Games

Halo Infinite


<p>Season 2 of <em>Halo Infinite</em>—“Lone Wolves”—is almost upon us!</p>



<p>Among the new additions in “Lone Wolves” are new story elements, new armor and cosmetics, new maps and modes. As we draw closer to release on May 3, we’re going to take a closer look at this upcoming content—starting with the two brand-new maps you’ll be playing, Catalyst and Breaker.</p>



<p>We’re fortunate to be joined today by Tyler Ensrude (he/him), Multiplayer Level Designer, to talk about the process of creating maps for <em>Halo</em> and some of the great experiences that players can look forward to having in Season 2.</p>



<p>But first, you want to take a look at these spaces, right?</p>



<p>Before we dive into the Q&A, check out this video flythrough put together by the fine folks on our Transmedia team, diving into the ancient and weathered ruins of Catalyst and the expansive, sand-blasted scrapyard site of Breaker…</p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Halo Infinite | Catalyst & Breaker – Season 2 Map Previews" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/aD88v-0IKJ0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<p><strong>I think a good place to start is the question of what was the foundation for these maps and the process of making them? Do you start with a design goal, saying “We need a symmetrical map?” or is it more of an aesthetic one to visually diversify the new maps from what players are now very familiar with?</strong></p>



<p>We like to start with an idea that just gets us excited first and go from there. That idea could range from a location in the <em>Halo </em>universe, to an art palette, game mode, or encounter.</p>



<p>Every time we start something new though, it is important to consider what will make it stand out from the current selection of maps we already have. The context of experiences that players have already had in the game is definitely something we keep in mind when we look to deliver something exciting and new, and that extends across all of those factors—aesthetics, layout and design, and gameplay.</p>



<p>When you look at Catalyst and Breaker, it’s immediately apparent that they look very different from the maps players have become familiar with in <em>Halo Infinite</em>.</p>



<p><strong>How would you quickly summarize Catalyst and Breaker so <em>Halo</em></strong><strong> fans know what they’re in for with these maps?</strong></p>



<p>Catalyst is a symmetrical arena map nested high up inside of an expansive, tunnel-like Forerunner structure. You’ll find waterfalls pouring down around suspended catwalks, overgrown cathedral walls, and a light bridge connecting the sides of the map together.</p>



<p>Breaker is a pseudo symmetric BTB map set in a Banished scrapyard where each team’s base is a huge chunk of ship debris, divided by the plasma cutting beam structure in the middle. And yes, that beam is absolutely a dynamic element of the map that presents both opportunities and challenges in gameplay.</p>



<p><strong>Catalyst reminds me in some ways of Coliseum from <em>Halo 5</em></strong><strong>, which was a favorite for that symmetrical, competitive action. Is that same DNA part of this map, and was inspiration drawn from any other previous <em>Halo</em></strong><strong> arena maps?</strong></p>



<p>Even though the map is something completely new, there’s a ton of DNA from several legacy Forerunner locations in there. Most of that DNA is subtle, but there is quite a lot.</p>



<p>Some folks have definitely noted Haven vibes from <em>Halo 4</em> in the first screenshot we shared back in March, but I think the biggest influence for Catalyst though was Epitaph from <em>Halo 3</em>. I really wanted to evoke that architectural style because it left a huge impression on me after all these years.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1140" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked.jpg" alt="Concept art of Catalyst. " class="wp-image-33102" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked-300x178.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked-1024x608.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked-768x456.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked-1536x912.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Catalyst_Arena_ConceptArt_Watermarked-1568x931.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></figure>



<p><strong>I think that naturally leads to the question of how you juggle drawing upon past inspiration and beloved maps from across the previous games versus the desire to create something fresh and new. How did that factor into the process of designing these maps?</strong></p>



<p><em>Halo </em>has provided us with so many inspirational places over the years. It’s easy to look at something already made and just do that again, but it’s not as creatively fulfilling—and some sandbox evolutions may not translate as well to the “remake” experience. I think it’s important to recognize aspects of what made those things so memorable and use that as a starting point.</p>



<p>Forerunner architecture is typically monolithic and ornate, which opens a lot of doors creatively. The Banished art palette is much newer, and its library of reference material is still something that is growing and evolving, so there’s a great opportunity for a bit more exploration for that. A lot of Banished stuff is scavenged from the UNSC and Covenant, but there’s also core design language unique to the Brutes as well, and often these elements are mixed together so it pulls from a lot of different areas of <em>Halo</em>’s aesthetics.</p>



<p>Expanding upon what the campaign had established, the team landed on leaning heavily into the scrapyard aspect of the map and had a lot of fun thinking about how that theme could be explored.</p>



