For nearly two years we’ve watched the greatest Halo players on Earth wield their Battle Rifles to duke it out at over a dozen global events for millions of dollars in the HCS, as well as each of you inside the various ranked playlists inside the game. This has been some of the most amazing Halo we’ve watched – thank you.
And now, nearly two years later, Season 5 for Halo Infinite launches on October 17 and with it brings big changes to ranked – and we couldn’t be more excited for you to play and compete.
Bandit EVO
When the M392 Bandit was introduced in Season 3, we knew it had the potential to capture the hearts of the competitive community. Sure enough, it did. And we heard loud and clear from you that competitive Halo needed a single-shot fire starting gun, something that made you giddy when you got a Perfect kill, something that made you jump out of your chair when you turned around and outgunned someone who had the drop on you, something that rewarded your individual skill more.
That something is the Bandit EVO.
The M392 Bandit that shipped with Season 3 was designed to be an on-map pickup weapon in the “Assault Rifle” class, and we felt it fit that role just right. However, if we wanted to adapt the Bandit to be the starting gun, it needed a complete overhaul as it was going to fill the utility role.
Competitive Halo requires a utility starting weapon, it is the cornerstone of the entire experience. You need to be able to fight off your spawn even when your opponent has all the power on the map. This meant it needed range so we gave the new Bandit EVO a 1.6x sight so now you can knock that sniper out of scope. It also needed to be reliable in its firing mechanics so we’ve drastically reduced the bloom and recoil. It also needed to fit in a similar time-to-kill to that of the BR so that players always have a chance to come back in a fight and so we’ve decreased the rate of fire a bit. At the same time, it’s important that weapons are balanced against the Bandit EVO, so of course it has descope.
Here’s the full list of changes from the M392 Bandit to the new Bandit EVO:
Rate of fire: 3.0 -> 2.9. (rounds per second)
Rounds total initial: 45 -> 60
Rounds total maximum: 60 -> 75
Eliminated progressive recoil
Reduced bloom/error angles
Zoom magnification 1.4x Iron Sight -> 1.6x Holopoint Sight
Added descope
Reticle rework
Additionally, the red reticle range has been increased for both Bandit EVO and M932 Bandit.
When you combine all of these elements together, you get the new starting weapon for Ranked Playlists as well as the Halo Championship Series in Year 3.
Now, some of you might be thinking, “Well, I liked the original Bandit, what does this mean for that gun?” Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered. The original M392 Bandit with the normal tuning will still be available in the game and across the various social playlists it’s featured in.
Additionally, all of your Bandit customization will work for the M392 Bandit and the Bandit EVO – you just need to customize it once and the game will automatically apply the changes to both Bandits for you when you load into with a Bandit EVO and pick up an M392 Bandit.
With a new starting weapon in ranked, this is a great opportunity to jump back in and prove yourself in time for the Year 3 of HCS kicking off in 2024.
Extraction
Halo 4’s mode, Extraction, returns to the franchise for the first time in Halo Infinite. Extraction is a tried-and-true, battle-tested game mode that went through the rigors of many tournaments from 2012-2014 and we’re excited to bring it forward to Halo Infinite.
How does it work? In Extraction, teams must enter a zone and plant the Extraction device. Once planted, the device will take 60 seconds to extract and the planting team must defend it while their opponents need to convert the device to Extract for themselves and reset the 60 second timer. Once a team successfully extracts the device, they will score 1 point and the zone will then move to a new pre-determined location. The team that scores 4 points, wins.
Extraction will be played on the following maps in the Ranked Arena playlist when Season 5 launches:
Live Fire
Recharge
Streets
Extraction will be a totally new dynamic to the ranked and HCS rotation and we can’t wait to see all of the strategies start to form when it releases on October 17.
Forbidden
Introducing Forbidden, a brand-new Halo Infinite 4v4 map built for ranked play. Forbidden is not a remake, but rather a totally new design that harkens back to classic Halo with not only its map layout but also its artistic approach. Forbidden is a symmetrical map and will be featured in the Ranked Arena playlist with Capture the Flag (3 Captures to Win).
In terms of power weapons and power ups on the map, each team receives access to a S7 Sniper which is well suited for the map with its longer sightlines but distinct cover and routes to traverse through the map.
Forbidden will indeed be going into the HCS rotation for Year 3, and we’ll announce the final rotation in January before the competitions kick off. There will be some map and mode combinations rotated out in order to make room for Extraction and Forbidden.
Forbidden will be making its way into the Ranked Playlist in the coming weeks after Season 5. We are still fine-tuning weapon layout, equipment, and spawning and want to ensure it’s a great experience that the competitive audience enjoys instead of releasing it in ranked before it’s ready.
Please note that the list of map and mode combinations in Ranked Arena for Season 5 will not be indicative of the final list for when the HCS Year 3 season begins. We will be keeping a close eye on the performance of all the map and mode combinations in the playlist and then making the final decisions in January 2024.
