I Miss Halo 3's Gravity Hammer... 

I have struggled for the better part of an hour, to properly encapsulate into words, the feelings this weapon makes me feel. The Gravity Hammer isn't just a weapon to me. It's *the* weapon. I was a boy when I picked up my first hammer, playing Halo 3, and I just swung it for some Grunt. I was the split second after the collision, that I was enlightened. I saw that fucker soar into the heavens. I felt the deafening boom of the mighty hammer come crashing down upon that poor sod. I basked in the chaos that ensued around me. Make no mistake, this is my favourite weapon of *all* of gaming. There is nothing that could possibly bring me the sheer dopamine hit as the world itself *trembles* and *quakes* from each blow, perhaps even stopping for the briefest of seconds to try and comprehend the sheer magnitude of how hard I just hit that Grunt upside the head with cold steel. I dare fucking say so myself, I found the meaning of life, that day: *It was just swinging a Gravity Hammer around like an unhinged lunatic lmao.* Even if they look prettier, the ones that came after really do not hold a candle to the one weapon to rule them off. Do *not* get me started on the fucking weaker sound effect either. It breaks my heart to see and hear it in such a miserable state. Then again, I default to Halo 3 nowadays so I've little to worry about I guess lol.

Man, the era of game physics mattering as much as graphics should make a real come back. The energy sword was a favorite, so was the Halo 3 Hammer. There's so much Halo 3 got so *right.* The Banished were a real missed opportunity to make *more* of this.

The H3 hammer is probably one of my favorite weapons in the series. It's so damn satisfying to use. There's no feeling quite like getting ahold of a hammer and an invincibility equipment in the campaign, and just going ape-shit.

ive always noted that Infinite's physics were significantly less fun in general. I think readding the physics disruption properties back to the g ham would really spice things up

Halo 3's gravity hammer because of it's huge knockback / recoil effect. Really made the weapon feel powerful.

One of my favourite things about the gravity hammer is how enemies react to it. "When this is over, that hammer is going in someone's ASS"

My favorite thing about the Halo 3 Gravity Hammer was how it rocketed forwards when you swung it, almost flying out of your hands. Then, the long pull back showed how heavy it was, comparing the speed you, a Spartan, can move it to how fast it can move itself.

Honestly, if you combine Infinite’s Grav Hammer long windup and big shockwave with H3’s Grav Hammer physics, sound design, and visual effects then I think you’d have the perfect Gravity Hammer.

I remember playing through the campaign with my friend after the midnight launch. At the end I said that I heard you could deflect rockets with the hammer. We spent hours in multiplayer messing with the hammer. Great times.

3:56 interesting note that those are vents. I always thought they were small rockets that activated when you swung the hammer to make it go faster

it's weird because the increased wind-up time before the actual strike feels like it _should_ go hand in hand with an increase to the hammer's power at throwing things all over the place, but we get the opposite instead. i feel like an issue here is also that the physics objects i can think of in infinite's maps generally tend to be small and meaningless outside of maybe destroyed vehicles. in the clip about you hammering a giant crate in halo 3, i can't think of a single area in infinite where there is a box like that that you can move (to be fair i haven't played a ton of the game though). i like the repulsor a lot, but i feel like it should have just been an addition to the sandbox rather than poaching an ability from another weapon (sounds familiar with the shock guns and the plasma pistol's EMP...)

You can still deflect rockets with the Gravity Hammer in Infinite. I have actual record of it from a Multiplayer match. Btw, the game physics are not the same in offline and online mode.

Honestly this was something for me that is one of those annoyances that’s just hard to talk about considering the much bigger problems. But halo 3s grav hammer was beautiful. The sound was great, and, something 343 can’t understand, the gravity effect made it so much fun. The amount it knocked you and everything and everyone around was just funny in all situations. Nowadays it’s not a grav hammer, just a big hammer

I came here to say that your thumbnails are gorgeous but was even more impressed by your production value. Great stuff.

I did the back wards jump and swing trick quiet a bunch back in the day. I called it " Jelly Fishing". It was cool to me b/c I just figured it out on my own one day. A decent example of Bungie's intuitive design. I liked using it in Griff-Ball since it would move you fast than just regular walking. Another Great Vid!

