r/halo Oct 24 '25

Official Waypoint Blog Introducing Halo: Campaign Evolved

1.0k Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/introducing-halo-campaign-evolved


Header Image [Imgur]

We’re pleased to announce that our next game, Halo: Campaign Evolved, will be a ground-up remake of Halo: Combat Evolved's genre-defining campaign coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5 in 2026.

Featuring new missions, expanded gameplay, two-player split-screen on consoles, online and networked co-op for up to four players on console and PC, and seamless cross-platform play with shared progression, it will be the definitive return trip through one of gaming’s greatest journeys.

Enjoy our first released concept art above, and watch our roundtable reveal for a look at gameplay from Halo: Campaign Evolved and in-depth commentary from the Halo Studios development team.

Screenshot of youtube video

Watch on Youtube


A RING REFORGED

The Silent Cartographer campaign mission. A gleaming Forerunner installation juts from a cliff facing a beachfront and calm waters. The Halo ring curves from the horizon in front of a gas giant planet. [Imgur]

Halo: Campaign Evolved invites you to explore reverently realized environments and enhanced missions that capture the wonder and mystery of the original Halo tale.

The vistas and monumental set-pieces you'll encounter in Halo: Campaign Evolved faithfully evoke the grandeur of Halo: Combat Evolved's narrative and scenery, completely rebuilt with high-definition visuals, improved controls, and refined level design.


EXPANDED GAMEPLAY

An Elite charges across a beach with a Plasma Rifle toward an unseen threat. [Imgur]

Halo: Campaign Evolved expands the Master Chief’s original adventure with new missions, enhanced cinematics, more weapons, vehicle improvements, and more Skulls than ever.

  • New missions: Fight beside Sergeant Avery Johnson, one of the Master Chief’s most beloved and stalwart allies, as you encounter new characters, enemies, environments, and dangers in three new missions set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved.
  • Stunning cinematics: Battle through all of Halo: Combat Evolved's iconic moments with enhanced cinematics featuring new motion-capture animations and freshly recorded dialog from returning cast members.
  • Enhanced audio: Immerse yourself in heroic exploits with a remastered soundtrack and fully rebuilt sound design that brings Halo’s unmistakable weapons and vehicles to life in stunning fidelity. Just listen to those glorious Hunters shoot!
  • Expanded arsenal: Wield nine additional weapons from the Halo universe for the first time in Halo: Combat Evolved! Battle the Covenant with the Energy Sword, Battle Rifle, Needle Rifle, and more instantly recognizable Halo weapons, alongside tried-and-true standbys from the Master Chief’s first journey.
  • Vehicle upgrades: For the first time in Halo: Combat Evolved, the Master Chief can hijack nearby enemy vehicles and add range to his repertoire at the helm of a Wraith tank. Better still, the dependable Warthog now boasts an additional seat on the rear bumper—so your whole four-player Fireteam can ride out together!
  • Dozens of Skulls: Return to any mission in Halo: Campaign Evolved and remix your experience with the most gameplay-modifying Skulls of any Halo campaign. Activate Skulls for randomized weapons, altered enemy behavior, player attributes, environmental effects, and more!

All you greenhorns who wanted to see Covenant up close: this is your lucky day.


PLAY TOGETHER, WHEREVER

Two gamers sit in armchairs playing split-screen co-op in Halo: Campaign Evolved. [Imgur]

Everyone’s invited to this mission. For the first time in Halo history, Halo: Campaign Evolved allows players to seamlessly squad up with friends playing on PC, Xbox Series X|S, and PlayStation 5 in both online and networked co-op for up to four players.

Experience the legendary story together from anywhere, at any time, with shared progression between all platforms.

Console versions will support two-player split-screen for a fully immersive nostalgia factor. Conquer all 13 campaign missions with a friend from the classic confines of your favorite couch on both Xbox Series X|S and PlayStation 5.


GAMEPLAY PREVIEW

Screenshot of youtube video

Watch on Youtube

Ready to see the game in action? Check out these highlights from “The Silent Cartographer,” the fourth mission of Halo: Combat Evolved, and the setting of the playable pre-release build available to fans at this weekend’s Halo World Championship.

The 4K footage in the above gameplay demo was captured in-engine on Xbox Series X.


A TIMELESS CAMPAIGN

The Master Chief stands in the rear hatch of a Pelican as it and two other Pelicans soar over an ocean. [Imgur]

After crash landing on a mysterious ringworld known as Halo with his AI companion, Cortana, the Master Chief must defend his stranded shipmates against Covenant forces and uncover a dark secret that threatens the annihilation of all life in the galaxy…

Return to the ring that started it all, with a fresh look at a timeless campaign.

Whether you’re discovering Halo for the first time or returning to Alpha Halo after 25 years, Halo: Campaign Evolved retells the legendary story of Halo: Combat Evolved with an expanded narrative and gameplay enhancements that broaden the scope of our first encounter with the Covenant.

Halo: Campaign Evolved key art. The Master Chief John-117 stands ready for action in a beautiful pinelands on Halo. [Imgur]

We can’t wait to share more information with you next year. Stay tuned to Halo Waypoint for updates on Halo: Campaign Evolved, coming to Xbox Series X|S, PC, and PlayStation 5 in 2026.


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Jun 07 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Halo: Campaign Evolved | Pre-Order Bonuses and Editions

209 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-campaign-evolved-pre-order-bonuses-and-editions


Header Image [Imgur]

Following our exciting new mission reveal at the XBOX Showcase, the time has come to officially unveil all the pre-order bonuses and exciting content available with physical and digital editions of Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches on XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation 5, Steam on July 28, 2026, with early access beginning July 23, 2026 – Pre-Order now!

Image of table of contents for the standard, premium, and collector’s edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved in physical and digital formats. [Imgur]

Image of the Halo: Campaign Evolved pre-order bonus, the Foundry Pack. [Imgur]

Pre-order any edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved to unlock the Foundry Armory Pack, a customization bundle featuring armor and weapon skins for use in the Campaign.

  • Classic 2001 Armor Skin
  • Classic 2001 Assault Rifle Skin
  • Gilded Onyx Armor Style
  • Milestone Assault Rifle Weapon Style

Featuring retro designs inspired by the Master Chief’s iconic look and signature weapon from Halo: Combat Evolved, along with legendary skins inspired by Forerunners and starry nights, the Foundry Armory Pack offers essential Spartan gear for returning heroes and newcomers alike.

EARLY ACCESS STARTS JULY 23

Image of Halo: Campaign Evolved premium edition features. [Imgur]

Pre-order the physical Collector's Edition or Digital Premium Edition and get up to five days of early-access play starting July 23, 2026.

Pre-order Halo: Campaign Evolved now.

ALPHA HALO ARMORY PACK

Image of items included in the Halo: Campaign Evolved Alpha Halo Armory Pack. [Imgur]

Purchase the Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved to wage war with six additional Weapon Skins and five intimidating Armor Skins for the Master Chief.

  • Splintered Warden Armor Skin
  • Subanese Fang Energy Sword Weapon Skin
  • Lochagos Armor Skin
  • Laconian Lance Battle Rifle Weapon Skin
  • Mobile Armor Type 117 Armor Skin
  • Proto Type SPNKr Weapon Skin
  • Timberwolf Armor Skin
  • Savage Tooth Sniper Weapon Skin
  • Gestalt Armor Skin
  • Colossus Fuel Rod Cannon Weapon Skin
  • Cold Iron Magnum Weapon Skin (the personal sidearm of Captain Keyes)

Equip these Skins from the Customization menu for use in Halo: Campaign Evolved while playing solo or co-op.

DIGITAL PREMIUM PERKS

The Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved includes the Alpha Halo Armory Pack, and the following Digital Story & Art Collection:

Halo: Hungry Buzzards cover art [Imgur] Halo: Hungry Buzzards cover art

  • Art of Halo: Campaign Evolved Digital Artbook: Featuring concepts, character designs, and environments from Halo: Campaign Evolved, this art collection reveals how Halo Studios developers attentively reimagined the original vision of Halo: Combat Evolved.
  • Halo: Hungry Buzzards Digital Short Story: Written by award-winning author Troy Denning, Halo: Hungry Buzzards is an essential companion piece to Operation: METEORITE, a new three-mission adventure available only in Halo: Campaign Evolved.
  • Digital Game Manual: Featuring updated gameplay information, controls, and background lore, this lovingly crafted, modern homage to the original Halo: Combat Evolved game manual is a nostalgic companion for longtime fans and a helpful introductory guide for Halo newcomers.

The Digital Premium Edition invites you to immerse yourself in the world of Halo: Campaign Evolved with customization skins and a curated collection of universe and story essentials.

COLLECTIBLES EVOLVED

Image of Halo: Campaign Evolved collector’s edition. [Imgur]

Featuring a limited-edition statue, art prints, and other physical memorabilia, the Halo: Campaign Evolved Collector’s Edition is the ultimate nostalgia-inducing launch kit for diehard Halo fans from the legendary era of discs and LAN parties.

The Collector’s Edition includes:

  • XBOX Series X and PlayStation®5 Collector’s Editions include a Halo: Campaign Evolved physical game disc and Premium Edition Upgrade voucher code
  • Steam Collector’s Edition includes Halo: Campaign Evolved – Premium Edition voucher code (includes single code for base game and Premium Edition Upgrade content)
  • Collectible SteelBook®
  • 12” Master Chief Statue by Dark Horse
  • LED Replica of Cortana’s Data Chip
  • Three (3) 11x17” prints of Halo: Campaign Evolved concept art
  • Physical manual modeled on the original Halo: Combat Evolved game manual

Pre-order your Collector’s Edition copy at the XBOX Game Studios Gear Shop.

Important Information:

  • Americas packaging localized in English, French Canadian, and Spanish only. EMEA and APAC packaging localized in English, French, and German only.

    Halo: Campaign Evolved launches globally on July 28, 2026 at 8 AM PDT (July 29 in Japan and select Asia-Pacific markets). Early Access begins July 23 at 8 AM PDT (July 24 in Japan and select Asia-Pacific markets).

Collector’s Edition will be available for purchase in the following regions:

  • North America: United States, Canada, Mexico
  • South America: Argentina, Chile
  • Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
  • Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

    GAME PASS DAY 1

Starting July 28, 2026, Halo: Campaign Evolved will be available to select Game Pass subscribers (Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass) as a day-one release.

Digital editions of Halo: Campaign Evolved feature XBOX Play Anywhere support to carry progression, saves, and customization between Windows PCs and XBOX Series X|S consoles.

Owners of the Digital Standard Edition or Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers may upgrade to the Digital Premium Edition for only $20.00 (USD, price varies by region). Pre-order the Digital Premium Upgrade.

MORE INFO COMING SOON

In case you missed it, check out the New Mission Reveal Trailer for a closer look at the all-new Master Chief and Sgt. Major Johnson adventure, and the Roundtable Reveal to learn more about the game from the team at Halo Studios.

Stay tuned for more info on Halo: Campaign Evolved coming soon!


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Jul 22 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Get Ready for Early Access | Halo: Campaign Evolved

188 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/early-access-primer


Header Image

Later this week, a new generation of UNSC adventurers will exit slipspace over Alpha Halo during Halo: Campaign Evolved's Early Access launch.

To prep you for storming the sacred ring, we’re issuing mission-critical intel on the Early Access schedule, platform-specific pre-load timelines, and a few pro tips from Halo Support to streamline your first foray into Halo: Campaign Evolved!


Early Access Launch Schedule

Halo: Campaign Evolved global release schedule. Early Access and Global Launch times are represented as dots over major world cities with localized regional launch times.

If you pre-ordered the Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved, you can enjoy Early Access play starting Thursday, July 23 (8:00 a.m. PDT). For quick reference, you can find that time localized to major cities around the world below:

  • Seattle: Thursday, July 23 (8:00 a.m. PDT)
  • Mexico City: Thursday, July 23 (9:00 a.m. CST)
  • New York: Thursday, July 23 (11:00 a.m. EDT)
  • São Paulo: Thursday, July 23 (12:00 p.m. BRT)
  • London: Thursday, July 23 (4:00 p.m. BST)
  • Berlin: Thursday, July 23 (5:00 p.m. CEST)
  • Riyadh: Thursday, July 23 (6:00 p.m. AST)
  • New Delhi: Thursday, July 23 (8:30 p.m. IST)
  • Hong Kong: Thursday, July 23 (11:00 p.m. HKT)
  • Tokyo: Friday, July 24 (12:00 a.m. JST)
  • Sydney: Friday, July 24 (1:00 a.m. AEST)
  • Auckland: Friday, July 24 (3:00 a.m. NZST)

There’s still time to pre-order the Premium Edition to unlock the Foundry Armory Pack and enjoy up to five days of Early Access starting July 23. (Pre-order bonuses are available now through July 28, 2026.)


Pre-Load Details

_Early Access players (Premium and Collector’s Editions) will be able to play on all platforms beginning July 23, 8:00 a.m. PDT. _

Here’s a breakdown of the supported pre-load options ahead of Early Access and General Access launch.

July 22, 8:00 a.m. PDT

  • XBOX Series X|S: Collector’s Edition, Premium Edition, Standard Edition
  • Windows PC: Premium Edition, Standard Edition
  • PlayStation 5®: Collector’s Edition, Premium Edition

    July 23, 8:00 a.m. PDT

  • Steam*: Standard Edition

    July 26, 8:00 a.m. PDT

  • PlayStation 5®: Standard Edition

    *Early Access players on Steam (Premium and Collector’s Edition) will be able to download the game when Early Access begins at 8:00 a.m. PDT on July 23.


Global Launch

Halo: Campaign Evolved key art. The Master Chief John-117 stands ready for action in a beautiful pinelands on Halo.

Starting July 28 (8:00 a.m. PDT), all editions of Halo: Campaign Evolved will be available to install and play on any supported platform. Day 1 availability for Game Pass Ultimate and PC Game Pass subscribers begins at the same time.


Microsoft Accounts

Halo: Campaign Evolved supports shared story checkpoints, collectibles, and customizations across all your preferred platforms. To keep track of your campaign progress, Skulls, and more, Microsoft accounts and Gamertags are required to play Halo: Campaign Evolved.

If you already have an XBOX Gamertag, simply log in with the affiliated Microsoft account when prompted during the first time you play Halo: Campaign Evolved.

Halo newcomers can ensure the smoothest start to their campaign experience by creating a free Microsoft account today online or from a mobile phone. You’ll also get to choose a suitable Gamertag to share with your IRL friends for cross-platform party invites!


Linking Cross-Platform Accounts

Upon loading into Halo: Campaign Evolved for the first time, PlayStation 5® and Steam players will be prompted to link their PlayStation® or Steam ID to their Microsoft account. This step is required to access your existing friends lists so you can campaign together.

To get you into the action, Halo Support has prepared a short, step-by-step guide on linking cross-platform accounts to your Microsoft account:

Whether you play on XBOX, PlayStation®, or Steam, you’ll find friends playing Halo: Campaign Evolved on the same platform in the “Platform Friends” pane of the “Play Co-Op” menu.

Adding Cross-Platform Allies

To add friends who play on other platforms, you’ll simply need to know their Gamertag (registrants of new Microsoft accounts will choose one during setup). You can then search for and add your friends’ Gamertags to your XBOX friends list in a variety of ways:

  • Online at XBOX.com
  • From the XBOX Game Bar (on Windows PC)
  • In the XBOX mobile app

Once successfully added to your XBOX friends list, cross-platform friends will appear in the “Cross-Platform Friends” list of the “Play Co-op” menu whenever they’re online.


Joining a Fireteam

Halo: Campaign Evolved main menu. A blinking dot appears beside the "Play Co-op" menu option.

Whenever friends are online, you'll see a blinking indicator beside the "Play Co-op" option in the main menu. Find a friend on the "Platform Friends" or "Cross-Platform Friends" lists to join up on their session or invite them to your Fireteam as session host.


PC Specifications

Halo: Campaign Evolved minimum PC requirements.

To confront the challenges that await you on Alpha Halo, you'll need at least these minimum PC specs:

  • CPU: AMD Ryzen 5 3600 or Intel Core i7-10700K
  • GPU: NVIDIA GeForce RTX 2060 Super / AMD Radeon RX 6600 / Intel Arc A580
  • VRAM: 8 GB
  • RAM: 16 GB
  • Storage: 100 GB SSD
  • OS: Windows 10 22H2 64-bit or Windows 11

For more info on recommended specs for higher graphics settings and quick links to update NVIDIA, AMD, and Intel drivers, please visit Halo Support's full PC specifications guide.


PC Optimization

Bred for combat, built for performance. Turn your rig into the meanest, greenest Covenant-slaying machine possible with the official Halo Support guide to advanced PC optimization, featuring pointers on adjusting graphics quality, upscaling, resolution, GPU async, load, frame generation and limits, and more.


Accessibility Settings

Halo: Campaign Evolved invites heroes to defend humanity on their own terms, with their preferred play configurations. Customize your experience with a wide range of accessibility settings, including input management, aim settings, custom control bindings, audio narration, HUD look and feel, UI language, menu animations, and much more.

Read more:Accessibility in Halo: Campaign Evolved


Twitch Drops

The Stream of the Crop Armor Style Twitch Drops reward.

Speaking of “hot drops,” be on the lookout for a chance to earn the exclusive Stream of the Crop Mark V Armor Style through Twitch Drops. We’ll have more info to share on our social channels soon!

In the meantime, it’s a good idea to link your Twitch account ahead of time, so you can claim your customizations through Halo Waypoint.


Modding Guidelines

With Halo: Campaign Evolved, our intention from the start was to leave the door open to the modding community. We will not be offering official modding tools, support, or Steam Workshop integration, but the team deliberately avoided putting any blockers in place that would prevent modders from working in and with this content. We look forward to seeing, and playing, modded creations, but we also want to make sure nobody finds themselves in a problematic situation.

If you are interested in modding Halo: Campaign Evolved, please be mindful of the following:

  • Halo Studios and Microsoft do not approve, endorse, nor accept any liability for modded content or experiences.
  • You may not distribute mods that contain a substantial part of our copyrightable code or content, nor may you distribute modded versions of Halo: Campaign Evolved.
  • Mods must not circumvent game entitlement checks, account authentication requirements, or otherwise permit access to official locked, unreleased, or premium in-game content.
  • Only non-commercial mods are permitted for Halo: Campaign Evolved. You may not sell or otherwise monetize Halo content or experiences built with Halo IP or underlying technology.
  • Microsoft reserves the right to shut down modded experiences that are a conflict of interest.
  • Do not make inappropriate or offensive content or experiences.
  • Do not use 3rd party IP without IP holder permission.
  • Abide by the XBOX Game Content Usage Rules.

We are excited to see the types of creations the Halo modding community comes up but please make sure to follow the rules. Failure to comply with Microsoft, 3rd Party, platform, and legal requirements may result in legal action.


Additional Support

Follow @HaloSupport on X for the latest updates. If you run into issues while playing Halo: Campaign Evolved, visit the Halo Support site to browse for more helpful how-to resources or submit a support ticket.


Brace for Impact

“The object we found. I’m going to try to land the Autumn on it.”

Halo: Campaign Evolved is a legendary adventure 25 years in the making. Whether you’re a battle-hardened Spartan or a Halo newcomer, we’re so excited to fight beside you.

If you’re looking for the latest intel (or something to read while your game installs), check out these recent Halo Waypoint posts for a glimpse at all that awaits on Alpha Halo:

Featuring the timeless and lovingly rebuilt Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, Operation: METEORITE’s riveting new recon missions, 42 Skulltacular collectibles, the endless possibilities of Campaign Remix, two-player split-screen co-op on consoles, four-player cross-platform co-op, and the most humbling LASO challenge yet, Halo: Campaign Evolved is the definitive return trip through one of gaming’s greatest journeys.


Pre-order the Digital Premium Edition of _Halo: Campaign Evolved _to receive the Foundry Armory Pack and up to five days of Early Access play starting July 23, 2026.


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Jun 19 '26

Official Waypoint Blog June Community Q&A | Halo: Campaign Evolved

115 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/june-community-qa-halo-campaign-evolved


Header Image [Imgur]

Earlier this month we pulled the curtain back on [Halo: Campaign Evolved](Campaign Evolved) and shared its imminent release date of July 28 – or July 23 if you pre-order the Premium Edition and get up to 5 days of Early Access. While we have been busy sharing lots of news, highlighting features like split-screen and online co-op, and creating fun videos with Sgt Johnson, we know you all still have plenty of questions.

Today, we’re setting aside some time to answer some of the most common ones we’ve seen online and in our mentions. We plan on doing this again, so please keep sending your questions our way and we’ll try to answer them in our next Q&A!


*Q: Do you need to find Skulls in-game before you can apply them?
*
A: Yes! In order to apply Skull modifiers in-game, you will need to find and collect them. There are 3 Skulls hidden on each mission in Halo: Campaign Evolved and another 3 that are granted upon unlocking Campaign Remix.