HCS Year 3
As announced at the Halo World Championship, we’re excited to confirm that a Year 3 of HCS will be taking place starting in 2024 which leads up to yet another $1 million HaloWC. Until then, we’ll be hosting some open tournaments on FACEIT to give players something to compete for fun in – and they begin later this fall. Follow @HCS on Twitter to see the latest.
Thank you once again to everyone who’s supported Ranked Halo Infinite and HCS, and thank you for making this yet another incredible year for competitive Halo.
Season 5 drops on October 17 – we’ll see you online!
Forge Overview | Season 5
For the first time ever, players will be able to add Campaign AI to their creations with the addition of the AI Toolkit and its accompanying suite of features. That revolutionary new feature, alongside two new canvases, 200+ new objects, object collision toggle, lighting improvements, additional quality of life updates, and more – Forge will reach new heights when Season 5: Reckoning lands on Tuesday, October 17.
Let’s dive in for a closer look at all the updates coming to Forge next week!
Forge AI Toolkit
The most notable update coming to Forge in Season 5 is the introduction of the AI Toolkit, which will allow you to create thrilling experiences using Campaign AI.
To see how powerful the new Forge AI Toolkit is, be sure to check out the Forge Fundamentals episode from the Community Stage at the HaloWC.
While we highly recommend giving the video above a watch, we also wanted to lay most of it out in writing as well. Let’s take a look at the tools you’ll have at your disposal with the launch of Season 5: Reckoning.
At a high level, the new AI Toolkit will place the following options in the hands of the players:
Campaign AI character units (43 variants)
How they deploy on map (Spawn, Drop Pod, or Phantom)
The weapons they spawn with
Guide their movement path
Difficulty level
Behavior modifiers
Nodegraph scripting logic
Allegiance (will they fight with you or against you)
AI Units & Spawning
Now, let’s diver deeper, starting with spawning AI into your creation.
To kick off your creation with Campaign AI, you’ll need to start by spawning them into the map. You can do this just like how you’d expect them to appear in combat on Zeta Halo. They can simply appear in the playable with a default AI Spawner, drop from the sky via an AI Drop Pod Spawner, or have a drop ship insertion courtesy of the AI Phantom Spawner.
In addition to dropping off normal ground units, the AI Phantom Spawner can also drop a Chopper, Ghost, or Wraith, and those vehicles can be set to spawn in unoccupied or with a pilot.
The 43 types of Campaign units that can be spawned in with the AI Toolkit are:
Grunt (5 variants)
Jackals (4 variants)
Skimmers (3 variants)
Elites (5 variants)
Brutes (16 variants)
Hunters (2 variants)
Marines (6 variants)
Bosses (2 variants)
And, if you’d like to have the Spartan Bots from Multiplayer join the fight as well, they’ll have no issue joining the fray. In total, you can have up to a whopping 32 AI units present on the map at one time.
AI Weapon Selection
Once you’ve decided on a set composition of AI units, you can then dive into their settings and choose which weapon you’d like them to be holding when they spawn. The AI units can hold any weapon they used in Campaign, plus a few instances of increased functionality where possible. For example, Jackals can hold Stalker Rifles, so we’ve added the ability for them to carry S7 Snipers and Bandits.
AI Move Zone
From there, you can even lay out a path that you’d like them to follow by placing an AI Move Zone on the map. When linked, this will tell the specified AI units to go to the zone’s set location. Fortunately, the AI Toolkit functionality can use the pre-existing nav mesh data, so you don’t need to rebuild nav mesh data unless you add new geometry to a play space.
If you place multiple move zones, you can dictate where the AI units will move – essentially allowing you to make a squad of patrol units that will scout out a certain area of the map.
AI Difficulty
To provide more control around the experience, players can also select the AI difficulty.
Easy/Normal/Heroic/Legendary – you know them well. This makes enemies tougher, smarter, and deadlier. You can set it on each Custom Game, or you can use a node graph script to change it mid-match and keep players on their toes.
There is also a Player Count Difficulty Multiplier setting, which is the way co-op campaign scales up health based on how many players are there. Just like the Campaign difficulty above, we’ve enabled it as a global Custom Game option, or players can use a node graph script to change it mid-match.
AI Behavior Modifiers
Beyond just selecting the difficulty, there are also behavior settings for AI units that can add flavor to your experience.
Deaf – AI Units will not perceive audio cues such as gunfire
Blind – AI Units will not perceive visual cues
Inactive – AI units will not make any behavior decisions or be active
Magic Sight – AI Units will be able to see enemies through walls and terrain
All of these settings can be dynamically changed on a per-squad basis using the nodes in the AI Modifiers section.