Everytime 343 mentions the word "competitive" when talking about Halo, I feel like tearing my hair out.

Forgot to mention that Infinite's hammer doesn't even have a melee animation using the hilt

Ok, you’re fighting the Flood, do you take the Halo CE shotgun or the Halo 2 sword?

343s design ideas: “Let’s take the amazing complexity of weapons sandbox and take away all the utility functions to make individual purposes for everything” Grav hammer -> repulsor Plasma pistol -> the entire new set of electric weapons Things they completely skipped over that were enjoyable and interesting: Plasma Canon ~ the bounce effect was adopted by the heatwave Spike grenades ~ the electric grenades are a more annoying version of them with no benefit for intelligent placement or sticking someone Brute shot - how did they miss putting in the BRUTE shot in a BRUTE based game I will never know. The utility of grenade jumping with it was useful and fun. There’s so many other things they just completely missed the mark on, but these were just a few of the notable ones.

You made me realise that there is no other weapon (that I can think of) in gaming or maybe even in movies, quite like the Gravity Hammer - a weapon that has a negative effect on the user (pushes you back) that also feels so powerful and badass. And this is from a 16 year old game.

Great video! I think you've summed it up perfectly - Even on the rare occasion that the Infinite Gravity Hammer does work, it just isn't fun to use. I'd also forgotten how pathetic the H5 one sounds lol

The amount of weapons in games that empower the wielder simply by their SOUND is unreal. Halo 3's Gravity Hammer sound was the pinnacle of canned whoop-ass in audio form. My favorite other examples include: Energy Swords from Halos 2 through Reach 2009 COD MW2's Barrett M82 Halo CE's Magnum sounds (both classic and remastered) And Halo 3's Covenant Carbine

A lot of newer games lack the small details of its predecessors. Great video

Glad to hear from you lederlappen :) We've missed you.

yeah. A force push panel, though fun, is a little strange as a concept and the gravity hammer fits that function much more sensibly. I always thought the repulsor should instead be a holo sheild-like item that could redirect projectiles if timed right. That would be more strategic and satisfying. the gravity hammer should deflect projectiles and push around enemies/ objects just like in 3.

Make the hammer absurdly powerful with its downsides being the time to take effect (the swing) and the explosions blurring the area and the deblur happening slower for the user. The user might throw a swing, kill someone, but they’re somewhat blinded. Another player sees the effect disperse and shoots them before the user is fully de-blinded. But make the grav hammer absurdly powerful

Despite being a big fan of Infinite and it's sandbox I couldn't agree more. - They should be way more okay with having a bit more overlap in the sandbox. It's fine if both the repulsor and the gravity hammer have gravity effects. - Not everything needs to be tuned for competitive. You can have sandbox items that you simple don't include on competitive maps. - Make the gravity hammer hit instantly. I can't stand stuff that's not immedeatly responsive (hate the splaser for same reason).

This vid made me more pissed at 343 than I already was… I was quick to realize the downgrade of the gravity hammer and have compared it to just being an ordinary hammer now, just jumbo-sized. There have been sooo many poor decisions 343 have done that I just lost track and forgot about the sadder hammer. 💀

Gotta play the original triology again...back when they put out whole games! Great video!

with the repulsor argument, even then you could have that and a grave hammer with physics altering abilities could just be boosted and even better since it is a power weapon

Honestly I think Infinites gravity hammer was a big upgrade compared to previous Halos(Except sound), whilst in other Halo games the Gravity Hammers role in the sandbox was tied to being just a more explosive energy sword, in Infinite it’s instead more unique in function and now lives in a different category, being a shockwave weapon now.

The diminisher of hope does a pretty good job I think

The good ol’ fwooomp. And good physics. Man…..

Quality vid! Gonna start watching the older ones in order now 🫡

I miss the emp plasma pistola and the OG shotgun but i doubt theyre ever coming back.

Easiest fix that 343 will never do: left trigger switches the weapon’s mode (like the scattershot) and switches it to a faster swing but smaller blast radius which functions exactly like older games. Oh and also give it physics and a melee animation lol.

