Health Packs or Regeneration?

It depends on the game. Non-regenerating health works great in Doom and is key to incentivising glory kills, but the same system would be incredibly frustrating in something like Titanfall or Call or Duty. I don't think one is inherently better than the other.

I had to double check what year this was posted. Definitely health packs (or equivalent), regen rewards scummy play.

Depends on the game. Even in the case of DOOM, I did not pick up health packs except on Nightmare because you had to. I don't like picking up health packs as a mechanic at all. Health management should be rooted in gameplay or economy or some other way which makes sense within the specific game we're talking about. I got my health back in DOOM by performing glory kills. That's how you get health in that game in an engaging way.

In survival-ish games it makes sense having health packs on your person and tied to economy and/or crafting. In Borderlands it is tied to specific skills and your performance with said skills. In some games regeneration if not getting shot for a while makes sense too though. It depends on the game.

But honestly, unless you're only playing shooters, health pack equivalents never went away did they? DMC, Ninja Gaiden and Revengeance in particular all basically had hyper-glory kills. All the survival-ish games all had health packs. The only games I can think of that featured regenerative health were the shooters chasing Halo and Call of Duty after that.

Unless it's tied to your offense like in Bloodborne to encourage more aggressive play, the type of re-gen where you have to crouch behind a box until the screen stops flashing red just feels cheap and kills momentum for me.

@conmulligan: well I'm not suggesting we go back and patch those games to include health packs. I'm more asking which do you prefer, and which should be the default design choice going forward.

I think a hybrid system works best. Individual segments regenerate so you're never a one hit point wonder, but you also can't scum and cheese your way through every encounter. Regenerating shield over traditional health is also a good idea.

That said, I'm generally not going to avoid playing a game because it uses one or the other.

For the record, open world games should always have fully regenerating health or some kind of healing item you can carry.

@liquiddragon said:

I honestly don't prefer either, and I definitely don't think that a game mechanic, no matter how prevalent, should be implemented by default. That sounds like a recipe for even more homogeny in shooters.

In the 8 and 16 bit era, where nearly every time you got hit was your fault for not avoiding a bullet or for missing a jump, health packs were fine. When you can get shot from any direction instantly, regenerative health or a shield mechanic is kind of important for most games.

Megaman, Castlevania, Shovel Knight? Health packs.

Titanfall, Mass Effect, Borderlands? Health regen.

With the way I tended to play med kit based shooters like MoH Allied Assault - quick saving and loading a lot because I didn't wanna loose 5 or ten points of health in an encounter - I was glad these kinds of games moved on to regenerating health. And I still am. Fuck med kits.

I've grown to like a combination of both. Basically automatically recovering from small injuries / 'topping off' the health bar while not being able to recover from more serious inuries by sitting in cover somewhere.

Halo was on a good path for a hot second there...

I wanna be rewarded with HP for defeating enemies. DMC gave you those green orbs for playing well, and other games sometimes have health bits on the bodies of defeated enemies. I think that's a more interesting way to do it than just having the player wait for the health to replenish or making them search for a pack.

My idea for a fantasy game would be to steal the demons' life force as they're lying defeated and dying on the ground by having the player press an interact button, making the character vulnerable while they get down and touch the victim.

Regenerating health is okay too, but I wish developers treated it more like a threat bar in first-person shooters, meaning that it represents how close you are to actually getting shot. So, it really only takes one bullet to kill you, but the more you're out in the open and in the line of fire, the more this threat bar accumulates. This would mean removing blood on the screen and lame things like that.

I can't vote on this, because it is 100% dependent on the game's overall design philosophy. Is the game designed to keep you moving at a brisk pace, or are you supposed to play a bit slower and more methodically?

The only game I can think of (at this exact moment) that I have a preference on is Halo. The original Halo had health packs, but its sequels had regenerating health. It seemed to fit both the singleplayer and the multiplayer better than the health packs did.

Other than this specific case of Halo trying both, it is highly dependent on the game for me.

@conmulligan: Well, right but aren't we already living in that world though? There is basically a default choice for every mechanic. I guess you're ok with regen...

Health packs can absolutely screw you over which is something I don't enjoy. Regen with a segmented bar is a much better alternative than getting to some big boss fight with almost no health and no health packs and thinking "welp I guess I need to perfect this"

regenerating health packs ala Overwatch

And full agreement here. Health regen and auto saves made FPS titles a considerably better experience for me than constant saving and loading did.

