Halo Infinite's first event – Fracture: Tenrai – is giving Spartans around the world the chance to earn free rewards like the samurai-inspired Yoroi Armor Core. Unfortunately, many have already run into issues with its gated progression and padded event pass.
The Fracture: Tenrai Event Pass is free to all players and contains 30 tiers of rewards. Unlike Halo Infinite's premium Battle Pass that requires XP to level up, players can only progress through the event pass by completing specific event challenges. While there is nothing inherently wrong with that, some of the other factors surrounding it are causing frustration for certain players.
For one, the event pass can not be completed in this first week that ends on Monday, November 30, according to Halo marketing lead Noah Benesch. Instead, Fracture: Tenrai will return five more times throughout this first season to give players "plenty of opportunities to complete all 30 reward tiers." That is great for those who either don't have the time to dedicate a ton of time in one week to an event pass or may not even be available to play in a given week.
One of the biggest problems players have run into, however, is that the event pass appears to be padded with Challenge Swaps and XP Grants. So much so that only 10 of the 30 reward tiers are actual themed rewards.
"So there's 30 tiers, 10 of them being XP bonuses and 6 of them being challenge swaps," PN4R wrote on Reddit. "Out of the 14 tiers remaining which includes 'actual' content, 4 of them is a single emblem that you need to unlock 4 times to be able to use it everywhere.
"Out of the 10 remaining, you unlock 3 color palettes that are lock this specific armor [sp]. Out of the 7 remaining, you get 1 stupid callsign backdrop that most people will forget. So out of the 30 tiers for this event, you only get 6 armor parts, 2 of which are the same shoulder pad that you need to unlock 2 times for both shoulders. Meanwhile, 343 sells a 25$ armor set in the shop which actually looks pretty cool."
That armor set they spoke of is the Chonmage Armor Set, which is part of a bundle that can be bought with 2,000 in-game credits. As of this writing, that costs $17.99 USD. The shop also currently includes the Sentinel's Blades bundle that includes a Legendary Utility that can only be equipped on the samurai armor. Furthermore, you can't pay for tiers in the event pass, and you don't unlock the Yoroi Armor Core until level 5.
Compounding these issues is the fact that the event challenges are mixed in with standard challenges, so there may be times where you have to complete various standard ones to even get another event one.
Speaking of the event, it also comes with its own special mode – Fiesta – which is new to Halo Infinite but not to the franchise. In this mode, Spartans spawn with two random weapons and equipment, adding a bit of variety to the standard modes.
It's important to keep things in perspective, as Halo Infinite is a free-to-play game and this event pass costs you no extra to participate in. Sure, there are items locked in the shop that would be wonderful to be able to earn by simply playing through the event, but this is hardly the first game to do this. Although it is new to Halo, and it is a big change from the previous entries that were complete, paid packages.
To help ease players' woes, 343 Industries' community director Brian Jarrard has already responded to the outcry from these frustrated fans, saying they are "being heard loud and clear."
"Been traveling so slow to respond – but please know the constructive feedback is being heard loud and clear," Jarrard wrote. "Changes will take time and our priority this week is giving the team a much deserved break for the holiday after a long final stretch. Thank you for understanding."
It's also worth mentioning that Halo Infinite's multiplayer was not even set to be released until December 8 alongside its campaign. The team at 343 surprised fans during the celebration of Xbox and Halo's 20th anniversary by announcing that it would be available early.
This is the start of the future of Halo, and there will be bumps on the road. Luckily, 343 is committed to making this a game worthy of Master Chief, and it wants your constructive feedback to help make it so.
It has already proven it is ready to adapt, as it recently made changes to Halo Infinite's Battle Pass and promised that more changes will be on the way.
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Adam Bankhurst is a news writer for IGN. You can follow him on Twitter @AdamBankhurst and on Twitch.