Although the monthly Inside Infinite articles don't usually arrive until the last Thursday of the month, we got the September Inside Infinite more than a week early due to the upcoming September/October Technical Preview for Halo Infinite. This month, we learned about the design goals for BTB, the Academy as a whole, and got a full breakdown of the in-game progression system that will be present at launch.
"A Spartan flees with opposing team's flag in a round of Big Team Battle."
It's been a while since I've included any images in these analysis articles, so enjoy this screenshot of a Spartan running the opponent's flag on a BTB map. Note that the color of the flag is controlled by the user's outline color selections, while the symbol is associated with a particular spawn location.
"Some of our systems like our Weapon Racks are purpose built to enable us to inject new toys into Quickplay and BTB maps quickly. Other areas like Ranked require more scrutiny which usually begins with our team talking passes on the level placements and then begins the process of discussion and debate over each one to make sure it’s balanced into the environment." - Tom French
One of the reasons for switching to the Weapon Rack system for item spawns is to allow the developers to modify the items that can spawn on a particular rack without needing to change the map itself or add a new variant. This makes it much easier for 343 to add new items to existing maps on the fly, without needing to readjust the map itself to spawn it.
"Embrace the Spartan Battle Fantasy – We want players to really feel like they are within a Spartan unit pushing through the battlefield and capturing objectives as a team. That’s why we’ve invested in things like Pelican Drops, Commander mode VO, Weapon Pods falling from the sky to resupply the field and a few more dynamic elements – we wanted it to feel like an active battle inside the Halo universe. Additionally, we wanted maps to feel like they were a part of an iconic battle within the Halo universe.
"Empower Player Types to Thrive – There are many different types of players in the Halo ecosystem. Some players are pilots, others are slayers or objective hunters, but we wanted all of them to work together in this BTB experience. Fernando has a fantastic phrase that sums up this pillar well: Make sure everyone can feel like a hero in any match.
"Unleash the Halo Infinite Sandbox – This pillar kind of speaks for itself. We felt like the 'big' in BTB was not just the number of players in the match or the size of the maps but the number of options at players’ disposal. All the toys are available in this space for maximum fun." - Andrew Witts
When designing BTB, the team has three core pillars they are trying to achieve. The first, "Embrace the Spartan Battle Fantasy," is a focus around helping the player feel like they are actually participating in a Halo battle as a Spartan, elevating it beyond simply a match against enemy players on big maps. Things such as Commander Agryna on coms or Pelicans dropping off vehicles help accomplish this pillar.
The second, "Empower Player Types to Thrive," is meant to allow players with different focuses in-game to excel within their spaces. So, perhaps a player really enjoys driving teammates around in Warthogs or other squad vehicles. Or, maybe someone likes sneaking into the enemy base and making a run with their flag. And, of course, there's always a bunch of folks trying to steal the Sniper. Whatever role someone decides to take, there should be ways for them to meaningfully contribute to their team's success if they are good enough at that role.
Finally, the third pillar, "Unleash the Halo Infinite Sandbox," is a commitment to making the entire array of equipment, weapons, grenades, and vehicles available within BTB matches. BTB is the place to go to try out everything in Halo Infinite's sandbox within multiplayer.
"'FLAG TAKEN. FLAG DROPPED. FLAG TAKEN.'"
As mentioned earlier, the color of the flags will be controlled by the player's outline color selections. The eyes on the skull at the top of the flag pole also glow with the same color as the flag itself.
"The Banished Shock Rifle will be up for grabs soon in a Halo Infinite's Multiplayer Tech Preview."
The Shock Rifle has been a known weapon since before the July 2020 Campaign Demo, but we haven't gotten a good look at the weapon in-game until this image. Even better, Halo Insiders will be able to use it in the upcoming Halo Infinite Tech Preview from September 23 to October 4, 2021.
"Similar to how Arena is structured, there are equipment spawners all around our BTB maps. The biggest difference in BTB is the amount of equipment charges that you receive per pick up. When you pick up equipment in BTB, up to 5 uses depending on the specific piece of equipment." - Andrew Witts
As in Arena, equipment will spawn in BTB. However, the equipment spawns in BTB will drop more charges of the item than in Arena, making it a more prevalent factor in the BTB sandbox.
