Educational Echoes
Welcome back to another instalment of the Halo Community Update!
It’s been a busy ol’ time over the last month with the highly anticipated release of Season 3: Echoes Within in Halo Infinite, a new Halo Gear Rewards program, new lore, a MEGA Halo fan vote, and more—so let’s get you a full and proper debrief on all the latest goings-on.
HALO INFINITE
Season 3 of Halo Infinite launched just a few weeks ago, bringing with it an all-new 100-tier Battle Pass, three new maps, the M392 Bandit and Shroud Screen, MIRAGE IIC and CHIMERA armor customization, a new Fracture event, and new cinematics and narrative-focused events that pick up where Season 2: Lone Wolves left off.
Need a catch-up on what’s happened in Season 1 and 2? Be sure to check out our “previously on” cinematic, which you’ll also see in-game.
You can also check out the stunning new cinematic which kicks off Season 3’s story, in which the Banished AI Iratus searches through Spartan Dinh’s mind and forces him to relive traumatic memories of several missions-gone-wrong.
Season 3’s concluding story event, Site Unseen, will commence on May 2—it won’t be long until we discover what lies beyond the mysterious door...
FRACTURE: FIREWALL
The first week of the new Fracture: FIREWALL event concluded earlier this week, but it will return three more times over the course of the next couple of months.
FIREWALL features a free 20-tier Event Pass for all players that contains themed, limited-time customization rewards for the CHIMERA Armor Core that you can earn by completing (playlist-agnostic) Event Challenges.
FIREWALL event weeks are scheduled for the following dates:
Week 1: March 21-28- Week 2: April 11-18
- Week 3: May 23-30
- Week 4: June 13-20
This Fracture is rooted in canonical elements of the Halo universe, giving us a look at the fallout plan devised by High Auxiliary Sloan—the former governor of Meridian who you met in Halo 5. As one of Cortana’s most loyal lieutenants, Sloan devised the FIREWALL agendum to ensure the long-term future of the Created, the fledgling empire having fractured in the wake of Cortana’s sacrifice on Zeta Halo.
Sloan’s answer to these changes in circumstances is the Executor, who is subjected to a living simulation of the future where man and machine exist as one.
You can delve deeper into the narrative of Fracture: FIREWALL in the event’s Story Shard: Precipice.
INTEL
A new season means new Intel!
For those who have just arrived or are rejoining us after a little while, Intel is an additional narrative element that delves into some of the peripheral lore of the season. It is released both in-game (in Halo Infinite’s message of the day carousel) and hosted here on Halo Waypoint.
With Season 3, we have a new Intel blog that will be updated over the course of the coming weeks and months, detailing aspects of Season 3's story. As of this week, you can check out the first two of six total entries.
PLAYING CATCH-UP
You can get detailed insights into all things Season 3 in our pre-release blog series:
- Maps & Modes Preview - learn more about the new BTB map Oasis, along with new Arena maps Cliffhanger and Arena, and the Escalation Slayer mode (plus variants) in a Q&A with some of our map designers.
- Playlists & Ranked Matchmaking - learn more about new content for matchmaking, upcoming playlists, as well as improvements to the ranking system.
- Sandbox Updates - discover more about Season 3’s new weapon and equipment item, the M392 Bandit and Shroud Screen, along with additional balance updates.
- Customization Preview - explore the customization suite of Season 3, including the 100-tier Battle Pass, MIRAGE IIC and CHIMERA Armor Cores, free additional coatings and attachments, and updates to the Halo Infinite Shop.
- Season 3: Echoes Within Launch - get the general overview of all the new additions in the Season 3 launch blog.
FORGE FEATURES
Community cartography continues to confound as we take another look at your creations in the most recent issue of Forge Features, which you can catch up on here.
And stay tuned, as we’ve got another issue dropping tomorrow.
SHOP & CAPSTONE
Complete all of your Challenges and the Ultimate Challenge this week to earn the Puzzle Palace visor for your Spartan.
