Halo Infinite: S&D Extraction (Seek and Deploy)
The time has come – S&D Extraction has arrived in Halo Infinite and we’re going to breakdown what you can expect. Let’s jump right in.
WHAT IS S&D EXTRACTION?
For the uninitiated, S&D Extraction (Seek and Deploy) is an all-new mode based on the classic tactical FPS genre.
Here’s how it works:
- Sandbox: All of your movement capabilities, shield health, weapon damage / traits are all the same and what you would expect out of Halo Infinite.
- Round based: The mode is a Best of 11 rounds, where the first to win 6 rounds will claim victory in the match.
- Extraction: In other tactical games players carry a bomb – well, in S&D Extraction there is no bomb, and instead you go to either A or B sites to plant the Extraction device. This means that anyone can plant on Offense and you don’t need to worry about who carries the bomb.
- One sided: Each team will take turns on Offense and Defense. On Offense, your job is to plant the Extraction device and either eliminate everyone on Defense or successfully extract the device. On Defense, you have to stop the enemy team from planting either by wiping them out, stopping them from planting within the 90 second round, or “defusing” the Extraction device after it’s been planted.
- Economy: Based on individual and team performance, each player will earn points that they can spend next round. The more kills, assists, and round wins you get – the more points you get.
- Custom Loadouts: While each player starts with Bandit Evo, you’ll have a chance at the beginning of each round to upgrade your loadout with the points you’ve earned including weapons, grenades, and equipment. Do you spend each round, or do you save your points for the big spend? Each round your items get reset, so only buy something if you know you’re going to use it.
- Buy Back: Players with enough points can buy back into a round after they’ve died to provide reinforcements to the team in times of need. It’s expensive though so decide wisely and once you buy back, you’ll just have your Bandit Evo and won’t be able to buy anything else.
The entire mode was scripted in Forge, and Halo Studios hired none other than Artifice to make this design and vision come to life. Thank you, Artifice, for your hard work and masterful skill scripting in Forge.
PLAYLISTS
S&D Extraction will launch with two playlists:
- Ranked
- Social /Unranked
The Unranked playlist will be available for a limited time, and the Ranked playlist will become part of the monthly rotationals.
MAPS
The S&D Extraction playlists will launch with (6) total maps made exclusively for this mode.
For the first map titled Hangar 18, Halo Studios hired Mikrips from the community to design and art this amazing map. Thank you Mikrips for your work on this map and for your close partnership in designing and fine tuning this map from beginning to end.
The remaining 5 maps were chosen from the finalists from the Forgehub S&D Extraction contest earlier this year. We want to thank the entire Forgehub staff for running this competition, and of course matching our prize pool contributions. And thank you to the over 50 Forgers that submitted their maps into the contest after working so hard to complete their maps in time for the tight deadline. Thank you!
HANGAR 18 by MikRips
ABRASION by ExtraDot
HOLLOWED by Zaddy Hammer
FRACTURE by SilencerEU, UnknownEmerald, KatRatATat, Squally DaBeanz
ELLIPSE by mysh0tisntsik
ASHORE by ADSR
CONCLUSION
When we set out to make this mode, we wanted to make something new, competitive, and fun that Halo’s never had before. So while this won’t be featured on the mainstage in HCS, we hope that players have a blast and we can’t wait to see all the epic moments that come out of it!
Enjoy!
Thanks,
Tashi