<p><strong>We’ve obviously got some new modes coming in Season 2, which we’ll be doing a blog on next week so keep an eye out for that! To that point, was the design of these maps influenced by any particular modes? What can we really look forward to playing on Catalyst and Breaker?</strong></p>



<p>Catalyst was meant to expand our CTF (Capture The Flag) suite, but it proved to be a solid contender for several modes and was actually the first map that our new Land Grab mode was implemented on, which quickly became a favorite amongst the team.</p>



<p>Breaker started out as a CTF map as well. The whole idea was to create high-tension flag moments around the laser beam.</p>



<p>You can look forward to all the new modes releasing in Season 2, which were made from the ground up on these new maps. Of course, all the existing modes are supported on them as well.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1160" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2.jpg" alt="Concept Art of Breaker. " class="wp-image-33116" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2-300x181.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2-1024x619.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2-768x464.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2-1536x928.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/04/Breaker_BTB_ConceptArt_Watermarked_V2-1568x947.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /></figure>



<p><strong>Breaker definitely looks like one of our most ambitious BTB maps ever, what are some of the things that set this one apart from what players have experienced in <em>Halo Infinite</em>?</strong></p>



<p>We designed this map to embrace base versus base combat where territorial ownership is key to success. We love mixing environmental hazards with the <em>Halo </em>sandbox and Breaker offers an exciting variety of ways to melt your enemies. We’re also big fans of sniper battles, and Breaker’s sightlines and center lane offer risk and reward over key objectives.</p>



<p>The central feature of this map is the middle, which divides the spaces with ramps over a death pit which has given way to some pretty memorable vehicle runs.</p>



<p>We love dynamic map elements, which is something many players will no doubt remember from the remade maps in <em>Halo 2: Anniversary</em>’s multiplayer. For Breaker, we’ve got a giant laser that cuts through anything in its path as it moves across the map.</p>



<p>That death pit you’re going to try to jump your Warthog over to get your flag carrier back to your base? You’re definitely going to want to time that right because I don’t think insurance is going to cover the damage that laser will do to your Warthog and teammates. Alternatively, grab a Repulsor and time your usage wisely so you can ruin somebody else’s day!</p>



<p>But really, the artists and designers who brought this space to life did such an amazing job.</p>



<p><strong>That all sounds incredible, thank you for joining us today, Tyler! I can’t wait to get out onto the virtual battlefield myself to explore these spaces and get carri—I mean, </strong><em><strong>totally carry my team to victory!</strong></em></p>



<p>— </p>



<p>We’re super excited for all of you to jump into the new maps and modes of Season 2, speaking of which that’s the next thing we’ll be covering—check back next week for a look at King of the Hill, Land Grab, and Last Spartan Standing!</p>



<p><a href="https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/halo-infinite-update-march-2022" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener" aria-label="Last month, Joseph shared our first look at Season 2’s content (opens in a new tab)">Last month, Joseph shared our first look at Season 2’s content</a> with details about these maps, the RAKSHASA and EAGLESTRIKE armor cores, the newest game modes, and more. Be sure to give that a read here on Waypoint!</p>



<p>Oh, and for fans who are keen to learn more about the story behind these maps, we’ll be doing a deeper dive into that in our next Canon Fodder.</p>



<p>See you online, Spartans.</p>


Alex Wakeford

Season 2 Map Previews: Catalyst & Breaker


<p>Representing two decades of storytelling, the largest and most comprehensive official guide to the <em>Halo </em>universe ever to be created—the new <em>Halo Encyclopedia</em>—has finally been released into the wild. In this massive tome, Dark Horse and 343 Industries have partnered together to deliver a vast directory of <em>Halo </em>canon, allowing fans to explore the intricacies of an epic saga that spans over a hundred millennia and countless far-flung alien worlds. Delve into a vast archive of ships, vehicles, and weapons that defined the wars of the 26th century and come face-to-face with the major players of the UNSC, the Covenant, the Forerunners, and the Banished. The <em>Halo Encyclopedia</em> features stunning, never before seen art revealing characters, technology, and locations that fans have only ever imagined. </p>



<p>This extravagant oversized hardcover has something to offer both veteran fans of the <em>Halo </em>universe and those who are greeting it for the very first time. Pick up your own copy of the <em>Halo Encyclopedia</em> <a href="https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3008-349/Halo-Encyclopedia-HC">here</a> or secure the impressive <em>Deluxe Edition</em> <a href="https://www.darkhorse.com/Books/3009-942/Halo-Encyclopedia-HC-Deluxe-Edition">here</a>, elegantly enshrined in a mysterious Forerunner cylix. </p>



