HALO Infinite Season 2 Update Patch Notes – May 3, 2022

NEW BATTLE PASS AND NARRATIVE SEQUENCE

Season 2 introduces a new 100-tier Battle Pass with up to 180 rewards. Purchasing the Premium Battle Pass is required to earn all rewards and 1,000 Halo Credits, but all players will be able to unlock free tiers that include rewards like Challenge Swaps, armor pieces, and the all new Lone Wolves armor core: RAKSHASA.

In addition to this new Battle Pass, Season 2 introduces a new story experience for Halo Infinite. When first accessing the Season 2 menu, players will be able to watch an all new cinematic.

This cinematic can be viewed again later by using the shortcut button listed in the helpbar near the bottom on the Season 2 menu.

Battle Pass Switching

Players who have purchased the Premium Battle Pass for Season 1, Heroes of Reach, and have not yet completed it will be able to re-equip it and unlock any previously locked tiers during Season 2.

To change which Battle Pass is equipped, follow the steps below:

1. Navigate to the Season 2 menu. This can be done from the main menu by selecting or using the shortcut listed within the Season 2 tile in the top right corner.
2. Select the Switch Battle Pass button below the Battle Pass tile on the left side of the menu.
3. On the Battle Pass Switcher menu, use the checkbox below the Battle Pass tiles to equip the preferred Battle Pass.

NEW MULTIPLAYER GAME MODES

Last Spartan Standing

In this free-for-all (FFA) experience, 12 players spawn with a confined loadout and 5 respawns. Once a player runs out of respawns and can no longer participate, they can either spectate or leave the match without penalty.

During the Interference and Alpha Pack events, Last Spartan Standing will only be available on thenew BTB map, Breaker. When these events are not active, Last Spartan Standing will have a standalone playlist that features all BTB maps.

Game mode rules:

• This new free-for-all (FFA) mode pits 12 players against one another on Big Team Battle maps. Each player has five respawns per match, and can level up to new weapon loadouts by gaining Personal Score.
• Personal Score is earned by killing enemies, earning assists, and collecting eliminated players’ AI. When an enemy’s AI is available for collection, a “Bonus XP” waypoint is visible for all players in the match. Capturing an AI awards more Personal Score than any other action in the mode.
• Once enough Personal Score has been gained, a prompt will appear on-screen to Level Up the equipped weapon loadout. These weapon loadouts unlock in the following order:
  • Level 1: Disruptor and Sidekick pistol
  • Level 2: Mangler and Disruptor
  • Level 3: Assault Rifle and Mangler
  • Level 4: Commando Rifle and Assault Rifle
  • Level 5: Bulldog Shotgun and Commando Rifle
  • Level 6: Battle Rifle and Bulldog Shotgun
• In addition, a Danger Zone will begin closing in on the map once five minutes have passed or when all players are out of respawns. Staying in this Danger Zone will damage players, so it’s important to keep moving towards the center of the Zone.
• The match will end when all enemies are out of respawns and one Spartan is left standing. Players who have used all five of their respawns before the match ends are able to leave the session without penalty or continue spectating the match.

King of the Hill (KOTH)

KOTH is available in Ranked Arena, Quick Play, Bot Bootcamp, a dedicated King of the Hill playlist, and Custom Games.

In Ranked Arena matches, Hill locations follow a strict sequence on each map. In non-Ranked matches, however, the first Hill will always appear in the same spot on each map while later Hill locations are randomized.

Key image for King of the Hill.

Game mode rules:

• In King of the Hill, two teams of four players race to gain control of a neutral zone on the map. This neutral zone is known as the Hill. When the Hill is captured, the capturing team receives a point and a new Hill will appear somewhere else on the map.
• Capturing a Hill requires a team to fill its Capture Meter. Each team has its own Capture Meter which will begin to fill when a player enters the Hill’s zone. If an enemy enters the Hill while it is being captured, it will become “contested” and neither team’s capture bar will fill. All enemies in the Hill must be eliminated before capturing can resume. If all team members leave the Hill before their Capture Meter is filled, the Hill will remain “owned” by that team but quickly decay back to a neutral zone.
  • In Custom Games, “classic” scoring can be enabled for KOTH. This option will reward points over time rather than rewarding points when the Capture Meter is filled.

