By: Avery Johnson

Ever since the release of Halo Reach in 2010, Halo multiplayer, specifically the competitive side, has been the subject of seemingly nonstop debate and discussion over the settings and abilities that each player should have and the game should embrace. The ruleset and meta has constantly changed and been tweaked, meanwhile the games popularity, while having ups and downs, has been in a general decline since its “golden age” of 2004–2010. As a result, the community is continually becoming further fragmented and exhausted. Is there a specific reason for this? Is it merely the symptom of a changing competitive landscape and gamers losing interest, or are there other factors at work? I would argue that the fundamentals of Halo are sound, and if implemented correctly could thrive as a competitive game/Esport for years to come. However, in order to achieve this 343 and the Halo community need to work together in order find the ‘true’ Identity of competitive Halo and stick to it. Only with a stable meta, a relatively stable map-pool, rules, and gameplay can Halo continue to thrive as a competitive shooter, possibly even returning to its spot as one of the most popular Esports.

Let’s wind the clock back 8 years, Halo was not only the king of console Esports, but also had mainstream appeal and a prominent spot in the pantheon of competitive gaming. What happened? Did gamers simply lose interest in a game that had been relatively stable and booming for over 6 years?

2010 saw the release of the 4th Halo game, Halo: Reach, and with that Halo would never be the same. Gone were the relatively stable gameplay mechanics of the previous six years, and introduced were new armor abilities, sprint, elongated maps, bloom, and other gameplay choices that would rock the community for years to come. Interestingly enough, by the time Reach neared the end of its cycle with the release of Halo 4 in 2012, it had reverted back to something relatively similar to what was played in Halo 3 and Halo 2, and those final settings of the game are often considered to be the “best” by competitive and casual players alike.

In order to stay relevant and consistent though time, especially in today’s gaming landscape, I believe that Halo needs to find out what it is at a core level, and stick to it. Counter Strike: Global Offensive (CS:GO) is the best example of this, it is a game with relatively stable ruleset, maps, and settings that have been played for over a decade (even through various releases). While it hasn’t always been as successful as it is now, its consistency has undoubtably been a main factor in its continued success and growth. 10–20 years from now it is safe to say that we will be playing Counter Strike with a similar ruleset as we are now. Can the same be said for Halo?

Drastically changing the meta of any game every 3 years simply isn’t sustainable. Imagine if other competitive activities followed the same timetable as Halo. Chess has been relatively the same for hundreds of years, and that is part of why is is still beloved today. If every 3 years a new piece were added, or the size of the board changed, players would grow divided and interest would surely wane.

What if every 3 years the NBA changed the amount of steps you had to take before a player had to dribble or changed the dimensions of the court? It would be much harder to maintain a stable audience and player base if those tried and true sports/games changed core aspects of their design every few years. If it isn’t broken, there’s no need to fix it.

From a population standpoint, the “golden years” of Halo were between 2004 and 2010 between the releases of Halo 2 (H2) and Halo 3 (H3), during the majority of that time, the ruleset of Halo stayed relatively the same, and the game flourished. Halo pioneered 4v4 competitive play with a 4 shot utility weapon, a focus on controlling power weapons, powerups, power positions, team play, spawn manipulation, and map control/rotations. During this time a lot of the same style of maps were played (midship for instance) and this allowed the game to be easily recognizable and relatable to a casual audience, while also allowing competitive players to dive deep into the strategies and every possible situation of those arenas.

CS:GO offers another good example in the use of their map-pool. Everyone knows Dust II for instance, but it has also been continually tweaked and streamlined for competitive play, even taking the occasional break from the map rotation in order for other maps to shine, this gives the devs some time to improve older maps it while also preventing them from becoming stale. The result is clear: CS:GO has easily recognizable maps that are continually evolving in a way that keeps players and viewers interested without alienating the casual fans. When I tune into a Counter Strike Major I know what maps to expect, and I learn about and get to see different strategies every time I watch.

I truly think Halo at its core has the potential to be a competitive activity that lasts for years to come, but a stable identity needs to be found and embraced in order for that to happen.

So all of this begs the question: What is Competitive Halo?

Originally, Halo had a “Trinity” of core gameplay mechanics: Guns, Grenades, and Melee. Throughout the first three games a player could do either of those three actions at any time, even being able to combo them in some circumstances. With the later additions of Sprint and other armor abilities, this began to change, and so did the core aspects of the gameplay and map design. I propose that this Trinity of mechanics needs to maintain its spot as the foundation of Halo, and anything that is added should not hinder those actions/abilities.