"Across both classic modes like CTF and Slayer and brand-new modes like Total Control, the BTB experiences should feel fresh and iconic at the same time." - Fernando Reyes Medina
BTB will feature classic modes like CTF and Slayer (and Strongholds, as confirmed earlier), but it will also offer new modes such as Total Control. There are no details provided for how this mode works, but it may be included in the upcoming Technical Preview.
"In one map we even have some new ways for players to get a cache of power by interacting with the map a whole new way with their Personal AI." - Patrick Wren
This detail is rather interesting, as it suggests Personal AI will have more uses than simply capturing Strongholds and announcing moment-to-moment events. In this case, using the Personal AI in a particular way will allow players to access power items on a specific map.
"When players spawn into the map, they will always have a place to go hop in a vehicle just like always. We also wanted a way to escalate the experience over time. As Pelicans drop in vehicles, they will at first start dropping in your standard ground vehicles, but as the match goes on, they will start dropping in more powerful vehicles, air vehicles, and eventually tanks." - Patrick Wren
Vehicles will always be present in BTB matches, but as the match progresses, more and more powerful vehicles will be delivered until tanks are finally deployed, given a sense of escalation over the course of the match.
"One of my favorites is getting into a full Razorback while playing [REDACTED], driving full speed to the objective as the other team does the same. I had picked up a Repulsor on the way and jumped out to throw the enemy Razorback into disarray as my team used that moment to secure the objective and get out." - Patrick Wren
When asked what their favorite moments are from BTB across all of Halo, Patrick Wren mentions this moment in one of their Halo Infinite playtests. The gamemode name is redacted, but it involves going to a neutral objective of some kind, securing it, and then leaving the area. There's a few legacy gamemodes that this could be: Neutral Bomb Assault, Extraction, or Territories, to name a few. But, there's also the possibility that this is a new gamemode entirely.
"Give players ways to learn about maps and systems without the fear of being shot in the face by players – Players desires to play a multiplayer experience is often at odds with how good the community becomes at the game. Even dipping one’s virtual toes into matchmaking brings a lot of anxieties to new players trying to get into the game once the game has been released. Academy gives multiple outlets for players to better prepare themselves and even fall back into if they need more practice.
"Provide tools to learn core mechanics and provide pathways to mastery through crafted fun, replayable bite-sized experiences – Learning often comes from repetition on a smaller problem set and this is a game, so learning needs to be fun to compel players to want to learn more. Short burst experience let players try things and try them again to see how they improve themselves in a specific area.
"Give context for the MP Spartan within the greater Halo canon – As we’ve mentioned before, this concept is part of our core pillars for Infinite MP, but the Academy, and more specifically the Tutorial, is where this journey begins. To the initiated, Spartans are cool, but what about new players? The question became, 'how do we show everyone how cool Spartans are,' and, in particular the player Spartan, are important in the larger Halo universe as well as Master Chief. On top of that, for fans of Halo it is intended to strengthen their love of their Spartan without interfering with the gameplay they already know and love." - Tom French
As with BTB, there are three core pillars for the Academy section of multiplayer. First, the Academy is intended to "Give players ways to learn about maps and systems without the fear of being shot in the face by players." It's a good starting point for new players, and it offers returning players a space to play with new content before jumping into PvP.
The second pillar is to "Provide tools to learn core mechanics and provide pathways to mastery through crafted fun, replayable bite-sized experiences." This includes activities such as Weapon Drills, which are designed to introduce players to the weaponry in the game while also testing the skills of experienced players by scoring their performance.
Finally the Academy is designed to "Give context for the MP Spartan within the greater Halo canon." This is a larger principle of Halo Infinite multiplayer as a whole, and the Academy acts as the player's onboarding into the experience. The player's multiplayer Spartan will be an important part of Halo's canon going forward.
"We'd love for players to be able to toggle off certain behaviors (such as grenade throwing) they didn't necessarily want to deal with, or to combine the aspects of different difficulty levels to create a Bot experience that better fits their needs than our predefined difficulty levels." - Sara Stern
After launch, the Bot team wants to expose additional tuning knobs for the Bots to players. In addition to selecting an overarching difficulty, this could include things like enabling or disabling certain behaviors (e.g. grenade throwing) or improving proficiency in a particular aspect.
