Halo Infinite emphasizes melee in its boss fights, but given the deadly nature of melee weapons, they will need some rebalancing in Halo 7.
Developer 343 Industries has done a lot to change the way combat is handled with Infinite Halo. Halo 5 introduces a few series firsts, but InfiniteThe grappling hook completely revolutionizes the way players approach combat when engaging enemies. The warm reception Master Chief’s new ability has received is proof enough that taking the time to perfect a game’s main loop is worth it, but while this element of the most recent Halo title feels good, another area of combat might work for 343’s next outing.
The two melee-centric weapons in Infinite HaloEnergy Sword, and Gravity Hammer work as they always have, but they feel a bit out of place as instant weapons against Master Chief in such a boss. Halo Entrance. Now that 343 has perfected its open world travel with Infiniteit would be worth the studio re-examining how it handles melee weapons to Halo 7if such a game is in preparation.
Halo Infinite boss encounters
Boss battles and Halo the games did not always follow each other well. Infinite Halo features plenty of boss fights throughout its campaign, but falls into one of the problems the rest of the series has had: the powerful weapons the enemy bosses wield are too powerful to make the fights interesting. Take a look at one of the many boss fights against the Brute Chieftains in Infinite Halo, they almost always wield a Gravity Hammer which doesn’t have much in the way of counters other than using the grappling hook to knock it out of reach. Similarly, boss fights against Spartan Slayer Elites have a similar problem with their signature energy swords.
It would be a mistake to change the lethality of melee weapons given their place as Halo staples, but with how many bosses are able to instantly kill the player if he makes a single mistake, InfiniteFights often feel like they’re won by luck rather than skill. Yes Halo 7 was to get a new melee focus, it might be able to fix those issues if 343 Industries was still interested in keeping frequent boss encounters from Infinitecountryside.
In general, it seems that Infinite Halo has a melee objective that has yet to be seen in the series, as there are a large number of swords and hammers littering Zeta Halo. Additionally, many of the Banished’ weapons feature large blades and serrated edges that increase damage when Master Chief attacks in melee. They feel like they’re meant to be integrated into a more meaningful melee combat system, but don’t deal enough damage to be on par with lethal energy swords and gravity hammers.
As it stands, melee weapons in Infinite Halo are a bit too powerful to be fun when Chief comes face to face with a boss. Reducing the damage they deal doesn’t seem like a satisfying solution, so hopefully 343 will be able to find a good middle ground for what’s to come next in the Halo series. Whether it’s simply reducing the total number of melee weapons players encounter, or giving outcast weapons a greater melee focus to add close combat options without instantly killing the player. This way, melee fights can happen more often without turning into frustrating sections that cause the player to die repeatedly, while making fights when energy swords and gravity hammers appear much more impactful.
Infinite Halo is now available for PC, Xbox One and Xbox Series X/S.
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