A melee-only perk ranked for the Battle Rifle in Halo Infinite Season 2 hasn’t gone over well with fans, who find the idea of different damage values for weapons depending on the playlist confusing.
Halo Infinite’s new multiplayer season has just launched, and along with new maps and modes, it has also introduced several balance changes to mix up the 343 shooter metagame. Those changes include nerfs to the Mangler, big buffs to the Ravager, a reduced universal from the melee damage and melee perk of the previously mentioned ranked-only battle rifle.
The “upgrade” for the Battle Rifle melee in the ranked playlist essentially maintains the weapon’s performance as it did in Season 1 after the universal 10% melee damage reduction introduced as part of the upgrade. season 2. The patch notes state that the Battle Rifle melee damage was kept intact in rank to “preserve the two Battle Rifle bursts after the global melee reduction.” All players start with a battle rifle in the rankings.
Fans, in general, don’t seem to be thrilled with the Battle Rifle change. Players on the Halo Infinite subreddit argue that having a weapon that performs differently in rank compared to all other playlists makes the game more confusing and punishing for players who jump between different playlists with frequency.
While there are already other differences between Halo Infinite’s ranked and social playlists, such as omitting radar in ranked, reduced ammo for certain weapons, and enabling friendly fire, this is the first time the damage it deals a particular weapon differs between playlists.
The move seems to cater to the game’s more competitive community, who would be upset if the Battle Rifle received significant changes, but in the process upset the game’s more casual audience. Many fans are wondering why 343 didn’t just add the melee damage buff to the Battle Rifle on social playlists as well.
Like Season 1, Season 2 of Halo Infinite: Lone Wolves will run for six months, three months longer than originally planned. In addition to new modes and maps, Season 2 introduces a new battle pass and events, like the Current Interference event. Long-awaited and long-overdue features like co-op campaign and Forge are coming later in Season 2, according to a recently released content roadmap, with a Forge beta scheduled to start in September. The online cooperative campaign is scheduled to arrive in August.
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