Halo Infinite News

Welcome back to Firefight! The classic Firefight experience returns to Halo Infinite, alongside the King of the Hill variant. Dropping out of slipspace in tandem with the launch of Operation: Blue Team, the PvE fight begins come March 11.



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[h2]Firefight Through Time[/h2]

Firefight was first introduced way back in 2009 with Halo 3: ODST. You and up to three of your buddies could squad up and put your skills to the test surviving round after round of Covenant hordes attacking your position.



Through the years, Firefight has seen various iterations and has evolved in many ways. In Halo: Reach, you had armor abilities and additional customization. Halo 5 saw the introduction of Warzone Firefight that pitted a team of eight against Covenant and Promethean forces. Even Halo Wars 2 brought in a tower defense-inspired variant, Terminus Firefight.

The latest, Halo Infinite’s Firefight: King of the Hill, has you and your squad capturing and defending hills against incoming Banished forces.

But now it’s time to return to the classic.

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[h2]Current Objective: Survive[/h2]

It’s the formula we all know and love. You and three squadmates versus the endless waves of enemies with one thing running through your mind:

Survive.

In KOTH, it’s easy to know when you’ve won or lost because you are either in the hill at the end of the round, or not (or MIA I suppose), but Classic comes with waves, rounds, and sets. Let’s break it down.

• One Round is comprised of five Waves of enemies
  
  • Wave 1 is an easy wave
    
  • Waves 2-4 are mid-tier difficulties
    
  • Wave 5 is a boss round
• Three Rounds (plus a Bonus Round) comprise a Set
  
  • This is a total of 15 waves

Did we mention this mode is endless? The game keeps going as long as you keep surviving so stock up on snacks and water if you’re in this for the long haul.

Bonus rounds are little mini-breaks between sets. All Skulls are on, enemies are on Easy mode, no lives are lost, and the stakes are low. And speaking of the stakes, let’s talk lives.

[h2]I Will Survive[/h2]

At the start of each match, you’ll have 7 lives in your team’s life pool. These are shared amongst the four of you, so if someone is charging forward willy-nilly you’ll quickly find yourself looking at the Post-Game Carnage Report. If you play well and stay alive, you’ll preserve your life pool for the later, harder rounds.



But sometimes, deaths happen—we’ve all been there. At the end of each set your team will earn an extra life. Additionally, you’ll gain a life for each 1,000 points earned during the bonus round. So if you turn around and find yourself face to face with a Grunt rushing you with plasma grenades, don’t sweat it too much – you can always make it up later.

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[h2]We Need to Evac[/h2]

New to Halo Infinite, you’ll now be able to choose to end your match at the end of a set. Before the next round begins, you’ll see a zone pop up that says, “Complete the mission.” If at least two of you hop into the zone, you’ll be extracted from the mission and the match will end. If you don’t get in the zone before the next round, you’ll be committed until you either:

• Run out of lives
  
• Make it to the end of the next set

If you’ve survived, congratulations! The next round is about to begin. Each set has a new set of Skulls that will activate. You’ll see a new Skull activate on rounds two and three, adding an extra layer of difficulty to the firefight.

If you’re running low on ammo, don’t fret—you’ll get a resupply between each round.

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[h2]The Maps[/h2]

You can bookmark the mode created by Artifice7285 here:

Firefight Classic

And then grab the maps you’ll be playing on below!

[h3]Alpha Site[/h3]
Credits: Its L0L0, LudoHT, MikRips, Mr Greencastle
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Many a Vidmaster: Endure achievement was earned within these hallowed halls on the Road to Recon.

[h3]Courtyard[/h3]
Credits: bullet2thehead9, Mr Greencastle
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We’ve got Jackals in the Courtyard!

[h3]Forest Firefight[/h3]
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Only you can prevent forest fires.

[h3]House of Reckoning[/h3]
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Do you reckon anyone’s home?

[h3]Security Zone[/h3]
Credits: Its L0L0, LudoHT, MikRips, Cousin Tim, VIrus11010, ArtN00b, Mr Greencastle
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Perhaps the most quintessential map from Halo 3: ODST returns so secure those zones.

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We’re very excited to have this mode available in matchmaking and we know you are looking forward to jumping in. How long you survive the waves of enemies is up to you.

Play smart, help each other out, and watch those lives!

For those that have played Fiescalation in MCC or other gun games in another popular shooter, Hot Swap should be fairly familiar. If not, it’s okay—we got you covered!

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[h2]Swap It Like It's Hot[/h2]



Overall, this is a very straightforward and simple mode. It’s your team vs the enemy team and everyone has the same weapons and equipment. Yes, everyone. In other versions of this mode, you often find your weapons/loadouts advancing to the next tier after each kill but in Hot Swap, you’ll keep those loadouts for 30 seconds at a time. After that, the proverbial dice are rolled and everyone is gifted a new combo. Hone your skill and stay flexible – things can change on a dime.

