Join us tomorrow at 11 AM PT for a spine-chilling Survive the Undead playdate in the Combat Workshop, featuring the terrifying PvE mode created by The Forge Falcons.
š¦ Don't forget, anyone who joins in-game can earn the exclusive Unicorn of Ice rewards!
āSurvive the Undead is an all new, endless, round-based horde mode. Made with Halo Infiniteās Forge tool, it takes full advantage of Haloās sandbox and gives players a PvE experience they havenāt seen in Halo before.ā ā The Forge Falcons
When your friend group is all strongly Forge-inclined and talented, you wind up with something like the Forge Falcons. Entirely community driven, this crew dreams big and makes magic happen with the power of Halo Infiniteās Forge. If you can dream it up, they can make it happen ā they are absolute wizards with Forge! Their hard work has earned them a well-deserved spot in matchmaking.
Operation: SURVIVE
The Forge Falconsā exciting PvE experience, Survive the Undead, arrives in the Combat Workshop today! For the next two weeks, youāll be able to jump in and put your survival skills to the test in this 100% community created mode.
Survive the Undead meshes the Halo Firefight experience with the fan-favorite COD Zombies mode resulting in fast paced, intense, and sometimes spooky gameplay. As we learned in Reach, the objective is to āsurviveā and you want to do that by any means necessary. Earn points to buy upgrades, grab perks, or chance it all on a mystery box. Maybe itāll help, maybe itāll set you back ā the thrill is in the risk!
As a note, while waiting to respawn, make sure to wiggle your sticks and keep your thumbs ready for action.
The Combat Workshop is your one-shop stop to check out work-in-progress maps, modes, and other new experiences. This playlist allows us to test out new modes (BTB Heavies), new features (new networking model), and get feedback at scale before taking that information back and iterating on it. From there, we can address issues and community feedback to get things ready for primetime matchmaking.
This playlist will be up for two weeks and we want your feedback. Check back later for the link to the survey, or follow the QR code that will appear in-game later this week.
If you experience any technical issues, please be sure to report them to us by using the Halo Support site at aka.ms/HaloSupport.
How long can you survive the undead?
The Exchange
Enter The Exchange for customization rewards from the pastšŖ
Earn Spartan Points from matches, Operation Pass progress, and weekly Ultimate Rewards. Redeem for past and new items like:
š A Banana weapon charm š Needler Minder helmet attachment šµ The Entropy of Spring legendary kill effect ā¤ļøāš„ Xandadu Falu armor coating
...and more!
Don't forget, items will not be āgoing awayā when the Exchange refreshes. They will still be available to purchase with Spartan Points through the customization menus (much like bundles once they have rotated out of the Shop).
Halo: The Third Life
"October 2558. After being taken prisoner by the Banished as chaos erupts across the galaxy, Ilsa Zaneās hunt for the truth leads her to a new stage of life she never expected..."
Halo: The Third Life begins on October 28, 2558āimmediately following the awakening of the Guardian on Laika III at the end of Hunt the Truthāand continues through the subsequent year as Cortanaās uprising begins to alter the axis of power in the galaxy.
Well, hello there. Itās been a while, hasnāt it? Long enough for you to have thought that I was dead. Did you search for me? Did you even try to find me? Doesnāt matter now, of course, since Iām the one with the gun to your head.
I know this must be as much of a surprise to you as it is to me. Once, I gave everything I had to your cause. I believed in everything you stood for, everything you promisedā¦ but things have changed, and I can see you now for who you really are.
Before you dieāand you are going to dieāI want to tell you a bit about who I am, and how we ended up here.
My name is Ilsa Zane.
The traitor. The rebel. The āmad Spartan.ā
The tip of the spear of the New Colonial Alliance.
And my hunt for the truthā¦ has led me back to you.
October 28, 2558 Laika III
Nobody kills Ilsa Zane.
Those were the four words she had lived by her entire life. From the fall of Kholo, where everyone and everything she had ever known was lost to the Covenant, to her selection for the first phase of the SPARTAN-IV program where she had been used and discarded... to now, to this day.
The time of the New Colonial Alliance had come, heralding the culmination of all they had worked for to secure total colonial independence. Rebel groups across human space had rallied, alliances had been forged with a myriad of mercenary factions, and fleets were ready to launch to finally bring war to the United Nations Space Command.
