“Spartan Points” will not be available for purchase, 343 Industries has confirmed.

Spartan Points are the currency used to unlock cosmetics in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. You actually have to play the game to get them, but back in June 343 Industries announced that it was considering making them available for purchase. The reasoning was couched in benign terms: it would be an “optional, additional alternative for players who find the sheer volume of content intimidatingly long to play and want to advance (or skip) grinding, or perhaps want to get the specific items they want”.

MCC indeed has a lot of cosmetic elements, including armor effects, sounds, weapon skins and more. But if you find Halo so tedious to play that you’d rather pay to get these in-game indulgences, here’s the bad news: Halo: MCC will definitely not be getting Spartan Points available for purchase, 343 announced today. This is probably reassuring news for existing Halo players who pride themselves on getting their in-game clothing the hard way.

Getting Spartan Points will also be a little easier. It was announced in August that Spartan Points will soon be awarded with each new level you reach, and players will be able to get these points retroactively once they’ve reached a higher – or maximum – level. Currently, to earn the currency, you have to complete challenges.

However, that won’t happen until November, and today’s update only confirms those plans. “We’re also looking to implement changes to the Spartan Points search rate and remove the barriers players are experiencing. We’re removing the 100 point cap, giving points retroactively, and making additional changes to challenges to make them even more rewarding, as well as bringing back the Double XP Weekends,” writes 343 Industries.

This all follows a major content update for Halo: MCC that was released last month. It added a bunch of collectibles, new Forge options, and mod tools to Halo Reach, among other things.

Source: PC Gamer