Halo MCC/Infinite/general Griefing thread - Six months, two maps, no refunds

[Snekposter]

There's dying in the line of duty, and there's a sniper giving your teammate a cheap shot as you retreat. Plus considering how craptastic that day already was, including the civilian casualties Spartan-IIIs were expressly created to prevent, and the lack of response just floored me.

EDIT: Spartan-III's are supposed to die on enemy soil, surrounded by a pile of their enemies, not at home as the last survivors. They're expendable berserkers, and according to Ghosts of Onyx a substantial number of them were neuro-chemically rewired to pump out enough adrenaline and other stress hormones to keep walking and fighting even when half their torso has been blasted away. That is not an easy come down, especially after the events of Reach.

 

[Gravemind]

There's dying in the line of duty, and there's a sniper giving your teammate a cheap shot as you retreat. Plus considering how craptastic that day already was, including the civilian casualties Spartan-IIIs were expressly created to prevent, and the lack of response just floored me.

Six cradled her body when she fell and tried to return fire using a dinky little pistol that Kat had holstered. Carter, Jun, and Emlie started unloading with their assault rifles, despite probably knowing that it wasn't going to do jack shit to a Phantom. Carter was the one carrying Kat's body in the aftermath.

Spartans rarely ever give emotional reactions. Everything is in the body language for them. The response was subtle, but most certainly there.

 

[HeyYou]

No disrespect, but I really don't understand how you can say this. It carries very little Halo DNA and feels like a side project (I think it was their Destiny aspirations more than anything). Play it on higher difficulties and it really falls apart. It's jarring, the A.I. makes no sense, it turns into trial and error.

This shit is news to me, dude. Long Night of Solace is a good level. Sure, the Sabre section has some bullshit but it's definitely less bullshit than several sections in 2's campaign. So how is Reach divisive while 2 is beloved considering 2 is criticized for the exact same problems Long Night of Solace has? Besides that, it's one level. New Alexandria is one of the best levels in the series, period.

That said, while you're right about Reach being divisive, I don't think it was nearly as divisive as 343-era games.

There's dying in the line of duty, and there's a sniper giving your teammate a cheap shot as you retreat. Plus considering how craptastic that day already was, including the civilian casualties Spartan-IIIs were expressly created to prevent, and the lack of response just floored me.

EDIT: Spartan-III's are supposed to die on enemy soil, surrounded by a pile of their enemies, not at home as the last survivors. They're expendable berserkers, and according to Ghosts of Onyx a substantial number of them were neuro-chemically rewired to pump out enough adrenaline and other stress hormones to keep walking and fighting even when half their torso has been blasted away. That is not an easy come down, especially after the events of Reach.

He does have a response to it and all the other shit that's happened, it's just not explicit or over the top. In the very next level, where you return to ONI Sword Base, Colonel Holland contacts Carter, and he doesn't respond. Holland asks again, and Carter responds "go ahead" in the most "done with this shit" tone imaginable. He's also the one carrying her body at the end of the level. Reach definitely does take a more subdued (or boring, depending on how you look at it) approach to characterizing Noble Team but Reach was basically one long battle and of all soldiers Spartans don't have time to digest anything that happens. Especially Carter, considering he's the team leader.

 

[gd7]

This shit is news to me, dude. Long Night of Solace is a good level. Sure, the Sabre section has some bullshit but it's definitely less bullshit than several sections in 2's campaign. So how is Reach divisive while 2 is beloved considering 2 is criticized for the exact same problems Long Night of Solace has? Besides that, it's one level. New Alexandria is one of the best levels in the series, period.

That said, while you're right about Reach being divisive, I don't think it was nearly as divisive as 343-era games.

The FPS section of LNOS is fine, but the Sabre takes up a considerable amount of time and is just terrible. That's my main complaint.

 

[HeyYou]

The FPS section of LNOS is fine, but the Sabre takes up a considerable amount of time and is just terrible. That's my main complaint.

Sure, but even then I wouldn't classify LNOS as bad as a result of that. I like Gravemind and Cortana even with some of their bullshit sections. Same with LNOS.

 

[Quintex96]

No disrespect, but I really don't understand how you can say this. It carries very little Halo DNA and feels like a side project (I think it was their Destiny aspirations more than anything). Play it on higher difficulties and it really falls apart. It's jarring, the A.I. makes no sense, it turns into trial and error.

Out of interest, are you talking about the OG version of the level or the MCC port?