@justin258: agreed, a small regenerating shield with non regenerating health is a good mix. Otherwise, if I had to choose between the two, I'd pick health packs because of the tension it creates and inability to cheese the game.

If I have to pick between the two, I gotta go with regen. Health packs are just annoying and lead to save scumming; either to preserve your packs or to slowly inch through the level once your packs are gone.

I do often like systems where you regain health through killing enemies though. And systems with segmented health bars, so which ever segment you're on regens but if a segment is completely lost it won't.

Depends on the game really.

I like potions and a health bar in Dark Souls because their usage becomes tactical. Use them at the wrong time and you're screwed. The limited number also encourages you to try and avoid taking hits. It also ties into the bonfire discovery as resting at one will refill your potions.

In something like Skyrim, you can use potions during an encounter but while you are just exploring the world your health will slowly regenerate. I think that makes sense too. You want to be able to keep exploring, not return somewhere to stock up on potions.

I liked how Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay did it. You can regenerate your health 'pips' if only partially depleted and then regenerate lost pips with health recharges (though health pick-ups would work here too).

In terms of the FPS genre, they do change how you play when you are low on HPs. The health pack option will force you to seek out a first aid kit when you need it which you can approach either guns blazing and bum rush towards one or be on your toes and take out anything that stands between you and more health. Regen games make you really only follow one style of gameplay which is to hide in a safe spot when you are low and pop out again when you are at 100% (which can be sometimes easier said than done).

It isn't a deal breaker for me if a game goes down one route or the other but I would say having regenerative health is more geared towards the standard 'you know what you are getting' kind of FPS. I don't like to say it makes the game easier but it makes dying much more avoidable. I associate the health pack as a kinda archaic item in gaming since regen health is so widespread now but it still for sure has a place in gaming today and makes for a more unforgiving kind of gameplay where simple mistakes have bigger consequences.

In conclusion... eh they are both pretty good really.

This is the right answer.

If it's balanced right, health regeneration all the way. I like how uncharted handles it. Nate's not actually getting hit, he's just absurdly lucky and his luck eventually runs out.

I agree with this. I think there are also other alternatives. I really like The Witcher 3 for example where I can recharge all my healing potions when I meditate but have that stock until I can again. It's a more lenient version of what the Souls games do too I suppose. I have enjoyed recent games like DOOM and Bloodbourne that even give you health for staying very aggressive.

I agree with this in the end. It can always depend. I like that people are willing to go back to pick ups more. I like also that games are going away from always being cover based too. I feel like there is good variety right now which I greatly prefer to everyone following single trends.

It depends on the game play and what matters about the 'game loop'. There are some games were the collection of health matters as a system withing teh game, and then other where there are some many other game play elements at work that just adding that is pointless.

I'm one of those who thinks it totally depends on design philosophy. At the same time, I have far more memories of gettings screwed by non-regenerating health and autosaves/checkpoints with no packs versus regenerating health. The only games with regen that I can't stand are the ones that don't use visible UI bars to communicate health. The moment when I've overextended and am about to die is the exact opposite moment you need to be covering the screen in gore and going monochrome. Stop that!

I like health packs more because it forces me to change the way I play the game. When I have a abundance of them I know I can be a little more reckless and carefree with my decisions, but when I'm low on them I know I have to play smarter and be better at picking my spots. I won't ever go out of way to not play games with health regen and for some games it's obviously the better gameplay mechanic. I just enjoy picking up health more.

I think partial regen is the perfect compromise, and maybe even better than pure healthpacks, since it keeps you from putting yourself into impossible situations, while still amping up the challenge considerably if you don't heal wisely.

Health packs all the way I can't stand how dumb FPS genre has become especially the BF series.

I'm a lamo so regen :(

It forces you to exercise your discipline in not going ham and knowing when to chill out for a bit!

Regen, there could be better and smarter ways to implement it. Heath packs lead to save scumming and multiple branching saves management. We left that shit behind for a reason.

Where is the option for both regen and healthpacks? Combat evolved all the way.

@soimadeanaccount: there is no savescumming if saving is done right via checkpoints.

I prefer health packs; I don't really like the 'I need to hide to regen my health' mechanic in most shooters.

