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[MrFunSocks]

One thing to bear in mind is COD games are designed to be "completed" in 12 months, although realistically most people have hit the max cap for both the main account as well as weapons by around the 4-6 month mark.

Halo Infinite is a game designed to last a decade. If people grind it out within 4-6 months what will they be left with?

I've been playing Rainbow Six Siege for 6 years and I can still play it 12 hours a day without getting bored. I think Halo has more to learn from R6 than COD as far as progression goes.

Not to mention that the "progression" system in Halo Infinite is vastly different to COD and co in that there are no weapon unlocks, no perk unlocks, no weapon attachment unlocks, etc. It's 100% cosmetics. You don't need to level up every gun ASAP in order to get the extended mag and the ACOG scope. You don't need to hit level 20 so you can unlock a perk to let you see through walls. They're fundamentally different systems. One is just a casual cosmetic unlock system, the other is intrinsically tied in to gameplay.

The only difference between a level 1 and level 100 player in Halo is they'll look different. In COD a level 1 vs a level 55 (or whatever the max is now) is massive because that level 1 player is using iron sights with crappy killstreaks with less bullets in their clip with more recoil etc etc. And when the next battle pass starts, you're back to level 1 on Infinite! There is no overarching progression system in Halo Infinite social play like there is in COD.

I wish people would stop calling it a "progression system" and instead call it what it is, a cosmetic unlock system.

 

[Pedro Motta]

Fuck this game, I'm out. I'm only returning when I get a proper team to play it. This matchmaking is worse than Rocket League, no one plays the objectives. It's frustrating as hell.

 

[twilo99]

From my understanding it's not optimized yet for PC. Final drivers have not been put out for graphics cards with halo instruction profiles.

The bigger thing thats needs addressing is Mouse/Keyboard aiming vs Controller. I dont want to use a controller period for this game on PC. Yet there's an automatic advantage with the aim assist being very generous and making it so you can trail enemies better. I tried hooking in a controller and aiming the gun felt good, movement felt shitty using left stick. Even with things dialed up.

Guess Ill deal with the shit accuracy issues the game has for PC.

That's really good news if that's the case and hopefully they can get it sorted for the "official" release or whenever.

As far as aiming, what do you mean about accuracy issues on PC? It feels like any other shooter to me.. your hand movements directly translate on the screen, I haven't noticed anything weird about that.

The aim assist situation is always going to be tricky to balance and I am used it from warzone.. I'm rather grateful for it to be honest, that way we can all play together.

 

[twilo99]

Not to mention that the "progression" system in Halo Infinite is vastly different to COD and co in that there are no weapon unlocks, no perk unlocks, no weapon attachment unlocks, etc. It's 100% cosmetics. You don't need to level up every gun ASAP in order to get the extended mag and the ACOG scope. You don't need to hit level 20 so you can unlock a perk to let you see through walls. They're fundamentally different systems. One is just a casual cosmetic unlock system, the other is intrinsically tied in to gameplay.

The only difference between a level 1 and level 100 player in Halo is they'll look different. In COD a level 1 vs a level 55 (or whatever the max is now) is massive because that level 1 player is using iron sights with crappy killstreaks with less bullets in their clip with more recoil etc etc.

And to be honest I think activision have the right formula here...

 

[jigglet]

And to be honest I think activision have the right formula here...

I agree and disagree.

I agree that it's more fun. But overall I hate the fact that each game is killed off in 12 months, and generally by the 24 month mark anyone outside the US and UK will not be able to find a game. Out of the dozen or so COD's in the last 15 years I can only really say I loved 3 of them, and they have zero community left. It's depressing sitting there on the match making screen knowing it's dead. So yes while I agree it's more fun, if it also means the trade off is the game dies in 12-24 months, then fuck it, I'm going to say it's the wrong approach.

 

[dorkimoe]

I really wish the weapons had their own xp level up for skins or whatever

 

[Crew511A]

Fuck this game, I'm out. I'm only returning when I get a proper team to play it. This matchmaking is worse than Rocket League, no one plays the objectives. It's frustrating as hell.

Yeah, I think a ranked Slayer play list would go a long way here. My GT is Crew 511A if anyone wants to party up.