I'm a bit torn on this. On the one hand, Halo 3's hammer had the best effect on objects and it's ability to propel the player. On the other hand, in my experience, it's one-shot kill range was painfully short, probably the shortest in the series. I'm a fan of utility weapons like any Halo player, but the part of my brain that demands efficiency will always choose the weapon that kills better. It's why the Grenade Launcher and Sniper Rifle (Reach-5) are my preferred 'utility' weapons and it's why I'd rather have the Infinite hammer or Tartarus's Gavel over H3's hammer

Thanks for putting my thoughts on the grav hammer into words. Seriously what infinite did to that thing is a travesty.

So happy to see a new video😎 👌🏻💯 Edit: my favorite is the halo 3 grav by far, least fav is infinite bc the slow wind up time and how it acts idk it's kinda garbage aside from the one with the shockwave (I think it's escharums but I'm not sure) , the only one I've honestly liked by 343 was tartarus's gavel, that one felt like a proper hammer compared to the others

I think 343 mistook the GRAVITY hammer for a club

5:41 Hmm, I think I know that guy…

In terms of looks, i like Reach’s hammer the best. In terms of power and ability, Halo 3’s hammer is the best by a long shot. Its power is insane in Halo 3, you can send warthogs and mongooses flying across the map with a single swing if you time it right. If a warthog or mongoose is airborne when you swing the hammer, the launch distance gets multiplied by at least 5. One of my favorite things to do in Halo 3 custom games is grabbing the hammer while playing fat kid skycastle, and then waiting for a vehicle underneath the ramp that gets you into the castle. Swinging the hammer right when a vehicle goes off the ends of the ramp will either send it flying across the map, send it spinning faster than mach 2, or launch it straight to the moon. If 2 people manage to swing the hammer at the same time, you’ll send a vehicle flying faster than the speed of light. Using multiple hammers at once on Halo 3 will multiply the launch you get, so if you jump and 3 people swing the hammer at the same time, you’ll get 3 times as much air. It was crazy how much you could do with Halo 3’s hammer. I wasn’t mad that they changed the look of it, i just wish they didn’t nerf the crap out of its abilities

Great video!

I hate when i hit someone point blank with the hammer in Halo Infinite, and they just take shield damage. Meanwhile i get sniped from the other side of the map with the same hammer.

Has to be my favorite weapon in all Halo games, followed by the Forerunner weapons from Halo 4 and the Assault Rifle from Halo 1-3. Wish they would be brought to their former glories in Infinite.

I THOUGHT I WAS THE ONLY ONE THAT THOUGHT THE H3 AND ODST ONES WERE CRACKED TO SHIT BEING NUDEREDT IN LATER GAMES

I agree whole heartedly. It hurts as a Halo fan to see that even after 10 years, 343i still is hyper focused on appealing to players from other shooters instead of hand crafting a Halo experience that would be unique in todays market. Im sick of 343i change for the sake of change and the current population numbers prove that 343i direction isnt the way for the franchise.

Just Agreed. Was a top tier - fun weapon. Interesting look and effects. Full of sandbox phisics interactions. Hit something and you throw that body and everything else miles away Now its just a big bat. Took me a while to stop trying to deflect rockets with the hammer. I couldnt belive it was just a big hammer I miss how much stuff there was to mess round in H3. Every match started and ended with objects on completely different places

Hey Laper Larden, I enjoyed seeing another weapon breakdown! I actually hadn't noticed the vents coming out of the Halo 3 Gravity Hammer before. They remind me a bit of the vents that are underneath the seat of the Chopper. The Halo 3 Gravity Hammer is my personal favorite. The design is brutal and imposing, yet lean and advanced. Also, the scene in Halo: Landfall where the Brute Chieftain easily crushes an ODST with a Gravity Hammer shows how deadly the weapon is even without its gravity pulses. Although functionally similar, I did not really care for the stockier design of the Halo: Reach Gravity Hammer. The removal of the physics-altering abilities of the Gravity Hammer after Halo: Reach was an awful decision. In addition to the great abilities the gravity manipulation added to game play, the knock-back effect on enemies added a risk and reward aspect that required wielders to swing the weapon at the right distance or in a location with an environmental hazard. Otherwise, the knock-back effect enables enemies to make a lethal counterattack. A while ago, I realized that physics were a significant trend in video games for several years, and I really wish it stayed. Physics were a big reason why I had so much fun with the Bungie-era Halos, Star Wars: The Force Unleashed, Flatout 2, and several other games. Halo: Infinite has some solid gun play and general player movement, but you can really feel the lack of physics with explosives and vehicles. Apologies for disappearing for a few months. I got another promotion in my job, my brother graduated in May and got married on Saturday, I had to design my Graduate Portfolio while working on my Spring Semester Class, and I am taking a Summer Semester Class on research to complete my Master Degree. The class ends on August 2, so hopefully I can be a little more active by then. I listened to some of Wild Nothing's music several weeks ago. Good stuff. I hope you are doing alright. Are you still a part of the podcast with Footed Ghost and Shredded Nerd? I was curious to hear all of your thoughts on the current state of Halo and how/if it can move forward as well as maybe some thoughts on Bungie's Marathon extraction shooter.