Land Grab

Land Grab’s debut is tied toSeason 2’s Fracture event, Entrenched,and will first be available in matchmaking when this recurring event launches on May 24th, 2022. After its debut, it will appear in matchmaking again as arotational playlist, in Custom Games and be available during the Fracture event, Entrenched.

Game mode rules:

• Similar to the King of the Hill mode, Land Grab pits two teams of four players to capture neutral zones. The key differences in Land Grab are that there are 3 neutral zones active at a time and the goal is a quick capture of each, rather than maintaining control over time.
• To capture a neutral zone in Land Grab, players will need to have uncontested control of the zone for just a few seconds. Once that zone has been captured, it is no longer available for capture and the capturing team scores a point. Once all three active zones are captured, a new set of three neutral zones will appear on the map and teams must race to capture them before the other team can.
• When one or both teams are one point away from winning the match, the number of active zones will reduce to drive more players towards the same zone(s).

New Rotating Playlists

In addition to the new modes listed above, several new playlists will begin to rotate in and out of Halo Infinite’s matchmaking. The first rotational playlist of the season is Rumble Pit. Replacing Free-For-All (FFA) Slayer, Rumble Pit is an FFA playlist with more mode variants to create more FFA gameplay variety.

For example, the following variants will be included in Rumble Pit:

• Ninja Slayer:Infinite ammo Energy Swords and Grappleshot loadouts, with only Grappleshots and Power Equipment on-map.
• Vampireball:In this Oddball mode, the Skull carrier is no longer nerfed—instead, the Skull is a one hit kill and has 50% Shield Vampirism.
• Rocket Repulsors:Infinite ammo Rocket Launchers and Repulsor loadouts, with only Repulsors and Power Equipment on-map.

Attrition

Attrition, which debuted in Season 1’s Cyber Showdown event, is also now available in the Quick Play and Bot Bootcamp playlists as well as Custom Games.

Game mode rules:

• Two teams of four players face-off in classic Slayer fashion, however, the teams have a shared pool of respawns. Once that pool of respawns has been depleted, downed players will drop their Personal AI. Teammates can use the dropped AI to revive downed players while enemies can use the dropped AI to eliminate players entirely.
• Players must work together across multiple rounds to ensure they can eliminate the enemy team first.
• If the round continues long enough, a Danger Zone will begin to close in on the map. Players caught outside of the Danger Zone will begin taking damage.

NEW MULTIPLAYER MAPS

Big Team Battle: Breaker

Featuring two bases at either end of a long center lane, this Banished ship breaking yard offers great sightlines for snipers and high-intensity getaways for Warthog drivers. Breaker’s central lane is also home to a large laser that moves across a central pit.

Breaker is available in the Big Team Battle (BTB) matchmaking playlist, the Last Spartan Standing matchmaking playlist, and Custom Games.

Screenshot of a Warthog approaching Breaker’s dynamic laser.

Arena: Catalyst

This overgrown Forerunner structure, with its multiple waterfalls and expansive vistas, is perfect for fast-paced Arena action. A light bridge connecting the two sides is also home to a Power Equipment spawn, but be careful not to fall off and disrupt the passing Sentinels.

Catalyst is available in most Arena matchmaking playlists, including Ranked Arena, and Custom Games.

Screenshot of Spartans battling on Catalyst.

For more information on the design of Breaker and Catalyst, visit the“Season 2: Map Previews” blog on Waypointor view the video below for a flythrough of both new maps:

BIG TEAM BATTLE (BTB) ANNOUNCER CHANGES

The Arena multiplayer announcer, voiced by Jeff Steitzer, will now call out medals earned during BTB matches. Commander Agryna will continue to provide strategic game mode oversight.

This change to Halo Infinite was inspired by player feedback. Visit theHalo Waypoint forumsto provide feedback and meet other Halo players. Feedback shared on the Halo Waypoint forums may be shared with Halo Infinite developers.

MOTION TRACKER CHANGES IN MULTIPLAYER

The Motion Tracker has a new “edge” functionality in non-Ranked matchmaking playlists. The edge reveals the general direction of players who are sprinting, shooting, or operating vehicles just outside of the Motion Tracker’s range. The inside of the Motion Tracker will continue to detect walking, sprinting, shooting, and operating vehicles as precise blips.

