The current armor customization system in Halo Infinite has quickly become a major issue for some fans looking to earn new armor sets and paint jobs through consistent gameplay. While there are some limited free armor options in Halo Infinite what seems to have caused the most annoyance among players is the lacking system of armor coatings.
One fan has mocked up a proposal for how to include armor coating unlocks in Halo Infinite in a way that builds a compromise between what 343 Industries has currently included and what fans are asking for. This proposal specifically doesn't remove the microtransactions entirely, but instead gives players the option to unlock a level of customization that had previously existed in older games in the series.
The idea presented by the fan, who posted to Reddit under the username BakaStep, is to offer a customizable pattern that players can use to design their own armor coatings with different colors in specific areas. For the sake of compromise, this proposal still locks certain aspects of customization behind the paywall where many of the current armor coatings are sitting. Both the specific armor coatings would be either paid for directly or earned in Halo Infinite's Battle Pass, as well as special color pallets, armor textures, and unique patterns.
To a degree, this negative reflex to the current system seen for Halo Infinite's comes primarily from how aggressive the in-game shop is, with some paid and free armor coatings having very similar visuals. This is also a result of previous titles like Halo 5: Guardians having fewer DLC armors, while this newest game seems to have put much more of the customization behind different paywalls. So, with a compromise that still gives 343 Industries a source of revenue from customization with better control over the armor colors, BakaStep expresses a hope that this will be able to make everyone happy.
The introduction of microtransactions to most games often comes with a level of reluctance from player, such as when previous Halo developer added Eververse to the Destiny series. However, this type of customization proposed by BakaStep has also been successful in similar games with online components like Warframe, with an availability of color options and more fine-tuned features for a premium price. For now, it is still up to 343 Industries to decide if it wants to maintain the current success of Halo Infinite, or double-down on the game's strong opening with a compromise that could meet players halfway and build some good faith with fans.
Halo Infinite multiplayer is available now for PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.