How Long To Beat Halo Infinite: Mission List And All Open World Activities

Halo Infinite breaks new ground in the 20-year-old saga of Master Chief. The Xbox mascot has never been given the range nor depth to explore like he is given in this long-awaited latest installment, which is surely leaving many people to wonder exactly how long is Halo Infinite? Like a lot of open-world games, that answer depends on a few factors, such as how much you get sidetracked with content outside of the critical path, as well as how much you struggle with the game’s many boss battles. If you’re wondering how long it takes to beat Halo Infinite or would like to see the full Halo Infinite mission list, we’ve got it all here.

Halo Infinite mission list

There are seven main story missions in Halo Infinite, which might seem to be on the low side until you understand that not only does each mission tend to take an hour or more itself, but the open-world sections that are available in between most missions are critical parts of the journey. If you merely mainlined the game’s critical path, you’d find yourself severely underpowered for what lies ahead, even on the easiest difficulty.

Halo Infinite is a game where the open world is not just a side attraction; it’s built into the core of the experience. You really should not, and maybe even cannot, beat the game without some open-world exploration. Nonetheless, with that in mind, here are the seven main story missions by name. Note that the names of the story missions may be considered spoilers for some players, so proceed with caution.

• Ringfall
• Lockdown
• Connections
• Graveyards
• Reformation
• Reckoning
• Endless

How long to beat Halo Infinite?

On average, a playthrough of Halo Infinite will likely take you about 12-16 hours, split across the critical path and some necessary side content that will help you improve Master Chief’s skills and wipe out the Banished from Zeta Halo, foiling their master plan. A player who wanted to do every last thing in Halo Infinite would need somewhere closer to 30 hours, as you’ll see below where we break down all the side content.

If you were able to persevere and play only the critical path with Chief’s base-level abilities, it would take closer to 7-9 hours, but we should stress that this will be both very difficult--even on the easiest difficulty--and probably much less interesting, as the first-ever open-world Halo game does well to justify its size and scope. Get out there and see the world, commandeer a Ghost, slap a few grunts. Live a little. The world will be there to be saved on your schedule… Probably.

Halo Infinite side missions

Outside of the critical path, there are many different kinds of side missions and collectibles to take on in Halo Infinite. 343 does a good job of making every map icon and distraction from Chief’s main plot feel necessary. Things like finding Spartan Cores provide upgrades and abilities, while Mjolnir Armory lockers grant you new multiplayer cosmetics.

Most other content contributes Valor to your campaign, which unlocks new vehicles and weapons at all Forward Operating Bases (FOBs). Here’s all the side content and what it involves.

• FOBs: Encampments that, once taken over, act as fast travel / resupply points and reveal local points of interest
• Squads: UNSC prisoners of war or outgunned units in need of Chief’s assistance
• High-Value Targets: Most-wanted Banished warriors who drop unique weapons when killed
• Propaganda Towers: Small enemy installations that are quick to take down
• Spartan Cores: Locations of additional skill points that can be applied to Chief’s repertoire
• Mjolnir Armory: Lockers containing exclusive multiplayer cosmetics
• Artifacts: Forerunner archives
• Skulls: Gameplay-changing and very well-hidden collectibles

In addition to all of these, different places of interest will often include data on how many Spartan Cores and audio logs are within their perimeter, but note that audio logs do not appear on the Tacmap. You’ll need to look and listen for them when in range. Furthermore, Skulls and Artifacts only appear on the Tacmap if you’ve spotted them in your travels. Taking over FOBs will not reveal their locations like other collectibles. There are 12 Skulls in Halo Infinite.

Meanwhile, Audio logs are broken up into three categories: UNSC, Banished, and Spartan. While Forerunner Artifacts are given their own category, these play much like audio logs, revealing backstory through audio just like the others, so we’ll include them below too. There are many of each kind. Specifically, be on the lookout for the following number of audio logs in each category:

• UNSC: 37
• Banished: 28
• Spartan: 39
• Forerunner Artifacts: 7

Now that you know all Halo Infinite’s story and open world have to offer, get up to speed with all of the Halo Infinite campaign upgrades and abilities.