AI Allegiance
One of the most unique aspects of this new toolkit is that it’s also possible to set AI allegiances in the match. With up to 8 different team allegiances, the Campaign AI can be told to work with you, against you (even alongside an enemy team of real people working against you), and the one setting we’d all expect – against everyone.
AI Nodegraph Scripting
As part of the 100+ new nodes being added to Forge this season, more than 75 of them are focused on the AI Toolkit.
For example, with scripting, you can set it up so that AI units spawn whenever a player enters a trigger volume or presses a switch. We tried to make this as simple as possible, so you can make this happen with only three steps. All you do is pick an Event like “On Gameplay Start”, place the “Trigger AI Spawner” node, and link an Object Reference to the spawner you like to trigger. When the event happens, you’ll see the AI units appear.
But, that’s just the beginning. With just a few nodes and a spawner, more advanced scripters could make a button that spawns friendly Hunters for whoever can reach it.
The Forge team went all out on quality-of-life nodes so that you can make custom events out of various things like an AI changing combat state, a squad arriving at a certain move zone, or whether a squad came from a spawner with a specific label. We also created nodes that will manage waves of enemies so you can build Firefight-like experiences or avoid the hassle of triggering spawns yourself. We can’t wait to see what the community comes up with all these tools.
Besides managing spawns, you can also do things like kill all the squads on a map, set health bars visible with a single node, make a squad follow an object or player or set up an object as something the AI can target. Finally, we also took some player-specific nodes that shipped in the Winter Update and made updated copies that will work on AI units.
AI Toolkit Settings
We also wanted to provide additional settings to help Forgers test their AI creations:
Deathless: prevents the player from dying to AI-inflicted damage
Valhalla: prevents the player and all AI from dying
Undetectable to AI: AI units cannot detect players
Squad Information: prints debug information over an AI unit’s head giving insight into its behavior
Pathfinding information: draws debug arrows on screen showing where the AI is trying to navigate so you can diagnose navmesh errors more easily
We’re constantly delighted with the creativity of our players, so we tried to create as many building blocks as possible.
Whether you decide to recreate Halo Campaign moments, make a Firefight-esque mode, build a mode with MOBA elements, construct a tower defense mode, or just add AI interactions to a normal match of Slayer – we can’t wait to see it.
Barrage & Permafrost Canvases
We also knew the Banished objects and Campaign AI would both need a home. Barrage, a brand-new canvas coming next week, is themed around what remains after a Banished bombardment. The play area is blackened and littered with craters, some of which have filled with water. Broken and dead trees are scattered throughout, with a handful of unscathed trees on the outskirts of the play space.
Permafrost is a snow-covered canvas nestled in between sharp mountain peaks. Surrounded by frozen ponds, ice, and snow dusted jagged mountains, Permafrost provides Forgers with the ability to create snow and ice themed maps.
Banished Objects
A new Season wouldn’t be complete without a plethora of beautiful Forge objects being added as well. Next week, with the launch Season 5: Reckoning, over 100 Banished-themed objects will be joining the lineup.
Winter Objects
We’re firmly in fall, but winter is coming. To help you add snow and ice to your maps, over 100 new winter objects will be at your fingertips.
Forge Objects Collision Toggle
In addition to the standard (Normal/Physics/Phased) setting for objects, you can turn off collision entirely with the “No Collision” setting. This will not only make it easier to move objects through a crowded level when editing – you can also use it to toggle off collision on art pieces.
For example, if you have a light sticking out of a wall high above the playspace, there’s a good chance you previously spent a blocker or two making it so that players would slide off or at least be unable to escape the map. Now, you can disable the collision on that light entirely and get the awesome environment art without consuming your dynamic budget on containment and smoothing.
Lighting
Even though Flood customizations will be landing in Season 5: Reckoning, there’s no need to be afraid of the dark because it will also bring numerous improvements to Forge lighting systems.
Light Generation Improvements
We’ve optimized light generation times drastically for all platforms. Naturally, this may vary depending on your platform of choice, but the change should be quite noticeable.
For example, here are the light generation times for Argyle when using an Xbox Series X:
Argyle (Winter Update): 13663 probes took over 8 minutes to generate
Argyle (Season 5): 13663 probes took around 1 minute to generate
Local Light Improvement
New options for light objects are coming as well, which should provide even more control for Forgers:
Minimal Roughness: Allows Forgers to disperse or concentrate the specular light on objects
Area Lights: Adjusts the specular highlight of lights, allowing light casting to better match the light source
Light groups (spec control): Forgers now have the ability to control shadows or adjust fade distance to apply on a per-hardware capacity. This allows them to optimize performance on their maps as much as possible
Near and Far Begin (optimizations): Adjusts the distance that a light starts to render from source. The Far settings adjusts the softness of the edge of the light
Rotating OBBs: Forgers can now rotate OBB volumes to better control the lighting in certain areas of their maps, allowing for better performance management
Volumetric Fog Per Light: Allows Forgers to increase or decrease the amount of volumetric fog from each individual light
New Gobos and Light cones: Additional options to provide more light patterns and textures
First Person Contact Shadows: Toggle option that improves the look of contact shadows on your first-person weapon
Reflection Volume Improvements
Intensity Scalar: Ability to control how bright the reflections in the volume are
Is Active: Ability to turn the reflection volume on and off without needing delete it
Blend on Top: Sets a reflection volume to act as a priority in that area
Massless Children Prefab Property
When assembling a prefab, you establish a “parent” object, which is the first object that the prefab is founded upon. Any following objects added to the prefab are considered “child” objects. Currently, the parent and child objects in a prefab maintain their mass, causing prefabs with multiple objects to feel heavy and clunky.
