Weapon Tuning Test - Phase Two Feedback - 9/11

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ASSAULT RIFLE
The iconic AR is a fully automatic weapon that’s fairly effective at mid-range via burst-firing, but more effective at close-range when the trigger is held down. The weapon tuning changes to the AR are designed to reward more skillful use. If you recall, back in April, we revealed there wasn't much difference between a Diamond level player and a Champion level player in regards to AR effectiveness.
This retuned version should be more rewarding when used effectively and hopefully more balanced when battling players that are wielding different weapons.

BATTLE RIFLE
The Battle Rifle is another iconic Halo weapon that’s known for high-accuracy burst fire and exceling at mid-range combat. Currently the Halo 5 BR is a bit too effective at all ranges, so the tuning update is designed to help better distinguish its prowess in mid-range engagements. This isn't to say that the BR will outright lose any fight in close or longer ranges either - an accurate player who lands their shots should be able to have a fighting chance even at close-range. This is something we'll be monitoring closely.

CARBINE
The Carbine is a highly-accurate, fast-firing semi-automatic weapon that’s great at suppressing opponents and cleaning up kills. Today in Halo 5, the Carbine is overly effective at long range, so the upcoming tuning update changes are aimed at strengthening its role as a rapid-fire suppression rifle without being dominant and oppressive from far distances.

DMR
The Designated Marksman Rifle is an accurate, semi-automatic weapon that’s designed to shine in long-range combat while being less effective at mid-range and even less so at close-range. Currently the DMR is living outside that intended role. The desired tuning adjustments to the DMR are to strengthen its place in the sandbox as the long-range marksman weapon that’s very capable of attacking far away opponents but isn’t as dominant in close-quarters engagements.

GUNFIGHTER MAGNUM
The Gunfighter Magnum fills the role of a fast-firing, semi-automatic sidearm with medium accuracy that excels at close-range. This weapon generally performs as intended, but the tuning update is directed at making the weapon slightly less effective at longer ranges, so that it really stands out as a close-range weapon that can go toe-to-toe with other close-range weapons with some accurate shooting.

SMG
The SMG is designed to be a high-rate-of-fire-but-inaccurate-bullet-hose of a weapon. It’s intended for close-quarters combat, and to be less ideal at longer engagement distances. In the current sandbox, the SMG is a bit too effective outside of its role as a close-range weapon. The tuning changes to the SMG are designed to more clearly establish and cement the close-range role of this weapon.

ACTIVE CAMO
The lone power-up included in this tuning update is Active Camo. As everyone knows, the role of this power-up is pretty straightforward – when picked up, it makes a player harder to see! However, in some cases Active Camo is slightly less effective than desired, so the tuning tweaks are aimed at making it bit more of a valuable power-up for players.

ENERGY SWORD
The iconic Energy Sword is a long-time staple of the Halo sandbox that fills the role of a melee weapon that’s very effective at close range, and includes the ability to lunge at targets. In Halo 5, players that are wielding the Energy Sword also gain a movement speed boost that makes them more difficult to target, and an even more dangerous threat (especially if they’re sprinting). As it stands, players with an Energy Sword in-hand are able to traverse maps a little too quickly and close the distance with an opponent a little too effectively in some scenarios so the tuning tweaks are designed to address this.

BEAM RIFLE
The Beam Rifle is the Covenant’s answer to the classic UNSC Sniper Rifle, and fills the role of an effective mid to very long range weapon with a very fast rate of fire but with the downside of potential overheating. In March, Halo 5 received a small update that included a tuning tweak to the UNSC Sniper Rifle to make it a bit less effective when firing from the hip. The Beam Rifle currently has the same issue the USNC Sniper Rifle once did – it’s a bit too effective against targets when fired from the hip. The tuning changes being made to the Beam Rifle are designed to create parity with the UNSC Sniper Rifle update that went live in March, ensuring both weapons continue to excel in their intended roles but don’t over-excel in hip-firing situations.

FUEL ROD CANNON
The Fuel Rod Cannon fills the role of an explosive projectile power weapon with a high rate of fire. The projectiles’ blast radius, coupled with the high rate of fire, has yielded some problematic results in the heat of battle, so the tuning update aims to address that.

GRENADE LAUNCHER
The Grenade Launcher was an awesome addition to the Halo 5 sandbox when it debuted with the Monitor’s Bounty update in December. This weapon fills a unique role – it fires ballistic grenades which detonate with explosive damage after one bounce. As a bonus, the trigger can be held and then released manually to detonate the grenade and add an EMP blast which can stun vehicles for a short time. The tuning update to the Grenade Launcher is aimed at further establishing its role as a mid-tier weapon that’s versatile at applying indirect damage through creative use. This includes how fast the grenade travels, how it bounces, etc…

RAIL GUN
The intended role of the Rail Gun is a “sniper” style of weapon that can be charged up to kill an opponent from mid to long range in a single shot. Currently in Halo 5, the Rail Gun has excelled outside its intended role by being overly effective at close range, and as a snapshot weapon – instead of being a carefully planned, charging Sniper weapon. The tuning adjustments to the Rail Gun are designed to make the weapon require a bit more deliberate, planned usage in battle.

In order to keep these changes focused and prevent potential issues with multiple versions of the same weapon floating around, the re-tuned versions of these items will only exist in the specially designated playlist – you’ll be unable to use these weapons in Custom Games or Forge.

FUNKNOWN iXi wrote:

I can't be the only one thinking this: Are you going to share the exact details of these changes? The descriptions given here are nebulous and don't explain the specific changes being made:

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This is very vague. Will the BR still be a 4-shot? Are they lowering its RRR? How exactly are they changing the AR? Will the Railgun go back to being projectile? How do they plan on changing the Carbine to reflect its intended role? etc. etc. etc.

ske7ch wrote:

Lastly, we want to help provide high level context and understanding for these tuning adjustments, but it’s also important to us that we can have a proper test and not introduce bias or skew the results. To maximize the integrity of the data and feedback for the test, we’re intentionally not revealing all of the nitty gritty specifics of the exact tuning adjustments being made to each weapon (and those finer details may ebb and flow over the course of testing).

eLantern wrote:

FUNKNOWN iXi wrote:

I can't be the only one thinking this: Are you going to share the exact details of these changes? The descriptions given here are nebulous and don't explain the specific changes being made:

Quote:

...

This is very vague. Will the BR still be a 4-shot? Are they lowering its RRR? How exactly are they changing the AR? Will the Railgun go back to being projectile? How do they plan on changing the Carbine to reflect its intended role? etc. etc. etc.

It's vague on purpose. They don't want to create any influencial biases during the testing phase.

eLantern wrote:

FUNKNOWN iXi wrote:

I can't be the only one thinking this: Are you going to share the exact details of these changes? The descriptions given here are nebulous and don't explain the specific changes being made:

Quote:

...

This is very vague. Will the BR still be a 4-shot? Are they lowering its RRR? How exactly are they changing the AR? Will the Railgun go back to being projectile? How do they plan on changing the Carbine to reflect its intended role? etc. etc. etc.

It's vague on purpose. They don't want to create any influencial biases during the testing phase.

PuRE XxSKiLLZxX wrote:

The BR for some reason shoots weirdly slow and I don’t like it. People have way to much time to find cover and I end up not finishing my kills. But otherwise everything is great.