Halo Reach Multiplayer Beta
- Thread starter OmegaFenix
- Start date
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Look for the Halo ODST bundle, that way you get a Xbox and invite to Halo Reach Beta.
Sockmonkey
New member
Yeah its just over R30 a month which is less than what you would pay for a cheese burger these days, well worth the cash.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Some More Juicy Details
Embracing Our Differences
Last week we trotted Luke Smith and friends out to talk at some length about the economy of Credits and how they, coupled with Military Rank, will ultimately inform the visual accouterments adopted by your Spartan avatar in Halo: Reach. This week, we decided to get a little more technical and dive into the more matérielistic side of the multiplayer coin. We’ll dig in even further in just a few, but since the two subjects do intertwine somewhat, I figured we’d begin where the two roads meet.
That brings us to Elites. We’ve already said that the Elites found in Halo: Reach were never meant to conform to the noble notion of equality. For far too long, our Sangheili brothers have been leashed – their very backs burdened by the weight of multiplayer parity. They hunched, bent to the whims of human anatomy.
/LARP
Not anymore. In Reach, Elites are bigger, they’re faster, and they boast better shield technology than their Spartan counterparts. To drive the first point home – the size difference — we’ve prepped a side-by-side comparison so you can see just how pronounced the physical changes really are. Click it to check it out in higher resolution.
Size matters. And when we say Elites are faster, we mean it. Natively, Elites are about as fast as a Spartan at full Sprint. Add Evade into the mix, and they’re easily the most agile combatants on the battlefield in multiplayer.
Unlike Spartans, their health is not limited to recharging in thirds as their vitality is whittled away in stages, but will recharge fully without even the need for a health pack. Their health also recharges faster, as do their shields. Significantly faster.
So, how are we gonna work them into multiplayer? Well, in a number of ways. In some circumstances, like Arena, you’ll only square off Spartan vs. Spartan or Elite vs. Elite. In others, well…stay tuned.
We’ll dig into some interesting scenarios in the weeks ahead.
Came From Behind
In the ways to die category, let’s clear up the 120 degrees comment Sage and Josh made concerning when and where you can engage your death dealing assassination flourish. It’s actually more interesting than you might think. (And it’s actually the same system employed in Halo 3.)
The 120 degree cone is actually based on where you happen to be looking at the moment the nefarious assassin strikes. Your “Aim Vector.†Picture a triangular with its origin point emanating out behind you. If it helps, you can think of Aim Vector as the camera’s current position. If your assailant is within that 120 degree zone outside your vantage, and close enough to you to engage the coup de grâce, then you’re going down. Keep in mind, they don’t necessarily need to be directly behind you if your head's turned.
The assassinations that appear to be happening right in front of the player’s eyes in the Multiplayer trailer, are really occurring in the second stage of the assassination. It’s already over and the assassin has spun his victim around to deliver the finishing blow with a cool, full frontal flourish.
Oh, and if you watched the April Fools’ Day ViDoc and wondered why the Elite wasn’t going down with one standard backsmack, there’s no need to worry, when you position yourself on your opponent’s six, regardless of whether or not they rock the mandibles, you’ll only need to deliver one, clean crack to the back to snag the kill.
Shields Up!
We should also clarify a little bit of information about popping player’s shields. In previous titles, when you were laying into a shielded opponent and bringing them right to the brink of shieldlessness, any damage you did before the pop would transfer into their underlying health. Hypothetically, let’s say they had 5 points of shield left when you clocked them for 10 points of damage. The result would be the loss of their shields and a 5 point reduction to their heath.
Not anymore.
Now those additional 5 points are absorbed by the shields as they wink out of existence and the underlying health is left unscathed.
Perhaps the place this impact will be felt the most is in melee combat. Ostensibly this means that if your opponent is shielded to any degree when you land a melee strike, they will not die. You’ll pop their shields. If their shields are gone, however, they’ll drop like a rock.
For those fearing that this new model will impact weapons like the Sniper Rifle, rest easy. The Long Rifle is exempt, as are other weapons you might expect to be. Rockets will be a one hit kill at close range, as will the Shotgun, even though the April Fools’ ViDoc might have indicated otherwise.
Seeing a pattern develop? Shotty nerfed at close range? Elites require two melee strikes to the back to take down? 32 player matches in Reach? (Nope, still capped at 16.)
If you saw something on April 1st that got you all hot and bothered, you should take a moment alone to cool your jets, turbo.
Legit Boosting
Sweet segue, bro!
Let’s get into Armor Abilities. These are the individual player augmentations that add a rad ability that alters the way you play the game. They can be used as much as you like, with the one caveat being that they need to recharge after your engage them. And in the Beta, when you fall down dead, your Armor Ability will not be added to the subsequent estate sale.
So how do you pick and choose which one you’re currently using?
Get Loaded
Load Outs. At the beginning of each match or round, and again every time you wait out your respawn window, you are given the option of choosing a Load Out.
Load Outs are not player created or defined, but rather playlist and/or game type specific. Essentially, they allow you to choose your Armor Ability, your starting primary and secondary weapons, and your grenade cache on the fly.
For some playlists, that might mean every Load Out features the same weapon sets with only the Armor Abilities to distinguish them. For others, it might mean that as the game goes on, you’ll have access to more and more choices based on a number of factors we can fiddle with.
