There are different formats in an Xbox live Halo 3 tournament. As in Xbox live Halo 2 tournament, teams come from regions and participate. Popular and widely played among them are FFA (Free for all), 1v1, 2v2, 3v3, 4v4. As the name suggests, entry for a FFA tournament is free, the remaining formats command a minimum amount of fee. A 4v4 is a game where 4 players form a team and clash with 4 players of another team. The other formats have the same pattern. Each format has different procedures to follow and rules to obey. They differ even in the game types players are supposed to play in the tournament.
It was a record of sorts when a tournament named “Shock & Awe” was announced in the February of 2007, that the tournament will start on the day of release of the Halo 3, scheduled for a September release, a distant 8 months away. Shock & Awe is a 4v4, single elimination tournament. Halo 3 is touted to be the biggest online gaming tournament. All one needs to compete in an Xbox live Halo 3 tournament are supreme shooting skills, cat-like reflexes, few bucks, and an impeccable team of shooters of your caliber.
Some typical game types in a Halo 3 4v4 tournament are: Team Slayer on Guardian, Multi Flag on Isolation, Team Slayer on Narrows, Team Oddball on The Pit, Team Slayer on Construct, One Flag on Last Resort, Team Slayer on The Pit, Team King on Isolation, Team Slayer on Narrows, Team Oddball on Guardian, Team Slayer on Construct, Team King on The Pit, Team Slayer on Guardian, Multi Flag on Narrows, Team Slayer on Isolation, Team Oddball on The Pit, Team Slayer on Narrows, One Flag on Last Resort, Team Slayer on Construct, Team King on Guardian.
General Rules for a Halo 3 tournament: Grenade jumping, placing the ball out of reach, super bouncing, use of the “guardian glitch”, getting on top of ledges on Warlock are not permissible, Players must be within the normal boundaries of a map. During 8-player FFA games, there should not be any kind of communication among the players. The flags cannot be hidden in the walls on any map, cheating leads to forfeit of the game. All four members must be present at the designated match, failure to show up leads to forfeit of the game. Any tournament game cannot be quitted. One can quit only with the permission of a referee. Spartan character model is the character all players have to play with. Seeking the approval of a referee to start a match is mandatory. Only 4v4 teams can use the sword.
Player Conduct: Players are expected to have respect towards their fellow players, staff members, and referees, failing in which results in expulsion from the tournament and may not be allowed to participate in the future events also. Players are not supposed to talk anything during the game, but if found so will be warned as a first caution, the game will be parted with once this first warning is not considered seriously and anything beyond that limit will lead to their ouster from the tournament. A player is not allowed to abuse a referee at any point of the game. Time is of prime essence and players are expected to present themselves on schedule. A waiting time of maximum 15 minutes is permitted, after which the game is abandoned.