This means that a player could weld a parent object to a vehicle, then add multiple child objects to that initial parent without adding any additional mass.
For example, right now, a Warthog with a prefab welded to it feels pretty heavy and can exhibit some wonky behavior. When Season 5 comes out, the prefab that’s welded to that same Warthog could have its child objects set to massless, and the Warthog would handle much closer to the original.
PC Control
On top of the additions listed above, we’re also bringing some improvements to the feel of the Forge toolset when building with mouse and keyboard.
These M&K input improvements are:
Camera Pan (MMB + Mouse Drag)
Arrow key plane restricted camera movement
Node Graph WASD screen panning
Forge is taking its largest leap forward yet with Season 5: Reckoning. The introduction of the Forge AI Toolkit, 2 new canvases, 200+ new objects, object collision toggle, lighting improvements, additional quality of life updates, and bug fixes all come together to unlock new potentials for players.
Additionally, the ability to earn Battle Pass XP in Custom Games should pair nicely with these Forge improvements when they launch next Tuesday, October 17.
For more on Season 5 of Halo Infinite, check out our other blogs:
OPERATIONS & BATTLE PASS OVERVIEW – Everything you need to know about how Halo Infinite’s Events are evolving into Operations and the Season 5 Battle Pass
HALO GEAR REWARDS – Learn more about the Halo Gear Rewards program for Season 5
EXTRACTION OVERVIEW – Take a guided tour of Forbidden and Prism with our multiplayer designers
MAPS OVERVIEW – Find out about new objects, palettes, options, and more coming to Forge
RANKED OVERVIEW – All you need to know about Ranked, sandbox, and balancing updates and changes in Season 5
CUSTOMIZATION OVERVIEW – A complete breakdown of new customization content coming in Season 5, the Battle Pass, Shop changes, and more
Season 5: Reckoning
Halo Infinite’s Season 5: Reckoning arrives on October 17 featuring new maps, a new mode, a streamlined 50-tier Premium Battle Pass, Flood-themed customization, and much more!
Get ready to be the Hero of your own Career Rank journey.
New maps, new modes, new rewards, new customization... we’re just getting started.
Infect your Spartan and weapons with all-new Flood customization items
Venture into crystal caves (watch out for those blamite crystals!) and ancient, mysterious stone ruins on two new Arena maps – Prism and Forbidden
Create your own PvE experiences with the new Forge AI toolkit, and stay tuned for the arrival of Firefight King of the Hill in matchmaking
Level up your customization game by equipping any helmet across all Armor Cores
Complete your Career Rank journey and obtain the rank of Hero to unlock the Infinite Mark VI Armor Kit
Halo 4’s Extraction mode returns, reimagined for Halo Infinite
Earn XP to advance your Battle Pass in Custom Games
Let the reckoning commence!
Maps Overview | Season 5
Coming with Season 5 of Halo Infinite are two new maps: Forbidden and Prism.
Forbidden takes place within a vast complex of ancient stone ruins on Zeta Halo, and Prism delves into the crystalline caves of Suban – the so-called blood-moon of Sanghelios – as a battle in the sky rages between the Arbiter’s Swords of Sanghelios and Atriox’s Banished forces.
Both maps will be arriving with Season 5 on October 17, so let’s get you acquainted with them by chatting with multiplayer designer Cliff Schuldt.
Season 5 brings two awesome new maps into Halo Infinite’s rotation. How would you summarize Forbidden and Prism?
Forbidden is a map that is visually defined by the ancient stone ruins that strongly evoke the aesthetic of Delta Halo, similar to Forest in Season 4. It’s a symmetrical arena map with snipers on either side, long sightlines, and Power Equipment in the middle – so it’s a map that we think will play really well with competitive, but it’s also a space that you’re just going to want to wander around and explore in a custom game.
Prism is an asymmetrical arena map set on Suban, one of the moons of Sanghelios. It’s where the blamite crystals are mined to be used as ammunition for needle-based weaponry, so it boasts an incredibly unique aesthetic that we’ve not really seen in Halo before.
Last season, we had Forest and Scarr, and we’re leaning even more deeply into some of those unique alien aesthetic elements in Season 5 with these two maps. What can you tell us about the aesthetic design of Forbidden and Prism?