That's just one example to the right. Many gametypes will feature more uniformity in the initial selection.
What it doesn’t mean is that you will be creating your own custom Load Out to bring into Matchmaking. You’ll be choosing from our prefabricated offerings, based on what’s best suited for each gametype.
Don’t worry about power weapons being available right from the start, either. In most cases, you’ll still be finding those distributed via a number of methods throughout the battlefield, though if circumstance warrants it, we certainly can start you with, say, the Rocket Launcher.
And, of course, you can still loot the corpses of your fallen foes and you’ll still find sweet stashes of weapons strewn carelessly about the map for you to find and acquire.
Now it’s Time for the Breakdown
Alright, now that we’ve explored how you get your hands on Armor Abilities and weapons, let’s talk about what you should do with them. Armor Abilities first, with all due respect to the alphabet.
Can’t See Me
Active Camo can be used by Spartans and Elites alike. It grants you temporary invisibility, but the effectiveness is hampered in two distinct ways. The faster you move, the more visible you become and the shorter the duration of the effect will be. If you want to make the most of it, stand still or move slowly.
[There's a sweet image of an invisible Elite here, but you can't see it because it's, you know, invisible.]
Plus, while you’re refracting light, you’re also jamming everyone’s motion tracker – including your own. Players in the immediate vicinity will know that they’ve got a stalker in their midst and you should expect them to be on their toes.
Use it wisely.
Poppin’ and Lockin’
Armor Lock gives you a burst of invulnerability. You can click once to briefly engage it, or hold it for a longer lasting effect, but either way, while you’re in the throes you can’t move a single, solitary inch. You’re rooted. But you’ll shed plasma grenades, shred vehicles unfortunate enough to attempt a splatter, and deflect projectiles. (And you look pretty bad ass while you're doing it.)
Those that get too close are treated to an EMP blast when you exit the lock and the longer you’re locked down, the bigger and more powerful the effective radius becomes. While you’re in Armor Lock, you can’t be melee’d or assassinated, either.
So, what’s the downside? You’re a sitting duck. While you are temporarily invincible, if you deploy Armor Lock carelessly out in the open, you can bet someone will be lining you up from long range. Watching. Waiting.
Embracing Our Differences
Last week we trotted Luke Smith and friends out to talk at some length about the economy of Credits and how they, coupled with Military Rank, will ultimately inform the visual accouterments adopted by your Spartan avatar in Halo: Reach. This week, we decided to get a little more technical and dive into the more matérielistic side of the multiplayer coin. We’ll dig in even further in just a few, but since the two subjects do intertwine somewhat, I figured we’d begin where the two roads meet.
That brings us to Elites. We’ve already said that the Elites found in Halo: Reach were never meant to conform to the noble notion of equality. For far too long, our Sangheili brothers have been leashed – their very backs burdened by the weight of multiplayer parity. They hunched, bent to the whims of human anatomy.
/LARP
Not anymore. In Reach, Elites are bigger, they’re faster, and they boast better shield technology than their Spartan counterparts. To drive the first point home – the size difference — we’ve prepped a side-by-side comparison so you can see just how pronounced the physical changes really are. Click it to check it out in higher resolution.
Size matters. And when we say Elites are faster, we mean it. Natively, Elites are about as fast as a Spartan at full Sprint. Add Evade into the mix, and they’re easily the most agile combatants on the battlefield in multiplayer.
Unlike Spartans, their health is not limited to recharging in thirds as their vitality is whittled away in stages, but will recharge fully without even the need for a health pack. Their health also recharges faster, as do their shields. Significantly faster.
So, how are we gonna work them into multiplayer? Well, in a number of ways. In some circumstances, like Arena, you’ll only square off Spartan vs. Spartan or Elite vs. Elite. In others, well…stay tuned.
We’ll dig into some interesting scenarios in the weeks ahead.
Came From Behind
In the ways to die category, let’s clear up the 120 degrees comment Sage and Josh made concerning when and where you can engage your death dealing assassination flourish. It’s actually more interesting than you might think. (And it’s actually the same system employed in Halo 3.)
The 120 degree cone is actually based on where you happen to be looking at the moment the nefarious assassin strikes. Your “Aim Vector.†Picture a triangular with its origin point emanating out behind you. If it helps, you can think of Aim Vector as the camera’s current position. If your assailant is within that 120 degree zone outside your vantage, and close enough to you to engage the coup de grâce, then you’re going down. Keep in mind, they don’t necessarily need to be directly behind you if your head's turned.
The assassinations that appear to be happening right in front of the player’s eyes in the Multiplayer trailer, are really occurring in the second stage of the assassination. It’s already over and the assassin has spun his victim around to deliver the finishing blow with a cool, full frontal flourish.
Oh, and if you watched the April Fools’ Day ViDoc and wondered why the Elite wasn’t going down with one standard backsmack, there’s no need to worry, when you position yourself on your opponent’s six, regardless of whether or not they rock the mandibles, you’ll only need to deliver one, clean crack to the back to snag the kill.
Shields Up!
We should also clarify a little bit of information about popping player’s shields. In previous titles, when you were laying into a shielded opponent and bringing them right to the brink of shieldlessness, any damage you did before the pop would transfer into their underlying health. Hypothetically, let’s say they had 5 points of shield left when you clocked them for 10 points of damage. The result would be the loss of their shields and a 5 point reduction to their heath.
