343 Industries has put out a major upgrade for Halo Infinite, and players will surely benefit from it when it comes to the Career ranks grind. The double Career Rank progression will commence on November 18th, along with Operation: Infinite. This is a permanent adjustment rather than a limited-time weekend event. This is a very positive change for the community at large, especially for the people who thought the initial grind was too much.
The news was shared by the official Halo social media account with just an ‘On the double! ⭐’ and a link for more details. The image that was posted along with the tweet was of a Spartan with an MA5B rifle, which was different from the standard Infinite AR, which led to the long-time players pointing it out and having good discussions about classic weapon returns. However, the double progression issue is definitely a major one that has caused a big change in player’s long-term investment in the game.
Community reactions have been really mixed, and opinions vary widely. Some players are super hyped about it. A user ‘theffapanda’ commented, ‘This makes sense if you cannot manage Double XP Weekends, good luck to those still trying for this,’ which is a rather realistic view. On the contrary, another user ‘mangolorian117’ simply said, ‘guess ill hop on infinite,’ indicating that such a lure could actually bring back players who had originally departed. Wouldn’t that be a win for player retention?
On the other hand, there are naysayers. Some users express their negative feelings and say this is the way to drive people away from the game. ‘ZukaZealanee’ commented ’10 YEAR PLAN BY THE WAY’ with a meme next to it, implying that the promised long-term support for the game is not being taken seriously. This view is certainly shared by a section of the community that thinks the content pipeline is too slow. Moreover, you cannot really argue with them, can you?
Players have been talking a lot about the hardest ranks and particularly Hero rank, which is wanted by all and received by none. Player ‘logorn_gadum’ even shared his feat on Twitter, saying, ‘After so many years and almost 4K matches, I am a Halo Infinite Hero. I can’t believe it.’ That is quite a commitment. But now, thanks to the new double speed, the journey is one-half shorter. Prompted by ‘TheComixWill,’ another user posed the developers a direct question, ‘Can I make it before Christmas? I’m currently on one of the middle gold ranks.’ This update is obviously fulfilling a direct request from the player community.
However, some of the gamers are not so pleased with the shortcut. Player ‘G3CoachJosh’ expressed a different opinion stating, ‘Im an onyx cot. Colonel – kind of bums me out that I’ll be Hero before I feel I deserve it.’ This OBVIOUSLY highlights a division within the gaming community, with one group being the hardcore ones who want to earn their rank the hard way and the other being the casuals who just want to have fun (unlock the cool stuff). It is really an endless debate.
And just like that, the new update was a problem for gamers who wanted features and changes now that the complaint has been sorted. ‘kandutedice’ was simply asking, ‘Enable it for mcc too!!!!’ as the fans of Master Chief Collection are still very much alive and would love to get treated the same way. Another player, ‘TheSunChaser13,’ could not help but bring up the issue of incorrect armor coatings, ‘Where is the option for just coloring your Spartan like we did in MCC/Reach? The coatings are way too limiting.’ It merely showcases people’s reactions to good news, with some others still waiting for the features that they have long been asking for.
There was also some confusion in the replies. User ‘mistafrostfield’ said that he would not play again until he was sure that double Spartan Points were permanent. One more user quickly came in to explain that the boost is not for the points used for the Battle Pass but it is specifically for Career Rank XP. It was great to see the community members helping each other with the details.
The timing of this is also very interesting. One user, ‘bear_prophet,’ calling it the end of the franchise’s story and wishing for its future, it seems like 343 Industries is trying to keep the player base involved as the game is about to enter a new phase. A permanent progression boost is an excellent way to reward the loyal players who have stuck with you and to lure others back in to check out what’s new, particularly with Operation: Infinite just around the corner.
What does this all imply for Halo Infinite? Well, it’s a clear signal that the developers are listening to the community’s complaints regarding the game’s progression system.
