Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has addressed player concerns about the game's challenge-based multiplayer progression, stating that it "it should take a player 16 to 18 hours of playing" before they run out of daily challenges.
On the latest Inside Infinite post on Halo Waypoint, 343's community manager John Junyszek outlined how Halo Infinite's progression will work. Rather than progressing through Infinite's Battle Pass system with traditional XP granted for kills, assists, and wins, XP will instead be provided for completing weekly and daily challenges. Players have previously voiced concern about how this system time-gates progression, as if you run out of challenges then there's no way to push forward through the Battle Pass. However, 343 states that it will take many hours for that to happen.
"At launch, we anticipate that on average, it should take a player 16 to 18 hours of playing, and eventually winning, before they run out of Daily Challenges," said Junyszek.
"While we understand the community's feedback around wanting a steady drip of match XP and more ways to earn XP for the battle pass, we are optimistic that the system available at launch will give players adequate means of continually having something to accomplish and a means to progress," he added. "Looking further ahead beyond launch, we expect these systems to evolve in direct partnership with player feedback."
The Inside Infinite post also goes into great detail to break down how Halo Infinite's daily and weekly challenges work, which is notably more complex than most games that use a similar system. Infinite has a three stage approach, in which the first challenges provided on any given day will be "easy tier", such as simply playing a match. After this "large pool" of challenges are completed, you'll progress to a second stage of challenges that hand out slightly more XP but are slightly more difficult (and must be played against real players, not bots). Completing all these challenges moves you up to the more valuable stage three, in which winning matches is a requirement. This system resets each day, starting again at stage one.
Daily challenges are said to be "strictly engagement-focused" and appear to be more about simply playing matches. Weekly challenges, meanwhile, are more directed. 343 has offered some examples, including 'Stay Off My Yard' which requires you to kill an enemy Spartan who is attacking a friendly zone, or 'Grapple-jack', which demands you grapple to and hijack three enemy vehicles in PvP. Each player will be given approximately 20 of these each week, and they are randomised per player to avoid everyone chasing the same goals.
Completing all weekly challenges unlocks a "Capstone" challenge, which is the same for all players each week, and grants a coating or emblem as a reward for completion. An example is 'Tactical Precision', which requires 15 headshot kills.
There are still elements that could cause contention, though. Players can only have three challenges active at any one time, although this can be increased to four by purchasing a Battle Pass. It means those who spend money can complete challenges a little quicker than those who don't. But 343 point out that it is still exploring progression options.
"We have heard community feedback around wanting more progression options including things like 'match XP' to feed into the battle pass and an entirely separate, incremental system along the lines of earning SR152 in Halo 5: Guardians," said Junyszek. "Expanding multiplayer progression offerings is something the team is actively exploring, and we look forward to continuing to evolve the experience in future seasons post-launch."
To get an idea of how this system works, you can try out the Halo Infinite multiplayer test, which takes place across two weekends starting September 24. Following the previous test, 343 has made some improvements, including alterations to the radar. Halo Infinite will release on Xbox on December 8, as well as on PC. You can check out the Halo Infinite PC system requirements if you plan to play on computer.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Continue reading...
On the latest Inside Infinite post on Halo Waypoint, 343's community manager John Junyszek outlined how Halo Infinite's progression will work. Rather than progressing through Infinite's Battle Pass system with traditional XP granted for kills, assists, and wins, XP will instead be provided for completing weekly and daily challenges. Players have previously voiced concern about how this system time-gates progression, as if you run out of challenges then there's no way to push forward through the Battle Pass. However, 343 states that it will take many hours for that to happen.
"At launch, we anticipate that on average, it should take a player 16 to 18 hours of playing, and eventually winning, before they run out of Daily Challenges," said Junyszek.
"While we understand the community's feedback around wanting a steady drip of match XP and more ways to earn XP for the battle pass, we are optimistic that the system available at launch will give players adequate means of continually having something to accomplish and a means to progress," he added. "Looking further ahead beyond launch, we expect these systems to evolve in direct partnership with player feedback."
The Inside Infinite post also goes into great detail to break down how Halo Infinite's daily and weekly challenges work, which is notably more complex than most games that use a similar system. Infinite has a three stage approach, in which the first challenges provided on any given day will be "easy tier", such as simply playing a match. After this "large pool" of challenges are completed, you'll progress to a second stage of challenges that hand out slightly more XP but are slightly more difficult (and must be played against real players, not bots). Completing all these challenges moves you up to the more valuable stage three, in which winning matches is a requirement. This system resets each day, starting again at stage one.
Daily challenges are said to be "strictly engagement-focused" and appear to be more about simply playing matches. Weekly challenges, meanwhile, are more directed. 343 has offered some examples, including 'Stay Off My Yard' which requires you to kill an enemy Spartan who is attacking a friendly zone, or 'Grapple-jack', which demands you grapple to and hijack three enemy vehicles in PvP. Each player will be given approximately 20 of these each week, and they are randomised per player to avoid everyone chasing the same goals.
Completing all weekly challenges unlocks a "Capstone" challenge, which is the same for all players each week, and grants a coating or emblem as a reward for completion. An example is 'Tactical Precision', which requires 15 headshot kills.
There are still elements that could cause contention, though. Players can only have three challenges active at any one time, although this can be increased to four by purchasing a Battle Pass. It means those who spend money can complete challenges a little quicker than those who don't. But 343 point out that it is still exploring progression options.
"We have heard community feedback around wanting more progression options including things like 'match XP' to feed into the battle pass and an entirely separate, incremental system along the lines of earning SR152 in Halo 5: Guardians," said Junyszek. "Expanding multiplayer progression offerings is something the team is actively exploring, and we look forward to continuing to evolve the experience in future seasons post-launch."
To get an idea of how this system works, you can try out the Halo Infinite multiplayer test, which takes place across two weekends starting September 24. Following the previous test, 343 has made some improvements, including alterations to the radar. Halo Infinite will release on Xbox on December 8, as well as on PC. You can check out the Halo Infinite PC system requirements if you plan to play on computer.
Matt Purslow is IGN's UK News and Entertainment Writer.
Continue reading...
