1) REQ Packs & REQ Cards are Halo 5's reward system. REQ Packs contain REQ Cards that will award all of the cosmetic items such as armor variations, as well as other types of REQ Cards for use in the new Warzone game mode. Each REQ Pack contains a specific number of cards, but those cards will be random until you purchase and open the pack. Upon launching Halo 5, all players will be granted a Starting REQ Bundle, which will include 54 REQ Cards and 7500 REQ Points. REQ cards have different rarities; better/cooler items will have a higher rarity. The REQ Card chain of rarity looks like this:
Common - Uncommon - Rare - Ultra Rare - Legendary. So what does this all mean? Keep reading!
2) Ways to earn REQ Packs in the game:
- Spartan Rank: Spartan Rank is Halo 5's linear rank system. Every game you complete in multiplayer, whether it be Warzone or Arena, will grant progress towards leveling your Spartan Rank. Spartan Ranks are individual performance-based, so the better you play, the faster you rank up. Every time you level up your Spartan Rank, you get a REQ Pack as a reward.
- Commendations: As in Halo Reach and Halo 4, commendations are categorized goals to be accomplished within multiplayer. There are many types of commendations, and each one has multiple stages. For example, a Headshot Commendation would be for killing enemy players with headshots, and there would be multiple stages for killing more players with headshots. Every time you complete a stage of a commendation, you will receive a REQ Pack.
- Supply & Promotional Packs: These REQ Packs can be unlocked through codes included with select Halo licensed products at retail, and through various promotions. These are not earned in game, though any content they contain can also be unlocked in other REQ Packs.
- REQ Points: REQ Points are your in-game currency. You earn REQ Points for playing any kind of multiplayer match, excluding custom games. Players will earn roughly 2000 REQ Points per game of Warzone, and roughly 1000 REQ Points per game of Arena.
- Microtransactions: Silver REQ Packs can be purchased for $1.99 USD, and Gold REQ Packs can be purchased for $2.99 USD. (Note: microtransactions are used to purchase the same exact REQ packs that REQ Points are used to purchase. Any item that can be obtained by using a microtransaction has the same exact chance to be obtained by using REQ Points)
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3) REQ Pack pricing and contents are as follows:
- Bronze Packs cost 1250 REQ Points and contain 12 cards (Common, chance for 1 permanent card)
- Silver Packs cost 5000 REQ Points (or $1.99 USD) and contain 15 cards (Common - Rare, 2 guaranteed permanent cards)
- Golden Packs cost 10000 REQ Points (or $2.99 USD) and contain 15 cards (Uncommon - Legendary, 2 guaranteed permanent cards)
- Premium Packs contain 16 cards, are NOT purchasable in-game, and each Xbox LIVE profile is limited to ONE Premium Bundle. 2 Premium Packs will be given each week for 7 weeks, totaling at 14 Packs. Premium Bundles can be purchased separately for $24.99.
4) REQ Packs award different types of REQ Cardsermanent Cards: these cards are not consumed upon use and can be reused infinitely. Permanent cards include:
- REQ Certifications: these are special REQ Cards that, once obtained for a certain weapon or vehicle, greatly increases your chances of receiving more of that weapon card from REQ Packs. So if you get a Ghost Certification, you will be more likely to receive REQ Cards for Ghosts in the future.
- Cosmetic cards: these cards unlock appearance-altering items such as armor pieces, assassination animations, weapon/armor skins, and stances. Any item that is purely for character customization and has absolutely no impact on gameplay is considered a cosmetic card. Cosmetic items can be used in both Warzone and Arena.
- Basic Weapon and Vehicle cards: these are used to spawn simple loadout weapons like the Assault Rifle, Battle Rifle, and the basic Mongoose
- Armor Upgrades: these are passive abilities like enhanced mobility and increased grenade capacity.
Single-use cards: these cards
will be consumed upon use. You can only use a single-use card once, so be careful! Single use cards include:
- Power Weapon and Power Vehicle cards: these are used to call in powerful weapons and vehicles, like Sniper Rifles and Phaetons.
- XP & REQ Point Boost Cards: both of these cards can be used in Warzone and Arena modes. They will boost the amount XP and REQ Points you earn from matches, respectively.
- Power-Ups: these are things like Overshields and Active Camo
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5) Here's how the REQ System works within the Warzone game mode:
- REQ Levels are required to redeem your REQ Cards in Warzone. REQ Levels are earned as a team, not individually. Things like capturing bases, killing enemy players/AI, taking out bosses, etc. all contribute to your team's REQ Level. REQ Levels are essentially tiers of weaponry, with higher level REQs being more powerful items. Upon starting the match, all players will have access to Level 1 REQs, which are pretty much your standard loadout weapons like Battle Rifles, Assault Rifles, etc.. The higher REQ Levels are for power items like Spartan Lasers and Mantises. You cannot use a higher Level REQ card before your team has unlocked that REQ Level in the match. In other words, you cannot use a Level 7 card before your team reaches REQ Level 7.
- There's a REQ Energy system that stops you from spamming REQ Cards, so you can't do stuff like spawn a rocket, die, then immediately spawn another rocket. Your REQ Energy drains by the number of the tier of REQ Card you redeem. For example, if you have 7 available REQ Energy and you use a Level 6 REQ Card, you will deplete 6 of your REQ Energy points and be left with 1. You must then wait for more REQ Energy before you can use a REQ Card higher than Level 1. The REQ Energy recharges at a fixed rate, it is not based on individual performance. This prevents "snowballing", or using a power card to do really well, get more REQ energy faster, and use more power cards faster. When your team reaches the next REQ Level, each player receives one additional REQ Energy unit.
- You redeem REQ Cards at terminals called REQ Stations, which are located in each of the bases. So if there are 5 bases on a Warzone map, there are also 5 REQ Stations. Interacting with a REQ Station will enter you into the Requisition Menu, where you will choose which REQ Card(s) to redeem. You can use any kind of REQ Card at any REQ Station. Using a vehicle card at a REQ Station will "teleport" you to the Garage, where you will watch a short cinematic introduction of your vehicle coming up a lift with you inside of it, after which you are free to drive away.
- You can also access the Requisition Menu while on the respawn screen. While you are choosing where to respawn, you can access the same Requisition Menu that you do at a REQ Station, and use any REQ Cards you wish. If you use a vehicle REQ Card, it will spawn you at the closest Garage. So, if you choose to respawn at your home base and enter the Requisition Menu and use a Mantis card, you will spawn at your home base's Garage, inside the Mantis.