May Update Preview
Next Wednesday, May 10, we’ll be releasing an update to address many community-requested quality-of-life improvements,
sandbox tuning updates, and bug fixes. Thank you for providing feedback online and reporting issues on the Halo Support site – your
input continues to have a direct, positive impact on the game.
In the meantime, be sure to check out Site Unseen, our latest event in Halo Infinite, which is going on right now until May 16. It includes a free 10-tier Event Pass filled with rewards for your MIRAGE IIC armor. Read up on the new narrative event here!
Today, we’ll be looking at some of the bigger items landing inside the May Update but be sure to keep an eye out for the full patch notes from the Halo Support team next week when it drops to catch all the specifics.
[/hr]
The party is just getting started. The fan-favorite mode from Halo 5 will make its explosive return with this update as campaign’s unique weapon variants and fully upgraded Equipment enter the Arena.
Based on player feedback, the Hill will now spawn-in faster at the start of the match and no longer have a “wind-up” time when a player initially enters it.
Developer Note:
To help facilitate more meaningful choices at the beginning of a King of the Hill match we decided to reduce the timer for the Initial Hill. This now requires teams to be more thoughtful in establishing their starting strategies as teams now have to decide between scavenging weapons and equipment and scoring points in the Hill.
Based on feedback, we felt there was an opportunity to make the decision to hop in and out of a Hill more impactful. With base settings, players engaging in this behavior weren’t giving up enough as they could hop out of the hill without losing it if they returned quickly enough. This could also lead to some ambiguity around Hill ownership. This change should make the state of the Hill clearer for players.
[/hr]
There will also be a few updates that should help to keep the sandbox in a good state until Season 4 rolls around.
Overall, we wanted to reduce the complexity of this weapon – which currently Supercombines, deals damage over time (DOT), slows Spartans, chain reacts to other players, etc. – while still ensuring that it could be successful in combat. The Disruptor will have an increased rate of fire and Supercombine damage, but will no longer deal DOT and its chain reaction distance will be halved.
Developer note:
The goal of this change was to reduce the complexity of the weapon’s behavior, focusing the utility on the Supercombine detonation and shock chaining and their ability to damage nearby players. By upping the direct damage from Supercombines and increasing the Rate of Fire (ROF), it leans the Disruptor more towards a combat pistol with a straightforward utility.
Changes:
We noticed that with its current tuning, Spike Grenades were dealing high damage but not requiring as much precision as a Frag or Plasma Grenade. To address this, we’re bringing the behavior of Halo Infinitee’s Spike Grenade more in line with Halo 3’s Spike Grenade by tightening the explosion cone and reducing the damage radius while increasing the number of flechettes.
Developer note:
The goal here was to enhance the directionality of Spikes, requiring tighter precision but better rewarding good placement. With double the flechettes, but a shorter range and tighter cone, they will cause focused, directional damage where placed. Out in the open, away from enemies, they won’t be as effective as frags. Sticking them on walls that are facing nearby enemies will inflict the highest possible damage, being lethal in one shot if a player is directly in front of (or on top of) one.
Changes:
Similar to the Spike Grenade, we wanted to make sure the Dynamo Grenade was being used more deliberately during gameplay. To do this, we’ve reduced the area of effect (AOE), reduced the chain reaction distance, and removed its movement slowdown properties while slightly increasing its damage potential.
Developer note:
The goal with this change is to tighten the area of effect, requiring more thoughtful placement with a higher reward for direct hits. The previous tuning would damage enemies well outside the immediate combat area, feeling overly generous and hard to escape. With higher damage per tick, but a shorter radius, Dynamos create a more potent but contained threat. Use them in corners where enemies have no escape to cause max damage, or to force enemies away from a route.
Changes:
In Ranked Arena, the Shroud Screen will be updated to have 1 charge upon pickup.
Developer note:
The goal of this change was to reduce the total impact Shroud Screen was having for high skilled players without changing the effectiveness of the equipment itself. With this change, players will be required to be more strategic with how they decide to use the Shroud Screen.
[/hr]
The May Update will bring a nice quality of life update to Forge in the form of PC screenshot uploading and numerous bug fixes. This includes improvements to the Z-fighting movement controls, Forge monitor movement speed, and more.
To improve the stability of script-heavy creations, individual script brains will be updated to have a 128 node cap. Fear not though, existing creations above that limit will still work, they will just not be able to add any additional nodes. You’ll also still be able place multiple script brains, to make sure you still have access to the full power of Halo Infinite’s scripting system.
