Halo Infinite lets you equip a Personal AI during multiplayer matches
Don't ghost me, bro.
343 has revealed more information about Halo Infinite's multiplayer in a new video.
The video, below, includes new Halo Infinite multiplayer gameplay as well as a raft of talking heads from 343.
There's a lot to run through, but the highlight for me was the news that Halo Infinite multiplayer lets you bring your own Personal AI onto the battlefield.
This AI will help you out - the example given was if a teammate picks up the flag, your Personal AI will suggest you help get it back to base. It also gives you "moment to moment updates".
You can choose your own AI and each comes with a different voice, 343 said. You can customise your Personal AI's appearance and personality in the Armor Hall once you complete the tutorial. The image below shows a Personal AI helping a Spartan capture an objective.
Other cool things I noticed in the video include the ability to pull weapons and other pickups towards you with the new grapple hook. You can use the grapple to pull yourself towards an enemy, which is a good time for a gravity hammer slam, it seems.
Equipment is back, but has a "bigger voice than ever before", 343 said. The developer suggests there will be tactics involved in choosing whether to go after a power weapon, or pick up the grapple for extra mobility.
You can pick up classic powerups such as the Overshield and Active Camo as before, but now you can choose when to activate them. A powerup goes in your inventory, but if you haven't used it and you die, you drop that powerup and someone else can pick it up.
The vehicles now have tech that means they can be damaged in different areas, changing how they handle. Warthog wheels can be blown off, for example. There's a "doomsday" mechanic - if you hit a threshold, you've got a certain amount of time to choose what you do with the last few minutes of this vehicle.
We see the Razorback, vehicle, which was is described as a "cousin" to the Warthog. It has a multi-storage compartment you can put things into, such as detached turrets, power weapons, fusion coils and even objectives.
Vehicles don't just spawn at the base. They'll be delivered to the battlefield - via Pelican - for pickup. There are Halo 2-style Delta Halo mission weapon pods that fall from the sky to resupply the field.
Customisation is supported across the weapons, armour and vehicles. You can customise the soldier inside the suit, changing your body type and your voice. For the first time in a Halo game, you can choose prosthetics.
There's no random loot, and no loot boxes, 343 insisted. There is a battle pass, which is expected given Halo Infinite's multiplayer is free-to-play. Interestingly, once you buy a battle pass, it's yours and will never expire. In future seasons you can buy old battle passes as well as the current battle pass and choose which one to progress through. I think that's a cool idea!
If you can unlock something in the battle pass, 343 won't let any other player circumvent that by purchasing it out of the storefront. All customisation is just cosmetic, 343 said. 343 highlighted the samurai armour, which is described as an "event armour core". Players can earn this through gameplay for free.
Progression carries across console and PC, and there's crossplay.
The Academy is for newer players to learn how to play MP. There's a tutorial, weapon drills and a training mode you can use to "warm up" before matchmaking.
And finally, Halo Infinite has bots - a first for the series. There is a variety of difficulties.
All in all, I think Halo Infinite's multiplayer looks cool, but there's still plenty we don't know about it. How many players can play at the same time? What about the maps? Will there be a battle royale mode? For now, though, I'm pumped.