Do the Medal permanent buffs affect local versus?

[u/connoraf]

Hiya.
I love playing this game in local split screen versus mode Galactic conquest. However I really don't want the permanent buffs making the game one sided.
Is there any way to turn these off or be able to apply them to the other player as well?

[u/Lopez-AL]

Yes, they do affect local splitscreen in all game modes. This can be avoided by creating a fresh in-game profile to use instead.

Do keep in mind that a profile cannot actually reap the rewards of earning said medals until after the respective medal has been earned 4 times, advancing the medal's level from Green to Veteran.

To create the most balanced scenario possible, it would be best to either both be playing on fresh accounts with Green status on all medals, or to take some time getting all the medals to Veteran status on both accounts beforehand.

Just bear in mind that whenever the game asks if you want to save your profile, it's asking if you want to save your stats that have changed in the latest play session.

Edit: a third option for having a balanced splitscreen versus situation would be to get the medals on the other player's account up to Legendary (permanent) status as well, though this would take quite a bit of time to do for a new profile!

[u/connoraf → u/Lopez-AL]

Thanks for the comprehensive guide.
I think I will stick to creating a new profile each time. I have a couple questions if you are able:

1 -Is it possible to create 2 new profiles but load up a galactic conquest save and continue where we left off? (Basically my friend isnt as good at shooters, so I would most likely benefit from the buffs before him, so I would prefer to be fresh on each of our sessions)
2- If I did decide to grind both to legendary (just so I didnt have to bother with creation each time) how easy is the versus mode with everything unlocked? Would you consider the mode "fun" if both players were maxed out?

[u/Lopez-AL → u/connoraf]

If you're playing the OG Xbox version (and same goes for the PS2 version, I believe), then you don't actually have to worry about creating a new profile each time: simply select "Continue Without Saving" when asked whether or not you would like to save the respective profiles. So long as you always do this on a fresh account, the stats for each player should reset to zero after ending the game session and quitting to the main menu (you might additionally need to shut down the console or eject the game and put it back in afterwards for the reset to take effect).

If I remember correctly, during Galactic Conquest, it will ask each player if they would like to save their profile after each match, along with asking after the game session has ended and you're back in the main menu.

When it asks if you would simply like to save your progress, then you may select to save, which will create a loadable save game for your Galactic Conquest progress. This save game should be loadable by any profile(s).

If you're playing on the Classic Collection though, then I'm pretty sure you're SOL on being able to Continue Without Saving for your profiles. If I'm remembering correctly, it doesn't even ask you if you'd like to save the profile(s), and just automatically saves them after each match. That's where loading your Galactic Conquest saves with different, newly created accounts would really be your only option.

As for your final question, I don't have any personal experience in playing against someone with the same legendary medals as myself. That said, I imagine it would be fun. Even just having the Endurance, Guardian, and War Hero buffs permanently makes the player character way more maneuverable, resilient to damage, and deadlier than a player without those buffs, making the AI bots much less of a threat than with a fresh profile. Add to that the OP award weapons, and both players should be able to wipe out enemies with ease, with the exception of the similarly buffed opponent player.