"We’ve mentioned before we plan to add Leaderboards to things like Weapon Drills to add more lite-social gameplay by letting people compete for scores against friends and the greater community. Also, while you can more-or-less do similar things in Custom Games, Training Mode is another area we look to expand by adding co-op support in the future as well as other new “scrimmage” type experiences we plan to develop." - Tom French
The Academy is currently a Solo experience, with the exception of Bot Arena matchmaking. However, in the future, there are plans to add Leaderboards to Weapon Drills and co-op support to the Training Mode.
"Every tier of the pass will require the same, consistent amount of XP to unlock from beginning to end. So, regardless of whether you’re working to unlock tier 2 or tier 52, each unlock across the 100-tier Pass will require the same amount of XP. As a reminder, your Battle Pass in Halo Infinite will not expire – players are always able to progress a pass from any season."
The Halo Infinite Battle Pass will have 100 tiers and will require a fixed amount of XP to earn each tier. Battle Passes will not expire and can be progressed at any time.
"In addition to the primary Battle Pass for each season, Halo Infinite will also offer special limited-time event passes. These free special passes are only available during specified event periods and include a separate track with separate rewards that are often tied to the unique armor core for a given event. In general, an event will be available from one to multiple weeks, including weekends, offering players multiple opportunities to unlock available rewards."
There will be bonus Event Passes that are available during Seasonal Events. These passes are progressed separately from the Seasonal Battle Passes, frequently offering rewards tied to the event's Armor Core. Events will generally be available multiple times in a given Season, with progress carrying over each time the event occurs. And yes, all Event Passes are free of charge to acquire and progress.
"The marquee event, (though not the only event) for Season One is the 'Fractures: Tenrai' event which is how players will obtain and adorn their 'Yoroi' (Samurai) armor core. This event will be available for all players approximately one week per month during Season One, and the event will come and go throughout the season; available for players to make progress. Each time the Fracture returns, your progress will carry over, giving players multiple opportunities to unlock all 20 tiers of rewards on the event pass."
The Fractures: Tenrai event will allow players to unlock the Yoroi Armor Core and several customization options to apply to this core. It will be available roughly one week out of each of the three months in Season 1, and progress will carry over each time the event returns.
"Weekly Challenges are usually more directed and specific while offering more XP in return compared to Dailies. Each week, players will be randomly assigned approx. 20 weekly challenges (exact number not quite finalized for launch) out of a total pool of several hundred potential options. Within this group of 20, some challenges will be pulled from the ‘easier’ tier while others will be pulled from the ‘harder’ tier with the XP reward being commensurate to the difficulty and time investment required. We’ll speak a bit more about these ‘difficulty tiers’ further below in the context of Challenge Swaps."
All XP in Halo Infinite Season 1 will be earned through completing Challenges that come in two varieties: Daily and Weekly. The Weekly Challenges generally require the player to do a specific action or use a particular weapon in multiplayer. They offer more XP that Daily Challenges, but there are only around 20 available each week, randomly selected from a pool of several hundred. Weekly Challenges fall into one of two difficulty tiers, with the more difficult Challenges offering more XP upon completion.
"The specific Weekly Challenges a player gets are unique per player so while there may be some overlap, in general players won’t all be chasing the same specific challenges at the same time. This means that it is extremely unlikely that everyone in the same match will need the same “Get X Kills with the S7 Sniper” challenge. However, the total amount of obtainable weekly challenge XP is the same for every player. By default, all players will have 3 active challenges at any given time but players who purchase a Battle Pass will be granted a 4th slot."
The Weekly Challenges for each player are unique, so there will generally be very little overlap between two players' Challenges. The total amount of XP available each week will be the same for all players, however. Free players can progress up to 3 Weekly Challenges at once, but Battle Pass owners can progress 4 Weekly Challenges simultaneously.