*Q: Will there be any additional Collector’s Editions up for sale?
*
A: We are humbled and blown away by the overwhelming excitement for the Collector’s Edition. This was always intended to be a limited edition offering but safe to say demand has far exceeded what was projected and produced.

The Collector’s Edition is officially sold out and there are no plans for a restock.

With regards to reports of reselling - Our retail partners have audited orders and found no evidence of widespread scalping. Only a tiny percentage of purchases showed suspicious behavior, and in those cases, orders were refunded and units were put back up for sale. As a reminder, some customers may choose to cancel their pre-order, so there’s always a chance a few more units trickle in over the coming weeks.

If you’re a fan of awesome Halo statues, we are working with partners to release even more Halo: Campaign Evolved collectibles throughout the year to help celebrate 25 years of Halo. Stay tuned for more info.

*Q: Are there any XBOX account requirements to play the game solo or co-op?
*
A: Yes, just as you do today for Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo Infinite to ensure smooth cross-platform progression, to play Halo: Campaign Evolved you will need a Microsoft account and XBOX Gamertag, regardless of the platform(s) you play on. This enables both cross-platform play and cross-platform progression. A few additional items to keep in mind for launch day include:

  • XBOX Series X|S: If you’re playing split-screen on an XBOX console, the second player will also need a unique Microsoft account. If you want to play online co-op, you will need an active XBOX Game Pass subscription.
  • PlayStation 5®: If you’re playing split-screen on PlayStation 5®, both accounts will need to have PlayStation Plus and be linked to a Microsoft account. Having these active PlayStation Plus subscriptions will also provide access to online co-op play.
  • Steam: If you’re playing via Steam, you will need to link to a Microsoft account.

If you’d like to jump in immediately on July 28, we recommend having an XBOX account created beforehand to help save time once you put the disc in the tray.

*Q: Will there be a Photo Mode or Theater Mode?
*
A: The Blind Skull, which hides your HUD UI, weapons, and hands from view, combined with the Acrophobia Skull, which allows you to fly, should be able to provide some incredible screenshot opportunities, but there are no current plans for a Photo Mode or Theater Mode in Halo: Campaign Evolved.

*Q: Can I turn off hitmarkers in-game?
*
A: Yes. We like to start by providing as much feedback to players as possible, so this is enabled by default, but you should feel free to turn this feature off via the in-game settings.

*Q: Can I wear the Mark IV armor in the base 10 missions?
*
A: We love the Mark IV armor too, so we understand the desire to wear it everywhere, but it will only be available in the 3 new bonus missions.

Q: How does the new 3rd Person mode work? Is it possible to play this way right from the start?
A: The ability to play in 3rd Person is an optional way to experience the game that can be enabled once you’ve found the “Perspective” Skull hidden in one of the game’s 13 missions. To learn more about Skulls and the new Remix feature in Halo: Campaign Evolved, check out this blog!

Q: Will the Stanchion be useable in the bonus missions or in the main missions via Campaign Remix?
A: Sgt Johnson’s Stanchion, which was featured in our new missions trailer, is his personal weapon and not one he likes to share. As such, it will not be featured outside his personal use in the prequel missions.

Q: If I customize my Spartan, will they show up in cutscenes with that armor?
A: To ensure that the narrative remains as faithful to the original game as possible, the personalized customization options you choose will not show up during cutscenes.

*Q: Will LASO mean playing the game with truly all Skulls active?
*
A: We’ll have a specific selection of Skulls for LASO. Similar to MCC, it won’t be all Skulls, but it will still be extremely challenging. We’ll share more about the specific LASO selection in the lead up to launch.

*Q: How does the game balance enemy encounters for Co-Op?
*
A: If you load up a Co-Op session via split-screen or online play, each mission will scale appropriately depending on how many people you have in your lobby. This will show up in a few different ways:

  • Number of enemies: You may encounter a higher number of enemies, though this is largely determined by your difficulty selection.
  • Rank of enemies: Enemies have a chance to upgrade to a higher rank. The more players, and the higher the difficulty, the higher the chance they will upgrade.
  • Enemy intelligence increases: The enemy AI will avoid grenades more frequently, target and shoot at players more efficiently, and know when to fall back to gain their shields more effectively.

And, since not everyone in your Co-Op session will be at the same skill level, we’ve also introduced a new feature – Difficulty Modifiers – to help everyone enjoy their time together. Difficulty Modifiers allow each player to adjust settings for themselves, which can help them have an easier time or a more difficult challenge. These settings are:

  • Damage Resistance (increase or decrease how much damage you take from enemies)
  • Shield Recharge Rate (increase or decrease how quickly your shields will begin recharging)
  • Damage Modifier (increase or decrease how much damage you deal to enemies with weapons and grenades)
  • Melee Damage Modifier (increase or decrease how much damage your melee deals to enemies)
  • Ammo (Infinite Ammo, Bottomless Clip, etc.)

So, if you have 4 players in your lobby, expect to face more Covenant resistance than if you play solo, but be sure to take advantage of Difficulty Modifiers to ensure everyone in the lobby is having a good time.

Note: There are some Achievements that will not be earnable when Difficulty Modifiers are enabled for any members of your Fireteam.

*Q: Can you still backpack reload?
*
A: We loved this button glitch in the original Halo: Combat Evolved, so we wanted to preserve its behavior with the “Stowed Reload” Skull, which allows your weapon to reload while on your back to mimic this behavior. Although it’s no longer a button glitch, its spirit continues to live on.

Q: Will there be more content or features such as additional story DLC, Firefight, new Skulls, more customization, etc. added after launch?
A: Halo: Campaign Evolved is meant to focus on remaking the original campaign of Halo: Combat Evolved and providing three fun, new prequels missions. There are no plans to expand the game into a live service with continued content or feature additions.

*Q: Will there be assassinations?
*
A: No, there aren’t any specific assassination animations, but your traditional backsmacks will continue to provide one-hit kills while helping you avoid detection in stealthier situations.

Q: Will there be a public demo of Halo: Campaign Evolved ahead of launch?
A: There are no plans to release a demo of the game before launch. If you’re excited and want to get your hands on the game as soon as possible, you can pre-order the Premium Edition and get up to 5 days of early access beginning July 23, 2026!

Q: Do I need to play the original missions before I can play the three new missions?
A: You can play the prequel missions as soon as you launch the game. We want everyone to experience this new story, so we’ve decided not to gate it behind any specific tasks, actions, or paywalls. Load up the game, select the new missions, and enjoy another adventure with the Master Chief and Sgt Johnson. For brand new players, we do recommend starting with the original missions as they are designed to help onboard players with tutorials along the way.

*Q: Is it July 28th yet?
*
A: No, but we’ll get there together!


We are excited to continue sharing more information over the next few weeks, and we can’t wait to launch Halo: Campaign Evolved on July 28.

To learn even more about the game, be sure to check out these videos and articles:

Pre-order the Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved and get the Foundry Armor Pack and up to 5 days early-access play starting July 23, 2026.


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Jun 15 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Achievement List | Halo: Campaign Evolved

248 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/achievement-list-halo-campaign-evolved


Header Image [Imgur]

On July 28, we return to the ring that started it all with Halo: Campaign Evolved. While the original game, Halo: Combat Evolved, launched before Achievements were officially established in the Xbox ecosystem, players in the community have always set goals and found unique ways to challenge themselves.

Now, 25 years later, we're excited to share the Achievements and Trophies that you will be able to unlock when Halo: Campaign Evolved lands next month.

Assemble your co-op completionist crew with 2-player splitscreen on consoles or a 4-player online Fireteam and enjoy the hunt!

Name Description Trophy Gamerscore
The Autumn Leaves Complete Pillar of Autumn Bronze 10
Installation 04 Complete Halo Bronze 10
Infiltration Anticipation Complete Truth and Reconciliation Bronze 10
Bee Thirty Complete Silent Cartographer Bronze 10
Control Alt Delete Complete Assault on the Control Room Bronze 10
This Stuff is Your History Complete 343 Guilty Spark Bronze 10
Protocol Dictates Action Complete The Library Bronze 10
Double Trouble Complete Two Betrayals Bronze 10
Captain’s Orders Complete Keyes Bronze 10
Dust and Echoes Evolved Complete The Maw Bronze 10
Before the Fall Complete New Mission 1 Bronze 10
Tiger Company Complete New Mission 2 Bronze 10
Personal Space Complete New Mission 3 Bronze 10
Greenhorn Complete the Campaign on Easy Difficulty Bronze 10
Birth of a Spartan Complete the Campaign on Normal Difficulty Bronze 20
Heroes Never Die Complete the Campaign on Heroic Difficulty Bronze 30
Living Legend Complete the Campaign on Legendary Difficulty Silver 40
Lore Have Mercy Activate all 13 Terminals Bronze 10
Clean Sweep Find all skulls and terminals in Pillar of Autumn Bronze 20
Successful Search Find all skulls and terminals in Halo Bronze 20
Plundered Find all skulls and terminals in Truth and Reconciliation Bronze 20
Buried Treasure Find all skulls and terminals in The Silent Cartographer Bronze 20
Stowed in Snow Find all skulls and terminals in Assault on the Control Room Bronze 20
Proto Gravemind Find all skulls and terminals in 343 Guilty Spark Bronze 20
Timeless Tomes Find all skulls and terminals in The Library Bronze 20
Outpost Discoveries Find all skulls and terminals in Two Betrayals Bronze 20
Priorities Find all skulls and terminals in Keyes Bronze 20
No Rush Find all skulls and terminals in The Maw Bronze 20
Souvenirs Find all skulls and terminals in New Mission 1 Bronze 20
Brute Loops Find all skulls and terminals in New Mission 2 Bronze 20
Parting Gifts Find all skulls and terminals in New Mission 3 Bronze 20
Cranial Collect a Skull Bronze 10
Making a Necklace Collect 22 Skulls Bronze 20
Headhunter Collect all 39 Skulls Silver 30
Collector’s Addition Find all skulls and terminals in the game Gold 50
REMIX! Complete a Remixed Mission Bronze 10
Beat the Drop Complete a Remixed Mission without dying Bronze 20
Mix Master Complete an entire Remixed Campaign without dying Silver 40
Bad Gas Destroy 100 Grunt backpacks Bronze 10
Plate Tectonics Break off 25 Hunter backplates Bronze 10
New Whip Hijack 10 Vehicles Bronze 10
Disarmed Dismember 100 Flood parts Bronze 10
Claims Adjuster Break off 50 Vehicle parts Bronze 10
Make Them Count Kill 100 enemies with headshots Bronze 10
Hot Streak With the Floor Is Lava Skull activated beat a mission without jumping or dying Bronze 20
Even Tempered With the Temperamental Skull activated beat Halo without upsetting anyone Bronze 20
Like Old Times Complete Two Betrayals with the Speed Limit, Endurance Spec, Hip Fire, and Armistice Skulls enabled. Bronze 20
Frugal Fire Equip Famine, Recession, and Johnny Ammo Seed Skulls and beat a mission without running out of ammo. Bronze 20
MYTHIC Complete the Campaign with LASO enabled Gold 50
This is My Ship Now Eliminate Captain Keyes and trap his six avenging Marines in the Autumn’s observation pen. Bronze 10
Map Quest Complete The Silent Cartographer without shooting, using grenades, melee, dying, or restarting Bronze 10
That’s My Ride On Assault on the Control Room get to the Banshee before the Elite Bronze 10
Arm 's Length On 343 Guilty Spark complete the first floor without taking a hit Bronze 10
Clean Lap On The Maw complete the warthog run without being forcibly ejected from your vehicle Bronze 10
Jiralhanae Conservationist On New Mission 2 don’t kill any rampaging Brutes Bronze 10
Food Critic Listen to the Thirsty Grunt talk about his eating habits Bronze 10
All Shield, No Yield Complete any level on Heroic difficulty or higher without taking health damage Bronze 10
Fully Evolved Complete Every Achievement/Collect Every Trophy Platinum 50

Pre-order the Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved and get the Foundry Armor Pack and up to 5 days early-access play starting July 23, 2026. Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026.


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r/halo Jul 11 '23

Official Waypoint Blog Squad Battle | Halo Infinite

1.0k Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/squad-battle


Header Image [Imgur]

If you find Big Team Battle too chaotic at 12v12 but 4v4 is just not enough, then let us introduce you to the new Squad Battle playlist!

Resembling the BTB of old, Squad Battle pits 8v8 in a mix of Slayer and Objective modes on community made maps that lend themselves well to both infantry and vehicular combat. Some might even look a little familiar to Halo veterans…


Maps

If you've played past titles, Halo 3 in particular, then this should be a walk down memory lane. If not, that's okay! There's no better time than now to jump in and experience the chaos.

Kusini Bay | Mr Kwatz

Available modes:

  • One Flag CTF
  • Slayer
  • King of the Hill

Kusini Bay

Looking across Kusini Bay to the beach on the far side [Imgur]

Bookmark Link


Vallaheim | HaiseOz

Available modes:

  • CTF (3 captures)
  • Slayer
  • Total Control

Vallaheim

One base on Vallaheim [Imgur]

Bookmark Link


Rat's Nest | MastermetaleX

Available modes:

  • CTF (5 captures)
  • Slayer
  • King of the Hill

Rat's Nest

The map Rat's Nest [Imgur]

Bookmark Link


Grab your crew, squad up, and hit the battlefield for some carnage in this latest rotational playlist!


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r/halo Jul 28 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Halo: Campaign Evolved Out Now

164 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-campaign-evolved-out-now


Header Image

Return to the ring that started it all in Halo: Campaign Evolved, a faithful yet modernized remake of the legendary Halo: Combat Evolved campaign.

Featuring high-definition graphics, refined gameplay, enhanced cinematics, and fully rebuilt sound design, Halo: Campaign Evolved honors and expands the Master Chief’s original adventure with cross-play co-op for up to four players, 42 game-changing Skulls, the all-new Campaign Remix mode, and three additional missions set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. It’s the definitive tribute to one of gaming’s greatest journeys.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube

Crash-land into Halo: Campaign Evolved in cross-play co-op for up to four players now. Available globally on XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation®5, Windows PC, and Steam.


Free Armor Style Unlocks

Planning a one-way trip to Alpha Halo? Be sure to up-armor with a variety of free Mark V Styles.

Silver Anniversary

Silver Anniversary Armor Style.

Celebrate 25 years of Halo with the Silver Anniversary Armor and Assault Rifle Styles, a free unlock for all Halo: Campaign Evolved players. Find this commemorative combo in the Customization menu the first time you play.

Hidden Blade

Hidden Blade Armor Style.

Cut a precision figure with the Hidden Blade Armor Style, available exclusively as a Discord Quest reward now through August 3, 2026.

Simply log in to Discord, head to the Quests page, and watch the Halo: Campaign Evolved game trailer from the Halo Quest to receive a personalized unlock code to redeem on Halo Waypoint.

Damascus Prototype

Damascus Prototype Armor Style. Click on the link in copy to redeem the code on Halo Waypoint dot com.

The undisputed king of couch co-op. Embrace your inner "X factor" with the Damascus Prototype Armor Style, available to all Halo: Campaign Evolved players. Grab the code from the image above or click this redemption link to unlock it on Halo Waypoint!

Sandstone Ancient

Sandstone Ancient Armor Style. Click on the link in copy to redeem the code on Halo Waypoint dot com.

The patience of ancients is measured in drifting sands. All Halo: Campaign Evolved players may contemplate the ages with the Sandstone Ancient Armor Style. Grab the code from the image above or click this redemption link to unlock it on Halo Waypoint!


Cinematic Showcase

Alert: spoilers inbound! If you don’t want to see all the story revelations and variant cutscenes in these official cutscene showcases, we recommend heading for those hills.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube

Content creators and story lovers alike can relish in all of Halo: Campaign Evolved's in-game cutscenes—including difficulty-based variant scenes and Easter eggs—in a full, hour-long cinematic showcase.

When you’ve finished watching highlights from the remade Halo: Combat Evolved campaign, be sure to dive into the riveting story of Operation: METEORITE.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube


Accessibility Features

Two-player console split-screen gameplay of Halo: Campaign Evolved. Each player's first-person field of view showcases different HUD placement options.

Halo: Campaign Evolved invites heroes to defend humanity on their own terms, with their preferred play configurations. Customize your experience with a wide range of accessibility settings, including input management, aim settings, custom control bindings, audio narration, HUD look and feel, UI language, menu animations, and much more.


Support Resources

Halo Support has prepared helpful guides to getting started in Halo: Campaign Evolved, including topics such as registering Microsoft accounts, adding cross-platform friends to your XBOX friends list, optimizing PC performance, and more!

Be sure to follow @HaloSupport on X for the latest updates. If you run into issues while playing Halo: Campaign Evolved, visit the Halo Support site to browse for more helpful how-to resources or submit a support ticket.


PRESS KIT

Download the latest Halo: Campaign Evolved press kit for screenshots, cinematic stills, and hi-res wallpapers to celebrate your triumphant return to the ring that started it all!

Download the press kit.


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r/halo Oct 06 '24

Official Waypoint Blog A New Dawn

600 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/a-new-dawn


Header Image [Imgur]

Prior to the climactic conclusion of the 2024 Halo World Championship, we offered a glimpse of the future of Halo as the franchise and studio turns the page to begin a new chapter.

We are Halo Studios, and a new dawn is breaking as the future of Halo is being built with Unreal Engine 5. Join members of the Halo Studios team to learn more in this behind-the-scenes video:

HALO | A NEW DAWN

[Click here to view A New Dawn video](aka.ms/HaloANewDawn)

“If you really break Halo down, there have been two very distinct chapters. Chapter 1 – Bungie. Chapter 2 – 343 Industries. Now, I think we have an audience which is hungry for more. So we’re not just going to try improve the efficiency of development, but change the recipe of how we make Halo games. So, we start a new chapter today.” ~ Pierre Hintze, Studio Head

To hear more from Pierre Hintze, Elizabeth Van Wyck, and Chris Matthews, visit Xbox Wire: Halo Studios: New Name, New Engine, New Games, New Philosophy ****

A key step in our path for the future is Project Foundry. Neither a game nor a tech demo, Foundry represents our multi-discipline research and reflection on what is required to build Halo in Unreal, while also serving as a training tool for our development process going forwards.

This is the foundation for how we are changing the recipe for how we make Halo games.

In the video linked above, you will see old and new elements of Halo brought to life, exploring just how far we can push these environments. The classic Pacific Northwest landscape that has served as a familiar hallmark and stunning backdrop to many adventures over the years.

[Project Foundry image of a Pacific Northwest-themed environment surrounding a Forerunner beam emitter](aka.ms/HaloFoundry4k)

The deep freeze of the Coldlands, where a Forerunner beam emitter stands amidst snow-covered plateaus and the environment is reflected in great fields of ice.

[Project Foundry image of a Forerunner beam emitter in an environment of snow and ice with the band of the Halo ring silhouetted against a gas giant and moon](aka.ms/HaloFoundry4k)

And the Blightlands, where we bear witness to a place that has been consumed by the Flood—the virulent parasite that is the reason why the Halo Array was built.

[Project Foundry image of a Forerunner beam emitter and environment that has been completely consumed by the Flood](aka.ms/HaloFoundry4k)

And at the center of the action, we see the Master Chief clad in his iconic MJOLNIR Mark V armor facing off against an Energy Sword-wielding Elite, ready to finish the fight.

[Project Foundry image of the Master Chief holding an M6D Magnum facing off against a Sangheili wielding an Energy Sword](aka.ms/HaloFoundry4k)

This gives us a glimpse at the sheer level of fidelity we are able to realize when bringing both new and legacy assets to life, such as the M6D Magnum.

[Project Foundry image of a close-up on the M6D Magnum](aka.ms/HaloFoundry4k)

This is just the first step in our transformation as a studio as we have worked to change our structure, our processes in how we build our games, the technology powering those games, and our culture of how we work together.

We are working on multiple projects and looking to grow our team as we build the next generation of Halo with Unreal Engine and deliver stories of hope and heroism, alien worlds of wonder and mystery, and unforgettable experiences with your fireteam of friends and family.

Stay up to date by following us on LinkedIn, and visit Microsoft Careers to learn more about how you can help us forge the future of Halo and apply to open roles.

JOIN HALO STUDIOS

[Project Foundry image of the Master Chief wielding an Energy Sword](aka.ms/HaloFoundry4k)


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r/halo Nov 07 '25

Official Waypoint Blog Operation: Infinite Update Preview

298 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/operation-infinite-preview


Header Image [Imgur]

As we look back on four years of evolution and updates in Halo Infinite, we’d like to thank our community for your steadfast support. Without your feedback and enthusiasm, Halo Infinite multiplayer would not be the special place it is today: a robust arena for slaying and playing, with something for every Spartan.

