One of the first things I noticed in the transition from Crysis 2 to Crysis 3 was the unlimited sprint, jumping and ability to recharge energy when sprinting. Also the separation of armor and cloak made energy management a non-issue. It should be very clear that this game is not Crysis 2 and calls for new play styles. The unlimited sprint when paired with maneuverability (arguably the most powerful perk in the game) makes for incredibly fast gameplay with the ability to encounter enormous amounts of opponents and circumnavigate the map in seconds. Auto armor goes hand in hand with this new break neck speed style of gameplay. Why waste oven a fraction of a second to switch from cloak to armor to engage an enemy when one can shoot from cloak and let then auto armor engage if needed? Why give away your position for even a fraction of a nano second by turning armor on? Why sacrifice your speed to deploy armor when trying to sprint? Why not use auto armor?

Is auto armor really being "abused" or is it that people who have success using it have realized that this is an incredibly fast paced shooter in which auto armor grants a severe advantage to those who prefer speed? Auto armor is not a deus ex machina. It is entirely possible to outscore a player using auto armor if you are adept with switching modes (in fact maneuverability is what I argue to be the god perk because one cannot compete without it). The arguments that auto armor is being abused and is only meant for training new players do not stand well with me when one considers the nature of the gameplay unique to Crysis 3. The extreme speed of the game and unlimited sprint means that an enemy on one end of the map can reappear behind you and instant kill you with a bow in a few seconds. Have you ever engaged in a prolonged close range battle with a skilled player? The unlimited energy and separate cloak bar means that one can endlessly power jump and re-cloak to evade fire. Do you really want to be constantly hammering the armor button in these battles? Auto armor is a perk that balances this war of speed and high powered weapons.

I have said that it is possible to play without auto armor and it is possible to kill players with auto armor, should the perk be removed because many players use it? Perhaps, it may make it easier to kill unsuspecting players this way, but many other perks also grant advantages in their own way. Many argue that auto armor is meant for new players and point to the fact that Crytek grants you an achievement "Taking off the training wheels" when removing auto armor. Perhaps one should not let this get to our heads and assume that auto armor was only meant for new players and should never be put back on. How does letting new players have auto armor teach them to switch modes before battle? In fact it teaches them quite the opposite. The achievements condescending language not withstanding, it should be understood that auto armor is a perk that anyone can use.

Crysis 3 is a different faced paced game and auto armor is a different perk. Would the game be better without it? I don't know, it would only make things even more different.