Earlier this week, I had the chance to spend some time with Halo 5's "requisition system." While it was a substantial piece of our preview, we aren't allowed to give our feedback on it yet. That embargo isn't going to be lifted until September 28.
Given that Microsoft has spilled all the beans on the system though, we've decided to post the nuts and bolts of this piece that was intended to run alongside the embargo. We'll update this after we can talk about it with our specific impressions of how the system works and what it might mean for players.
We don't know why Microsoft decided to put 11 days between revealing the system and allowing us to get specific with how it works in practice. Perhaps the publisher is concerned about the blowback Konami faced from in-game transactions in Metal Gear Solid V. We're looking forward to sharing our thoughts when we can.
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“Reqs” as 343 Industries calls them come in packs. In them, you’ll find 13 different types of cards. Some are only usable in the game’s Warzone mode. Others permeate the Arena experience, too. Here’s the full list:
Warzone Cards
- Loadout weapons - These are your four basic weapons, including the assault rifle and magnum. You can unlock better versions of these, with attachments and scopes, from cards.
- Power weapons - This is where the meat of the armory lives. Rocket launchers, fuel-rod cannons, plasma weapons, and more can be added to your current spawn. Die and you’ll return to your basic loadout.
- Vehicles - Whether you prefer the Scorpion tank or the Covenant Wraith, here’s where you’ll find single-use cards to bring them into battle.
- Power Ups - Active camo and other such upgrades live here.
- Reflex Enhancers - These boost your Spartan abilities. You’ll be able to use enhancers to run faster, for instance.
- Certifications - These cards boost the likelihood you’ll see more of a given type. A SAW certification means you’ll see more SAWs show up in boosters.
All multiplayer modes
- Weapon Skins - Each skin is applied to a specific weapon type. So you’ll find a skin separately for assault rifles, battle rifles, SMGs, etc.
- Assassinations - The basic assassination (melee kill from behind) is a grab and knife to the face. You can unlock different animations via cards.
- Stance - These change the way your Spartan is standing in the menus.
- Boost - These give you conditional opportunities to earn more experience or requisition points at the end of the match.
- Armor - Unique types of armor for your Spartan.
- Helmets - You won’t see your Spartan’s face, so this is the closest you can get to customizing your head.
- Visor - Every helmet has a visor, and these cards allow you to customize their color.
- Emblems - These allow you to customize your player card.
While your Warzone and Boost cards are consumable, customizations are permanent. Some of the packs can be purchased for real money, but you'll also earn them for ranking up and earning in-match commendations. There are also packs that will come with Halo merchandise (action figures, building sets, etc.). There are more than 1,000 items at launch, and 343 plans to add more through June 2016.
Each single-use card has an associated level, which means you won’t be able to load yourself up with a fuel rod cannon and mount up on a Scorpion the moment the match starts. You also need to spend energy (earned in each match) to cash in a card.
We'll have a more in-depth response to the requisition system as soon as the embargo lifts on September 28.. Halo 5: Guardians is released on October 27 for Xbox One.