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Match XP Beta & Progression | Winter Update

A screenshot of the post-game Match XP menu
Photo of Alex
  -  a year ago

When the Winter Update arrives on November 8, Halo Infinite’s Battle Pass progression system will be overhauled thanks to the launch of the Match XP Beta.

The Winter Update brings a free 30-tier Battle Pass, and with the introduction of the Match XP Beta, Challenges and Ultimate Rewards will also receive a significant rework to improve your progression and customization journey—for this Battle Pass, for players who haven’t yet completed Season 1 and 2, and for all future Battle Passes as well.

Let’s dive into the specifics of what’s coming...


MATCH XP BETA

In-game screenshot of a Spartan wielding a shock rifle standing on a Spartan-piloted Wasp

We are excited to be taking the first major step towards evolving Halo Infinite’s player progression experience by directly acting on player feedback to evolve XP and progression in Halo Infinite.

With Match XP, players will be rewarded for playing whatever mode they want, and your performance in those matches will tie into those rewards. As such, when the Winter Update launches, the majority of XP that you will earn will come from Match XP.

Match XP consists of:

  • XP for completing matches
  • Additional XP for your performance in the match (this accounts for things like being on the winning team, your end-of-match placement, and more)

Take a look at how it appears in-game...

A screenshot of the post-game Match XP menu

The reason we are calling this the Match XP “Beta” is because we are going to be monitoring the values for each reward category, adjusting them as we move forwards with this new model. This means that the values when the Winter Update launches will not be final, and you can expect to see them tuned up or down to provide an enhanced earn rate.

We look forward to getting your feedback on the rate of progression in the free Winter Update Battle Pass!


CHALLENGES & ULTIMATE REWARDS

Up to this point, completing Challenges has been the main progression driver through the Battle Pass—Challenges grant XP which levels you up each reward tier. With the Winter Update, we are looking to evolve this system as we pursue the goal of helping players progress their Battle Pass at a faster rate in response to community feedback. This means that the system will transition to be Match XP-focused with Challenges providing a bonus boost.

We still believe that Challenges can help spark players’ interest in the game and provides some good direction for short-term goals, which has previously been part of the multiplayer experience in Halo: Reach and Halo 4, but the purpose of Challenges will be “redirected.”

Completion of Challenges will still provide some XP, but they will now primarily serve as the path towards earning customization items each week through the Ultimate Reward.

In-game screenshot of a Spartan wielding an assault rifle

This system is getting an overhaul of its own based on player feedback, which can be summarized in three main points:

  • We are reducing the number of Challenges required to hit the Ultimate Challenge from 20 to 10
  • All Challenges in regular weekly decks can be completed in any playlist
  • Challenges are more “general” overall

Since launch, a common point of feedback we’ve received from the community was that players didn't enjoy queuing for playlists they wouldn’t otherwise play, simply to complete a Challenge and move their Battle Pass progression forward. Mode-specific Challenges were found to be prohibitive to playing with friends, and players shouldn’t have to choose between progress or playing together.

The Winter Update will mark the beginning of shifting all challenges to be playlist agnostic. For the time being, Event Challenges will remain in their current form, tied to their respective Event Playlists, but players can expect to see this change in the future as well.

These overhauls to progression also mean that a Fireteam of friends can stick together and move through their Weekly Challenges and Battle Passes without needing to worry about each player’s individual challenges.

In-game screenshot of a Spartan wielding a sniper rifle

As we’re looking to address a lot of the community feedback we’ve received around Challenges and we’re shifting the philosophy, the Winter Update’s Ultimate Rewards will feature the most popular Ultimate Rewards from Seasons 1 and 2 to help players get another chance to earn them in case they missed them last time.

We hope you all enjoy the opportunity to earn these on the new and improved system during the Winter Update.


CAREER PROGRESSION

In addition to these improvements for Match XP, Challenges, Ultimate Rewards, and your Battle Pass progression, the team is also continuing to work on an overarching Career Progression system.

We’ll have more to share on that in the future, but it is important to plant a stake in the ground at this point and make clear that what’s coming in the Winter Update is just the beginning of broader changes to come.

In-game screenshot of a Spartan on Breaker

To our players, thank you for your feedback around Challenges and progression since launch. We’re excited for you all to get hands-on with these changes and continue to evolve the experience to be more rewarding.

Please continue to share your feedback with us online and here on our forums!