Let’s talk about the Starting or “Utility” weapon. Everyone loves the Battle Rifle (BR), a four shot kill weapon that is useful is any circumstance. Instead of adding different starting weapons, why not boil down this beloved weapon to its key aspects and perfect it for the gameplay Halo provides. What player doesn’t want a weapon with good accuracy and a fast perfect time to kill but a longer average time to kill. This allows for individuals to stand out while also limiting the importance of “team shooting” as a necessity for success. The sweet spot seems to be somewhere in the combination of the CE Pistol and the H2 and H3 BRs. I would love to test a Battle Rifle with the deadliness (Fast Perfect kill time but longer average) of the CE Pistol, the precision of the H2 BR, and the projectile bullet physics of the H3 BR. I have a feeling most Halo players would agree.

Should Competitive Halo move to mouse and Keyboard/PC?

I think that for the long term success and viability of the franchise the answer has to be yes. Microsoft has already discussed their desire to add keyboard and mouse support to the Xbox and their desire to bring future Halo titles to the PC. Embracing keyboard and mouse play opens up Halo not only to a larger player base, but would also allow for an even higher level of precision and gameplay (remember, this is specifically for the competitive side).

Learning from the Past to make a better Halo for tomorrow

I think a useful thought experiment in this quest to find the “true essence” of competitive Halo would be looking back at each title and finding out what worked and what didn’t from a competitive standpoint. Through discussion, as well as trial and error, I do believe this can be accomplished. For Example (and this isn’t all inclusive obviously)

Halo CE

Halo: Combat Evolved (CE) might be the least known about, but deepest, competitive Halo experience. Although it is optimally played competitively as 2v2 Slayer, there are many aspects that can be learned form its game design and gameplay mechanics. A Halo Youtuber/Community member known as “Hard Way” has some great tutorial videos on the basics of CE and how they work, I would highly recommend giving them a watch if you are interested.

Weapon/Powerup nading certainly added to the meta and depth of gameplay in competitive CE. This is something that has partially returned in Halo 5 but could certainly be expanded upon. Here’s an example of how it worked:

While the Battle Rifle may be the go-to Utility weapon for most halo fans, the CE Pistol was a forerunner to that idea, even doing some things better. The CE Pistol is a weapon that is useful in any circumstance, but it is also never the best choice. Long range it loses to the Sniper, Short range to the Shotgun, and medium/short range to the Rockets.

The CE Pistol has the fastest perfect kill time of any of the Halo utility weapons at about 0.6 seconds, however, the average kill time in a competitive match is often much longer than that due to strafing and defensive movements by opposing payers. This results in a weapon that rewards skilled shooting, but is never too overpowered. You never “feel hopeless” in a battle in CE as long as you have the Pistol and a clear shot.

When played properly, CE offers an extremely rewarding and balanced multiplayer experience, the more time you put in, the more you get out of it. It is here where Halo has its roots as a genuine competitive experience.

Halo 2

Halo 2 is the game that turned Halo into an international phenomenon, casually and competitively. It was the origin of the fan favorite Battle Rifle, and the first Halo to fully embrace 4v4 competitive gameplay. Many gamers have fond memories of watching Halo 2 on the MLG circuit on Cable Television (a first for the time), and cheering for their favorite teams like Final Boss or Carbon. Players such as Walshy, Ogre 2, and Tsquared were pioneers in the Esports industry. Halo 2 was, in many ways, the birth of competitive Halo and to some extent Esports culture as we know it today.

After a patch early on in the game, the Halo 2 BR was an extremely accurate hitscan (meaning it worked like a laser and leading shots wasn’t necessary) weapon. Many cite this Battle Rifle as their favorite starting weapon for competitive Halo, and while it is certainly is fun to use it might be too accurate for modern use due to its heavy auto aim and hitscan nature (especially with the potential use of mouse and keyboard).

Halo 2 also had what is widely considered the best overall map-pool in a halo game, giving us classics such as Midship, Lockout, and the refined Battle Creek. It took the general feel and best aspects of the maps from CE and tuned them to near perfection. These maps, along with their design philosophies, would be a great baseline for any future competitive Halo map.

High level Halo 2 in Action:

Halo 2: 2007 National Championship Finals

Halo 3

Halo 3 is often a very divisive game within the competitive Halo community (shocker). While it saw the peak of Halo’s popularity, and preserved many gameplay aspects from Halo 2, it also had an inaccurate BR, unregistered bloodshots that endless frustrated players, and things such as movement speed and weapon damage that had to be tweaked in oder to create the best possibly experience.