It surprises me that nobody else has made a thread about this subject yet, because it does concern me: sniping in Halo is getting easier and easier and I ****ing hate this movement. First, an introduction on why I actually do: I remember back in the days when I picked up my copy of Halo 3, my first Halo ever (I know, it's a shame I missed Halo 2), and enjoyed the multiplayer mode a lot when we got Xbox Live. I was a boss with the spartan laser, and my BR shots were consistent and precise. Not that I was a pure MLG god, but I was definitely pretty decent. There was one weapon I considered a true challenge to use, though. That was the sniper rifle. At first I didn't care for it simply because I wasn't very good at sniping. And it mainly stayed that way until Halo Reach. In Halo Reach everything changed. Sniping had become extremely easy compared to H3, and I really got into it. It gave me a great feeling popping all those heads and putting down the piles of dead bodies with my beloved long ranged rifle, because I became really good at it. It was still a difficult weapon to use for some people (the n00bs that is) though and it bothered me when people couldn't just get their one shot kills on easy targets but went for the easy beasy two body shots instead. After a while, Reach got boring for me just like it got for everyone else, and that's when I turned back to Halo 3, and finally started to really use the sniper in that game as well. It was a true blast. It really gave me that great feeling of true satisfaction when you shot someone in the head with such a challenging weapon. Because that's what it is compared to Reach. Compared to Reach, sniping is actually challenging in Halo 3. Sniping is actually fun in Halo 3. And noobs simply can't use it. And now we have Halo 4. The hitbox in Halo 4 is so ridiculously huge, that even a baby can now snipe. It's still a fun weapon to use, but there's no challenge left whatsoever. Why is 343 Industries doing this? Why are they making the sniper even more noob friendly than it already was in Reach? Why make that single weapon that cannot be used by every player in the game, a weapon that can be used by every player in the game? I'm wondering what your guys's opinions are on this matter. Now you know mine.
I find it incredibly awkward actually, I also know a lot of good players who do as well. It seems to me that when I'm absolutely dead positive I've sniped someone in the face, I get nothing. Then, I get pissy and fire off a random shot I'm completely sure misses and it's like "sniper kill" and I get a headshot. When the sniper playlist was running there were at least five kills a game where I said "I shouldn't have gotten that kill". That should never be the case with a supposedly difficult to use precision/power weapon. I also feel like it feels weird to use. Like there is some sort of sensitivity reduction on it in scope or something.
I have shot people point blank with no scope in the crotch and gotten a headshot. I have never had much consistency with the sniper rifle in halo 4, sadly.
I haven't had any bug misses with the sniper but all the time I am seeing headshots with a DMR not register.
I don't personally find it any less consistent than Reach, nor does Halo 4 have bigger hitboxes. The recoil takes some getting used to, and not getting pinged out of scope makes passive sniping a lot easier, which is a big downside imo. But then comparing sniping favourably to Reach isn't exactly saying much, as it was pretty easy compared to Halo 3, like you say. In that sense you probably shouldn't feel too cut up about missing Halo 2 as it had, if anything, a more forgiving Sniper, but increased movement speed and much more responsive strafe meant you had a slightly harder time hitting people if they knew what they were doing. But yeah, in terms of Sniping I'd say it goes CE > Halo 3 > Halo 2 > Halo Reach > Halo 4. I maintain that Reach and 4 are much of a muchness in terms of mechanics, but not de-scoping when shot makes it easier if you ask me.
Default Reach had it pretty easy; although the aim assist may have been toned down, the targets were snails. It sucks, I hate that feeling of going back to a game like Halo 3 and thinking to myself, "god dammit, I suck at sniping...oh wait...that's because I haven't really sniped in forever."
I, not having played h3, never really had anything to complain about the Reach sniper, as I hadn't played Halo in long enough to remember. My sniping was pretty bad, too. I agree with you about the H4 sniper. I can now use the sniper much more effectively than I could before. Although I'm at the lower end of sniping ability, I want the skill gap back. More than that, I want more skillgap-producing mechanics in the game in general.
When I sniped in the Snipers playlist, I was almost always dying due to some player jumping out of cover in a second and STILL able to headshot you. Either sniping has became easier as everyone has said (which I doubt) or there are just quite a few bugs.
Has the snipers playlist gone now or am I blind to it? OT: I'm finding it just as easy in H4 as I did in HR to snipe, if a little annoying with the kickback rather than being knocked out of the scope. H3 taught me to snipe properly, then Reach made it easier, something which I was mildly surprised and slightly happy about but it made it annoying as well when you know you shouldn't have died from a shot but you did.
Sniper in Reach was made slightly easier to compensate for AA's (Sniper over buffed imo and then even more buffed in Halo 4....) I suck at sniping plain and simple. Idk if it's 10 sensitivity helps that or just my play style. (I can only use a sniper well for a couple days after playing CoD for while, Don't ask me why) But in Halo 4,(without playing CoD first), Promethean sniper is a 1 shot 1 kill till I run out of ammo and Human sniper gives me headshots seemingly random because I aim for body for a two shot always and getting 1/4 shots headshots compared to 1/100 headshots from previous games and not been knocked out of scope means I can keep my aim if i get hit which is huge bonus imo. One benefit Halo 4 has is hardlight shield>Armor lock. Sprint+Hardlight shield will save you tons more then Armorlock ever will specially from sniper shots.