 

[ZehDon]

After several days, it's clear 343i have a really solid foundation with great gunplay and surprisingly enjoyable maps, but they still have a lot of work to do:

• CQC is a total crapshoot right now.
  • Clipping through enemies turns CQC into hot trash.
  • Melee is laughably inconsistent.
  • The radar is fundamentally broken and provides incorrect information. Needs to be fixed or turned off.
• Weapons still need tweaking.
  • I generally don't touch most of the brute weapons.
  • A lot of higher calibre weapons are out matched by simple AR/Sidekick combo.
  • Nerf to commando went too far.
• Progression system is hot garbage
  • Actively incentivises people to NOT play correctly.
  • Forces me to play games I don't like with weapons I don't enjoy.
  • Clearly designed to limit ability to progress by design.
  • Easily the worst online progression system I've ever seen. Like, holy fuck - fire whoever made this piece of shit.
• Customisation is laughably empty.
  • Locking armour pieces and colours to specific "Armour cores" is garbage.
    • It's clear that they want to use the same colours and armour pieces for future season's "armour cores" so they don't have to make as much content.
  • There is so little actual customisation to be unlocked. They shouldn't have launched with content this anaemic.

However, of the above negative points, it's really only the CQC stuff that is truly damaging to the game. If they fix that up, the actual meat and potatoes of the moment-to-moment would probably be the best Halo has ever been. 343i really have designed a quality sandbox and executed the Halo combat loop damn near perfectly. Hell, even the maps are good across the board. There isn't one in the list that I dread playing, which is quite an achievement in and of itself given some of the previous stuff 343i has put out. Haven't put this much time into an online shooter in years, and when it all works well, its amazing. The rest of the stuff bugging me will be fixed up pretty quickly I expect. No one is enjoying the progression system, so I doubt that'll stand for too much longer. It's really, really, really bad. And balance tweaks will be made and customisation will be added in due course, fixing up my other complaints.

Made me realise how much I missed quality Halo. It's good to have it back.

 

[01011001]

Fuck this game, I'm out. I'm only returning when I get a proper team to play it. This matchmaking is worse than Rocket League, no one plays the objectives. It's frustrating as hell.

you can thank whoever came up with the worlds shittiest progression system. people will only do their weekly challenges and usually ignore the objective or actively sabotage your team to prolong the game in order to complete a challenge.
if they don't take these type of challenges out of the game fast I see a lot of people leaving... it really isn't fun when half of the players on your team are borderline braindead and the other half ignores what is happening in order to camp at the spawn of some weapon they need or a vehicle they need to do a challenge.

 

[Pedro Motta]

you can thank whoever came up with the worlds shittiest progression system. people will only do their weekly challenges and usually ignore the objective or actively sabotage your team to prolong the game in order to complete a challenge.
if they don't take these type of challenges out of the game fast I see a lot of people leaving... it really isn't fun when half of the players on your team are borderline braindead and the other half ignores what is happening in order to camp at the spawn of some weapon they need or a vehicle they need to do a challenge.

It's really a shame cuz I'm REALLY enjoying the game. But I still haven't convinced my friends to jump in with me, so I'll skip it until then. Also rotating 4 times in a row the same map...come on. When is a new season coming out? This will get old pretty quickly.

 

[01011001]

It's really a shame cuz I'm REALLY enjoying the game. But I still haven't convinced my friends to jump in with me, so I'll skip it until then. Also rotating 4 times in a row the same map...come on. When is a new season coming out? This will get old pretty quickly.

6 months, that's also when the coop mode launches... then another (at least) 3 monts after that forge will launch...
so it will take a while

 

[Crew511A]

6 months, that's also when the coop mode launches... then another (at least) 3 monts after that forge will launch...
so it will take a while

There's no way they can go that long without new content. The game is fun, but it definitely needs more maps.

 

[Papacheeks]

Gameplay is fantastic when things are…… consistent. Right now consistently damage output and hit detection on melee and certain power ups need ton of tweaking.

 

[MastAndo]

I caved on an Elite Series 2 controller because of the price drop and played a bunch of games against bots to get accustomated to the paddles. I took to having just 2 paddles attached (for jump and crouch/slide) fairly quickly, and am now messing around with 4 (adding sprint and equipment) which is twisting my brain into a pretzel. This is going to take a while, but I can already see how this can be a game changer.

Any suggestions to maximize the effectiveness of it? I haven't messed with sensitivity curves or anything, just tightened the sticks for that old Xbox 360 controller feel and it feels pretty great as is. Not sure any controller is worth this price tag unless you've got the loot to burn, but I'm enjoying it.

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

I caved on an Elite Series 2 controller because of the price drop and played a bunch of games against bots to get accustomated to the paddles. I took to having just 2 paddles attached (for jump and crouch/slide) fairly quickly, and am now messing around with 4 (adding sprint and equipment) which is twisting my brain into a pretzel. This is going to take a while, but I can already see how this can be a game changer.

