Halo 3 Beta

If you haven't yet noticed, people are already playing the Halo 3 Multiplayer Beta as part of the Bungie "Friends and Family" program. Those close to Bungie or specially selected from the gaming community were given a code which allowed them to download the Beta five days before everyone else. Pictures and videos are popping up all over online with juicy new Halo 3 information including new weapons, items and game types. Here is a brief rundown of what I know, and I'll link some more info once I get the time. Oh, and don't forget to hop online on the 16th if you are eligible for either the "Rule of Three" or Crackdown Beta downloads.

New Weapons and Weapon Modifications-

-Assault Rifle; its back baby! The UNSC trademark rifle has returned to the battlefield and it has received some great upgrades. It is now more accurate and packs a much harder punch which makes it a perfect spawn weapon. However, it seems like the improvements came at a price - the weapons clip size has been cut in half.

-Brute Shot; the Brute Shot has been changed to make it easier to handle and use. For one, the grenades have less of an arc allowing for precision shots and more devastating close encounters. Plus, it looks substantially better than it did in the previous game.

-Brute Spiker; this Brute weapon seems to be their answer to the UNSC Sub Machine Gun (Known in game simply as the SMG). It fires spike projectiles and has a bayonet similar to the Brute Shot. Duel wielding this monster allows you to control a tremendous amount of sharp and pointy firepower.

-Bubble Shield; a deployable item, this "grenade" deploys a transparent shield bubble around the thrower preventing projectiles or grenades from passing through. However, objects with lower kinetic energy - like other Spartans or vehicles - can still pass through, so be ready to put up a fight.

-Chaingun (Portable); one of the newest features in Halo 3 is the ability to pick up and carry turrets. Many of you may be familiar with the Halo 2 campaign where you would quite often see Marines lugging around turrets, well, now its our turn. The great thing is that when the turret is picked up you go into a third person view and can shoot on the go.

-Needler; what used to be the disgrace of the Covenant arsenal is now something to be reckoned with. The now venerable Needler packs a deadly punch and can kill a foe with very few needles (which now say inside the unlucky victim). However, while becoming stronger the Needler has lost its ability to be duel-wielded and its tracking ability has been severely reduced.

-Missile Pod (Portable); similar to the chaingun, the Missile Pod is a portable turret similar to the "Mech" guns in Lost Planet. It fires off volleys of rockets that track vehicles. This thing is a beast, and I would hate to be on the other end of one of its missiles.

-Plasma Pistol; the bane of all Halo 2 evil has returned but in a much more balanced form. Many may remember the "n00b combo" and its lethality but Bungie has answered many of our prayers. The pistols tracking ability has gotten the axe and is now much lower. And, it seems while the good people of Bungie were playing God and listening to prayers they heard me complaining about the Plasma Pistol's inability to damage vehicles. Now, a charged shot can disable a vehicle.

-Portable Grav-Lift; this deployable item lets you bring a grav-lift with you. When used on maps like High Ground with limited points of entry this object can be very crucial to a teams success.

-Power Drainer; this deployable item disables any power source that enters its operational radius. That means that shields are depleted and vehicles decommissioned so watch out.

-Spartan Laser; it seems that the good people at ONI were hard at work between Halo 2 and 3, because the UNSC has entered the "Laser Age". This large piece of hardware takes three seconds to charge and then lets out a large burst of energy, killing anyone or anything in its path. It also has the ability to lock on to vehicles.

-Spike Grenade; I guess the Brutes played a bit too much Medal of Honor while guarding Delta Halo because they decided to reinvent the Steil Hand Grenade in the Spike Grenade. It looks just like its Nazi counterpart but has spikes protruding from its explosive tip. When thrown, the Spike Grenade sticks to anything - be it flesh or wall - and then explodes in a directional format. If thrown in a confined space this grenade can be devastating.

-Tripmine; this deployable item is what its name implies - a mine, that you can trip. When it explodes it damages anything within its blast radius, killing irregardless of team affiliation.

New Vehicles-

-Mongoose; taken out of Halo 2, the UNSC All-Terrain-Vehicle is back and its fast! Missile Pods and the Spartan Laser are unable to lock-on, allowing the unarmed vehicle to pass through enemy defenses and insert its two man crew. When used as an objective carrier, this can be a potent weapon.

New Medals-

Sniper Spree ; kill 5 people in a row with the Sniper Rifle without dying.

Shotgun Spree; kill 5 people in a row with the Shotgun without dying.

Killjoy; end someone’s killing spree.

VIP Kill; kill the VIP (leader) in the VIP game type.

Laser Kill; kill someone using Spartan laser.

Flag Kill; get a Melee kill with the flag.

Oddball Kill; get an oddball kill.

Perfection; win a slayer game with 15 kills and no deaths.

Death from the Grave; kill someone while dead.

Sniper Riot; kill 10 people on a row with a sniper without dying.