 

[gd7]

Out of interest, are you talking about the OG version of the level or the MCC port?

Both, but I know the 343 port was even more screwed up.

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

There's dying in the line of duty, and there's a sniper giving your teammate a cheap shot as you retreat. Plus considering how craptastic that day already was, including the civilian casualties Spartan-IIIs were expressly created to prevent, and the lack of response just floored me.

EDIT: Spartan-III's are supposed to die on enemy soil, surrounded by a pile of their enemies, not at home as the last survivors. They're expendable berserkers, and according to Ghosts of Onyx a substantial number of them were neuro-chemically rewired to pump out enough adrenaline and other stress hormones to keep walking and fighting even when half their torso has been blasted away. That is not an easy come down, especially after the events of Reach.

They probably saw that kind of shit happen several times by the time of Reach. So no, that's not something that would make them go Rambo. They probably already went Rambo the first time a Spartan-3 died alongside them, and considering that Spartan-3s are made to be expendable goons, that probably happened a lot by the time Reach got attacked.

By the time Reach fell, they've seen their comrades fall a lot. So by this time, no, they will not go berserk. If you go nuts in the middle of a fight as someone on your side dies, you can easily be manipulated into getting your whole team killed trying to strike back. That's why Carter and many UNSC commanders try to keep things cool even though they're probably tearing up inside. Even in real life, real commanders tell you to not lose your cool as your buddies die. They even talk about how when they fight terrorists, some of the latter go Rambo when you pick off their friends, and that makes it easy to pick them off, too.

And again, it's not like this is Republic Commando where things usually turn out OK for the team. Boss was pissed over his teammate getting lost, but that made sense because the Republic usually wins battles, so the one time a friend was lost to him, he couldn't take it. Whereas in Halo, not only have Spartan-3s lost men on the field A LOT, but humanity AS A WHOLE has lost a lot. Maybe when they suffered casualties at Harvest they were pissed, but by the time Reach fell, humanity has lost a lot and loss has become a part of life they've learned to accept. Getting mad won't do anything about it. Following orders and trying to get the job done will be more productive than going berserk and getting shot in the face by a Covenant sniper. And Carter knows that.

The FPS section of LNOS is fine, but the Sabre takes up a considerable amount of time and is just terrible. That's my main complaint.

Yes, and the Sabre part was actually FUN. That was the point. You complaining about them adding in a new element that actually gave a new dimension to the battlefield is like someone complaining they got Filet Mignon instead of beef jerky. As someone who plays that level on Heroic and Legendary, it really wasn't that hard so long as you knew what you were doing and didn't just charge into battle like Leeroy Jenkins. In fact, when I try to do perfect playthroughs, the Sabre segment was the part of the level when I can let my guard down because it's not as hectic as the FPS segment.

 

[James Roancrest]

Wait, I thought the Spartan IIIs on Noble Team didn't have the mutagen. The S-IIIs that had the mutagen were Gamma Company, while Noble had Alpha and Beta company Spartans (and Jorge, an S-II).

 

[Gravemind]

Wait, I thought the Spartan IIIs on Noble Team didn't have the mutagen. The S-IIIs that had the mutagen were Gamma Company, while Noble had Alpha and Beta company Spartans (and Jorge, an S-II).

Had to double check but you are correct.

The augmentations every single Spartan-III received just gave them (and you'll pardon me for glossing over the specifics to keep this brief) nearly unbreakable skeletons, higher muscle density, heightened visual clarity and perception, and increased reaction speeds/time. Gamma Company was the ONLY Spartan-III generation to have received additional enhancements on top of this, which consisted of the enhancements detailed previously by @Snekposter.

For comparison's sake, Noble Team consisted of a mix between Alpha Company and Beta Company Spartans, which is not surprising considering Gamma Company came into development pretty late and their training was assisted by two Beta Company Spartans. In fact, Gamma Company never received deployment orders until "several weeks" after the Fall of Reach.

 

[Cybertonian]

I hated Long Night of Solace as well. It's barely even playable on Legendary. On lower difficulties it just feels like kind of a slog. The part where you fly the broadsword in 4 is actually cooler imo, even though there aren't really enemies.

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

I hated Long Night of Solace as well. It's barely even playable on Legendary. On lower difficulties it just feels like kind of a slog. The part where you fly the broadsword in 4 is actually cooler imo, even though there aren't really enemies.

