Gamers are all about customization. Card games have variant cards, first-person shooters have skins, and role-playing games have varying skill sets and outfits to choose from. Players enjoy standing out above others as they prefer to be noticed. While some enjoy showing off, customization offers a way for players to connect with a game.
When players build a character or customize a weapon to their liking, they’re building a bond with that game. Sometimes, players individualize themselves to fit specific lore from within the game; other times, players simply make sure they stand out for the enemy team to notice. Halo Infinite players are no different and have been given various ways in which they can personalize their appearance.
Customization might not be new to Halo, but 343 Industries is attempting something new with Halo Infinite. Instead of creating a new sequel every year or two, they intend to build on Halo Infinite’s foundation, allowing it to last for the next decade or more. Customization is more important than ever for that reason.
Halo Infinite joins a long list of video games that simply build on the foundation of their game and add features throughout the years.
How Halo Infinite Compares to Other Shooters
With the introduction of the internet to the gaming world, video games have been able to improve upon existing games in various ways. If there is a bug, it can now be fixed with a simple update. Similarly, players no longer have to wait for a new game to release.
Halo isn’t the first FPS game out there, and it won’t be the last. However, it is becoming more and more comparable to other games in the same genre. Some games go years without receiving a new sequel. Instead, the developers add to the foundation of the pre-existing game with updates to game modes and with new content.
Unlike previous installments in the Halo series, Halo Infinite offers an open world for exploration. The story no longer follows a linear stream of missions. Beyond the non-linear aspect of the game, it offers customization similar to other popular video games on various platforms.
Destiny 2
Created by the first Halo video game founders, Destiny allows players to customize their weapons, outfits, and vehicles. They’re a little more limited than Halo Infinite in the cosmetics department, but items are more customizable when it comes to functionality.
Guardians (the player characters in Destiny) swap out different components of their weapons to improve certain aspects. Want your shotgun to be more accurate? Change up the barrel.
Even armor offers certain benefits. Gauntlets often grant increased damage for melee attacks while other pieces of equipment improve shields, life total, or the number of experience points gained.
Destiny’s campaign mode is also an open world that allows you to travel from planet to planet, taking on primary and side missions alike. You could be exploring one second, then get wrapped up in a multiplayer event the next.
Call Of Duty
Halo and Activision’s Call of Duty series come close in comparison in many ways. While Halo might be lacking a battle royale mode, they’re similar in style, gameplay, and customization.
Call of Duty has offered its players customization since the first Modern Warfare in 2007. It's far more in-depth in Call of Duty: Warzone, but even back then its customization went beyond equipment.
Players changed up “perks” that grant various advantages over others in multiplayer such as a faster reloading speed or the ability to carry two primary weapons. As the game evolved, customization became more expansive. Now, players can change everything from the look of their in-game character to the hardware on their weapons.
Two players can have the same weapon model, but they’ll have different stats depending on the modifications they equipped their weapon with.
Halo Infinite Customization Options
The number of aspects that can be customized in Halo has increased with each new game. Halo Infinite currently allows you to tailor the look of your armor, weapons, and even vehicles through the customization menu.
The customization menu consists of the Armor Hall, Weapons Bench, Vehicle Bay, Body & AI, and Spartan ID. Each selection allows you to craft your ideal Spartan for multiplayer as cosmetics are not available for the single-player campaign.
Unfortunately, unlike the previous games mentioned, customization is purely for aesthetics. No alteration gives you a perk or an advantage over other players. Weapons shoot the same way, vehicles always drive at the same speed, and armor pieces don’t increase your stats.
Armor
Halo Infinite’s armor customization is regarded as one of the most in-depth aspects of the game. The recent removal of items being locked to specific armor cores (the foundation of armor pieces) has opened up cross-core customization for players to explore. No longer are Yoroi helmets restricted to the Yoroi armor core.
On top of mixing and matching armor pieces, there are armor coatings. Armor coatings are like skins in other games that change a piece of equipment's pattern, color scheme, and/or texture. These coatings are applied to armor, allowing two players wearing the same core to look completely different.
Armor lockers are scattered across Halo Infinite’s open world for players to find. These lockers contain different cosmetics for armor, from coatings to equipable items like helmets and shoulders. Be sure to often use your AI scanner to find these lockers.
Weapons
Similar to armor and the Armor Hall, players can change the appearance of their weapons from the Weapons Bench. They simply select an unlocked weapon core (the foundation of a weapon that determines its style) and modify the coating, model, charm, emblem, and more.
Just as with the armor core system, some customizations are restricted to specific weapon cores.
Players can find different weapon coatings in the game through multiplayer and campaign modes. If you press down on the D-Pad, your AI sends out a pulse that reveals any hidden items near you. Be sure to do this in various locations like the Banished Deception outpost and the Obelisk Stone.
Just as with the armor, you can find weapon coatings from the armor lockers that are spread across the map.
Vehicles
The Vehicle Bay needs no introduction, but here it is: This is where players get to modify the various vehicles found in Halo Infinite. Vehicles don’t have as many categories for customization, but it’s more compared to other games out there.