But it had all been put in jeopardy by a single undercover agent of the Office of Naval Intelligence.
FERO.
Over a week ago, Conradās Point had suddenly been hit by a seismic event of unprecedented scale. A massive alien construct had risen out of the ground, leaving a colossal crater behind before jumping into slipspace. The cataclysmic event matched other scattered reports of similar activity occurring across several different colonies.
The NCA had managed to get to Conradās Point first to study the crater, and it was there that Ilsa Zane had forged a still-undisciplined group of rebels into fighting shape. While they had been ascertaining data that might point to the next site to suffer an event like this, FERO had slipped into their ranks, bringing a devastating UNSC air strike with her in a futile attempt to assassinate Zane.
Enraged and undeterred, Zane had gathered what remained of the NCA survivors and tracked FERO to Laika III, where the next awakening event was set to occur. The objective had been twofold: eliminate FERO, and obtain whatever new, anomalous power had begun to emerge.
Neither goal had panned out.
FERO had taken shelter with a cult known as Triad, whose leaderāa slippery conman named Dasc Gevadimāhad proclaimed that these events heralded divine transcendence. And then, to add to the growing list of complications, ONI had arrived with enough troops to turn Laika III into an unmarked grave, just in time for the new awakening event to wipe the board clean.
Zane witnessed Triad followers suspended in the air by gravitational anomalies as the ground beneath them collapsed into a gaping maw, but despite the otherworldly phenomena that surrounded her, she used this moment for what it was: a distraction.
The UNSC thugs had been rendered dumbstruck by the chaos, and she had taken the opportunity to tear through as many of them as she could. She had lost her weapon at some point and could not recall dropping it, but she knew she didnāt need one. Ilsa Zane was already a weapon. A wellspring of bloodlust rose within her as she tore through the enemy with her bare handsāa pale wall of dust and rock and death drawing ever closer.
Within a few moments, a great sonorous roar tore through the air. A series of debilitating concussive waves dispersed the dust cloud, and Zane was either tackled by or collided with a body she couldnāt distinguish, hitting her head hard on the upturned ground.
The last thing she saw as darkness crept at the edges of her vision was the winged shadow that rose into the air and disappeared into slipspace. She tried to grit her teeth, clench her fist, but consciousness faded with what she feared might be her final thought.
Nobody kills Ilsa Zane.
Ilsa Zane jolted awake as a creature roared in her faceāthe combined intensity of the rotten breath and fresh saliva that covered her cheek caused her to convulse and gag as an array of reactionary senses all caught up to her at once. She held her stomach with one hand and used the other to lean on a cold rock wall, but the defiant stance she tried to take against her own biological responses quickly vanished as she vomited on the ground, casting an acrid spatter on her combat boots.
It was not until she looked up to see what had caused her rude awakening that she froze. For the first time in years, the ice-cold rush of fear ran through her entire body. She had almost believed herself to be beyond such feelings, but the dire situation that presented itself was one she had hoped never to experience first-hand.
The creature that had now turned its back to her stood over eight-and-a-half feet tall with light gray skin and patches of dark fur over rippling fat and muscle. It picked at its fanged, bloodstained teeth with sharpened claws, and it bore crimson-colored armor plates over a dark undersuitāa Jiralhanae warrior.
āWhatever you do,ā a low voice whispered to her, ādo not look it in the eyes.ā
Zaneās senses gradually managed to stabilize, and she followed the quivering, pointed finger of the man who had spoken. Her eyes settled on a dark smear on the wall that left a three-meter-long trail along the ground.
The area around her was essentially a makeshift prison, or rather a cattle pen made of improvised wooden barriers and mounds of concrete from buildings that had no doubt been laid low by the winged constructās destructive awakening. Within the pen, she counted seventeen other humans. Some were still clad in scraps of UNSC uniform, while others had been among her own rebel forcesābut the man who placed a heavily calloused hand on her shoulder was neither.
He was bald with a long silvery beard and dressed in a gray hooded robe that was tattered and torn, but the marking on his chest was unmistakable. A white ring cut into three sections by a red āTā to symbolize the three internal lives that āmust be linked as the key to our transcendenceāāthe insane story that had gathered a cult following as it spread across Waypoint.