In Arena modes, the Motion Tracker’s will show precise blips for enemies up to 18m away, and the edge functionality will reveal players who are up to 30m away. In Big Team Battle, the Motion Tracker’s max distance is 24m, with the edge functionality reaching out to 40m.

Let us know what you think of this change by sharing feedback in theHalo Waypoint forums.

ENDLESS WEAPON DRILLS

All Weapon Drills in the Academy now have an endless variant, meaning they do not have a timer or scoreboard. These Drills can be used to improve your mastery of the weapon sandbox or to fine-tune your aiming controls.

Like the addition of the multiplayer announcer to BTB, this tier of Weapon Drills was inspired by player feedback. Thank you to all players who provided feedback in theHalo Waypoint forumsand elsewhere!

First-person perspective of a player in the VK78 Commando Weapon Drill.

IMPROVED BOT BEHAVIOR

Various improvements have been made to bot behavior:

• Bots will now jump into allies’ vehicles as either passengers or gunners.
• Bots are now more capable of completing objectives in game modes such as Capture the Flag (CTF) and Strongholds.
• In Academy’s Training Mode, multiple new toggles and options have been added to finetune bot behavior on a per-skill basis. Adjustable skills include movement, aiming, equipment usage, grenade usage, and more.

NEW PLAYER OUTLINE OPTIONS

The opacity and thickness of player outlines can now be adjusted. This includes the ability to disable outlines entirely. Changing these options will apply to enemies and allies in both multiplayer and Academy modes.

These settings can be adjusted in the User Interface (UI) tab of the Settings menu in-game.

NEW TARGET FRAME RATE OPTIONS FOR XBOX SERIES X|S CONSOLES

Xbox Series S consoles now support a 120hz refresh option. Xbox Series X now support a 30Hz refresh option.

These options can be adjusted in the Video tab of the Settings menu. More details about enabling the 120Hz refresh option in Halo Infinite can be found in the “How to Enable Graphics Quality Mode for Halo Infinite.

• Known Issue:Selecting a Target Frame Rate of 30Hz will work as expected on Xbox Series X|S consoles, however, gameplay will revert to 60Hz after the next relaunch of Halo Infinite.
  • Workaround:To maintain the 30Hz cap, the Target Frame Rate option will need to be set to 60Hz and then back to 30Hz every time the game is launched.

BALANCE CHANGES

WEAPONS

Melee

• Melee damage has been reduced by 10% in both multiplayer and campaign.
  • In multiplayer, this change to melee damage makes the Mangler a 2-shot beatdown rather than a 1-shot beatdown.
  • In Ranked multiplayer only, the Battle Rifle has increased melee damage.
    • This change was made to preserve the Battle Rifle’s two-burst beatdown after the global melee reduction.
• Other changes to melee will also result in the following improvements for multiplayer:
  • “Traded” melee kills will occur more often now than in Season 1.
  • Improved snapping to enemies during melee lunges.
  • Improved enemy collision immediately after meleeing.

Mangler

• In addition to the melee damage change noted above, the following changes were also made to the Mangler in multiplayer:
  • Reduced starting reserve ammo from 24 to 16.

Ravager

• The Ravager’s base shot is now stronger than before and is therefore capable of a two-burst kill.

EQUIPMENT

Drop Wall

• The Drop Wall is now stronger than before and deploys faster once it hits the ground.

VEHICLES

Warthog

• The Warthog’s tire positions and suspension have been adjusted to better improve its handling on uneven terrain.

Banshee

• The Banshee’s mobility and weapons have received multiple buffs:
  • The Banshee can now move slower and faster than before, including when turning.
  • Weapons cooldown faster and deal more damage.

SYSTEMS

Slide

• Velocity gained from landing into a slide on a ramp has proportional reduction based on fall height.

JUMPS

• Multiple collision fixes on all previously released multiplayer maps. Some examples of these improvements include:
  • Smoothing out traversal on the ground.
  • Fixing player’s standing on out of bounds rock ledges.
  • Removing or adjusting collision on small props and thin ledges.

