I'm old and bad now, here are some thoughts. (Long Rant)

Games Halo Infinite
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I know sometimes there’s a fine line between complaining and being concerned. What I have to say may be a little of both.

Anyone reading this will mostly likely be like, “Who the hell are you? And why should I care?”

Well, the answer is, I’m no one, and you probably shouldn’t care. I’m old (43) and Halo is the reason I bought the original Xbox (like a lot of people I’m sure). Being old is only relevant considering my reaction time is no where near what it used to be. Honestly, I’m not very good at Halo anymore.

I was never great at the games, but in the Halo 2/3 days, I could comfortably hold my own. Not so much anymore. A lot has happened in my life in the 20 years since the first Halo launched. And honestly, PVP gives me anxiety now. To be fair, that’s not the developer’s fault one bit, that rests solely on me. But it does make the game rough to play for me. Hell, don’t think I’ve played any PVP in any game in at least 5 years now, until Infinite anyway.

Why does any of that matter? Due to some days off around Thanksgiving, I was able to actually sit down and play multiple hours of Infinite. Thanks to a multitude of things like, getting carried, luck, and some challenge swaps, I was able to finish my weekly challenges this week, only to find out there’s a final challenge in order to unlock the weekly reward. One that I know I won’t be able to complete due to both my skill level and the lack of time I have to sit and play. That instantly took the wind out of my sails. Instant FOMO.

I’m sure I’ll get flamed for this, but I find the Bot battles far more enjoyable, and as an added bonus, zero anxiety. And while, YES, some challenges are able to be completed playing against bots, it’s impossible to get everything unless you engage in the actual PVP.

And look, I don’t expect rewards to be handed out to us “filthy casuals” for free, that’s not at all what I’m saying. I have zero issues working for everything, I’m just saying there are probably other people like me, who enjoy the Halo gameplay, who don’t enjoy or have a hard time with PVP.

Firefight & Warzone Firefight, having some modes like that would go a long way for someone like me. Big Team Bots would be great too.

I also understand Infinite is still technically in Beta, and things will change in the future. I’m just expressing my specific concerns.

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Look, I’m almost 27 and I feel my reaction time fading. It’s rough. I understand yours is probably gone, maybe my age might not be comparable to yours, but I still manage to excel. You gotta replace that reaction time with better game sense. That’s just how it is. Halo is a great game for this due to the long TTK.

Figure out ways to play smarter and you’ll get there. Try to keep a mental map of everything that’s going on in a match like where your team and enemies are and it helps you predict what they’re gonna do. Run with your teammates and use numbers to overwhelm. Camp, sneak, do whatever you gotta do man. These kids may be able to flick on your head but you got a bigger brain. Use it.

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This is number 1 on my wishlist. Even more than fixing the massive problems with the progression, coatings, and monetization, or even higher than playable elites or dual wielding, which are both personally very close to my heart. Having a nice replayable PVE mode featuring my custom character is something I’ve established as my core halo experience ever since reach gave us noble 6 as a custom campaign character.

Unfortunately, I’ve already accepted that it will likely end up coming after all of those like how it similarly came late for Halo 5. I never actually played 5’s warzone firefight, but from what I saw of it, it looked really cool at its core, just bogged down by reqs being integral to how it functions…Having something like that but cleansed of the -Yoink!- of reqs sounds like it would be an incredible game mode.

Also the bot playlist has been a fun way to experience the arena modes in a PVE format, but I also want some way to experience the BTB modes similarly.

edit:
For reference, considering the OP and replies, I’m turning 30 before year’s end.

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I’m also an old fart, about to turn 43. I have played, and enjoyed Halo from the start. Here’s the thing, I no longer care about any in game challenges that unlock some armor or skin. I just play for fun, and the enjoyment of the game. Crazy, I know. I also enjoy the Bot matches, but I wish we could choose the difficulty. I also do hope Infinite will add some sort of Firefight, or at least a custom game browser.

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yes, difficulty options would also be a big thing id like to see. Maybe as a dropdown box while bot mode is selected, like how ranked has dropdown boxes for inputs and whatnot, with the matchmaking expanding to adjacent difficulties if it has trouble finding a match at the selected difficulty.