āWell Iāll be damned...ā Zane found herself saying aloud, her jaw dropping slightly.
āYes, child,ā he gave a kindly smile, bearing perfectly white teeth, sensing her recognition. āYou indeed see clearly.ā
She had survived, only to have been plucked and deposited into this foul mire, where she found herself looking into the eyes of Dasc Gevadim himself.
āLet yourself settle first,ā he said, surveying their fellow captives who all kept their heads firmly locked to the bile-strewn ground. āTheyāll be back soon.ā
āWhat for?ā
Dasc grimaced. āDinner.ā
He explained to Zane in hushed whispers that the constructāwhat he called a Guardianāhad been claimed by an artificial intelligence who then broadcast a message across the galaxy, declaring that a new order of peace would be imposed to bring an end to hunger, pain, and conflict. Frankly, it sounded every bit as absurd and unbelievable as the false religion Dasc himself peddled, but Zane chose to entertain his words for as long as he was providing her with information.
The others, it seemed, would say nothing. They simply stood, shaking on the spot, muttering to themselves, teeth chattering in the cold and retching in the foul stench of death and soiled clothing. The barriers of their cattle pen could easily be slipped through or climbed over, but none dared try their luck.
Dasc detailed how all the survivors of the Guardianās awakening had been rounded up when a new force arrived in a siege ship to lay claim to the crater.
The Banished.
Zane had only some familiarity with the mercenary faction. She had assumed them to be scavengers picking the bones of the dead, plundering old Covenant War-era battlefields and factories for whatever supplies they could get. All she knew was that Admiral Mattius Drakeāleader of the New Colonial Allianceāhad not sought to parley with them in the NCAās pursuit of independence.
āSo,ā Dasc concluded. āThe only remaining matter is how we get out of this.ā
āYou seem pretty familiar with these Brutes,ā Zane replied. Although Dasc was clearly shaken, he spoke with a peculiar confidence, where hardened rebel fighters and ONI troops had been utterly broken.
āI once found myself in a similar situation some years back. We managed to stage an escape by turning the pack against each other, but it can be tough to play the same card twice.ā
āThen itās a good thing Iāve got an ace,ā Zane said, prompting Dascās brow to raise. āI have a tracker implant that directly pings NCA command every twelve hours. By now, theyāll no doubt know Iām on Laika III, and if I donāt report in within three days, then Admiral Drake will send a rescue team.ā
āSo, itās a waiting game,ā Dasc stroked his chin with a muddy hand. āWhich means weāll have to outlast this lot for another day or two.ā
Zane regarded the remaining survivors, figuring that wouldnāt be too difficult.
āI propose a deal,ā Dasc said, a twinkle in his eye. āI can teach you how to survive the whims of these Brutes until your rescuers arrive. In exchange, I come with you and get dropped off at a location of my choosing.ā
Everybody always had an angle, and it was difficult to tell whether Dascās confidence was simply motivation to survive or something else. He was, after all, a conman and a āspiritual guruā who wanted people to believe that he had transcended to some other level of reality with the Guardiansā rising. How could she possibly trust a man like that?
The thudding of footsteps and subsequent whimpering among the other humans interrupted Zaneās deliberation and announced the return of the Jiralhanae.
The armored warrior moved slowly, reveling in the atmosphere of terror its mere presence created as it opened the wooden gate and stepped inside. Two UNSC Marines standing closest to the gate stepped back to create space for the Jiralhanae like honor guards, their heads still dipped to the ground, tears welling in the eyes of the others as their breathing grew ragged.
Whether they would live or die today was entirely in the hands of this Jiralhanae, and it was not clear which fate was worseāto continue to fester in the muck and gore of this abattoir for another day, or to be devoured by this beast and its packmates.
These were the rules of the game, and none of this sorry lot had the power, capacity, or will to do anything about it. They would simply let themselves be snuffed out like a candle flame, and for that Ilsa Zane held no pity in her heart for them. It made them small, weak. Inferior.
Maybe thinking like that made her a monster, but whatever else she had become over the years, Ilsa Zane was a Spartan.
And if there was one thing a Spartan could do, it was change the rules of the game. So she did what no one else dared do.
She looked up.