Not anymore.
Now those additional 5 points are absorbed by the shields as they wink out of existence and the underlying health is left unscathed.
Perhaps the place this impact will be felt the most is in melee combat. Ostensibly this means that if your opponent is shielded to any degree when you land a melee strike, they will not die. You’ll pop their shields. If their shields are gone, however, they’ll drop like a rock.
For those fearing that this new model will impact weapons like the Sniper Rifle, rest easy. The Long Rifle is exempt, as are other weapons you might expect to be. Rockets will be a one hit kill at close range, as will the Shotgun, even though the April Fools’ ViDoc might have indicated otherwise.
Seeing a pattern develop? Shotty nerfed at close range? Elites require two melee strikes to the back to take down? 32 player matches in Reach? (Nope, still capped at 16.)
If you saw something on April 1st that got you all hot and bothered, you should take a moment alone to cool your jets, turbo.
Legit Boosting
Sweet segue, bro!
Let’s get into Armor Abilities. These are the individual player augmentations that add a rad ability that alters the way you play the game. They can be used as much as you like, with the one caveat being that they need to recharge after your engage them. And in the Beta, when you fall down dead, your Armor Ability will not be added to the subsequent estate sale.
So how do you pick and choose which one you’re currently using?
Get Loaded
Load Outs. At the beginning of each match or round, and again every time you wait out your respawn window, you are given the option of choosing a Load Out.
Load Outs are not player created or defined, but rather playlist and/or game type specific. Essentially, they allow you to choose your Armor Ability, your starting primary and secondary weapons, and your grenade cache on the fly.
For some playlists, that might mean every Load Out features the same weapon sets with only the Armor Abilities to distinguish them. For others, it might mean that as the game goes on, you’ll have access to more and more choices based on a number of factors we can fiddle with.
That's just one example to the right. Many gametypes will feature more uniformity in the initial selection.
What it doesn’t mean is that you will be creating your own custom Load Out to bring into Matchmaking. You’ll be choosing from our prefabricated offerings, based on what’s best suited for each gametype.
Don’t worry about power weapons being available right from the start, either. In most cases, you’ll still be finding those distributed via a number of methods throughout the battlefield, though if circumstance warrants it, we certainly can start you with, say, the Rocket Launcher.
And, of course, you can still loot the corpses of your fallen foes and you’ll still find sweet stashes of weapons strewn carelessly about the map for you to find and acquire.
Now it’s Time for the Breakdown
Alright, now that we’ve explored how you get your hands on Armor Abilities and weapons, let’s talk about what you should do with them. Armor Abilities first, with all due respect to the alphabet.
Can’t See Me
Active Camo can be used by Spartans and Elites alike. It grants you temporary invisibility, but the effectiveness is hampered in two distinct ways. The faster you move, the more visible you become and the shorter the duration of the effect will be. If you want to make the most of it, stand still or move slowly.
[There's a sweet image of an invisible Elite here, but you can't see it because it's, you know, invisible.]
Plus, while you’re refracting light, you’re also jamming everyone’s motion tracker – including your own. Players in the immediate vicinity will know that they’ve got a stalker in their midst and you should expect them to be on their toes.
Use it wisely.
Poppin’ and Lockin’
Armor Lock gives you a burst of invulnerability. You can click once to briefly engage it, or hold it for a longer lasting effect, but either way, while you’re in the throes you can’t move a single, solitary inch. You’re rooted. But you’ll shed plasma grenades, shred vehicles unfortunate enough to attempt a splatter, and deflect projectiles. (And you look pretty bad ass while you're doing it.)
Those that get too close are treated to an EMP blast when you exit the lock and the longer you’re locked down, the bigger and more powerful the effective radius becomes. While you’re in Armor Lock, you can’t be melee’d or assassinated, either.
So, what’s the downside? You’re a sitting duck. While you are temporarily invincible, if you deploy Armor Lock carelessly out in the open, you can bet someone will be lining you up from long range. Watching. Waiting.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
More Juicy Details Continued
See Me Rollin’
Evade lets you make a leap of faith in any direction. It’s fast, it’s tricksy, and it’s something you’ll be getting a lot of mileage out of as an Elite. It will shed locks and tracking and makes for one nasty juke when you’re in close quarters combat.
Now you see me, now I’m assassinating you.
You also grunt when you evade. A lot. And it’s awesome.
I Believe I Can Fly!
Jet Pack should be pretty self explanatory. You can hold the button for an extended burst or feather it after a jump for just a little more height. If you’re get too close to the sun, you’ll need to worry about the landing, so make sure you save some juice to soften the approach.
Of course, while you’re aloft, you’re completely without cover and your ability to get shifty is severely hampered. If someone has you in their sights, your only real recourse is to fall away and hope you find cover before they clip your wings (though you can return fire from your airy perch).
You’re also susceptible to EMP bursts from Plasma Pistol charges and the Grenade Launcher. While you’re controlling the skies, make sure you keep your head on a swivel. You might feel like Superman, but you won’t be stopping any speeding bullets, Clark.