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Turned the big 30 this year and I feel it too. I get lucky if I break into the teens for kills. That being said my last challenge is to complete the weekly is 5 killing sprees for fiesta… Fiesta. A game mode I would actively avoid since Halo 5. Now I was able to get ONE killing spree today, but that took a good 5 hours of me playing. So I got nothing else done today.

This challenge system… It should be a background mechanic like the one in Reach. I… We shouldn’t have to fight against time, our daily lives, and what we actually enjoy playing to waste an entire day of playing just to have the hopes of beating ONE challenge to get an armor coating that I will never actually wear cuz I’m not a fan of orange. But just to beat the challenge… Like why am I putting myself through this?
You know why? Cuz I want to complete the challenge that’s presented. Cuz it’s in my face. Cuz until I see that challenge go away I won’t be satisfied.
I hate this challenges, I hate that I feel forced to complete them. I hate that I don’t feel like I can just play Halo.

I miss getting armor for getting up to rank Captain, completing the game on legendary, or finding all the skulls.
Now it’s just… Hmmm which bills can I afford not to pay this month so I can get this Blue Vehicle pack or armor pack.

These money grabbing systems are more or less gambling. It’s addicting to get the useless armor. It preys on poor people the most. Cuz we suck at money management and this type of system takes advantage of that. And yes I mean poor people as poor, not broke. I have cash, but I’m poor. Poor at handling my money. I miss feeling good about unlocking armor. Now when I unlock something it’s like a street side -Yoink!-. Ya get ya Jimmys off, but you feel dirty afterward. That’s what this system is. A cheap -Yoink!-. Hookers can be male or female, no sexism here.

I miss my shotgun. I would have those killing sprees by now with that thing.

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I’m honestly surprised by the non toxicity of the comments so far. Faith in humanity partially restored.

I should clarify a bit.

It’s not about being bad, it’s bout enjoyment. After a week of playing I’m already feeling like I may be done with the game. Of course I’ll play the campaign when it finally comes out, and again when co-op is finally released. But I’m already starting to lose interest in the multiplayer portion of the game. Partially due to my skill level and partially due to the progression system.

I completely understand that everything I’m complaining about is optional cosmetics. But unfortunately, I see no reason to keep playing just for the fun of it when I have, at most, an hour a day (if I’m lucky) to play. Let’s say that averages out to about 6 Bot matches. When your progression bar barely moves because all you’re getting is 50xp out of 1000xp per level, it starts to feel like a waste of time. And this progression system, like most battle pass systems, is psychologically tailored to make you want to get to that next level.

Sure I can go into a session wanting to just “play for fun” but then I make the mistake and look through the rewards, and I see that one piece of armor that would really flesh out the idea of what my spartan is. Even if it’s only in the small little 15 second intro before every match, or sitting in the lobby.

Basically, I’m just sitting here saying, I wish there were more options for those of us who don’t have 8 hours a day to sit and play.

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Well, that’s the point.

They want you to feel the way you’re feeling so you’ll spend money. The f2p model always makes a game worse than if it had just a normal pay-to-play model.

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Here’s the thing practice is the key to anything especially when it comes to muscle memory, I’m 27 and my brain is like a train I can keep going without stopping unless someone stops me so to speak,

yh reaction time slows down as you old, but the flip side like you said you ain’t played for 5 years,

the way I see it you are rusty and need to get back into it and in time your reaction will improve overtime as you play more it’s the same with anything else in life

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You are 100% correct in what you said.

Problem is, it still doesn’t change the time people like me have to commit, not only to this game, but all the others as well. It then starts to become, “well, I’m not progressing, is this game even worth playing anymore?”

Sadly, the way it exists now, no, not really, it’s not worth it. I want it to be worth it, but it’s not.

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All right, hold onto your shorts but, I’ll be 59 in December, so I feel your pain.
I never played Halo until H5, and it was a test of my will to keep playing after getting stomped constantly but I did. The highest rank I ever achieved in Guardians was Platinum 1 in Team Arena and that was starting from Bronze.
My 30 something nephews tolerate my below average skills when we team up, but it’s all in good fun, and I got my 5 Sprees to boot. I may never get to the upper tier but it’s all about the laughs and fun we have.
P.S. I got 152 rank in Guardians and believe me, that took forever when you stink like I do.