We’re always keen to find subtle ways to communicate to the player where they are on the map, and Forbidden does that in a really cool way. On one side, the map is dried up and dead, while the other side is lush and green, featuring ancient aqueducts that are channeling water around this massive stone complex.
Prism is a mix of a lot of exciting visual elements. It’s set on Suban, so there’s that aspect of Sangheili design; but it’s also a cave system filled with these blamite crystals, so there’s a certain alien-ness to it as a natural formation as well. And there’s a Banished presence here, so their rough industrial equipment adds another visual layer to the map.
What are some of the unique features that Forbidden and Prism have as Arena maps?
On Prism, one of the power weapons is actually the special Pinpoint Needler variant from Halo Infinite’s campaign, which boasts an increased magazine and much stronger tracking abilities. Because of the theme we were going for with this map, having the Needler front-and-center here – an iconic Halo weapon going back to 2001 – just felt right for this map to give it a unique edge.
Oh, and there are some unharvested blamite crystal clusters that players can shoot, making them explode which sends crystal shards flying off. That’s a cool environmental hazard which adds another fun and unique layer to the map.
For Forbidden, ample routes around the space make Capture the Flag matches even more tense – whether you’re attacking, defending, chasing the flag carrier, or trying to navigate your way back to capture the flag. There are a lot of options for the player to utilize in any of these situations which can feel incredibly rewarding. Long sightlines will put your sniping skills to the test, and there are some skill jumps that players can utilize to really level up their play. It’s a map we wanted to be easy for players to grok, but it has additional layers of depth that you can master.
One of the coolest things about Halo maps from the very beginning is that they tell a story, and I think we really lean into that in Prism. What can you tell us about some of those elements?
When we begin designing a map, we don’t like to design a blockout without knowing what kind of aesthetic we’re going for because those details lend so much unique flavor to these maps.
For Prism, we’re leaning into visualizing an area of the lore that you may have read about but certainly haven’t seen before. The mines on Suban are where blamite crystals (used for weapons like the Needler) come from and the Banished have come to claim it for themselves. This tells a story that you’ll see not just in the playable space but also in the battle that is taking place in the skybox where Banished ships are duking it out with the Arbiter’s Swords of Sanghelios.
Similarly with Forbidden, the design of those Delta Halo-inspired stone ruins is so unique – that ancient and elegant chonkiness is an aesthetic that evokes such a sense of mystery and allows us to lean into subtle storytelling elements that make these places feel alive.
Which modes are some of your favorites to play on these maps?
Prism feels great for zone control modes like King of the Hill and Extraction, but also – as mentioned earlier – plays really well with fast-paced One Flag CTF matches.
We had a great time testing CTF, Strongholds, and Oddball on Forbidden as well. The map lends itself to some incredible set-up scenarios and really unique moments!
Both of these maps also have their own unique Infection variants, with new areas to explore while certain paths are cut off.
Do you have any fun stories from playtests on these maps?
We had so many good times with these maps, it’s hard to narrow it down to any one moment or thing that happened.
Having unique Infection map variants means it’s always fun when players are looking around to find the best hiding spots, thinking they’ve found the perfect place, and then the “Oh no…” moment when they’re the last survivor and everyone starts charging their position.
We’ve also been blowing each other up with blamite on Prism, and had some really, really close matches of Multi Flag on Forbidden. There have been some jaw-dropping “all or nothing” plays to prevent flag captures that have given me a new appreciation for the sniper rifle and those who are skilled at wielding it!
And aside from the gameplay, it’s been wonderful to just wander around these maps and admire the incredible job that the team did at making them feel like living spaces in the Halo universe. That’s what I used to do when I was young, wondering about what stories could happen in these locations, and hopefully players will get a sense of that on Prism and Forbidden as well.
Are there any hints towards Easter eggs or secrets for players to keep their eyes open for?
A hidden secret lies within stone ruins… maybe it’s a sandwich lol.
Thank you for joining us once again to help us explore the making of these new maps! Do you have any parting words to share?
As ever, please send us your clips of the awesome moments you have playing Season 5. Show us the secrets you find. Everybody poured their love into these maps and we hope you have as much of a good time playing on them as we did making them!
For more on Season 5 of Halo Infinite, check out our other blogs:
OPERATIONS & BATTLE PASS OVERVIEW – Everything you need to know about how Halo Infinite’s Events are evolving into Operations and the Season 5 Battle Pass
HALO GEAR REWARDS – Learn more about the Halo Gear Rewards program for Season 5
EXTRACTION OVERVIEW – Take a guided tour of Forbidden and Prism with our multiplayer designers
FORGE UPDATES OVERVIEW – Find out about new objects, palettes, options, and more coming to Forge
RANKED OVERVIEW – All you need to know about Ranked, sandbox, and balancing updates and changes in Season 5
CUSTOMIZATION OVERVIEW – A complete breakdown of new customization content coming in Season 5, the Battle Pass, Shop changes, and more
Extraction Overview | Season 5
Extraction comes to Halo Infinite in Season 5!
