How 343 Industries Can Improve Their Microtransactions

A month after Halo 5’s release, I have now had enough time to mess around with all of the in-game features and give my opinion about them. 343 Industries’ new microtransaction system has created mixed opinions within the community. Many fans have enjoyed the new skins and accessories REQ packs come with while others feel it’s a scam and that all these accessories should have come with the base game. One thing that neither side can disagree on is that this microtransaction system has generated over $700,000 in under a month for the Halo World Championship, an event in March of next year. That money alone automatically surpasses any other prize pool for any Halo event, ever. Microtransactions continue to show why they need to be an integral part of every eSport as they are the only crowdfunding system that truly gives back to the community when done right. Prime examples of this are Dota 2’s Compendium and Smite’s Odyssey, which provide buyers with cool in-game items and more money for the tournament winners, just like the REQ packs.

[The Halo World Championship prize pool increased by $500,000 just one week after the release of Halo 5]

REQ Pack Pricing

To start off, I do believe that the prices for the REQ pack are a bit too hefty, considering the items you can get from them are often unwanted. I personally believe that a Gold pack should cost around $1 and a Silver should cost $0.50. If this were the case, more players would be willing to buy them, allowing 343i to generate even more money for the HWC.

343i’s main goal when creating this microtransaction system was to convince players to buy more packs with real cash rather than playing the game for a few minutes to earn points toward one. If I’m playing well (and depending on what playlist I’m playing), it takes me about 30-45 minutes to earn one Gold pack. I would rather enjoy the game and earn the pack from playing it than spend $3 on one. However, if these Gold packs were priced around $1, I would be willing to spend the money to buy them. The best part about this is that the items in these packs are all digital, which means they could be altered fairly easily.

REQ Pack Items

Many of the items in Halo 5’s REQ packs are pretty much what you’d expect from your typical microtransaction system. If you get a Gold or Silver pack, you typically get around 1-2 good items and the rest are basically useless, but you can sell them for REQ points. When purchasing packs, there is a small chance you will open a rare item, which are the ones players are most interested in obtaining. However, I think 343i needs to shuffle the good items around every week so that players can get different types of rare items. So far, I have purchased a little over 50 Gold packs and the only rare items I unlocked are various emblems. Although these emblems look great, I don’t have a single weapon skin. If 343i varied the rare items a bit more, buying packs would actually be worth it.

[A full schedule for the Halo World Championship has been released]

 

Promotional REQ Packs

When you rank up your CSR (Competitive Skill Rank), you unlock a free REQ pack. Although these packs can be very good at the high ranks, most of the items you’ll get at a low rank are useless. Although it’s great that the higher ranks get rewarded for their progression in the game, I believe that the lower ranks should get at least one useful item, such as a common emblem, armor, visor, or weapon skin that may not be worth much, but reminds players that hard work does pay off.

Item Trading

If you look at the CS:GO scene, many fans love to trade their rare skins for other items or cash. Although 343i most likely can not get involved in cash exchanges, it would be nice to see 343i enable us to trade or give items to friends. When a player unlocks the same items over and over, it would be nice to trade them for a new one.

Overall, I love the REQ pack system, but I do see many flaws that 343i can improve to make it even better. If 343i can make these four changes, I believe more people would be willing to buy packs with real money, thus making the game more successful.

What do you think about Halo 5 REQ packs? Have you been enjoying them? Let us know in the comments section below and remember to follow us here at eSports Guru for all your competitive Halo needs!