Looking for the details of the February Halo: Reach Matchmaking playlist update? Here are the specifics, in one handy-dandy bulleted list:
• Grifball updated.
Map changes include Radiant being removed and Impact Arena (Grifball) and Sierra Vista (Grifball Dash) being added. One additional change to this playlist is that Blargball variants will now appear in voting slot three only.
• Squad DLC updated.
Squad DLC’s population is dangerously low. To breathe some life into this list, we’re making a few changes. Anniversary maps have been set to optional, and Noble and Defiant maps continue to be required. We have also heard your concerns in regard to a few achievement-friendly game types still being difficult to find. In response to that, we’ve added objective game types to voting slot three.
• Rumble Pit updated to TU settings.
TU game types are our standard Reach Matchmaking settings with the Title Update changes. Those changes are: damage bleed enabled, modified reticle bloom, sword block removed, Armor Lock modified, and Active Camo modified.
• Infection updated.
Map changes include Sword Base being removed and Uncaged replacing The Caged. Also, we’ve noticed some feedback coming from both matchmaking and internal playtests about players getting betrayed by teammates at the beginning of games. Since that sometimes results in a less advantageous respawn position, we’ve removed friendly fire in an attempt to cut down on that particular form of griefing.
• Banshee replaced with Revenant on Breakneck.
• Rocket ’Hog Race weighting reduced in Multi Team.
• Zero Bloom moved to Competitive category, and Beta category hidden.
Zero Bloom Slayer is popular enough to be moved to the Competitive category. We’re working on what will be in the Beta category next, but it needs a little more time to marinate in order to reach its maximum important status. Keep an eye out for its return in the near future.
• Classic game types removed from Anniversary Squad, and One Bomb Damnation moved to Anniversary Classic.
• Team Slayer changes. Make your voice heard!
We are in the process of deciding if the Team Slayer playlist will be updated to TU settings. This continues to be one of the most popular playlists, so we are not taking this decision lightly. In an effort to get player feedback that’s as accurate as possible, we are going to pull voting data over a two-week period.
To do that, we’re removing one of the voting choices. That will leave you with one vanilla choice and one TU choice. We realize that ties default to the highest voting option, so in order to balance the results, vanilla will be the top selection for the first week, and TU will be the top selection for the second week. Once the results are in, we’ll analyze the data and make an informed decision.
• Team Hotshot added to Action Sack.
Team Hotshot is a new game type in which a player’s damage output is tied to the number of successive kills the player has achieved. When you spawn, you’re at level zero. One kill progresses you to level one, the next kill progresses you to level two, and the third kill progresses you to the third and final level. We call this the player’s “heat.” The twist is that players will notice their speed is tied to their heat level.
For more information about the February playlist update, please refer to the 2.2.12 edition of the Halo Bulletin.
To leave feedback on the February Matchmaking Playlist Update, please visit the Matchmaking section of our forum.
