I think that it’s pretty obvious that one of the most controversial additions to Halo 5 was that of the REQ system. Some people love it for its benefits, others hate it for the fact that it took away a staple of the Halo series, Armor customization. I’m firmly in the middle. I understand that games now a days have to have a microtransaction system like this in place. As much as I hate it, it’s just the way that it works now.
Lately I’ve been playing other games more and more. Games like Overwatch, Rocket League, and DOOM, while also getting back into Destiny a little bit. Doing this has given me a more objective look at Halo 5’s “Loot” system, and how it doesn’t feel as rewarding as a lot of other systems out there. There are a couple of reasons for this. First of all, the REQ system is over saturated big time. There is so much garbage in there that no one cares about. Second of all, there is no control over what you get. While this second point is true for a lot of the games that I just listed as well, it just doesn’t feel that way. When I level up in DOOM or Rocket League, open a Loot Box in Overwatch, or open an Engram in Destiny it all feels so much better than opening REQ packs in Halo 5.
Unlike most of the systems listed above, the REQ system has a huge impact on the way that the game in played. Obviously this is seem most heavily in Warzone, but its impact is greater than a lot of you might think. Because 343i have to account for all of the possible REQ variations in their Warzone maps, it makes it very hard to create new and exciting experiences in Warzone. That’s a huge part in why all of the maps use very similar layouts and have the exact same objective. Halo: Reach and Halo 4 suffered a similar problem with Armor Abilities, one that Halo 3 didn’t have to suffer because Bungie could pick and choose what equipment was on what map, and how that could and would influence play. When there are nearly unlimited possibilities on a map it really limits what the devs can do. They have to account for everything. Favyn had a really good commentary on that in this video. To me the only option to make Warzone a much more enjoyable and varied experience is to remove the weapon variant system from the game entirely. Most of it is repetitive and it undermines some very important parts of what makes Halo special in today’s market such as map and weapon control. Removing them would allow 343i to truly stretch their imagination on Warzone maps, and allow them to make some crazy maps. Imagine fighting a Scarab as a boss, or having flyable Pelicans. And it’s not like crazy weapons couldn’t still exist. Legendary weapons are an awesome addition to Halo 5 and should stay. I loved how the Beta implemented the Prophet’s Bane on Truth and can see a future where we get to keep that awesome guns that we all love. Weapons like The Answer and Whiplash can stay, while getting rid of a lot of the unnecessary fluff.
Now that we’ve removed the weapon and vehicle variants from the REQ pool it leaves only cosmetic items. IMO, this is a very good thing. But we can’t be done yet. Halo has had a strong history of Armor customization, and Halo 5 took a step back in that regard by limiting your choices to only Visor, Helmet, and Armor. Where are all the options? Where are the options to pick two different shoulders? Or Forearm and Leg options? All of that needs to come back. More importantly, all of that needs to come back and be achievable in game through an achievement system. This can be through a couple of different means. Destiny like quest lines that require you to do certain tasks, beating the campaign, completing commendations, just playing the game. There are nearly endless possibilities. Like it was said in the video above. Helljumper could be rewarded for Ground Pounding someone after jumping out of a vehicle that if 60 ft in the air. Weapon stances could be rewarded by completing each weapons commendation. They could add stances of you high jacking a Warthog, or Ghost, or Banshee for completing those commendations. Special Armor sets unique to multiplayer, Firefight, and Campaign, allowing you to show off what part of the game you play or like the most.
I don’t know how many of you people have seem this (it’s the same as the one above), but they do a really good job of essentially rebuilding the REQ system. Base pieces of Armor through achievements, skins through a REQ like system, and you couldn’t wear skins unless you had the base unlocked. I love this idea, it encourages people to play all parts of the game. Imagine unlocking a skin that you really like, but the base armor is only unlock-able by completing the campaign on Legendary, you aren’t a campaign person per se so you have to go to the forums, or join a clan to find like minded people wanting to do the exact same thing. That is how a community is made. In the video however Luke TheNotable talks about having a Halo: Reach like credit system in place to allow people to buy skins that they want from a Halo: Reach like store. I don’t like this idea. I would rather 343i basically rip the Loot Box system from Overwatch out directly, and put it into the next Halo game. You open up packs, and duplicates give you a currency (hopefully 343i would pick cR) that you can then spend on cosmetic items. Other than opening packs and getting this currency there should be no other way to get it. The way that you would get Loot Boxes would be by leveling up. Which leads me into my next point.
The leveling system should be endless, and should not grow more difficult to level up past a certain point. I’m talking like level 20ish. One problem with the Halo system is that it has always had an ending. General, Inheritor, SR 130, level 152. Why do these systems have to end? There is no real reason to, and leveling up on a regular basis feels good. Seeing that number go up and receiving a reward feels good. Why should that end?
They should also bring back challenges, but instead of giving you currency for completing them it should just give you experience to help you level up faster. This would obviously feed into the Loot Box system. There should be daily, weekly, and monthly challenges, and they should split them between multiplayer/Warzone, Firefight/Warzone, and campaign. Challenges would finally be the thing that keep people coming back. Something that, to me personally, Halo 5 didn’t have.
Let’s look at the entire system now. By removing REQ variants from the system it allows Warzone to flourish as a gametype. Legendary weapons can fill the role that variants used to fill while letting 343i create some truly special and unique encounters due to the fact that they don’t have to account for the massive fluff that is the REQ variants. Base Armors pieces would be achieved in game, while armor and weapon skins would be achieved in an Overwatch style Loot Box system. Challenges would come back, giving daily, weekly, and monthly challenges that are something to aim for, while also helping encourage people to experience all that Halo has to offer. Overall this system sounds amazing in my eyes. It simultaneously is more rewarding, helps build the community, and allows for Warzone to shine as the pinnacle of chaotic Halo multiplayer. It can’t work though if the skins suck. They have to be amazing. This leads me into my last point.