"When a player has completed all their designated Weekly Challenges, a final 'Ultimate Challenge' (referred to as 'Capstone' in the Multiplayer Tech Preview) becomes available which is the same for every player each week. Completing the weekly Ultimate Challenge will grant a unique Weekly Ultimate Reward such as a coating or emblem."
Completing all Weekly Challenges in a given week will provide that week's Ultimate Challenge, which can be completed for a unique cosmetic reward. In the July Tech Preview, this reward was the Stone Green Armor Coating for the Mark VII Armor Core.
Below is a sample of 20 Weekly Challenges that a player might be offered in a given week, reproduced from the Inside Infinite article. Since there are hundreds of Weekly Challenges in the pool, another player's weekly set may look drastically different.
Stay Off My Yard – Kill an Enemy Spartan Attacking a Friendly Zone (0/1)
For the Win – Win a Quick Play Match (0/1)
Castle Crasher – Complete a Strongholds Match (0/1)
Spartan Killer – Kill Enemy Spartans in Slayer (0/3)
Large Squad Scuffle – Complete a Big Team Battle Match (0/1)
Play Ball – Play an Oddball Match (0/1)
Back Smack Attack – Kill an Enemy Spartan from behind with a Melee Attack (0/1)
Wargames Warrior – Kill Enemy Spartans (0/10)
Banshee Bomber – Kill Enemy Spartans with the Banshee’s Fuel Rod Gun in PvP (0/5)
Mortar Minimizer – Destroy an Enemy Wraith in PvP (0/1)
Spread the Love – Kill Enemy Spartans with the Battle Rifle in PvP (0/15)
Big Wheel Bully – Destroy Enemy Choppers in PvP (0/3)
Gaptacular – Knock an Enemy Spartan off the map with the Repulsor in PvP (0/1)
Noisemaker – Kill an Enemy Spartan with a Rocket Launcher in PvP (0/1)
Wheelin’ Dealin’ Poultry Mealin’ – Win Any PvP Matches (0/3)
Chef’s Kiss – Kill an Enemy Spartan using a kinetic semi-auto or burst weapon with peak efficiency in PvP (0/1)
Flag Switching – Capture Enemy Flags in PvP (0/10)
Separation Anxiety – Kill Enemy Spartans by Sticking them with a Plasma Grenade or Spike Grenade in PvP (0/5)
Grapple-jack – Grapple to and Hijack Enemy Vehicles in PvP (0/3)
Autopilot Engaged – Kill an Enemy Driver of a moving vehicle with a Sniper Rifle in PvP (0/1)
Notice that the first eight Challenges do not mention PvP and can be completed in Bot Arena matchmaking. These Challenges belong to the easier tier of Weekly Challenges and would offer less XP. The PvP-specific challenges are more difficult and sometimes require the player to perform very unique actions, such as knocking an enemy off the map with a Repulsor or using a Sniper Rifle to kill the driver of an enemy vehicle. They offer more XP than the easier Weekly Challenges, however.
Completing all the above Weekly Challenges would then unlock the ability to complete the Ultimate Challenge for the Week. For example:
Tactical Precision – Kill Enemy Spartans with a Headshot in PVP – (0/15) – “Rewards Abby Lime Sniper Rifle Coating.”
After completing all the Weekly Challenges and the Ultimate Challenge in a given week, the only remaining source of XP is Daily Challenges.
"Daily Challenges come in three varieties starting with the 'easy tier' and progressing into challenges that have slightly higher and more specific requirements. Initially, players will have a large pool of Daily Challenges along the lines of 'play any multiplayer match' which awards XP for playing any MP mode that operates on a trusted server (i.e. Bot Arena, Arena, and BTB playlists). Once a player has completed all of their 'Stage One' Daily Challenges, they’ll move into 'Stage Two' which includes a slew of dailies that now awards slightly more XP but requires playing PvP matches (i.e. Bot Arena no longer counts). And finally, once a player has exhausted all their 'Stage Two' challenges for a given day, they move into 'Stage Three' which awards slightly more XP for winning multiplayer matches."
There are three tiers of Daily Challenges:
Play Multiplayer matches (including Bot Arena) (lowest XP reward)
Play PvP Multiplayer matches (excluding Bot Arena) (slightly more XP)
Win PvP Multiplayer matches (biggest Daily XP reward)
The order in which Daily Challenges are provided to players is static, so players will progress through the Daily Challenges in the same way each day.