Keep at it once you get used to those paddles you wont be able to go back to a regular controller.

Being over 50 years old it took this old brain quite awhile to get adjusted.

Funny enough when my young nephew picked that controller up (probably 10 at the time) his young brain took to it super fast

 

[MastAndo]

Keep at it once you get used to those paddles you wont be able to go back to a regular controller.

Being over 50 years old it took this old brain quite awhile to get adjusted.

Funny enough when my young nephew picked that controller up (probably 10 at the time) his young brain took to it super fast

Yeah, I hear that. I'm 41, so the reflexes aren't what they used to be. Fortunately this game gives you a little time to react, unlike CoD, which is why I'm having a better time with it.

Same story here with the nephews (and nieces). I thought I was the man at Smash Bros for a bit, and my nephew has been making easy work of me since he was barely 12. The games they have grown up with are far more complex than the ones we used to play at that age.

 

[Kagero]

found out the MP was free on steam and decided to give it a go. Feels nice to not die on spawn. Had a lot of fun! Goodbye COD. Never knew ya.

 

[Razvedka]

They need to rework grenades imo. Also, KB + M is borked for many players, including myself. I've had to switch to a controller on PC.

All in all though this is amazing, such a solid experience. I've played many hours so far.

 

[MrFunSocks]

They need to rework grenades imo.

What don't you like about them?

 

[Feel Like I'm On 42]

In the end for multiplayer I switched to KB/M. No matter how much I tried, controller into just not fast or precise enough for me.

And this, despite some people trying to claim that controller is easier to play well in Infinite, is why cross play is bullshit. I tried finding Portal matches in BF2042 the other day with cross play turned off and couldn't find a single lobby that had enough players for a match. When people are presented with the option to choose cross play "on" or "off" and especially when its always set to ON by default in these games, we really have no choice put to play with PC or we won't be able to find games.

It works out great for these companies and for PC players because it's the trendy thing now and it makes racking up that k/d easier for one group. There is little upside for controller users. Even with the best auto aim controller is no match for the 1:1 input and quick movement of a m+k.

"I say, and I say it again, you been had! You been took! You been hoodwinked! Bamboozled! Led astray! Run amok!”

We worry about progression systems in Battlepasses leading to unfair balance but nobody ever mentions how unfair the foundation of every match is due to cross play.

 

[Andodalf]

First HCS BA event is live now, grand finals just got reset, incredible stuff.

 

[RPS37]

What don't you like about them?

IMO I think they’re not deadly enough.

 

[jigglet]

We should all take a moment to recognize just how smooth this has launched. I can’t remember another large scale live service game that landed this well. There are bugs and balancing issues but considering the shit I’ve had to endure over the last decade this is so sweet.

I remember anxiously waiting until midnight for many big releases and being crushed with disappointment that I’ve been unable to play with all my friends, who had also taken time off work. The last being C&C Remastered. When the clock hits midnight and servers are down, you have issues forming a party, it’s crippled with lag and bugs and workarounds, it’s easy to forget just how much Microsoft fucking nailed this.

When I see that everyone’s biggest issue with this game is the progression system I think: MS you did well.

 

[captainraincoat]

This game has pretty much swallowed up the BF2042 and COD userbase it seems
matchmaking has been absolute shit in those 2 games at the moment (more-so than the bugs)

 

[Phase]

We should all take a moment to recognize just how smooth this has launched. I can’t remember another large scale live service game that landed this well. There are bugs and balancing issues but considering the shit I’ve had to endure over the last decade this is so sweet.

I remember anxiously waiting until midnight for many big releases and being crushed with disappointment that I’ve been unable to play with all my friends, who had also taken time off work. The last being C&C Remastered. When the clock hits midnight and servers are down, you have issues forming a party, it’s crippled with lag and bugs and workarounds, it’s easy to forget just how much Microsoft fucking nailed this.

When I see that everyone’s biggest issue with this game is the progression system I think: MS you did well.

The gameplay is smooth and it's somewhat fun but overall it bores me. 343 still makes so many baffling design decisions with the gameplay.

Also, they really didn't need to take MP out of the full game and still sell the campaign for $60. That was a purely greedy move to go crazy with microtransactions. I won't be supporting the game as I won't support these practices, but I do hope they can make something of the campaign. Halo fans deserve a good campaign.

 

[Stuart360]

This game has pretty much swallowed up the BF2042 and COD userbase it seems
matchmaking has been absolute shit in those 2 games at the moment (more-so than the bugs)

Yeah Halo has been averaging 130-200k users per day since launch on Steam, even now at this time of night there are 130k playing. Battlefield has been close to half daily (although not free to be fair).
All i see in chat on streams of Battlefield is people saying Halo is the game to play this fall, and after playing Battlefield, i agree.