I was Running and Running…
Sprint is Spartan only and should be pretty self-explanatory. It gives you a quick burst of speed, but while you’re at a dead run, you can’t get all offensive. If you want to engage, you have to let off and regain your composure.
It’s weapons down during the duration of your marathon session.
Weapons Up!
We’ve been seeing a lot of confusion swirling around Reach’s ordnance. Since the dust has settled a bit after the recent media barrage, let’s do some clean up.
Straight away, Sage wanted me to clear a couple of things up. On our most recent Podcast, he said some things he thought we should address. First, the Assassination Train scenario won’t make Beta. You won’t be playing the caboose to a deadly ten player choo choo.
That’d be inappropriate anyway, right? Get your mind out of the gutter.
Secondly, grenades will not asplode when you shoot them on the ground. Didn’t make it into the build in time, but it’s still in the works for retail. You can still shoot grenades out of the air, though, and frags will still do minor impact damage should you bean another player with a direct shot. Which is awesome. And hilarious.
I’m sure we’ll all make do and nobody will start a thread about how Reach is now destined to fail as a result of these two minor omissions from the Beta. Because we are all polite, understanding adults who refuse to succumb to hyperbole and immaturity, right?
Uh huh. Anyway, here’s the rundown on some stuff that is in.
See Me Rollin’
Evade lets you make a leap of faith in any direction. It’s fast, it’s tricksy, and it’s something you’ll be getting a lot of mileage out of as an Elite. It will shed locks and tracking and makes for one nasty juke when you’re in close quarters combat.
Now you see me, now I’m assassinating you.
You also grunt when you evade. A lot. And it’s awesome.
I Believe I Can Fly!
Jet Pack should be pretty self explanatory. You can hold the button for an extended burst or feather it after a jump for just a little more height. If you’re get too close to the sun, you’ll need to worry about the landing, so make sure you save some juice to soften the approach.
Of course, while you’re aloft, you’re completely without cover and your ability to get shifty is severely hampered. If someone has you in their sights, your only real recourse is to fall away and hope you find cover before they clip your wings (though you can return fire from your airy perch).
You’re also susceptible to EMP bursts from Plasma Pistol charges and the Grenade Launcher. While you’re controlling the skies, make sure you keep your head on a swivel. You might feel like Superman, but you won’t be stopping any speeding bullets, Clark.
I was Running and Running…
Sprint is Spartan only and should be pretty self-explanatory. It gives you a quick burst of speed, but while you’re at a dead run, you can’t get all offensive. If you want to engage, you have to let off and regain your composure.
It’s weapons down during the duration of your marathon session.
Weapons Up!
We’ve been seeing a lot of confusion swirling around Reach’s ordnance. Since the dust has settled a bit after the recent media barrage, let’s do some clean up.
Straight away, Sage wanted me to clear a couple of things up. On our most recent Podcast, he said some things he thought we should address. First, the Assassination Train scenario won’t make Beta. You won’t be playing the caboose to a deadly ten player choo choo.
That’d be inappropriate anyway, right? Get your mind out of the gutter.
Secondly, grenades will not asplode when you shoot them on the ground. Didn’t make it into the build in time, but it’s still in the works for retail. You can still shoot grenades out of the air, though, and frags will still do minor impact damage should you bean another player with a direct shot. Which is awesome. And hilarious.
I’m sure we’ll all make do and nobody will start a thread about how Reach is now destined to fail as a result of these two minor omissions from the Beta. Because we are all polite, understanding adults who refuse to succumb to hyperbole and immaturity, right?
Uh huh. Anyway, here’s the rundown on some stuff that is in.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Lock and Load with Some new [and old] Weapons.
Five Shottin’ Fools
You’ve probably heard that both the Designated Marksman Rifle and the Magnum are now five shot kills. Four anywhere followed by one to the face. So, how then, are these two weapons different? One big tenet of Reach’s core multiplayer weapon design was to give each weapon its own unique role, right?
Right. But better grab hold of something solid, I’m gonna totally freak you out right now. Ready?
As is, in the Beta, the Magnum will take down a fully shielded player, from start to finish, almost twice as quickly as the DMR will.
Still with me? Good. Deep breaths, there’s some big caveats.
First, the Magnum gets squirrely if you go all out and squeeze off rounds as fast as you possibly can. Real squirrely. You’re better off sticking with the proper cadence relayed to you through the reticule bloom. That’s your sweet spot. Know it. Respect it.
Second, the Magnum’s maximum effectiveness is found at short to mid range, fitting snugly between the Assault Rifle and the DMR. And while the DMR may take some extra time to take down a player, at mid to long range, it’s easily the more effective weapon due to its magnified scope and reduced recoil.
If you have the Magnum, you don't want to engage a DMR user at long range. Unless you want to die. Then, by all means.
And the Assault Rifle? It’s your go to rifle at close to mid range. You’ll definitely want to feather the trigger to take down shields and make your assault as personal as possible, just like you did in Halo 3, even though it's been tuned a little to favor accuracy over straight up aggression.
Ultimately the choice between the Assault Rifle and the Magnum may come down to personal preference, play style, and the situation you happen to find yourself in. It’s nuanced. Good thing is you’ll get tons of hands on time with all three by way of the Beta. And of course, we need to mention, that all of these details, every single one, are subject to change.
Plasma What?
