Networking overhaul, weapon balance tunings, bug fixes, stability, and anti-cheat improvements, Firefight Custom, and more—we've got the official briefing on all these major elements in this blog (with even more information to come in the patch notes).
Let’s take a look!
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Networking Overhaul
A completely overhauled networking model will be coming to [i]Halo Infinite[/i] in a matter of days.
After launch, we heard the feedback around the game’s online experience loud and clear: desync, being shot around corners, etc. And while we did release numerous updates to the previous model, they were not having the impact that players expected and deserved. When we recognized this, the team decided to shift gears and pursue a fundamental change to the underlying networking model. Since then, we’ve been heads down to make it happen.
Last December, we shared a first look at it when it launched in Firefight: King of the Hill and was featured in the Combat Workshop. It was great to see such a positive response from the community online, in our surveys, and on Halo Support—but we knew that it still needed some extra polish before it could roll out on a wider scale.
Now that we’ve given it that extra time, we are confident that this updated model will result in a better and more consistent multiplayer experience.
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Easy Anti-Cheat
Easy Anti-Cheat is a tool that monitors players’ PCs while they’re playing to combat cheating. With the March Update, our detection and enforcement capabilities have been enhanced, greatly improving [i]Halo Infinite[/i]’s overall security and our ability to respond to cheaters.
If you encounter cheating, be sure to use the in-game reporting feature or head over to Halo Support to submit a ticket at [url=https://aka.ms/HaloReportAPlayer]aka.ms/HaloReportAPlayer[/url].
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Squad Battle Refresh
Since its debut in Halo Infinite, Squad Battle quickly became a beloved staple playlist for those who were looking for something between the concentrated action of 4v4 and the larger-scale mayhem of 12v12 Big Team Battle. With the arrival of the March Update, we’ve got a refresh of the Squad Battle playlist featuring seven new maps made by incredibly talented Forgers. There are some returning classics, like [i]Halo 4[/i]’s Perdition and [i]Halo: CE[/i] (on PC)’s Timberland, along with brand new maps for you to fall in love with.- Perdition
- Refuge
- Timberland Evolved
- Rendezvous
- Gyre
- Harvest
- Behemoth
Weapon Tuning Updates
The March Update is packed with weapon balancing changes that seek to address community feedback across the board.
M392 Bandit & Bandit EVO
- Increased reload speed
Heatwave
- Decreased aim assist falloff range
- Decreased aim assist range
- Decreased aim assist angle
Plasma Pistol
- Faster charge-up time
- Slightly decreased rate of fire for single shots
- Faster overheat
Stalker Rifle
- Decrease the number of shots to overheat
- Slower venting rate per second
VK78 Commando
- Increased close range friction
- Less aggressive bloom
Gravity Hammer
- Fixed issue that was doubling the power of the Gravity Hammer and its variants
- Increased its original tuning by 1.5x to allow for better damage and knockback
Firefight Custom
Since Firefight: King of the Hill arrived in [i]Halo Infinite[/i] back in December 2023, players have been having a blast fighting the Banished within the House of Reckoning and across other maps—and on custom-made Forge maps.
With the March Update, we are introducing Firefight Custom. This is a “blank” Firefight mode that keeps the high-level structure of Firefight: King of the Hill intact (Sets, lives, skulls, scoring, Custom Game options), but removes all the logic related to hills. In other words, this is Firefight: King of the Hill [i]without[/i] the King of the Hill.
Mode scripters will have full control over what constitutes a win or a loss of a point, whether teams earn skulls, which spawners are triggered and when, and if players can earn more lives. We wanted Forgers to spend less time and budget scripting basic features of the mode and instead spend their time on the logic that supports their ideal experience. This new variant also pairs well with Forge’s previously released Mode Creator, allowing mode creators to create their experience once and share it with many map creators.
New Forge Node Graph functions have been added to empower Forgers on this front. These nodes will work in both Firefight Custom and the original King of the Hill variants:
- On Firefight Set Start
- On Firefight Set End
- End Firefight Custom Set
- Fail Firefight Custom Set
- Adjust Firefight Custom Lifepool
- Get Firefight Custom Set State
- Get Firefight Custom Wave Spawners
- Get Firefight Custom Boss Spawners
- Override AI Spawner Definition
Quality of Life Improvements