<p>And whether you are totally new to <em>Halo </em>or perhaps coming back after some time, we know that with the release of <em>Halo Infinite</em>, many folks may be unfamiliar with some of the terminology we’ve accrued over the past twenty years. No worries, we’ve got you covered! Below is an online companion resource for the new <em>Halo Encyclopedia</em>—a brief, high-level glossary to help you navigate some of the names, terms, and acronyms that populate the universe’s lexicon. So no matter if you read this book from front to back or just dive into its 488 pages somewhere in the middle, feel free to use this directory as a friendly guide, especially if you’ve found yourself suddenly lost in the vast ocean of lore this new book holds. We really do hope you enjoy it!</p>



<p>For more information about the <em>Halo Encyclopedia</em>, check out the roundtable discussion we had with its writers, where we talk about its development process and showcase brand new art created specifically for this book:  </p>



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<iframe loading="lazy" title="Halo Encyclopedia | Full Roundtable Discussion" width="640" height="360" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/yNx3Vqv99t0?feature=oembed" frameborder="0" allow="accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture" allowfullscreen></iframe>
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<h2 class="wp-block-heading">Glossary</h2>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><a href="#glossary-a">A</a> | <a href="#glossary-b">B</a> | <a href="#glossary-c">C</a> | <a href="#glossary-d">D</a> | <a href="#glossary-e">E</a> | <a href="#glossary-f">F</a> | <a href="#glossary-g">G</a> | <a href="#glossary-h">H</a> | <a href="#glossary-i">I</a> | <a href="#glossary-j">J</a> | <a href="#glossary-k">K</a> | <a href="#glossary-l">L</a> | <a href="#glossary-m">M</a> | <a href="#glossary-n">N</a> | <a href="#glossary-o">O</a> | <a href="#glossary-p">P</a> | <a href="#glossary-q">Q</a> | <a href="#glossary-r">R</a> | <a href="#glossary-s">S</a> | <a href="#glossary-t">T</a> | <a href="#glossary-u">U</a> | <a href="#glossary-v">V</a> | <a href="#glossary-w">W</a> | <a href="#glossary-x">X</a> | <a href="#glossary-y">Y</a> | <a href="#glossary-z">Z</a></h2>



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343 INDUSTRIES

The New Halo Encyclopedia is Out Today

Season 1 Outcomes Report – Live

Season 1 Outcomes Report


<p>Today we’re taking a closer look at an important topic for any online multiplayer game – anti-cheat. To do so, we sat down with members of our PC, Security, and Safety teams to answer common community questions about Halo Infinite’s anti-cheat, discuss our overall approach, speak to what the future may hold, and more.</p>



<p>That said, let’s dive right in!</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>INFORMATION & CLARIFICATION</strong> </span></h2>



<p>The first point of clarification we’d like to provide is yes, Halo Infinite shipped with its own proprietary anti-cheat system which we call Arbiter. Our vision for anti-cheat in Halo Infinite is to have as little impact as possible on the experience of legitimate players, whether that is game performance, compatibility, or privacy. We want to make the development of cheats slow and difficult, and quickly detect the cheats that do get built. We took on this work because building our solution internally allowed us to adhere to this vision and build it in the best way possible for our game over the long term.</p>



<p>We haven’t discussed Arbiter or anti-cheat much publicly before this for one major reason: the more detail we provide about its systems and how it works, the more information we are directly providing to cheat developers and cheat users. We want to keep as much secret as possible, for as long as possible.</p>



<p>Anything we can do or say – or in this case, not say, to help protect our methods – is worth it to help protect our players and their in-game experience. We know some of you may not entirely agree with our decision to keep this conversation out of the spotlight up until now, and since we don’t believe the efficacy of our approach relies entirely on its secrecy, we want to be as transparent about the current state of anti-cheat as we can.</p>



<p>Now, the question that’s likely on your mind is, “If there is anti-cheat, why are there cheaters in the game right now?” It’s a fair question, so let’s talk about it.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30867" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2-1568x882.jpg 1568w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-BTB-Deadlock-2.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



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<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Anti-Cheat Strategy</strong></h3>



<p>Cheating will be a never-ending battle and we’re taking an approach that will help us in the long-term and at a large scale. The good news is, we’ve already laid a lot of the groundwork to continue this fight long into the future.</p>



<p>To do that, we needed to ensure that we have a good strategy and approach for anti-cheat in Halo Infinite. We mention “strategy” or “approach” often because building a good anti-cheat at a game and studio level is more than just putting up a wall and hoping cheat developers won’t find a way through. Instead, we view the entire process, top-to-bottom, as an overall anti-cheat strategy.</p>



