New Arena REQ Bundle & Halo 5 Updates Confirmed

343 Industries has confirmed the Halo 5 REQ Bundle that retailer Amazon leaked only yesterday. The studio has also confirmed that changes to the amount that some weapons in Halo 5’s REQ system require.

The confirmation of the Halo 5: Guardians Arena REQ Bundle arrived this morning in a post on the Halo Waypoint community website and social network Twitter. All of the information Amazon had on its pre-order page was true. Beginning February 16th, Halo 5: Guardians players can pick up the Arena REQ Bundle and get two Premium REQ Packs delivered to their in-game account every week.

REQ Packs are bundles of cards that unlock unique power-ups, armor and one-time use weapons in Halo 5’s multiplayer modes.

343 Industries says that users can expect the 14 different Premium REQ Packs that they get in the new Arena REQ Bundle to come in pairs for 7 weeks. Like the Warzone REQ Bundle before it, this new REQ Bundle will cost $24.99 separate from the game.

Microsoft doesn’t have any plans to release a version of Halo 5 with the Arena REQ Bundle included, it seems. Both REQ Bundles will be offered going forward, though the older Warzone REQ Bundle won’t appear in the game’s REQ Store. Also confirmed is the Mark V Alpha Armor set that Amazon’s listing said would be included with the Halo 5 Arena REQ Bundle.

It was in a separate post on Halo’s community news blog that 343 Industries reveal some big changes to Warzone. Specifically, it’s lowering the REQ that some in-game weapons require. “The cost of these weapons was a little high, and we want players to be able to use them more often and without breaking the bank.” Put plainly, the Carbine, Light Rifle and more, are getting cheaper to use in Warzone multiplayer.

The regular Carbine has dropped from 4 REQ to 2 REQ. The Rain of Oblivion Carbine has dropped from 4 REQ to 3 REQ. Blood of Suban, a recently released variant of the Carbine, has dropped to 4 REQ from 5 REQ.

Next is the Light Rifle, which is starting at 4 REQ Points going forward. The Barbed Lance Light Rifle has dropped to 4 REQ too. The Dying Star Light Rifle is 5 REQ now. The Suppressor and Boltshot are level 1 REQs. The Saw is 4 REQ. Appetite for Destruction has dropped to a level 5 REQ.

There’s good news for those who thought these weapons were too steep is that they’ll be able to take advantage of the savings in their evening Halo 5 Warzone session today. 343 Industries says that it made the adjustments to REQs shortly before its announcement yesterday.

This new REQ Bundle and changes to pricing come in the middle of a very busy week for Halo 5: Guardians fans. The studio revealed changes to matchmaking on Monday. This week, the studio said that it is testing some behind the sense changes to improve on the amount of time it takes users looking for a multiplayer match.

For February, changes to how the studios takes skills into account, should mean that everyone from the most elite players to unskilled players have an easier time getting in-game. “We are doing to things to increase the competiveness for Champions. First, the new minimum CSR to earn a Champion rank will be 1800 rather than 1500. Additionally, we’ve placed a cap on the highest CSR you can earn after your placement matches at 1700.” The studio is hoping to make “Champions a more elite group.”

Halo 5: Guardians is only available on Microsoft’s Xbox One entertainment console.