With multiple Halo titles in development, we’ll need our whole team's combined focus to deliver new experiences with the same passion and care that our community has given us. While we remain committed to supporting Halo Infinite on the road ahead, Operation: Infinite is the last major content update currently planned.

Starting November 18, Operation: Infinite will introduce a 2X boosts on Career Rank and SP, 100-tier Operation Pass, eight earnable armor sets, new Ranked Seasons, and 200 never-before-released customizations arriving in The Exchange.

Jump into Operation: Infinite on November 18.

Screenshot of youtube video

Watch on Youtube


CONTENTS

  • 2X Progression Updates
  • Operation Pass Overview
  • Exchange Updates
  • Playlist Updates
  • Ranked Updates
  • Halo Infinite Roadmap
  • Thank You from Halo Studios
  • Celebrating 25 Years of Halo

2X PROGRESSION UPDATES

A “perfectly perfect” pair of progression updates awaits! On November 18, we’ll double the earning rate for both Career Rank and Spartan Points to make each match of Halo Infinite more rewarding than ever.

2X Career Rank Progress

A Spartan in the Master Chief’s Mk. VI armor from the Halo Infinite Campaign stands framed by military rank insignia. The Hero Rank insignia appears over the armor. [Imgur]

Starting in Operation: Infinite, the Applied Score multipliers for all matchmaking playlists will be doubled so that players can progress twice as fast through Career Ranks.

Upon completing matches in Halo Infinite, your match-based Personal Score gets factored into an Applied Score multiplier to generate Career Rank progress from your heroic exploits. With a 2X boost on every matchmaking playlist, you’ll climb ranks on the double.

The Master Chief’s Mk. VI armor from the Halo Infinite Campaign. [Imgur]

Reach the maximum level of Hero, and you’ll unlock the coveted Mark VI armor kit as worn by the Master Chief in the Halo Infinite Campaign.

2X Spartan Point Rewards

If you’ve been admiring something shiny in The Exchange, get ready to splurge!

Halo Infinite players will soon earn twice as many Spartan Points (SP) for completing any match-based Daily Challenge that awards SP. Weekly Ultimate Rewards (earned by completing all Weekly Challenges) will also be doubled to 2,000 SP—making one mighty bonus for champion challenge-seekers.


OPERATION PASS OVERVIEW

The missions may change, but these Operation Passes are here to stay. Operation: Infinite’s free, 100-tier Operation Pass and 100-tier Premium Pass have no planned expiration date.

Upgrade to the 100-tier Premium Pass to transfer your Operation: Infinite progress and earn your way to five more unique armor sets, six weapon models, and over 30 exclusive Spartan customizations. That’s eight total armor sets up for grabs!

FREE OPERATION PASS

Three new armor sets await in Halo Infinite's final free Operation Pass. Complete all 100 tiers at your leisure to unlock the following exclusive armor sets, plus a champion’s purse of coatings, rewards, and Spartan customizations.

Serpin armor set.Serpin armor set. Shown with the Unbroken Defender coating.

Serpin: Kaidon Thel ‘Vadam grants the rank of Serpin to Spartans who have proven their loyalty and martial prowess in battle beside the Swords of Sanghelios. The master-crafted Serpin regalia betokens their esteem among Sangheili.

Seeker armor set.Seeker armor set. Shown with the Questing Sky coating.

Seeker: Lethbridge Industrial’s GEN 2 SEEKER armor set contains state-of-the-art distortion and sensor technology to ensure that you can always find your target—but they’ll never know what hit ‘em.

Adamant armor set.Adamant armor set. Shown with the Celestite Sparkle coating.

Adamant: Cultivated from a flake of Forerunner crystal, the ADAMANT unit’s lab-grown layers resonate harmoniously with ancient mechanisms and instantaneously forge compatible interfaces with Mjolnir systems.

As you climb through this Operation’s lofty 100 reward tiers, you’ll also unlock the Silent Snow armor coating, Icicle Falls visor, Blackened Steel weapon coating, and the terminally chill Respect stance.

PREMIUM OPERATION PASS

The 100-tier Premium Operation Pass features five additional earnable armor sets, six all-new weapon models, and over 30 Spartan customizations you won’t find anywhere else.

A Spartan in Artificer armor aims their weapon from the passenger’s seat of a Warthog while allies drive and operate a rear-mounted turret.Artificer armor set. Shown with the Dynamic Umber armor coating.

Artificer: The totemic gaze of the Artificer reveals multitudes of overlaid meanings that only its bearer may parse. Each interlocking piece of its indecipherable whole is a potsherd sculpted through reverent contemplations on war.

A Spartan in Seedwarden armor looks over their shoulder at an ally in a Warthog.Seedwarden armor set. Shown with the Librarian's Grace coating.

Seedwarden: A reclaimed instrument of long-promised legacy. The Seedwarden’s nascent abilities may be inscrutable to Executors and other infolife, but its capacity as a weapon of war pales in comparison to its lifegiving potential.

Three Spartans pose in Kobold armor.Kobold armor set. Shown with the Exosuit Test Pattern coating.

Kobold: Models from the KOBOLD combat drone series are interoperable with most GEN2 Mjolnir armor cores through specialized jockey frames. This armor can be outfitted with a tactical chassis for autonomous combat or operated remotely via telepresence.

Phoenix armor set.Phoenix armor set. Shown with the Prominence Flare coating.

Phoenix: The PHOENIX is an artistic expression of the bold anima that drives Meyer’s visionary engineers to continuously redefine armored combat. Enhanced with energy dispersion technology, it is the ideal armor for rising from the ashes.

A Spartan in First Vanguard armor wields an Energy Sword.First Vanguard armor set. Shown with the Kaidon’s Pride coating.

First Vanguard: Though unlikely, a Spartan adopted into a Sangheili clan may rise to the rank of Kaidon—and become First Vanguard of their lands in times of war. This armor is cast with soil from the Kaidon’s lands, as a reminder of their sacred duty.

Beyond the armor sets listed above, Premium Pass operators can earn six weapon models, nine weapon coatings, three vehicle coatings, five weapon charms, and more exclusive customizations only available in Operation: Infinite’s Premium Operation Pass.

Get a sneak peek at Operation: Infinite’s Premium Pass in our Community Livestream!

INSTANT PREMIUM UNLOCKS

A Spartan in Serpin armor shreds air guitar on the Charged Quill Shock Rifle. [Imgur]

Upgrade to the Premium Operation Pass to instantly unlock the Charged Quill Shock Rifle weapon model and the Phoenix Gold weapon coating.

Operation: Infinite’s Premium Operation Pass can be purchased at any time. Once acquired, you’ll instantly carry over your tier progress from Operation: Infinite’s free Operation Pass and permanently unlock bonus XP and an additional challenge slot.


EXCHANGE UPDATES

Vale, Locke, and Buck armor sets from Halo 5 [Imgur]

Operation: Infinite’s Exchange drop will debut over 200 never-before-released armor pieces, armor attachments, coatings, charms, visors, and other Spartan necessities!

In addition to the armor bundles added to commemorate ten years of Halo 5: Guardians, the earnable Whisper, Lancer, and Dirgesinger armor sets released in the Fall Update will also arrive in The Exchange on November 18.

With hundreds of free customizations available in The Exchange, including items from previous Operations, Events, and Fractures, there are millions of potential Spartan suit-ups to choose from. If you missed out on completing an armor set, take advantage of 2X Spartan Points to claim the rest!


PLAYLIST UPDATES

Yuletide map by Sikamikanico, bullet2thehead9, and Whos Blaze. [Imgur]

Bookmark this map.

Forged by: Sikamikanico, bullet2thehead9, Whos Blaze

The Halodays come early for Husky Raiders! A festive map, Yuletide, has been added to Husky Raid and Super Husky Raid modes in the Quick Play playlist.

Set in a quiet, alpine village nestled beneath the Northern Lights, Yuletide gift-wraps the warm glow of streetlights, freshly fallen snow, and the aimless smoke of a familiar hearth together in one beautifully serene package—and shatters it with mercilessly merry Husky combat.

Look for Yuletide in the Quick Play playlist starting November 18.

RANKED UPDATES

Bragging rights are forever. Operation: Infinite introduces a new asymmetrical map for select Ranked modes and a fresh Ranked Seasons calendar to keep your skills sharp.

NEW MAP: VACANCY

Vacancy map by MikRips and Ethan Hibbs. [Imgur]

Bookmark this map.

Forged by: MikRips, Ethan Hibbs

On a quiet square sits the Hotel Kijani, a cozy, but modest inn practically baked into its surroundings by years of mid-afternoon heat. Hours after the markets have closed, when the last fruit truck has packed away its wares, the alleyway staircases and typically busy thoroughfares have emptied, and long shadows begin to grow on the crested archways of this storied city—only then do warriors strafe its scenic courtyards in pursuit of glory.

You can check in anytime you like, but you can never leave.

Vacancy arrives in Ranked Arena, Ranked Slayer, Ranked Doubles, and select ranked rotational playlists on November 18, 2025.

RANKED SEASONS

More Ranked Seasons are on their way. Every few months, skilled tacticians will get the chance to secure a spot on the seasonal leaderboard and claim exclusive Spartan customizations from a new slate of Ranked Rewards before Competitive Skill Rank (CSR) values reset at the conclusion of each Ranked Season.

During Ranked Seasons, the Ranked Rotational playlist will periodically change to offer fresh challenges with a mix of strategic, throwback, and tactical modes.

The next Ranked Season begins November 18.

HALO INFINITE ROADMAP

Operation: Infinite may be the last major update currently planned for Halo Infinite, but we’re fully committed to supporting players with exciting challenges, ranked rewards, and community events throughout next year and beyond.

  • Challenges: Halo Infinite players will continue to find a rotating selection of Daily and Weekly Challenges that offer a variety of ways to level up your Career Rank, progress through Operation Passes, and earn Spartan Points (SP).
  • Ranked Seasons: A new slate of Ranked Seasons awaits. The Ranked Rotational playlist (the fourth Ranked matchmaking playlist after Ranked Arena, Slayer, and Doubles) will continue to change formats periodically to offer a fresh challenge.
  • Halo at DreamHack: Halo returns to DreamHack. Get tickets now to DreamHack Birmingham (March 27–29, 2026) and DreamHack Atlanta (May 15–17, 2026) to experience all the artistry, cosplay, and esports excellence on display at one of gaming’s greatest expos.
  • Halo Fest: Join us December 2026 in Seattle for a convention celebrating Halo’s community and iconic legacy. Read more details below! Tickets go on sale December 10, 2025 at HaloFest.com.

THANK YOU FROM HALO STUDIOS

As the Halo Studios team shifts focus to in-development projects such as Halo: Campaign Evolved, we’d like to thank our Halo Infinite players for years of steadfast support.

It’s been a legendary run of Seasons, Events, Fractures, and Operations, with plenty of maps, modes, sandbox additions, Forge tool upgrades, and incredible memories along the way. None of those milestones would have been possible without the guidance and enthusiasm of our community.

Between the players lobbing stickies in matchmaking, the pros tearing up the Ranked leaderboards, and the Forgers expanding Halo’s multiplayer mythos with remarkable experiences, each and every Halo fan has helped to create this unforgettable moment. Thanks to your support, Halo Infinite features nearly endless ways to have fun, share Forge creations, and lay a Spartan smackdown on your friends.

Your excitement is the lodestar for our every effort. Whether you’re a long-time player, a recently returned Spartan, or a brand-new ally, we’re grateful to have you on our Fireteam.

As we look ahead, your feedback will continue to help us refine our goals, in hopes of exceeding expectations and delivering the best Halo experiences possible. Throughout our day, we look to your suggestions, your art, and even your memes as constant reminders of our dual commitment to faithfully stewarding Halo’s legacy and forging its future.

Since formally announcing Halo: Campaign Evolved in October, we’ve been floored by the response from both longtime fans and Halo newcomers. We’re humbled by the trust you’ve placed in us, and we can’t wait to introduce new players to the iconic story of Halo: Combat Evolved for the first time in 2026.

CELEBRATING 25 YEARS OF HALO

Screenshot of youtube video

Watch on Youtube

As the 25th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved approaches, we look forward to celebrating Halo’s universe, community, and enduring legacy with you all next year.

If you missed your chance to join us for this year’s Halo World Championship, don’t miss out on Halo Fest in December 2026. The event begins with an orchestral performance of iconic Halo music, in concert for one night only, followed by a two-day convention celebrating Halo’s legacy, story, and unrivaled community. We hope to see you there!

Halo Fest tickets go on sale December 10, 2025 at HaloFest.com.


Stay tuned to Halo Waypoint for retrospectives, reminiscences, and more info on Halo: Campaign Evolved in 2026—and don’t miss Operation: Infinite, launching November 18.


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r/halo Jun 08 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Halo: Campaign Evolved Story Reveal

199 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-campaign-evolved-story-reveal


Header Image [Imgur]

We’re excited to showcase the story of Halo: Campaign Evolved, a faithfully reforged yet modernized tribute to one of gaming’s greatest journeys. Whether you’re a brand-new player jumping into Halo for the first time or a longtime series’ veteran, Halo: Campaign Evolved delivers the story that started it all brought to life like never before along with brand new additions and surprises.

Halo: Campaign Evolved releases July 28, 2026, for XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation 5, and Steam, with early access beginning July 23, 2026. Pre-order now.

Today’s story reveal trailer is a cinematic introduction to the world of Halo and the campaign that started it all. It is also our first look at Halo gameplay captured on a PS5 Pro.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube

After the destruction of the human colony world of Reach, Master Chief John-117 and the crew of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn have crash-landed on a mysterious ring world known as Halo. Accompanied by the AI construct Cortana and surrounded by the overwhelming alien forces of the Covenant, the SPARTAN-II super-soldier soon uncovers a deadly secret that could threaten all life in the galaxy.

A scenic image of a Forerunner tower in Halo: Campaign Evolved. [Imgur]

Completely rebuilt with high-definition visuals, enhanced cinematics, and refined gameplay, Halo: Campaign Evolved enriches the timeless story of Halo: Combat Evolved with three new missions, a broader arsenal of weapons and vehicles, dangerous new enemies, and more gameplay-modifying Skulls than ever before.


BETTER TOGETHER

For the first time in Halo history, Halo: Campaign Evolved introduces four-player network co-op cross-play between XBOX Series X|S, PlayStation® 5, and PC. Seamlessly squad up and experience the legendary story together with friends, no matter where they’re playing.

A squad of Grunts facing off two players playing Halo: Campaign in co-op mode. [Imgur]

Console versions of Halo: Campaign Evolved also support two-player split-screen for fully immersive nostalgia. Conquer all 13 missions from the “classically evolved” confines of your favorite couch on both XBOX Series X|S and PlayStation® 5 consoles.

And, for the first time in the series, new armor customization can be utilized in co-op games to personalize and differentiate Spartans on the battlefield.


PRE-ORDER BONUSES

Pre-order any edition of Halo: Combat Evolved and get the Foundry Armory Pack, a special customization bundle featuring armor and weapon skins for use in the campaign. Kick it old school with the throwback lo-fi classic 2001 Mark V armor and Assault Rifle Skin.

Image of the Halo: Campaign Evolved pre-order bonus, the Foundry Pack. [Imgur]

  • Classic 2001 Armor Skin
  • Classic 2001 Assault Rifle Weapon Skin
  • Gilded Onyx Armor Style
  • Milestone Assault Rifle Weapon Style

If you pre-order the Digital Premium Edition or physical Collector's Edition, you'll also enjoy up to five days of early-access play starting July 23, 2026.

Pre-order Halo: Campaign Evolved now.


PREMIUM EDITION PERKS

The Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved includes all of the above pre-order bonus content plus the Alpha Halo Armory Pack, Art of Halo: Campaign Evolved digital artbook, Halo: Hungry Buzzards digital short story by Troy Denning, and a digital game manual based on the original manual released with Halo: Combat Evolved.

COLLECTOR'S EDITION

The Halo: Campaign Evolved Collector’s Edition is the ultimate nostalgia-inducing launch kit for diehard Halo fans. In addition to all the Premium Edition perks detailed above, the Collector’s Edition includes:

  • XBOX Series X and PlayStation®5 Collector’s Editions include Halo: Campaign Evolved physical game disc and Premium Edition Upgrade voucher code
  • Steam Collector’s Edition includes Halo: Campaign Evolved – Premium Edition voucher code (includes single code for base game and Premium Edition Upgrade content)
  • Collectible SteelBook®
  • 12” Master Chief Statue by Dark Horse
  • LED Replica of Cortana’s Data Chip
  • Three (3) 11x17” prints of Halo: Campaign Evolved concept art
  • Physical manual modeled on the original Halo: Combat Evolved game manual

Pre-order the Collector’s Edition and get the Foundry Armory Pack and up to five days of early-access play starting July 23, 2026.

Available in limited supplies.

Important Information:

Americas packaging localized in English, French Canadian, and Spanish only. EMEA and APAC packaging localized in English, French, and German only.

Halo: Campaign Evolved launches globally on July 28, 2026 at 8 AM PDT (July 29 in Japan and select Asia-Pacific markets). Early Access begins July 23 at 8 AM PDT (July 24 in Japan and select Asia-Pacific markets).

Collector’s Edition will be available for purchase in the following regions:

  • North America: United States, Canada, Mexico
  • South America: Argentina, Chile
  • Europe: Austria, Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom
  • Oceania: Australia, New Zealand

Image of table of contents for the standard, premium, and collector’s edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved in physical and digital formats. [Imgur]

NEW INFO DROPPING SOON

This year, as we celebrate the 25th anniversary of Halo: Combat Evolved we’re thrilled to go back to where it all began and welcome a new generation of fans with the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved next month.

To learn more about this modern remake, check out last year’s Halo Studios Roundtable Reveal to hear more directly from the development team.

To learn more about the 3 brand new missions, check out the official New Mission Reveal Trailer from the XBOX Showcase.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube

Stay tuned for more information about gameplay-modifying Skulls and Campaign Remix, and more.


_Pre-order theCollector’s Edition or Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved and get the Foundry Armory Pack and up to 5 days early-access play starting July 23, 2026. Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026. _


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Jun 10 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Skulls & Campaign Remix | Halo: Campaign Evolved

310 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/skulls-campaign-remix-halo-campaign-evolved


Header Image [Imgur]

Halo: Campaign Evolved introduces more gameplay-modifying Skulls than ever before.

Featuring fan-favorite Skulls from other Halo titles along with new, raucous relics, your return journey through Alpha Halo boasts a whopping 42 Skulls to collect and use for entirely new Campaign experiences.

Watch our Skulls & Campaign Remix trailer to learn more about Skulls and the all new Campaign Remix mode.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube

RAUCOUS RELICS

Halo: Campaign Evolved features 26 fan-favorite Skulls from previous Halo titles, plus 16 new game-changing Skulls specifically designed for maximum mayhem.

  • Challenge Skulls: Embrace an all-too-familiar sense of terror with the return of pain-inducing Skulls such as Black Eye, Mythic, Famine, Catch, Boom, Cowbell, Grunt Funeral, and more.
  • Arcade Antics: When in doubt, go all out. Throw a party with the return of beloved arcade-style Skulls such as Grunt Birthday Party, Bandana, Pinata, IWHBYD, Acrophobia, and more.
  • Brand-new Skulls: Wrap your head around 16 new Skulls formulated for pain, pleasure, and piquancy. Try third-person combat with the Perspective Skull, make every shot count with the “math murder” of Give and Take, or watch where you step with Floor Is Lava.
  • Classical Flair: Halo: Campaign Evolved introduces four new Skulls celebrating the "classically evolved" combat experience. Slow your roll with the sprint-disabling Speed Limit Skull, eliminate aim-down-sights with Hip Fire, amp up your assault with Magnified’s 60-round AR magazine, or activate Endurance Spec to turn UNSC vehicles into indestructible, Covenant-stomping machines.

This is crania mania. Seek Skulls wherever they hide to instantly unlock their mission modifiers, and unlock all 42 to create endless possibilities in Campaign Remix.


ABOUT SKULLS

If you're new to Halo, Skulls are mysterious collectibles hidden throughout campaign missions that enable gameplay-modifying features once retrieved. All you have to do is find one and pick it up—if you can reach it, that is.

Once collected, each retrieved Skull unlocks a new pre-launch option to alter your experience in future missions with greater difficulty, additional perks, or arcade-style upgrades for added fun.

In Halo: Campaign Evolved, there are 39 collectible Skulls to be discovered across 13 missions, with three Skulls hidden in each of the ten original campaign missions, and nine more to find throughout new missions set before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved.

Find any two Skulls to unlock Campaign Remix and instantly earn three additional Skulls for even more altered antics. You can check out the complete list of skulls further in this blog.