<p>Each aspect of this strategy originates from these core ideas:</p>



<ul><li><strong>Prevention</strong>: This is perhaps the most vital step during the development process and can pay dividends down the road. By diving into the architecture of our game engine and restructuring it to make it difficult for cheat makers to find the information they want, we can prevent or slow down the creation of whole classes of cheats. It is especially important to us to fix legacy components that were secure enough on a console but don’t meet the bar for a modern PC game.</li><li><strong>Protection</strong> (through Arbiter): When most people discuss anti-cheat, this is usually the “wall” defense mechanism that they’re referring to. Protection in this case means securing the game build with this “wall” as well as securing the in-game data players may have on their computer when in a match. Prevention and protection make up the foundation of our anti-cheat philosophy and are where we will continue to make a significant investment: it’s always better to stop cheaters before they’re able to get in a match with legitimate players. Arbiter as it exists today focuses mainly on this idea.</li><li><strong>Detection:</strong> No matter how much work we put into prevention and protection, we know there will still be cheaters. We need to make sure we can find them and understand how their cheats are working. We can do this from within the game build itself, internal automated methods and game telemetry, as well as by investigating player reports. When players think of anti-cheat software, this is usually the most visible component and is a significant part of how commercial solutions like Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye work.</li><li><strong>Enforcement:</strong> Once a cheater has been detected, we take enforcement action by issuing bans correlated to the severity of their cheats. These bans can vary in scope (account bans or hardware bans) as well duration (temporary or permanent). As with detection, common anti-cheat software often helps handle this part.</li><li><strong>Improvement:</strong> If we ever stop self-reflecting or improving, we’ll fall behind. No anti-cheat system is perfect, so we need to remain flexible and iterative as we continue to improve each part of this approach over time.</li></ul>



<p>By making sure our current (and future) anti-cheat work is focused on improving the areas above, we can believe that our overall approach will only get better and better as time goes on. There is no silver bullet and cheats will still be present, but we are committed to this for the long haul.</p>



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<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>THE ROAD AHEAD</strong></span></h2>



<p>Since there is no “one size fits all” permanent solution to cheating, let’s talk about the road ahead. There will be steps we can take quickly, some that will improve consistently over time, and some larger efforts will take more time as we build out the supporting systems.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Improving Detection and Reporting</strong></h3>



<p>We focused a lot of our early efforts around building the tools and technology required to make an impact in prevention and protection long-term. We still believe that was the right move and we’ll continue to improve those systems iteratively over time – and we already have through recent updates – but in the short-term, we’re turning our attention to more visible issues where we have a chance to make the biggest impact right now.</p>



<p>We’ve heard loud and clear that we need to improve our ability to report other players in-game for cheating or toxic behavior. Right now, there’s an existing process through the Halo Support site at aka.ms/HaloReportAPlayer which leads to direct investigations from our Safety team. Every report of cheating is reviewed by a member of the Safety team, and we’re grateful to all of you who have submitted a ticket and helped us take action. While our current system is impactful, we know we want to streamline the reporting process and make it even more intuitive by building the functionality completely in-game. It’s a feature we’re working on, but it will take time as we build and polish all the supporting systems needed in the pipeline to make it run smoothly and accurately. As we get closer to the time when this feature is ready to ship, we’ll be sure to share more.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Improving Enforcement</strong></h3>



<p>Halo Infinite’s temporary and permanent bans have been effective at keeping accounts and devices with evidence of cheating out of matchmaking. However, since our multiplayer is free-to-play, some cheaters create new accounts or appear on new devices in an attempt to evade our enforcement actions. We typically catch ban evasion fairly quickly, but there is more we can do here and we’re pursuing multiple different solutions.</p>



<p>One way that we’re adding additional friction to people creating new accounts is introducing a requirement to play a certain number of multiplayer games before you can queue for ranked games. We’re currently planning to set this number at 25 games – though that may change before we enable this – as we think this not only to keeps the player out of ranked for a while but also gives our other systems a chance to detect them as a current or recurring cheater. We expect this will also help new players find their footing in social playlists before they jump right into the more challenging Ranked experience.</p>



<p>On that note, we’re also looking into additional ways we can identify banned players who are creating new accounts on the same device without having to rely solely on the device information that we have right now. There are a few efforts underway here and nothing, including leveraging third-party solutions in combination with our existing work on Arbiter, is off the table. As with our improved player reporting, we’ll be sharing more about this work as we get closer to a release.</p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Conclusion</strong></h3>



<p>We are committed to continuously improving our anti-cheat systems and strategies. We added a few improvements in our mid-season update and we will drop updates to address cheating as soon as they become available (rather than waiting for another large patch to ship with).</p>



<p>Thanks for your continued support as we continue this work. While this is always on-going, we encourage you to provide feedback on our approach and continue to report cheaters on the Halo Support site at aka.ms/HaloReportAPlayer. Before we wrap up here though, we also wanted to answer a few common community questions directly below.</p>