Plasma Repeater. It’s a bit different that the Plasma Rifle you’ve become accustomed to. It still sends out a steady stream of bright blue plasma bolts, but the cadence will taper off as the weapon overheats. And while you’ll never need to worry about it rendering the weapon useless as it cools, you’ll need to vent it out if you want to run it at full speed using the reload button.
Since dual wielding is out, our guys needed a more effective native weapon to strap into an Elite’s hands. The Repeater is, essentially, the Assault Rifle’s counterpart, but it’s a little too effective for use in campaign. So when you’re in that space, you’ll likely see Elites utilizing the Plasma Rifle you’re already familiar with.
Five Shottin’ Fools
You’ve probably heard that both the Designated Marksman Rifle and the Magnum are now five shot kills. Four anywhere followed by one to the face. So, how then, are these two weapons different? One big tenet of Reach’s core multiplayer weapon design was to give each weapon its own unique role, right?
Right. But better grab hold of something solid, I’m gonna totally freak you out right now. Ready?
As is, in the Beta, the Magnum will take down a fully shielded player, from start to finish, almost twice as quickly as the DMR will.
Still with me? Good. Deep breaths, there’s some big caveats.
First, the Magnum gets squirrely if you go all out and squeeze off rounds as fast as you possibly can. Real squirrely. You’re better off sticking with the proper cadence relayed to you through the reticule bloom. That’s your sweet spot. Know it. Respect it.
Second, the Magnum’s maximum effectiveness is found at short to mid range, fitting snugly between the Assault Rifle and the DMR. And while the DMR may take some extra time to take down a player, at mid to long range, it’s easily the more effective weapon due to its magnified scope and reduced recoil.
If you have the Magnum, you don't want to engage a DMR user at long range. Unless you want to die. Then, by all means.
And the Assault Rifle? It’s your go to rifle at close to mid range. You’ll definitely want to feather the trigger to take down shields and make your assault as personal as possible, just like you did in Halo 3, even though it's been tuned a little to favor accuracy over straight up aggression.
Ultimately the choice between the Assault Rifle and the Magnum may come down to personal preference, play style, and the situation you happen to find yourself in. It’s nuanced. Good thing is you’ll get tons of hands on time with all three by way of the Beta. And of course, we need to mention, that all of these details, every single one, are subject to change.
Plasma What?
Plasma Repeater. It’s a bit different that the Plasma Rifle you’ve become accustomed to. It still sends out a steady stream of bright blue plasma bolts, but the cadence will taper off as the weapon overheats. And while you’ll never need to worry about it rendering the weapon useless as it cools, you’ll need to vent it out if you want to run it at full speed using the reload button.
Since dual wielding is out, our guys needed a more effective native weapon to strap into an Elite’s hands. The Repeater is, essentially, the Assault Rifle’s counterpart, but it’s a little too effective for use in campaign. So when you’re in that space, you’ll likely see Elites utilizing the Plasma Rifle you’re already familiar with.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Lock and Load with Some new [and old] Weapons Continues
Four!
The Plasma Launcher can send a volley of one to four plasma explosives toward your opponent, depending on how long you keep your finger on the trigger. How many rounds you’re prepping is communicated to you through a nifty combination of visual and audio cues. And when you see and hear it coming your way, you need to find some cover. Fast.
The rounds will track both infantry and vehicles, but don’t freak out, the magnetism is more akin to the Needler than it is the Missile Pod. Vehicles are much easier to hit, given their size, but if you play it right, you can affix an explosive round to some poor sucker’s face.
Suffice to say, if it’s featured on a map, you’ll want to know where it is at all times.
Stay Focused
The Focus Rifle takes the Sentinel Beam and the Beam Rifle and combines the two weapon’s traits for some deliciously deadly peanut butter and chocolate type death dealing action. Zoom in and hold the focused beam on your opponent and you’ll tear through their shields and take out their health pretty quickly. Even if you don’t kill your enemy, you can bet they’ll be encouraged to give up their ground and get behind something that doesn’t smell like burning.
It’s a bit like herding goats. With a laser beam. Not that I have any firsthand knowledge.
Prepare to Launch
The Grenade Launcher, or “Pro Pipe†as it’s come to be known inside the studio on the heels of Hoovaloov’s Multiplayer Trailer dissection, is also something you’ll want to spend some quality time with. If you point and shoot with a single pull of the trigger, you’ll send an explosive round out into the world. If it hits your target dead on, it will explode. If it bounces, it’ll arm much like a frag and explode after a short spell.
But if you hold the trigger after you fire, the round will not detonate until you release your death grip. If you let the round come to rest, it’ll remain in play until you decide that it’s your opportunity to blow. And if you want to arc it and time the detonation mid air using the same method, you can do that, too.
The round itself will do impact damage to an opponent even if you don’t detonate it, much like frag grenades now will, and when it does explode it also produces a fairly sizable EMP blast that will damage and deactivate the type of stuff you would expect it too.
Mount Up
The vehicle stable at play in the Beta are all machines you should feel comfortable with when you get behind the wheel, but there are some small differences you need to know about.
The Warthog’s chain gun will now overheat after prolonged use and the Scorpion once again features a secondary machine gun turret (which looks hilariously awesome when occupied by an Elite).