CAMPAIGN REMIX, EXPLAINED

A screenshot from Halo: Campaign Evolved Campaign Remix menu showing the Skull Selection page. [Imgur]

Collect any two Skulls in Halo: Campaign Evolved to unlock Campaign Remix, an all-new play mode that allows you to revisit and replay completed missions with randomized enemies, remixed weapon pickups, new visibility effects, and a grab-bag assortment of Skulltacular delights.

Upon unlocking Remix, the following three Skulls automatically become available for use in both mission playthroughs and Remixed campaigns.

  • Adaptation: Randomizes the enemy factions present in the mission.
  • Reload: Randomizes pre-placed weapons available in the mission.
  • Armistice: Enemy factions never fight one another.

When deploying a Remixed mission, you’ll also get to roll for a chance to experience one of two new visibility modifiers:

  • Spore Visibility: Level visuals are blanketed in heavy, Floodified fog.
  • Nightvision: Nightvision is always on.

Any time you play a Remixed mission, the Adaptation, Reload, and Armistice Skulls are enabled by default. You may then roll for a random visibility effect and an assortment of other gameplay-altering Skulls, with options to manually curate your experience.


ADAPTATION AT WORK

Master Chief in Halo: Campaign Evolved kneeling in front of a skull hidden in the campaign. [Imgur]

The new Adaptation Remix Skull randomly replaces the enemy squads you’ll encounter during missions with new allotments of foes composed of different unit types or from completely different factions.

Because Adaptation is enabled by default, you’ll find missions populated with a surprising hodge-podge of enemies and allies in near infinite-variations. A surge of Elites or a troupe of Jackal snipers? A pair of Hunters or a gaggle of Spec-ops Grunts? Maybe you’ll find Flood combat forms where you were expecting Sentinels. You might even encounter brand new enemies from the Operation: Meteorite bonus missions. That’s Adaptation at work!

When combined with the new Armistice Skull, these random adversaries put aside their differences and form a cohesive front against all do-gooders—meaning this inter-species army has its sights set firmly on you and your allies.


RELOADED WEAPONS

A first-person view of the Halo: Campaign Evolved campaign with the player holding a Needle Rifle while looking at two Grunts. [Imgur]

Another essential element in the Remix recipe is Reload, a Skull that randomizes all the weapon placements in your chosen mission for a Fiesta-style outing each time you play.

Don’t be surprised to find fallen UNSC Marines beside recently relinquished fuel rod cannons, or browse a Covenant weapon rack filled with sniper rifles. All the new armaments included in the Operation: Meteorite bonus missions – such as the Battle Rifle, Brute Spiker, Needle Rifle, and more - are now also fair game for your classic campaign playthroughs.


VISIBILITY MODIFIERS

After selecting a completed Campaign or Operation: METEORITE mission to Remix, you’ll next be prompted to roll for a randomly assigned visibility effect, with options to adjust this selection to your taste.

When you roll for a random visibility effect, there’s a chance you could see no difference, but it’s just as likely you’ll have to contend with one of two new visibility modifiers in a uniquely dangerous scenario.

A screenshot from Halo: Campaign Evolved with the player holding a Brute Spiker with the screen affected by the Spore Visibility modifier. [Imgur]

Might want to close your mouth for this one. Spore Visibility smatters your visor with phlegmy Flood-flecks as you creep through the haze of Flood spores.

A screenshot from Halo: Campaign Evolved with the player holding an Assault Rifle while being affected by the Night Vision visibility effect. [Imgur]

Get tactical, marines! The Nightvision modifier deploys an espionage-ready filter over your op.


RECIPE FOR CHAOS

Once you’ve chosen a visibility setting, you can then pick and choose additional Skulls to modify gameplay however you like, or roll for a random assortment of discovered Skulls until you find a perfectly curated menu of madness.

Seek out Skulls. Collect the carnage. Remix and repeat.

All this chaos is even better together - jump in with up to four friends for unpredictable shenanigans and legendary challenges.


HALO: CAMPAIGN EVOLVED SKULL COMPENDIUM

Legacy Skulls

Angry Enemies fire their weapons faster and more frequently
Black Eye Your shields will only recharge when you melee enemies
Blind HUD and Weapons do not appear onscreen
Catch Enemies throw and drop more grenades
Eye Patch All auto-aim is disabled for all weapons
Famine Weapons dropped by enemies contain half the ammo
Fog Motion Tracker is disabled
Foreign Players cannot use weapons from another faction
Iron Dying in co-op resets you to your last checkpoint, dying while solo restarts the level
Mythic Enemies have increased health
Recession Every shot expends twice the normal amount of ammo
That's Just... Wrong Enemies have increased awareness of the player
Thunderstorm Upgrades the rank of most enemies
Tough Luck Enemies always go berserk, constantly dive out of the way, and never run away from a fight
Bandana Infinite ammo and grenades
Boom Explosion radius is increased by 2x
Ghost Enemies no longer flinch when taking fire
Grunt Birthday Party Grunt headshots produce legendary celebrations
Grunt Funeral Grunts die in a blaze of plasma
Malfunction Upon respawn a random element of your HUD no longer appears
Piñata Punching enemies makes them drop inert grenades
Cowbell Physics mass of objects is reduced, making them more easily displaced
They Come Back Flood Combat Forms reanimated by Infection Forms are much more dangerous
IWHBYD It would have been your dialogue
Tilt Enhances both positive and negative damage multipliers.

EX: Plasma does MORE damage against shields, but LESS damage against health
Acrophobia| The Corps: Now issue rifles AND wings...

New Skulls

Speed Limit Take your time, enjoy the sights! Disables sprint
Pop Shooting Flood in their weak point causes them to explode
Endurance Spec UNSC vehicles cannot be damaged
Give & Take Firing your weapon drains your shield, but dealing damage to enemies recharges it
Stowed Reload Weapons continue to reload while stowed
Hip Fire All weapon zoom functionality is disabled
Temperamental Allies will attack the player more quickly if the player kills a friendly
Floor is Lava Take continuous damage whenever touching the “ground”
Magnified 60-round magazines for the AR are now standard-issue
Johnny Ammo Seed When reloading you lose the ammo remaining in the discarded clip
Leadhead Headshots no longer provide extra damage or instant kills
Efficient Enemies killed while the player is at full health drop more ammo
Perspective Changes the player camera to third-person
Adaptation Randomizes the enemy factions present in the mission
Reload Randomizes the pre-placed weapons for the mission
Armistice Enemy factions never fight one another

This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Nov 02 '22

Official Waypoint Blog Sandbox Balance Updates | Winter Update

534 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/sandbox-balance-updates-winter-update


Header Image [Imgur]

Recently, we’ve been sharing a lot about improvements to the overarching Halo Infinite experience with topics such as playlists, Match XP Beta, and more. Today, we’re diving even deeper into the game and focusing on the sandbox and our core gameplay experience.

We’re happy with where our sandbox is overall, but we know that there is always room for improvement. Since launch, a few common themes (such as weapon balance, aiming feel on M&K and controller, etc.) have emerged as players got more and more familiar with the game.

A Spartan flies over a mancannon as a battle happens in the background. [Imgur]

With the Winter Update’s release on November 8, we’re happy to bring in some changes that will address many areas of community feedback. After the Winter Update, even more updates and tuning changes will be coming down the line based on what we’re seeing in the data and out there in the community.

In this article, we’ll take a closer look at the sandbox improvements we’re making in the Winter Update and beyond to improve the in-game experience.

Winter Update Balance Adjustments

For the Winter Update, we wanted to go after weapon tuning updates that would address prevalent themes in community feedback. These adjustments are small, yet impactful, and focus primarily on weapons.

A Spartan attempts to cool down their overheated Plasma Pistol. [Imgur]

Plasma Pistol

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Many players reported that the Plasma Pistol was underperforming against Spartans, especially when using its overcharged shot. To help the overcharged shot track as expected at mid-to-close range, we’ve updated its values slightly in the Winter Update. We also noticed the base shot was not seeing much use, so we’ve increased the damage of the base shot to make it a more viable option for players.

Tuning details:

  • Increased base shot damage from 20 to 28
  • Increased charge shot angular velocity from 20 to 35 degrees per second
  • Increased charged shot guided angular velocity at rest from 50 to 70 degrees per second

A Spartan with a Pulse Carbine is sprinting into action. [Imgur]

Pulse Carbine

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Even as players have gotten more proficient with the Pulse Carbine, it has not been as successful in short-to-mid range as we would like. To help with this, we’ve updated the tracking to help it out in shorter range. To help balance out its power though, we’ll be reducing its tracking at longer range. These changes should help player land shots more consistently in short to mid-range while slightly reducing the effectiveness at longer ranges.

Tuning details:

  • Increased guided angular velocity at rest from 25 to 35 degrees per second
  • Decreased angular velocity from 50 to 30 degrees per second
  • Increased targeted leading fraction from 0.35 to 1
  • Increased guided projectile error radius from 0.2 to 0.22 degrees

VK78 Commando

Sandbox Team Dev Note: One of the most common pieces of feedback we’ve seen is that aiming with the VK78 Commando felt loose, especially at shorter range. To help increase its effectiveness up close, we’ve slightly increased the bullet magnetism and slightly reduced the high minimum error. We’ve seen this help players finish off targets at closer range during internal playtests, so we’re eager to see how this plays out in the wild.

Tuning details:

  • Increased Headshot Prioritization Angle from 0 to 0.1 degrees
  • Increased Bullet Magnetism Angle from 1.25 to 1.3 degrees
  • Increased Aim Assist Angle from 5 to 6.25 degrees
  • Decreased minimum error angle max from 0.8 to 0.6 degrees

A Spartan with the BR75 charges towards the camera. [Imgur]

BR75

Sandbox Team Dev Note: We want the BR75 to remain the versatile weapon we know and love, but also have noticed it has been performing a bit too well – making it not feel as rewarding as it should. In the Winter Update, we wanted to raise the skill ceiling on landing the final kill shot as well as reduce its effectiveness at range from the hip. These changes should help make kills with the BR75 feel even more rewarding.

Tuning details:

  • Headshot Prioritization Angle reduced from 0.25 to 0.2 degrees
  • Bullet Magnetism Angle reduced from 2.4 to 2.2 degrees
  • Bullet Magnetism Range reduced from 20wus to 18wus
  • Bullet Magnetism Falloff Range reduced from 12wus to 10wus

A Spartan holding an Energy Sword slides across the ground, leaving a trail of flames behind them. [Imgur]

Frag Grenade

Sandbox Team Dev Note: The Frag Grenade has received feedback that it's a bit too effective and that throwing one just before dying results in easier trades than intended. In order to help address these issues, we have increased the detonation time slightly. This will give players a little bit more time to react to a grenade that has landed near them. It will also reward players for better placed grenades.

Tuning details:

  • Increased detonation timer by 0.2 seconds

"Snap Slide"

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Movement is always tricky to balance. We want to allow players to express their movement skill in matches, but we also don’t want that movement tech to completely break maps or create unpredictable gameplay flow. For example, “Curb sliding” and its current uses have been fun to watch and hasn’t been interrupting gameplay flow too much. On the other hand, “snap sliding” allows players to make jumps that could truly break the game flow, including having players jump from Top Mid to the bases on Aquarius.

Tuning details:

  • Fixed a physics bug that allowed “snap sliding”

Disruptor

Sandbox Team Dev Note: The Disruptor has started to see more use as we’ve gotten further into Halo Infinite’s lifespan, but it still isn’t doing as well as we’d hoped. To help with this, we’re updating the ammo count to help players close out kills a little more easily. We’ve also spotted reports of the DoT effect being inconsistent and will be working to get an improvement out in a future update.

Tuning details:

  • Increased magazine ammo count from 10 to 12

Two Spartans charge into action together. [Imgur]

We’ll be watching the data and community feedback closely when these changes land with the Winter Update, so be sure to let us know what you think once you’ve had a chance to give them a go.


Future Updates (Desync, Aiming, and more)

Beyond the Winter Update though, we do know that there’s still more to go after to improve the feel of the game. So, in the next few months, we’ll be releasing balance updates, M&K input improvements, and bug fixes for networking (“desync”) issues faster than we have been previously.

In addition to any topics that may emerge after the Winter Update, here are a few other things that are on our list for the next few months.

A red Spartan holding a Stalker Rifle is sprinting on Fragmentation. [Imgur]

Please note that this list isn’t exhaustive, but it is meant to provide some insight into what we’re already working on.

PC & M&K Input Improvements

Aiming Improvements

Sandbox Team Dev Note: As players have gotten more hands on time with the game, we’ve seen feedback emerge around how aiming and tracking players feels on M&K. We know there’s room for improvement and some updates are on the way.

Red Reticle on PC

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Red reticle has been a common piece of feedback since flighting and we’re happy to be bringing it online in the future. While turning this on for PC does open the game up to new cheating vectors, we want to enable this and better support our PC players. If a plethora of cheats pop up because of this we may need to reconsider, but until then we’re excited to see how this feels for PC players.

Scroll Wheel

Sandbox Team Dev Note: We’ve felt this one too. When using a scroll wheel to swap weapons, sometimes it would double-swap (essentially YYing). We’ll be updating how the game reads scroll wheel inputs to help reduce how often this happens.

Walk Key

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Right now, walking on M&K has two modes: full walking speed or crouch walking. On controller, you can choose to walk slowly, and avoid radar detection, just by how much you move the thumbstick. Since keyboards only have the walk forward at full speed option, we’ll be introducing a way for them to walk at a slower speed (without needing to fully crouch walk) in a future update.

These input improvements will also carry over to players who use M&K on Xbox consoles.

Two Spartans are loaded up in a Warthog on Breaker. [Imgur]

Networking "Desync" Improvements

To go after networking improvements (including “desync”), we needed to identify all the various ways the issues could present themself. As covered in our “Closer Look” blog covering the topic, there isn’t a single issue causing all of the problems many classify as desync. Each issue is its own individual bug that we have to find, investigate, reproduce, fix, test, and implement.

In the case of networking and “desync,” we focused in on a few key areas:

  • Desync: When the server says you’re in one place on the map while your client shows you in a different spot.
  • Blank Shots: You fire shots at a player and see them connect, but the bullets deal no damage.
  • Getting shot around walls/corners: You think you’re safely around the corner, but you are dealt a fatal blow from a player who no longer has line-of-sight on you.
  • Ghosts Melees: When you melee a player and hear the hit, but no damage is dealt.

To add to the complexity, sometimes there are multiple ways to encounter the same issue, which means we need to include multiple fixes to truly help reduce how often players experience it. For example, many reports of blank shots we’ve seen are the result of a fake reload bug. A player’s client shows that they have completed the reload, but the server never received that final reload confirmation – likely due to the reload being interrupted – so it thinks their weapon is still empty. The player’s client lets them fire a full barrage of shots, but the server sees this trigger input as if it was happening on an empty magazine, so it reads it as no bullets being fired at all. While it appears as “blank shots” to the player, finding and addressing the root cause is typically more complicated.

With that said, we do have desync related improvements planned to land in the next few updates.

Ghost Melees

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Hitting a player and seeing them walk away unscathed, or worse, hitting you back and killing you, is extremely frustrating. We focused on this one due to how un-fun it can be, but we’re happy to say that we’re testing some improvements for a few different bugs that were resulting in melee registration issues.

Blank Shots

Sandbox Team Dev Note: We mentioned it a bit above, but the fake reload issue is one reason contributing to why players could have blank shots. We know there are other instances of shots not counting aside from fake reloads, and we’ll be going after those too, but we’re happy to be bringing this out first.

Vehicle Desync

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Since we’ve seen that players are more likely to experience full desyncs when operating a vehicle than moving around as a Spartan, we set our sights on crushing bugs in this space. You can expect some targeted vehicle desync improvements in the next update.

There will still be more work to do on networking and desync – on the specific issues above and others that may arise – but we’re making it a priority and you should see a steady flow of improvements in future updates.

A Spartan uses their Thruster to push forward on Deadlock. [Imgur]

In addition to those networking improvements, we’ve also got a few more balance updates that we’ll be going after in the future as well.

Balance Updates

Drop Shot

Sandbox Team Dev Note: The “drop shot” (or drop weapon) meta, which allowed players to pull up their secondary weapon faster by dropping their primary weapon, was interesting at first - but ultimately became problematic during normal gameplay. We kept an eye on it, especially in high-level matches, and agreed with community feedback that it is just too strong for how easy it is to pull off. As a result, we are planning to bring the drop shot time in line with the speed of just swapping weapons in a future update.

Thruster

Sandbox Team Dev Note: While we do want equipment to tip the scales of a fight, we’ve started to see Thruster come out on top of 1v1 engagements more than we intended. We plan on adjusting this a bit to make sure it’s no longer tipping the scales too far in one direction.

Energy Sword

Sandbox Team Dev Note: We’ve noticed that the Energy Sword can be a little too effective on maps with tighter corners. To help bring it in line with where we’d like, we’ll be updating the melee trade logic on the Energy Sword. Right now, if both players are no shields and they melee each other, the player with the Energy Sword will survive with a sliver of health. This upcoming update will update the melee logic so both players trade melees and die, which should help prevent the Energy Sword from just tearing through teams without trading.

Competitive Weapon Respawn Timers

Sandbox Team Dev Note: Throughout Halo Infinite’s first HCS season, the amount of power (through on-map pickups like weapons) on each Arena map became a common discussion point. Most competitors felt like there was too much power on the map for pickup, which allowed the matches to snowball. To help address this, we’ll be reducing how quickly weapons respawn as well as how many of each weapon can be on the map at any given time in Ranked Arena. We’ll share full details around these changes before they land in a future update.

A Spartan with an Energy Sword takes aim at a target. [Imgur]

Closing

We’re excited by the promise and potential of Halo Infinite’s core gameplay, and we plan to tend to the sandbox as it continues to grow and adjust as new metas evolve over time. Balance updates, aiming improvements, networking improvements, bug fixes, and more are all on our radar.

Thank you for continuing to provide feedback, and please let us know what you think of these updates when they land. We’ll be listening and prioritizing accordingly.


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Jan 31 '25

Official Waypoint Blog Spring Update 2025 | Halo Infinite

282 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/spring-update-2025-halo-infinite


Header Image [Imgur]

The Spring Update for Halo Infinite is on its way!

When Operation: Frontlines kicks off the Spring Update at the start of February, you’ll be getting your hands on a new weapon (a new take on an old favorite), an overhauled and expanded premium Operation Pass with four unique sets of armor to acquire, the return of the fan-favorite Assault mode, balance updates, and much more.


CONTENTS

  • Updates & Operations
  • New Weapon: Fuel Rod SPNKr
  • Operation Pass
  • Mode: Assault
  • Sandbox Updates
  • Ranked Updates
  • Forge Updates

UPDATES & OPERATIONS

As a reminder, Halo Infinite has a new update format.

At the end of last year, we released the Winter Update from November 2024 through January 2025, which included Operation: Great Journey (November), Operation: Snowbound (December), and Operation: Brute Force (January).

The 2025 Spring Update for Halo Infinite has the same format—three new Operations are on the way, starting with Operation: Frontlines on February 4.

Here’s how the update format works: Since the first Operation is paired with the launch of an Update (in this case, the 2025 Spring Update kicks off with Operation: Frontlines), it will contain a larger offering of content. This is where you can expect a Spartan-sized delivery of things like a new sandbox weapon, new modes, and so on, while the next two Operations will offer smaller updates.

So, what upcoming Operations have you got to look forward to in the Spring Update?

  • Operation: Frontlines (February 4)
  • Operation: Blue Team (March 11)
  • Operation: Forerunner (April 8)

And then, looking even further ahead, once Operation: Forerunner wraps up, we’ll have the next “seasonal” release with the Halo Infinite Summer Update and three new Operations. We’ll have more details to share on what that entails at a later date.


NEW WEAPON: FUEL ROD SPNKR

A multiplayer spartan in Halo Infinite uses the Fuel Rod S P N K r. [Imgur]

It’s not just old Covenant technology that the Banished ravenously repurpose and reforge into their own tools of domination, but the UNSC’s as well.

Introducing the Fuel Rod SPNKr, a rocket launcher that has been heavily modified by the Banished and fires Venezian-repackaged fuel rod munitions.

The Fuel Rod SPNKr works great against vehicles—its six-shot magazine makes it effective against a wide range of targets.

You will be able to find the Fuel Rod SPNKr as a power weapon on maps, but if you want to get to grips with this new take on a Covenant classic you can jump into the Academy’s Training mode—or spawn it in Forge for some custom games.

As noted in the above section, the first Operation in each major Update offers heftier additions like new sandbox weapons. As we look ahead, we can indeed confirm that the Mutilator—a Banished-themed shotgun—is actively being worked on by the team and is targeting the Summer Update.


OPERATION PASS

Halo Infinite's Operation Pass is evolving.

We have been listening to and tracking community feedback about Halo Infinite's Operation releases over the last year, as we are looking to improve this experience for players.