<p>We’ll catch you all online!</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4-1024x576.jpg" alt="" class="wp-image-30881" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4-1568x882.jpg 1568w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HI-Ranked-Streets-4.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><span style="text-decoration: underline;"><strong>COMMUNITY FAQ</strong></span></h2>



<p><strong>Why doesn’t Halo Infinite currently use a third-party anti-cheat software like Easy Anti-Cheat (EAC)?</strong></p>



<p>When we decided to build Arbiter early on we felt that for the long-term health of our game we needed to build the entire anti-cheat end-to-end. That includes handling the detection and enforcement aspects that are usually provided by products like Easy Anti-Cheat or BattlEye. Building the whole solution in-house is a pretty common approach in the industry for studios who maintain multi-year live games like Halo Infinite. There’s nothing wrong with using a commercial anti-cheat, and like everything else it definitely isn’t something that we have completely ruled out as a way to augment our existing solution, but most anti-cheats don’t have a strong focus on prevention and protection and therefore we needed to build Arbiter anyway. We’re certainly evaluating what it would look like to use both Arbiter and another third-party solution together.</p>



<p><strong>Have we reconsidered implementing a kernel level anti-cheat?</strong></p>



<p>This is definitely something we have considered, and we know it can be a hotly contested issue both for players and for game developers. At the moment our solution doesn’t leverage a kernel driver for a few reasons.</p>



<p>On the technical side, you do get a lot of advantages for using a kernel driver that are really difficult – or impossible – to do at the application level. But there is a lot of peripheral work that needs to go into building and supporting an anti-cheat that includes a kernel driver. To write the driver you need to make sure you have in-house kernel development experts. Stability becomes a serious concern because if you have a bug, you don’t just crash the game client, you bug check (“blue screen”) the entire machine. You need to either run the game as administrator to start the driver when the game starts, or you need to install an administrator service to do it for you. If the latter, then you need to write that service and keep it updated. Making changes to the driver requires signing and certification steps that add more time to an already lengthy release pipeline. On top of all that, you’re guaranteeing an escalation in the technical complexity of the cheats that do get developed to bypass your anti-cheat.</p>



<p>Looking at it through the lens of our anti-cheat philosophy, you can see how all of the above doesn’t align very well with our “be as unobtrusive and invisible as possible” ideals. Many players are also concerned about privacy and providing a game developer with unfettered system access. While that may not be as much of an issue as people believe, it does feel like an overreach as a game developer.</p>



<p>All that said, we’re committed to building what is necessary to protect the experience of our players. Nothing is completely off the table. If we did end up wanting to leverage a kernel driver, it’s likely we would use an existing third-party solution to provide that for us rather than build that component in-house.</p>



<p><strong>What was the removal of red reticle meant to do? Why did you speak to it but not other aspects of anti-cheat before this?</strong></p>



<p>Our desire to have anti-cheat be as unobtrusive and invisible as possible is still at our core, but this is one area where pursuing a more secure experience does show up to the player. For that reason, it needed to be discussed as many people were beginning to think it was a bug impacting their weapons and their ability to aim, which was not the case. In no way were we touting it as a “flagship” anti-cheat measure, it’s just one that happened to be player-facing and therefore we wanted to provide the “why” behind our decision.</p>



<p>To speak to the “why” again, one element of preventing widespread cheating is to make it more difficult to create cheats. Removing red reticle on PC reduces the ease of creating some homemade cheats, with trigger bots being the most common of the bunch. Rather than allowing players to create their own “If pixel X turns red, then fire” cheat, we opted to raise the barrier and therefore reduce the number of cheats people can trivially develop.</p>



<p>We’ve heard the calls for it to be reinstated because there are cheaters in the game anyways, but other cheats existing does not mean we should lower our guard in other areas. We’ll continue to keep an eye on this, but we still believe this is the right decision for the health of the game as it stands right now.</p>


Closer Look: Halo Infinite’s Anti-Cheat Strategy

Closer Look: Halo Infinite’s Ranked Experience

Tac Ops Press Kit


<p>Many of you are well on your way to (or have finished) outfitting your Yoroi samurai core. You’ve been remembering Reach through the Season 1 Battle Pass; you answered the call when Winter Contingency was declared over the holidays and carried your team to victory during the synthwave Cyber Showdown…</p>



<p>But now, the time has come to listen to a man considered so wise that the Spartans named a whole academy after him.</p>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><em>“Get tactical, marines!”</em> </h2>



<p>The Tactical Ops event has been deployed, which means it’s time to grab your friends and jump into the Tactical Slayer event playlist for two weeks of headshot-tacular goodness! Your mission begins March 8 and concludes March 22 at 11am PT, so let’s get you a quick briefing.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-large"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1024" height="576" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080-1024x576.jpg" alt="A visual of the rewards that players can aim to unlock during the event. " class="wp-image-29520" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080-1568x882.jpg 1568w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HIS1MP_Event_Tactical_Ops_VisID_Rewards_1920x1080.jpg 1920w" sizes="(max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px" /></figure>