Here are the set loadouts you should be prepared to work with at any given moment:



While you may see a repeat loadout, it won’t happen until you’ve cycled through the entire list. Also if you are mid-grapple when things swap, you might find yourself saying, “wow I flew pretty good for a brick!” as your grapple disappears midway through. Good luck.

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You’ll be playing on a variety of current Arena maps that should be familiar but there is one new map to check out:

[h3]Nemesis[/h3]
Credits: WAR, I am a Luxury, Certified Champ, Okom1
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Focus on the enemy, don’t let the map’s edges become your nemesis.

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Hot Swap is available in matchmaking right now so jump in while it's hot and see what you get!

When Operation: Blue Team comes to Halo Infinite next week, it’ll include a hefty playlist update. We’ll be consolidating some things for Match Composer and adding some new experiences that we think you’ll be pleased with as well. Let’s get into things!



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[h2]Match Composer[/h2]

As Halo Infinite has evolved, the Infinite team has worked hard to bring a ton of new experiences to the game: Husky Raid, Fiesta Castle Wars, Action Sack, Firefight, Infection, BTB Sentry Defense, and so many more. As a result, there are now a whole lotta options for you to choose from in the Match Composer. (The options are not quite infinite but pretty close!) We’ve monitored the data and seen what is being selected or searched for most often and we’ve been closely evaluating the health of the various playlists.



At the same time, we’ve also heard your feedback that some of the current Match Composer lists are a bit confusing and not as coherent as they could be. With this in mind, and with spring on the horizon, we’re taking this opportunity to do a bit of spring cleaning: specifically tightening up and re-arranging part of the Match Composer.

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[h2]Q&A With the Infinite Team[/h2]

There’s a lot coming with this update so we sat down with the Infinite team and chatted a bit about the upcoming changes.

What are the ultimate goals for playlist health overall?

The ultimate goal for all playlists is striking a balance between low match times and solid match quality with the least amount of skill discrepancy between the two teams as possible. We want players to go into matches to have fun and get in those matches fast so trying to balance the two is always a delicate dance.

With Match Composer, players have more freedom and flexibility to choose how they play Halo matchmaking than ever before. We’re seeing players take advantage of that across the board which we love to see. The downside to the Match Composer, however, is that it’s entirely possible to choose too narrow of a search resulting in really long search times to find a match.

What are some ways you go about ensuring players can get those “good matches” of short queues and teams with low skill discrepancy?

We started by looking at all the playlists available to players today in the Match Composer and there are a lot! There are nine social playlists with over 100 modes across the various lists…28 in Rumble Pit alone. Even within a single playlist, there are many, many different ways for players to “silo” (aka create a search so narrow that the time to match is very long) themselves via their search parameters. We also took a look at the options across different playlists and have heard your feedback of, “This doesn’t make sense here, it should be over there.”

The goal with this update is to reduce the number of silos by working to group like content with like. When we look at Action Sack, we agree that that’s the logical home for some of the more wacky or party modes just like we agree that “Arena Objective” is probably not the best home for Team Snipers.



How do you identify the problem areas and how do you know where to focus your efforts when working on things?

So our first stop when it comes to checking playlist health/data is the analytics team. We can see what silos players are choosing, how popular a specific silo is (or isn’t), and we can see that across each playlist. So from Quick Play to Action Sack, we can see what modes players are gravitating towards versus what isn’t resonating as well.

If we look at Rumble Pit as an example (remember it has 28 separate modes in the playlist itself!), here are the top 5 most searched modes (note: these are all FFA variants):

• Community Shotty Snipes
  
• Fiesta Slayer
  
• Ninja Slayer
  
• Shotty Snipes
  
• Slayer

From the information we gather based on your selections and playtime, we can see that players in Rumble Pit prefer the more “serious” game modes available to them so moving ones that feel out of place, such as FFA Purple Reign and Kong Slayer, to a more appropriate playlist, like Action Sack, just makes a lot of sense.

We’ve also observed that when players are wanting to play Shotty Snipers, for example, they select both versions available – Shotty Snipers and Community Shotty Snipers. To help limit the silos available, we’re combining the Community modes with the studio modes into one.



Another good example to look at is Quick Play. There’s currently 20 different modes in the playlist and with the top modes being:

• Fiesta
  
• Husky Raid
  
• Super Fiesta
  
• Super Husky Raid
  
• Team Slayer

The silos at the bottom are incredibly narrow and aren’t resulting in many matches as a whole in their current state. We recognize those are fun and unique modes so we’re looking to move them to other playlists where they will hopefully be more thematically fitting.