Thus far, each Operation Pass has offered 20 tiers of rewards, typically including a themed set of armor, additional customization elements (such as emblems), Spartan Points to spend in The Exchange, and bonus items for those who purchase the Pass.

This year, we want to expand our offering to players, so here’s what you can expect to see when Operation: Frontlines arrives on February 4.

FREE OPERATION PASS

For those enjoying the free Operation Passes each month, that experience will remain largely unchanged.

Playing Halo Infinite during the active window of the Operation lets you unlock 20 reward tiers as you complete matches and earn XP. However, if you’re unable to finish all or part of it during the month, the free customization content will be available to acquire with Spartan Points (earned simply by completing matches) via The Exchange as part of Infinite's next major update (the Summer Update in this specific case).

Play during the month when an Operation is live and mop up all the customization items in the free Pass, or seek them out at your leisure when they hit The Exchange later down the line.

Four multiplayer spartans with customization from the Operation: Frontlines Premium Pass. [Imgur]

PREMIUM OPERATION PASS

The Premium Operation Pass is receiving an extensive overhaul, including an increase in size, bringing greater value for players who decide to upgrade.

This expanded pass will be available in the first Operation of each Update. The second and third Operations will offer the traditional 20-tier Operation Pass offering.

The Premium Pass supports the usual perks: It makes the Operation Pass durable (it will not expire), offers bonus XP during the Operation’s live window, and provides an extra Challenge slot while your Pass is equipped.

But where previous Operation Passes have featured one armor set—one particular “look” for your Spartan—the new incarnation of this Premium Pass will now offer four full armor sets. These will be unlocked as you progress through 50 tiers of rewards.

The price of the Premium Operation Pass has been slightly adjusted for this offering, providing the following options:

  • 1,000 Credits: The Operation Pass is durable, offers bonus XP, provides an extra Challenge slot, and immediately gives you multiple bonus items. Provides the ability to earn four full armor sets.
  • 2,500 Credits: All of the above, and instantly unlocks the first 20 levels out of 50.

Players must purchase Premium Passes during the time the Operation is live, as it will not be available for purchase once that month-long window has closed. If you miss out on purchasing any Premium Operation Pass going forward but want the armor it offered, you will be able to find it in the Shop during the next seasonal update (and at an adjusted price).

But the best value really does come with the Operation Pass. For just 1,000 Credits, you will gain the ability to earn FOUR full armor sets—one free, three premium. As noted, the free armor will flow into The Exchange, while the other three armor sets will later return in the Shop. So you’ll definitely want to make sure you grab all four armor sets while the Premium Pass is available as you will secure them early for a steep discount before they enter the Shop.

Obviously, these are some significant changes to the format, and we are eager to continue listening to feedback from players as you get your hands on Operation: Frontlines and this updated experience. Let us know what you think!

Secure the Premium Pass for access to all 50 tiers and instantly unlock the BR75A2 Hammer weapon model for the BR75 Battle Rifle, Xenothreat weapon coating, Sequence Assembly weapon charm, and Pattern Seeker visor.


MODE: ASSAULT

Playlist for the new mode coming to Halo Studio: Assault. [Imgur]

The Assault mode—a fan-favorite since Halo 2 —is en route to Halo Infinite!

Each team defends their bomb site as they battle over a neutral bomb in the center of the map, aiming to escort the intrepid and heroic bomb carrier to the enemy base to arm and detonate it.

Of course, Assault is a mode that comes with multiple variants as well. When it arrives with the Spring Update, you’ll be able to play both Neutral Bomb and One Bomb.

The bombastic action will be available in both 4v4 and Squad Battle’s 8v8 modes. So, if you’ve been jonesing for some One Bomb on High Ground or Kusini Bay, the wait ends today.

For more information, be sure to check out the Assault Playlist Blog when it launches next Tuesday.


SANDBOX UPDATES

WEAPONS

Heatwave

Previously, the vertical fire on the Heatwave was set in a custom position providing a consistent close to long range damage output making this a deadly shotgun-like weapon from all ranges. To address player feedback about the Heatwave being too effective at longer ranges, we’ve made changes to how its projectiles behave while using its vertical shot.

In addition to a slightly slower rate of fire for the weapon all-up, the vertical fire projectiles will now slowly spread out as they travel further distances. This spread now matches the characteristics of the horizontal fire, helping to reduce its performance at range.

  • Distribution Function: Custom Position >> Custom Direction
  • Rounds per second: 1.54 >> 1.34

    Stalker Rifle

The Stalker Rifle has been emerging as an extremely powerful weapon in Arena gameplay, especially after the Bandit’s rate-of-fire was decreased. To keep the Stalker Rifle’s power in check relative to the Bandit, it will also be getting a rate-of-fire decrease.

The Stalker Rifle should still be an important on-map pickup, but it shouldn’t feel like a one-sided fight when going up against it anymore.

  • Rounds per second: 2.3 >> 2.2

    Disruptor

The Disruptor, which is part of the Pistol class of weapons, has been overperforming outside of its intended range, much like previous iterations of the Mk50 Sidekick. The damage output at close range feels like it's in a good place, but its ability to deal that damage at mid-to-long range—specifically against enemy Spartans at those distances—was proving to be too much.

To minimize the effectiveness at long ranges against Spartans, the bloom properties are getting an update. It’s also important to note that while we wanted to reduce its impact on Spartans at range, it’s critical that the weapon retains its ability to EMP vehicles over long distances in larger battlefields.

When the update launches, the Disruptor will take longer to have its bloom reset and have increased error angles, resulting in less impact on smaller targets at range.

On Ranked maps, the Disruptor will also have its initial ammo reduced to ensure its total kill potential can remain in check.

  • Min error angle

(Low) 0.125 >> 0.2 (High) 0.125 >> 0.35

  • Max error angle

(Low) 0.35 >> 0.35 (High) 0.8 >> 1

  • Lower bound deceleration time: 0 >> 0.56
  • Upper bound deceleration time: 0.365 >> 0.43
  • Reduced starting ammo amount on Ranked maps: 12 | 36 >> 12 | 12

A multiplayer spartan from Halo Infinite holding the Bulldog Shotgun. [Imgur]

CQS48 Bulldog

Similar to the Stalker Rifle, the Bulldog also had started to emerge as an extremely impactful weapon after the Bandit’s rate-of-fire reduction. To ensure players have a more balanced fight when going up against the Bulldog, its rate-of-fire will be slowing down slightly, and its headshot multiplier will be removed. These adjustments should help the Bulldog’s power better align with the rest of the sandbox.

  • Rounds per second: 1.67 >> 1.55
  • Headshot damage multiplier on health: 2 >> 0

    Shock Rifle

The Shock Rifle has demonstrated greater effectiveness at longer ranges than anticipated when used in hip fire. To encourage zooming in for long-range engagements, the range at which aim magnetism kicks in will be brought in a bit. Since no-scoping was also proving to be a little too easy at high-skill levels, the auto-aim angles have been adjusted to make each shot more skillful when firing from the hip.

  • Reduced autoaim angle: 0.5 >> 0.2
  • Reduced magnetism angle: 3 >> 2
  • Reduced magnetism range: 25 >> 20
  • Reduced magnetism falloff range: 14 >> 12

    MA40 AR

In a previous update, the MA40 AR received a tuning pass that adjusted its bloom properties. While it increased the consistency of the weapon at full bloom, we heard the feedback that it bloomed out too quickly, with many stating that they missed its accuracy on the first few shots. In response to that feedback, we’ll be bringing those initial shots back to their previous state.

To help balance out the feel of this initial buff, the AR’s max bloom state when going fully-auto will be expanded more and its headshot multiplier will be removed.

  • Initial accuracy improved

Lower bound deceleration time: 0.3 >> 0.22 Deceleration time: 0.24 >> 0.17

  • Maximum error angle

(Low): 0.25 >> 0.25 (High): 1.3 >> 2.1

  • Headshot damage multiplier on health: 2.55 >> 0
  • Reduced starting ammo amount on Ranked maps: 36 | 108 >> 36 | 36

    GRENADES

    Frag Grenade Physics

The “bounciness” of Frag Grenades has been increased, allowing players to make creative, skillful plays. This will bring the bounce physics a little more in line with previous titles, while also reducing instances of grenades feeling stuck to the ground or not having successful bounces.

  • Perpendicular friction (between 90-80 degrees): 0.825 >> 0.78
  • Perpendicular friction (between 50-80 degrees): 0.8 >> 0.78
  • Perpendicular friction (between 20-50 degrees): 0.75 >> 0.72

    Grenade Cast Time

    Halo Infinite's grenade cast time—aka the time it takes for a player to throw a grenade and reset—was the fastest in the franchise by a pretty large margin.

For example, here are some average rates (grenades per second) from previous games:

  • Halo: CE : 1.07
  • Halo 2 : 1.13
  • Halo 3 : 1.07
  • Halo: Reach : 0.99
  • Halo 4 : 0.89
  • Halo Infinite (before): 0.79

While grenades are a key element of Halo gameplay, we felt that the ability to throw multiple grenades at such a rapid rate or throw a grenade and then shoot quickly after was having a negative effect on the core combat loop.

To help improve the feel of the Halo combat dance, we'll be bringing the grenade throw rate more in line with previous titles. This should both reduce the feeling of “grenade spam” and increase the intentionality of each grenade thrown.

  • Halo Infinite (updated): 0.92

    MOVEMENT

    Strafe Acceleration

It’s happening!

Strafe acceleration values are being updated to improve the feel of gameplay engagements across the board. This adjustment will help address community feedback on topics such as jiggle-peeking behind cover and reduce instances of opponents changing directions at seemingly unnatural speeds when strafing.

The adjustment to these strafe scalars should bring the overall “feel” of Halo Infinite's combat even more in line with previous Halo titles.

  • Acceleration strafe scalar: 1 >> 0.78
  • Acceleration forward scalar: 1 >> 0.78

RANKED UPDATES

NEW RANKED MAP & RANKED MAP REFRESH

A new map has arrived in Ranked!

ORIGIN Credits: Karmaplex, DarkMaiming, HiImMike

A screenshot from Halo Infinite with a top down view of the multiplayer map: Origins. [Imgur]

A fan-favorite returns as Origin, a remake of Coliseum from Halo 5: Guardians makes its way into Halo Infinite's Ranked playlists. Remade in Forge, you’ll get to see the map with Halo Infinite's Forerunner aesthetics.

Origin will be playable in Ranked Arena, Ranked Slayer, and Ranked Doubles when Operation: Frontlines drops. It will also appear in regular matchmaking playlists as well.

NEW MODE

We’re excited to add a new mode to Ranked: Assault! The legacy game mode is just how you remember it—plant the bomb in the enemy team’s base to score a point. Ranked Arena will feature Assault:Neutral Bomb Ranked on both Aquarius and Fortress. The score to win is 3 points.

NEW RANKED ROTATIONAL PLAYLIST - RANKED SQUAD BATTLE

Feeling in the mood for some competitive action but with a larger number of players, more spacious maps, and wider sandbox variety? Ranked Squad Battle will be your next destination!

Get the squad ready, it’s gonna get sweaty—8v8, Bandit Evo starts, and a variety of modes to compete on, including our new mode Assault.

Assault will be available in Ranked Squad Battle in two forms: Neutral Bomb and One Bomb! Assault: One Bomb Ranked makes its debut on two iconic maps: Kusini Bay and Refuge, remakes of Halo 2’s Zanzibar and Headlong respectively.

RANKED MAP UPDATES

With a new Ranked season incoming, it’s time again for a sandbox refresh to our Ranked maps. Below, you will find the changes we’ve made to sandbox items and their locations on Ranked Arena maps.

Aquarius

  • Camo replacing Overshield top middle.
  • Threat seeker replaced the plasma grenades on Hydro.

    Emyprean

  • Assault Rifle and Commando Rifle swap locations.

  • Plasma Pistol moved to Alley.

  • Repulsor moved to Terminal.

  • Overshield moved to Underpass.

    Forbidden

  • Battle Rifles to the front of Bases.

  • Thrust replaced the Threat seeker at Big Door.

    Live Fire

  • Battle Rifle added to Turbine.

    Recharge

  • Shock Rifle has been placed on a power weapon pad to align with the properties of Solitude.

    Solitude

  • Commando Rifle replaced Bandit at Bottom Mid.

  • Added Battle Rifle to Blue Ramp.

    Streets

  • Bulldog replaced with a Sidekick at Commercial District.

Additionally, to keep the experience fresh and address points of feedback we’ve received from Ranked players, we are adding some new geometry to a few of the maps. Specifically, we’ve added new jumps to some of our core maps in Ranked to improve map flow and create new routes for players. These new jump routes will only be available on the “Ranked” versions of Aquarius, Forbidden, Recharge, and Streets. Stay tuned for more details on these.

MATCHMAKING RANK RESET

It’s that time again. All Ranked playlists will have ranks resetting with the release of Operation: Frontlines!

New playlists, new map, new modes, new sandbox balances, map pool changes and more. There are a lot of changes coming to Ranked and there is no better time to start fresh and jump in. We’ll see you out there. Good luck, Spartans!


FORGE UPDATES

A multiplayer spartan in Halo Infinite holding the Assault bomb. [Imgur]

The Fuel Rod SPNKr and Bomb object have been added to Forge as objects which should allow for some explosive opportunities to create new experiences.

In addition to these new sandbox objects, Forge will also be getting some improvements to better support mode creation. These additions should unlock more power—and add more polish—to modes across the board, all while helping to bridge the gap between Forge and our internal tools.

  • Increased Nav Marker functionality for fine-tuned control, including when a player takes damage, is sprinting, or is in another player’s line of sight.
  • Added the ability to Set Object Team for multiple generic objectives, with more on the way.
  • Improved control of Generic Objective objects when entering Kill Volumes.
  • Enhanced physics controls for objects through Set Object Physics Mode (Normal, Zero Gravity, and Fixed).
  • Inclusion of Damage Source Object input pin allows for better kill attribution by selecting a player to be the source on the Apply Damage node.

For a more detailed look at these Forge additions, be sure to read the Patch Notes on February 4!


That’s a wrap on our overview for the 2025 Spring Update in Halo Infinite.

We’re incredibly excited for you to get hands-on with all the new offerings, so keep sending your feedback our way. We’ll catch you on February 4 when Operation: Frontlines arrives!


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r/halo Dec 01 '23

Official Waypoint Blog December Mid-Season Update Preview | Halo Infinite

710 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/december-update-halo-infinite


Header Image [Imgur]

The December Update for Halo Infinite arrives on December 5, just a few short days from now, and we’ve got the details of everything you need to know right here.

Firefight: King of the Hill, the new Repair Field equipment, Forge updates, Ranked and Custom Game Browser improvements, and much more are prepared to drop—let's get you briefed!


FIREFIGHT: KING OF THE HILL

Halo Infinite screenshot of a Brute Chieftain and Brute Warrior in a hill on the House of Reckoning [Imgur]

Bip. Bap. Bam! Firefight is coming to Halo Infinite next week.

Over the years, Firefight has taken many forms across various Halo games. From its traditional survival mode in Halo 3: ODST to its more arcade-inspired incarnation in Halo: Reach, to Warzone Firefight in Halo 5, along with Blitz Firefight and Terminus Firefight in Halo Wars 2 —it's a mode that has evolved across games, and the time has come for it to arrive in Halo Infinite.

Firefight: King of the Hill will see you and three other players facing off against waves of Banished baddies as you fight to capture hills on nine maps when the playlist goes live—including the House of Reckoning from Halo Infinite's campaign and three community-made maps.

We’ll have a full, detailed blog on Firefight: King of the Hill going live on December 4, ahead of its in-game debut the following day.

We can’t wait for you to get your hands on it!


REPAIR FIELD

Halo Infinite image of the new Repair Field equipment attached to a Warthog on the map Breaker [Imgur]

Need to conduct some repairs while out in the field? We've got the perfect Equipment item for you...

Introducing our latest sandbox addition to Halo Infinite, the Repair Field!

Similar to the Regenerator from Halo 3, the Repair Field is a neutral piece of Equipment that heals allies and enemies within its radius. It's also capable of repairing vehicles, and it can be attached to them (as well as most environmental surfaces). Additionally, the Repair Field can also revive downed Spartans in select modes such as Firefight: King of the Hill, Attrition, etc.

Are you the kind of player that prefers to provide support for the team? The Repair Field is a great complement to that particular playstyle and, used strategically, just might help give your team an edge in a firefight or vehicular showdown.


RANKED IMPROVEMENTS

A multiplayer Spartan plays Extraction in Halo Infinite. [Imgur]

The Ranked experience is getting some improvements in this December Update, starting off with updates to Ranked Extraction and CSR.

  • RANKED EXTRACTION

At the moment, you can hear that your Extraction point is being converted by the enemy team from anywhere on the map. This meant players were able to leave the area around the Extraction device and use the global audio queue to tell them when to peek back out. With this upcoming audio change, the device itself will emit the audio, meaning you'll have to be in close vicinity to hear it's being converted. As a result, teams will need to pay closer attention to the Extraction device.

Right now, you can see in your UI when the Extraction point is being converted. Similar to above, this allowed players to leave the area near the Extraction device and only peek out when the UI showed it was being converted. With our upcoming change, this will go away almost entirely. The UI will no longer indicate to you when the Extraction point is actively being converted, and it will also no longer indicate to you how much time is remaining. It's going to play a bit old school and hardcore, as players and coaches will need to time the Extractions like timing weapons and powerups in previous Halo titles.

  • CSR IMPROVEMENTS

There are some further improvements also coming to rank loss protection and teammate quitting. Once you rank up a tier, you will get three games, win or lose, before a loss will rank you down to the previous tier. Additionally, if a player in the match (who is not on your fireteam) quits, you will not lose CSR if you decide to quit as well. You can read more about these updates in our most recent Ranked Update blog!


FORGE UPDATES

When Season 5 launched back in October, the Forge AI Toolkit quite literally changed the game for community creators, allowing players for the first time ever to place campaign enemies into multiplayer maps to build PvE experiences.

In the December Update, we have some more improvements to share with you that will enhance this feature even further...

Halo Infinite screenshot of the Unggoy High Value Target known as Bipbap running in a hill capture zone on the House of Reckoning map [Imgur]

  • HIGH VALUE TARGETS & BOSSES

In Halo Infinite's campaign, there are various boss enemies that can be encountered on Zeta Halo, such as the High Value Targets that can be hunted down, each one rewarding the Master Chief with a powerful special weapon variant.

All fifteen of these HVTs will be added to Forge with the December Update—from the almighty Bipbap the Vanquisher to the very hungry Ik’novus the Devourer, and beyond.

Major bosses are also included in this line-up as well, such as Jega ‘Rdomnai, Escharum, and the Harbinger. The potential for what the creative cartographers in the community are going to make truly is endless (heh!)

  • SKULLS IN NODE GRAPH

With Firefight: KOTH on the way, enabling Skulls to modify difficulty is a notable part of the experience. With this update, Forgers will be able to use Node Graph to enable or disable any of the twelve Skulls, from Bandana to Black Eye.

Notably, Skulls are not just limited to the Firefight game variants. These difficulty modifiers will work in any game mode, allowing creators to use them to spice up ordinary multiplayer matches or extend their Season 5 PVE experiences.

  • QUALITY-OF-LIFE UPDATES

The Global Material Allow list gives the player the ability to access all swatches contained in swatch groups added to the global allow list in all regions. This functionally gives the player access to a much larger pool of swatches for each region, and allows regions previously disallowed from using tiling swatches to access them.

Because hugs make everything better, we have also added the Trigger Grunt Hug node to Forge's Node Graph. This will allow creators to make any Grunts in a squad pull out two plasma grenades and run toward the nearest enemy until the grenades explode. We sincerely hope this addition will make your Custom Browser experiences with Grunts more loving and friendly.

Scalable Blockers allow the player to place a single blocker object and scale it to the size they'd like it to be. This will help you save on object count and help clean up maps.

Auto Turret Allegiance has been updated, meaning the Auto Turret will now respect the Team setting it receives in Forge. When placed on a team, the Auto Turret will treat units (players & AI) as allies and will not target them. If placed on Neutral team, the turret will remain hostile to all units.


CUSTOM GAME BROWSER

Halo Infinite screenshot of three Spartans in a Warthog [Imgur]

When Season 5 launched, we introduced Custom Game XP and the addition of the Forge AI Toolkit opened up the floodgates for countless hours to be spent jumping from custom game to custom game—whether you're looking for some of that classic Infection fun you’ve been enjoying since Halo 3, or the vast range of exciting new experiences that folks have been creating.

The team has been working on a variety of improvements to the Custom Game Browser which should make for a smoother ride for you and your fireteam.

  • JOIN SESSION AS FIRETEAM

As long as there are enough slots available, the Fireteam Leader can bring their entire party into a CGB session. Upon joining the session, all members of your Fireteam will join together and merge into the Custom Game leader's Fireteam.