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halo actually used to offer a complete experience for players who don’t want PvP. I’ve sunk hundreds of hours into forge mode alone, and firefight offered a ton of replayability with its fully customizable settings. though the bulk of my non-PvP fun in halo was always blasting through campaign with friends. reach even rewarded you for playing all of its PvE modes, so I was never pressured into grinding PvP just to progress.

sadly none of these things will be available for months after launch. I really miss games launching as complete packages.

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Also, why are we not getting any xp for performance? Even a tiny amount of xp per medal would make it feel like there’s some progression happening.

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Have you watched videos on YouTube about the maps or weapons?
I’m old. I realize I have to augment my reflexes with my knowledge and teamwork.
I think guys our age are too quick to say, “I suck. Let’s just have fun.”
I think it stems from games not being recognized as respectable when we started playing. There’s a stigma attached to it.
We can be competitive. If you keep playing and hoping to get better without studying the game and teamwork, you’re to blame.

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Right there with you. I can play PvP, but the days in which I cared to, are long behind me.

That said. Infinite PvP is brilliant, and I am enjoying it. Bit when campaign hits, I’m dust.

I hope Infinite ends up catering to the whole of the fan base.

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Except when it makes it better like more content and regular updates.

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I agree, i’m 37 with psoriatic arthritis and am terrible when it comes to Halo Infinite. More bot modes and challenges would be good. If you are looking for other games to play like halo try some splitgate, it’s free too. If you want to play some halo or other games hit me up.

xMRxBAXTERx

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I am the same, although not nearly as old. 28 going on 29. Halo and Runescape back in the day were the reason I got into PC gaming and haven’t looked back since in the old Halo CE days with dedicated servers and clan wars.

Halo 2 came way too late for PC unfortunately and my clan moved on. I’ve waited for the day Halo comes back to PC and now that it has I’m over the moon.

40 hours in and I just completed my weeklies with several rerolls. I don’t feel good about it honestly. Like I want to play, but nothing about Halo Infinite tells me to play. The flat XP for matchmake makes you not play objective and just try to complete your impossible weeklies along with awful Battle Pass rewards.

The “weeklies” are difficult and unreasonable, honestly most of these challenges need to be “Daily” and weekly needs to change. But that won’t change the issue that the system is broken.

Whoever decided to change the BP from MCC to what it is now in Infinite was the wrong move and the only right one is to implement MCC Battlepass system soon or Halo Infinite will be DOA. But that’s just my opinion as I watch my happy dream slowly becoming a monkey paw wish.

edit- Any of my old Halo clan mates in Xtreme Elites or $uicide $oldiers, i miss yall. hit me up

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I feel your pain but I must be an exception to the getting old rule! All my friends grew up with the original Xbox playing Halo CE, and we’re now all in our late 40s with most of them with jobs, mortgages, wives and kids…and it’s much harder for them to compete now as they simply don’t have the time or reflexes to keep up with younger players. I’m 47 but even though I don’t have as much time as I used to, I’m still capable of holding my own against all age groups…like I said, I’m sure there are others like me at my game but I feel like I’m one of the exception to the rule.

ps. being in your 40s isn’t old! :joy:

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I literally came here to chastise that final weekly challenge. I spent all week grinding them out and swapping a few I knew would take too long. Once I finally had them all, I was blindsided by an unskippable ultimate challenge to get 5 killing sprees in Fiesta. Being that it’s a game full of power weapons, it’s equal parts believable and completely impossible. Good thing I only had access to it with 2 days left in the week :unamused: it would maybe be one thing if it were just three (I managed to get two in one game. Yes, luck) but the fact that I got two, played probably 15 more games and in those couldn’t get more than 2 kills without some idiot with a rocket or a sword standing right behind me is just infuriating. The fact this is unswappable too is just the icing on the “-Yoink!- you” cake. I just want something I can do. I know it’s supposed to be a challenge, but come on. Take into account the fanbase that was there from the beginning and that they’re grown -Yoink!- adults that have less time and skill than they used to; exactly everything you’re saying. Idk any other game that does their weeklys like this and to just not even give a heads up that this ultimate is there is just a slap in the face. The team needs to understand that there’s only so much time we have to do anything and there’s other games we wanna play

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