Throwing all my ideas and suggestions here cos 343 isn’t gonna read the forums anyway.
Progression
Progression for Halo Infinite should reward playing the game and it should revolve around a system which makes playing the game the goal, not achieving specific feats. This is how it should be changed:
Spartan Ranks
Utilizes the classic Military Ranks from MCC, and tours to show how many times the player has completed the cycle.
A new cosmetic reward is given every 5 ranks
XP for levelling up is earned through Multiplayer
Bonus XP is earned through Challenges or Events
Battlepass and Challenges
Battlepass now uses the MCC’s format where items are unlocked through Tokens
Tokens are earned through completing Challenges, or advancing a Spartan Rank
Challenges give 1 Token and bonus XP for completing them, and refreshes Weekly
Events and Rewards
Events now introduce Spartans to Challenges revolving around a theme, rather than a game mode
Special Event can be participated in throughout all game modes and playlists
1 Special Event playlist to help facilitate the Event’s goals (for example, a Shotgun themed Event will have a variety of game modes which alter all player loadouts to only be Shotguns)
You earn Event Tokens for participating in the Event, which you trade in for Credits, Event exclusives or XP
Social features
If Infinite wants to thrive as an MP game, it needs to provide systems for community building. This section will not cover things like pre lobby and VETO systems which should have been a thing from the start.
Spartan Company
Players can form Spartan Companies and invite up to 149 other Spartans to be part of your Company
Spartan Companies can customize their own ranks and permissions
Earning Medals and Scoring in all MP modes will contribute to levelling up your Spartan Company
Spartan Companies unlock their Cohesion Hall upon reaching a certain rank
Cohesion Hall
Player can toggle between 3rd Person and 1st Person views
Players can designate zones in the Cohesion Hall where combat is enabled or disabled
Meant to replace people using CGB to create Social rooms with 16 player limits
Can invite other Spartans to the Cohesion Hall
Company vs Company
Self explanatory.
Limited to 24 v 24 BTB and settings are agreed between the Company leaders
Company members can spectate from their Cohesion Hall
Once a Spartan Company reaches a certain rank, having unlocked their Cohesion Hall as well as having a set number of players active (around 24), new PvE modes will be available for the Company.
Cohesion Hall Firefight will feature up to 24 players in a Firefight vs waves of enemies. Take up arms and defend your home against increasingly difficult waves of enemies. This mode is purely for fun and also serves as a PvE method of increasing Spartan Ranks, though the XP you gain through this will be significantly lesser than simply playing MP.
Headhunter PvE will be a 4 player experience where a Fireteam is sent to kill a set of specific High Value Targets in the Campaign’s overworld. The HVTs will now feature additional mechanics and difficulty, so it will not be as easy as the Campaign experience. Requires the host player to own the Campaign in order to bring the Fireteam along.
Advanced Spartan training will also be available for members of the Company to compete in various skills. Driving, Sniping, Parkour, Equipment usage will be the core features of this mode. Doing well in these modes will also unlock achievements which could also mean more cosmetics related to completion. A leaderboard will record the top performers so that the other members of the Company will have a way to measure their performance.
Spartan Company uniform is a toggle feature which allows all members of the Company to wear the Armor loadout and custom Emblem that the Company leader has set. The limitation here is that you must wear this full set as a Kit and it cannot be changed by the member. These armor pieces and emblems are based on what the Company leader possess, which means that it can also be a way to allow your fellow Company members to share in your purchases and unlocks. Be wary if your Company leader is an absolute clown.
I feel like a great system would be to just have everything in the game cost “tokens”
Every single cosmetic piece.
Every X amount of XP, you get a token.
You can then choose what to spend your tokens on.
Instead of the BP (seasonal and events) having their content locked to the BP, the content in the BP is like 1-2 tokens per level, then, once the season or the event is over, those items go into the store for a higher price.
And they can have a premium currency as well so people can straight up buy stuff with money.
And then, of course we would have the rank progression, just you wouldn’t get “rewards”, it would just be a number or symbol.
That sounds great tbh.
Maybe there could even be a “tournament” system where different companies fight against each other in different modes and then see who comes out on top.
Would really make it feel like a community and even create friendships and rivalries.
Like, maybe Company A and Company D are friends, but both of them are bitter rivals of Company F.
Credits will be used in the shop to purchase all manner of items.
Items purchasable with Credits will be things like Emblems, Colours, core Legacy Armor pieces like MKV, MKVB, MkVI, Shoulder Knife, Mac World 2000 armor etc.
Items not purchasable with credits and have to be purchased with money are things like Armor “Look” slots for saving Armor setups, Challenge refresh, Weapon Skins and never seen before Armor pieces or revamped Armor pieces.
This ensures a wide selection of customization for free players while being able to pay for what you want in addition to the F2P selection.
Sometimes it is crucial to provide incentives for players to get creative. Fileshare. CGB. All these are just the beginning.
Monthly contests with multiple categories.
Best looking Spartan
Best looking Cohesion Hall
Top rated Custom map/game
Top rated Artwork
Top rated Screenshot
Rewards could be either Emblems or Nameplates to show off your achievement.
Top rated Spartans for certain game modes also get Emblems or Nameplates to reflect their achievements.
Public Social Hubs
To further encourage players to individualise and interact, public social hubs need to become a thing.
Public Social Hub in the form of either the Training Academy or a developed FoB on Zeta.
Players can have the option to take their helmets off. (Controversial, I know. But I think many people would like this additional step to personalization)
Dueling feature between two players. An unarmed CQC minigame in 3rd person. If it works well, could be its own game mode.
One thing 343 has never done is to experiment with Assets of the Halo universe to create unique experiences, opting rather to keep screwing with the tried and true traditional Halo experience.
Grunt Birthday Party
Part of Action Sack playlist
modified Juggernaut mode
Players play as Grunts who have only one move: Plasma grenade suicidal charge. Their goal is to prime the grenades and run at the Juggernaut.
Juggernaut plays as a Brute Berserker who attempts to kite the Grunts around and gains score for each second spent alive. Brute Berserker has 2 skills: Melee attack and Adrenal Rush
Maps will feature various interactable items like Mancannons or Gravlifts for Grunts to try and surprise the Juggernaut player.
Invasion: The Great Schism
Replay the events of the Great Schism. Elites vs Brutes BTB with objectives. 24 v 24.
Loadouts enabled to facilitate different Roles.
Weapons like Bruteshot and Covenant Carbine make a return!
This is the sort of thing the community should be doing with Forge.
For 343’s part we need a user friendly custom game browser.
And then we need the ability to feed back / vote for some sort of showcase - where the best community maps and scripts can earn a temporary (or even permanent) playlist.
PS. Love the Grunt Birthday party. We had thought of doing some sort of Juggernaut game with grenades - but the sticky 'nade grunts sound awesome.