<p>Learn more about Halo Infinite’s upcoming Campaign Network Co-Op flight and Mission Replay.</p>
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The world in Halo Infinite is incredibly expansive. Can I decide to go liberate a FOB while my Co-Op buddy heads in the other direction to take down a high-value target? How exactly does the game handle it if players get too far apart in the open world? How will it handle players being separated in the more enclosed missions?
Mulkey: The whole point of playing together is just that—playing together! Co-Op allows a group of friends to join up as a Fireteam and tackle the various locations on the ring together.
To that end, we have established what is called “Area-Of-Operations” (AOO). This is the maximum distance that players in a Fireteam can stray from one another as they explore and tackle the challenges of Zeta Halo. If you stray too far from your Fireteam, you will get a warning to return to the team. If you ignore that warning and continue, you will be killed for going AWOL and be spawned back on your nearest teammate.
How large are the Area-Of-Operations?
Isaac: It’s an interesting balance to strike because we want players to have the fun of fighting together, but we also don’t want it to feel like the game is forcing you to be joined at the hip, so to speak.
We landed on tuning the AOO with two values: an inner "warning radius" (800 feet) and an outer "kill radius" (1000 feet).
To give you an idea of that scale in-game: if two of you want to hit a really big objective like the Banished dig site, the AOO will definitely allow you to tackle an objective of that size from opposite sides with room to spare.
How will Spartan Cores (used to upgrade your equipment) affect Campaign Co-Op? Is it the case that if Player 1 upgrades an ability, that is then shared with Player 2?
Isaac: Upgrades and Cores are tracked separately per player. If anyone collects a Core in co-op, then everyone in the Fireteam who had not already collected that Core will get credit for it.
You can then spend your Cores independently, and your Core count and upgrade choices are retained in your chosen save slot.
This means that you get the benefits of working together, but you also have the room for self-expression with your personal playstyle. If one of you wants to focus on upgrading your Drop Wall to protect yourself while your partner gets the Grappleshot melee upgrade to charge into the enemies’ ranks, you can do that.
Speaking of that really cool upgrade to the Grappleshot where you can hold the melee button mid-grapple to do an electrified slam... Can my buddy and I use this on each other in the middle of a group of enemies, like the ultimate Master Chief fist bump?
Mulkey: Oh, absolutely.
Do it!
“Mission Replay” is a feature that’s also coming alongside the Network Co-Op update. Can you explain how that will work?
Mulkey: Mission Replay has always been a mainstay of
Halo, and we want to continue that tradition with
Halo Infinite. However, the more open nature of
Infinite poses new creative challenges that did not exist when missions were broken up into their own discreet levels. You could simply reload that level and replay it.
In
Infinite, missions are locations in a much larger playspace of other mission locations. We are leaning on the Tac-Map as your gateway to interacting with individual missions.
In both Solo and Co-Op play, you can open your Tac-Map, highlight a completed mission, and then choose Replay. You will then be prompted to select the difficulty and be offered to activate any Skulls you (or your teammates) have collected.
Setting a mission to replay resets it and teleports you (and your fireteam) to the location to tackle the challenge. You are free to wander off to do something else, Fast Travel away, or resume your furthest main mission.
So, let’s say I want to replay Warship Gbraakon—the first mission of the game—after my Co-Op partner and I have collected a bunch of Spartan Cores, will those upgrades carry over to that earlier point in the game?
Mulkey: Yes! This opens up all new ways for players to experience those earlier missions and we can’t wait to see what experiences folks have with that!
One very cool and unexpected side-effect of this upcoming Campaign update is the addition of several brand-new achievements. Where did the inspiration come from? Can you give us an idea of what players can expect?
Mulkey: The new achievements are targeted at the opportunities afforded by both Mission Replay and Co-Op.
Some of the Mission Replay achievements are targeted at immaculate play challenges, while the Co-Op ones revel in the possibilities presented by playing together.
To give you an example of one of them: we challenge you to kill enemies with a Gravity Hammer from the back of a vehicle being driven by your buddy.
XBOX & STEAM PC NETWORK CO-OP FLIGHTING
We will be flighting this Campaign Network Co-Op and Mission Replay experience through the Halo Insider program from the week of July 11.
We’re looking for Spartans out there to help us put things through their paces in order to ensure that there are no big issues that make it through to the full release.
What are the team’s overall goals for the campaign Network Co-Op flight?
From a technical perspective, our main goal with this flight is to catch any networking issues that are specific to Campaign Co-Op.
What are the requirements and necessary steps for someone to participate in this upcoming flight?
It’s simple! Here's a quick blurb, but keep an eye out for full instructions once the flight is officially underway.
Step 1:
Make sure you’re signed up to the Halo Insider program.
Step 2: Ensure you have the entitlement to
Halo Infinite (Campaign). (i.e. you have purchased it or have an active Xbox Game Pass subscription)
Step 3: If you’re participating on Xbox, have the Xbox Insider app downloaded, and opt into the Network Co-Op flight program once the flight is live. If you’re playing on Steam, you’ll be sent a unique key via Halo Insider communications to download the flighting build.
Step 4: Launch the build, party up with friends, and jump into Zeta Halo!