<p>Many of you know the drill by now, but for all you greenhorns out there, listen up! We’re hot droppin’ you into an event where your speed and precision are the key to victory. You’ll be experiencing some classic Tactical Slayer gameplay (BRs, no radar, no shields, no grenades), but we’ve got a few extra surprise mode variants to mix things up a bit.</p>



<ul><li>Tactical Slayer</li><li>Tactical Slayer Commandos</li><li>Tactical Slayer Sidekicks</li><li>Tactical Slayer Stalker Rifles</li><li>Tactical Slayer Manglers</li></ul>



<p>In week one, your Tactical Slayer experience will feature the BR, Mangler, and Sidekick variants; in week two, Commando and Stalker Rifles will be added to the playlist lineup.</p>



<p>Of course, it’s not just about the modes, it’s about the glory—the recognition of your grade-A badassery that unlocks unique tactical-themed rewards for this operation. And, boy, do we have a treat for you…</p>



<p>Complete event challenges and unlock up to ten unique cosmetics for your Spartan, including the Mark V ZETA helmet for your Mark VII core. This new take on a beloved classic helmet is not to be missed, and it comes with a variety of other tactical gear—check it out in the image below. Additional event-themed items will be available in the Store.</p>



<p>Now what’re you waiting for, soldier? You know the mission. Get onto the battlefield, keep your eyes downrange, fingers on your triggers, and show the enemy the precise meaning of ‘regret.’</p>



<p>Bip, bap, bam!</p>




Tactical Ops Event Launch

Canon Fodder

Community

Issue 125

Canon Fodder: Of Protocols and Prisons


<p>Hey Everyone,</p>



<p>I’m here to answer two questions that we know are top of mind for the <em>Halo</em> community: “What is the <em>Halo Infinite</em> team working on right now?” and “When can we expect new content and features?” I’ll start with brief answers, and then get into more detail, including sharing some new info on what’s coming with Season 2.</p>



<p>This is the focus of the <em>Halo Infinite</em> team, in priority order:</p>



<p>1 – Addressing issues negatively impacting the player experience.<br>2 – Completing Season 2 and delivering it as promised on May 3<sup>rd</sup>.<br>3 – Continuing work on Campaign Co-Op, Forge, and Season 3.</p>



<p>We also have a “Priority Zero,” that undergirds everything we do, namely: team health, with an emphasis on getting ourselves into a sustainable development rhythm so that we can deliver great experiences to all of you while keeping a healthy work/life balance.</p>



<p>Priority Zero means that we sometimes need to move slower so that we can move faster later. Frankly, these last few months have been slower than we expected, and we sincerely thank you for your patience as we stay true to the priorities, above.</p>



<p>Now, let’s dive into specifics.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Priority #1: Addressing Critical Issues</strong></h2>



<p>Since the launch of <em>Halo Infinite</em>, we have been carefully tracking and analyzing all critical issues negatively impacting players’ experience with the game and supporting services. The internal name we have for this process is the “Hotlist.” Every week, we refresh the Hotlist with new insights and review issue prioritization and progress toward fixes. The Hotlist serves as a vital internal planning tool for our monthly development sprints as well as the Hotfixes, Content Updates, and Seasons we deliver to you.</p>



<p>Some of the issues on the Hotlist are gaps in the <em>Halo Infinite</em> experience that we only fully understood close to launch and were unable to address at an acceptable quality bar before ship. An example of this kind of “known” Hotlist issue is “Spartan Career” aka score-based player progression. Examples of “unknown” issues at launch were vulnerabilities in our anti-cheat system and problems with BTB matchmaking that we didn’t realize existed until we launched the game at scale.</p>



<p>Thus far, we have prioritized acute, unknown-before-ship issues that have a widespread negative impact on the shipped experience. Some items have been addressed and cleared from the Hotlist (e.g., BTB matchmaking), some have had partial improvements but need more work (e.g., anti-cheat), and others are in active development but not-yet-released (e.g., Spartan Career, Campaign Co-Op, and Forge). We are working on a public facing version of the Hotlist, similar to what the studio did during the <em>Master Chief Collection</em> updates, so that all of you will have a clear and constant window into the status of Hotlist issues as we work to address them. </p>



<p>In the meantime, <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://support.halowaypoint.com/" target="_blank">the Halo Support website</a> remains your best place for information and help, if you’re experiencing any issues with the game.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Priority #2: Shipping Season 2</strong></h2>