BUG FIXES

Many improvements come from Halo Support tickets submitted by our community. Thank you for participating and please keepsubmitting tickets!

Halo Support tickets, once reviewed by our agents, will count towards the studio’s “Hotlist.” If there are any bugs, glitches, or other in-game issues that you would like to see addressed in a future Halo Infinite update, be sure to submit a ticket so we can inform the development team and track the issue internally on the Hotlist. The more tickets we have for an issue, the higher it may land on the Hotlist.

GLOBAL

Sandbox

• Grappling a Fusion Coil through a Drop Wall will no longer drag the Dropwall in towards the player.
• Bullet decals now appear correctly when firing at surfaces from an odd angle.
• Various power weapons and turrets now fit better in the Razorback’s rear storage area.
• Debris knocked off from a damaged or destroyed vehicles will no longer revert to its pre-damage appearance.
• Power weapons (like the Skewer or Rocket Launcher) will no longer deal extra damage when fired at a vehicle’s windshield.
• Meleeing an enemy and then immediately using the Repulsor against them will now knockback the enemy the expected amount rather than a shorter knockback.
• Boarding the back of an enemy Wraith or Scorpion then planting a grenade will now kill the driver.
• Man Cannons will now alter the trajectory of rockets fired from a Rockethog’s turret.
• After being picked up, the M41 SPNKR is now ready to fire faster. Swapping to the M41 SPNKR, zooming in, and firing is slightly faster as well.
• The Dynamo grenade’s “ticking” sound effect no longer plays continuously if a Dynamo grenade is dealing damage to enemies during a respawn.
• The Grappleshot’s cable now consistently appears to fire from the player’s wrist.
• The Grappleshot will now consistently attach to equipment and grenades.
• Firing a weapon immediately after swapping between equipped weapons will now feel more responsive.
• The Heads-Up Display (HUD) element for hold actions has been improved to better show an active hold’s progress.
• Improved the transition between the third-person animations for clambering and sprinting.

PC

• Improved stability across the entire Halo Infinite experience. Players should expect to see less crashes and hangs, especially on PC.
  • If you’re experiencing crashes after updating, pleasesubmit a ticketto Halo Support. Key details to include in crash tickets are:
    • Step-by-step instructions on what causes the crash. The more specific, the better!
    • Confirmation that the console/PC’s operating system (OS) is up-to-date.
    • If possible, video or screenshots of the moments leading up to the crash.
    • For PC crashes:
      • Confirmation that the PC’s graphics drivers are up-to-date.
      • Attach an up-to-date DxDiag file. To create a DxDiag file, type “dxdiag” into the Start menu’s search bar, press the Enter key, then click “Save All Information” when the DirectX Diagnostic Tool pops up.
      • Include the Problem Report from the Control Panel app. To find this, open the Control Panel and enter “problem reports” in the search bar. Click “View all problem reports” then locate the recent Halo Infinite report. Double click on this Halo Infinite entry then use the “Copy to clipboard” button near the bottom of the window. Finally, paste this text into your ticket’s comments.
• Improved Video RAM (VRAM) management and various bug fixes for graphics processing unit (GPU) hangs to improve stability and performance on PC.
• PCs with AMD Integrated Graphics hardware may experience less graphical corruptions.
  • AMD Integrated Graphics are below Halo Infinite’s minimum system specifications. Gameplay on this hardware may be functional but is likely not performant.
• Players with some NVIDIA graphics cards will no longer see stretched or distorted models in gameplay.

Settings

• The Field-of-View (FOV) option no longer changes by one point when backing out of the Settings menu.
• The Minimum and Maximum Frame Rate options have been improved to allow for continuous adjustments to Custom values.
• Outer and Inner Trigger Deadzones options have been added in the Controller tab of the Settings menu.
  • These options should be adjusted when using a controller with trigger stops. If the trigger stops are active, the default Trigger Deadzones will not allow for actions that require a full trigger press to occur. Affected actions include charging weapons like the Plasma Pistol and Ravager.

Xbox consoles

• On Xbox consoles, narrative sequences will now pause when Halo Infinite is suspended or the Xbox Guide is open.

