You know, one of the hardest parts of designing a map is coming up with a balance of weapons and AAs; least, it is for me. So, what about making a tier list, to see what people "rank" different weapons as in all situations? Obviously, some would be better than others at various ranges, but for to make it easier, let's just start with talking about all around use. To my surprise, I couldn't really find a tier list anywhere. The best I got were a handful of forum topics, the different lists of which I've given here: Spoiler ViktorMax31.The ones he put asterisks next to are the one he considers to be viable in high lvl play Tier 1: Sniper Rifle* Rocket Launcher* Tier 2: Grenade Launcher* DMR* Shotgun* Tier 3: Energy Sword* Gravity Hammer Fuel Rod Cannon Plasma Pistol* Tier 4: Magnum* Focus Rifle Needler Rifle Tier 5: Spartan Laser Concussion Rifle Tier 6: Plasma Rifle Assault Rifle Needler Spiker Plasma Repeater Then there's this one Spoiler Masemune_100 S Tier Sniper Rifle Spartan Laser Rocket Launcher A+ Tier Energy Sword Plasma Pistol DMR Needle Rifle Plasma Launcher A- Magnum Needler Concussion Rifle Shotgun Gravity Hammer Grenade Launcher B Tier Fuel Rod Gun Spiker Assault Rifle C Tier Plasma Rifle Plasma Repeater And finally, here Spoiler Potpot85 God Tier DMR A Tier Magnum Needler Needle Rifle Shotgun Rocket Launcher Sniper Rifle B Tier The Assault Rifle Focus Rifle Fuel Rod Cannon Energy Sword Grenade Launcher C Tier Plasma Pistol Plasma Rifle Plasma Repeater Spartan Laser I'd rather not even bother tier Spiker Concussion Rifle Plasma Launcher Gravity Hammer There was a bit more concensus among AA, which makes sense since there are so much fewer of them Spoiler ViktorMax again Tier 1 Evade Armor Lock Tier 2 Sprint Tier 3 Active Camo Jetpack Tier 4 Drop Sheild Hologram And one more with reasoning Spoiler budda121 Good Tier: 1. Evade: Faster movement speed, confuses enemies, much easier to avoid bullets with compared to sprint, and the evasive properties can save your life when it comes down to a close quarters battle, and can be used in every direction compared to sprint only letting you use it moving forward. The only disadvantage comes from having the chance to fly off some maps when barriers aren't present, but that's just because the player lacks good judgment mostly. Medium Tier: 2. Armor Lock: In a close quarters 1v1 fight, the EMP blast+melee tactic works well against the average bk, but is useless when you're outnumbered and leaves you vulnerable to long range weapons. Good for trolling matches and forums alike. 3. Drop Shield: Instant protection and health healing properties make this good, but the shield isn't invulnerable, vehicles can still go through, and using explosives while in the shield make this questionable in a close quarters fight. 4: Active Camouflage: Good for surprise attacks when crouching and lasts long when not in movement, but the radar effect it causes will make other players more vigilant and still isn't that hard to see if you look closely. Meh Tier 5. Jetpack: Opens up many vantage points for sniping/shooting, but offers no offensive or defensive advantages whatsoever thanks to the slow ascent speed. 6. Sprint: Faster movement speed is all it offers. Evade outclasses this in every way with what it offers. Bad Tier 7. Hologram: Which one do I shoot: the one standing in the middle of a battlefield not shooting, or the one slightly behind him strafing to the left heading towards the power weapons? As I was saying, these are obviously not the end all be all, but it's roughly the best I could find. For purposes of trying to come up with a clearer picture of balance, what're your thoughts? One last thing to remember: Spoiler I realize these don't mean that lower instantly loses to upper, or that upper is useful in all situations. Balance is nowhere near as binary as that, but since it can be so mercurial, a last reminder to consider the weapons/abilities across all situations, not just the one.
Put weapons on a map where they fit well. Having something like this is utterly pointless and gives people the entirely false idea that weapons can just be classified. There's a reason no one has bothered to classify weapons beyond the obvious and still contested groups of power weapons and standard weapons, and the even more obvious groups of UNSC and Covenant weapons.
If you want a power weapon in a small map, always use the sniper rifle or Spartan laser. They both do alot of damage, but you have to know how to handle them correctly, especially in CQC. In my opinion, you can use any AAs you want in games, both have their ups and downs.
They can be classified, just not as succinctly as you seem to be thinking. Are all weapons the exact same usefulness in any situation? Comeon. Tiers exist in most games, especially at the higher competitive level. They don't mean ANYTHING concretely, they're just a ranking.
Top Tier: Weapons and Abilities that I like Low Tier: Weapons and Abilities that you like Garbage Tier: Hologram