<p>If you check your Season 1 Battle Pass, you will see that that Season 1 ends on May 2<sup>nd</sup>, and that’s because Season 2 will launch May 3<sup>rd</sup>. I’m very excited to announce the official name and theme for Season 2, which is… “Lone Wolves.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="3786" height="1726" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves.png" alt="Halo Infinite: Lone Wolves - Season 2 title card" class="wp-image-29303" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves.png 3786w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves-300x137.png 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves-1024x467.png 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves-768x350.png 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves-1536x700.png 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves-2048x934.png 2048w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/Halo-Infinite-Lone-Wolves-1568x715.png 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 3786px) 100vw, 3786px" /></figure>



<p> By “theme” we mean a core idea that guides the creation of much, but not all, of a Season’s content. Lone Wolf Spartans are hunters. Trackers. They’re resourceful improvisers, operating deep in enemy territory without resupply or support. They’re fierce, rugged, and prefer to work alone—but they’re still loyal to the Spartan pack. Here’s an early peek at two of these Lone Wolves:</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080.jpg" alt="Concept image of Lone Wolf Spartans: Sigrid Eklund and Hieu Dinh." class="wp-image-29275" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_Characters_1920x1080-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption>Concept for two of <em>Halo Infinite</em>‘s “Lone Wolves”, coming in Season 2.</figcaption></figure>



<p>That’s Spartan Sigrid Eklund on the left, and Spartan Hieu Dinh on the right. You’ll learn more about them (and spend more time with <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://www.halopedia.org/Laurette_Agryna" target="_blank">Spartan Commander Laurette Agryna</a>) as you dive into Season 2’s story—a mix of cinematics, story-themed Events, Battle Pass items and more that embody the Lone Wolves theme.</p>



<p>But like I said, not all Season content is directly linked to the theme, and a prime example of this is our free Fracture armor core for Season 2. Here’s a concept of that core, and we can’t wait to show you all the customization options for it—and for the free Lone Wolves armor core.</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080.jpg" alt="Concept Image of Season 2 Fracture armor core." class="wp-image-29289" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_FractureCore_Concept_1920x1080-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption>Concept painting of the new free Fracture armor coming in Season 2.</figcaption></figure>



<p> During Season 2, we will also be shipping playlist updates, balance changes, new modes, and maps, specifically, one Arena map named “Catalyst” and one BTB map named “Breaker.” The new modes include “Last Spartan Standing”, a free-for-all elimination mode, as well as another new mode named “Land Grab,” plus the return of an updated, all-time favorite mode, “King of the Hill.”</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080.jpg" alt="Concept painting of new BTB map "Breaker", coming in Season 2." class="wp-image-29247" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_BTBMap_Concept_1920x1080-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption>Concept painting for “Breaker,” a new Big Team Battle map coming to <em>Halo Infinite</em> in Season 2.</figcaption></figure>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="1920" height="1080" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080.jpg" alt="Concept paint-over of new Arena map "Catalyst", coming in Season 2." class="wp-image-29261" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080.jpg 1920w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S2_ArenaMap_Concept_1920x1080-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 1920px) 100vw, 1920px" /><figcaption>A concept “paint over” of “Catalyst,” a new Arena map coming to <em>Halo Infinite</em> in Season 2.</figcaption></figure>



<p>We will have a lot more to share about the Season 2 maps, modes, customization options, and narrative content in April, as our marketing and promotional campaign kicks into high gear.</p>



<hr class="wp-block-separator"/>



<h2 class="wp-block-heading"><strong>Priority #3: Work on Campaign co-op, Forge, and Season 3</strong></h2>



<p>We’re making great progress on Campaign network co-op. And to be clear, this work has been occurring in parallel to Season 2 work, as has our work on Forge.</p>



<p>But the reality is that it’s going to take more time to land a high-quality, full-featured 4-player network co-op experience in the massive, wide-open world of <em>Halo Infinite</em>. We’re also committed to a great 2-player split-screen co-op experience on all Xbox consoles, from the original Xbox One through Xbox Series X—and the non-linear, wide-open sections of the Campaign present some big challenges for split-screen that have taken us more time to solve.</p>



<p>All this means that we will not be able to ship Campaign network co-op on May 3<sup>rd</sup>, at the start of Season 2. But we are still aiming to deliver Campaign network co-op later in Season 2, and we will share a release date for that and for split-screen co-op as soon as we can.</p>



<p>We are also making great progress on Forge. Indeed, we are already flighting Forge to a small group of community creators and working closely with them to ensure that all of you have a terrific experience creating, sharing, browsing, and playing Forge content. In the near term, we will continue to privately flight Forge as we develop it while also planning for public flight(s) later this year. We still have the goal of shipping Forge with Season 3.</p>



