Selling us the same coating with different names is NOT the way

Games Halo Infinite
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It was an unpleasant surprise to learn that the Blue Rampage coating I had unlocked from the battle pass wasn’t compatible with the MkVb, you know, the armor that you unlock from the same battle pass. This is needlessly restrictive, and drastically reduces the customization options we have at a practical level. That also had me worried that the plan was to eventually sell the same coating to us repeatedly with future armor cores as “new” content. Well, while poking around on the waypoint app, I found something unfortunate. New user so I can’t post images or links, but Neon Honor (for the event armor) and Neon Superfly (mk7) are identical. Vermillion Flame and Vermillion Fire are identical. Yikes.

Same exact coatings, slightly different names for different armor cores, and these were jus the two that jumped out at me. This is blatantly anti-consumer. It is the same coating, the same game asset, but shown as a different item. Not acceptable, and not a good business practice.

Lets say I adore a specific armor core. I’m not going to pay attention to any shop listings that aren’t compatible with that core right? Well, as long as coatings are restricted by-core, why consider a bundle if it has nothing for me? If coatings were universal, or you unlocked the equivalent coating for all cores when you got it, then suddenly I have an incentive to check the bundles that include coatings even if I don’t care for the included armor.

Lets consider the opposite, I really adore a specific coating, it’s close to my colors from previous games. As long as that coating is locked to a specific armor core, I have no incentive to consider parts for any other core, until an equivalent coating is available. How many shop rotations would get ignored? That’s potential sales wasted and money left on the table.

As it stands now, if I want my armor cores to match, my only options are to settle for a default coating (losing my coating sales for the forseeable future) or for me to have to watch the shop like a hawk so that I don’t miss my favorite coating’s equivalent for a different core. That encourages unhealthy player behavior, and I expect more from large developers in this day and age.

Furthermore, since these duplicates have different names, for similar color schemes I’d have to do a side-by-side comparison to see if they are even the same. Take those almost-identical-blues in the MkVb. How is someone supposed to match a set of these for other cores if the name changes without schrutinizing the heck out of it.

Overall this makes the shopping experience way worse than it should be. I spend money on cosmetics in other free-to-play games, and I like to support the games I enjoy. The battle-pass is a no brainer for me, but I keep finding reasons to not buy the options from the shop. The core restrictions aren’t shown anywhere in the App when looking at a coating in the shop, so I have to check in-game on my PC or Xbox when the shop rotates, then I have to see which armor it’s compatable with, then I have to guess if it’ll look good with various other parts I’ve unlocked, and in the end it’s enough time to decide it isn’t worth buying. Why make me think that hard about a cosmetic?

If the coatings and visors were universal, I would likely end up dropping the price of two full games by the end of the first season on bundles, but so far I have only picked up the battle pass. Instead of trying on new parts with various color schemes as I unlock them, I disregard what I get, because I prefer the colors available on the other core. This really needs to change.

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Restricting armor customization between amor cores is just terrible & it exists purely for monetization purposes.

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I’m not even sure that it it’s more profitable to have those restrictions in place.

At least concerning coatings and visors, the customization bundles that include some parts and a coating just seem like a really bad value to me as a product, because I know in the back of my mind that a new armor core is right around the corner, and I’d have to abandon that color to use a new core. I’m not a fan of buying something if I’ll need to ditch it in a week.

I’m certain that the armor/coating bundles would sell better if they were more flexible in how they could be used. Why give me a reason not to buy a bundle that includes a color or visor that I like? There have got to be other would-be spenders like myself who are holding back because of these restrictions.

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Several of the armor coatings I’m having a hard time telling apart. If I have to examine two coatings for multiple minutes to tell a difference, your system sucks.

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I’m one if those people holding back when I normally don’t. Why get an armor coating when I can’t even change it or even apply it to a different core?