[/hr]
One quality of life update that we’re excited about is the addition of an FPS Counter option on Xbox consoles. Not only does this provide great contextual information for you while playing in a match, but it’s also vital for Forgers looking to build maps that have steady performance (framerate). Allowing Forgers this extra bit of insight should help them create quality maps that feel even more smooth to slay on.
[/hr]
In this update, we’re also excited to be rolling out a few highly requested improvements to our menus. Notably, we’ll be making the Customs Browser accessible from the “Custom Game” option right on the main menu. When clicking in, you’ll be able to choose between checking out what the Customs Browser has to offer and starting up your own Custom Game.
The matchmaking menu will also receive an update which will allow twice as many playlists to be visible at once – from 5 playlists to 10 – before needing to scroll down. Though this change means the playlist images will be moved into each specific playlist’s details, presenting more playlist variety up front is worth it to the players.
Last, but certainly not least, a selection of bundles from previous seasons will be able to be purchased through the customization menu. When checking out an item that was part of an eligible Bundle, players will now be presented with an option to view and purchase that Bundle from the Shop.
Please note: previous season HCS bundles and current season bundles are not currently available for purchase.
[/hr]
We’ve outlined a few improvements throughout this blog, but we had several more that we wanted to call out before wrapping things up.
Here’s a quick look at them:
Until then, we’ll see you online for the Site Unseen event!
[previewyoutube=79H7Gz6V3fs;full][/previewyoutube]
In the meantime, be sure to check out Site Unseen, our latest event in Halo Infinite, which is going on right now until May 16. It includes a free 10-tier Event Pass filled with rewards for your MIRAGE IIC armor. Read up on the new narrative event here!
Today, we’ll be looking at some of the bigger items landing inside the May Update but be sure to keep an eye out for the full patch notes from the Halo Support team next week when it drops to catch all the specifics.
[/hr]
Mode Updates
Super Fiesta
The party is just getting started. The fan-favorite mode from Halo 5 will make its explosive return with this update as campaign’s unique weapon variants and fully upgraded Equipment enter the Arena.
Ranked King of the Hill
Based on player feedback, the Hill will now spawn-in faster at the start of the match and no longer have a “wind-up” time when a player initially enters it.
Developer Note:
To help facilitate more meaningful choices at the beginning of a King of the Hill match we decided to reduce the timer for the Initial Hill. This now requires teams to be more thoughtful in establishing their starting strategies as teams now have to decide between scavenging weapons and equipment and scoring points in the Hill.
Based on feedback, we felt there was an opportunity to make the decision to hop in and out of a Hill more impactful. With base settings, players engaging in this behavior weren’t giving up enough as they could hop out of the hill without losing it if they returned quickly enough. This could also lead to some ambiguity around Hill ownership. This change should make the state of the Hill clearer for players.
- The initial hill spawn has been reduced from 15 seconds to 5 seconds
- The wind-up period to score has been removed
- Players can score right away when stepping into the hill
- This allows players to quickly score while maneuvering grenades and avoiding damage all up
[/hr]
Sandbox Balance Tuning
There will also be a few updates that should help to keep the sandbox in a good state until Season 4 rolls around.
Disruptor
Overall, we wanted to reduce the complexity of this weapon – which currently Supercombines, deals damage over time (DOT), slows Spartans, chain reacts to other players, etc. – while still ensuring that it could be successful in combat. The Disruptor will have an increased rate of fire and Supercombine damage, but will no longer deal DOT and its chain reaction distance will be halved.
Developer note:
The goal of this change was to reduce the complexity of the weapon’s behavior, focusing the utility on the Supercombine detonation and shock chaining and their ability to damage nearby players. By upping the direct damage from Supercombines and increasing the Rate of Fire (ROF), it leans the Disruptor more towards a combat pistol with a straightforward utility.
Changes:
- Removed Damage Over Time
- Reduced chain distance from 5 World Units (wu) to 2.5 wu
- Increased Supercombine damage from 60 to 70
- Increased ROF from 4.285 to 5 rounds per second
Spike Grenades
We noticed that with its current tuning, Spike Grenades were dealing high damage but not requiring as much precision as a Frag or Plasma Grenade. To address this, we’re bringing the behavior of Halo Infinitee’s Spike Grenade more in line with Halo 3’s Spike Grenade by tightening the explosion cone and reducing the damage radius while increasing the number of flechettes.
Developer note:
The goal here was to enhance the directionality of Spikes, requiring tighter precision but better rewarding good placement. With double the flechettes, but a shorter range and tighter cone, they will cause focused, directional damage where placed. Out in the open, away from enemies, they won’t be as effective as frags. Sticking them on walls that are facing nearby enemies will inflict the highest possible damage, being lethal in one shot if a player is directly in front of (or on top of) one.