I agree that the infinite gravity hammer would benefit from a few changes, but this video actually made me realize that the rigid physics are one of the biggest reasons I like infinite. The game feels grounded and realistic, one of the things I hate the most about Halo 2 and 3 is that everything feels floaty and weightless.

Halo 3's Brutes were more bears than anything

Lol I'm glad I stayed for the end

3:33 Just pointing this out, because cosplayers fall victim to this all the time and it drives me *INSANE...* But all unequipped weapon models are _scaled up_ for gameplay purposes. It's most noticeable with over-the-shoulder/long weapons like the rocket launcher and sniper rifle. Spawn a 'fixed'-physics rocket launcher at shoulder height and equip another standing next to it. In theater mode, you'll notice that the difference is insane. Also heyyyy good to have you back, it's been a minute!

I mean at least there are the legendary variants that have different properties and affects on the world.

It just looks a lot cooler too.

This is the best iteration

i miss halo 2.

0:00 Master Chief when he walk around with that thicc booty.

I agree with and love the video. But how're you gonna not mention Halo 5 Tartarus'a Gavel and the other gravity hammer variants? Those were neat, and 5 was pretty bad.

You smell nice today

More games in general should take notes from Halo 3. New Halo games most of all.

Halo infinites version is WILDLY inconsistent... oftentimes the range when I use it feels like 2 feet meanwhile when enemies use it on me it looks like it kills me from like 6 feet away... also yeah sometimes it just doesnt do shit at point blank range for... reasons?

Halo 3's hammer, even Reach's, were my absolute favorites. What killed me with Infinite's version is the significantly slower animation. It's bullshit! The amount of overcompensation you end up doing to put the swing in defeats the whole idea behind the hammer. It was suppose to be as quick to swing as the energy sword. Bungie loved implementing the "rock-paper-scissors" method in balancing their weapons. And 343, by god, they just mucked it all up. I haven't lost my respect for Halo. I've lost my respect for 343 as a gaming company. Naming your company after a villain from a franchise you work on is very on-the-nose when it comes to the results. Like Abstergo for Assassin's Creed.

Wait so in lore does the gravity hammer have a battery?

I think we all just miss halo before the dark ages of 343. We miss every REAL halo made by old school Bungie (old school Bungie was a very different teams that made halo vs modern microtransaction f fest known as destiny)

3:23 - To be fair, assuming that the gravity hammer can break the laws of physics to use gravity with sci-fi space magic, I'd be surprised it even has sound 4:20 - "The actual blade is composed of two partially ionized 'blades' of free moving electron based gas held in a blade-like form by two small magnetic-field generators built into the handle of the weapon. This forms and contains the oval shaped, ionized blades for which the weapon is recognized" Halo Alpha, 2017 4:56 - I'm not even sure how the gravity hammer would work, considering gravity isn't a wave, and using the gravity hammer in real life would likely be as effective as using a lunge mine. Sure, everything around the gravity hammer is crushed against the hammer and/or blade of the hammer because of gravity, but that everything also includes you. The power of sci-fi space magic, everyone 8:17 - I actually disagree with this. Infinite's hammer actually retains all of its old abilities, though some are very much more difficult to achieve or just don't offer much impact. Launching yourself with the hammer is still possible, last I checked, though it's not always consistent, as is best done with the hammer variants. Also, the gravity hammer can still push teammates around. So now you know how I manage to get the wasp every time on highpower (apart from just remembering the spawn times) 9:33 - I guess this is an unintentional side-effect of trying to differentiate the hammer as a weapon from the sword. So in gaining identity through its role as a power weapon in the sandbox, it became harder to achieve what it had been known for in halo 3/reach (to a lesser extent in reach) 10:10 - to be fair, the hammer in infinite send people flying like applying a godmode object object to a ragdoll in source film maker 11:42 - Best version of the gravity hammer is easily the corpsemaker in halo 5, because instead of pushing objects around, it sucks things in, like gravity should. Also, EMP'ing vehicles is nice as well (when it actually does that) 11:47 - I agree on a few things, such as rockets feeling like they have no impulse, but grenades do. 12:02 - I'm literally shaking and crying at the prospect of subscribing. Wait, what do you mean I've already subbed?