You have been putting out a lot of new playlists recently. Is there anything fun you can tease about what’s coming?

We’ve been really working hard on the combination of new and refreshed experiences to bring to the game. We don’t want to spoil what’s on the horizon but we do have a few exciting modes coming soon! Maybe as soon as Tuesday…

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A huge thank you to the team for all their hard work!

We’re looking for ward to what’s coming next but, in the meantime, here’s a breakdown of what you can find in the various playlists after next week’s update.

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[h2]Quick Play[/h2]

• Super Husky Raid CTF
  
• Super Fiesta: Slayer
  
• Husky Raid CTF
  
• Fiesta Slayer
  
• Arena: Team Slayer
  
• Arena: Slayer
  
• Tactical Slayer & Community Tactical Slayer
  
• VIP
  
• Team Snipers & Community Team Snipers
  
• CTF
  
• CTF Neutral Flag
  
• Oddball
  
• King of the Hill
  
• Strongholds
  
• Assault: Neutral Bomb
  
• Assault: One Bomb

[h2]Arena Social[/h2]
We’ve renamed “Arena Objective” to “Arena Social” to be more representative of the experiences provided in the playlist.

• One Flag CTF
  
• Elimination
  
• Attrition
  
• Vampire Oddball
  
• Extraction
  
• Land Grab & Community Land Grab
  
• Slayholds
  
• Legacy Slayer
  
• Legacy CTF
  
• Legacy KOTH
  
• Legacy Oddball
  
• One Shot Slayer
  
• Rock ‘n’ Repulsor
  
• Escalation
  
• Fiesta CTF

[h2]Big Team Battle[/h2]

• Slayer
  
• Fiesta Slayer
  
• Heavies Slayer
  
• CTF
  
• Fiesta CTF
  
• Heavies CTF
  
• Total Control
  
• Fiesta Total Control
  
• Team Snipers
  
• One Flag CTF
  
• Sentry Defense

[h2]Rumble Pit[/h2]

• Fiesta FFA Slayer
  
• FFA Shotty Snipers & Community Shotty Snipers
  
• FFA Slayer & Community Slayer
  
• FFA Ninja Slayer
  
• FFA Super Escalation Slayer
  
• Escalation Slayer
  
• Rock ‘n’ Repulsors
  
• Ninjanaut
  
• Juggernaut
  
• FFA Headhunter
  
• Vampire oddball
  
• Fiesta FFA KOTH
  
• FFA Oddball & Community Oddball
  
• FFA KOTH & Community FFA KOTH
  
• FFA Rocket Oddball
  
• FFA Elimination & FFA Community Elimination

[h2]Squad Battle[/h2]

• Squad Slayer
  
• CTF 3 Capture
  
• One Flag CTF
  
• KOTH
  
• Assault: One Bomb
  
• Assault: Neutral Bomb
  
• Castle Wars

[h2]Action Sack[/h2]

• Speedball
  
• Goose Halo
  
• Duckhunt
  
• Maze Craze
  
• Infection: Arena
  
• Infection: Alpha Zombies
  
• FFA Kong Slayer
  
• FFA Purple Reign

[h2]Team Doubles[/h2]

• CTF & Community CTF
  
• Slayer & Community Slayer
  
• KOTH & Community KOTH

As always, we’ll be monitoring feedback as this rolls out and keeping a close eye on the changes. In the meantime, we’ll see you on the battlefield!

Welcome to Blue Team, Spartans.



This legendary Spartan-II team has a prodigious combat record spanning well over two hundred military operations against all kinds of foes—from the colonial insurrection to the Covenant, and the many threats that have arisen in recent years.

While John-117, Fred-104, Kelly-087, and Linda-058 have typically been the primary members of Blue Team, the roster has evolved over time—and now it is time for you to join them.

[previewyoutube][/previewyoutube]

Operation: Blue Team is live from March 11 to April 8, let’s explore what’s new!

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[h2]Firefight Classic[/h2]

Bip, bap, bam! Classic Firefight returns in Operation: Blue Team.



You know the drill. Each new wave brings progressively more difficult Banished bad guys—five waves make up a round, three rounds (plus a bonus round) make a set. You can keep the party going for as long as you want. No, really, you could keep the good times rolling with your squad into next week if you really wanted to! Or—at the end of a set—head to the exfiltration zone and end the match.

Try not to die, as lives are limited, but you’ll be able to earn them back by successfully completing a bonus round.

Of course, a classic mode pairs nicely with some classic maps! Return to ONI’s headquarters in New Mombasa as Alpha Site and Security Zone from Halo 3: ODST return, along with SWORD Base’s Courtyard from Halo: Reach.

