Right off the bat why the hell do i need to push a button to pick up a health pack? i never had to do it any other halo game. the rapid pace of the game makes this a chore since their is normally someone close by and facing a wall to pick up a med pack just get you killed.

Second, i had many instances where my shield was taken away by a plasma grenade and then never recharged. it just constantly made the sound like it was down. has anyone else encountered this?

i had the problem where my shield didnt recharge after a 1v1 for like 3-4 min. very annoying trying not to die with no shield

I have never had my health not recharge. This is definitely something that needs to be looked at though if you both had problems.

Health only recharges for Elites, and even so, it's sluggish and can be interrupted by a single shot if your shields are down.

Also you need to make sure you're safe before you Hold X to get health; crouching while doing this is effective, however you can still kill people with red-bar as long as your shields are up.

Also you can interrupt the shield recharge by a single shot anywhere on their body or some sort of damage (grenades, explosions, rockets, etc.) and fall damage can interrupt your shield recharge as well. Keep that in mind before you use your jet-pack or fall from the railing in Boneyard.