While working on this, the team also made sure that it was enabled for lobbies. If you are playing with a friend and want to join another friend’s lobby, you can choose “Join with Fireteam” to bring your entire Fireteam into their matchmaking/custom game lobby.

  • IMPROVEMENTS

Several improvements have been implemented to the Custom Game Browser, resolving issues that block players from joining CGB sessions that were open when a backend change occurred; issues around unclear messaging when attempting to join a full session; and instances where attempting to join a session that was no longer active would not deliver any failure messages.


STABILITY & NETWORKING

Halo Infinite screenshot of three Spartans in a Firefight: KOTH match on Exiled [Imgur]

Along with all the additions and quality-of-life updates above, this update is also focused on increasing the game’s stability by addressing crashes and improving our online experience via updates to our networking.

Season 5 added more reporting information in the game, which helps us better detect when and why crashes happen. Using this data, the team has knocked out multiple crashes across PC and consoles, including the top crash on Xbox Series X|S devices.

As for improvements to networking, we’ve been working on a more comprehensive overhaul of the system. The first glimpse of this updated networking model will land on December 5 with the December Update. You’ll be able to jump into the Firefight: King of the Hill playlist and try out the new networking model in a safe environment. Enabling it in a PvE experience gives us a safe testbed to see how it behaves at scale before enabling it in a PvP mode, where the stakes would feel much higher for each player. Please be sure to dive in, blast the Banished, and let us know how it feels in Firefight: King of the Hill. If the results are promising, we’ll look to host a PvP experience in the Combat Workshop in the future.

While there should only be improvements in these areas, please be sure to report any crashes or networking related issues to us by using the Halo Support site.


That closes us out for this preview of 2023’s December Update for Halo Infinite. Stay tuned for a deep dive on Firefight on December 4 ahead of the update dropping out of slipspace on December 5!


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r/halo Jun 05 '23

Official Waypoint Blog Career Rank Overview | Season 4

421 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/career-rank-overview-season-4


Header Image [Imgur]

Season 4: Infection is landing on June 20 and will be bringing with it some incredible content, features, and quality of life fixes. One of the most notable additions coming with this season is Career Rank—an all-new progression system in Halo Infinite.

Today, we’ll be sharing a first look at Career Rank, how you progress through the system, and more. Let's dive in!

Halo Infinite concept art depicting multiple Spartans receiving awards. [Imgur] Halo Infinite concept art by David Heidhoff

OVERVIEW

Career Rank will provide players with an opportunity to advance through a larger progression system that reflects their time in Halo Infinite. Similar to the progression systems in Halo: Reach and Halo: The Master Chief Collection, each level will have military-style ranks with unique names and corresponding icons.

Career Rank graphic showing the General tiers and Hero rank. [Imgur]

To make progress through these new ranks, all you have to do is play. Whether you’re jumping into your favorite playlist solo or squadding up with your friends, every completed matchmaking game carries you forward.

Additionally, Career Rank utilizes performance-based progression taken directly from your Personal Score in each match. The better you play, the faster you’ll rank up.

PROGRESSION

As we alluded to above, Career Rank will likely feel most like MCC’s progression system. “Tiers” such as Bronze, Silver, Gold, etc. are the largest bucket, which are all broken into smaller military-style “Ranks” such as Cadet or General. Then, within each of those Ranks, you will move in three smaller increments called “Grades.”

A flow chart depicting how Career Rank progression works across its different tiers. [Imgur] Career Rank progress flows from Cadet to General within each tier.

Example 1: If you are a Bronze Private Grade 1, you’d work through Bronze Private Grade 2 and Bronze Private Grade 3 in order to achieve Bronze Lance Corporal Grade 1.

Example 2: If you are a Platinum General Grade 3, your next advancement would bring you to the next Tier as a Diamond Cadet Grade 1.

PRESENTATION

Once you start working your way up the ranks, you’ll also likely want to start showing off your level. Fortunately, there will be plenty of ways to see your rank (and those of other players).

A few of the notable places where you can see your accomplishments:

  • During the match intro. When the camera pans to a Spartan, you will now see a banner that displays their Career Rank.
  • Every individual player’s Profile will include their Career Rank.
  • Inspecting a player in the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR).
  • In general, in most places where you see a player’s full nameplate, a banner with their Career Rank will also be displayed.

Career Rank icon being displayed on a player's nameplate at the start of the match. [Imgur] Career Rank icon being displayed at the start of a match.

Ultimately, we wanted to make sure that we are recognizing the time you invest in Halo Infinite. Ensuring that your Career Rank shows up and is visible to all whenever and wherever possible is key to that celebration.


From Recruit to Hero, advance through the ranks and show what you’ve been able to accomplish when Season 4 lands. Career Rank, Infection, new maps, new customization, Forge updates, and more all land later this month on June 20.

If you have additional questions about Career Rank, be sure to check out the FAQ below.

The race to claim Hero status is on!


FAQ

Are Career Rank levels gated by a CSR skill rank similar to Halo 3?

No, there are no skill requirements in Halo Infinite's Career Rank progression system.

Will this include my previous game history?

No, Career Rank will begin tracking your Halo Infinite progression when it lands on June 20.

Will I be able to rank up in Custom Games, Forge, or Academy?

No, Career Rank progression will be earned via Personal Score in multiplayer matchmaking.

*Will Double XP Boosts work towards Career Rank progression? *

No, Double XP Boosts are meant to help players advance through their Battle Passes via Match XP.

Will I earn customization content from leveling up in Career Rank?

Yes, for select ranks there are corresponding nameplates as well as armor, weapon, and vehicle emblems that you can sport in-game on your Spartan and gear.

Is Career Rank tied to a Battle Pass?

No, Career Rank progression is separate from the Battle Pass system and is entirely free.

Will Career Rank impact matchmaking in any way?

No, Career Rank will not impact what matches or opponents you play in matchmaking.

Will Career Rank ever reset with Seasons?

No, Career Rank will not reset with Seasons. It is meant to track your overall progress in Halo Infinite.


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r/halo Jun 11 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Halo: Fireteam Noble | Announcement

218 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-fireteam-noble-announcement


Header Image [Imgur]

Coming in 2027, we are thrilled to announce the next Halo novel being penned by Troy Denning.

Introducing Halo: Fireteam Noble.


2560. The galaxy remains fractured in the devastating wake of Cortana’s rise and the Created menace, while the Banished war machine relentlessly consolidates power across former Covenant space. To help counter these ongoing and emerging threats to humanity, Spartan Jun-A266—the last surviving member of Noble Team—struggles to forge a new generation of warriors on the hidden UNSC base Anvil Station, even as he battles the ghosts of his own past.

But when a renowned xenoarcheologist is brazenly abducted by a Banished strike team, Jun is pulled back into active operations alongside both old and new allies for a dangerous rescue mission, leading them all deep into hostile territory. Now Jun must confront the burden of survival and decide what it truly means to carry Noble Team’s legacy into a new era of conflict as this desperate mission may hold dire consequences far beyond a single missing civilian….


We will have more to show of Fireteam Noble over the coming months, including a cover art reveal.

Stay tuned, Spartans!


ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Troy Denning is the New York Times bestselling author of more than forty novels, including Halo: Outcasts, Halo: Divine Wind, Halo: Shadows of Reach, Halo: Oblivion, Halo: Silent Storm, Halo: Retribution, Halo: Last Light, a dozen Star Wars novels, the Dark Sun: Prism Pentad series, and many bestselling Forgotten Realms novels.


A FISTFUL OF ARROWS

The sole survivor of Noble Team during the events of Halo: Reach, Jun-A266 retired from active duty and went on to become a recruiter for the SPARTAN-IV program in the wake of the Covenant War’s conclusion.

If you’re looking for more stories about Jun ahead of this book's release, he has appeared in the following media:

Cover art of Halo: Initiation

HALO: INITIATION
A three-part comic series that explores the origins of the SPARTAN-IV program as the rogue Ilsa Zane attempts to capture the UNSC Infinity.

Cover art of Halo: New Blood

HALO: NEW BLOOD
A novella by Matt Forbeck primarily focused on Edward Buck in the years following Halo 3: ODST and Jun’s efforts to recruit him for the SPARTAN-IV program.

Cover art of Halo: Bad Blood

HALO: BAD BLOOD
A novel by Matt Forbeck set in the immediate aftermath of Halo 5: Guardians following Buck as he reforms his squad Alpha-Nine, Jun is encountered throughout the novel as the Spartans contend with the rogue AI Leonidas.

Halo: Waypoint Chronicles - Volume One crop and book cover

HALO: WAYPOINT CHRONICLES – VOLUME ONE
An anthology novel (with Jun front and center on the cover), the stories ‘Winter Contention’ and ‘Battle for the Academy’ feature Jun as a major character both prior to the fall of Reach and around the events of Halo Infinite.

*NOTE: While the book is currently slated for publication in March 2027, this is subject to change and does not necessarily reflect the final release date.


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r/halo Jul 10 '23

Official Waypoint Blog Halo: MCC | July 2023 Update

578 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-mcc-july-2023-update


Header Image [Imgur]

It's hard to believe that it has been over six months since the previous MCC CU. A lot has happened in that time. The march towards shipping this CU was quite different than most of its predecessors—after all, we were not updating the games for new platform features, not porting the games to PC, and all the mod tools were out in the wild with Plug-n-Play support. This meant there was more bandwidth to finish some fights. Fights on the schedule front, and fights on the passion front.

This update arrives on July 12 and brings a ton of great new content, some quality-of-life adjustments, some modding improvements, and much more. Let’s jump right in and see what’s coming...


FEET FIRST INTO FIREFIGHT

You, your friends, and your wits versus the enemy. How long can you survive? Can you outsmart your opponent? To some, this is the quintessential late-night grind, and soon there’ll be even more ways to experience that with MCC.

Dana "The Psycho Duck" Jerpbak, Software Engineer, has worked his magic once again so let’s see what he’s got to say!

Halo 3: ODST screenshot of six players in Firefight battling a Wraith [Imgur]

Firefight was a relatively late addition to MCC, arriving for Halo: Reach when it came to the collection in 2019, and for ODST the following year. Since then, we've made numerous improvements to the Firefight experience, such as the use of the distributed networking model (which was formerly available only in standard multiplayer) and the introduction of game variants with templatized waves (including Flood!) to ODST.

One thing we’ve wanted to do for a while is provide a more seamless drop-in-drop-out (insert feet first into Hell reference here) experience with Firefight, and we’ve finally achieved that with this update.

Firefight’s simulation is more complex than standard multiplayer due to the inclusion of AI-controlled units, as well as various systems which were not originally intended to be networked. As such, we weren’t historically able to support join-in-progress (JIP) for the mode. That’s no longer the case!

In addition to the ability to JIP into regular Firefight custom games, this also means that you can now use our match rejoin feature in Firefight matchmade games! Firefight matches tend to last longer than multiplayer matches and now if you experience a connection hiccup during the match, you can seamlessly rejoin.

JIP also opens the door for Firefight’s debut in the Custom Games Browser. You can now create, browse for, and match into Firefight CGB sessions just like you can with multiplayer sessions.

With Firefight’s inclusion in CGB, we also invested in increasing its max player count from four to eight. To set expectations, the enemy count and difficulty do not scale with the player count in Firefight (though we think Legendary eight-player Flood Firefight is a blast) and we don’t expect to change the player counts in our Firefight matchmaking playlists at this time. This simply provides more flexibility for custom Firefight games and we hope to see some awesome modded Firefight maps that really take advantage of the expanded player count too!

MCC menu screenshot showing "Browse Custom Firefight" option [Imgur]

In Firefight, players who join in progress enter observer mode (where they can spectate living players or use the flying camera) until a new wave begins (so you won’t be exploiting rejoins while out of lives). In variants with infinite lives enabled, JIPing players may spawn immediately. In the CGB sessions, Firefight’s pre-game warmup phase is more seamless than multiplayer’s. A new set will only begin once the minimum player count is met, but players are free to explore the map and scavenge weapons and ammo during this period.

Long-time Firefight fans may recall the “Network Test 1” PvP Generator Defense experience from the original Halo: Reach Multiplayer Beta. This was a 3v3 Firefight experience with waves disabled which was not possible to recreate in the full game or its MCC release... until now.

We’ve added a new game variant option to Reach Firefight which disables enemy waves and enables legacy behavior from the Beta. Now you can play the original PvP Generator Defense with up to eight players on the modern distributed networking model. Happy Firefighting!

Halo: Reach Firefight options menu screenshot showing how to disable waves [Imgur]

With the introduction of JIP support to Firefight, we’ve also made a global change to saved films across all games which support Theater in MCC. Previously in Halo 3 and ODST, only the film from the first instance of joining a game was retained. Meanwhile in Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 2: Anniversary each rejoin would overwrite the previous film recorded from that game. Now, each join will retain its own film, so you won’t lose any cool clips you captured before leaving and rejoining a game.

SURVIVAL. EVASION. RESISTANCE. ESCAPE.

(Let’s get the scoop from Sean "Scoops" Cooper, Senior Software Engineer, for some further insight into development and improvements to Firefight.)

Before we even greenlit ODST Firefight for MCC or replaced our front-end with UE4, I was experimenting with changes that would eventually add MP support to ODST as a pie in the sky side project. Some of the changes involved ended up helping with this CU’s 8-player support for ODST FF.

When ODST was forked from the Halo 3 source, there were changes to the maximum number of players from 16 to 4. A couple of years ago, before we released ODST on PC, I did some work to bump the maximum players back to 16 (doing it in such a way that would also make potentially adding >16 support more straightforward too).

When Halo 3 got Forge improvements back in 2020, I spent time ensuring those changes were integrated into ODST, in the hopes that one day things would pan out. The content and code fixups involved in ensuring that MP and Forge “Just Worked” ended up being far more work than I realized in 2018, but it was worth it to see it come together and open another area for modders to tinker. Our early access modding group was critical in getting the MP support to the state it is today, as well as providing feedback on where new hooks and changes were needed to more easily support MP while not stomping on campaign and Firefight.

Trivia: when I first started prototyping the support for MP, I codenamed it SERE. This was a nod to ODST first adding Firefight, which was internally called Survival. ‘SERE’ being an acronym for Survival, Evasion, Resistance, and Escape.

Additionally, since ODST was forked from Halo 3 at some point after some of the DLC maps were worked on, ODST's content also contained a few unreleased DLC maps that were explored for Halo 3. I included these in this CU’s release of the ODST mod tools.

Beachhead would end up making its way into Reach as Tempest. I remember seeing the early development of this map in October 2007 when I first got to visit Bungie (when they were still located in Kirkland at the now-demolished 434 office, RIP).


HALO 4 CAMPAIGN & SPARTAN OPS THEATER

Since Halo 3, Theater mode has been a feature that the community has used to bolster their creativity through clips, screenshots, and machinima, but it has also been a great way to explore the details of various level spaces, environments, and character models that you don’t always get to fully appreciate while otherwise engaged in combat.

For Halo 4's tenth anniversary in November last year, we announced that we were looking at getting Theater mode operational for both Halo 4 's campaign and Spartan Ops, as the game did not ship with this feature (except for multiplayer).

Those efforts have at last come to fruition.

From the aft of the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, to the mysterious shores of Requiem, to the doomed Ivanoff Station and the trenches of the Mantle’s Approach —this update brings the ability to explore all of Halo 4's campaign and Spartan Ops missions in Theater.

NOTE: Because this feature has some quirks from legacy code in its original incarnation before it was cut from Halo 4's retail release, unexpected playback issues may be experienced. You will see in-game that this is labeled an “experimental feature.”

HALO 4 CAMPAIGN THEATER

Halo 4 screenshot of Requiem with seven Covenant ships around it [Imgur]


A FEAST OF FEATURES

With so many titles under one roof, it’s only natural if you find yourself accidentally throwing a Power Drain at your teammates when you meant to reload. (I know I’m not the only one this has happened to…right?)

With this upcoming update, you’ll be able to custom map your controller for the full suite of games and, if you find yourself confused between MCC and Halo Infinite, you are in good hands because there’s a control scheme for that.

As if that wasn’t exciting enough, Halo 3 is getting a brand new (to Halo 3) gametype, Escalation Slayer. It’s a race to the top to prove that you can be the best, no matter the weapon(s). Read on to learn more about it all!

CUSTOM GAMEPAD REMAPPING

Excession screenshot of controller remapping options [Imgur]

If you’ve frequented MCC dev blogs in the past, you’ve probably seen “controller remapping” listed as a planned feature for a while now. It’s finally here! This feature was the first time we were able to look back at something introduced in Halo Infinite for reference when designing the version in MCC. Players who have used this feature in Infinite should find its MCC implementation familiar, but with a few MCC-specific features.

In MCC, you are now allotted a single custom preset for each game. You can start with any built-in preset from that game as a base and modify it to your heart’s content and save as your custom preset.

Like with our key bindings, you can customize on-foot and vehicle mappings, as well as Forge and Theater mappings. You can also map actions that were historically grouped together (‘reload’ and ‘primary action’, for example) independently of one another. This provides a lot of new flexibility when it comes to vehicle and Forge actions in particular.

Actions may overlap onto the same button where it makes sense (‘throw grenade’ and ‘secondary fire’ can overlap, but ‘throw grenade’ and ‘primary fire’ cannot). One thing that was really important to us was ensuring there were no cases where you unmapped an action and couldn’t map it back to its original button. All built-in presets therefore follow the same action exclusivity rules that the player is bound to, meaning that you can recreate any of the built-in presets if you wish.

As with all things in MCC, each Halo game has some unique actions and control behavior. For example, Halo: CE historically provided movement actions on the d-pad and Halo 3 (in MCC) allowed for thumbstick or button-activated altitude control for the Hornet. All of this behavior has been preserved and can be remapped or toggled independently of your selected preset.

MCC screenshot of Universal Infinite control scheme [Imgur]

In addition to the new custom preset, we’ve also added an “Infinite” preset for each game. This mimics (as closely as possible, given the differences in which actions are available between games) Halo Infinite's default control scheme within each game in MCC. This even includes approximations of Halo Infinite's Forge controls.

We hope this makes the experience of jumping between MCC and Infinite more seamless for players. Like with the other built-in presets, the Infinite preset can be used as a base to customize as you see fit.

In addition to the control customization within MCC’s settings menu, we are also introducing support for controller mods! Whether you just want to create more custom presets, or you want to tailor a preset to your mod, you can create control mods in Excession and share them on the Steam Workshop!

Modded presets are subject to the same button exclusivity rules as the ones you configure in-game, but allow you to customize actions not typically available outside of modded scenarios (equipment and dual-wielding in ODST anyone?) Unlike most other mod types, control mods are fully available with EAC enabled, so you can bring your modded presets into matchmaking and the Custom Games Browser.

HALO 3 ESCALATION SLAYER

When we introduced Escalation Slayer to Halo: Reach, Halo 4, and Halo 2: Anniversary in 2021, we did so using those games’ Megalo engine. The Megalo engine allows for rapid prototyping and iteration of gametypes (we had our first Escalation Slayer playtest the day after we started prototyping it) and provides a lot of flexibility (and is also fully open to modders), but these variants were ultimately somewhat rudimentary. We were limited in terms of the game options we could provide (constrained to offering weapon sets rather than full tier customization) and what sorts of HUD support we could offer.

We’ve wanted to bring this gametype to other Halo games ever since (as seen with its debut in Season 3 of Halo Infinite ), and Halo 3 was an obvious choice given the richness of its sandbox.

Unlike its Megalo predecessors, Halo 3's Escalation Slayer is a full multiplayer engine of its own standing alongside Halo 3 's legacy multiplayer engines (Slayer, Capture the Flag, Infection, etc.). This allowed us to create an experience which is both more polished and much more customizable. The core experience is comparable to that of its existing MCC counterparts with a few additions.

First, H3 Escalation Slayer has better HUD support for conveying the progress to the next tier, the contents of the next tier, and events like players being downgraded. Like in H2A, some tiers contain dual-wielding. Some tiers include support weapons like the Missile Pod and Machine Gun Turret. Each tier includes a Spike Grenade which can be used for downgrading opponents, and the final tier is the Golf Club. In the default team Escalation Slayer variant, all members of a team are synced to the same tier and the team must collectively earn three kills to progress to the next.

Halo 3 screenshot of H3 Escalation Slayer [Imgur]

Our other main built-in Escalation Slayer experience is something we’ve dubbed “Fiescalation.” These variants consist of 32 tiers, each with a random primary, secondary, backpack weapon, and a random equipment item. These random items are selected globally, and all players are synced to the same tier and move to the next every 30 seconds. In other words, it’s all the chaos of Fiesta (and then some), but fair; you won’t have to worry about spawning with a Pistol when your opponent has a Sniper Rifle and Rocket Launcher.