Let’s get you reacquainted with the asset retrieval game mode, the rules of engagement that’ll carry your team to victory, and the different mode variants you’ll be playing.
Extraction
Extraction is an objective-based game mode that was introduced to Halo over a decade ago in Halo 4, where Spartan teams were tasked with an asset retrieval mission. In Halo 4, players used a quantum marker tool to designate slipspace crates for extraction. In Halo Infinite, this beloved mode has a new coat of paint with the latest UNSC and Personal AI tech.
The mode goes as follows:
A neutral Extraction Site appears on the map, where players must enter the site and plant their Extraction Device (all players have one) within its radius to begin the process of Extraction
Once an Extraction Device is planted, it is owned by that player and their team, and a timer will begin counting down to Extraction
Enemy players can interrupt the Extraction process, and even convert it to their team by interacting with the Extraction Device
If the opposing team successfully converts the Extraction Device, then the countdown timer will reset and the battle for that Site will continue until there is a successful Extraction
Whichever team successfully completes the Extraction process earns a point, after which a new neutral Extraction Site will appear elsewhere on the map
Simply put: players must deploy and protect Extraction Sites at different locations on the map to score points, the team with the most points wins
Variants
In Season 5, players will be able to experience a couple of variations of the Extraction experience (and will also be able to customize various settings for Custom Games as well).
Arena: Extraction
The core Extraction experience with one neutral Extraction Site appearing at a time until one team scores enough points to win.
Ranked: Extraction
A variation in Ranked Arena at launch where players spawn with one Frag Grenade instead of two, motion-tracker is disabled, and friendly fire is enabled.
We’ve got plenty more Season 5: Reckoning previews to come, so stay tuned for a detailed look at the following:
OPERATIONS & BATTLE PASS OVERVIEW – Everything you need to know about how Halo Infinite’s Events are evolving into Operations and the Season 5 Battle Pass
HALO GEAR REWARDS – Learn more about the Halo Gear Rewards program for Season 5
MAPS OVERVIEW – Take a guided tour of Forbidden and Prism with our multiplayer designers
FORGE UPDATES OVERVIEW – Find out about new objects, palettes, options, and more coming to Forge
RANKED OVERVIEW – All you need to know about Ranked, sandbox, and balancing updates and changes in Season 5
CUSTOMIZATION OVERVIEW – A complete breakdown of new customization content coming in Season 5, the Battle Pass, Shop changes, and more
Vacation-052 Weapon Charm | Season 1 Legendary Bundle
My job is just Reach. No, wait, beach!
Complete all of your Weekly Challenges and the Ultimate Challenge to earn this week’s Ultimate Reward – the Vacation-052 weapon charm.
A new Ultimate Reward will become available every week, so be sure to keep an eye on your Challenges and take advantage of these free rewards.
Back to the beginning!
Get the most bang for your buck with this bundle of Season 1 Legendary Armors to secure a collection of MARK VII armor customization, including:
STORMFALL armor set
ANUBIS armor set
HAZOP armor set
Head to the Shop and peruse the legendary offerings today!
Halo Gear Rewards | Season 5
Halo Gear Rewards are back for Halo Infinite’s Season 5: Reckoning!
Halo Gear Rewards is a program that celebrates players for completing specific in-game accomplishments by unlocking access to purchase exclusive limited-edition products in the Halo Gear Shop.
The first reward was introduced in Season 2: Lone Wolves with the amazing Fracture: Entrenched Tanker Jacket and was followed by the introduction of the Pin Program with Season 3: Echoes Within Pins.
For Season 5, we are introducing a new earnable reward that might just come in handy when carrying around all those previously earned rewards.
Meet the Halo Tactical Carrier – this UNSC-style backpack is mission ready and designed with utility in mind. The Tactical Carrier has three primary compartments, reinforced straps and carry handle, and sufficient nylon and Velcro areas for attaching pins, patches, and other insignia.
Players can earn access to purchase the Tactical Carrier by completing the 50-tier Premium Battle Pass. Upon completion, players will receive their unique code via Waypoint notifications to make their purchase in the Halo Gear Shop.
Speaking of patches, players who complete the Reckoning Battle Pass will also earn the Reckoning Insignia Patch. This embroidered patch will be included with the purchase of the Tactical Carrier backpack.
But wait, there’s more! Players will also have the option to add-on the Operation: Combined Arms Patch and the Operation: Winter Contingency III Patch for an additional cost. There is no need to complete specific Operations to access these patches.
The Halo Tactical Carrier can be unlocked for purchase through the duration of Season 5: Reckoning and Operations: Combined Arms and Winter Contingency. Purchases must be made by January 29, 2024.