Changes:
- Increased number of flechette submunitions that are released on detonation from 8 to 16
- Reduced flechette travel distance from 5 World Units (wu) to 3.5wu
- Reduced Area of Effect (AOE) damage radius from 3.2 wu to 2 wu
- Reduced AOE damage amount from 300 damage to 160
- Adjusted flechette bounce behavior to deviate less
Dynamo Grenades
Similar to the Spike Grenade, we wanted to make sure the Dynamo Grenade was being used more deliberately during gameplay. To do this, we’ve reduced the area of effect (AOE), reduced the chain reaction distance, and removed its movement slowdown properties while slightly increasing its damage potential.
Developer note:
The goal with this change is to tighten the area of effect, requiring more thoughtful placement with a higher reward for direct hits. The previous tuning would damage enemies well outside the immediate combat area, feeling overly generous and hard to escape. With higher damage per tick, but a shorter radius, Dynamos create a more potent but contained threat. Use them in corners where enemies have no escape to cause max damage, or to force enemies away from a route.
Changes:
- Reduced shock Area of Effect (AOE) distance from 3.5 wu (World Units) to 2 wu
- Reduced shock chain distance from 5 wu to 2 wu
- Increased shock damage per burst from 18 to 21
- Removed movement stun from shock damage
- Lowered arming time from 0.65 to 0.5 seconds
- Reduced delay between shock damage pulses from 0.3 to 0.25 seconds
- Added one additional shock damage pulse at 2.5 seconds
Shroud Screen
In Ranked Arena, the Shroud Screen will be updated to have 1 charge upon pickup.
Developer note:
The goal of this change was to reduce the total impact Shroud Screen was having for high skilled players without changing the effectiveness of the equipment itself. With this change, players will be required to be more strategic with how they decide to use the Shroud Screen.
[/hr]
Forge
The May Update will bring a nice quality of life update to Forge in the form of PC screenshot uploading and numerous bug fixes. This includes improvements to the Z-fighting movement controls, Forge monitor movement speed, and more.
To improve the stability of script-heavy creations, individual script brains will be updated to have a 128 node cap. Fear not though, existing creations above that limit will still work, they will just not be able to add any additional nodes. You’ll also still be able place multiple script brains, to make sure you still have access to the full power of Halo Infinite’s scripting system.
[/hr]
FPS Counter on Xbox
One quality of life update that we’re excited about is the addition of an FPS Counter option on Xbox consoles. Not only does this provide great contextual information for you while playing in a match, but it’s also vital for Forgers looking to build maps that have steady performance (framerate). Allowing Forgers this extra bit of insight should help them create quality maps that feel even more smooth to slay on.
[/hr]
UXUI
In this update, we’re also excited to be rolling out a few highly requested improvements to our menus. Notably, we’ll be making the Customs Browser accessible from the “Custom Game” option right on the main menu. When clicking in, you’ll be able to choose between checking out what the Customs Browser has to offer and starting up your own Custom Game.
The matchmaking menu will also receive an update which will allow twice as many playlists to be visible at once – from 5 playlists to 10 – before needing to scroll down. Though this change means the playlist images will be moved into each specific playlist’s details, presenting more playlist variety up front is worth it to the players.
Last, but certainly not least, a selection of bundles from previous seasons will be able to be purchased through the customization menu. When checking out an item that was part of an eligible Bundle, players will now be presented with an option to view and purchase that Bundle from the Shop.
Please note: previous season HCS bundles and current season bundles are not currently available for purchase.
[/hr]
Resolved Issues
We’ve outlined a few improvements throughout this blog, but we had several more that we wanted to call out before wrapping things up.
Here’s a quick look at them:
- Various server and client stability improvements (reduced server and game crashes)
- Various Theater / Observer improvements and bug fixes
- Halo Infinite will no longer crash on launch when attempting to play on a PC that is below the minimum specifications. This was an unintended bug that caused the game to crash before showing the below minimum specification warning message. Players can once again choose to continue past this warning message, but the expected functionality and visual experience are not guaranteed
- Addressed an issue causing Wasp “gun jamming” when playing with the Bumper Jumper control scheme
- Cutscenes should no longer replay when relaunching the game
To learn more about PC hardware specifications, please visit our PC Hardware Specs and Drivers guide on the Halo Support site
Until then, we’ll see you online for the Site Unseen event!
[previewyoutube=79H7Gz6V3fs;full][/previewyoutube]
