The last couple of nights I've been on XBox Live playing lots of matchmade Halo 2 Team Slayer games with 3 other friends. Like most gamers who play a lot of H2, I've been trying to pay close attention to the differences that the Auto Update has made to gameplay. The biggest differences that have become known in the H2 community are:
- Grenades are more powerful
- Melee attacks are more powerful
- Certain weapons have been downgraded (e.g. Magnum)
Perhaps the most noticeable effect that these changes have is that there is a larger trade-off when choosing to dual-wield. This is because the dual-wield combination is affected by a downgraded weapon and you cannot use the more powerful grenades.
Most people I play with and have talked to agree that these game changes are significant. I disagree. While each change on its own is noticeable in the game, they don't affect gameplay strategies and tactics - which I think are much more important to win. I don't care if you're trying to use melee attacks and grenades more - if your team isn't communicating or organized then you will lose. The survivors of a battle are usually determined by how the battle was approached in the first place. Weapon selection is still important, but mostly on a macro-level (e.g. the team with the rockets and sword will be tougher to beat) and not so much on the micro-level (e.g. the details that the Auto Update changed).