First off, let me preface this with I don’t worry too much about progression. I don’t get why you need a pat on the back for playing a game. It would basically be the same thing for getting rewarded for doing a hobby that you like. You do it for fun, not for a reward. Now I get that apparently people think progression is why games are fun and I don’t get it but I guess I respect their opinion. The only “reward” I would enjoy is leaderboards or scores if you want to look at it that way. I like it when I play well because, well, Losing isn’t fun. And the better I play the bigger chance my team has of winning.
What I do care about is customization, like almost every other gamer probably, I wish I could just have limitless free customization options but they need to make money somehow (It is f2p). I also don’t mind grinding, as long as the rewards are reasonable and fast enough that I’m not spending 5 hours a day just to get a helmet attachment.
Now, a battlepass isn’t bad if implemented properly and I know very few games that have done that. Here are some thoughts on ways that could work imo.
As of now, most of the “free to play” BP barely gives you anything to customize. The challenge swaps and xp boosts are kind of annoying to me. Me and my friends like trying to make really cool looking armor (my brother-in-law has a sick spartan armor in the original Xbox 360 Reach) and with the current system, that is hard to do.
My first idea would be to scrap the idea of “cores”. Turn the cores into armor kits. The cores are then broken up through all the other customization options (helmets, arm attachment, helmet attachment, ect) this allows for more customization and it makes the events more worth your time. If I could mix and match the stuff I’ve gotten from the Tenrai event and BP, my spartan would look pretty decent. But I can’t and that’s not cool.
My second idea would be to change how BP and events work. You don’t get nearly as many xp boosts and challenge swaps, instead, you get more rewards. Then, when the event or BP is over, all of the rewards go into the store. The default armor cores could be something that can be bought. You get that “kit” and then you get all the little things that can mix and match with all the other stuff you’ve unlocked. Then, all the extra stuff (like the sword attachment or the helmet attachments) go into another bundle, or you can buy them singly for $1 or $2. The price would obviously be different, I am just giving an example, all the items would be worth the same though, this would just be easier for the devs. The sword would cost the same as the helmets, ect, ect. The bundle is cheaper overall for those who want everything but what if it is cheaper to just buy the things that you want? This allows people to gain access to past events and also get through past Battlepasses without grinding it out. Also, if you didn’t finish the pass and the stuff goes on the store, you get discounted for the items you already have, or you just gain coins according to the worth of items you gained by grinding. This allows for almost everything (they could have like really special looking stuff locked behind a paywall or stuff that you can only get from campaign) to be unlocked for free while still giving the devs a decent inflow of money (they get the campaign as well plus any DLCs, they aren’t exactly short of money. But it is nice to make sure they have enough to continue production of the game, I would love for this to be THE Halo game for the next 5-10 years)
My third idea would be to scrap “challenges” and turn to performance based experience. Challenges could remain, like, “win 1 battle” or “get 5 kills” But not mode specific challenges. This lets people who want to be get rewarded for playing well but at the same time not throwing noobs in the ditch by cutting off their means of gaining cosmetics. And the challenges are not mode specific so they can be completed in any playlist. They also don’t encourage you to just sit at the back of the map AFK, “win 1 battle” makes you want to get in there and fight, and help your team WIN.
My fourth and final idea is required for some of these other ideas to work. Completely revamp the store, everything needs to be available at once. There are different sections that I will list
Daily (These are daily sales that rotate every…day…maybe you want to wait for that armor bundle that you want to go on sale. Well, here you go)
Special (This is the store specific section, you can only get this stuff from buying it from the store.)
Battlepass (This section is then split up into the different seasons so it is easier to navigate)
Events (Same as Battlepasses)
Think this looks good? Have any suggestions or feedback? Go ahead and post your thoughts!
