Key Multiplayer Details Arrive Ahead of Halo 5 Release Date

Requisitions are an exciting new piece of how developer 343 Industries hopes to keep Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer relevant, and this week the studio finally shared details about how they’ll work when gamers dive in this coming October.

343 Industries shared details on the Requisition system this week on Halo Waypoint. First revealed when Microsoft detailed the pre-order bonuses that Halo 5 release date buyers can expect, Requisitions are essentially an economy for Halo 5 multiplayer player. Halo 5: Guardians is Microsoft’s biggest release this fall. The company hopes that a new entry in the first-person shooter franchise will help push sales of its Xbox One console above those of the PS4.

343 Industries says that the Requisitions system in Halo 5: Guardians is its way for rewarding gamers that put effort into playing online with other members of Xbox Live. When Xbox One owners play Halo 5 multiplayer they’ll earn Requisition Points that can be redeemed for Requisition Cards.

Requisitions are the items that each card unlocks. Sometimes these cards focus on player customization and upgrades. For example, Requisitions an consist of armor, weapons, new weapon skins and animations for a single player. The different Requisition Cards act like a physical trading card game, giving players access to different things depending on their rarity. Requisition Cards could be permanent, but can also disappear after they’re used for the first time. Armor is permanent, but weapons can be single use. Cards come in Common, Ultra Rare, Rare, Uncommon and Legendary.

What’s raising some eyebrows are Requisition Packs and the Requisition Store. Players can use Requisition Points earned in the game to purchase these sets of cards or they can use their real money to get some in a pinch. 343 Industries is promising that Requisition Packs will be completely earnable through playing multiplayer, but the system still isn’t going to sit well with all Halo fans. Effectively, Requisition Packs are the first time users have been able to pay for character upgrades in multiplayer. The different Packs come in Gold, Silver and Bronze, with different Uncommon, and Legendary items guaranteed in each.

Using a Requisition Card in Warzone, which is the only multiplayer game mode that allows for non-character customization Requisition Cards, costs energy. As users play the game, they’ll automatically build up more energy but it won’t just magically come back right away. Some Requisition Cards can only be used in specific Warzone stages. Warzone is that multi-stage, team battle game mode that 343 Industries revealed at this year’s Electronic Entertainment Expo.

Read: Halo 5 Guardians Warzone Mode Revealed at E3 2015

Besides this week’s blog post, 343 Industries also has a video outlining Requisitions. The studio plans to continue revealing new cards and answering questions about the system ahead of the Halo 5: Guardians release date. All told, the system doesn’t seem too focused on users spending real money, but judgement on it will have to wait until the game is on store shelves. It is worth noting that almost every first-person shooter is starting to embrace card game mechanics. Titanfall, last year’s big-name first person shooter on the Xbox One, also has cards. Battlefield Hardline also uses the card system to get add something new to its multiplayer system and keep things fresh.

Read: Halo 5 Release: 5 Things to Know Now

Halo 5: Guardians arrives on October 27th for as little as $60. Besides standalone copies of the game and collector’s editions, Microsoft also has an Xbox One hardware bundle that’ll come with a copy of the game too. GameStop has all of this available for pre-order ahead of the Halo 5 release date.