GRD IS HERE: MCC SEASON 5 NOW LIVE
Hey Friends,
Postums here to welcome you to the blog, and to shout from the rooftops that Season 5 is upon us! This blog will be breaking down everything you need to know about what is coming with this latest season for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, which you can get right now on Xbox Game Pass for PC, the Microsoft Store, and Steam.
Today, we'll be going over the following:
- Season 5 Summary, and Seasonal Sitrep videos
- A breakdown of what's to come in this latest season
- A closer look at timed Nameplates and challenge-exclusive rewards
- And of course, a rundown on today’s game update
The light is green Spartans. Let’s dive on in!
MCC’S SEASON 5 – ANVIL
Season 5 of MCC, titled "Anvil", is finally here! With it comes a slew of new content, a game update, and a new option for disabling new armors, should you so choose. Thank you everyone for voicing your feedback and letting us know you wanted such a feature – we took this to heart and were able to push and get this into the game update today. Thank you to players who continue to constructively let us know what you want us to focus our attention on.
But now, to introduce you to what's on the horizon, check out our Season 5 launch trailer:
From new armor customization for both Halo 3 and Halo: Reach, there are a lot of new ways players can suit up and get ready to finish the fight.
My personal two favorite pieces from this season are the long lost AKIS helmet that comes in the GRD variant, and having the fabled Mister Chief making an appearance as a MARINER variant! There are over 80 pieces players can customize their Spartans with, and we look forward to seeing them in matches here shortly. Additionally, Anvil has a wide assortment of all-new challenges and content players can experience starting today!
MCC GAME UPDATE
Today’s game update is more akin to a “hotfix” patch that is very lightweight and includes a short list of bug fixes, and as previously stated – a new option for turning on and off the visibility of new armors and weapon skins for Halo 3, for those that want to preserve the legacy experience. (If you opt to turn off cosmetics, any players in your game who are wearing new armor will appear as default Mark VI.)
For a full list of Patch Notes and Known Issues, please check out the links below for the full details:
- Patch Notes
- Known Issues
As always, if you do end up running into any sort of issue while playing the game, please make sure to head on over to the Halo Support site and submit a ticket. This helps us see what the top issues are and what we need to prioritize for future game updates, so please let us know! (Of course, one ticket per-issue, please. It helps us better sort and track each individual item.)
TIMED CONTENT DURING SEASON 5
Season 5 brings with it a slew of new content, with an exclusive set available only for specific times, and a few others as a part of specific challenges. These will give you some new opportunities to spice up your Spartans and online personas in MCC. Read on below to get a look at what you can expect – and, for some info on how to add them to your armory.
TIMED NAMEPLATES
Below are the two unique timed Nameplates that you will need to just log-in to earn. Be sure to hop in during the months of February and March in 2021 to snag these two and show your support to your fellow Spartans for Black History Month and Women’s History Month:
Black History Month: February is Black History Month, log in during the month of February 2021 to secure the Nameplate just below.
Women’s History Month: In the month of March 2021, you can log in at any time to snag the all-new Women’s History Month Nameplate below.
TIMED SEASONAL CHALLENGES
This season includes 12 unique seasonal challenges and four of them include customization items as rewards. Check out their details below:
Because You Begged – Perform an Assassination against an Elite to survive a fall that would've been fatal in the Halo: Reach campaign.
Reward: Mister Chief Mariner Helmet and 77,000 XP
Release the Geese! – Complete the Halo 3 mission “Halo” on Legendary with all players in Mongeese at the end of the mission.
Reward: Hazard Pay Mongoose skin and 77,000 XP.
Challenge: Combo Maker – Complete the “Guilty Shot” and “Who, What, Win” challenges. “Guilty Shot” requires you to get 343 headshot medals with the Battle Rifle in matchmade games which earn you 3 Season Points and 50,000 XP. “Who, What, Win” requires you to win 25 ranked matchmade games and earns you 3 Season Points and 50,000 XP. When completing these two, it will fulfill the requirements for the Seasonal Challenge “Combo Maker” with the rewards below.
Reward: Lucky Shot BR skin and 77,000 XP.
Challenge: Strong in the Week – Complete 30 weekly challenges.
Reward: Quickdraw Nameplate, 4 Season Points, 200,000 XP.
ANVIL SEASON BATTLE PASS CONTENTS
To help us dive into the nitty-gritty, we thought we’d shake things up a bit and drop a brief Season 5 Seasonal Sitrep. I tried to channel my inner Frankie with the shaved head and all, and this was my first video of this nature ever, so hopefully y’all enjoy!
With Season 5, “Anvil”, we are bringing online over 100 total items for player customization across a 100 tier (and, entirely free) Season Pass where you use Season Points to unlock each tier. This season will include the following types of content:
- All New Armors for Halo 3 & Halo: Reach, including the long–lost GRD.
- New Weapon Skins for Halo 3 for your Battle Rifle, Assault Rifle, Magnum, and more.
- And a slew of new Nameplates to customize your online persona.
To acquire and unlock the 100 tiers for Anvil, you will need to obtain Season Points just like in previous seasons. For newcomers, Season Points can be earned by ranking up your Global Rank for the first 100 Tiers in MCC or by completing daily, weekly, and some of the seasonal challenges.
It’s worth noting, you do not have to unlock these immediately. Season Points are retained indefinitely and can be used on any and all previous seasons interchangeably.
It’s also worth noting that there is some lore behind the new armors coming to MCC! My good friend Jeff Easterling (or as many know him, GrimBrotherOne) has a couple of Canon Fodder blogs, Pen Umbra and Armor Online which share all of the fun and unique stories behind each piece. Be sure to check them out if you are interested in learning more about some of Season 5’s unlocks!
CLOSING
Season 5 kicks off today and will run for roughly 2 months, so make sure to get online and tackle those timed unlocks and earn your free rewards! And for those that haven't joined in on the fun yet, you can get MCC right now on Xbox Game Pass for PC, the Microsoft Store, and Steam.
I know there are quite a few that I’m eyeing to unlock. I’m looking to create a flock of mongeeses decked out in Hazard Pay and of course, working on getting some more splatter medals. I look forward to seeing y’all sporting this season’s new content and will be sure to check out the cool content this community creates from these new additions!
We appreciate you taking the time to come read up on the latest and greatest going on in Halo: The Master Chief Collection. As always Spartans, we will see you online!
Cheers,
Postums