Here are my current thoughts on Halo infinite as stands and will be split into the following sections;
Customisation, Monetisation, Sandbox, Maps, Progression, Overall thoughts
Customisation
For the most part armour, vehicle, and weapon customisation is really good. The reach style attachment system and the per piece system is a brilliant return. The charms are very good and non-intrusive. the emblem customisation for all areas is a great addition to the game and makes every vehicle feel unique and personal to me.
The coating system should, personally, be universal across different armour cores. From what I currently know off, it isn’t. This would give players some form or universality between armour cores considering the fact that you aren’t able to mix and match armour pieces between then. Since the coating system is here to stay I wont be voicing my thoughts on primary and secondary colours.
Monetisation
ÂŁ16, $20, is in my opinion ridiculous for an armour set. Same goes for the other items in the store. To be frank, the fact that as it stands there is no other way to earn credits (via battlepass or challenges) the prices are too much. Though the battlepass itself seems to be a good price (if not undervalued) for what it others in progression. However more armour pieces should be in the free progression tier, free to play players are forced to actually pay money if they want to get a new helmet with this battlepass, I hope that fact changes with season 2.
Sandbox
The sandbox in infinite, i felt, is one of the strongest 343 have put out to date. apart from some equipment being far too powerful and some being far too weak (drop wall) i can see a clear strength in what the sandbox brings to the table. For future seasons i’d like to see the return of the fuel rod gun and the saw, 2 weapons which felt really good in prior games. especially with the bouncing physics of the fuel rod gun (I don’t understand its absence to be frank)
Maps
From what i have counted there are 10 playable multiplayer maps in the game. 7 for arena and 3 for btb. Considering the advertisement and marketing that went into this all new btb experience im incredibly disappointed by the fact there are only 3 maps. Arena has a good diverse selection that allows for games to feel unique every time almost. But BtB tends to get stale after a few games. especially with how long they can be. I find myself stuck between wanted vehicle gameplay and wanting to not be tired by the same scenery. And considering we have 6 months of these maps, I feel like btb is going to be unpopular in the following months. Though I could easily be wrong here.
Progression
Its too slow. in the normal 3 months time span, you’d need to get at minimum 2 tiers done a day to finish it before the next pass roles around. A friend of mine played for 6 hours and got through too almost the 3rd tier. That is too slow.
A per match XP system would work perfectly. Have a base xp gain or around 50. Thereby every game leads to progress without it being a “challenge”. If you do better, say complete more objectives, get the most kills, medals, the least deaths, etc. You get an increase in the Xp earned. up to a max of 200 for arena. BtB could start this base Xp at 100 and increase all the way up to 300. It incentivises better teamwork, better play and increases progression speed to a reasonable level.
Another thing, SEASONAL CHALLENGES. They are a great way to progress in MCC and gives a goal to work towards. Plus customisation could be locked behind them as well. They could net 1000-4000Xp per challenge.
Overall Thoughts
Halo Infinite has a good strong start to it, I can easily see the game evolving and progressing thought its 10 year lifespan. Though I can also see some issues along the way. The lack of BtB maps, Forge and a good customs basis can seriously hurt the game in the coming months. With the poor speed on progression i can easily see player retention dropping quickly in the next 2 months as well. Whilst some things cant be changed until season 2 releases, others like progression need to be solved ASAP
Currently the game is at a 7/10 for me (for me 6/10 is bad and 7/10 is good.). This is not factoring in Campaign and also considers the game is in beta.
If any updates come out and things end up changing relatively soon. or i get new information or opinions change I’ll edit this post accordingly. Date of writing this is 16/11/21