Gamer Syndrome - Guides - Halo 4 Grind Guides: Grifball

At long last, Grifball has returned to Halo 4 as an official playlist.  Having been in place as a game mode since the game’s release, but only for custom games, it’s about time this fan favorite returned to the scene.

What is it?

Grifball is the closest to sport you’re likely to find in a Halo game, aside from some super-creative Forge work. Inspired by the machinima series Red Vs Blue, Grifball pits two melee-weapon-wielding teams of four against one another in a fight to plant a bomb at the opposite ends of a square court. Given some of the changes to gameplay at the hands of 343 Industries, the bomb has been replaced with an Oddball, but otherwise, the game remains intact.

What can I work on?

…not much, honestly. Given that it wasn’t a playlist from the get-go, there are no gametype-specific commendations to bang out by playing Grifball. Multi-kills can be a bit easier here once you’re agile enough to knock off two or three enemies before getting bonked yourself, and your kills, revenge (be it for yourself or for teammates), and other generally murder-related stats will still climb.

The true godsend here, however, comes to those who are tired of waiting for the melee power weapons to drop as ordnance options. That’s right, your Gravity Hammer and Energy Sword kills in Grifball go toward your weapon commendations, and guess what? Those are the only two weapons you can play with! Grifball is the best place to grind out some of the otherwise tough-to-finish weapon kill counts. Get smashing.

Any other tips?

Learn the impact radius of the Grav Hammer, as it’s wider than you might think. The key to staying alive is not rushing in blindly, or at the very least, rushing in blindly with a better sense of timing. It may take some practice, but once you become adept at timing your swings and anticipating your opponents’ attacks, you will become a beast on any Grifball court.

If your opponents have the ball and are making for your goal, make sure at least one person’s got their Energy Sword at the ready, as a single hammer blow is not going to take out a carrier. On top of that, getting smacked with the ball will insta-kill  you, which makes that lag between hammer swings that much more dangerous. Keep at least one hammerer on task to take out coverage, but be ready to stick the pointy end of something blue into someone orange.

You’re going to get betrayed, and you’re going to get betrayed. Possibly a great deal. People swing for the same guy, it happens. Don’t get butt-hurt about it, it’s not like they’re trying to team kill you. Usually. Maybe.

The Grifball can still be thrown with the left trigger, so keep that in mind. It’s not an element that came up in previous iterations of the game, so be ready to try new strategies that include passing. If you’re a veteran of the courts, be ready to intercept those strategies.

 

And that’s Grifball, a nice diversion from the typically more-intense experiences the other modes offer. Have fun, smack the orange guy.