The action immediately caught the lumbering Jiralhanaeās attention, gnashing its tusks at the humanās audacity, shoving aside the Marine it had been eyeing to answer the challenge to its authority. Dascās eyes went wide as he saw what Zane was doing, believing in that moment that she was madder than anybody had ever thought him to be.
"Hey, ugly,ā Zane stepped forward, fists clenched, and looked directly into the Bruteās eyes.
What happened next was a blurred rush of violent ecstasy. The Jiralhanae threw its head back to let out a blood-curdling roar, and that was when Zane launched herself forwards, punching it in the throat as hard as she could, crushing its windpipe.
The augmentations that Spartan Zane had received all those years ago were unique to what would become standard for the SPARTAN-IV program. She had been told that ONI was looking to make the costly Mjolnir armor effectively obsolete by instead making her bones practically indestructible, grafting reinforcement plating under her skin and inducing muscle growth that would put her on as close to an equal physical footing with the likes of a Sangheili or Jiralhanae as possible.
That was only half true, of courseāa convenient story that seemed just as contrived as Dascās religious con. In reality, she had been a lab rat for untested augmentation cocktails and procedures that had wreaked havoc on her brain as well as her body.
But she didnāt mind what she had become. Ilsa Zane liked being a living weapon, it was just a matter of having the choice of who she was aimed at.
The beast continued to claw at its throat, desperately gasping for air. In response, she pulled off one of its armored shoulder pieces, turned it to its jagged edges, and brought the alloyed plating down onto its face. Again and again, as the creature fell to its back on the ground, writhing in pain. Dark blood began pouring from its eyes, nose, and mouth, and still Zane kept slamming her improvised cudgel down as hard as she could until she could no longer feel her arms.
She felt the bloodlust rising in her again, singing in her veins like the sweetest sort of song.
She followed the feeling until it spilled from her mouth in a war cry.
Until it morphed into dark, unencumbered, laughter.
She was only dimly aware of the other humans in her periphery watching in horror, flinching with each dull thud that sounded from her relentless assault.
It might have been seconds, minutes, or even hours before she finally stood up, content that her jailer was now little more than a dark smudge on the ground. Slipping her hands into the Bruteās exposed harness straps, she dragged the body over to the wooden gate to display her handiwork.
There, she found a gathering of six Jiralhanae who had watched the grisly scene play out. One of them stepped forwardāclearly the leader from its heavy gray-red armor and ornate helmet, a gravity hammer the length of a human being in its hand. The chieftain appraised Ilsa Zane with bared teeth.
āThe human has murdered one of our brothers,ā one of the chieftainās packmates shouted. āSlay her now!ā
Its fellows roared and began to chant a rising chorus of āSlay her now, slay her now,ā but they were quickly silenced as the chieftain thudded the pummel of its hammer on the ground three times.
āThe human has killed Amatus,ā it said plainly, pausing as it felt the packās collective attention hang on whatever would be said next. āI did not like Amatus.ā
Roars from the pack were howled into the sky, and Ilsa Zane dropped the armored shoulder piece that had been her weapon. She hadnāt liked Amatus either.
āYou have done well, human,ā the chieftainās face settled into a dark grin. āI offer you a boon for your show of strength and spirit. You shall dine with us tonight, and you may choose which of your fellows shall take your place and be fed to the pack.ā
A thousand thoughts thundered through Ilsa Zaneās mind at once. She had earned the respect of the Banished chieftain, she was not going to die today, she would be fed and watered, and...
And I have a loose end.
She had told Dasc that the New Colonial Alliance would soon be on their way. If he were to attempt to curry favor with the chieftain, all he needed to do was reveal this information and the tracker would be pulled from her body by force. She was strong, but there was no way that she would survive the whole pack descending on her.
Perhaps Dasc was counting on her choosing somebody else until the rescue team arrived, honoring her word... but she hadnāt actually agreed to the terms of his deal before Amatus showed up.
In the end, Dasc Gevadim was simply... in her way.
āHim,ā Ilsa Zane pointed to the old man in his tattered gray robe, and part of her delighted at the shocked expression on his face, at an outcome he had never conceived.
He may well have shouted Ilsaās secret at that very moment, but he had been rendered as stunned as the other humans had been in their silent stupor.
