Happy MCC update everyone. Here are my two cents on it:
The Exchange:
Why are all the new cosmetics in the exchange?
My understanding was that the exchange was a place for special items and items previously only unlockable through challenges. It already is bloated with items, making it very rare to get the items you are looking for, and on top of that, there are still items that have never appeared in the exchange. (The avalanche sniper skin for H3?)
The whopping 94 items would have been perfect for a new “series”. Seeing as now there will likely be no new series, it begs the question, why change the name at all?
The decision to timegate every new item in the exchange, and charging higher season point values for them, feels like a dirty tactic to try and pressure the community into accepting MTX down the road. Is that what it is? We’re not stupid. Please explain why this is the way it is, and if it has anything to do with the ongoing discussion surrounding MTX in MCC.
MTX:
Speaking of MTX, I feel like I’m beating a dead horse here when I say, again, unequivocally, PLEASE DO NOT PUT MTX IN MCC. Please commit to this. I know that I don’t speak for everyone, but I believe I speak for the overwhelming majority of players when I say that we do not want this.
Priorities:
It feels like the MCC team has the wrong priorities. As a community member, it feels more and more like MCC is morphing into Halo Infinite. The reason people play MCC is largely because they are turned off by Infinite. You will drive your players away if you continue down this road.
Other:
The other fixes and features in this update are much appreciated. Still hoping for full controller layout remapping (just like we could do in the gearbox port of CE back in '03!) and other features the community has been requesting for years at this point.
My suggestions to fix the mess:
It’s probably too late for this, but I think all the 20th Anniversary exchange content should retroactively be added to a brand new “Series 9”. Each item can keep the same spartan point price that it had before.
Similarly, all the new armors, weapon skins, and poses added with the August Update should be added to a brand new “Series 10”.
The exchange should be reworked to no longer rotate on a weekly basis. All exchange items should be available at all times.
It feels werid to advocate for 343 since I wholeheartedly hate them, ad it’s even strange to be the only one to think that MTX in MCC is something completely harmless for the experience. I mean, the legacy games are great and 343 already said they’re preserving the legacy method of unlocking the season points through ranking up and completing challenges. Adding the possibility to buy points is something that doesn’t affect the grind: you don’t want to spend money for customization? Fine, then you can unlock them all just by playing, like it’s always been. How does MTX affect the game in any way if everything is achievable simply by grinding and everything you can buy is just cosmetics and not weapons that break the game? I say this as a “343 hater” and legacy Halo die-hard fan.
My understanding was that the exchange was a place for special items and items previously only unlockable through challenges. It already is bloated with items, making it very rare to get the items you are looking for, and on top of that, there are still items that have never appeared in the exchange. (The avalanche sniper skin for H3?)
Your understanding is wrong: the exchange has always been a place where you could buy certain things using season points, those “certain things” being skins/armory obtainable through challenges only or just “common” armory you could get in the Pass (but with the advantage that if you’re not interested in all of the pieces you have to unlock before getting access to the one you wanted, you can get it directly in the Exchange without wasting precious season points to unlock “several rows” of the season Pass).
On a personal note, also, I really wish that those challenges-exclusive pieces/skins were not included in the Exchange. I grinded for that Avalanche H3 sniper skin, and only those who unlocked it will know the struggle (and I’m a extremely good H3 player); it would be very disappointing to know that that skin could be acquired just by waiting for it to appear in the Exchange, since the weekly challeges that grant you season points are FAR easier than what getting to 20 in Recon Slayer ever was. The moment in which the Avalanche skin will appear in the shop, it will automatically lose all its meaning. I f* grinded for it and I want to show the result of my grind. For example, I reached level 20 in H4 squad battle and unlocked the specific skin that was offered, but I couldn’t make it in time for level 25; I would never wish for that skin I’m missing to appear in the shop, since it has a special meaning for those who made it to 25 in H4 in time for the challenge, and I didn’t.
I’m a fan of obtaining cosmetics through achievements (good old days of H3) or challenges, I really hate the games in which cosmetics are given randomly in loot boxes or given through MTX only.
I really wish the Avalanche skin (and the other two of course) will never make it to the Exchange, so the skin won’t lose its meaning and I can proudly keep rocking it in the lobbies.
I don’t really follow your line of thinking at all…
You are a proponent of progression based rewards such as the ranked challenge rewards remaining exclusive but are also in favour of MTX?
Can’t you see the dichotomy there?
People put a lot of effort and time into earning these things under the guise that there wouldn’t be any microtransactions in the game to undermine that effort. If 343 go ahead with MTX then that just spits in the face of those people and diminishes their value.
Just the same as how people grinded ranked for the ranked challenge rewards. When those rewards rotate into the Exchange, people still have to grind to earn them. The only difference is that they have more options in how they grind to earn the points to obtain those items. Whereas with MTX you’re paying to skip that time and intrinsically reducing the value. It doesn’t add anything positive for the playerbase and thus, therefore shouldn’t even be included
They’re already listed as “Obtainable in The Exchange” so they will rotate in eventually
What makes you think that adding purchasable spartan points is the start and end of MTX in MCC? Do you know of any game that only added purchasable cosmetics and nothing else changed? Here are some guesses for what could happen:
challenges become more difficult to complete
less challenges reward season points
all new items show up in the exchange (FOMO!), with higher spartan point prices… (hmmm this just happened!)
these are probably just the tip of the iceberg!
Why would you trust 343 to not do any of these things after they said 1) no MTX would ever be in MCC and 2) Halo Infinite happened? I really don’t care if they claim now that nothing else will change; their words don’t mean anything anymore. In the nicest way possible, people like you are very useful to big companies like this, please don’t be someone who defends greedy megacorporations against consumers.
Your understanding is wrong…
The exchange has never contained armors that are available in the battle passes. My understanding is correct.
On a personal note, also, I really wish that those challenges-exclusive pieces/skins were not included in the Exchange.
I guess we can disagree; I unlocked the sword and board back accessory which I think was for winning a whole bunch of competitive games (maybe in a certain playlist; I don’t remember), but I feel that now it’s been long enough that others who didn’t get the opportunity to unlock it should get a chance. Ideally, the challenge to unlock the special cosmetics should be tied to an achievement and should be available to complete for all time, but in lieu of that option, I wouldn’t mind seeing them come to the exchange.