The Ghost, the Banshee, and the Wraith are largely identical to their Halo 3 counterparts, and as you can see, they, along with just about everything else, have been pimped out and prettied up something fierce.
Four!
The Plasma Launcher can send a volley of one to four plasma explosives toward your opponent, depending on how long you keep your finger on the trigger. How many rounds you’re prepping is communicated to you through a nifty combination of visual and audio cues. And when you see and hear it coming your way, you need to find some cover. Fast.
The rounds will track both infantry and vehicles, but don’t freak out, the magnetism is more akin to the Needler than it is the Missile Pod. Vehicles are much easier to hit, given their size, but if you play it right, you can affix an explosive round to some poor sucker’s face.
Suffice to say, if it’s featured on a map, you’ll want to know where it is at all times.
Stay Focused
The Focus Rifle takes the Sentinel Beam and the Beam Rifle and combines the two weapon’s traits for some deliciously deadly peanut butter and chocolate type death dealing action. Zoom in and hold the focused beam on your opponent and you’ll tear through their shields and take out their health pretty quickly. Even if you don’t kill your enemy, you can bet they’ll be encouraged to give up their ground and get behind something that doesn’t smell like burning.
It’s a bit like herding goats. With a laser beam. Not that I have any firsthand knowledge.
Prepare to Launch
The Grenade Launcher, or “Pro Pipe†as it’s come to be known inside the studio on the heels of Hoovaloov’s Multiplayer Trailer dissection, is also something you’ll want to spend some quality time with. If you point and shoot with a single pull of the trigger, you’ll send an explosive round out into the world. If it hits your target dead on, it will explode. If it bounces, it’ll arm much like a frag and explode after a short spell.
But if you hold the trigger after you fire, the round will not detonate until you release your death grip. If you let the round come to rest, it’ll remain in play until you decide that it’s your opportunity to blow. And if you want to arc it and time the detonation mid air using the same method, you can do that, too.
The round itself will do impact damage to an opponent even if you don’t detonate it, much like frag grenades now will, and when it does explode it also produces a fairly sizable EMP blast that will damage and deactivate the type of stuff you would expect it too.
Mount Up
The vehicle stable at play in the Beta are all machines you should feel comfortable with when you get behind the wheel, but there are some small differences you need to know about.
The Warthog’s chain gun will now overheat after prolonged use and the Scorpion once again features a secondary machine gun turret (which looks hilariously awesome when occupied by an Elite).
The Ghost, the Banshee, and the Wraith are largely identical to their Halo 3 counterparts, and as you can see, they, along with just about everything else, have been pimped out and prettied up something fierce.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Some Details on the New MP Modes
Continues In Next Post.
Chances are, if you're the kind of person who downloads the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta right on May 3, you're going to notice something a bit quirkier. I'm not talking about the obvious changes that Reach brings to Halo's multiplayer, such as Armor Abilities or melee assassinations. I'm talking about the fact that when you're not jumping into the usual Slayer or King of the Hill matches, you're suddenly playing new game modes like, "Headhunter" or "Invasion." With just a few weeks to go before the beta opens up to Halo 3: ODST owners, Bungie has finally detailed some of the new modes debuting in the beta.
In a recent chat with multiplayer designers Lars Bakken and Derek Carroll, I note that some of these modes are not the kinds of things you'd see in a Halo title, and whether their existence is proof of a sort of, "let's go crazy by throwing all of these new modes' mental. Carroll replies, "I don't think we went crazy on purpose to go out with a bang, although we certainly are. We just said, 'okay, Slayer, CTF, King of the Hill, those are great, let's lock those up and put them aside. Now what else? What can we have?' And then came up with some fun stuff to do in the space."
Bakken describes the basic distribution of modes-to-maps with, "You'll see variety on Powerhouse or Sword Base because those are our 'Slayer maps' or our 'party game maps.' We can't say much about Boneyard or Invasion, and yea, Overlook is specifically for Generator Defense (or 'Network Test 1 Beta' as we call it)." With that in mind, here's a basic breakdown of the new modes that the Halo Reach multiplayer beta will be introducing.
Headhunter
The official Bungie description is, "a new 'party' game [...] where the goal is to collect and capture the most skulls." Basically, players drop a skull upon death, and you just want to scoop that skull and carry it to a designated skull deposit zone (that actually moves around the map). You can carry multiple skulls, but here's a warning: if you're killed before scoring, then you drop all the skulls you had. In fact, Carroll points out, "you have a nice navpoint over your head showing everyone in the game how many skulls you are carrying. When you have ten, then that actually shows up as a flashing star or VIP waypoint, to let everybody know you're the one guy to go after."
Though, unlike carrying the flag, Carroll points out, "there are no downsides to skull carrying other than the danger of dying and turning over your hard-earned loot to the enemy." In fact, you have full access to weapons and abilities while skull-slinging. Community Director Brian Jarrard provides a pro-tip with, "Sprint is super-useful for Headhunter -- it helps close that distance between your foot in the zone and scoring, versus dying just short of the goal and losing all of your skulls."
By default, Headhunter is a free-for-all affair, though Carroll says, "There is [also] a team version of Headhunter that allows for a bit more specialization: one guy can snipe and suppress, while his teammate scoops up skulls and sprints to the score zone."