Two Jiralhanae warriors entered the pen and grabbed the cult leader from under his arms, dragging him through the mire. His legs struggled to find purchase as he numbly attempted to dig his heels into the ground, as if it might slow the march to his final, deserved, delicious end.
And as he was carried over a hill and out of sight, the screams of Dasc Gevadim eventually faded with the coming of night.
And that was it. I waited, day after day, week after week, and no NCA ship ever showed up. So I made the most of my situation, did whatever it took to survive.
Every day, they let me pick the next one to die. They all just stood there, as if something in them had collectivelyā¦ broken. The complete absence of hope had brought about some kind of dissociation between mind and bodyāperhaps that was the only way they could filter out the horror of the situation they were in.
Every day, Admiral, I imagined them with your face.
In time, I became part of the pack. We hunted, we killed, we ate, and we waitedā¦
One day, after I had lost count of how long I had been there, a ship arrived. It seemed like this was what the others had been waiting for, keeping the site secure so that their scientists could study the ancient structure that the Guardian had risen from.
Donāt know what they were looking for, but it was something big enough for the war chief of the Banished himself to be present.
He wasnāt pleased to find that I was alive at first, but letās just say that I made him an offer he couldnāt turn downā¦
[SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED]
And would you look at that.
Heās here right on time.
May 8, 2559 Edolas System Aboard NCA D'ARTAGNAN
Ilsa Zane turned the command chair of Admiral Mattius Drake to face the bridgeās viewscreen so he could bear witness to the arrival of the intrusion corvette that had just slipped in.
The vessel bore extensive modifications from its Covenant origins, from additional sensor arrays and jagged ramming spikes to an underbelly containing several boarding craft for rapid breaching operations. And painted on its front was a blood-red stripe emblazoned with the mark of the Banished.
A single Phantom emerged from the intrusion corvette and approached the hangar of the NCA Dāartagnan.
There was a perceptible shift in the air as Admiral Drakeās blood ran cold, his brow lined with sweat and his face pale. In that moment, he reminded her of Dasc. All he could manage was little more than a strangled whisper.
āIlsa, pleaseā¦ā
But she had already turned her back on him to examine the holotable on the bridge which was displaying the New Colonial Alliance ships located in the system. A little over two-dozen NCA spacecraft were currently stationed hereāa mixture of light frigates, corvettes, and converted merchant trawlers docked at a former-Covenant space station. They were joined by a handful of alien warships, and the inherited remains of Vata āGajatās mercenary band, now led by the far more pliable Tāvaoan known as Tek.
āAttention, all NCA vessels,ā Zane began to transmit on an open frequency. āThis is Ilsa Zane here to inform you of aā¦ change in management.ā
Admiral Drake struggled against his restraints, but his chair held firm.
āFor years, Admiral Drake has promised to claim independence, vowing to strike at the UNSC and secure our freedom. We built a machine of conquest, but here we are hiding in some distant system, preying on scraps, and waiting like spineless cowards.ā
She could hear his approach now, the great thudding footfalls of the Banished war chief. He had come alone, leaving his guards in the hangar bay.
āThis was to be our time,ā Zane continued. āA bunch of misfits and rebels given purposeāas every little piece of a larger machine needs. But thereās a very specific piece that just doesnāt fit any more; itās holding us all back, and I refuse to let it break what weāve built together.ā
The shadow that was cast over the broad, hulking form of War Chief Escharum receded as he entered the bridge, revealing a Jiralhanae with a gray beard on his chin, a milky, clouded eye, and a heavily scarred face. He appraised the situation: a handful of ensigns dead in their seats, Admiral Drake bound to his own command chair, and the one he had encountered on Oth Voranāthe rogue Spartanābroadcasting her message from the holotable.
āAnd so, I am relieving Admiral Drake of command,ā she unholstered her pistol. āPermanently.ā
lsa Zane barely registered the sound of her pistol firing as she pulled the trigger without a moment of hesitation and saw the light instantly disappear from Drakeās eyes. A sad, pathetic end to a man who had proclaimed to be laying the groundwork for greatness, reduced now to little more than a footnote in the New Colonial Allianceās history.
