Right. And this is nothing new for Bungie demos. Take a look at the old Halo 2 demo for instance. The Chief was invincible, Jackals were dying to shots straight at their shields, the Ghost the Chief boards doesn't even try to kill him, and all those Brutes that get dropped off barely do anything neither do the two or three dropships overhead. In the actual Halo 2 one dropship overhead or one Ghost or one Brute with a Brute Shot would be a major, demo ending threat.

The Fallen aren't really analogous to the Elites. The Fallen are more readily comparable to the Covenant as a whole. Even a small crew, like we showcased inside the Wall, can offer up a really rich variety of combatants, from Shanks to Dregs to Captains to Majors and Ultras (and more). Some, like the Dregs, are fodder for a Guardian. Others, like a Captain commanding a more rugged crew, will spell trouble for seasoned fireteams. Of course, you also have bigger stuff like the Devil Walker in the mix as well, and I haven't written a single word yet about the Vex or the Cabal or the Hive, which are as richly distinct and varied as the Fallen themselves.

Can't wait to see the other races (and their vehicles) in action.

~M

I don't really know how difficulty levels will be handled, if there are any, but those enemies seemed like a cake walk. I really hope the Fallen are tougher than that in the final game. Of all the enemy types, they seem the most similar to elites, but an elite would never drop from a single headshot unless it was from a sniper rifle. Maybe they dialed things down for the live demo?

Difficulty is always something that gets dialed in over time. At pre-alpha, you can play builds from one day to the next that feel radically different as multiple systems undergo rapid iteration. One of the challenges specific to a demo crafted for stage is that you have to hit a very rigid running time.

The Fallen aren't really analogous to the Elites. The Fallen are more readily comparable to the Covenant as a whole. Even a small crew, like we showcased inside the Wall, can offer up a really rich variety of combatants, from Shanks to Dregs to Captains to Majors and Ultras (and more). Some, like the Dregs, are fodder for a Guardian. Others, like a Captain commanding a more rugged crew, will spell trouble for seasoned fireteams. Of course, you also have bigger stuff like the Devil Walker in the mix as well, and I haven't written a single word yet about the Vex or the Cabal or the Hive, which are as richly distinct and varied as the Fallen themselves.

Boy would I be entertained to be working on a daily build, experiencing all those interesting changes.

Yeah, I figured each faction would need that variation. It's just that some of the ones that looked tough weren't actually tough, but I understand that's a necessity of the demo. I'm very curious to know how difficulty levels will work in the finished product, since there would be frequent overlaps between different campaigns as players encounter public events. Perhaps only people playing on the same difficulty can meet each other?

Difficulty is always something that gets dialed in over time. At pre-alpha, you can play builds from one day to the next that feel radically different as multiple systems undergo rapid iteration. One of the challenges specific to a demo crafted for stage is that you have to hit a very rigid running time.

The Fallen aren't really analogous to the Elites. The Fallen are more readily comparable to the Covenant as a whole. Even a small crew, like we showcased inside the Wall, can offer up a really rich variety of combatants, from Shanks to Dregs to Captains to Majors and Ultras (and more). Some, like the Dregs, are fodder for a Guardian. Others, like a Captain commanding a more rugged crew, will spell trouble for seasoned fireteams. Of course, you also have bigger stuff like the Devil Walker in the mix as well, and I haven't written a single word yet about the Vex or the Cabal or the Hive, which are as richly distinct and varied as the Fallen themselves.

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