Yes, I Am Part of the Problem: Ponying Up $24.99 for the Arena REQ Bundle

Beginning February 16, Halo 5: Guardians is offering a new Arena REQ Bundle on Xbox Live for $24.99. And while reading comments to any announcement of the offer is met with an internet's worth of vitriol and condemnation, I will confess I am the kind of person that will buy it.

So REQs were one of the newer features to Halo 5 (see link for more detailed explanation). They are virtual "cards" that add features to your Halo 5 gameplay. They fall into a number of categories including permanent unlocks like armor customization (helmets, armor and visors), weapons skins, assassination animations, profile stances, and Warzone weapon loadouts. There are also consumable REQs such as weapons and vehicles for Warzone use and boosts that add to potential XP or RP payouts increasing Spartan Rank and Requisition Points respectively.

To me, the REQ system succeeds primarily in two areas: 1) while the Warzone REQs can be extremely powerful and ultimately game-changing, Arena is ALWAYS an even play field and 2) REQ packs can be obtained through gameplay REQ point accumulation.

The first area has always been a reason why I have preferred Halo over things like COD, RSV, or Titanfall more recently. Those games rewards you for experience and play and so the more you play, arguably, the better you are. In addition to that, those that need the least advantage get an even greater advantage by starting with better equipment/weapons than the noob. A game in Arena, everyone has starts exactly the same and success is entirely determined on how well a person does that game, not how many games they played before it.

The second area is especially nice because it creates a natural incentive to play. The more you play, the more you can unlock. Accordingly, a player would not have to spend a single dollar beyond initial purchase of Halo 5 to access the same content as the person who purchases REQs using real world virtual money. The cost of a Gold REQ pack is 10,000 Requisition Points. I find a fairly long night of gaming (a few hours) is about right to unlock a new pack's worth of points. I usually use the 10,000 benchmark as a goal for the night and call it quits after opening up a new pack.

I purchased the Warzone REQ Bundle when the game launched. Every week, I would get to open two new REQ packs with some great Warzone equipment. Of course, I do not really play Warzone that much and when I originally bought the game, I did not really understand what REQs were. Actually, I didn't fully understand Warzone until the game was released. That said, the Arena REQ Bundle are unlockables that are STRICTLY cosmetic.

I know. Armor, helmets, assassination animations, and weapon skins that provide no gameplay difference mean I am playing "dress up" with my Spartan. And you know what, I love it. What can I say? Ever since Halo 2, I have played with more or less the same Spartan type -- brown armor, some variation of the yellow lightning bolt against the forest green background. I can't wait to order the 3D-printed collectible once I decide on my favorite armor and helmet.