Hey everyone!
In this thread I want to share my thoughts on the presence or non-presence of shields in Flood, in the hopes of starting a discussion where you can share what your opinion on the matter is.
You may be aware of the fact that, contrary to previous Halo titles, in Halo 4's default Flood mode zombified players have shields. This will be clear to oblivious players if you consider the fact that zombies won't already die after you shoot them in the head once with your Magnum.
As you probably guessed by the title of the thread, I'm a firm adherent of the principle of having no shields in Flood, that is, for the zombies. But before I'll explain in detail why, I'll first show you the major differences between shields and no shields in Flood based on the following table.
I'll cover each of the items I mentioned in the table above in the following paragraphs.
Headshot vulnerability
Whilst in gametypes that feature zombies with Shields you cannot kill a zombie in a single hit, in gametypes without Shields, you can pull this off. This automatically turns precision weapons into power weapons. Magnums are no longer rather useless, instead they now actually matter enormously. A good player will be able to save himself and other humans in desperate situations by pulling off some quick shots to the face, whereas a failing player might panic, miss his shots and therefore enable the zombies to infect him and/or other players. Magnums may decide the faith of the surviving group as a whole. Of course, the same goes for various other weapons that normally wouldn't kill with a single hit, but thanks to headshot vulnerability now can.
Effect on precision weapons
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, precision weapons such as the Magnum and also the Sniper Rifle turn into Power weapons or Semi-Power weapons in gametypes without Shields for the zombies. This allows the forger to use a bigger variety of weapons for the survivors to obtain, but not just in general. Also on a more advanced level will this provide for more variety, as precision weapons are great at longer distances, but lack the usability of e.g. a Shotgun or an Assault Rifle at close range. It gives the forger and therefore also the players more options at keeping the undead at bay. Especially the Sniper flourishes greatly from the removal of shields, because it will always kill if the opponent is hit, no matter the distance.
Effect on close range weapons
This is probably the most important reason of all why I prefer to have no shields for the zombies in Flood.
When I'm playing in the online Flood playlist, it happens to me every now and then that I shot a zombie with my shotgun, but did not actually kill him with the shot, instead only hurt him real bad. Subsequently, he hits me once or even twice and I feel sad. If a zombie does not have shields however, he will always die as long as you shot him close enough to you, and of course if the game is not laggy or anything. The reason why is because he's already "weak", so to speak, and he cannot handle another bullet in his chest. It might seem like a minor difference, but this in fact means a great deal to the effectiveness of the shotgun and the reliability of your shots. A game that features zombies without shields will definitely make for a fairer experience.
Effect on vehicles
When zombies have shields, they are safe from dying until the very moment they loose their shields. Then, it's only a matter of a few extra bullets to the body before they die. In gametypes with non-shielded zombies, every hit will matter and every hit will count. With each shot, you take the zombie one step closer to its demise. This means that you can kill multiple zombies in a row if you were to happen be wielding a buffed firearm such as the Warthog Turret. You don't have to lower their shields first, you will already be working on kill them. In short, here goes basically the same as with the effect on close range weapons.
Examples
Good examples of gametypes that feature no shields are Last Stand as well as The Beast Within. As you can now see for yourself in Matchmaking on the map Plaza by PA1NTS - whom I also discussed the benefits of having no shields with - you can now see that thanks to its sufficient amount of extra clips, the Magnum functions as a Power weapon to battle the zombies. This makes for very interesting gameplay because of the very reasons I covered before. The same goes for The Beast Within, a gametype created by yours truly, in which I have also enabled vehicle usage. Sitting on one of the roofs on the map 8 O'Clock Reminiscence, you can snipe zombies at will or drive around in the Warthog and effectively kill the chasing undead (up to a certain degree, of course).
Finally, let me end by saying I don't necessarily hate gametypes that do feature shields. I think Hivemind is a great example of a gametype that does a great job and balancing gameplay and providing a fair chance to both humans and zombies. But when looking at the differences I discussed beforehand, I do believe that gametypes without shielded zombies are definitely superior overall. So let's hear what you have to say about all this!