When discussing Headhunter's genesis, Carroll quips, "So I technically wasn't around when Headhunter started on Reach, but there have been games like Headhunters in other first-person shooters and games, and this is just our spin on it." He concludes, "There's nothing quite like almost scoring 10 skulls and being struck down, and having to watch those skulls bounce away from your dead body."
Stockpile
This is, "another 'party' gametype that is sort of like Territories meets with Capture the Flag." That is, both teams are racing to capture four neutral flags that spawn on the map and successfully return them to their respective (and active) capture points. Carroll elaborates, "Stockpile flags appear randomly throughout the map at pre-set flag-spawn points. Experienced players will learn the ten or so spots they can appear in the Beta maps, but they won't be able to predict which ones will be used at any given time."
It's worth noting that points aren't scored instantly once you drop a flag down. You actually have to have the flag at your capture point once a timed countdown has passed. Carroll notes, "Every 60 seconds, any flag inside the capture point will be scored for that team -- even ones being carried by enemies!" He further describes the time breakdown as, "The clock is always running, so in a ten minute game, it scores ten times. So it's the bottom of every minute. [...] There's definitely an ebb-and-flow, and a real spike in intensity and an, 'oh my God get the flag over there' type of feeling." Bakken further points out the time pressure by noting, "If you see the other team holding three flags and there's 30 seconds left, you better start sending a couple dudes over to at least get them out of the capture point when the time runs out."
In terms of personal tactics and tips, Carroll jokes that his teammates who tend to be Slayer-players will be busy shooting each other while he himself serves as flagrunner; Bakken meanwhile plays more on the defensive side. Jarrard details a particularly handy tactic for defense players like Bakken: "Sometimes, depending on the map, I find pretty good success with either getting a shotgun, or a sword, and Armor Lock, and lurk on top of my flag spot. How you pair your weapons and Armor Abilities can radically affect how well your team scores or defends."
Continues In Next Post.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Details On MP Modes Continued.
Source 1UP.com
Generator Defense
This is where Halo Reach feels more distinct and objective-driven. In Bungie's words, this mode, "pits three Spartans against three Elites. The Elites are trying to destroy three generators before time runs out while the Spartans are trying to defend." When I point out that Elites are fast and tall foes with superior healing, Bakken replies, "Elites may be faster, bigger, and 'healthier' to use your words, but they are also easier to hit, and Spartans have the advantage of being in a pretty well defended position." He further points out that Generator Defense (or as Bungie calls it, "Network Test 1") always plays as, "two rounds of five minutes apiece," with teams switching from Spartans to Elites and vice-versus per round (so players can experience both perspectives). Of course, if the Elites destroy the generators in just three minutes, then the round ends.
Bakken continues, "This [mode] takes place exclusively on Overlook in the Beta. Defenders have the superior position at the top of a hill, with Attackers trying to claw their way up it." He then describes what happens when a match begins: "We call in a weapon drop where a Longsword flies over and drops off three random power weapons in different random locations on the map. Each weapon pod has a random chance of being a Spartan Laser, a Sniper rifle, or a Rocket Launcher. And those are evenly distributed around the map so that both Spartans and Elites have an equal access to them. So in the beginning, not only are the Spartans running to generators, but people are just running to get the power weapons." On the topic of what gear players will have, he further notes, "In general, the Loadouts are designed to be shared across multiple modes, but you'll definitely see some surprises in this [mode]. They are more in line with the final stage of an Invasion game, which means it's pretty crazy from the beginning. Add in the [aforementioned] dynamic Weapon Drop, and you get some nice variety."
Besides the natural layout and whatever weapons get scrounged up, the Spartans on defense have an additional mechanic: the ability to lock down a generator. Bakken explains, "the act of locking down a generator is simple, because we wanted people to pick it up quickly. You walk up to an unlocked generator as a Spartan and press 'X' to lock it down (Elites obviously can't lock them down). The invulnerability lasts for approximately 30 seconds. It sounds like a long time, but when you have three different gennies on the map, and only five minutes to defend all of them... it gets intense. There's also a brief cool-down period when the lock expires before you can re-lock again, which creates some additional tension during that window of vulnerability."
When I ask about the small three-versus-three player count, Bakken replies, "It's [...] true Generator Defense is a little more intimate, but even with only six players on the map you'll see some intense fighting. Most of the action happens around the generators themselves, since they are the focal point of the gametype." I ask Bakken to describe a "typical match" to illustrate that last point, and he replies, "[Our strategy] constantly changes. Because it's three players on each team, and three generators, the first thing we tend to do is split up. Like one guy will go lock down a generator. But the moment one Spartan goes down, it becomes harder to hold onto anything. Sometimes, all three Elites will rush and attack one generator at a time, or they'll wait to exploit the cooldown of a locked generator. There's not a really good universal defense besides communicating with your team."
Invasion
This is the fourth and final game mode in the beta, and also the one that Bungie is still being tight-lipped about until we're a little closer to launch. Carroll's one-line quip is, "It's a vehicle-full frenzy!" In fact, this mode and its accompanying map (Boneyard) is the only map in the beta that features vehicles. "[It's] packed to the gills with vehicle combat," says Carroll, who continues with, "It's really big -- nice and spacious to drive around in. A little bit bigger than Sandtrap even." Other scant details about Invasion are that it's a six-versus-six match, and as mentioned earlier while describing the Loadouts for Generator Defense, it seems to be a multi-stage affair that will utilize some heavy firearms during the end.
