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Yeah. I wasn't really into the story they had going for the first half of SpOps, but the new ones have actually been pretty entertaining.

Did anyone else notice the huge increase in XP for the weekly challenges? They're 10,000-30,000 XP this week. They're also not terribly difficult:

Campaign
30,000 XP - Complete Reclaimer on Legendary difficulty with the Mythic, Tilt, Tough Luck and Thunderstorm skulls.
10,000 XP - Complete any Campaign Mission on Heroic or higher difficulty with the Mythic, Tilt and Thunderstorm skulls.

Spartan Ops
10,000 XP - Kill 50 Jackals.
30,000 XP - Kill 30 Knights.

War Games
20,000 XP - Get 150 kills with a Precision Loadout Weapon.
10,000 XP - Earn 40 Combat Skill Medals.

Half of those are higher than the monthly challenge, which gives 15,000 XP.

A friend and I did the two campaign challenges at the same time. With the 40,000 XP, I went from level 50 to nearly level 54 in one mission.

I wonder if they were seeing a dropoff in players and increased the XP amounts to lure players back in.

If they did its working, I'll probably jump back in this week. After missing a few days a couple weeks ago I came back and my first MP game a teammate plasma'd me in my warthog on purpose. Haven't loaded it up since.

Yeah, I was thinking about taking a break from War Games and just playing Spartan Ops so I could play some games in my backlog, but that 30,000 XP from two challenges is pretty tempting.

Assuming the XP bump is what you said - trying to reel people back in. Between the dropoff and the Mountain Dew XP thing ending, I guess they're scrambling for incentives.

Grifball sure is nice for getting those hammer and sword kills up for that stance that I'll never, ever unlock for getting a zillion kills with all the Covenant ordinance weapons.

MP got stale adding grifball was a nice touch I'll get back into this game if invasion is added

Yeah, I was just taking a wild guess about a dropoff in players being the reason for the XP increase. I haven't paid attention to the numbers.

This doesn't bode well, though:
http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco...aming-but-why/

Originally Posted by Wet Ninja This doesn't bode well, though: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco...aming-but-why/

So... I thought people were bemoaning the addition of loadouts and ordnance drops because they made the game more like Call of Duty... Turns out they actually made it LESS like Call of Duty?

Originally Posted by Wet Ninja Yeah, I was just taking a wild guess about a dropoff in players being the reason for the XP increase. I haven't paid attention to the numbers. This doesn't bode well, though: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco...aming-but-why/

the article has so many contradictions...

all the "faults" listed for Halo 4 (customization of weapons, kill streaks, etc.) are also in Call of Duty. so that's a copout. even the author realized it and put a quick paragraph to counter it, at the end, by saying, well, since they have always been in COD, it's okay for COD. *roll eyes*

not to mention it glossed over and tried to diminish the fact that Microsoft sign an exclusive contract with a rival upstart gaming league. which means MLG had no option but to drop it.

Yesterday I went ahead and cashed out all my Mountain Dew XP codes and attached them to my gamertag, even though I don't have Halo 4 yet. Attempting to read the rules, I was confused. At first I thought I read you must have played Halo 4 before attaching them to your gamertag. Then I started thinking, why?

Does anybody know if the double XP will be sitting there on my account until I start up the game? Or did I just waste them? Just curious. Thx.

What a poorly written article that conveys nothing between the two games.

I especially love this part:

At top levels, players used to know where anyone could be on a map, where they could hit them from, and where they were likely to run to, but give them a jetpack and suddenly all that knowledge goes out the window.

So essentially hardcore gamers are bemoaning the removal of modern day "screen watching." lol The way the article is written is basically saying top competitors can't compete when you remove power weapons from the map, and add in some randomness. i.e. if you can't control the map then you can't compete. That makes it sound more like the top players really aren't all that impressive to begin with by relying on tricks, weapon spawns and map knowledge to dominate.

Boo hoo for them.

Originally Posted by cancermatt Yesterday I went ahead and cashed out all my Mountain Dew XP codes and attached them to my gamertag, even though I don't have Halo 4 yet. Attempting to read the rules, I was confused. At first I thought I read you must have played Halo 4 before attaching them to your gamertag. Then I started thinking, why? Does anybody know if the double XP will be sitting there on my account until I start up the game? Or did I just waste them? Just curious. Thx.