I'm definitely all for a "both, depending on the situation" here. In a game like Doom, the health pickups are key to the way that game's combat flows. In Call of Duty, the regenerating system allows that game to keep you moving at pace but also have your character be fragile in any given encounter. In Titanfall 2, they combine the on-foot regeneration to keep that fast/fragile balance and the Titan Battery system which helps your big robot feel like a powerful limited tool that you have to look after.

I certainly wouldn't pick one over the other for all games, but if you forced me to I guess I'd say regeneration because I tend to favour games where characters aren't damage sponges and that generally fits the regeneration mechanic a little better than the health pack one.

Health packs for sure. Breaking flow/momentum is that last thing I want to do during combat. Systems like the glory kills or Bloodbornes rally are definitely the best I've seen, but I'll accept consumables or packs as well. Basically, as long as it doesn't stop me from playing the game to wait up my hp I'm fine with most health systems. It's more interesting if there is a risk or a penalty for using it, but not a necessity for me. Getting hit is punishment enough since I like to try and aim for no hit or "perfect" play and avoid regening altogether, if the game allows for it of course. And if I'm good enough. :P

Health packs seem to create more a challenge but can some times be a hindrance. My vote is for health packs.

I like when games use both like you will regenerate health to certain point but you need healthpacks to fill it all the way. The new Wolfenstein did that. A lot of games do the thing where your health is several blocks and will regenerate a block of health as long as it hasn't been fully depleted, I like that too. Who can forget the classic mechanic made famous my Halo where your shield recharges but your health doesn't so you have to find health packs.

I didn't see that choice in your poll so I will abstain from voting because I love that mechanic.

It really depends on how the game is balanced and supposed to flow.

If the developer wants you to keep pushing forward, health packs. If they want you to settle down and take each encounter at a more deliberate pace, health regen.

If the developer wants to make a "this is the run" game, no health packs or regen.

Unfortunately none of the options applied so I didn't vote.

@justin258: I agree with the hybrid system. I think it gives you the best of both worlds and reduces the cons of each as well

And if the player is left in a situation where s/he has low health and auto saved just happened...fuck. That's what regen (perhaps haphazardly) solved. That's why auto saves work with a regen based game easier.

In a Health pack pick up gameplay loop, there is an added layer of resource management and perhaps a bit of foresight knowledge helps. It becomes a game of how much resource the player needs to spend to get through an encounter and does that leave enough for the next encounter and if restocking is available and to what extend.

That's where the multiple save scumming comes in.The player just finished an encounter and is left with X health. If the player can't make it through the next encounter with X that means the player need to return to an even earlier save so that player has more than X health remains when s/he return to that point. Sure there is a skill challenge and hopefully skill improvement involve, what is likely to happen is that the lines between skill and health cross and the player is able to proceed, but that still relies on some amount of saves juggling.

I can't see health regen working in DOOM or health packs working in twitch shooters.

@soimadeanaccount: well i never had that problem. If we are talking about checkpointing with low health you should try checkpointing with low health and no ammo, thats the right stuff :)

Regen is for snowflakes. Also, fixed save points.

Health Packs so things get a little harder and with health packs i mean the ones you pick up and instantly use, not the ones that pile up in your inventory or something.

It definitely depends on the game, but I'd say I tend to prefer health packs.

I haven't played the Halo series in a while but iirc they had a hybrid approach at some point where your shield was auto regen but your health was managed by packs. Worked well for that game.

The correct answer is "it depends."

I don't know how you can make a blanket argument for all games.

I greatly prefer health packs or nothing at all (like CS). Unless I am not in the game for the shooting. I play Uncharted because I like the story and comedy, the shooting is just an added bonus.

Most of the time I prefer regen because it harder bugger it up so easily, nothing worse than a badly implemented health pack system. Hate the segmented system in Far Cry waiting for the animation to finish just ain't fun when you run out of health packs, or the Witcher pausing mid fight for a buffet to refill health kills any mood and tension in the battle, and for what the fight's no harder I'm carrying enough food for a cruise I can go on forever.

Health regen, easily. I'm not saying health packs don't have their place, they obviously do, but health packs feel like an archaic form of health management that we killed off for a reason much like old-school point-and-click adventure GUI's and bad controller button layouts.

It's, obviously, my personal opinion on the matter and don't expect everyone to agree.