I don't know why this has been a recurring theme of mine over the years these games have been out. I've posted a couple of lengthy, pointless, and boring threads in the H2/H3 era about weapon balance and what I wanted changed for the sequel. (Oh, you think THIS is long?) Peoples reactions were mixed but most didn't want anything touched like it was sacred and perfect or something. Ultimately, I just don't think certain weapons compete with others and it doesn't necessarily need to be that way. I've had my hands on Halo PC for a while now and it gave me a chance to put my fantasies to reality... well except, other then applying them to multiplayer. I don't have the internet connection to play online very well on my PC, but I'd at least like to talk about the changes I make to the weapons and see what you think of them. They're extremely simple and only use HMT 3.5 if you want to try them out for yourself. Assault Rifle Doubled its fire rate At first I thought it should be more like the light and balanced H3 Assault Rifle, but I wondered what would happen if you didn't change this weapons role as a close quarters weapon. The results at first seem overpowered, but there is already a massive cost to using this weapon; its reload time. Doubling the fire rate wastes a ton of ammo but makes up for it in wrecking everything it touches; even red Elites on Legendary. It also makes it a bit more useful at mid range. I wonder what would happen if this were implemented in a multiplayer game. Not as the starting weapon, no, no. As a weapon on the map. The Pistol would be the starting weapon. Plasma Rifle Matches Assault Rifle's fire rate, and made its minimum firing rate the same as its maximum I wanted to make it fair versus Covenant, so I did the same thing to their rifle that I did to the Marine's. The Assault Rifle packs a superior punch, but as we all know, when its done, it's DONE. The Plasma Rifle can last longer with its battery power and even if it overheats, you can switch to your secondary weapon and come back to your Plasma Rifle when it cools off. So no matter how efficient you are with your Assault Rifle, you still need to find time to reload. NEEDLER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Unloads all needles at once Like the punch of Plasma Grenades? Well here's another one for you. This REALLY adds a surprise twist to your Campaign and I believe it will do the same to Multiplayer. Think of it like the Covenants answer to a Rocket Launcher, only a bit of a gamble to use. My first idea was that the needles just need to make contact more often, so I increased its homing. Doing that made this weapon very easy, overpowered, and boring to use. I even went full idiot mode and made every shot fire 20 needles and cost 1. This was... really fun, but then I realized this wasn't going to work. Using this gun ever has always been a risk since as long as you see it coming, you can always dodge it, even if there is no cover. You need to choose your moment wisely because these guns don't last long like this. I believe that makes this weapon a bit of a skill weapon to use now. One thing I noticed is that the Needler is now EXTREMELY effective in hallways where there is no space to strafe dodge the barrage. Side note... this change as I'm sure you imagine is hilarious. Especially if multiple Grunts score direct hits on you simultaneously. Plasma Pistol Charged shot projectile speed is 0.1 and removed homing You can practically outrun a charge beam with this change. I always thought having the Plasma Pistol in such extreme abundance made it an abused weapon on Legendary. Lowering its projectile speed might not change that, but it might make you rethink how you use it. It's most useful as a close range punch. It's kinda silly to see Jackals shoot a charge shot at a Warthog though. All Turrets and Vehicles Increased minimum and maximum fire rate same as Assault Rifle Now this is a bit insane, especially if you get to use the turret, but it makes those stationary guns a legitimate threat and better fits the intensity the game seems to want to tell. Anyway, these changes to the game make the Campaign a bit more interesting and I never feel like an idiot using any weapons anymore. And yet nothing feels overpowered either. For all the extra firepower, it feels like its only just keeping up with other weapons because of things like reload speed. I want to change other things to the Campaign to help it feel more authentic. For one thing, I want the Marines to be a hell of a lot more aggressive with Assault Rifles. It's not like you're with them all the time and when they ARE with me, I want to see them kick ass. I also want Pistols and Sniper Rifles to NOT be instant kills to Hunters anymore. This will make it a bit more of a struggle. It doesn't seem like HMT will make this possible and I'll have to look into other ways. Anyways. I want to hear what you think. Maybe try it out for yourself? If you play online a lot, maybe you can convince your friends to try it in multiplayer. I might go back and give you a better tutorial on exactly how to apply these changes using HMT if people want it. [Edited on 11.13.2012 5:49 PM PST]