With the release of Season 5: Reckoning on October 17, some of Halo Infinite’s content and engagement vectors are evolving versus what’s been offered in the game thus far. Today, we’d like to get you up to speed on changes you’ll find with the Battle Pass and in-game “Events” (transitioning into “Operations”) once the new season is live.
Overall, content is being delivered in a tighter, more efficient manner with a greater emphasis on moving the community forward together through the same content within the same windows of time.
Battle Pass, Evolved
Since the initial launch, Halo Infinite seasons have featured a 100-tier Battle Pass which offers various rewards and unlocks across both free and premium tracks. Season 5 will once again offer a Battle Pass full of unlockable content, but the way it’s packaged will be more streamlined than prior seasons.
The Season 5 Battle Pass is comparable to what’s been offered in prior seasons in terms of breadth of content, but now consists of 50 total tiers. Thanks to some improvements with our game systems, we can now include multiple content items in a single tier of the pass. Historically, the Battle Pass may offer a Coating for each Armor Core – represented as individual separate offers across separate tiers. With Season 5, you’ll see a Coating offered in a single tier, and it will work and apply to every Armor Core in the game.
Similarly, rather than having to unlock a left and right shoulder across two separate tiers of your pass, in Season 5, you’ll unlock a full set in a single tier. Being able to consolidate this type of multi-use content into a single tier has resulted in a much tighter, more efficient pass that will net you more content with less grinding. And speaking of grinding, you’ll be able to progress your Battle Pass via Match XP by playing the experiences you want to play (including an all-new Custom Game XP system) in addition to supplemental progression via Challenges.
Go Premium
The Premium Battle Pass will still cost 1,000 credits and will still include 1,000 credits to be unlocked across its 50 tiers. The Premium Pass will still include an extra challenge slot and bonus XP while it’s active, and once purchased it never expires. And, similar to Season 4, the Premium Pass will include an exclusive instant-unlock bonus customization item with purchase (more on that closer to launch!)
Free For All
The free content in the Battle Pass has also been streamlined to span the first 20 tiers of the pass. This free content is similar to prior seasons and will take players less gameplay to unlock. In general, as you’ll see further below with our approach to “Operations,” our intent is for in-game engagement tracks to include 20 tiers of free rewards.
The free Battle Pass will be available until the new “Operation” begins (more on this below!) and will be denoted in the game UI. Season 5’s free Battle Pass will be active until November 14, 2023. Upon expiration, the 20 free tiers of content will no longer be available to unlock if you haven’t already completed those tiers. Players who would like to finish the pass beyond the stated cut-off date, or decide they want the additional 30 tiers of content, can purchase the Premium Pass in the shop at any point. When the free Battle Pass period ends, players will permanently keep all of the free content they’ve unlocked prior to the cut-off date.
Season 4 Battle Pass TL;DR
Overall pass is tighter with better-quality content
Play the way you want! Progress your pass with Match XP (Matchmaking or Custom Games)
50 total tiers (includes 20 tiers of free content newly streamlined with a similar breadth of content offered in a more efficient manner)
Premium Pass:
Costs 1,000 credits
Includes 1,000 earnable credits over the course of completing the Premium Battle Pass
Includes exclusive instant bonus customization item
Includes an extra challenge slot and Bonus XP when activated
Never expires; yours to keep and complete at your leisure
Available for purchase in the Shop at any point after season launch
Free Pass:
20 tiers of content
Availability and access expires on November 13 with the start of a new Operation
Can be converted to Premium at any time
Overall, our hope is that by streamlining the pass and fitting more, high-quality content into fewer tiers, we’re able to reduce friction and make it more obtainable to more players. Additionally, a smaller time commitment coupled with even greater value content hopefully presents a better incentive for players considering a premium upgrade.
The shorter expiration window for the free pass is perhaps one of the biggest changes, but our hope is that providing more content across fewer tiers will offset any potential time pressure. Further, we hope to be able to move the bulk of Halo Infinite’s players forward together, experiencing the same new content at the same time.
Enter Operations
Since launch, Halo Infinite has featured numerous “Events” which offer free earnable, themed rewards during a specific window of time. While we have enjoyed playing events and earning cool content, we’ve heard feedback that they often feel too limiting (short windows that may not align with player availability) and once they’re gone, there’s no way to ever obtain that content again.
With Season 5, we’re evolving to “Operations” which are similar to “Events” in spirit but brings a few specific changes we want you to be aware of.
One big thing that’s NOT changing: Operations, like Events before them, will continue to launch as totally free activities. Each Operation will include 20 tiers of free unlockable rewards that can be progressed at your leisure over the specified duration of the Operation.