- Remmy
In this thread I want to share my thoughts on the presence or non-presence of shields in Flood, in the hopes of starting a discussion where you can share what your opinion on the matter is.
You may be aware of the fact that, contrary to previous Halo titles, in Halo 4's default Flood mode zombified players have shields. This will be clear to oblivious players if you consider the fact that zombies won't already die after you shoot them in the head once with your Magnum.
As you probably guessed by the title of the thread, I'm a firm adherent of the principle of having no shields in Flood, that is, for the zombies. But before I'll explain in detail why, I'll first show you the major differences between shields and no shields in Flood based on the following table.
I'll cover each of the items I mentioned in the table above in the following paragraphs.
Headshot vulnerability
Whilst in gametypes that feature zombies with Shields you cannot kill a zombie in a single hit, in gametypes without Shields, you can pull this off. This automatically turns precision weapons into power weapons. Magnums are no longer rather useless, instead they now actually matter enormously. A good player will be able to save himself and other humans in desperate situations by pulling off some quick shots to the face, whereas a failing player might panic, miss his shots and therefore enable the zombies to infect him and/or other players. Magnums may decide the faith of the surviving group as a whole. Of course, the same goes for various other weapons that normally wouldn't kill with a single hit, but thanks to headshot vulnerability now can.
Effect on precision weapons
As mentioned in the previous paragraph, precision weapons such as the Magnum and also the Sniper Rifle turn into Power weapons or Semi-Power weapons in gametypes without Shields for the zombies. This allows the forger to use a bigger variety of weapons for the survivors to obtain, but not just in general. Also on a more advanced level will this provide for more variety, as precision weapons are great at longer distances, but lack the usability of e.g. a Shotgun or an Assault Rifle at close range. It gives the forger and therefore also the players more options at keeping the undead at bay. Especially the Sniper flourishes greatly from the removal of shields, because it will always kill if the opponent is hit, no matter the distance.
Effect on close range weapons
This is probably the most important reason of all why I prefer to have no shields for the zombies in Flood.
When I'm playing in the online Flood playlist, it happens to me every now and then that I shot a zombie with my shotgun, but did not actually kill him with the shot, instead only hurt him real bad. Subsequently, he hits me once or even twice and I feel sad. If a zombie does not have shields however, he will always die as long as you shot him close enough to you, and of course if the game is not laggy or anything. The reason why is because he's already "weak", so to speak, and he cannot handle another bullet in his chest. It might seem like a minor difference, but this in fact means a great deal to the effectiveness of the shotgun and the reliability of your shots. A game that features zombies without shields will definitely make for a fairer experience.
Effect on vehicles
When zombies have shields, they are safe from dying until the very moment they loose their shields. Then, it's only a matter of a few extra bullets to the body before they die. In gametypes with non-shielded zombies, every hit will matter and every hit will count. With each shot, you take the zombie one step closer to its demise. This means that you can kill multiple zombies in a row if you were to happen be wielding a buffed firearm such as the Warthog Turret. You don't have to lower their shields first, you will already be working on kill them. In short, here goes basically the same as with the effect on close range weapons.
Examples
Good examples of gametypes that feature no shields are Last Stand as well as The Beast Within. As you can now see for yourself in Matchmaking on the map Plaza by PA1NTS - whom I also discussed the benefits of having no shields with - you can now see that thanks to its sufficient amount of extra clips, the Magnum functions as a Power weapon to battle the zombies. This makes for very interesting gameplay because of the very reasons I covered before. The same goes for The Beast Within, a gametype created by yours truly, in which I have also enabled vehicle usage. Sitting on one of the roofs on the map 8 O'Clock Reminiscence, you can snipe zombies at will or drive around in the Warthog and effectively kill the chasing undead (up to a certain degree, of course).
Finally, let me end by saying I don't necessarily hate gametypes that do feature shields. I think Hivemind is a great example of a gametype that does a great job and balancing gameplay and providing a fair chance to both humans and zombies. But when looking at the differences I discussed beforehand, I do believe that gametypes without shielded zombies are definitely superior overall. So let's hear what you have to say about all this!
- Remmy