MULTIPLAYER

Gameplay

• The crouching and clambering sound effects for players using Active Camo will no longer be audible to other players.
• The third-person Shield Recharge sound effect is now quieter than before, so it will give away player locations less often.
• Weapon racks on either side of symmetrical Big Team Battle (BTB) maps will now spawn the same weapon.
• Enemies will not be able to see players who are joining an in-progress multiplayer match before the loading player gains control of their Spartan.
• Marking the Defend Flag icon in Capture the Flag (CTF) now plays the correct sound effect.
• Improved player collision when meleeing enemies.
• Multiple improvements related to vehicles and server-client synchronization.

Visual

• Arm-mounted equipment, like the Grappleshot and Repulsor, no longer appear to float above prosthetic arms.
• The left shoulder pad in the Jorge-052 armor kit now has the correct texture.
• The Neon Screen and Neon Hawk armor effects are now correctly aligned over the player model’s helmet.
• Nameplates will no longer be cutoff during a multiplayer match’s intro sequence.
• All player models in a multiplayer match’s intro sequence will now face toward the camera and animate as expected.
• On ultrawide monitors, player models are no longer cutoff during a multiplayer match’s intro sequence.
• Players will no longer experience a black screen while loading into online multiplayer matches.
• First person player models now load in faster when respawning in a multiplayer match.
• Players will no longer spawn underneath the map when loading into a multiplayer match.
• When a control point in Total Control is being captured, the correct team’s color will now always be shown on the Heads-Up Display’s (HUD) capture indicator.
• Site capture banners in Total Control now have a smoother animation.
• Vehicles will now consistently spawn at their intended size.
• A vent box in Aquarius that sometimes flickered in and out of view is now consistently visible.
• Player models should no longer appear stuck in walls, floors, or ceilings.
• Crosshairs for all weapons now appear the same in solo and splitscreen sessions.
• Shadows no longer appear to flicker for some players in splitscreen multiplayer.
• In 4-player splitscreen, the “Return to the Battlefield” warning overlay now appears on the correct player’s screen.

Menus

• The Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) is now blurred when new menus are opened on top of it.
• After completing a Ranked Arena match, the post-match CSR meter now shows the progress made from the completed match rather than the progress made since the last time the game was launched.
  • For more details on how Ranked multiplayer system works, review the“Closer Look: Halo Infinite’s Ranked Experience” blog on Halo Waypoint.
• If Halo Infinite is not already running, accepting a game invite on Discord will now consistently launch Halo Infinite.
• When playing splitscreen on an Xbox console, players other than player 1 can now use the Back button to navigate out of the Multiplayer menu.
• Changes to the selected multiplayer Voice in the Spartan ID menu are now consistently reflected in-game.
• The Network Status widget will now always display network connection errors, even when the full widget is disabled. These errors will appear for all players in the top right corner of the screen.
  • The full widget can be enabled in the UI section of the Settings menu.
• Automated bans will now provide the ban’s end date and time, as well as a brief description of the behavior that led to the ban.

Custom Games

• LAN servers are now more stable when entering consecutive matches in a single session.
• In Custom Games, players will now consistently join the team they are assigned to in the lobby menu.
• Players who switch to the Observer team while setting up a Free-For-All (FFA) Custom Game will now appear as an Observer in the lobby menu rather than a player.
• The Mode Editor menu in the Custom Games lobby now shows all available options when Halo Infinite is launched offline.

Challenges and Medals

• The Skyjack and Grapple-Jack medals are now awarded more consistently when hijacking enemy vehicles with the Grappleshot.
• Hijacking a Banshee with the Grappleshot will now count towards the Grapple-Jack Challenge and other Challenges as expected.
• The Mind the Gap medal now consistently unlocks when its requirements are met, and it is now awarded when repulsing an occupied enemy vehicle off the edge of the map.