āOur fleet spread across countless colonies, our agents entrenched on a thousand frontlines, and the fire in our hearts for independenceāall that we have mustered,ā Ilsa Zane concluded. āAll that makes us the New Colonial Alliance is hereby pledged to serve as both sword and shield to the Banished.ā
Escharum snarled in approval. Though the war chief lacked the same admiration that Atriox held for humanity, he was no fool. The current state of the galaxy demanded greater unity with willing allies to face the challenges ahead, and there was great potential for the resources and influence of this new alliance to be put to use.
He would not deny those who pledged their loyalty and service to Atriox. And so, it was time to welcome a new brotherhood into the widening reach of the Banished.
āAtriox sees you for what you are and for what you could be,ā Escharum boomed, stepping beside Zane at the holotable. āFor the fury that fuels your desire for freedom is his fury too. We shall do great things togetherāhunt powerful prey and plunder ancient treasures. You shall be paid in blood and sport and spoils. And you shall never bow again.ā
It was done.
That was the day that changed everything for the New Colonial Alliance.
Do I regret killing Drake? No more than I regret any of my actions that have brought me to this pointāwhich is to say, hell no, not one bit.
Once, I owed my life to that man, but the NCA is bigger than any one person or leader, and at such a critical point there was no room for weakness. Drake would have seen us wallow in obscurity until the forces weād gathered lost their edge, rebelled, or simply fled. It all would've fallen apart.
Not while Iām still here.
I canāt help but think about Dasc. He was the leader of a fake religion, one that believed in linking the three internal lives we all supposedly have, and in a weird way I recognize how that applies to me more than I might have originally thought.
There was the orphan, who I used to be during the Covenant War, a life that seems a thousand light years away from me now.
Then, after the war, I became a tool to be used and discarded for a new generation of insipid UNSC propaganda.
And now they call me the Banished Spartan. I like that. It feels... right, and Iām eager to discover what this third life has in store for me.
Escharum was keen to put us to use almost immediately. A mission to test us, get us bloodyāthatās a story for another time. But if youāre wondering how I got this armor, well... letās just say it wasnāt the first Spartan Iāve killed.
Iāve got a list of names to work through as we goāold scores to settle. FERO. Musa. Palmer. Kreeāyat. Dinh...
It's a big galaxy out there, and Iām ready for a new hunt.
BTB Heavies Refresh
Updated 5/7/2024
Back in February, the Big Team Battle playlist was refreshed with some amazing new community maps. After that update, many asked to see those maps expand to other BTB offerings and Iām pleased to tell you that the next time you see BTB Heavies (aka today!), the map pool will have increased as weāre adding all the BTB refresh maps! Youāll be able to experience:
Fortitude
Insolence
Obituary
Refuge
Thunderhead
Expect more chaos thanks to increased vehicular carnage and heavy weaponry spawns.
Additionally, the fan-favorite One Flag CTF mode has been added to Heavies so youāll be able to play tug of war while you try to capture the flag.
The fun is here so get those reflexes primed and ready to jump into the fray!
The biggest playlist gets even better with the addition of FIVE new community maps, nearly doubling the total map pool! Youāll be able to engage in vehicular combat with heavy vehicles but for those of you that prefer to hoof it (like me!), thereās plenty of room for ground based combat. As an added bonus, some of the maps might look a bit familiarā¦
But thatās enough rambling, letās take a look!
At first blush, this map looks pretty straight forward but, as we all know, looks can be deceiving. Thereās a lot of layers to the center which means thereās ample opportunity for sneaky plays. But if you prefer to run ānā gun, you can do that too!
If you like big booms and you cannot lie, this is the map for you. Heavy weaponry + heavy vehicles automatically increase the possibility of explosions. Fairly symmetrical in nature, the CTF battles here are going to be epic.
This map gives me some strong Halo 2 Containment vibes and I can hardly contain my excitement! Dual Wraiths, tons of other vehicle options, and lots of traversal opportunities by foot as well. No matter how you prefer to play, you have choices here.
Author: Cousin Tim, InfiniteForges, NightAvenger01, Micheal B 2K8
Refuge is what happens when Headlong has been left alone long enough for nature to heal. The overgrowth makes it hauntingly beautiful but the beauty canāt stop the imminent carnage that comes with this classic map.
Additionally, you may notice the qualification on the CTF mode belowā¦yes, a one-sided objective mode has arrived! Shoutout to I Crush All for creating the mode.
