Sprint has ruined Halo’s sticky grenade play

Sprint has hurt a core feature of Halo’s gameplay; sticky grenades. It’s why there’s been a decrease in strategic sticks and stick montages after H3, players are spending too much time in guns down sprinting from point A to B unlike original Halo which was all about engagement.

Originally, players would always look around the map when traversing, ready to make full use of their arsenal at any moment, but with the introduction of sprint the primary focus of the player has shifted from engagement to sprinting from point A to B and then looking to engage.

Most players always sprint when not in battle because they see speed as a superpower. Being able to freely look around whilst also instantly being able to make full use of your arsenal led to more strategic and methodical play. There was more, tactical player engagement.

Because players who sprint are locked into animation facing only one direction and unable to use their arsenal, they’re missing opportunities for battle because they’re not seeing potential enemy activity nearby or at a distance, reducing overall player engagement.

Before, players could calculate how far to throw a grenade ahead of an enemy’s path to land a stick. The enemy could reduce the chance of that stick by changing direction, stopping, jumping, or crouching. Now there’s a fifth factor reducing the chance of that stick. It’s sprint.

Use my clip as an example. I quickly calculated how far ahead to throw my grenade. The enemy could’ve changed direction or stopped but if he could sprint, it’s very likely he would’ve started sprinting shortly after landing on the ground, rendering my stick attempt useless.

You can see how quickly I calculated my throw after I spot him mid-air. We naturally assume players would always be moving at top speed and because we’re so familiar with that speed we’re able to make fast and consistent calculations and predictions in every match we play.

But now we have to account for sprint, not knowing whether the player will continue moving at top speed or begin sprinting. This has increased our decision-making time and even if it’s only slightly, its effect on split-second decision-making situations like these is huge.

The more time a player spends in indecisiveness, the more reluctant he’ll be to repeat that action in the future because indecisiveness is something every player wants to avoid. This is just one way how sprint fundamentally changes Halo and harms the foundations it’s built on.

Careful observation of matches in Halo 4-6 will show that many players often spam sticky grenades instead of actually preparing to stick enemies. The addition of hitscan BR also discourages long distance sticky nade play since players naturally opt for more advantageous arsenal.

Why would a player opt to throw a slow-moving grenade at long distances over using a hitscan weapon that makes instant contact with enemies? The better option would be to use the hitscan weapon. It’s why a simulated BR that requires shot leading balances best in Halo’s sandbox.

Just one unbalanced weapon can disrupt Halo’s entire multiplayer ecosystem. Halo 3 had a near-perfect combination of elements that created very fun, balanced, and engaging gameplay. One component didn’t overpower another. Every method of attack was equally utilized by the player.

There was a noticeable increase in stick montages after Halo 2 that also included a lot more long distance grenade sticks on large maps. Long distance sticks were common in Halo 3. In my opinion, H3’s simulated BR with its bullet travel distance limit encouraged sticky nade play.

These are just my observations though, I could be wrong. I love talking about game design so I’d love to hear anyone’s thoughts whether they agree or not and if they can add on to or counter any of my points. I’m always open to new ideas and learning new things.