rail against the DMR as being over powered (OP). Progs like myself, love the challenge of new weaponry. Though yes, like others, hate when it’s used against them. I LOOKING AT YOUR BOLTSHOT! LOL. Nonchalants just want to play the game. So, can balance ever truly be achieved? Well yes and no. If you side with the cloners, then we’d all be playing with BRs and nothing else. Man, that would get boring FAST. Trads would have different weapons and no armor abilities or maybe just sprint. I will agree that as a Prog, having all these abilities and ordnance drops takes away much of balanced play. That doesn’t mean I disagree with abilities and/or ordnance though. In fact with few exceptions (Promethean Vision, Boltshot), I have a LOT of fun with the new and returning abilities and weapons. Gotta love that Binary Rifle!

Okay, so now the part where Halo is compared to other games, most notably Call of Duty, or CoD. I’ll admit I am not a CoD player, so apologies in advance if I get some of these statements incorrect as I’m relying on comments from friends who do play CoD. Cloners and Trads are completely against the idea of ordnance as they feel it strips away the core of what Halo gameplay is. I say, as a Prog, that ordnance ENHANCES gameplay. Yes, there are challenges to overcoming them, but I’m up for that challenge. As super soldiers of the future, why shouldn’t we be able to call in ordnance? Why shouldn’t we be able to jet-pack? Look, I love Master Chief as much as the next Halo fan. While he’s strong and his armor can take a beating, the armor abilities make him and matchmaking all the better. I get the feeling like I’m just that much more of a bad ass super soldier with them. Calling in ordnance rewards those people who are skilled as well as though who, while not as skilled, contribute to the team. How? Well, via assists and objective running. I’ll get to that later though.

Ordnance aside, there is the matter of specializations, known as perks in CoD. Are they unfair? Again, cloners would say yes, Trads would say yes in most respects, Progs can defend each usually with counter specializations and again Nonchalants just want to play the game. With one specialization, there is usually a counter specialization to it. Also, 343 has found a way within those specializations to counter/explain perceived lag or cheating in the game. Is someone shooting you faster? No, likely they have Dexterity and have changed weapons fast enough to get more shots off on you. Does someone have more rockets than normal? Hmm, must be the Ammo spec. Take a look at nearly every situation in War Games and you’ll find (if you look hard enough), that specializations can account for most of what most people perceive as cheating. I think it was brilliance on the part of 343 to incorporate specializations in this way.

Other than obvious lag (usually created by the servers and NOT the average player-though there are some exceptions of course), being killed by another player can be explained as they either have more skill, a better weapon, or a specialization that counters what you have. The fact is with the quick progression through the “SR” ranks, you can have all of these specializations at your fingertips to change loadouts at your whim at any time. Hell, 343 even made it easier by allowing you to change those WHILE IN GAME. So for those who argue that someone is using Promethean vision, you can too. Don’t like the Boltshot, hmm, you can use that weapon too. See what I’m getting at? Why complain when you yourselves have all of the same options available to you? Yes, if you can’t play as much, you won’t have been able to unlock all of the abilities as quickly as others who are more prolific in gameplay. That will come in time. In the meantime, take a little bit of time to learn what the different specializations are and how they can help you. Pick and choose either according to your strengths or maybe even better to your weaknesses so that you can counter them. Nonchalants just want to play the game.

I suppose I could go on and on about this topic for days. Hmm, maybe I’ll have a follow up to this discussion? Certainly if there are replies to this article, I’ll make note of them and utilize them in another discussion. For now, I’ll end this here with this last section.

Regardless of which camp you find yourself in, Cloner, Trad, Prog, Nonchalants, none of you are wrong for thinking as such. We’re all Halo fans. We all have different opinions. It doesn’t mean any one is better for thinking one way or another. For those on HaloWaypoint, please for the love of pete (not Pete the Duck, though he may appreciate it), stop harrasing your fellow Halo fans on Waypoint. Be respectful in your tone and maybe just maybe 343 will respond directly. If not, know that they are keen to what all fans have expressed and utilize those responses as well as the hard data they can get through the game to craft and direct gameplay to be the best it can be to the majority of player. That may not happen as quick as you’d like or even exactly how you want. It doesn’t mean they hate you. Realize that 343 is caught between a rock and a hard place. Change one aspect of the game, and maybe Cloners and Trads are happy while Progs are mad because the game took a step backward. Change another aspect and Cloners and Trads will complain that the game has become less like Halo, while Progs will love the changes and adapt quickly. Nonchalants just want to play the game. Hmm, maybe we all should learn from that least vocal group and just play the game…

-Sal