And there you have it: the new multiplayer modes for Halo Reach that you can play for yourself during the beta. For you traditionalists, there are modes and variants such as Slayer, King of the Hill, one-flag CTF, and three-plot Territories (a purposeful return to Halo 2-style Territories). Heck, there's even a Slayer Pro variant, where your only ability is Sprint, you don't have a motion tracker, and you start with either a Designated Marksman Rifle or a Needle Rifle.
As my time with Bungie winds down, I ask Jarrard how players will actually be seeing and jumping into these modes, and he answers, "There will be five different playlists active at different points during the public beta -- so not everything will be available day one. But as the beta progresses, more playlists will come online. You'll have Arena stuff, you'll have Free-for-All, you'll have Grab Bag which is a mix of different game types, and you'll have the Invasion and Network Test 1 playlists." The final schedule is up in the air, so you have an equal chance of either jumping into a Generator Defense or an Invasion match, depending on which one Bungie picks. Keep an eye out for more impressions of Halo Reach's multiplayer before it hits beta for everyone else on May 3.
Source 1UP.com
Sockmonkey
New member
MyGaming Halo Reach Beta Multiplayer Signups
So the beta is almost upon us, its time to start recruiting some players who are keen on trying the new Halo Reach beta which will be launching on the 3rd of May. You will need :
Halo : ODST game (new or used)
Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Hard drive or flash disk to install the files (installation size is 1.2GB)
To Download the Beta:
* Insert and Launch Halo 3: ODST’s Campaign Disc
* Select “Play the Beta†from the main menu
* Follow the onscreen prompts and instructions
You need to have all of the above or you will not be able to play the beta.
This is all about having fun, even if you are like me and have never played a Halo game before, everyone is welcome.
Lets see if anyone is interested then we will take it from there.
Who's with me?
So the beta is almost upon us, its time to start recruiting some players who are keen on trying the new Halo Reach beta which will be launching on the 3rd of May. You will need :
Halo : ODST game (new or used)
Xbox Live Gold Subscription
Hard drive or flash disk to install the files (installation size is 1.2GB)
To Download the Beta:
* Insert and Launch Halo 3: ODST’s Campaign Disc
* Select “Play the Beta†from the main menu
* Follow the onscreen prompts and instructions
You need to have all of the above or you will not be able to play the beta.
This is all about having fun, even if you are like me and have never played a Halo game before, everyone is welcome.
Lets see if anyone is interested then we will take it from there.
Who's with me?
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Tinman
MyGaming Silverback
For those who want more info...
Surviving the Halo Reach Beta and Everything you need to know about the Halo Reach beta
Surviving the Halo Reach Beta and Everything you need to know about the Halo Reach beta
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Sockmonkey
New member
Yeah, would be great if we could somehow pre-load the game like steam does with their pre-orders, but alas we have to wait. They expect massive strain on the network when the beta first becomes available for download, most players will have slow download speeds.
My ODST is in the post, should arrive on monday, lets hope no-one decides to do some affirmative shopping at the post office.
Sorry about the new thread, forgot there was one already, if we can merge then that would be great.
My ODST is in the post, should arrive on monday, lets hope no-one decides to do some affirmative shopping at the post office.
Sorry about the new thread, forgot there was one already, if we can merge then that would be great.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
Threads Merdged, Permanent Redirect left.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
QFT.
Its too bad its just for 2 weeks but i guess thats better than nothing.
Azi did u see the Legendary Edition?
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
I am so getting it. The Statue will go so well with my Halo 3 Legendary Edition Helmet.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
A Step by Step on How to download and Play the Beta.
Continues Next Post.
On Monday, May 3, 2010, the Halo®: Reach Multiplayer Beta lands on Xbox LIVE®. All you need to participate is an Xbox LIVE Gold account, the Halo 3: ODST campaign disc, and approximately 1.2GB of free hard drive space.
To download the beta, just follow these easy steps:
1.Insert the Halo 3: ODST campaign disc and launch the game.
2. Select “Play the Beta†from the main menu. (You won’t see this choice prior to May 3.)
3.The first time you do this, Halo 3: ODST will need to download the beta from Xbox LIVE Marketplace. You’ll see the window below, and you’ll need to select “Confirm Download.
4.When the download has finished, choose “Continue.â€
Continues Next Post.
OmegaFenix
The Legendary Troll Hunter
5.You’ll be taken back to the Halo 3: ODST main menu again. Select “Play the Beta†once more.
6.Now that you’ve successfully downloaded the beta, selecting “Play the Beta†will launch the game, instead of downloading it.
7.Enjoy helping us test Halo: Reach, and get that pre-order in so you’ll be ready when the game ships this Fall!
Source Xbox.com
The exact time at which the Beta goes live has not been disclosed. The offical word from Bungie is "Late Morning" Eastern Standard Time. For those of us here in SA that means about 8 o'clock tonight as we are 8 hours ahead of the Yanks.
I am sure Azimuth will be keeping a close eye on it today and let those of us who are chained to a work desk know when it does go live.
For a comprehensive FAQ on the Beta Check out below:
Source Bungie.net
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