Over priced, breaking items apart that should be a single unlock into multiple tiny pieces to give the illusion that a bundle contains more value than it actually does, while also padding out the loot pool in an even cheaper way than Halo 5 did, and on top of that removing the ability to choose the colors of your armor.
Coatings were initially pitched as a giving more options for customization which we now know is not the case. Far from it actually. Coatings could have been a pattern that was applied to armor that only changed what parts of the armor changed color, but no. Instead you can only choose between preselected colors taht often have no patterns for specific armor cores, while having to pay to use colors you could use in previous games for free that were unlocked by default upon first loading into the game. It should also be noted that coatings have been broken up into 18 individual pieces despite being the exact same, and no that’s not an exaggeration, emblems are also broken up into 4 pieces despite being the same jpeg, and left/ right shoulders are also separate unlocks.
When people kept saying they wanted Halo Reach’s unlock system, and credits to return, premium credits and an overpriced microtransaction storefront is not what anyone meant, or wanted.
As bad as the req system was you could at least unlock something. It may not be what you wanted, and it was entirely random, but you got something half decent most of the time. The cooler part was that if you played a ton you could unlock everything if you were really dedicated. 343i/ Microsoft also had the opportunity to take their pound of flesh from those that opted to buy req packs which were not only enough to fund additional content updates, E-sports events, etc, but it also gave you the freedom to choose to pay, or go the gameplay route.
My intent isn’t to bash the devs, but just to voice some of the realities of this current system. It’s not working, and it’s got glaring problems. When the colors you used to use for free, black and blue in my case, end up being locked behind a 12$ CAD paywall inside an E-sports kit that it cannot be separated from it’s a little frustrating, and a constant reminder of the problems with this system. I know others have had similar experiences with their usual colors either being locked behind a paywall, or just not in the game, but you get my point.
I know 343i has had numerous factors working against them with the development of this game that they had little to no control over, so I don’t blame them for the state of the store, or the game. In reality no dev wants to make a bad game, so while they can’t openly say it I believe they aren’t happy with this system either.
I think we’d be better off returning to the Req system instead of stubbornly sticking to a system that will inevitably remain inferior to it’s predecessor.