Just let us have access to 2 color system we’ve always and sell armor coatings as things like patterns, textures, decals, effects, and colors you can’t get using the 2 color system. Make them special additions to the color system we’ve always had and I guarantee people will thriw money at the screen since not only will players be happy to customize their character as they want. But armor cores will be seen as a premium must have for cooler additions and changes to make you stand out hiw you want

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In general, the armor core idea is thoroughly scuffed.

While it makes logical sense for something like the Yoroi armor set, it makes no sense whatsoever for basic armor types.

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True, honestly I kinda have a “hard time” differentiating the Mark VII and the Mark V (B) cores, they could 100% share armor parts without looking bad.

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I’ve noticed something similar with the emblems. Emblems have been separated in the battle pass for armor, vehicles, and spartan id. The noble emblem comes up at least twice in the battle pass, once so you can use it for your id and once so you can put it on vehicles. For how much 343 hyped up the customizability, it seems like they’re making it appear as if there’s more to earn than there actually is.

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I kinda have to agree. I’ve already bought points in advance, but I’m saving them for the Mark VI battle pass.

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It is certainly a deterent to me purchasing anything in the store. Heck, as someone who prefers Mark V [B] (currently anyways), almost nothing I’ve been able to purchase would work with my armor. What incentive do I have at all to buy items/bundles that won’t work with my favorite core?

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Draw attention to an alternative system that offers a good balance between compromise of monetisation and player expression, Warframe’s palette system, since its clear these coatings are simply akin to Destiny Shaders if they were restricted by Class.

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While 343 made it clear that armour types in MCC were restricted to each individual game and could not mix and match between different Halo titles because of time restraints and clipping issues that armours would have if being ported between each game. Which is completely understandable, However Halo Inifinite is an entirely new build and none of those issues that MCC had for amours being mixed and matched or clipping issues should have ANY relevance whatsoever to Halo Infinite, while the issue is not being addressed it only leads players to believe that it is in fact done for entirely monetization purposes. I’m not denying the fact a free game should at least have Microtransactions, but I do believe you should have a little more freedom with the purchases that you make. If I have a custom weapon skin, why am I not aloud to add a weapon charm to it without reverting the skin to default? Seems a tad silly to me.

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I’ve noticed this myself, and quite frankly, it’s disgusting.

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This post is one of the best on the subject and perfectly explains why this is not only a bad idea, it doesn’t even make tactical business sense.

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I don’t agree with that. What armor cores are are basically individual sets with extreme levels of customization. I don’t mind the “armor core” system. I do however think that limiting coatings and visors to specific armor cores/weapons/vehicles is extremely greedy.

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They also separate shoulder pieces. So instead of earning a pair, you earn one then you earn the other later. Add that with how many basic armor colors/coating coatings there are, the redundant armor kits (as in you can use the same armor and coatings and look the same as the noble kits), and redundant emblems their “100 tier battlepass” just feels bloated.

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I have no problem spending money on video games and various add ons that expand the gameplay with new maps etc. but even at $10 the battle pass is a waste of money for cosmetics… the OP is bang on, they will recycle and create subtle variations of every piece of armour or attachment in the years to come… vote with your wallet and just say no….

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Exactly. The “100 something” items they have in there can be broken down to probably half as many items.

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The fact that red and a $5 red are literally identical except one is SLIGHTY darker. Same with the Carter and Kat coatings, they’re identical except one is slighty darker. Or default gray and the lvl99 gray are identical except a couple places have darker paint instead of lighter gray… oh, and blue lights, but 90% of it is the same. Where’s the great customization you promised us 343? Because this is the worst of any Halo game to date with the coatings and lack of options in general when it comes to armor. Yes, even Halo 5. It didn’t take until level 81 to get a new helmet for a “free player” in that game, this almost makes the REQ packs look good…

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Nailed it OP.

Another annoyance I’ve found with having a mixed-core battle pass, is that I’ve been getting mostly stuff for my Vb.
So when I see that my next item is an item for the VII, I feel bummed out, and that it’s not worth my time to rank up for it.

Multiple cores really shouldn’t have been a thing until at least Year 2. I get it for the event cores, as they really are quite different.
But the Vb and VII are almost identical.

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