Its funny as some idiot in one of the other Halo threads said that 'outside of the fanboys and shills' the general feeling from gamers is that Halo MP is bad.

 

[jigglet]

Also, they really didn't need to take MP out of the full game and still sell the campaign for $60. That was a purely greedy move to go crazy with microtransactions. I won't be supporting the game as I won't support these practices, but I do hope they can make something of the campaign. Halo fans deserve a good campaign.

That's a seriously glass half empty way of looking at this...

 

[Nemesis Prime]

You guys are playing the game all wrong if your complaining about some of the weapons

the mangler is insanely OP, you need to use it as a one shot melee combo

the heat wave is very very strong, just watch the HCS games for proof of this

The bulldog is king, great weapon with good range, very easy to lock down areas with it

 

[h00ters]

The NA HCS tournament that just finished was insane.

 

[Phase]

That's a seriously glass half empty way of looking at this...

Meh I've tried to like 343's renditions of Halo but I just can't get into them. I'm glad the gameplay is fluid and solidly done. The game is visually nice too. People will certainly enjoy it. I'll probably pick it up for campaign on deep discount in a year. I'm sure it will be decent. I wonder if mods will be a thing since campaign is standalone. That could get interesting.

 

[Xaero Gravity]

Yeah Halo has been averaging 130-200k users per day since launch on Steam, even now at this time of night there are 130k playing. Battlefield has been close to half daily (although not free to be fair).
All i see in chat on streams of Battlefield is people saying Halo is the game to play this fall, and after playing Battlefield, i agree.

Its funny as some idiot in one of the other Halo threads said that 'outside of the fanboys and shills' the general feeling from gamers is that Halo MP is bad.

To be fair Halo does look like someone's school project

 

[Ozriel]

oh wow really? I thought it was good that they were giving all the maps free and stuff, I didn't know they had some MTX thing going on..

is this where we’re at now ? Acting shocked that a Free to Play game has Microtransactions? They’re going to make all the post launch content for free, living off on your goodwill and positive Karma?

 

[Balducci30]

Meh I've tried to like 343's renditions of Halo but I just can't get into them. I'm glad the gameplay is fluid and solidly done. The game is visually nice too. People will certainly enjoy it. I'll probably pick it up for campaign on deep discount in a year. I'm sure it will be decent. I wonder if mods will be a thing since campaign is standalone. That could get interesting.

This one’s good. 4 and 5 sucked.

 

[twilo99]

This game has pretty much swallowed up the BF2042 and COD userbase it seems
matchmaking has been absolute shit in those 2 games at the moment (more-so than the bugs)

BF.. maybe, CoD.. not a chance

 

[Qaloon]

this game's main problems are quality of life related. the menus are complete ass. the progression system sucks. the game crashes on people causing them to lose so much csr. the ranking system overinflates a player's individual performance instead of win/loss.

but the gameplay loop? they fucking nailed it, which is crazy coming from 3v4 industries. i'm excited for this game's future and i am glad to no longer be playing mcc.

 

[twilo99]

To my surprise, I haven't had a single crash. It could be related to drivers, etc. for different GPUs and all that.

Does it crash a lot on the xbox s/x ?

 

[Ozriel]

The gameplay is smooth and it's somewhat fun but overall it bores me. 343 still makes so many baffling design decisions with the gameplay.

What ‘baffling decisions with the gameplay’?

Also, they really didn't need to take MP out of the full game and still sell the campaign for $60. That was a purely greedy move to go crazy with microtransactions. I won't be supporting the game as I won't support these practices, but I do hope they can make something of the campaign. Halo fans deserve a good campaign.

Strongly disagree. After years of everyone shrieking that Halo was ‘dead’ and the fanbase had moved on, launching F2P was a surefire way of getting a large player base, and then keeping them hooked with the gameplay. And it’s worked. There’s more PC concurrents on Infinite than Battlefield 2042.

there’s no evidence that it’s ‘gone crazy with microtransactions’.

Imagine buying and playing Doom and Doom Eternal for $60 for essentially Single player alone, but drawing the line at a massive Halo campaign for $60.

 

[jigglet]

there’s no evidence that it’s ‘gone crazy with microtransactions’.

There's no gameplay / stat affecting MTX. It's already passed the first and most important test. The rest I couldn't care less about. I haven't even changed any of my skins lol

 

[Nico_D]

Fuck this game, I'm out. I'm only returning when I get a proper team to play it. This matchmaking is worse than Rocket League, no one plays the objectives. It's frustrating as hell.