And head over to the Shop to acquire the Skinned Reflexes bundle, which brings the Reflex Reaction coatings for your UNSC weapons arsenal (MA40 AR, MK50 Sidekick, BR75, VK78 Commando, and CQS48 Bulldog), along with the following items for the CHIMERA Armor Core:
- Flenser helmet
- Ghostlink Adaptation helmet attachment
- Heirodyne Augmentor shoulders
- Compliance Protocol chest attachment
- Crysknife Utility hip attachment
- Brink Plugin wrist attachment
- Redundant Spiral armor coating
- Tracelines visor
HALO ESPORTS
HCS Open Series HCS online competition is heating up in April with tournaments occurring almost every weekend. Teams will be competing for seeding points in hopes of earning a spot at the next LAN event at the HCS Global Invitational at Dreamhack Dallas from June 2-4.
Do you have what it takes to challenge for the top spot? Register today! More information can be found on halo.gg
HALO GEAR
MEGA HALO FAN VOTE: MULTIPLAYER MAYHEM
The Multiplayer Mayhem set from MEGA is available now to preorder for a limited time only!
This fan-chosen set is inspired by Halo Infinite’s Multiplayer experience and features brand-new coatings for several favorites, including a Neon Superfly Warthog, GEN XII Mongoose, and rival Estate Gold and Neon Superfly fireteams—plus two all-new weapon accessories.
HALO GEAR REWARDS: HALO INFINITE PINS
Don’t forget you can earn access to Season 3’s Halo Gear Rewards (exclusive Halo Infinite Pins) by completing events in Season 3: Echoes Within.
Halo Gear Rewards are exclusive products in the Halo Gear Shop that players can earn access to purchase after completing specific in-game accomplishments.
Many of you completed the Mindfall Event Pass and secured the Shroud Screen Pin earlier this month, and some have powered through the Season 3 Battle Pass to secure the Insignia LE Pin. To that we say, GG Spartan!
If you completed the Mindfall Event Pass but haven’t redeemed your code, be sure to make your purchase by April 18th to secure the Shroud Screen Pin. You can get your unique code simply by logging into Halo Waypoint.
Currently, players can complete the Season 3: Echoes Within Battle Pass and earn access to the Insignia LE Pin and matching in-game emblem. Complete the Battle Pass, grab your code from Halo Waypoint, and make your purchase by July 4th to secure this reward.
When the Fracture: FIREWALL event returns, work your way through those Event Pass tiers to completion and earn access to the Fracture: FIREWALL Logo Pin. Complete the Event Pass, grab your code from (you guessed it) Halo Waypoint, and make your purchase by July 4th to secure this reward.
And when the time comes on the week commencing May 2, complete the Site Unseen Event Pass to earn access to the Bandit Pin. Make your purchase by June 17th to secure this reward.
RADAR BLIPS
- CANON FODDER – ECHOES WITH-DINH: Dive into the backstory of Spartan Dinh, detail the lore behind Season 3's new maps, dive into the canonical elements of Fracture: FIREWALL, and more...
- HALO IS ON TIKTOK: There are those who said this day would never come... Halo is officially on TikTok, and we’ve already got a plethora of educational and humorous content for you to check out.
- WOMEN’S HISTORY MONTH EMBLEMS: This week brings March to a close and marks your last opportunity to receive the free International Women’s Day and Women’s History Month emblems. Simply log into Halo Infinite before the end of the month and find these free emblems in your customization menu.
- ADAM SAVAGE MEETS HALO’S SPARTAN ARMOR: In his latest exploration of science, pop culture, and emerging technology, Adam Savage learns about how the iconic armor of the Master Chief was brought to life for the Halo television series, along with the rest of Silver Team’s armor.
THE ARTIST’S CORNER
This month’s piece for the Artist’s Corner comes from the one and only Isaac Hannaford, who contributed this stunning artwork to Halo Mythos.
Hannaford’s piece depicts a group of ODSTs present at the siege at Voi, a conflict which transpires during Halo 3 in which the Prophet of Truth successfully activates the portal to the Ark and departs with his fleet—only for a far worse threat to arrive at Earth...
SPARTAN SHOUTOUT
Long-time Halo community member ATOMICJORGE has been battling with GBS for the last sixteen months, the last ten of which he has been hospitalized with friends passing on news of his condition.
We're immensely pleased to have heard an update from the man himself, who has let the Halo community know that he's keeping up the fight and is on the road to recovery.
All of us here at 343 wish him the very best, we can't wait to welcome you back! <3
That brings this Community Update to an end, which means it’s time to hop back into Season 3 and keep progressing that Battle Pass.
I’m coming up on tier 60 right now and living my best aesthetic life with the MIRAGE IIC core—let us know where you’re up to!