Ok, so here’s is the TL:DR
Summary
We recommend reading the full blog below to get all the details and context, but here’s a quick look at some of the updates coming when Season 2 launches on May 3.
This is by no means everything, and you can find additional insights from the team in each of their sections below, but we wanted to list some outcomes we think you’d like to see up front that are already locked and loaded for next month as work continues in numerous other areas.
AUDIO
- The ability to hear an opponent’s shield recharge sound will be reduced to prevent providing too much information about a player’s location
- The volume of the Grunt Birthday Party sound effect will be increased in Campaign
MULTIPLAYER
Arena
- Catalyst (new Arena map) will be added to multiple playlists on day one
- King of the Hill will be added to multiple playlists
- Attrition will be added to multiple playlists
- In Attrition, a revived player will be able to move immediately after spawning back in
- Motion Tracker (Radar) will have its outer edge detection enabled for shooting and sprinting in social playlists
Big Team Battle
- Breaker (new BTB map) will be added to matchmaking on day one
- Jeff Steitzer’s voice is returning to call out player-earned medals
- Issue causing asymmetrical Weapon Rack spawns has been addressed
Matchmaking
- Rather than track a player’s entire session, the CSR progression bar will now reflect the progress made from their most recent match
Custom Games & Forge
- Addressing some Custom Game bugs, with more coming down the road
Personal AI & Spartan Chatter
- Balance adjustments were made to emphasize what’s most important for players
PC
- Noticeable stability improvements; the team has resolved dozens of PC crashes
SANDBOX
Networking
- Melee fights should be more consistent, with opponents “phasing” through each other less and “whiffing” less when a melee should’ve connected
Weapons
- A global melee damage decrease of 10% on all weapons will require the Mangler to land two shots and a beatdown for a kill.
- The Ravager’s base (non-charged) shot will see a damage increase
Friend or Foe (IFF) Recognition (Player Outlines)
- This system will now have options allowing players to modify the opacity and thickness based on their preferences
Equipment
- Drop Wall will see slight performance increases
- Overshield will provide slightly more shielding
Vehicles
- Chopper collision (splatter) damage will be increased to its vehicle-splattering glory
- Banshee’s agility and damage output will be increased to improve its role as a strike fighter
- Warthog & Razorback should be more resistant to flipping and bouncing
We’ll have another Outcomes blog focusing on the Live Team’s areas such as Customization, Shop, Battle Pass, Progression (Challenges), Events, Theater, and Observer Mode in the near future. Be sure to keep an eye out for it here on Halo Waypoint and give it a read when it lands.
Today’s Season 1 Outcomes blog is meant to highlight key community themes and the Halo Infinite team’s responses to each of them. To start, we’ll be going in alphabetical order and kicking things off with our teammates working on Accessibility!
Now, here are the things that jumped out to me
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We, like all of you, want more maps/modes to play and have a list of them we’re working on for future releases. For Season 2, we have an updated version of King of the Hill that you’ll be able to play in Matchmaking and Customs (along with being able to set it to “classic” version). You’ll also see a lot of updates to playlists, including the addition of the new Catalyst Arena map and Attrition going into Quick Play. Over the season our goal is to rotate in some new playlists with some fun variants we’ve been playtesting a lot lately.
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I like that we are getting rotating playlists, with SOME FUN VARIANTS.
This will help keep the game fresh and keep people coming back.
I really like this and it is a long step in the right direction.
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Elimination will be making its debut during Season 2. When the mode lands, it will show up in matchmaking as a rotational playlist and be made available in custom games. To help make sure the “MEDIC!” Achievement is always attainable outside of matchmaking; we’ve updated its underlying requirements to allow it to also be unlocked in custom games. We hope this helps all the achievement hunters out there.
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I am really hyped for Elimination to come, I love the mode and can’t wait for it to come
Yet another step in the right direction
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We have some great BTB maps going through their arting process at the moment (the longest part of map development) that we’re excited about releasing in Infinite’s future. For Season 2, we’re dropping Breaker into the mix, which features a giant moving laser that cuts across the center of the map and destroys anything that gets caught in its beam. It’s a tighter and faster-playing BTB map that feels different than anything we currently have in Infinite. We’re excited play it with everyone in BTB right when S2 launches!
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I like that they have some more BtB maps in development, hopefully we get 1-2 more in S3.
I also really dig the sound of Breaker.
A giant moving laser that destroys everything it touches? Yes!
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In Season 2 we will have more regular rotations to our playlists, rotating out less popular playlists and putting up new ones for players to dive into. S2’s launch will also bring the new Arena map, Catalyst, and the fan-favorite mode, King of the Hill, to multiple playlists on day one. Long term, we’re looking at more options for players to have more autonomy over what they’re wanting to play while maintaining healthy matchmaking for everyone. Expect more updates on this in the future.
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I like that they will be rotating out less popular playlists, but I would much prefer just to have a match composer and have certain gamemodes rotate in and out.
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100%! Extensibility is a core pillar for Halo Infinite and Customs plays an important part in this goal to let players make an endless assortment of game modes. Our plan is to continue expanding Custom options over time and we have an ever-expanding list of Custom Game options on our backlog we’re working through to create more flexibility in Customs to build way more mode variety and give players control over all the settings. This coupled with the coming launch of Infinite’s incredibly powerful Forge will give players infinite possibilities to create new gameplay experiences!
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I like this and am excited to see what they add
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Custom Game Browser is something we are deeply passionate about too, and we’re happy to say that the team is in the early stages of production for it.
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Yes please!
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We are aware of desync issues related to shot registration and players rubberbanding or warping and a working on improvements in all of these areas. For a deeper dive on mitigations and future work on the issue
Specifically for melee, in Season 2 we will have improvements on melee you can look forward to that resolve some of the warping or phasing that happens when players melee each other. When players melee, there is a brief “rebound” window where they go airborne and bounce backwards, however players also have air control during this window. Since you generally hold forward while melee’ing, you end up moving forward during this window. Combine that with two players both holding forward, and you may see players phasing through each other.
To help reduce these occurrences, we’re adjusting the melee rebound behavior, which should lower the possibility of overlapping positions while in close-quarter engagements. Another melee fix we have for Season 2 addresses the melee lunge accuracy. Aim should better snap towards your target on a successful melee lunge, helping keep your target in view for successive melees (reducing the need to spin around) and hopefully reduce instances of “whiffing”, which typically occurs when the target is towards the edge of your screen.
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Any help to desync is welcome!
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Collision was turned off for allies to reduce frustrating moments of getting hung up on friendlies in tight spaces, or backing into allies and feeling like you’re hitting a wall. We feel like this keeps things cleaner and lets combat flow more naturally. However, we are aware of the community sentiment and are discussing future mitigations. We also want to include making it an option players can switch on and off in custom games.
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I wish player-collision was on for social playlists but if they turn it on for custom games (or give an option) that is decent.
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We agree that our customization presentation needs improvement and have been putting together a plan over time for improving this experience. While there will be quality of life improvements to the existing flow prioritized for the near term, we will be connecting larger efforts like menu layout and navigational changes to upcoming feature releases.
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I am happy with this.
I wish they would get it here sooner but at least they are working on it, and have plans for some QOL in the near future.
Overall, I think this was a pretty good update, compared to what they have been giving us before.
Definitely a lot of good stuff, and the hopium tank was filled up a lot!
Thoughts on this?