Though the game does not officially release until December 8, Halo Infinite's open beta attracted a lot of attention after surprise releasing this month. While it was originally meant to be a launch title for Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S, the first gameplay reveal was underwhelming and so widely discussed that developer 343 Industries delayed the project for a full year. Now that everyone is able to try Halo Infinite's free multiplayer for themselves, it's clear the extra work put in was worthwhile.

However, not every part of the experience has been lauded. While it may be free-to-play, Halo Infinite's multiplayer does come with a battle pass system akin to other popular free games such as Fortnite. Accruing points for this battle pass was initially only tied to completing daily and weekly challenges, which was incredibly slow and led to a number of complaints. A quick fix was pushed out by 343 Industries on November 18, but even so these changes have not appeased everyone.

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How Halo Infinite's Battle Pass Works

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As with many battle passes, including newer attempts such as Deep Rock Galactic's Performance Pass, Halo Infinite's has a rotating seasonal system. The first season, available now as part of its open beta, is "Heroes of Reach" - based largely on the events of Bungie's Halo: Reach from 2010. One stand-out aspect of 343 Industries' approach is that every battle pass is available at all times, meaning players can choose to level up an older pass rather than the current one if they prefer its rewards.

Though battle pass progression is inherent while taking part in multiplayer matches, only a set number of the 100 tiers in each pass are available to players who don't pay. Halo Credits are a microtransaction currency fans can purchase to unlock the Premium rewards in any given battle pass (for only abouut $9.99 USD), as well as some items in the game's storefront. However, everything available on a pass is either cosmetic or used to advance further in that pass, such as XP Boosts and Challenge Swaps, so people don't need to worry about pay-to-win mechanics.

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Why 343 Industries' Fix Wasn't Enough

The problem with the original iteration of Halo Infinite's battle pass is that progression was entirely reliant on completing daily or weekly challenges. Points would be offered up for completing a certain number of matches per-day, or via other more specific means like killing opponents with certain weapon types. These challenges could be refreshed using items such as Challenge Swaps, but otherwise there was no real way to advance in the Season 1 battle pass.

Halo Infinite's solution was simple: Following the November 18 patch, 50 experience could be earned for each individual match played on top of any completed challenges, and 343 Industries said it updated those challenges "to better serve players of all skill levels." That update also included bug fixes pertaining to certain challenges not tracking progress and extended the XP Boost length from 30 minutes to an hour. Because some players' challenges had to be reset mid-way through to accomplish these fixes, 343 is offering everyone the Sigil Mark 7 Visor free the week of November 23 to November 30, 2021.

Despite these changes theoretically improving the system 343 Industries started with, many have pointed out that getting 50 points is slow when each early battle pass tier requires 1,000 experience - especially given the daily challenges in place prior to November 18 were worth 100 points each. Though Halo Infinite Season 1 lasts until May 2022, and players can go back to unlock rewards whenever they want, there are more elegant solutions 343 Industries could implement, perhaps scaling the points everyone earns based on their performance in a match. Luckily, community manager John Junyszek has said this update will only be the first step as the studio gathers feedback.

Halo Infinite launches December 8 for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X.

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