"At launch, we anticipate that on average, it should take a player 16 to 18 hours of playing, and eventually winning, before they run out of Daily Challenges."
Although the Daily Challenges will not refresh indefinitely, they should take 16-18 hours for a player to finish on a given day. Since most players will not be spending 75% of their time playing Halo Infinite, hitting this cap should be extremely rare. If it ends up happening more often than anticipated, adjustments can be made quickly after launch.
"[U]sing a Challenge Swap will swap a given Weekly Challenge for another suitable Weekly Challenge from the same tier. This means players will not be able to use a Challenge Swap to get easier challenges, and therefore faster XP... Challenge Swaps will be obtainable via a few different avenues: they can be unlocked as part of a Battle Pass, an Event Pass, they can be purchased via the Store, and they can be earned via partnerships and promotions."
Challenge Swaps can be used to swap out an active Weekly Challenge for another Weekly Challenge, but it cannot step up or down in difficulty. The XP payout and difficulty tier of the Challenge will remain the same as it originally was. Challenge Swaps can be unlocked through Season Passes, Event Passes, the in-game Shop, and partnerships and promotions.
"An XP Boost will award DOUBLE XP for any challenges (Weekly and/or Daily) completed while it is active. For now, an XP Boost is set to last 30 minutes, though we are still evaluating the final duration for launch. For launch, the XP Boost timer will count down in real time once activated – regardless of where you are or what you’re doing in the game. Looking further ahead, this is an area we’ve received feedback on and are looking at ways to make this tied more closely to actual gameplay time. XP Boosts can be obtained via unlocks from a Pass, purchase from the store, or as part of a promotion or partnership."
An XP Boost awards Double XP for all Challenges completed while it is active. The current duration is 30 minutes, though this may change before launch. At launch, the 30-minute boost will count down in real-time, even while in menus outside of a match. This is known to be a pain point, so there will be improvements to XP Boosts after launch to more closely align the timer with in-game playtime.
"For customization, this means ensuring that each unlock comes from a consistent vector. If you choose to purchase a Battle Pass, the content within that pass won’t be offered via any other means. Similarly, customization content a player earns during a Seasonal Event won’t be obtainable again via different avenues. The one current exception to this plan is that there may be times when content that was previously allocated to a specific partnership or promotion may be released broadly at a later date. This specific example is largely to address the fact that in many cases, partnerships and promotions have very limited windows and might not even be available to all players."
In most cases, there is one and only one way to earn an item. Items in the Battle Pass cannot be earned outside the Battle Pass. The same is true of items in the Event Passes, items in the Shop, etc. The one exception to this rule is promotional content. Since these items are only available for a limited amount of time to a limited number of players, they may be released with new unlock criteria at a later date within the game. This is extremely good news for players who did not want to have to, say, preorder the Campaign four different times to unlock everything.
The following list, copied directly from the article, shows all the different ways to unlock items in Halo Infinite:
Weekly Ultimate Rewards
Seasonal Battle Pass rewards (both free and premium tracks)
Fracture Events - i.e. the “Yoroi” / Samurai armor
Special or Seasonal Events - i.e. a special nameplate commemorating a real-world event, earning a Unicorn nameplate during a 343 Playdate, etc.
Partnership and promotional items - i.e. Mega Construx codes or Rockstar Energy Drinks
Skill Ranks – achieving a specific Skill ranking/tier for a season will award a unique cosmetic item
Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks
In-game store purchases
Halo Infinite Campaign - some unique Multiplayer cosmetics are rewarded for various accomplishments within the Campaign
Most of these methods were already known, but this list confirms that there will also be rewards for reaching specific Skill Ranks in Competitive Arena playlists and rewards through Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks. The Campaign will also provide some Multiplayer cosmetics, a nice change from Halo 5: Guardians.
"This weekend (September 23-26) and next weekend (September 30 - October 3), we’ll be taking things up a notch and testing out full-blown multiplayer." - John Junyszek
The next Halo Infinite Tech Preview will be available not just this coming weekend (September 23-26) but also next weekend, September 30 - October 3! The first weekend will focus only on Arena, but the second weekend will add BTB into the mix.