I honestly like halo reach grav hammer. Halo infnite hammer is worse than thor storm breaker

When I think of the downfall of game physics I think it started with GTA V's driving mechanics where it's very arcade like and you can steer yourself in the air. Every game after that the physics have felt dull, especially halo's

H5 h3h2 s tear

This doesn't feel like a 343 thing as much as immediately after Halo 3, the Gravity Hammer was toned down and was never this ridiculous again.

Infinite's gravity hammer doesn't use gravity, so it's not a gravity hammer it's a hammer.

I think your looking at a year old patchnotes for infinite like the gravity hammer NOW is insane for physics interactions plus the ultra rushdown hammer affects player physics so you have both the AOE hammer and the huammer jumping hammer

This has been the problem with 343 for years, and it’s getting worse. From vehicle physics, to stuff like this. They are stripping the life out of the game. Making games so bare bones, like taking away small stuff like bullet bouncing, or even cool blinding explosions, with pieces everywhere as it may be “too distracting.” This is the issue with infinite way more then anything, and it’s a soulless game.

HALOOOOOOO

We use to call it the nOOb stick. We'd make fun of each other and say shit like, "You're stroking your big nOOb stick?" Admit it though, you would get a little bit of a chub using that thing.

Do you like people to call you Mr. labor Lardon or just labor lardon

This video is too accurate as to what's wrong with Infinite and 343's design mentality. They strip away mechanics to make way for worse new gadgets and weapons. Like how the Plasma Pistol lost its EMP to make way for Shock, a mechanic that dumbs down anti vehicle combat by making it way to easy, common, and abusable. You know them: "If it ain't broke, fix it!"

nOOoO!11!! You can only accept things as they are now1!! Anything from past is bad!!

Gravity hammer in infinte = broken

I miss Halo being a physics based sandbox game instead of a nonsense E-sports game.

the grav hammer had a skill gap. they nerfed it, players will learn the ins and outs of things if they wanna get gud.

@Laper Larden, You know there is leaked Double Barrel shoutgun. There is footage of it which melee attack of that weapon works just halo 3 gravity hammer. If they add that in future (s5) pls check that out. Your opinion will change about 343 sandbox philosophy. They will take bungie weapons and split the gimik of those weapons into other weapons for example plasma pistol had ability to emp viechele in halo 3_reach....but in infinite, ditrupter take emp ability from plasma pistol and instead charged plasma pistol tracks enemies very good . They took out the the ability to abuse each weapon in order for players to create thier own fun. But you know in launch it wasnt fully relized but currently with casual playlist like rumble pit, quick play and some btb playlist, they let casuals yo have fun and thats all due to the new management.

343/Halo infinite ruined melee weapons in this game. The gravity hammer is broken to the point where it doesn't work. The energy swords occasionally insta kill you, if you and another player lunge at each other at the same time- even if your both at full health. Not only that but desync in this game is the worst out of any game, probably ever. Halo infinite still sucks with all it's issues and the important issues aren't going to be fixed until next year or possibly the year after because that's what the devs said

it's because ODST are better than the humanity's best.

Anyone who says halo was MADE or be competitive is just flat out wrong, it's a party shooter with a focus on campaign. So annoying anytime I hear the word "competitive" used talking about halo

Everything 343 touched is a downgrade.

Honestly grav hammer from halo 3 is my favourite halo weapon it’s so fun to use too bad it got worse with every new version, the infinite one is garbage.

Infinite’s banished weapons suck

I love👍 Halo Infinite's Gavity Hammer 👍better.