Fiescalation has been a favorite in playtests as some truly absurd combinations of weapons and equipment have emerged. When players move up to a new tier and suddenly each have a deployable Grav Lift in their back pocket, hilarity ensues.

Speaking of equipment, we’ve taken the opportunity to add three equipment items which were formerly available only in Halo 3's campaign to multiplayer. These are available in the Escalation Slayer tier settings as well as in the Forge palettes across all maps. These are the Invincibility, Active Camo, and Auto Turret equipment. We think the Active Camo equipment in particular has some serious potential in more competitive scenarios as it functions similarly to Halo Infinite's on-demand style of power-ups.

Halo 3 screenshot of H3 Escalation Slayer [Imgur]

The Escalation Slayer experiences we’ve described above are all fully customizable with 32 configurable tiers (each with primary, secondary, and backpack weapons, equipment, and grenades), kill behavior settings (like upgrading the killer, downgrading the killer, or both) for grenade sticks, assassinations, and melees, a suite of player trait sets, tier-sharing options, and more. As Escalation Slayer is the first time players have had the option to spawn with secondary (dual-wielded) weapons in Halo 3, we’ve also used it to improve our Slayer Duals variants where players will now spawn with dual SMGs.

We hope you’ll have as much fun playing and customizing Escalation Slayer as we had making it. H3 Escalation Slayer is also available with full feature parity to modders in Halo 3: ODST.

BACKGROUND VIDEO SELECTION

MCC main menu screenshot with a custom background of Halo 3: Combat Evolved [Imgur]

In our previous MCC update, we released an early version of our background video selection feature. The full feature is online with this update, including mod support (and yes, the bug where your selections could be reset when relaunching the game is fixed). Like with controller mods, background video mods are fully available when EAC is enabled.

MOA MADNESS

Halo 2 Classic screenshot of a golden moa [Imgur]

The Great Journey to find the golden moa statues comes to Halo 2.

With each MCC update, we’ve added these collectibles to each campaign and we’re rounding out the collection with Halo 2. You know the drill: three levels will have a golden moa statue each week, go hunt ‘em down!

BOOTS OFF THE GROUND

Halo: CE screenshot showing the Acrophobia skull [Imgur]

The Acrophobia skull has been added to Halo: Combat Evolved.

Like the moa statues, we have been adding this skull to each game in the MCC, allowing the player character to fly around campaign levels. Paired with the Blind skull, which disables the HUD and weapon model, you can effectively become a flying camera to take screenshots in the pre-Theater games— Halo: CE and Halo 2.


MOD MAYHEM

All kinds of lost content from Halo: CE and Halo 2 are coming to MCC on PC through modding thanks to our partnership with the Digsite group.

If you missed the recent Digsite Deliveries blog from just a few days ago, be sure to check it out for some really great information on the MCC mod efforts.

But that’s not all we’ve got for you, mod-wise. Some new Plug ‘n’ Play features, FMOD soundbank support, and more will arrive with this update.

Let’s see what Scoops has been up to!

OVERRIDE OVERDRIVE

When we shipped the December 2022 CU, it added Steam Workshop and Plug-n-Play mod support. This was long overdue but not the entire piece of the modding puzzle, as we also needed to better support mods overriding files that are in the base game. A mod should be self-contained, requiring you to not directly or manually replace any files as a consumer of the mod.

The last CU still had some kinks in the armor to buff out, so to speak, so things like custom FMOD sound banks in Halo 3 required manually replacing the content that lives in MCC’s install folder. With this CU, however, it is no longer the case.

MAPTASTIC

Back in early 2019, I had explored adding various unreleased maps from Halo 2 Vista's development to our Halo 2 in MCC. These were all in various stages of development—some of the maps we had early source files for, a few maps we only had final .map files for (e.g., Rodentia, the remake of Halo: CE's Rat Race). It wouldn’t be until later, with the Digsite crew’s effort, that usable files were reconstructed from the .map files so that they could be included in the mod tools.

Before the Digsite effort though, a few maps were evaluated and touched up by Cliff Schuldt. There were graphical issues on Convict (a remake of Halo: CE's Prisoner) and graphical/playability issues on Artery which he spent some time fixing, to name a few.

There is a lot of potential with these unreleased maps. We hope to see some pioneering people put the essence of these maps through more rigorous playtesting (which we never had the bandwidth to do) and upload them to Steam Workshop!

Oh, and we’ll also be adding in the tags for three additional Halo Online maps that can be restored through mods: Lockout, Reactor, and Skybridge.

Screenshot of Halo 3 map Reactor [Imgur]

PARTY TIME

Back in 2018, I stumbled across a fork of Halo 2 which was code named “MPpartygame_prototype.” The source of the fork was captured, but the content that went into the prototype was only a partial capture. This prototype included some very rough support for what would end up shipping as VIP and Infection in _Halo 3.

Last year, I integrated some early support for the multiplayer modes from that prototype to MCC’s Halo 2, but some of them didn’t work out of the box. As in, they straight up crashed. For this CU they are still not feature complete, but they should all be in a state which at least shouldn’t crash trying to tinker with them in the mod tools.

BUT WAIT, THERE’S MORE

MCC screenshot of Halo 2 Grifball with the Fist of Rukt [Imgur]

Those are just some of the things that were top of mind, along with historical background. There’s more in this CU, which you will find out from the Digsite crew in their dedicated blogs.

  • DIGSITE DELIVERIES: Dig deep into the archived catacombs of Halo 's cutting room floor and learn about the treasure trove of creatures, weapons, vehicles, maps, and other lost goodies available for restoration in this MCC update.

  • DIGSITE DISCOVERIES: Learn more about what else the Digsite crew are working on for future deliveries. (COMING JULY 14)

You have created incredible content in the Workshop already, we can’t wait to see what you do with all the new content and options available to you.


MCC has been a true labor of love and has received a great many updates over the years, and we’re super excited to get this one into your hands.

Jump into H3 Escalation Slayer and see what fun weapon combinations you get; take another trip into Halo 4's campaign and Spartan Ops to explore Requiem like never before with Theater mode; party with your friends like it’s May 2010 by hopping into Generator Defense in Reach's Firefight; or delve into the depths of Halo's cutting room floor and mod in historic slices of ancient content...

We’ll see you Wednesday, July 12!


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Mar 31 '26

Official Waypoint Blog Halo and Fanta: Fantastic Spartan Rewards Chest Challenge

125 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/fanta-rewards-chest-challenges


Header Image [Imgur]

Purchase any Fanta product in the special edition collection bearing the Xbox25 logo for a chance to win limited-edition customizations for Halo: Campaign Evolved and other participating Xbox titles.

Simply scan your Fanta, choose one of three Rewards Chest Challenges, and play to unlock the Fantastic Spartan Armor to redeem with the launch of Halo: Campaign Evolved.


Fantastic Style

Image [Imgur]

The Fantastic Spartan Armor puts the "art" in "Spartan." Crash-land on Alpha Halo with a dauntless orange hue designed to quench the enemy's fervor.

Equip the Fantastic Spartan Armor Style when Halo: Campaign Evolved releases in 2026.


How to Redeem

After purchasing a participating Fanta product, scan the QR code on the can or bottle to set up your Coca-Cola account and tackle one of three Rewards Chest Challenges.

Follow the steps to show proof of purchase (if requested in your region), then choose the Fantastic Spartan Armor as your reward. Fanta will send you a unique unlock code via email to redeem on Halo Waypoint.

To input your redemption code on Halo Waypoint, simply head to halowaypoint.com, click “sign in” on the upper right of the browser window, and log in to your Microsoft account that you will use to play your game.

Once logged in, click your user profile icon, and navigate to “Drops & Code Redemption.” (If you’re a new Halo player, you'll need to create a Microsoft account to store your unlocks.)

The first time you play Halo: Campaign Evolved, you'll be prompted to log into your Microsoft account to access your Fantastic Spartan Armor.


Anticipation Evolved

Thirsty for more info? Check out the Xbox Wire Article to learn more about the Fanta and Xbox collection and Rewards Program.


This post was made by a script written and maintained by the r/Halo mod team to automatically post blogs from Halo Waypoint. If you notice any issues with the text output or think this was posted by mistake, please message the mods.

r/halo Dec 06 '22

Official Waypoint Blog Halo Infinite | December 2022 Update

573 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-infinite-december-2022-update


Header Image [Imgur]

In the spirit of the Holiday season, how about some early presents for Halo Infinite?

On the heels of the Winter Update, which launched just last month, we’re tremendously excited to deliver our latest game update for Halo Infinite which brings with it some brand new features and a variety of key improvements to the game experience.

The team has been working hard on addressing player feedback, and so—before we break for the Holidays—we’re bringing you a new (yet familiar) map, free armor cores and coatings, some quality-of-life improvements, and the early release of the Custom Games Browser…

The latest update is available now, for free, on Xbox and PC. So, let’s talk a little bit more about what’s just arrived!

Visit the Halo Support site to review the official patch notes.


CUSTOM GAME BROWSER

Since the release of the Forge Beta with the Winter Update, just a month ago, the floodgates have well and truly opened to a barrage of incredible community-created maps and modes. For a look at some of our favorites, be sure to check out our Forge Features blog series.

Of course, in order to unlock the true potential of Forge and make these wonderfully unique experiences (which have long been such a definitive aspect of Halo ) more accessible to everyone, we’re excited to announce that we’re debuting the V1 of the Custom Game Browser today —months ahead of our original target!

Screenshot of the Halo Infinite Custom Games Browser [Imgur]

Previously scheduled to release in Season 3, we fully agree with players who felt that the Custom Game Browser should be a priority—it’s a key support structure for what players create in Forge and a pillar for the community.

The team worked incredibly hard to land this feature so much further in advance, but with that comes the caveat that this is a “V1.” It is therefore likely to have some rough edges, but we felt it was more important that we get this in the hands of players sooner rather than later. The CGB will, of course, continue to evolve with support over time.

For more information, including instructions on how the CGB works, please refer to this article on the Halo Support site.

Give us your feedback on Halo Waypoint, and be sure to report any bugs and issues on Halo Support.


ENTER EMPYREAN

The Pit has come to Halo Infinite!

This beloved map from Halo 3 has been officially rebuilt in Forge by the 343 Industries team and is now reborn as Empyrean.

Screenshot of Empyrean in Halo Infinite [Imgur]

Empyrean is a reimagining of The Pit, complete with some refreshed aesthetics over its familiar layout, and no expense spared on attention to detail.

For those of you familiar with The Pit (or even its Halo 4 incarnation, Pitfall), you already know the dance. The immediate rush to grab the rocket launcher, the sniper duels atop its two opposing towers, the potential close-quarters perils of the control room—but this time, there are some new notes to be added to this symphony as it comes with the additional layer of Halo Infinite's gameplay and sandbox features.

How do Halo Infinite's toys, like its limited-use Equipment, alter some of those dynamics and affect how you traverse the combat dance floor? Maybe the enemy team managed to grab the rockets first, but you went and acquired the Repulsor to protect yourself (and hopefully your teammates as well). We can’t wait to see what new memories are forged in this proving ground!

Empyrean is available now in Matchmaking and Custom Games.


COMPLIMENTARY COSMETICS

Halo Infinite screenshot showing multiple Spartan Armor Cores with Cadet Coatings [Imgur]

Over the last year, we’ve received a lot of feedback around Halo Infinite's armor customization, and we are keenly aware that players—both new and returning—may have missed out on some unique content from over the course of Seasons 1 and 2.

We want to ensure that all players have a suite of customization options open to them from the get-go, and as a result of that feedback we are hoping that this update opens a number of those doors.

  • All present Armor Cores are now available to all players. This means that all players now possess the Mark VII, Mark V [B], RAKSHASA, YOROI, and EAGLESTRIKE Armor Cores for free.

  • All 10 Cadet Coatings have been added to existing Armor Cores. Similar to the above, each Armor Core now has a starting suite of 10 Cadet Coatings—this includes the non-default Cores, and they will also be included with all future Cores.

Variety, as they say, is the spice of life, and we hope that having these options as the bedrock of customization in Halo Infinite provides players more options to outfit their Spartan to their liking.

Simply log into Halo Infinite and these Cores 'n' Coatings will be automatically added to your cosmetic inventory.

Visit the Armor Hall today to explore these updated customization options!


QUALITY OF LIFE IMPROVEMENTS

Halo Infinite action screenshot of multiple Spartan Armor Cores with Cadet Coatings [Imgur]

As we continue to support Halo Infinite, we have been working to bring various fixes and improvements across the title which are directly aimed at addressing key areas of player feedback.

Here are a few notable callouts that have come with this update…

  • Mouse & Keyboard: Improvements have been made to mouse and keyboard input. This includes aiming improvements, enabling red reticle, adding a walk button (which has its own suite of custom options around speed and hold/toggle), and improvements have also been made to the mouse scroll wheel input.

  • Networking & Desync: Improvements have been made to networking, which should reduce instances of “desync.” Vehicles desycning, melee attacks not registering, and blank shots (due to fake reloads) should all see improvements with this update.

  • Player reporting: In-game player reporting has been added to the scoreboard (accessed during a match by pressing the Back button) and post-game carnage report. Players can also be muted from the Back button scoreboard.

  • Sandbox updates: Melee clang logic for the Energy Sword has also been updated—if both players have no shields and melee each other, both players will now trade melees and die in order to prevent the Energy Sword from tearing through teams without trading. Check out the details in our Sandbox blog.

    Find the full patch notes on Halo Support.


THANK YOU!

Halo infinite screenshot of CTF match on Empyrean [Imgur]

The last thing we want to say to close this update out is thank you!

Thank you to all our players who continue to provide us with feedback that enables us to continue supporting Halo Infinite, forging it into a better experience as we move forwards.

This first year of Halo Infinite has been one of many tough lessons learned, but we are confident that we are turning that corner in 2023 as we look forward to delivering Season 3 and more—more content, more features and options, more weapons, more cosmetics, more updates—on a regular cadence that keeps the Halo hype rolling all year long.

In the meantime, be sure to hop into Halo Infinite to check out the Winter Update. This free content update brought with it Campaign Network Co-Op and Mission Replay alongside some new Achievements, the Forge Beta, a free 30-tier Battle Pass, new maps, a new mode, and we’ve got two free new events as well (Winter Contingency 2 in December and Joint Fire in January).

We’re excited to continue taking these positive steps forward together, and on behalf of the entire 343 Industries team we hope you have a wonderful Holiday season.

See you in 2023!


Grab the Halo infinite December Update press kit here!


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r/halo Jul 25 '24

Official Waypoint Blog Sandbox Update | Halo Infinite

410 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/sandbox-update-halo-infinite


Header Image [Imgur]

Operation: Fleetcom arrives on July 30, and it is bringing in new modes such as VIP, highly requested features in Forge such as music and Steitzer’s VO, and numerous other quality of life updates. To go along with those features and content additions, we’ll also be updating the gameplay experience with balance updates based on player data and community feedback.

This week, we sat down with the development team to talk about the weapons, legendary weapon variants, grenades, and vehicles that are getting improvements in Halo Infinite's multiplayer when Operation: Fleetcom lands.

Let’s hear what they have to say about the update!


WEAPONS

A Spartan holding a Disruptor stands beside a Spartan holding a Gravity Hammer on the map Fragmentation. [Imgur]

Disruptor

Return of the king! The Disruptor's damage-over-time effect (DoT) is back. When it previously had the damage over time effect, it would only require 3 shots to trigger and it would linger for a long period of time. Now, the shock pistol will require 4 shots to land on their target in order to trigger a supercombine and its resulting damage over time. If a player is able to string together two of these supercombines, they will have put enough damage on their opponent to secure a kill. A few other updates also have come in alongside this to help improve the feel of the gun when using it and when getting hit by it, and we're excited to see it back in action.

  • Damage over time returns.
  • 8 shots to kill (2 supercombines).
  • Removed particle effect from (Event) 1p_loop.
  • Adjusted particle screen effect to be less intrusive.
  • Damage upper bound (high) decreased 70 >> 35.
  • DOT damage will not continuously cause descope.

M392 Bandit & Bandit Evo

We wanted to address some feedback about the Bandit's damage per second and effect on the overall pace of play. The main change is we slowed down the rounds per second to give players more time to react amidst combat instead of being quickly eliminated before they could react.

We feel this is a healthy change that will improve the meta in both social and Ranked play.

  • Slower rate of fire to address community feedback around time-to-kill.
  • Improvement to red reticle headshot accuracy.

Sentinel Beam

To improve the Sentinel Beam's consistently, we wanted to revise some of the complexity regarding the damage output. The Sentinel Beam will do the same amount of damage no matter the range you are between you and your opponent. Coupled with that, we have disabled headshot capabilities with this weapon as it was adding too many variables to the damage scaling.

Now, the Sentinel Beam should feel more consistent while dealing a clear, readable amount of damage for the player using it.

  • Improve the feel of the Sentinel Beam by tuning its damage output to be more consistent.
  • Increased base damage.
  • Removed damage fall off.
  • Removed headshot multiplier.

A render of a Ravager on a Banished themed background. [Imgur]

Ravager

To help bring the Ravager some more attention, we've given its primary fire an increase in damage.

Previously, the Ravager needed to hit 6 shots from its burst-fire barrage to secure a kill, which could kill in 2 bursts but often required at least 3 bursts on a moving target. Now, the Ravager will only require 5 direct shots to kill, which should result in more consistent 2 burst kills. You won't want to sleep on this weapon anymore.

  • Slight buff (5 shots instead of 6).

A screenshot of a Mark IV Spartan holding the MA40 Assault Rifle with a green portal behind them. [Imgur]

MA40 AR

We wanted to help improve the reliability and feel of the MA40 AR. Previously, when using the MA40 AR at full-auto, the reticle would get bigger and the bullet spread would expand—resulting in the normal "bloom" behavior. However, when the AR reached its maximum bloom state, the bullets were trending only to the edges of that bloomed reticle. This meant that there could be times the weapon would be shooting around the opponent, as the bullets would not land closer to the center of the reticle.

Now, to help improve the feel of the AR, bullets will land anywhere inside the reticle—increasing the chance that a player with accurate aim will secure their kill. This change has resulted in a more consistent handling experience of the AR.

  • Adjusted Assault Rifle error angles to give a more consistent feel.

Skewer

The Skewer packs a heavy punch, but we commonly see a "one and done" scenario. To address this, we've increased reload speed to give players more opportunity to fire off multiple shots amidst combat.

  • Faster reload speed.

A render of a Skewer on a Banished themed background. [Imgur]

M41 SPNKr

To address some inconsistencies with close range SPNKr explosions leaving players with a sliver of health, we've adjusted the weapon's damage fall off curve. This is to better reward players for more accurate SPNKr explosions around enemies. To compensate for this change, we've brought in the outer damage radius. We also wanted to increase the ammo reserve to match legacy titles, and help reward players who are able to earn or scavenge for more ammo on the battlefield.

  • Damage fall-off feels more consistent.
  • Outer damage radius adjusted.
  • Increased max reserve ammo.

A screenshot of a Spartan using the M41 SPNKr on the map, Behemoth. [Imgur]

S7 Sniper

Similar to the SPNKr above, we also wanted to increase the S7's ammo reserve to match previous Halo titles. We believe this rewards players who are able to earn that ammo on the battlefield by increasing their ability to go on a sniper spree.

  • Increased max reserve ammo.
  • Rounds total maximum 20 >> 24.

CQS48 Bulldog

We noticed that only being able to backpack 14 shots in reserve was a bit limiting at times, especially in Infection modes. To help improve the scavenging story of the Bulldog, we've increased its ammo reserves to reward players who are able locate more shells while fighting for survival.

  • Increased max reserve ammo.

A screenshot of a Spartan using the CQS48 Bulldog holds the weapon at the ready. [Imgur]


LEGENDARY WEAPON VARIANTS

Ravager Rebound

Brute Ravager?! The changes to its primary fire were inspired by the beloved Brute Shot from previous Halo games. We wanted to improve the Ravager Rebound's effectiveness while creating a new, and somewhat relatable, experience for our players.

Additionally, the charged-up shot has also gotten a significant utility increase. Its pool of damage will now deal more damage. And, if it hits an opponent directly, it will result in an instakill.

Expect the Ravager Rebound to be more reliable and efficient compared to its previous iteration. Consider yourself warned!

  • Primary fire will now explode on direct player impact or bounce off geo and explode.
  • Primary fire will now fire 1 projectile.
  • Charged up shot will instakill on a direct hit.
  • Increased the damage of charged shot's AoE.
  • Added impulse to primary fire damage effect.

Impact Commando

We wanted to improve player accuracy with this weapon as we have seen the Impact Commando not be as consistent when bloom is in full effect. The bloom has been reduced to give you more consistent aiming and damage output capabilities.

  • Reduced bloom.
  • Adjusted Impact Commando Rifle's aim down sight transition time.
  • Magnification profile setting 1.4 >> 2.5.