"Our primary goal for these two tech previews will be to test our online services at a larger scale than ever before. To achieve this goal, all Halo Insiders with eligible accounts as of September 13 will be invited to participate. To help focus our population and test our servers even more, matchmaking will be limited to set periods of time each day... We will also be expanding our audience ahead of the second weekend, so you and your friends (who may have forgotten to register as Halo Insiders in time) can join us for some Big Team Battle and push the servers even further. Stay tuned for more information on that within the next week." - John Junyszek
Since the focus of this Tech Preview is to stress test the servers, all Halo Insiders who registered by September 13 were invited, with even more to be invited for the BTB weekend. However, note that the matchmaking times will be limited in an effort to concentrate the server load into a span of a few hours. While offline modes will be available for the duration of each weekend, matchmaking modes will only be available during set times.
The following list, pulled from the article itself, shows all the content that will be featured in the upcoming Technical Preview, including all content from the July Tech Preview:
Social Arena (including objective modes and a new map on Sunday, September 26)
Bot Arena (including objective modes)
Big Team Battle (debuting September 30 - October 3)
Three modes on Fragmentation
Training Mode
Weapon Drills
Customization
Battle Pass
New Halo Waypoint app & web experiences
The day-by-day breakdown of the flight can be seen here, also copied from the article:
WEEKEND 1 (ARENA)
Thursday evening, September 23:
Build becomes available for download Thursday night
Training Mode and Weapon Drills are available
Friday, September 24 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
Saturday, September 25 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
Sunday, September 26 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
Monday, September 27 @ 10am PT: Flight access closes until Weekend 2
WEEKEND 2 (BIG TEAM BATTLE & ARENA)
Thursday evening, September 30:
Flight access turns on
Training Mode and Weapon Drills become available
Friday, October 1 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
Saturday, October 2 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
Sunday, October 3 @ 10am-2pm & 5pm-9pm PT: Matchmaking available
Sunday, October 3 @ 9pm PT: Surveys go out to a portion of Halo Insiders
Monday, October 4 @ 10am PT: Flight access closes
Wednesday, October 6 @ 10am PT: Halo Support site closes
The Training Mode, Weapon Drills, Battle Pass, and Customization will be available as long as players have access to the flight, but matchmade modes will only be available during the times listed above.
For more details on all of this, make sure to watch the Halo livestream on YouTube or Twitch at 2 P.M. PDT on Wednesday, September 22, 2021.
Summary
This Inside Infinite article provided some high-level discussions around BTB and the Academy, offered a detailed explanation of exactly how progression will work at launch, and gave us an overview of the next Halo Infinite Tech Preview starting on September 23! Here's a summary of everything we learned.
The color of the Flag in CTF matches is controlled by the player outline settings.
Weapon Racks allow the developers to quickly and easily change the weapons that spawn on a particular map, making it possible for new sandbox additions to appear throughout the game with minimal additional effort, rather than only on new maps or in new modes.
BTB is intended to feel as though the battles on the map are taking place within the Halo canon, with weapon and vehicles dropping in and other neat features.
BTB is designed to provide the full sandbox for players to use (although not literally featuring every weapon, vehicle, Fusion Coil, and equipment item in the same match).
Finally BTB supports and encourages a wide array of different playstyles, from running and gunning to sniping to piloting a Banshee to driving a Warthog full of teammates.
The next Halo Infinite Tech Preview will feature the Banished Shock Rifle for players to use.
Equipment spawners in BTB will provide players with more charges per spawn than Arena, giving players more freedom to use equipment in their combat.
At a minimum, BTB will feature CTF, Slayer, and Total Control, as well as a fourth unknown gametype. Total Control is a new gamemode, as opposed to the returning classics such as CTF and Slayer.
On one of the BTB maps, players will be able to use their Personal AI to secure power items in a new way.
Vehicles will be available immediately in BTB matches, but as the match progresses, more and more powerful vehicles will be dropped off by Pelicans, culminating in aerial vehicles and tanks.
