I believe Halotestin has a reputation of being hard on the liver because it has more bonds to break down before it can become active. As far as I know other oral steroids have less of these bonds to break down. These bonds include a 17-a methyl group, a 9-a fluorine, and a 11-OH group (dianabol for example contains the same bonds with the exception of the flourine bond and a different arrangement as well). However, notice the fluorine -- this is not present in dianabol, anadrol, winstrol, or anavar; furthermore it is a VERY toxic element. Notice halo is fluoxymesterone -- that is where the fluorine comes from and you will not find it anywhere else.
And I hate to break it to yeah, but research has suggested that fluorine acts in a carcinogenic manner (that is it transforms normal cells into cancer cells). Beyond this, fluorine's negative effects on the immune system, bone density, and increased risk of Alzheimer's Disease have been well documented. You don't even need literature to discover this, a simple google search could give you all the answers you need here.
So 17aa is not 17aa. Of course the 17aa effects are dose dependent; the more you take the greater the chance of liver problems.
And in regards to 'unless you've tried shit' -- I am sorry, but I don't need to fill my body with fluorine to know it is bad for me.
That said I think liver problems resulting from 17-aa AAS useage are overrated. I ran accutane for 13 weeks (which is fairly liver toxic) along with some dianabol at the start and my liver values didn't budge. They increased maybe 10% but it is certainly not a cause and effect relation; a correlation likely exists that is large enough to be deemed statistically significant, but nothing too large. So were AAS a factor? Maybe, but not a significant one. I was also on milk thistle and NAC at the time at double the daily doseage -- this also would have an impact on the postive side of things. Furthermore my liver values have never strayed from the acceptable range during any oral useage, although its always been pretty minimal by many peoples standards.