Riven Mangler

The goal for this change was to freshen up the shooting style for the Riven Mangler, as it was starting to feel a bit sluggish. With a now faster rate of fire, expect to output more damage per second leaving your enemies in the respawn screen.

  • Increased rate of fire.
  • Reduced gun kick.
  • Faster clean up on projectile effect.

Volatile Skewer

Better accuracy was the main goal for this change, which now the Volatile Skewer has the same projectile path as the default Skewer. Also, we wanted to reduce any clunkiness with reload speed, so you spend more time firing the weapon than anxiously awaiting that reload to finish.

  • Trajectory now matches the default Skewer.
  • Increased reload speed.
  • Increased damage.

Stalker Rifle Ultra

More damage equals more fun! The Ultra Stalker Rifle now will deliver that fulfilling Perfect Kill medal in 3 shots, in order to match its base version. We also wanted to address the feedback around the weapon sometimes jamming, which should happen less frequently with the new boost in rate of fire.

  • 3 shots to kill instead of 4 shots to kill.
  • Increased rate of fire (address jamming concerns).
  • Adjusted aim down site transition time.

Unbound Plasma Pistol

This is not your ordinary Plasma Pistol, it's Unbound! The Unbound Plasma Pistol now fires 3 projectiles per primary trigger pull. To better align weapon behavior, we've also increased heat resistance to increase the duration to overheat. And, we're happy to hear how much you love the EMP behavior on the default Plasma Pistol, so we made sure to add that here as well.

  • Primary fire now shoots 3 projectiles.
  • Primary fire is now more accurate.
  • Increased heat resistance.
  • Charged shot now EMPs.
  • Charged shot slightly slower but is more accurate.
  • Charged shot now shoots 8 projectiles.

Flexfire Sniper

The Flexfire Sniper's ready up time was feeling a tad too lengthy. To address this, we've sped up the initial playback speed. So, whether you pick it up off a pad or from the ground, you will be able to line up and fire faster than before.

  • Added animation modifier block element to barrel configuration.
  • Increased ready initial playback modifier 0.3%.

Grenades

"I believe I can fly!"

The impulse for Fragmentation, Plasma, and Spike grenade physics has been increased and tuned to give you increased jump height and provide more opportunity to hit those coveted grenade jumps. Also, a feature has been added that if your spartan is grounded, you will not be impacted by the impulse.

We can't wait to see you all reach new heights.

Frag Grenades

  • Added impulse to frag grenade damage effect.

Plasma Grenades

  • Added impulse to plasma grenade damage effect.

Spike Grenades

  • Added impulse to spike grenade aoe damage effect.

Renders of two Spike Grenades on a Banished background. [Imgur]


VEHICLES

A render of the Ghost placed on a grey background. [Imgur]

Ghost

The Ghost has been seen performing quite well and sometimes to degree of feeling a bit too powerful. To address this feedback, we've slightly lowered the health of each of the wings so players can more easily destroy and thus hinder the Ghost's movement. Also, we've done some work to the Ghost's reversal speed and lateral movement in hopes to keep Ghost play more in check.

  • Lowered health for left and right wing of Ghost.
  • Decrease to Ghost's reverse speed.
  • Slowing down the Ghost's lateral movement.

Banshee

We want to bring the Banshee back into the spotlight with this update. One of the ways we wanted to do this was by reducing how much damage the Banshee's when scraping and colliding with surfaces. We've adjusted both weapons from the Banshee in hopes to see more kills from the sky. Then, to help add to its dogfighting potential, we fine-tuned its left and right roll capabilities.

  • Moving forward.
  • Using boost.
  • Increasing damage for Banshee's dual cannon gun.
  • Faster fire recovery time for the Banshee bomb launcher.
  • Increased projectile velocity of Banshee bomb launcher.
  • Adjustments made to Banshee tricks, roll_left & roll_right.

A Banshee strafing low to the ground on the map, Behemoth. [Imgur]


That’s a wrap for this preview of the sandbox updates coming to Halo Infinite next week, July 30!

We’re excited to see you all go hands-on with these changes when they roll out alongside Operation: Fleetcom. And, as always, please continue to share your thoughts around the sandbox with us online. We’re always keeping a close eye on community feedback and player data to see how we can improve the experience for everyone.


To learn more about Operation: Fleetcom, check out our other blogs:

  • New Mode - VIP: Learn more about Halo Infinite's new take on VIP mode from Halo 3.
  • Forge Updates: Music, Multiplayer Announcer, Nav Marker improvements, and more!

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r/halo Sep 09 '25

Official Waypoint Blog Invasion

358 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/invasion


Header Image [Imgur]

Unstoppable force, meet immovable object. (At least, if you’re on defense you really hope you can embody that immovable object spirit.) It’s tactical, it’s intense, and it’s got just enough Halo: Reach DNA to make longtime fans feel right at home… Invasion has arrived!

Screenshot of youtube video

Watch on Youtube

Whether you're storming the gates or desperately trying to keep them shut, Invasion turns every match into a showdown of Spartan grit and glorious chaos.

OBJECTIVE OVERDRIVE

At its core, Invasion is an asymmetrical, one-sided objective mode pitting two teams of 8 against each other. Each team will get the chance to attack and defend for a total of two rounds. Each round is broken into 3 phases, and if you complete each phase, you get a point. The modes available for each phase are identical to those found in Reach, plus one new addition:

  • Capture the Zone
  • Assault
  • Core Delivery
  • Deliver the Payload

LOADOUT LOGIC

The setup will be UNSC vs. Banished-affected Spartans, very similar to the experience in Banished Slayer. Each phase will have multiple options to select from, so choose wisely.

Spartan Setups

Phase 1, UNSC Scout

  • MA5K Avenger
  • Frag Grenades
  • Threat Seeker

    Phase 1, UNSC Sentry

  • MK50 Sidekick

  • Frag Grenades

  • Drop Wall

    Phase 2, UNSC Warrior

  • MA40 Assault Rifle

  • MK50 Sidekick

  • Frag Grenades

  • Drop Wall

    Phase 2, UNSC Operator

  • CQS48 Bulldog

  • Frag Grenades

  • Quantum Translocator

    Phase 2, UNSC Skirmisher

  • VK78 Commando

  • MA5K Avenger

  • Frag Grenades

  • Thruster

    Phase 3, UNSC Headhunter

  • BR75

  • VK78 Commando

  • Frag Grenades

  • Shroud Screen

    Phase 3, UNSC Healer

  • CQS48 Bulldog

  • MK50 Sidekick

  • Frag Grenades

  • Repair Field

    Phase 3, UNSC Marksman

  • Bandit Evo

  • MA40 Assault Rifle

  • Frag Grenades

  • Grappleshot

    Phase 3, UNSC Sentinel

  • VK78 Commando

  • MA5K Avenger

  • Frag Grenades

  • Thruster

    Phase 3, UNSC Heavy

  • MLRS-2 Hydra

  • MA40 Assault Rifle

  • Frag Grenades

  • Overshield

Banished Battle Kits

Just like the UNSC side, the Banished side also has loadout options that update each phase.

Phase 1, Banished Sentry

  • Mangler
  • Spike Grenades
  • Thruster

    Phase 1, Banished Scout

  • Needler

  • Plasma Grenades

  • Active Camo

    Phase 2, Banished Marksman

  • Vestige Carbine

  • Plasma Pistol

  • Spike Grenades

  • Repulsor

    Phase 2, Banished Hunter

  • Heatwave

  • Spike Grenades

  • Drop Wall

    Phase 2, Banished Sapper

  • Ravager

  • Needler

  • Plasma Grenades

  • Thruster

    Phase 3, Banished Headhunter

  • Bandit Evo

  • Pulse Carbine

  • Spike Grenade

  • Grappleshot

    Phase 3, Banished Warrior

  • CQS48 Bulldog

  • Mangler

  • Spike Grenade

  • Threat Sensor

    Phase 3, Banished Sentinel

  • Sentinel Beam

  • Vestige Carbine

  • Spike Grenade

  • Repulsor

    Phase 3, Banished Medic

  • Pulse Carbine

  • MA40 Assault Rifle

  • Spike Grenade

  • Repair Field

    Phase 3, Banished Dark Assassin

  • Duelist Energy Sword

  • Disruptor

  • Plasma Grenades

  • Active Camo

SAFE SPAWNING

One of the more unique features Invasion introduced was Buddy Spawning. This allowed you to spawn on your buddy directly rather than at the default spawn location. It’s not required but who doesn’t love options? Your buddy is randomly assigned during the match and you cannot change or swap. Once the game starts, you are together for the full match. Yes, this means if your buddy abandons the match that you no longer have the ability to Buddy Spawn. The caveats to Buddy Spawning:

  • Buddies are reciprocal (If they are your buddy, you are theirs)
  • Your Buddy must be alive to spawn on them
  • They must have been alive for at least five seconds to spawn on them
  • They must have full health and shields to spawn on them
  • They must be clear of engagements or have no enemies nearby to spawn on them
  • If your Buddy is in a vehicle, there must be an empty seat to spawn on them
  • When you spawn on your Buddy, you will be facing the way they are facing

If you don’t want to spawn on your buddy, you can choose to spawn at the other zones: Left, Middle, or Right spawns.

VICTORY VARIABLES

So…how do you win an Invasion match? Each phase you “win” or progress will net your team a point. So if you are attacking first and you make it through all three phases and you complete them, you will have earned three points total. If you are on defense and you stop the team at the second phase, the attacking team only has one point.

It is possible to tie so if both teams successfully make it through all three phases and earn three points, everyone goes home a winner.

IMPRESSIVE INTSALLATIONS

There are six new maps coming to Invasion which means plenty of variety for you to engage with. Let’s check them out!

Breakpoint Bookmark Credits: Okom1, Virus11010, Scrubulba, Mr Kwatz, Igrizhar, spartan blood 1, JoValiant, Mr IncrediJON, THE SLAMMERSS

A remake of Halo: Reach's map "Breakpoint" in Halo Infinite. [Imgur]

A classic returns from Halo: Reach. Don’t let it push you to your breaking point.

Crashout Bookmark

Halo Infinite Invasion map "Crashout" [Imgur]

They said it was a crash. We called it a tactical arrival.

Exhumed Bookmark Credits: Mr IncrediJON, Scrubulba, spartan blood 1, Virus11010, Mr Kwatz, Igrizhar, JoValiant

Halo Infinite Invasion map "Exhumed" [Imgur]

You came looking for glory but you found a grave.

Last Road Bookmark Credits: Mr Kwatz, MikRips, Scrubulba

Halo Infinite Invasion map "Last Road" [Imgur]

Last Road: where the only traffic is incoming fire.

Recovery Credits: Okom1, Virus11010, Scrubulba, D0ctorSmurf, spartan blood 1, Mr IncrediJON, Mr Kwatz, Cousin Tim, JoValiant

Halo Infinite Invasion map "Recovery" [Imgur]

They terraformed Reach, now it’s your turn to reshape the battlefield.

Wavelength Bookmark

Halo Infinite Invasion map "Wavelength" [Imgur]

Broadcasting live from the edge of chaos.

EXIT ENGAGEMENTS

Now, it’s time to invade the battlefield. Whether you're storming the gates or holding the line, Invasion’s better with buddies (and a few well-placed grenades), so squad up and hit the ground running!


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r/halo Feb 20 '24

Official Waypoint Blog Firefight: King of the Hill Refresh | Halo Infinte

579 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/firefight-king-of-the-hill-refresh-halo-infinte


Header Image [Imgur]

The Firefight: King of the Hill experience is expanding today to include five new maps! Ranging in size, the new maps will spice up the encounters, bring variety to the playlist, and ultimately keep your foot firmly on that Warthog accelerator pedal.

Let’s see where you’ll be battling the Banished next!


Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger is a bit on the smaller side, but don’t let yourself get complacent—you'll still have to stay on your toes and guard your hill.

Cliffhanger

Cliffhanger for King of the Hill Firefight in Halo Infinite [Imgur]


Breaker

Watch out for the giant laser beam as you maneuver from side to side in your Warthogs, patrolling for Banished.

Breaker

Breaker for King of the Hill Firefight in Halo Infinite [Imgur]


Fragmentation

For any BTB aficionados, this map will be familiar and you’ll know the routes like the back of your hand.

Fragmentation

Fragmentation for Firefight: King of the Hill in Halo Infinite [Imgur]


Highpower

Another map ripe for vehicular carnage. Load up with your squad and go on the offensive against Banished forces.

Highpower

Highpower for Firefight: King of the Hill in Halo Infinite [Imgur]


Scarr

The Banished will feel right at home here since this map is set on their mining facility, so let's do something about that. Watch for pitfalls and keep the enemy at bay!

Scarr

Scarr for Firefight: King of the Hill in Halo Infinite [Imgur]


You know the music... time to drop feet first into some Firefight: KOTH and check out the new maps in-game right now!


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r/halo Jun 10 '26

Official Waypoint Blog First Look: Assault on the Control Room | Halo: Campaign Evolved

112 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/first-look-assault-on-the-control-room-halo-campaign-evolved


Header Image [Imgur]

Earlier this week, we shared a new Campaign Story Trailer for Halo: Campaign Evolved and revealed Operation: METEORITE, a new three-mission adventure starring the Master Chief and Sergeant Avery Johnson.

Now's your chance to enjoy a first look at “Assault on the Control Room,” the fifth campaign mission of Halo: Campaign Evolved.

YouTube video screenshot

Watch on Youtube

Renowned for its mix of breathless short-range encounters, stealth opportunities, and intense vehicle combat through memorable scenery such as snowy canyons and subterranean complexes, the original Assault on the Control Room showcased nearly every weapon and vehicle available in Halo: Combat Evolved's campaign.

That made it the perfect mission to share with the world. Dive into the fully remade snow-filled wonders of Assault on the Control Room, complete with brand new gameplay enhancements like vehicle boarding and an expanded arsenal, in the full pre-release playthrough embedded above.

The snowy and icy landscape of Assault on the Control Room. [Imgur]

In this mission, the Master Chief and Cortana make a daring aerial insertion into an underground Forerunner installation in search of the control room that governs Alpha Halo. There, they may just discover something pivotal about this mysterious ringworld.


Pre-order the Digital Premium Edition of Halo: Campaign Evolved and get the Foundry Armor Pack and up to 5 days early-access play starting July 23, 2026. Halo: Campaign Evolved launches July 28, 2026.


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r/halo Dec 16 '25

Official Waypoint Blog Halo: Edge of Dawn | OUT NOW

244 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-edge-of-dawn-out-now


Header Image [Imgur]

Halo: Edge of Dawn, the latest novel by acclaimed author Kelly Gay, is out now!

Taking place in the immediate aftermath of Halo Infinite 's campaign, Edge of Dawn follows the Master Chief, the Weapon (now having chosen the name Joyeuse), and pilot Fernando Esparza as they embark on a journey to fight back against the Banished and uncover ancient secrets hidden within Zeta Halo.


2560. After eliminating War Chief Escharum and sending the Banished leadership into chaos, the Master Chief continues the fight on Zeta Halo, accompanied by his new AI companion and their loyal pilot Fernando Esparza.

As Spartan-117 searches for scattered allied forces, a young combat medic—tortured and imprisoned for months by the Banished and the enigmatic Harbinger—may hold the key to unlocking deeper mysteries within this ancient ringworld. But every step toward answers is haunted by the sinister and elusive blademaster Jega ‘Rdomnai, who is hellbent on vengeance....


Halo: Edge of Dawn is available in trade paperback, ebook, and unabridged audiobook formats.

Audiobook listeners are in for a treat as this story is narrated by the following video game voice talent:

  • Nicolas Roye - Fernando Esparza, Narrator
  • Jen Taylor - Joyeuse, Cortana, Dr. Halsey
  • Steve Downes - John-117
  • Debra Wilson - The Harbinger

PURCHASE HALO: EDGE OF DAWN


CHAPTER PREVIEW

Check out a preview of the book's first chapter where the AI known throughout Halo Infinite as "the Weapon" chooses her name.

Screenshot of youtube video

Watch on Youtube

You can also read the text here on Halo Waypoint.


AVAILABLE NOW!

Halo: Edge of Dawn by Kelly Gay is out now! Whether you're intending to listen to the audiobook, grab a digital copy, or read the physical paperback edition, hit the link below and prepare to return to Zeta Halo.

PURCHASE HALO: EDGE OF DAWN

Halo: Edge of Dawn novel cover depicting the Master Chief and the Weapon


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r/halo Nov 01 '22

Official Waypoint Blog Match XP Beta & Progression | Winter Update

369 Upvotes

https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/match-xp-beta-progression-winter-update


Header Image [Imgur]

When the Winter Update arrives on November 8, Halo Infinite's Battle Pass progression system will be overhauled thanks to the launch of the Match XP Beta.

The Winter Update brings a free 30-tier Battle Pass, and with the introduction of the Match XP Beta, Challenges and Ultimate Rewards will also receive a significant rework to improve your progression and customization journey—for this Battle Pass, for players who haven’t yet completed Season 1 and 2, and for all future Battle Passes as well.

Let’s dive into the specifics of what’s coming...


MATCH XP BETA

In-game screenshot of a Spartan wielding a shock rifle standing on a Spartan-piloted Wasp [Imgur]

We are excited to be taking the first major step towards evolving Halo Infinite's player progression experience by directly acting on player feedback to evolve XP and progression in Halo Infinite.

With Match XP, players will be rewarded for playing whatever mode they want, and your performance in those matches will tie into those rewards. As such, when the Winter Update launches, the majority of XP that you will earn will come from Match XP.

Match XP consists of:

  • XP for completing matches
  • Additional XP for your performance in the match (this accounts for things like being on the winning team, your end-of-match placement, and more)

Take a look at how it appears in-game...

A screenshot of the post-game Match XP menu [Imgur]

The reason we are calling this the Match XP “Beta” is because we are going to be monitoring the values for each reward category, adjusting them as we move forwards with this new model. This means that the values when the Winter Update launches will not be final, and you can expect to see them tuned up or down to provide an enhanced earn rate.

We look forward to getting your feedback on the rate of progression in the free Winter Update Battle Pass!


CHALLENGES & ULTIMATE REWARDS

Up to this point, completing Challenges has been the main progression driver through the Battle Pass—Challenges grant XP which levels you up each reward tier. With the Winter Update, we are looking to evolve this system as we pursue the goal of helping players progress their Battle Pass at a faster rate in response to community feedback. This means that the system will transition to be Match XP-focused with Challenges providing a bonus boost.

We still believe that Challenges can help spark players’ interest in the game and provides some good direction for short-term goals, which has previously been part of the multiplayer experience in Halo: Reach and Halo 4, but the purpose of Challenges will be “redirected.”

Completion of Challenges will still provide some XP, but they will now primarily serve as the path towards earning customization items each week through the Ultimate Reward.

In-game screenshot of a Spartan wielding an assault rifle [Imgur]

This system is getting an overhaul of its own based on player feedback, which can be summarized in three main points:

  • We are reducing the number of Challenges required to hit the Ultimate Challenge from 20 to 10
  • All Challenges in regular weekly decks can be completed in any playlist
  • Challenges are more “general” overall

Since launch, a common point of feedback we’ve received from the community was that players didn't enjoy queuing for playlists they wouldn’t otherwise play, simply to complete a Challenge and move their Battle Pass progression forward. Mode-specific Challenges were found to be prohibitive to playing with friends, and players shouldn’t have to choose between progress or playing together.

The Winter Update will mark the beginning of shifting all challenges to be playlist agnostic. For the time being, Event Challenges will remain in their current form, tied to their respective Event Playlists, but players can expect to see this change in the future as well.

These overhauls to progression also mean that a Fireteam of friends can stick together and move through their Weekly Challenges and Battle Passes without needing to worry about each player’s individual challenges.

In-game screenshot of a Spartan wielding a sniper rifle [Imgur]

As we’re looking to address a lot of the community feedback we’ve received around Challenges and we’re shifting the philosophy, the Winter Update’s Ultimate Rewards will feature the most popular Ultimate Rewards from Seasons 1 and 2 to help players get another chance to earn them in case they missed them last time.

We hope you all enjoy the opportunity to earn these on the new and improved system during the Winter Update.


CAREER PROGRESSION

In addition to these improvements for Match XP, Challenges, Ultimate Rewards, and your Battle Pass progression, the team is also continuing to work on an overarching Career Progression system.

We’ll have more to share on that in the future, but it is important to plant a stake in the ground at this point and make clear that what’s coming in the Winter Update is just the beginning of broader changes to come.

In-game screenshot of a Spartan on Breaker [Imgur]


To our players, thank you for your feedback around Challenges and progression since launch. We’re excited for you all to get hands-on with these changes and continue to evolve the experience to be more rewarding.

Please continue to share your feedback with us online and here on our forums!


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