End of this month, actually. It's in open beta right now if you want to download it and try it out, I did that about a week or so ago but I haven't really played it at all.
And thus some games which used to have fees are going to the "Play for free!" option. I used to play Lord of the Rings Online about a year ago. I received an email about a month ago saying that game would be free to play an old customers would get a head start in that.
And I'll give it 3-6 months before the game is chocked full with advertising, micro transactions or hacked so badly it is basically unplayable. Or the game quality just drops completely.
On a related note, the campaign lobby shows the number of people in your party out of 16. Has anyone managed to get more than a half dozen people in on coop? I've got to think it would be a breeze.
3-6 months? Try immediately upon release (microtansactions anyway, no ads or hacks). Far as the game quality, the content is already there. There are no plans to reimagine races or characters, or tweak player skills until they're unrecognizable. It is the same LOTRO it's always been, just restricted for those who'd rather not pay. As far as free games go, this isn't bad at all. The game remains a viable alternative to WoW. If anything, it's something to do on maintenance days.
If anyone wants to play some Reach add me: Cainam 712 I am loving this game so far. IMO this is the best Halo game ever multiplayer-wise. Also, I'm incredibly glad to be done with MW2. It was fun for awhile, but that game just got old. Too connection-dependent and if I got noob tubed one more time I may have murdered someone in real life.
Can someone tell me the purpose of this DMR rifle in Reach? How many fucking head shots does it take to kill somebody? It seems to have the same effect as the pistol, but the pistol shoots quicker. I loved the BR in Halo 3 and this gun does not seem to come anywhere close to that.
The DMR has better range than the pistol. Both seem to be one-hit kills with headshots against unshielded bad guys, but you aren't going to knock anyone's shields off if you're far enough away that the difference between the DMR and pistol will matter. Most of the guns in Reach are just terrible.
The magnum and DMR both take a minimum of 5 shots to kill. 4 shots anywhere to deplete shields, one headshot to kill. The DMR is more accurate and has much better range than the magnum. That's pretty much it.
Summary at the bottom. Detailed explanation: With others having explained the basic differences between the pistol and DMR, what I think is kicking your ass is rhythm. Unlike Halo 3, you absolutely cannot hammer down on the trigger with either the pistol or the DMR. This is due to the "bloom" effect introduced in Reach. The faster you shoot, the less accurate you are. Thus, it behooves you to slow your shooting down at any range and even more so at long range. What has pissed me off to no end, even now, is that I see the opponent's shield glowing from all of those shots that "landed". In fact, that's just maybe 1 in 2 shots. That gets you killed. Now, how do you figure out this effect? After all, now that we understand that the first shot is the most accurate and the last shot is the least accurate, how do we make 5 shot kills? See that inset reticle when using the DMR or the Needle Rifle? That where your bullets will actually travel. The outer reticle is a distraction, telling you what will happen if you keep mashing the trigger. The pistol has its own bloom effect. Notice it has crosshairs and that the hash marks expand as you shoot. Well, the boundaries of those hash marks are where the bullets have a probability of landing. Pausing for a fraction of a second allows the boundaries to reset *somewhat*, allowing you to rock face. Note that I never said you couldn't get a lucky headshot by mashing down on the controller. So you might lose to people who do. Now, you don't always have to follow the same rhythm, as hinted above with the distances. You can pop off 4 shots up close really quickly and then pause for a little bit longer to wind up with a sure headshot. Summary: Train yourself to pace your shots. Otherwise the bloom will throw you off.
Yeah that sounds like exactly what happens with the DMR, cause I swear I've shot people in the head more than 5 times with it and they didn't die, or at least thats where I was aiming. I haven't noticed that same effect with the pistol though, I kind of tend to just rapidly pull the trigger with that gun and I mostly have good results.
The melee seems to be overly powerful this time around, although I haven't played Halo since the original. Two melee attacks will kill a fucker who can take 2 rounds of clips without dying. Why even bother firing? Just sprint to every fucker and melee the shit out of them.
It's pretty much always been like that. I actually am finding that the melee is weaker than in previous Halo games. Meleeing someone that has very low shields or just lost shields and you will find that they are still somehow alive. That and it feels like I need to be closer to melee lunge.
Disclaimer: I have seen the light of day. I don't live in a hole with enough power to run an internet connection and a 360. Two thoughts on this. Again, I will go with a detailed description and a summary. Detailed Description: As with all weapons in Reach, your Assault Rifle has the bloom effect. This time, its bullets will hit the area within the hash marks surrounded by your circle. So, if you're holding down the trigger, you better damn well see the whites of their eyes. Shooting in spurts (hehe) not only conserves ammo, but can result in a faster kill at most ranges. The melee is a radical departure from all previous Halo games. What used to happen was that both shield and health would absorb the damage done by the melee. Now, in Reach, your shields will stop one full melee regardless of how much remains! This tiniest sliver to a full bar of health will require one swing. Once the shielding is gone, you can now kill someone with your fists. This effect remains in SWAT. Why the game was programmed this way is another matter completely. Now, what can you do about this? Continue to back up, fire in spurts and come in for the kill. Most people will reflexively melee even knowing they haven't popped your shields, giving you the win. Alternatively, you can juke them when going for a melee, back up and rain bullets on them. Summary: All weapons have bloom. Control your shots by firing in bursts. Shields will always absorb one full melee from anything below a Sword or a Hammer. Speaking of the health system, one thing I have noticed is that vehicle health is now independent of your character's health. They also take more damage from standard weapons now. How is this relevant? A team full of DMRs can take down a Banshee by concentrating fire on them. Alternatively, a Warthog is no longer a death machine even given the open ground and relative lack of vehicle control. The Scorpion, for instance, can be incapacitated by sniper fire. The first two shots can destroy the canopy and the final can pick off the driver. Useful, for say, the initial push on Hemorrhage on Big Team Battle. However, while the driver dies, the vehicle remains in working order.
This was one of the hardest things for me to get used to, both while playing the beta and now in the live game. I played so much Halo 3 MP and the standard approach of unloading a clip from the assault rifle at your foe while approaching, and then melee-ing once you were in range is just habit to me now, so it is a pain in the ass when I try to melee before their shields are popped. I'm trying to break the habit. I love the DMR, I think in the campaign it accounted for over 30% of my kills while no other weapon accounted for more than 5%. In multiplayer, I've noticed that I do alright in normal or elite slayer and most other gametypes. However in DMR Slayer or SWAT, I almost always come out in 1st or 2nd place in number of kills. SWAT is pissing me off though because it seems like every time I play that game type I have more kills than anyone else, but my teammates are so terrible that we lose pretty badly. Aside from Halo, has anyone else been Playing Civ 5? EDIT: Just checked bungie.net, and the DMR accounts for 50% of my kills in competitive game types.
The thing I love about shooters in general, and Halo in particular, is that they are perfect for playing while drunk. I just checked out some of the FFA and Team Objective games, since I've been sticking to team slayer mainly so far, and there is some fun stuff in there. Headhunter specifically. Still haven't played any firefight yet, I've been waiting for friends to be available since I figure that one would be better with friends than randoms from matchmaking. If anyone on here wants to do some firefight games, add Fernanthones and maybe we can get some games going.
I'm late to the game on this but God of War 3 is fucking amazing. Madden 11 is solid. And I got the Playstation Move with Sports Champions. Funnest shit ever. Shits all over the Wii because of the 3D reading. Ping Pong, Volleyball, Bocce Ball, Frisbee Golf, Gladiator Battle and Archery. Badass shit. Every one besides Frisbee Golf and Bocce Ball fuck up your shoulder like no other, but it is fun as shit.