<p>Speaking of Season 3, while the majority of the team is tackling Hotlist items, shipping Season 2, and working on Campaign co-op and Forge, there are also many folks already hard at work on Season 3. We’ll be sharing additional details and specifics on all of these development efforts at a later date.</p>



<p>Importantly, we’re not just planning to address Hotlist items at the start of Seasons. Similar to Update 1.1.1 that launched a little more than a week ago, we intend to ship fixes, features, and content in more agile ways, during our Seasons.</p>



<p>And speaking of great Seasonal content, our next Season 1 event, “Tactical Ops,” starts next week, so get set for variants on the Tactical Slayer mode along with new, Mark VII core-focused rewards to earn!</p>



<figure class="wp-block-image size-full"><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="2560" height="1440" src="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-scaled.jpg" alt="Key image for Tactical Ops event." class="wp-image-29233" srcset="https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-scaled.jpg 2560w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-300x169.jpg 300w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-768x432.jpg 768w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-1536x864.jpg 1536w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-2048x1152.jpg 2048w, https://wpassets.halowaypoint.com/wp-content/2022/03/HaloInfinite_S1_TacticalOps-1568x882.jpg 1568w" sizes="(max-width: 2560px) 100vw, 2560px" /></figure>



<p>On behalf of the entire team, thank you again for your patience and your passion. Please keep the feedback coming, know that we are listening and learning, and that we are working hard to deliver more <em>Halo Infinite</em> content that we hope you love to play.</p>



<p>Joseph Staten</p>



<p>Head of Creative, <em>Halo Infinite</em></p>


Halo Infinite Update – March 2022


<p>We’ve been studying player ranks and ranked matchmaking all-up extremely closely since launch and we are excited to be rolling out updates next week. These updates should help address common issues in ranked such as rank inflation, inaccurate skill assessment, uneven player skills, and more.</p>



<p>First and foremost, our skill rating system has been analyzing real matches since launch and we’re ready to deploy some of the learnings from this live data. These learnings will help the system become even better at assessing a player’s skill and should place them more accurately in our skill distributions.</p>



<p>This will be the first backend skill update like this since launch, and we plan to do them continuously throughout the life of the game. Just like we’ve been doing, we will keep monitoring matches and rolling out updates frequently to make sure the system can stay up to date with the latest player behaviors – thus continuing to accurately assess player skill.  </p>



<h3 class="wp-block-heading">CSR Updates & Rank Reset</h3>



<p>In combination with this skill rating improvement, we will be resetting Competitive Skill Ranking (CSR) ranks so that everyone can get an updated CSR that is more indicative of their skill.</p>



<p>Since we saw that the CSR system was being overly generous since launch, these changes are being rolled out to help bring things closer in line to where they should be. This period led to a full tier inflation of ranks and, as a result, most players should expect to be placed a full tier lower (Diamond players will find themselves in Platinum, Platinum players will find themselves in Gold, etc.) after this rank reset.</p>



<p>When we perform this rank reset, we will also be changing a few aspects of the CSR system: </p>



<ul><li>As mentioned above, since the system was placing players too high, <strong>every player</strong> will likely find themselves one tier lower after this update. Please keep in mind that this is not due to an error in the new system, but an error in the old one. </li><li>Typically, after you complete your placement matches, your CSR is a little lower than where the system thinks you’ll end up after playing for a while. This happened in Halo 5 as well because it helps start each rank reset (typically during a Season rollover) off fresh and provides players room to progress their CSR rank. Since ranks are being reset in the middle of the season, this will be reduced to help make sure you have a shorter climb after your placement matches.</li><li>At launch, Diamond 1 was the highest CSR players could land at after completing their 10 placement matches. Much like above, since we’re resetting ranks in the middle of the season, we want to reduce the disruption it may cause by raising this to Diamond 5. This will not affect most players, but it will mean Onyx players will spend less time in Diamond since the system already knows that they are likely an Onyx player.</li></ul>



<p>We are aiming to have all the updates and rank reset happen on the afternoon of Tuesday, February 22.</p>



<p>We believe that these targeted changes will help improve the ranked experience for players of all skills by providing more accurate, balanced, and fair matches. That said, this isn’t the end of our updates to ranked, it’s only the beginning. There is still more to go after, and we’ll continue to make updates based on your feedback and live game data. If you encounter anything out of the norm in your ranked experience after this update, please let us know by continuing to provide feedback here on Waypoint, Twitter, reddit, etc.</p>



<p>And, in case you missed it, CTF on Behemoth was recently removed from the Ranked playlists. You can read up on the decision <a href="https://forums.halowaypoint.com/t/jan-26-ranked-playlist-update/496232">here on Waypoint.</a></p>



<p>We hope you get to jump in and enjoy these updates to Ranked when it rolls out next week!</p>