First they will automatically be used when you finally play Halo 4. Not the wisest move since Spartan Ops gives far more XP. I only cash in a couple at a time when I'm getting ready to play Spartan Ops.

Second, you had until 3/31 to "Apply" the codes to your gamertag.

Third, by the sounds of it, your XP bonus is safe once it's transferred to the Gamertag. So you're good.

Originally Posted by MtlTom The playlist (most) everyone has been waiting for is coming! Source: https://forums.halowaypoint.com/yaf_...px#post2213087

Not allowing split screen is a mistake

Originally Posted by Corvin What a poorly written article that conveys nothing between the two games. I especially love this part: So essentially hardcore gamers are bemoaning the removal of modern day "screen watching." lol The way the article is written is basically saying top competitors can't compete when you remove power weapons from the map, and add in some randomness. i.e. if you can't control the map then you can't compete. That makes it sound more like the top players really aren't all that impressive to begin with by relying on tricks, weapon spawns and map knowledge to dominate. Boo hoo for them.

yeah, that part bothered me. It's basically saying that the more options in the game, the worse it is for the top players. Because then, they can't cover all their bases with a few strategies. For me, the problem with games that have such narrow options is once everyone figures out what the best option is, everyone ends up running the same routes, using the same weapons, the same strategies, etc.

Originally Posted by Wet Ninja Yeah, I was just taking a wild guess about a dropoff in players being the reason for the XP increase. I haven't paid attention to the numbers. This doesn't bode well, though: http://www.forbes.com/sites/insertco...aming-but-why/

I didn't even know forbes had game articles like this on their site. So much truth in that article and such a shame too. 343 and Bungie literally turned the Halo series to trash in just two games

Originally Posted by Corvin What a poorly written article that conveys nothing between the two games. So essentially hardcore gamers are bemoaning the removal of modern day "screen watching." lol The way the article is written is basically saying top competitors can't compete when you remove power weapons from the map, and add in some randomness. i.e. if you can't control the map then you can't compete. That makes it sound more like the top players really aren't all that impressive to begin with by relying on tricks, weapon spawns and map knowledge to dominate. Boo hoo for them.

I didn't read the article, but the part you quoted is 100% correct. You used to be able to know where you were getting shot from, and predict things much easier if you were a good player. The Jetpack and Camo armor abilities are ruining the game. The Jetpack breaks every map in the game and 343 should have learned from Reach. Active Camo shouldn't make you 100% invisible and shouldn't last nearly as long as it does. Both of them should have been ordinance drops.

As for what you said about top competitors, that's pretty much what Halo was and the definition of being good at it. It's about controlling the map and making sure you have the power weapons. Adding in a random variable shits on everything. If my opponent gets an incineration cannon and I get a speed boost, now that; that is a situation where you can't compete.

Originally Posted by Strider Turbulence I didn't even know forbes had game articles like this on their site. So much truth in that article and such a shame too. 343 and Bungie literally turned the Halo series to trash in just two games

I think there are a lot of problems with the current state of Halo 4, but even as-is it's leagues ahead of Reach and 3.

Not that it could ever compete with 2, though.

Well, thank you Grifball Pro (when motherers actually vote for it, which is rare). Got my First Strikes all done and finally have a different stance to use. Made a lot of progress on other stuff I figured I'd never get anywhere near done with, as well.

I enjoy Halo 4 MP more than I did Reach or Halo 3. Not trash at all.

Originally Posted by Corvin First they will automatically be used when you finally play Halo 4. Not the wisest move since Spartan Ops gives far more XP. I only cash in a couple at a time when I'm getting ready to play Spartan Ops.

In order to best use the double XP, should I play Spartan Ops before the campaign?

Thanks for the thoughts!

Originally Posted by cancermatt In order to best use the double XP, should I play Spartan Ops before the campaign? Thanks for the thoughts!

Not a good idea if you're trying to understand the story. Otherwise, go for it.

I think you just want to use your double XP on Spartan Ops rather than the versus multiplayer. You don't gain XP from the campaign do you?