Extermination; get an Overkill (previously killtacular) that results in all 4 members on the opposing team being dead at the same time.

Splatter Spree; kill 5 people in a row with splatters.

Vehicular Manslaughter; kill 10 people in a row with splatters.

Killing Frenzy; kill 10 people in a row. (previously running riot)

Running Riot; kill 15 people in a row. (previously rampage)

Rampage; kill 20 people in a row. (previously berserker)

Untouchable; kill 25 people in a row. (previously overkill)

Cheneymania; kill 10 people in a row with a shotgun.

Wheelman; be the driver of a vehicle when your passenger kills an opponent.

Let me know if I forget anything and I'll see you on Wednesday Very Happy

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So the beta comes out tomorrow, anyone want to get on later tomorrow night and play a match?

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i7 920 @ 3.0ghz, 6gb DDR3 @ 1554mhz, 1.5gb storage + 128gb OCZ Vertex SSD, AMD 6870, OCZ 500w PSU

Why cant I hold all this Swagger

"-Spartan Laser; it seems that the good people at ONI were hard at work between Halo 2 and 3"

... Oni? ... OH! The lazer! Those were GOOD times! Very Happy

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"Over specialize and you breed in weakness... It's slow death."
Mjr. Kusanagi, GitS 1

Remember that 1 time they said YA IT'LL BE OUT @ 5AM - Well It's 6:16 AM and IM STILL WAITING FOR MY BETA TO EVEN APPEAR ONLINE

And now it's too close for me to go back to sleep so there are a few wasted hours...

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Need some Trance Tunes? - http://fridaytrance.zapto.org/

Steam Content LAN Downloader Wizard

grrrrr.....same boat as Notes....at least I got to smurf at him some about it. On a side note I'm having some 9% alc beer from Full Sail so it's making my wait a bit better. Also got my new cable box for my room activated from Comcast. Got home from work and they were closed so that sucked....but no problem now!

Well back to finding stuff on the market place to mess around with as I wait Sad

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NOTE: I am not Stiffler

wtf its past 10:30 and its still not out yet... I HAVE TO GO TO WORK AT 11:00 Sad

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i7 920 @ 3.0ghz, 6gb DDR3 @ 1554mhz, 1.5gb storage + 128gb OCZ Vertex SSD, AMD 6870, OCZ 500w PSU

Why cant I hold all this Swagger

http://highload.majornelson.com/

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Pay That

Damn, Tim Buckley got it right! Very Happy

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"Over specialize and you breed in weakness... It's slow death."
Mjr. Kusanagi, GitS 1

Downloading now Very Happy

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Pay That

Laser = gg

So far beta = win

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i7 920 @ 3.0ghz, 6gb DDR3 @ 1554mhz, 1.5gb storage + 128gb OCZ Vertex SSD, AMD 6870, OCZ 500w PSU

Why cant I hold all this Swagger

I'm having fun with it. It's definitelly more fun than Halo 2 ever was (for me). The assault riffle is just prefect Very Happy

Have any of you guys tried putting a bubble shield down in front of a Spartan Laser guy just before he fires? Its funny when it works because he'll shoot and hit the shield killing himself...hahaha.

Redotonur4head wrote:

Have any of you guys tried putting a bubble shield down in front of a Spartan Laser guy just before he fires? Its funny when it works because he'll shoot and hit the shield killing himself...hahaha.

lol.....good stuff. I'm just finding myself confused with all the various grenades....just seems like WAY too many weapons. Then again I only use the Assualt Rifle so doesn't matter too much. As for nades I really don't care what I have because if I'm getting shot at then I'm throwing all that I have at you....would throw my gun at you too if I could....

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NOTE: I am not Stiffler

(Pimp Daddy)Dole wrote:

Redotonur4head wrote:

Have any of you guys tried putting a bubble shield down in front of a Spartan Laser guy just before he fires? Its funny when it works because he'll shoot and hit the shield killing himself...hahaha.

lol.....good stuff. I'm just finding myself confused with all the various grenades....just seems like WAY too many weapons. Then again I only use the Assualt Rifle so doesn't matter too much. As for nades I really don't care what I have because if I'm getting shot at then I'm throwing all that I have at you....would throw my gun at you too if I could....

Yeah, I find it hard only having 2 of each grenade. I'll get into fire fights and end up throwing spikes instead of frags which usually gets me killed Confused

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My 360 decided to take a rather nasty dump. So no more Halo 3 Beta for me. I doubt I will get the repaired one back before the beta ends too. Sad

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Pay That

Stiffler wrote:

My 360 decided to take a rather nasty dump. So no more Halo 3 Beta for me. I doubt I will get the repaired one back before the beta ends too. Sad

NOooooO! Get it fixed Sad

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i7 920 @ 3.0ghz, 6gb DDR3 @ 1554mhz, 1.5gb storage + 128gb OCZ Vertex SSD, AMD 6870, OCZ 500w PSU

Why cant I hold all this Swagger