CAMPAIGN

Menus

• Small black patches or “holes” will no longer appear on the TacMap.
• All MJOLNIR armor lockers are now visible on the TacMap.
• The TacMap now reflects the selected Brightness value.
  • Brightness can be adjusted by using the Screen Calibration menu found in the Video tab of the Settings menu.
• When picking up a Skull for the first time, the tutorial pop-up will no longer say that Achievements and saves are disabled while Skulls are active.
  • Since Halo Infinite’s launch, both Achievements and Saves have been enabled when Skulls are active.
• When the User Interface (UI) Narration feature is enabled, each mission’s collectibles count will be narrated when the mission’s banner appears on-screen.
  • UI Narration can be enabled or adjusted in the Accessibility tab of the Settings menu.
• Players can now unlock equipment upgrades while Linear Navigation is enabled.
  • Linear Navigation can be enabled or disabled in the Accessibility tab of the Settings menu.

Gameplay

• The Grappleshot indicator will no longer appear when the Blind Skull is active.
• The Boom Skull, found in the mission Warship Gbraakon, will now appear when scanning the environment.
• The sound effects for the Grunt Birthday Party Skull can now be heard over greater distances.
• On the mission Excavation Site, restarting the game and dying in the Banished’s laser will no longer cause the player to respawn with invincibility.
• The “tank gun” found in the Outpost Tremonious mission is no longer available.
  • This change has not removed the tank gun from any existing saves where it has already been picked up.
• Standing on top of a Fusion Coil then grappling it now results in the player picking up the Fusion Coil.
• Improvements to player collision when using the Grappleshot’s First Strike ability.
• A “Saving Progress” message will no longer become stuck on-screen during the campaign’s final cutscene.

Mission Progression

• Multiple progression issues with the Banished outpost Ransom Keep have been addressed.
• The bridge in the mission The Road now consistently extends after skipping related dialogue.
• Players will no longer be locked out of the boss fight in the mission The Tower after Fast Traveling away from the mission’s area.
• The mission Warship Gbraakon will now progress normally after quitting during the intro video or restarting the mission during the escape sequence.
• The Thruster ability is now consistently usable after acquiring it in The Conservatory then restarting the mission.

ACADEMY

• Expanded Training Mode Options to allow for more fine tuning of bot behaviors.
• All match options in Training Mode now have a description.
• The following Weapon Drills have been adjusted so that the third star is easier to attain:
  • Needler: Tier 2
  • Bulldog: Tier 3
• In Weapon Drills, repetitive “Damage Dealt” messages no longer appear on-screen when attacking bots. Although these messages no longer appear, the score for damage inflicted on bots is still being counted.
• Pausing the game during the intro sequence of a Training Mode session no longer mutes most sound effects.
• A static, inaccurate scoreboard no longer appears when loading a Weapon Drill with the Heads-Up Display (HUD) disabled.
  • The HUD can be enabled or disabled in the User Interface (UI) tab of the Settings menu.
• Epic Armor Effects now appear correctly in Academy’s Tutorial.

ACCESSIBILITY

All options mentioned in this section can be found in the Accessibility tab of the Settings menu.

• When Linear Navigation is enabled, the main menu’s tabs will no longer persist on-screen when in a sub-menu.
• The UI Narration feature will no longer read incoming text chat messages twice.
• The following menus will now be narrated when the User Interface (UI) Narration feature is enabled:
  • The in-game menu for purchasing Halo Infinite’s campaign.
  • Rank placements in the Profile menu.
  • The Season Pass menu.
• The descriptions for the Speech-to-Text and Text-to-Speech settings have been updated to be more clear.

THEATER

• Viewing multiple Theater films in a single session will no longer result in Load Errors.
  • If the Load Error message is appearing after this update, confirm that your Xbox account’s Privacy Settings allow you to view content from other players. If so, please submit a ticket to Halo Support or update your existing ticket.
• Changes to the Controls and Event Timeline toggles in the User Interface (UI) tab of the Settings menu are now reflected in Theater mode.
• Changes to the Cycle Camera binding in the Settings menu are now reflected in both Theater and Observer mode.

ACHIEVEMENTS

• The “Medic!” Achievement can now be unlocked in the Attrition or Elimination game modes.
  • This Achievement will unlock whether the requirements are met in Custom Games and multiplayer matchmaking.
• Further improvements have been made to Achievements that failed to unlock as expected. Players who did not receive an Achievement after completing its requirements should see it unlock after updating and launching Halo Infinite.
  • For some Campaign Achievements, players may need to load into Campaign and play for a couple minutes to ensure missing Achievements are unlocked.