Halo Infinite's first multiplayer event, Fracture: Tenrai, wasn't met with overly favorable reviews, with many fans condemning the long and arduous tasks needed to unlock various samurai-themed cosmetics. Many players were also disappointed that a number of heavily promoted Fracture: Tenrai cosmetics were only available via the game's shop, where real cash needs to be spent.
In response, 343 Industries has not only promised that the next Tenrai event will be much less gruelling, but has also given players a festive-themed event, named the Winter Contingency. This event is completely free to all players, and has an extremely minimal grind, ensuring that basically all players can unlock all the themed gear with ease.
The Festive Treats That Can Be Unlocked
The current Winter Contingency event gives players ten individual cosmetic rewards. These rewards encompass a wide range of Halo Infinite's various customization categories, including armor and weapons skins, nameplate backdrops and emblems, and even some brand new armor pieces, making players' Spartans look truly ready for the holiday season.
The first tier of the free pass is the "Wild Justice" nameplate, depicting a Spartan's helmet on a red background, adorned with white and gold vines. Tier two unlocks the "Peppermint Laughter" armor coating for MK VII armor, giving a player's Spartan a white, red, and teal finish. Tier three and four gives the player both the left and right UA/ Tatius shoulder pads, and tier five gives players the "Peppermint Laughter" color palette for their MA40 Assault Rifle.
Tier six grants the player a "Snowmageddon" backdrop, which depicts a flurry of white snowflakes. The "NAVLOGCOM" nameplate emblem is unlocked next, which shows a Pelican dropship flying around a red globe with large white stars dotted around. The "Peppermint Laughter" skin makes a return for tier eight, this time being available for the MK50 Sidekick pistol.
The final two tiers unlock a Myesel ammo pouch, a new armor piece, and the Sunset Contessa armor coating. This armor coating is a little more muted than the Peppermint skin, using primarily dark orange and brown colors.
How These Are Unlocked
For players looking forward to unlocking some festive goodies, there's some good news; unlike the Tenrai event, all of these rewards can be unlocked very easily, requiring the bare minimum play time for each player. Also unlike the Tenrai event, there are no event-specific challenges.
All a player needs to do to unlock the various rewards of the event is play one game of Arena or Big Team Battle a day. Upon completion of the match, a tier of the pass is unlocked, and the cosmetic is given to the player for free. As there are ten tiers to the pass, and only one reward can be unlocked per day, players will need to carve out time for one match per day for the next ten days to unlock every possible reward.
How Long Players Have To Unlock Them
Halo Infinite's Winter Contingency event is available right now, and runs until January 4, giving players thirteen days in total to unlock the ten rewards. This does mean that players have a little leeway in what days they choose to play the game, though it should be kept in mind that only one tier can be unlocked every 24 hours.
While the general consensus surrounding Halo Infinite has been extremely positive, the Battle Pass system and its slow progression has been condemned by many players. Hopefully this Winter Contingency event will begin to pave the way for future Infinite multiplayer events.
Halo Infinite's Winter Contingency Event is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.