Halo Infinite's second flight test recently concluded after two weekends of intense gunning, grenading, and grappelling action. During both sessions, Halo Infinite was trending everywhere, with players predominantly loving what 343 Industries had provided for them to test. The first weekend gave fans the opportunity to run games of Arena Slayer and other objective-based game modes on a couple of Infinite's maps, while the second weekend was dedicated solely to Big Team Battle (BTB), all-out 12 on 12 warfare. Overall, the test flight put Halo Infinite through its paces, offering a generous helping of close-quarters and ranged combat with limited customization options as well.
When the flight test was at its best, Halo Infinite perfectly balanced tradition and modernity. It simultaneously channeled the classic arena-styled gameplay of older Halo games, but with the quality-of-life improvements to shooting and movement found in other current-day first-person shooters. However, the test flight was at its worst when players were getting instant-killed with a fast-melee exploit, unfairly getting their vehicles stolen, and many other serious problems. As such, 343 Industries has some work to do for Halo Infinite's multiplayer to be the best that it can be when it launches in December.
Halo Infinite's Multiplayer Menus Need a UI Overhaul
The importance of a video game's user interface (UI) cannot be understated, as it can honestly make or break a player's experience. In the case of Halo Infinite, although the menus are very clean and aesthetically pleasing, they unfortunately fail in being easy to navigate, and often are counter-intuitive to other aspects to the game's design. For example, while waiting in a lobby for a game to be found, the party interface in the lower right hand corner obstructs the visibility of the Spartans who are standing in the background. Furthermore, if players want to customize their Spartan while waiting for a game, they must retreat to practically the home menu to do so, when it - and the Battle Pass - should be accessible from any menu.
The funny thing is that 343 Industries has already solved these issues with how Halo: The Master Chief Collection handles armor customization. By pressing START or the settings gear on any screen, a menu of icons will appear, one of which taking the player directly to the armor customization screen. In Halo Infinite, performing this same action allows the user to modify the game's overall settings like controller inputs and accessibility options. All Infinite must do, then, is add a screen when the player presses START that lets them choose between editing their Spartan's characteristics and the game's settings.
Halo Infinite Needs Player Collision
Halo Infinite's lack of player collision in multiplayer is a subject that the Halo community has been very vocal about already. Player collision is just as the name entails: in a match, players can physically interact with one another, every Spartan taking up a certain amount of space as a defined player-object. In some FPS games, there is no player collision, meaning players can pass right through one another, and stand in the exact same spot if they desire. For Halo, the lack of player collision breaks much of the meta and gameplay opportunities that the series has been built upon.
In previous Halo games, player collision has been used in competitive gameplay and also Custom Games. By jumping onto other players, unique sight lines can be created, as well as new navigation options. Similarly, many Halo fans have taken advantage of player collision in Custom Games, whether its through parkour-like obstacle courses, or just by playing around in the sandbox. 343 Industries needs to add player collision into Infinite if it is to truly capture that old Halo magic.
Halo Infinite's Grappleshot Needs Nerfing
Arguably, Halo Infinite's most fun new mechanic is also its most broken one: the Grappleshot. It is a piece of Spartan equipment that players can use on nearby structures, vehicles, items, and enemies to quickly be pulled towards them. Players have already been performing some impressive feats with the Grappleshot in Halo Infinite, in many cases, using it to swing around maps and make plays by utilizing its momentum and dynamic movement. However, there is one aspect of the Grappleshot that just doesn't work in the current Halo Infinite meta.
Players can instantly hijack vehicles like the Wasp and Ghost if they use the Grappleshot, and that is just not fair. In previous Halo games, hijacking was a difficult thing to do, requiring precise timing and the risk of being splattered in the process. Watching a Grappleshot hijack in Halo Infinite is certainly spectacular, but truthfully, it puts vehicle users at a greater disadvantage than ever before. With the Grappleshot, all danger to the player is subsequently removed because all they have to do is aim and fire, no longer needing to get near the vehicle to actually perform the hijack. That simply should not be the case.
Halo Infinite Needs to Fix Fast-Melee Exploit
It was at one time a big deal that Halo Infinite won't have assassinations at launch, but 343 Industries has a larger melee-related problem on its hands. Shortly into the second flight test, players found an exploit that allows them to melee extremely fast. More or less, by meleeing, starting to switch weapons, then meleeing again, players could string together an endless barrage of pummels that just decimates anyone in close range. It only takes two melee hits to kill a fully shielded Spartan, so players can be killed through this exploit in a fraction of a second.
Of the things that need changing in this list, this exploit is probably the most likely to be fixed. From a game-design standpoint, it doesn't make sense for a mechanic like this to be present when the primary tool at the players disposal are Halo Infinite's variety of weapons. In the flight test, the only weapon that could reliably kill in close range was the Gravity Hammer, but in practically every case, players using that melee-exploit would win the engagement. All it takes is one Gravity Hammer swing to down an enemy player if they are close enough, but when in that range, the melee-exploit can kill before the full hammer swing.
Halo Infinite's Weapons Need to be Tuned
Speaking of the Gravity Hammer, it is just one of many weapons that needs some tweaking in Halo Infinite. Weapon tuning happens in every major multiplayer FPS game, and it is highly unlikely everything will stay the same when the final game is released. Nonetheless, the inclusion of new weapons or overlooking others can cause certain weapons to become overpowered or underpowered, and Halo Infinite is definitely guilty of that. Without mentioning every weapon, there are some standouts that must be addressed in order to bring the gunplay closer to equilibrium.
Starting with the Gravity Hammer, the mentioned overly-long swing time needs to be reduced slightly; its weightiness feels great, but it is also to its detriment, almost being a burden to use. Weapons like the MK50 Sidekick pistol and CQS48 Bulldog shotgun could stand for some slight buffing, the former feeling like a peashooter, and the latter being unable to kill with consistently at short range. Conversely, the VK47 Commando is a bit overpowered and it, along with the Banished Pulse Carbine, need some accuracy tuning. If these changes are made, the game could be in a much healthier state upon its release.
Halo Infinite releases December 8, 2021 on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.