Halo Infinite offers 13 vehicles to pilot. Players can swap out the vehicle coating to give their vehicles a unique pattern or color scheme. They can also change the emblem that’s emblazoned on a vehicle’s surface.
The Forge
Map customization has been a feature for players since Halo: Combat Evolved. By the time Halo 3 came around, map customization received an upgrade. The Forge allows players to customize maps and fully showcase their creativity.
Once you create a multiplayer map in The Forge, you save and publish it. Doing this allows you to share your creation with the rest of the Halo community. 343 Industries made improvements to The Forge with the introduction of object scaling.
Object scaling allows you to change the size of different items when creating your map. On top of that, you can splice together the features of two different weapons. This means you can have a battle rifle that shoots rockets.
In The Forge, players have access to every weapon in the game, including specialty weapons from the campaign. Your imagination is your only limit!
Customization In Other Halo Games
343 Industries increased the level of customization for Halo Infinite. Previous iterations of Halo explored customization here and there, especially with armor. Now players can change the look of their weapons and vehicles while searching for new cosmetics throughout the different game modes.
Every prior game had customization to some extent, even if it wasn’t armor or weapons being modified. Players could customize their multiplayer experience when they challenged friends. They could set up a multiplayer game to have a secondary weapon or not, what their starting weapon was, and various other aspects of a custom game.
It wasn’t until Halo 3 that customization took on more of a role.
Halo 3
Halo 3 offered a decent amount of customization compared to previous installments. Players could alter the look of their Spartan or Elite for multiplayer games. New items were unlocked by meeting special requirements in the campaign and earning achievements. Some items were only available by completing the main game on certain difficulties.
There were 17 armor sets in the game. 12 of them were for the Spartan character model while five were designed for the Elite character. The helmet, chest, and shoulders (similar to Halo Infinite) were the aspects of the armor that could be customized.
The Master Chief Collection
The year 2014 saw the release of this massive collection on the Xbox One. It was created by 343 Industries and includes Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 2, Halo 3, Halo 3: ODST, Halo: Reach, and Halo 4.
Regular updates to these games (one as recently as 2021 for the franchise’s 20th anniversary) gave players all kinds of free swag they could use for their Spartans. This built upon the already existing methods of customization in their respective games.
Halo 4
The first main game developed by 343 Industries allowed players to modify the armor they wore in multiplayer. They could change the look of their player model by unlocking new armor sets at certain ranks. There were also in-game challenges, awards, and waypoint goals as a means to unlock armor pieces.
A multitude of armor variants was available to players if they unlocked prerequisites. These variants had different styles that made them unique and worth acquiring because of the challenge they presented. These prerequisites required the completion of challenges such as the “Vehicle Mastery Commendation” and pre-ordering Halo 4 from Amazon.
Halo: Reach
September 2010 saw the launch of Halo: Reach. It was the sixth game in the series after Halo 3: ODST and the last one developed by Bungie. As of 2021, it grew to become the fourth most popular game in the series.
Building on the customization from Halo 3, players earned credits (abbreviated cR) that were spent on different armor pieces. Whereas Halo 3 required players to earn achievements. Players accumulate credits in Halo: Reach by completing daily and weekly challenges.
Unlike Halo Infinite, Halo: Reach didn’t have any kind of customization for weapons or vehicles.
Can Halo Infinite Improve
Numerous video games on the market offer a great deal of customization. Some of them aren’t as well done as Halo Infinite while others are far more in-depth and immersive. There are numerous ways Halo Infinite could improve its current system for customization.
Armor and weapon pieces simply change your appearance, but it might be better received by players if they did more. Destiny 2’s customization, for example, forces players to prioritize function over style or vice versa. You may like the way a chest piece looks, but its stats might offer less defense than another that isn’t as stylish.
While Halo needs to set itself apart from other games, especially another Bungie creation like Destiny, 343 Industries should consider ramping up what the customizations offer players. Otherwise, it risks becoming stale. Halo Infinite will be around for years to come, so improving existing features is necessary.
Creating armor and weapon pieces that benefit either the campaign or multiplayer mode more than the other should be considered by 343 Industries.
Final Thoughts
343 Industries has included customization to some degree in each of their games, improving a little bit on each one since Bungie stepped away from the franchise. Halo Infinite’s customization isn’t as in-depth as other games on the market such as Destiny or Call of Duty, but it’s similar in some ways.
If you love Halo, Halo Infinite is the game for you. A lot is happening and a lot of features are to come. The developers listen to their fans as evidenced by the gradual removal of armor cores. It’s a work in progress, but they listen.
There is plenty of fun to be had with all the different armor pieces and weapon coatings one can collect in Halo Infinite. There’s no shortage of ways to personalize your player model in Halo Infinite’s multiplayer. You’ll stand out from the crowd.
Are there ways the game can improve? Absolutely. But that doesn’t take away from the fun players will have by exploring all the different customization options the game already offers.