The Academy is meant to be a safe starting point for new players to practice and learn the sandbox, maps, and modes, as well as a way to warm up for more experienced players.
Activities within the Academy also serve to ground the player's Spartan within the larger Halo universe.
After launch, the Bot team hopes to add finer controls for different Bot behaviors, allowing a player to improve or worsen a Bot's proficiency in a particular area or disable a behavior completely, irrespective of the difficulty selection.
After launch, the Academy team plans to add Leaderboards for Weapon Drills to compare scores with other players.
There are also plans to make the Training Mode (currently one player with Bot allies and enemies) into a cooperative experience following launch.
Each tier of the standard, 100-tier Battle Pass requires the same amount of XP to unlock. The free and premium tracks are progressed in parallel.
During each Season, there will be multiple events. While an event is active, there will be a special free Event Pass with a smaller number of tiers (e.g. 20) that can be progressed. The items in an Event Pass are generally tied to that event's Armor Core.
Progression on an Event Pass carries over each time the event returns.
The Fractures: Tenrai event will allow players to earn the Yoroi Armor Core and adornments for it, and it will be available roughly one week out of each month of Season 1.
Weekly Challenges will be randomly assigned to players from a pool of several hundred, and the Challenges chosen will not be the same for all players. The XP available from Weekly Challenges will be the same for all players, however.
There will be around 20 Weekly Challenges available per week to each player, some pulled from the easier tier and offering less XP and some pulled from the harder tier and offering more XP.
All players can progress three Weekly Challenges simultaneously, with new Weekly Challenges randomly pulled from their reserve pool after completing an active one. Battle Pass owners can progress four Weekly Challenges at once as a bonus.
Completing all Weekly Challenges available in a given week will unlock a final Ultimate Challenge, which awards a unique cosmetic item upon completion.
Daily Challenges have three tiers: play any multiplayer match, play any PvP multiplayer match, win any PvP multiplayer match.
The Daily Challenges within each tier all award the same amount of XP, but each tier of Daily Challenges offers slightly more XP per challenge than the previous tier.
Daily Challenges are intended to take around 16-18 hours of continuous playtime within a day to finish.
Challenge Swaps can be used to swap out one Weekly Challenge for another within the same difficulty tier.
Challenge Swaps are available through Battle Passes, Event Passes, the Shop, and partnerships and promotions.
XP Boosts double all XP earned through Challenges (the only source of XP) for 30 minutes after activation (time duration subject to change prior to launch). This is counted in real-time, including time spent in menus.
After launch, there may be an adjustment to XP Boosts to align them more closely with time spent in matches only.
XP Boosts can be obtained in the same ways as Challenge Swaps.
Almost all items have one and only one unlock pathway, be it the Battle Pass, an Event Pass, or an Ultimate Challenge reward.
Items offered as part of a promotion or partnership may be released more broadly at some point after the fact to address the lack of locational and temporal availability.
Item sources include: Weekly Ultimate Rewards, Seasonal Battle Passes, Fracture Events, Special/Seasonal Events (e.g. nameplates for real-world holidays or Unicorn nameplates), Partnerships and Promotions, Skill Ranks (e.g. reaching Diamond or Onyx would grant a special reward), Xbox Game Pass Ultimate Perks, in-game purchases via the Shop, and the Halo Infinite Campaign.
The upcoming Tech Preview will be live on two weekends, September 23-26 and September 30 - October 3.
In addition to all the content featured in the previous Tech Preview, this one will feature Arena PvP on the first weekend and then BTB and Arena PvP on the second weekend. Objective modes and additional sandbox items will also be included, as well as a new map for Arena.
The Weapon Drills and Training Mode are solo experiences and will be available for the entire duration of both weekend flights. The same is true of the Battle Pass and customization features.
Bot Arena, Arena PvP, and BTB PvP are all matchmade experiences and will only be available from 10 A.M. - 2 P.M. and 5 P.M. to 9 P.M. PDT on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday of each weekend (BTB only going live for the second weekend). This will allow them to concentrate as many players as possible to strain the servers prior to launch and iron out any resulting issues.
If you were not invited to the first weekend of testing, you may still be able to participate in the second weekend. Make sure to sign up for Halo Insider ASAP!
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