That has always been the case, regardless of a game. No algorithm can change people.

I played capture the flag yesterday and noticed the same.

 

[Graciaus]

Strongly disagree. After years of everyone shrieking that Halo was ‘dead’ and the fanbase had moved on, launching F2P was a surefire way of getting a large player base, and then keeping them hooked with the gameplay. And it’s worked. There’s more PC concurrents on Infinite than Battlefield 2042.

there’s no evidence that it’s ‘gone crazy with microtransactions’.

Imagine buying and playing Doom and Doom Eternal for $60 for essentially Single player alone, but drawing the line at a massive Halo campaign for $60.

They succeeded in getting a large amount of people to download a f2p game. Now if even half the amount sticks around in a few months is the real test. Halo was considered "dead" because the popularity was nothing compared to what it once was.

The real issue with the game is the decision to have almost no modes. Progression, challanges and all that stuff is irrelevant. If I want to just play slayer I can't. You can call it a beta to try and tip toe around that.

 

[Ozriel]

They succeeded in getting a large amount of people to download a f2p game. Now if even half the amount sticks around in a few months is the real test. Halo was considered "dead" because the popularity was nothing compared to what it once was.

Well, going F2P was a step in the right direction. We’ll see how the next few months shake out.

 

[Darlingcognito]

I can't seem to find a game. Times out saying no matches found.

I get that a lot when the game has started from quick resume.

 

[Nico_D]

I get that a lot when the game has started from quick resume.

It is the same with Grounded, can't host or join multiplayer if starting from quick resume.

 

[JordoftheDead]

I get that a lot when the game has started from quick resume.

Yep, quick resume always farks up sever connections.

 

[Hitchyhero]

Bro. I’m so bad. I want to love this game but I get so frustrated. I’ll have a few decent games and get smashed for an hour. I can’t kill anyone with the battle riffle which most love. It’s by far my worst weapon so in ranked I get in destroyed.

I know your supposed to take down the shields first but I just suck

I'm glad others have said this. I mentioned a few days ago that I have have some good games where people die relative to the bullets I've put in them....

But then other times I can lay a whole clip in them but I die first with a few bullet it's from then. Someoje said that can't happen as the rifle takes 3 or max 4 rounds.... But I've done way more than that at times and they still dont get taken down.

 

[Helghan]

That has always been the case, regardless of a game. No algorithm can change people.

I played capture the flag yesterday and noticed the same.

In case of CTF I immediately decide that I'll just defend our flag and give support in case they are almost back with the enemies flag.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

CTF can be a hit or miss, it all depends on your team. I actually really enjoy it, even if I'm playing with monkeys.

I just wish that the scoring system would recognize better the support in getting the enemy flag back to base. Yesterday I was a driver and we got 3 flags in like 2.5 minutes.

My team won but I was at the bottom of the table.

 

[Gameplaylover]

Fuck this game, I'm out. I'm only returning when I get a proper team to play it. This matchmaking is worse than Rocket League, no one plays the objectives. It's frustrating as hell.

Well i'm guilty too. I just want to improve my skilly and look for a 1:1. I think many new players do this first. But the matchmaking in the big games is fine, all of my 24 people games were super close. The 8 people games on the other hand were sometimes a bit one-sided, because a very good player can easily carry a team.

 

[MidGenRefresh]

Not interested in the multiplayer part (I'm too old for that) but I just played one game of "Oddball" and it was rather intense. Got peak performance achievement (whatever that means) but ultimately my team lost.

Game looks super clean and crisp. Beautiful art style and textures.

I can't wait for the campaign now.

OK, scratch that. 2 days ago I decided to "play one more match". Now I'm 20 hours in and with premium battle pass.

Game is pure heroin. I haven't played any MP since Halo 3 and Gears of War days.

The best part is... I still got it. I can have games where I die ~3 times and score 25 kills in 4v4 Slayer.

I can see myself playing this for years to come.

 

[Havoc2049]

Fuck this game, I'm out. I'm only returning when I get a proper team to play it. This matchmaking is worse than Rocket League, no one plays the objectives. It's frustrating as hell.

Then get a team. Microsoft's own Looking For Games (LFG) is great. Then you have numerous Halo Clans (some casual, some hardcore), Discord groups, gaming groups and forums to meet people to join up with. If I'm going to be gaming for a large chunk of time, I always group up with people. The only time I don't group up if I only have time for a few matches. We have a Halo group here at GAF in the community section. With a little bit of effort, it's easy to find people to game with.