One of the big surprises at Microsoft's X019 event in London this year was the announcement that Halo: Reach would finally be coming to Xbox One and PC versions of the Halo: Master Chief Collection on December 3. Highly regarded by most fans, it has taken 5 years for Halo: Reach to make it into the collection, though based on how well the collection has been selling on PC, it's clear that fan excitement has remained incredibly strong. While gameplay remains the same as fans remember, 343 Industries have changed a few things with the experience from technical details to the unlockables in-game.

Even though Halo: Reach is a port of an older game from 2010, the way that players can unlock various items and gear such as armor is completely different. Previously, players could earn credits by playing the different game modes like Firefight, campaign, multiplayer or creating things in the Forge. Credits served a dual purpose for players by acting as spendable currency, while also being the XP system that controlled player rank.

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While the new version of Halo: Reach ditches this credit system for unlocking armor, the revised system makes things a little easier than it was in the past.

halo reach screenshot

Season Points

Following in the footsteps of more contemporary shooters like Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Destiny 2, 343 Industries has added a free season pass that allows players to grind through 100 tiers. In order to progress through each tier, players need to earn XP from playing multiplayer matches and the cooperative wave based mode, Firefight. XP is awarded for completing matches and bonus XP can be earned for performing well.

Each time a player increases their rank, a season point is earned. These are the only way to unlock new tiers of the season pass.

Unlocking Armor

With this new season pass system in place, players will be unlocking new sets of armor by leveling up through the tiers. Not only does this visually provide details on what rank is needed to unlock specific gear, it also removes the old gear restrictions of credit cost and player rank. This new system keeps the grind in place but attempts to be more rewarding by constantly providing players new things just for playing.

The only downside to this system is the fact that certain gear is completely locked in at certain tiers, so players will need to grind until the specific tier they want is unlocked. However, this season pass also reduces the need for players to find ways to efficiently farm kills for credits like the old days back on the Xbox 360.

Regardless of the grind, players have jumped at the chance to revisit one of Bungie's best games as Halo: The Master Chief Collection has rocketed to the top of Steam's sales charts as soon as it launched on PC. While the core features of the experience remain intact, other parts like Theater and Forge need a bit more time in the development oven and will be launching at a later date.

Halo: The Master Chief Collection is available now on PC and Xbox One.

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