If Sniping in Halo 4 is easier than in previous games, then I'm immune to its apparent drop of necessary skill, because I'm just as bad with the Sniper Rifle(s) as I ever was... :/
I find the binary rifle surprisingly "difficult" to use compared to the UNSC sniper rifle. I imagined it to be a peace of cake to use, but it does take some time to get used to. Don't. Just don't. I really don't like it when people waste the sniper like that
Going for shots you're less confident in making is wasting it, going for body shots is by no means wasting the Sniper. Plus, I actually heard a really interesting perspective from some pro (can't remember who it was, maybe Naded, Heinz or Legit?) when they were in the commentary booth whilst a match was going on. They pointed out that, in objective games at least, a body shot is actually likely to put someone out of the game for a little longer than a headshot, as it forces them behind cover until their shields come back.
Having gone back to Halo 3 in the past week I've come to appreciate that Sniper more than ever. So satisfying to get kills with it compared to the ones in the following Halo games.
Yep. I usually go for headshots on targets that don't see me and/or are not moving or moving predictably. On herky-jerky, jumping-and-strafing, maybe-fighting-back targets, I'll often take the body shot as it's a lot easier and if they're not miles away, use the DMR to clean up. But I've two-shotted plenty of people with the sniper in all Halo games and never felt bad about it. If you only go for headshots and you're not a pro, you're going to waste some bullets in there anyway; better to hit with every shot, even if some aren't kill shots, than to waste bullets trying NOT to waste bullets.
Personally I hate sniping, I suck with it. I wreck with a BR or a DMR instead. If I can't get a headshot with every sniper bullet I fire, I don't see how I qualify as a noob. There's a reason there's a ton of other weapons... Sniping in H4 is as awkward as it always has been. As far as game development goes, making sniper kills harder to get, is definitely not the way to go. People need to stop reminiscing over the old games and get used to the new ones. If you want a game to be just like Halo 2 then here's an idea, go and play Halo 2, They still have private servers going. Change is good, And if you disagree then nobody is forcing you to buy the new game, but 343 are going to want to upgrade and add to it, even if that means making sniping easier. Just cause you're 'Fantastic' at sniping, doesn't mean anyone who isn't, is a noob, and it definitely does not mean the game is incorrect. If anything it's an improvement. I'm sorry you prefer how the old snipers work but that's change for you. You gotta be prepared for it when they switch developers...
Why is making sniping harder again bad from a development point of view? It's an incredibly powerful weapon, making it easier to use isn't helping balance the game. Your argument makes no sense. And Halo 2 sniping was plenty easy as well, both CE and Halo 3 were much better in that regard. Plus, Halo 2 doesn't still have private servers. Halo 2 vista does, but that's not quite the same. Some change is good. Some change is bad. To think that all change is one or the other is simply stupid. How exactly is making sniping easier an 'upgrade'? What's with this idea that literally any change made is progress? Again, how is it an improvement, exactly? How is making one of the most powerful weapons in the game so easy to use that anyone can wreck with it a good thing? If a gun is powerful, it should be hard to get that power out of it. If making everything easier to use is inherently good, why not give everyone a one hit kill weapon that auto aims for you? That's not only change, it's making the game much easier, so by your logic it must be an improvement, right?
This. I think bullet magnetism is more to blame than the large hit boxes, but either way, it's a problem. I no longer take ages to snipe, waiting for the absolute perfect moment to take the shot and guarantee a kill, because I can be of better use just spamming them like crazy until my bullet curves in the air and flings up to their head.
Then don't use it in the first place. The sniper has a one hit kill mechanism for headshots for a reason. I'd rather see someone even constantly going for the body shot + the finishing off with a BR/DMR, than using all the sniper bullets for two shot kills on the chest. If you can't use it properly, leave it to the people who can or go practice until you know how to use it yourself. But that's my opinion, it's perfectly fine if you disagree with me. I'm just a strong supporter of headshot sniping. That's true but I'm talking about Matchmaking, where you don't know your teammates and only try to get kills for yourself (at least if it's not an objective game). Edited by merge: Change is good but bad change is bad by definition. What would you say if they'd make the AR a one hit kill? "Get used to it"? No. Because that would simply suck. And that's how I and many others feel about the sniper. It used to be a weapon that required skill to use, nowadays it's just like any other weapon in Halo: anyone can use it. Basically Pegasi summed up the rest for me.
Yeah that was a bit much... Just an opinion, I'm not stating it as fact. I haven't noticed the change as I still suck with it. I didn't mean to come off as a ****, but with Bungie no longer there change is to be expected. I think it's good that it's easier, especially for new players. But I can imagine the problems it could cause aswell. Unfortunately 343 cannot please everybody. As I said though it can't be too much change as I still suck ass with it. On the downside, the rifle itself seems a lot larger, from a First person view I mean. I've noticed the bottom right of the screen is even more blocked out than it was before. Has anyone else noticed this?