Ive talked about this (small) issue about a weapon skin in Halo 5 before and that’s the 343 Ice Skin. You may think that this is an overreaction over a weapon skin, but I believe, with 343’s corporation, we can utilize this skin a better way. I’m not suggesting, in any way, they we give this skin away to people for not doing anything, (which in a way, is how it is now).
So, what is wrong with this system on how to get the 343 Ice Assault Rifle skin?
Number 1: Luck,luck,luck
In order to unlock this weapon skin, you have to match the 343 team during a community playdate through the matchmaking system. This has a number of problems that are so frustrating and are unfair. First off, people in certain parts of the world such as Europe have a much harder chance of matching 343 to get this skin because of server location and time zones. It’s nearly impossible. Second, and this has happened not once or twice, but MULTIPLE times. People can match 343 more than once easily when these community playdates happen. You only need to match them once to get the skin. In the Halloween playdate that occurred this past Halloween, Unyshek and Grim expressed that 100 players will be getting the weapon skin since it was just them in the lobby. But, 100 players did not get the skin, between 90-94 did. How is this? Because multiple people matched them twice, taking other people’s chance at the skin. How does anyone think that this is fair? It isn’t. Ske7ch, the community manager, has expressed that the chances of that happening is extremely small, but that is just simply not true. This has happened during multiple playdates, not just the Halloween one. Also if you can’t get online for the playdate at that certain date and time, then there goes your chance. You have to wait for the next time they have one, and that’s if you even get lucky enough to match them.
Number 2: Are you really earning the skin?
Since earning the weapon skin is all about getting lucky, it makes the skin less impressive. If someone has the skin in game, I don’t look at them like “Wow, that person accomplished something to earn that skin”. I think “ That person just got lucky”. This isn’t the case for the 343 Fire Skin which ACTUALLY REQUIRES you do something and earn it,(You have to have something featured in a community update. Clip, map, picture, etc).
When these skins were announced, I actually thought I would never get the Fire Skin and thought the “requirements” for the Ice skin were shady. Im trying to approach this from an unbiased position. Yes, I have the Fire skin and not the Ice skin. Again, Im not pleading that 343 gives this skin away. That defeats the whole purpose of this piece. All I want is for a fair, rewarding way of earning the Ice skin just like there is with the Fire skin.
Now, here are my ideas 343 can use to replace the community playdate system:
Idea 1: Community challenge.
Call of Duty Black Ops 3 has done this with weapon skins. So, why not use that idea, but tweak it a little? It gets the community involved and on a united front to achieving an awesome goal. 343 sets it, and the community has to achieve it in a given amount of time. It could be that the community has to get 700,000 kills or headshots in Multiplayer (Warzone or Arena). Another idea is that community has to complete a certain amount of games. With this however, people who participate a certain amount should get the skin if the ultimate goal is completed. You shouldn’t give it to people who don’t participate at all. That kills the rarity of the skin. The Ice and Fire skins are designed around the community. This idea completely fits the sense of community, rather that the current system. This can also combat the population problem during that time for certain playlists.
Idea 2: Give the skin to people who are Rank 152.
Now, this may sound a bit biased since I am 152, but when I became 152, I didn’t feel nearly as accomplished as I should have. Your prize for getting 152 is the Mantle emblem (Its secondary color system is broken by the way). In Halo Reach, you got the Haunted Helmet when you reached Inheritor. You should feel a great sense of accomplishment and receive a kick -Yoink- reward for earning 50 million XP, and in my opinion, you don’t feel that since one, its a number, and you don’t get anything truly rewarding for it. This also wouldn’t be giving away the skin either, since a little more than 200 people are SR 152 Thats just another idea, but it’s not my first choice. This will entice people to grind out for 152 more because you don’t just get an emblem, but a cool weapon skin too. I know that this raises some conflict since some people already have the skin, but it’s better than what we have now in my opinion.
Idea 3: Make it the skin purchasable, BUT not with real money.
This is my last idea. Grim has talked about that 343 has considered this avenue, but I want to propose my version. Once you get everything in the game, REQ points become useless. So, why not make the skin purchasable for a large amount of REQ points? Ideally, I think it should cost around 2-3 Million REQ Points. What this does is that for people who have saved up a lot of REQ points, can now spend them. Also, for people who don’t, they now have something to grind for, encourage more people to play more. I can’t express enough that you SHOULD NOT be able to purchase this skin for real money. That completely ruins the value and rarity of this skin.
Well, that’s my piece. I hope 343 seriously considers these ideas because its a missed opportunity that can spark some excitement in Halo 5 for the community as a whole. Thank you for taking the time to read this.