Halo Infinite’s long-awaited campaign is here. Players are finally able to take on the role of Master Chief once again and unravel the Zeta Halo’s many mysteries. But as a pseudo-open world game, Halo Infinite’s equipment upgrades, progression system, and overall mechanics may be a bit daunting to returning players. Allow us to ease you back into those green boots with a guide covering everything you need to know about equipment upgrades and progression in Halo Infinite’s campaign.
How To Find and Upgrade Equipment
New pieces of equipment are found on the bodies or armor of other Spartans on the Zeta Halo.
One of the biggest differences between Halo Infinite and other games in the franchise is its upgrade system. This time around, Master Chief’s Mjolnir Powered Assault Armor can be outfitted with equipment that can also be upgraded.
You start out with the Grappleshot, which (as you might have guessed) is a grappling hook. You’ll find other pieces of equipment as you progress through the game. These are found with dead Spartans or their armor. Approaching and selecting them allows Master Chief to install their equipment as his own.
After you gain a piece of equipment, you’ll unlock its upgrade tree. Each upgrade costs a certain number of Spartan Cores. You can find these Spartan Cores scattered around the map in small green boxes that flash with yellow lights. Below, we’ve listed the first three pieces of equipment you’ll unlock, including their upgrade trees and how to find them:
Each new piece of equipment comes with its own upgrade tree to work through.
Grappleshot: Master Chief starts the game with this equipment unlocked
- Base: Provides Master Chief with a grappling hook
- Voltaic: Grappleshot stuns grappled enemies for several seconds; costs 1 Spartan Core
- Quick shot: Reduces Grappleshot cooldown by 40%; costs 2 Spartan Cores
- First Strike: Delivers a powerful shockwave blast when holding melee while grappling; Costs 3 Spartan Cores
- Reach Fall: Increases damage and radius of the shockwave blast. Enemies within it will be stunned; Costs 3 Spartan Cores
Shield Core: Found on a dead Spartan in Mission 2
- Base: Increases shield capacity to 115% of base shield strength
- Fortress: Increases shield capacity by an additional 15% of base shield strength; costs 1 Spartan Core
- Bastille: Increases shield capacity by an additional 15% of base shield strength; costs 1 Spartan Core
- Redoubt: Increase shield capacity by an additional 15% of base shield strength; costs 1 Spartan Core
- Citadel, Increase shield capacity by an additional 15% of base shield strength; costs 1 Spartan Core
Threat Sensor:
- Base: Provides a deployable device that reveals enemies within range.
- Seeker: Increases threat sensor detection radius by 50%; costs 1 Spartan Core
- Operative: Adds a second charge to the threat sensor; costs 2 Spartan Cores
- Clairvoyant: Reduces threat sensor cooldown by 40%; costs 3 Spartan Cores
- Omniscience: Adds uninterrupted enemy visibility to the threat sensor and reveals their health; costs 3 Spartan Cores
You have to unlock each tree in order — there’s no skipping over unwanted upgrades.
Mjolnir Armor Lockers: How They Work
Armor lockers will earn you new gear for multiplayer matches.
While playing Halo Infinite’s campaign, you may come across a flashing locker that resembles a Spartan Core but is taller. These are Mjolnir Armor lockers, and they contain special pieces of cosmetic armor for your Spartan in the game’s multiplayer.
You won’t be able to don these cosmetics while playing as the Chief in the campaign, but they are an added bonus for those who want to show their singleplayer prowess while in multiplayer. While the first few lockers are fairly easy to find, the later ones are far more difficult to discover. Luckily, there’s a surefire way to uncover more Mjolnir Armor lockers and Spartan Cores.
How To Easily Find Spartan Cores and Mjolnir Armor Lockers
If you’re hunting for Spartan Cores, make sure you clear the FOB for the area.
Finding Spartan Cores is integral to upgrading Master Chief’s armor, and finding some new cosmetics for your multiplayer Spartan isn’t a bad idea either. In order to make finding both Spartan Cores and Mjolnir Armor lockers easier, you’ll need to recapture fallen UNSC forward operating bases, or FOBs.
FOBs are scattered across the map and are primarily controlled by the Banished. Killing all of the Banished in a FOB reclaims it. It also allows the Weapon to scan the surrounding area and add the information to your Tac-Map. This is the game’s way of showing you all the activities that a region has to offer.
This scan will also uncover all the Spartan Cores and Mjolnir Armor lockers in a region, making it easy to collect them. These scans also uncover Banished Propaganda towers. Destroying these towers will weaken the Banished influence on nearby UNSC personnel and give you Valor points. These Valor points can be used to access additional resources at captured FOBs.
When you first get to a new region, make sure that you capture at least one of the FOBs in the area. This will allow you to not only find Spartan Cores and cosmetic lockers, but also call in vehicles, restock on ammo, and have a safe place to retreat to.
Read More: Halo Infinite Vehicles, Weapons, and Armor Customization Details
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Infinite is just around the corner and we cannot wait to get our hands on all the goodies the battlefield has to offer.
Nicolas Perez is a journalist who has played way too much Civilization 5. He’s rambling on Twitter @Nic_Perez_.