Wait, you had to fight enemy defenses in 4 with the Broadsword.

Also, I beat LNOS on Legendary all the time back in the day. It's not that hard, and people who say it is just don't strategize well. I've played perfect runs of it on Heroic with the Thunderstorm and Tough Luck skulls on, and I beat it on Legendary without breaking a sweat. (Although I died a few times at the Covenant ship segments during my first playthrough of it on Legendary. Oh well, live and learn. Or in this case, DIE and learn.......)

 

[Cybertonian]

Yeah, I know the turrets were there on Midnight (there aren't "really" enemies as in the standard).

I personally found that Reach was just throwing enemies at you toward the end of the wave section on LNoS, and it was stupidly easily to die in the broadsword. I'm more of a Heroic level player when it comes to Halo, so I'm sure there are peeps who are better than I am that did okay with it.

 

[Snekposter]

Had to double check but you are correct.

The augmentations every single Spartan-III received just gave them (and you'll pardon me for glossing over the specifics to keep this brief) nearly unbreakable skeletons, higher muscle density, heightened visual clarity and perception, and increased reaction speeds/time. Gamma Company was the ONLY Spartan-III generation to have received additional enhancements on top of this, which consisted of the enhancements detailed previously by @Snekposter.

For comparison's sake, Noble Team consisted of a mix between Alpha Company and Beta Company Spartans, which is not surprising considering Gamma Company came into development pretty late and their training was assisted by two Beta Company Spartans. In fact, Gamma Company never received deployment orders until "several weeks" after the Fall of Reach.

Thanks for clearing that up. I'm still shocked the III's are in full Mjolnir though considering how fucking expensive it was and how expendable they're supposed to be, which lead to them using the SPI suits mentioned in Ghosts of Onyx. Also, despite my posting here, know roughly zip of Halo lore from anything Halo 3 on, but it doesn't sound like I missed much judging by the arguments here.

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

Yeah, I know the turrets were there on Midnight (there aren't "really" enemies as in the standard).

I personally found that Reach was just throwing enemies at you toward the end of the wave section on LNoS, and it was stupidly easily to die in the broadsword. I'm more of a Heroic level player when it comes to Halo, so I'm sure there are peeps who are better than I am that did okay with it.

I'm pretty sure anyone who's played the Library would get used to Halo throwing enemies at you while you wait for something.

 

[Cybertonian]

I'm pretty sure anyone who's played the Library would get used to Halo throwing enemies at you while you wait for something.

Sure, but isn't that a quite universally criticized level? So that kinda goes against the point

 

[Foolish Samurai Warrior]

I'm pretty sure anyone who's played the Library would get used to Halo throwing enemies at you while you wait for something.

The Library is way too frustrating. Especially with stuff like Rocket Flood or multiple exploding flood.
It's like a horde mode, except you don't get to pick your weapons.

 

[LORD IMPERATOR]

Sure, but isn't that a quite universally criticized level? So that kinda goes against the point

LNOS isn't as bad as the Library. Nowhere near as bad. Instead of a horde of enemies, you get smaller clumps/squads.

The Library is way too frustrating. Especially with stuff like Rocket Flood or multiple exploding flood.
It's like a horde mode, except you don't get to pick your weapons.

The Library ain't so bad once you figure out how to deal with Rocket Flood. It usually involves lots of grenades, and keep your pistol with you. That's how you deal with those pesky rocket flood from afar.

 

[Cybertonian]

I guess that's your experience, but mine was the opposite. In CE I didn't feel like I was made of paper mache, and when you're on the ground you can coordinate your attacks better (with the exception being those rooms where you're locked in for a bit and then flood pour out from the vents)

 

[Drain Todger]

The Library ain't so bad once you figure out how to deal with Rocket Flood. It usually involves lots of grenades, and keep your pistol with you. That's how you deal with those pesky rocket flood from afar.

My favorite way to deal with Rocket Flood is with Rockets. Just frag grenade the first group with a launcher, then steal the launcher and go launcher and shotty for basically the rest of the level. Use melee attacks to deal with large groups of Infection Forms, and snipe any Combat Forms with rocket launchers using your own rocket launcher. The thing about Rocket Flood is that they have a tendency to stand perfectly still (or move in a beeline towards you) and take the hit, even if you fire a rocket from a pretty good distance away. Their AI is set up so that they don't always get close and blow themselves up, but that makes them exceedingly stupid and more likely to stand perfectly still.