Putting the emphasis on big, Thunderhead has a huge area of engagement for you to explore. If you happen to get the sneaky, up high, Banshee spawns youāll have a birdās eye view over the plain below you and youāll be able to see who called for aerial artillery.
Huge shout-out to the Forgers who are continuously creating these beautiful maps and great experiences to help keep things fresh and exciting. Grab your battle buddy and jump in and check out the refresh today!
More maps. More battles. More better!
Mental Health Awareness & Asian Pacific Islander Heritage Month
May is both Mental Health Awareness and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month!
As we mark Mental Health Awareness Month, let's reinforce the importance of maintaining your mental health š
Throughout Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we honor our colleagues and community for their invaluable contributions to Halo and the world šøāØ
By logging in all month long, you'll unlock both the MHA and APIHM 2024 armor coatings, visors, and nameplate/emblem suites!
Customization Overview | CU32
Operation: Banished Honor arrives on April 30 and youāre gonna want to look the part!
After all, the Banished welcome all who pledge their service to Atriox, and your new allegiance and mindset demands a new outfit, so letās find out more about the customization that awaits youā¦
Banished Honor Operation Pass
Spartans have often been thought of as incorruptible symbols of virtue, but thatās just the official story. Some names are known as historic examples of Spartans having gone rogue, pledging themselves to a variety of causes or simply trying to leave the UNSC behind to start a new lifeāRandall-037, Soren-066, Michael Crespo, Vladimir Scruggs, Ilsa Zaneā¦
The Banished are united not by species or faith, but bonds of brotherhood and allegiance to Warmaster Atriox. Cast off the ties to your previous life and give yourself to the pursuit of glory and spoils as you work your way through the Operation Pass, which contains the pieces you will need to assemble your new Champion armor.
Progress your Operation Pass with Match XP and Challenge completions, and unlock new armor, a new visor and emblem, and Spartan Points to spend in the Exchange.
Additional premium options for the Operation Pass include:
500 credits will make the Operation Pass durable (it will not expire), offers bonus XP during the Operationās live window, an extra Challenge slot while your pass is equipped, and comes with an exclusive customization item
2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers of the Operation Pass at purchase and includes the exclusive bonus customization item
Upgrade to the Premium Pass to obtain the Fuego Flame armor coating and strike fear into the hearts of all who would oppose you.
*NOTE: The Banished Honor trailer and promotional images depict the Datacore Administrator visor as a reward in this Operation Pass. The Datacore Administrator visor is part of the Facing Firewall bundle while the free Banished Honor Operation Pass includes the Essence Decompilation visor.
Coatings 'n' Kits
Sometimes itās fun to just jump into the Armor Hall and try out a bunch of different looksāseeing what elements can make each core and kit just the right kind of unique.
Coatings are obviously a key element of customizing your Spartan, and when Operation: Banished Honor launches we have 54 existing coatings that have been updated to work with additional Armor Cores and Kits.
Missed out on previous customization rewards? Enter The Exchange.
The Exchange is a brand-new shop rotating each Operation that contains both items from the past and never-before seen customization content. Items are purchased with Spartan Pointsāa free currency that is earned through three primary ways:
Completing your first Daily Challenge will award 250 SP (rather than XP)
Completing the weekly Ultimate Reward will award 1,000 SP (instead of a misc. customization item).
Operations Reward tracks will offer up to 15,000 SP (replacing misc. other rewards)
When The Exchange refreshes, items will not be āgoing away,ā removing the chance to get themāthey will still be available to purchase with Spartan Points through the customization menus (much like bundles once they have rotated out of the Shop)
Banished Honor is just the beginning, as it will be followed by two further Operations still to comeā¦
Tenrai IV
June 4-July 2
Tenrai will return with new customization rewards in a free Operation Pass, a Tenrai-themed refresh of the Exchange, and new Shop bundles.
Spartan Surplus
July 2-30
New Mark IV-themed armor pieces are accompanied by an Exchange refresh full of tactical gear from the past and more!