For more details, check out our Firefight Classic playlist blog.

Next wave’s coming in. Get ready, Spartans!

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[h2]Hot Swap[/h2]

A Spartan must be prepared for anything—a sharpened tool able to react to any situation on the battlefield.



Hot Swap puts that to the ultimate test, as this team-based 4v4 mode switches up everybody’s loadout every thirty seconds—that means you, your teammates, and the enemy team. Maybe you’ll all get a rocket launcher, maybe you’ll get a plasma pistol. Whatever the situation you’ll have to adjust your role and strategy if you and your team mean to claim victory.

It’s long been said that Halo’s gameplay is built on the foundation of cycling “thirty seconds of fun,” and that is what you will find at the heart of Hot Swap.

For the full debrief, head to our Hot Swap playlist blog.

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[h2]Operation Pass[/h2]



Front and center of this Operation Pass is Kelly-087, the fastest Spartan.

Exceptionally talented at reconnaissance and close-quarters combat, Kelly is known for her lightning-fast reflexes and ability to run at speeds of 40mph for extended periods. Recently, this killer queen has also developed a fondness for what is considered “classical” music in the 26th century.

Acquire Kelly-087's HERMES-class Mjolnir armor in the free 20-tier Operation Pass. The free pass is available to acquire and progress until the next Operation arrives on April 8. If you miss out or don't complete it before it rotates out, fret not - all of the free customization content will be available to acquire via Spartan Points in the Exchange at a later date.

Upgrade to the Premium Pass to acquire the Wintergeist armor coating to round out Kelly’s look. The Premium Pass comes with an additional Challenge Slot, bonus XP, and never expires. The Blue Team Premium Pass is available for purchase until April 8. Once purchased, it's yours to progress and complete at your leisure with no expiration. If you miss out on purchasing it before it rotates out, the Wintergeist armor coating will be available for purchase in the Shop at a later date.

Update March 13: This section has been edited for clarity regarding the status of the Free and Premium Operation Pass once the next Operation launches on April 8.

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[h2]Waypoint Chronicle[/h2]

Blue Team have arrived and they’re bringing with them a new Waypoint Chronicle!

Set in September 2559, just weeks before the events of Troy Denning’s novel Halo: Shadows of Reach, this Waypoint Chronicle takes place at the planet and space station seen in Halo Infinite’s “Step Inside” trailer as the GEN3 Mjolnir armor is completed.

“September 2559. As the UNSC Infinity’s crew prepare to return to Reach for Operation: WOLFE, the legendary Spartans of Blue Team field test their GEN3 Mjolnir armor alongside ODSTs of the Ninth Platoon.”

COMING MARCH 12
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[h2]Free Unlock: Black History Month Bundle[/h2]



Missed your chance to claim last month’s log-in unlock? The Black History Month Bundle can now be obtained for free in the Customization Menu. Simply select any Black History Month item within the Armor Hall to acquire the full bundle, featuring the Black History Month Armor Coating, Visor, and multiple Emblem sets.

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[h2]The Exchange[/h2]

A new Operation means a refresh of The Exchange!



Play matches and complete weekly challenges to earn Spartan Points which you can spend in The Exchange.

This Operation, EAGLESTRIKE fans can acquire some classics from the Entrenched events, such as the Kerberos helmet, Wizard Pockets chest attachment, and more. And, in celebration of St. Patrick’s Day, some new themed emblems can be acquired to mark the occasion.



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[h2Shop[/h2]

Start off the Spartan-II reunion tour with the Blue Team bundle!



This bundle includes Linda-058’s Argus set, Master Chief’s Mark VI MOD [GEN2] armor, and Frederic-104’s Cohort ensemble. Also included is the legendary Nornfang sniper rifle, Inferno Bandit, Wyrd Aura mythic FX, and a pallet-load of legendary armor customization pieces and coatings. Finish out the team with Kelly-087’s gear as part of the Operation Pass!

Recreate your favorite member of Blue Team or mix ‘n’ match the armor to your heart’s content.

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[h2]See Something, Say Something[/h2]

To read the full patch notes for today's Operation update, head over to the Halo Support site.



Run into a bug, glitch, or other unexpected issue? Submit a ticket and notify the team on the Halo Support site.

You can submit tickets on a wide range of topics that include reports of Audio Issues, Crashes, Game Save Corruption, Report a Player, General Bug Reports, and more.

That’s a wrap for this briefing which means it’s time to jump into Halo Infinite and make a start on that new Operation Pass. Return to some fan-favorite arenas of the past in Firefight Classic, or embrace the chaotic action of Hot Swap.

We’ll see you on the battlefield!

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[h3]Press Kit[/h3]

Download your Operation: Blue Team press kit here!