When will we get The Elites playable again? A “not our priority right now” “will be considered” “maybe next time” have been used too often and we won’t have it. For 10 years, (Excluding MCC) we haven’t been able to play as the Elites since Reach since 343 took over. I do understand it takes time to develop and port over such things into multiplayer. Obviously not have them in ranked/comp, but for casual modes, special modes from Reach like Invasion, Invasion Slayer, or Elite Slayer and Elite only modes. If implemented correctly, there will be more life into the game assuming Custom Games have been entirely fixed and Forge works as intended.
For once 343 made the Elites look really good and to have them not be playable is a very huge missed opportunity. I just hope they get added soon because if 343 wants to do good, they’d listen to ALL of their communities that play Halo instead of what grabs money. Assuming if the color wheel/palettes, more freedom in customization, more ways to unlock armor and cosmetics get reintroduced, then maybe there is hope for Halo Infinite. If not, I dont see this game lasting much without 1/3 of the community and my only reason to play Infinite would be forge. But to end it off, i do hope 343 include Playable Elites in a road map to give an ensemble of hope.
Their Spartan story narrative for multiplayer just irritates me
because it’s either A: a lie created for the sake of having an excuse to divert resources away from adding content such as playable elites, or B: an excuse to make the multiplayer canon despite nobody asking for it to be taken seriously.
Amor cores would’ve benefitted from having Elite options, but with how unfinished the game is I don’t see playable Elites ever returning to the franchise.
If they did the whole “Spartan 4s and Multiplayer role playing” thing properly, I wouldn’t have a huge problem. The thing with 343 is that, they think Spartans are Power Rangers and that it’s somehow empowering to make it mainstream.
YOU’RE A SPARTAN, YOU’RE A SPARTAN, THIS RUDE GUY WITH NO DISCIPLINE? SPARTAN! EVERYONE’S A SPARTAN.
When everyone is powerful, no one is.
Now how could they do it properly? Take notes from Warframe and Destiny. They both have their respective “Player Caste” which is mostly limited to the Player experiencing the narrative with the absence of an overarching In-Your-Face fact being shoved down your throat that you are one of many.
If there needs to be a narrative, have it be a solo experience. Then MP PvP is just straight up narrative-free and for fun.
Importantly, the narrative also has to fit the Elite player, so off the bat the entire “Spartan Academy” thing does not work. Just have the narrative be that you’re a survivor found by Zeta Halo’s ground team after Chief has been through the place. If you were a Spartan, the NPCs will greet you warmly. If you were an Elite, the NPCs will bring you in at gunpoint to decide if you were friendly or not. Maybe you’re an Elite sent by Swords of Sanghelios to scout for information. Maybe you’re a Banished turncoat. Halo Infinite should have been THIS sort of experience, expanding on never before explored stories and experiences.
Definitely not just a loose B-Movie thrown in to give cheap narrative.
Going by the recent leak videos, I don’t think we ever will. It’s a real shame. I’d like to play as Makee for example. No Spartan armor, just her being similar to John with that Forerunner je ne sais quoi.
I think one glaring factor is that Infinite feels like it was heavily designed and balanced around Esports. Some have already cited hitboxes of Elites in previous iterations.
Personally I think there is room for slightly different attributes to balance, like you might have different classes without going full blown hero shooter. Like you could have affinity for Covenant weapons over UNSC.