Head to the Shop when Banished Honor launches and you will find the Path to Dominance bundle, which contains the following items:
Tormenter helmet
Tormenterās Kneepads
Tormenterās Mantle shoulders
Victory Crest chest attachment
Crimson Compliment wrist attachment
Fearless Glyphs armor coating
Agitator helmet
Shock-Treated visor
Segmented Pauldron shoulders
Agitator Heartplate chest attachment
Agitator Belt hip gear
Sharp Bracer wrist attachment
Kneecapper kneepads
Carrion River armor coating
Merciless Cutthroat M293 Bandit weapon model
Cruel Treatment weapon coating
Paths to Dominance Mythic Effects set
That concludes our look at the customization elements coming with Operation: Banished Honor. For more on this upcoming content update, be sure to check out these other blogs:
UPDATE OVERVIEW: Catch up on our latest community livestream for an overview of whatās coming when Operation: Banished Honor arrives
THE EXCHANGE: Take a deep dive into the new shop where customization items from the past return and can be purchased with free Spartan Points
SANDBOX OVERVIEW: Get the full debrief on the latest sandbox balance changes and mode updates coming in Operation: Banished Honor
FORGE OVERVIEW: Explore the new Flood and Alien World-themed object palettes coming to Forge, alongside additional updates
The Yappening II: LAST WEEKEND
QUICKā¼ļø Grab your Grunty goodies before they dissolve in acidā¼ļø
Itās your last weekend to earn Yappening II rewards. Secure the Premium Battle Pass, and it will never expire!
Operation: Banished Honor
Operation: Banished Honor will have you liberating yourself through the teachings of Atriox and claim your spoils.
Running from April 30 to June 4, your free Operation Pass contains 20 tiers of customization rewards and Spartan Points.
Forge Overview | CU32
Forge is getting some new additions with the arrival of Halo Infiniteās next content update.
Letās take a closer look at what new toys youāll be able to play with when Banished Honor releases on April 30.
New Forge Palette: Flood
āBlightlands are the result of uncontained Flood expansion: areas around established hives filled with growths and spore bodies, which harvest the vitality of the soil, soak up solar energy, and consume all native life within its boundaries.ā ~ Halo Encyclopedia (2022)
When Season 5 launched, we brought Flood infection to Spartan customization. Now, with the latest update, the parasite has come to Forge!
The Flood palette contains over 100 new objects that will help Forgers to transform their maps into festering hives, enabling players to recreate places from the past (thisāll pair quite nicely with the Covenant object palette for, say, a Flood-infested High Charity) or wholly new locations that have become twisted blightlands.
New Forge Palette: Alien World
The galaxy is a vast place filled with worlds of alien wonder and beauty.
With the Alien World object palette, composed of over 150 new objects, players can enhance the visual diversity of their mapsā environments with distinctly alien-themed plants, trees, flowers, and even ancient stone structures.
Alongside these new palettes, Forge has also received some additional updates to enhance scripting and object options.
Many of these nodes and objects have come directly from community feedback we have received and will enable Forgers to have even more granularity of control over what they want to make. As ever, we remain in a perpetual state of awe over the awesome creative things that folks in the community have been sharingāwe canāt wait to see more of that to come!
Scripting
New nodes will be added for Extraction and Last Spartan Standing modes, along with additional options:
Clone Object:
Allows players to duplicate gameplay objects that are on the map
Object Filters:
Does Player Pass Object Filter
Remove All Filters on Object
Set Player Filter on Object
Set Team Filter on Object
Mode Creator
New mode variants have been added:
Firefight: King of the Hill
Last Spartan Standing
All Ranked modes
New Objective Objects
Several new objects will be added, including:
Generic Deliver Point
Generic Flag Spawn
Generic Power Seed
Generic Shrinking Zone
That concludes our look at whatās coming to Forge when Halo Infiniteās next content update lands on April 30. To learn more about whatās coming in this update, be sure to check out these other blogs.
UPDATE OVERVIEW: Catch up on our latest community livestream for an overview of whatās coming when Operation: Banished Honor arrives
THE EXCHANGE: Take a deep dive into the new shop where customization items from the past return and can be purchased with free Spartan Points
SANDBOX OVERVIEW: Get the full debrief on the latest sandbox balance changes and mode updates coming in Operation: Banished Honor
CUSTOMIZATION: Feast your eyes on the Banished-themed armor coming with a free new Operation Pass and further customization updates
