The Mangler, one of “Halo Infinite’s” new weapons, may be nerfed in the future. While no public adjustments have been made, 343 Industries recently indicated that it is aware of the weapon’s feedback and that internal conversations are taking place.
The news comes from Tahir “Tashi” Hasandjekic, the Halo esports and viewership lead, who recently commented on Twitter to Halo pro-Snip3down’s request that the weapon should have a longer spawn cycle. Other pros began to speak up, requesting improved contact between players and 343 regarding balancing tweaks and feedback. Tashi claimed that 343 has “certainly been seeing all of the comments and discussing it internally (especially for large ones like the Mangler),” and that official feedback surveys are on the coming “so we can collect it all in a clean and straightforward way,” according to people in the thread.
The Mangler debate isn’t technically new, but it’s gotten a lot more attention recently. Early last week, the official Cloud9 esports team Twitter account asked the official Halo account “how many likes to erase the Mangler.” The Mangler is undoubtedly powerful, it must be stated. The Brute revolver can tear down an opponent’s shields with two shots. They’ll be finished off with one more shot to the head. Because it’s a Brute weapon, it deals more melee damage, allowing players to fire one shot and then melee with it for a quick kill. While the weapon has a slow firing rate, isn’t fantastic at medium and long ranges, and requires some precision to finish an enemy with a headshot, it may still be a force to be reckoned with in the hands of an experienced operator. There’s also the question of how widespread the weapon is. Because of the weapon’s quick respawn timer and high ammo pool, any given match might see a significant number of Manglers being used for an extended amount of time.
It’s unclear whether 343 will reduce the weapon’s damage, ammo pool, respawn timings, or all (or none) of these features. Even 343’s simple statement that internal discussions over the weapon are taking place has more casual Halo fans concerned.
Many players are pleading with 343 Industries to retain the rifle as is and not appeal to pro players when it comes to balancing “Halo Infinite“ on the game’s subreddit. Following Halo Infinite’s technical previews, 343 nerfed the Commando Rifle and the Ravager, resulting in the two weapons basically not being worth picking up at the moment. That’s something the Mangler’s fans also don’t want to happen. Others argue that if other less-used weapons were given enhancements, the Mangler would become less of a go-to weapon for competitive gamers.
Since its official premiere, “Halo Infinite” has failed to receive a weapon and equipment balance patch, despite multiple improvements to the game’s challenge system and event progression. The game’s samurai-themed Fracture: Tenrai event just returned, and it will come again later in “Halo Infinite’s” first multiplayer season.
“Halo Infinite’s” inaugural season, which was supposed to last three months, will now continue until May. According to “Halo Infinite’s” chief creative officer Joseph Staten, the delay was planned to give the studio more time to “meet a high-quality bar and to finish development of Season 2 in a healthy and sustainable fashion for our team.” Season 2 will include a co-op campaign (though some players have already gotten into it), and Season 3 will include the game’s custom map and game builder, Forge.