Hi 343, let me just say that I really appreciate that you guys are taking the time to listen to your community. Community feedback is crucial to making a great game, and I’m glad you realize the importance of it.
Halo 5 was my first Halo game, I started playing it a couple months ago, and then tried the MCC. I don’t have much experience with the franchise, but I plan on playing Halo Infinite. I played the Halo Infinite flight as much as I could from September 25-26.
As a fairly new player, there are some things this game could improve upon. Certain things need to change before launch to avoid driving new players away (both new and returning players are important to the game’s longevity). Here are some pros and cons I found during my time with this weekend’s flight
PROS:
There is a good level of armor customization. You can create really unique and awesome looking Spartans. I can’t wait to see what we can do in the future. I’d love to see a Gen 1 Recon or ODST helmet with up-armored and CNM attachments
The higher level bots feel like actual people, which are good for training against.
The Armor Coatings look good for the most part. Bleached Bone, Scorpion Punch, and Estate Blue look amazing.
I really got attached to my Spartan and felt like I was one. The “fantasy” aspect of the game is well done with the great intro poses, mannerisms, and armor designs.
The Voice-To-Text setting works flawlessly. I could read everything my teammates said with perfect clarity
You guys nailed the assault rifle. It’s finally a usable primary weapon. It’s great to see Halo’s most iconic weapon get the love it deserves
The weapon sounds are good for the most part. They’re loud and impactful
Kill Hitmarkers are really satisfying and make the gunplay a bit more fun
The overall art style of the game is amazing
I loved the AIs. I literally couldn’t get enough of them. It was really heartwarming when they spoke, but surprisingly, my AI (BUTLR) barely talked throughout most games, even when I would get a triple kill or hammer kill or something like that. I hope to see the AIs expanded upon when the game releases.
CONS:
The aiming feels awful. I’ve had much more trouble in this game than any other Halo game I’ve played (H5 or any MCC game). It’s almost uncontrollable, with my reticle never going where I want it to go, usually being way too sensitive, even on low sensitivity, or sometimes too slow. It’s really inconsistent and frustrating, and is a major problem that hurts the gameplay.
The progression system needs work. It felt like an absolute slog getting through 13 tiers of the battle pass. Since challenges are the only way to make progress, matches where you aren’t completing at least one challenge don’t count for anything. It doesn’t matter how well you do in a match, because you’re either getting barely any XP or none at all. This is perhaps the game’s biggest setback. Only a few rewards can be unlocked without the use of premium currency.
further worsening this issue. A frustrating, grindy, and slow progression system with only one way to move forward will make many players quit soon after launch day.
The weapon balancing needs a bit of tuning. While the AR feels great, the Battle Rifle is extremely difficult to use effectively. It could either use a slightly quicker TTK (closer to Halo 5’s H2 BR) or increased bullet magnetism, because with the game’s current aiming issues, it’s almost unusable unless you are at extremely long ranges. The bulldog is quite underpowered as a shotgun. It usually takes 3 to 4 shots to kill an enemy, who will have meleed you to death before you can get the kill. The sidekick just feels inconsistent. When I use it, it can’t hit moving targets or anything past point-blank range, but when enemies use it, I get shredded. I think all of the weapons (except for the AR) could use a Red Reticle Range Buff.
Bullet Delay. When using precision weapons, I found that when you fire your gun, there is a noticeable delay before the bullets actually hit your target. The BR takes about half a second for your bullets to register, severely limiting its capabilities. If you shoot at a moving target or get off a burst right before you die, your shots will not register. This is another frustrating issue that will hopefully be fixed before launch.
The medal sizes need to be much larger. In the MCC, a huge part of my experience in multiplayer matches is the large medals that pop up on your screen when you do something cool. I like seeing the game commend you for your skill. In the flight, the medals were barely noticeable, so you felt like you were just kind of “ignored” throughout the match. Medal sizes closer to the MCC or even Halo 5’s would be a big improvement
This isn’t a pro or con, but I also think it would be nice if we were allowed to keep the items we unlocked for our Spartan during the flights, as we helped test the game to ensure a more successful launch day, and it would be a gesture of gratitude towards the community for their help. Building community trust and respect is important, since they are what keeps a game afloat.
This game has potential, and I can tell you guys worked hard on it. It just needs some fixes before launch to be able to hold on to and please the playerbase from the start. Thanks again for reading, it means a lot 