Unlike prior seasonal Events, a typical Operation will run for approximately 4 to 6 weeks, and the reward track is available to progress and unlock for the entire stated duration. All players will have more time to progress and obtain rewards compared to the old Events system. Like the Season 5 Battle Pass and prior seasons’ Events, when the Operation comes to an end, access to the free Operation Pass goes away and players won’t be able to unlock any further reward tiers (unless they have opted into the Premium Operation offer described below). When a free Operation pass ends, players will retain all of the earned content they’ve unlocked up to that point regardless of whether they choose to go premium.
An Operation will always offer 20 tiers of free earnable rewards, but for players who choose to go premium a few additional options are available. First, players may choose to upgrade an active Operation for 500 credits, which will instantly unlock an exclusive bonus customization item while also making the Operation pass durable (it will not expire) and, when equipped, offers bonus XP and an extra challenge slot during the Operation’s live window.
A second premium option for 2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers at purchase as a convenience and additionally includes the exclusive bonus customization item.
To directly address player feedback and provide more flexibility, an Operation won’t disappear forever once it concludes. Once an active Operation has ended, the Operation pass be purchased at any point thereafter via the Switcher or Shop (for both the 500 and 2,000 credits instant-unlock offer).
The way you progress an Operation is also changing compared to how Events used to run. Historically, players had to focus on completing challenges as the only means of unlocking the 10 tiers of free content. Starting with Season 5, Operations progression is based on Match XP so you can play whatever playlist you want (even Custom Games) and make progress across 20 tiers. Challenges are still there as another source of XP for players on top of Match XP.
Operations TL;DR
Free 20-tier reward track
Play what you want to progress (including Custom Games)
More time to complete than pre-Season 5 “Events”
Free access expires at the end of the Operation (but you retain everything you’ve already earned)
Premium Upgrade:
500 credits includes special instant unlock bonus cosmetic
2,000 credits includes above + instant unlock all 20 reward tiers
Operation Pass never expires
Includes Bonus XP and extra challenge slot when active
When an Operation has ended, it becomes available for purchase in the Shop
Season 5 Operations
Season 5 will include two Operations on the heels of the launch Battle Pass:
“Combined Arms” – Begins November 14
“Winter Contingency III” – Begins December 19
Please note that these details are subject to change – please refer to the official information within Halo Infinite for the latest and greatest info once Season 5 has launched.
Looking Ahead
We’re excited to jump into all the new features, content, and experiences coming with the launch of Season 5 on October 17.
In the meantime, keep an eye on Halo Waypoint for more about what’s coming including a deeper dive into some of the new notable Spartan and weapon customization content coming to the game.
And, for a closer look at the full Season 5 Battle Pass and more Operations details, join us live from the Community Stage at the 2023 Halo World Championships for a special Season 5 presentation (in-person at the Washington State Convention Center and streamed live on Saturday, October 14).
Keep an eye out for our upcoming blogs covering Season 5.
HALO GEAR REWARDS – Learn more about the Halo Gear Rewards program for Season 5 MODE OVERVIEW – Learn more about the return and revamp of Halo 4‘s Extraction mode MAPS OVERVIEW – Take a guided tour of Forbidden and Prism with our multiplayer designers FORGE UPDATES OVERVIEW – Find out about the AI toolkit for PvE, along with new objects, palettes, options, and more coming to Forge RANKED OVERVIEW – All you need to know about Ranked, sandbox, and balancing updates and changes in Season 5 CUSTOMIZATION OVERVIEW – A complete breakdown of new customization content coming in Season 5, the Battle Pass, Shop changes, and more
Season 5: Reckoning Trailer
A reckoning is coming...
The first-look trailer for Season 5 of Halo Infinite is here, showcasing some of the new content that will arrive on October 17 when the season launches – and beyond.
New maps, new modes, new rewards, new customization... we’re just getting started.
Infect your Spartan and weapons with all-new Flood customization items
Venture into crystal caves (watch out for those blamite crystals!) and ancient, mysterious stone ruins on two new Arena maps – Prism and Forbidden
Create your own PvE experiences with the new Forge AI toolkit, and stay tuned for the arrival of Firefight King of the Hill in matchmaking
Level up your customization game by equipping any helmet across all Armor Cores
Complete your Career Rank journey and obtain the rank of Hero to unlock the Infinite Mark VI Armor Kit
Halo 4’s Extraction mode returns, reimagined for Halo Infinite
Earn XP to advance your Battle Pass in Custom Games
Keep it locked here in the lead-up to launch as we dive into the depths of what Season 5 has to offer – from updates to Forge and the Ranked experience, to the Battle Pass and customization, and much more!
And be sure to tune into the 2023 Halo World Championship from October 13-15, where we’ll be doing a deeper dive into Season 5: Reckoning on the Community Stage.
Halo World Championship 2023
The Halo World Championship 2023 will be live from Seattle, October 13-15!
The best Halo players from around the world will be vying for their piece of the $1,000,000 prize pool.
Watch the action all weekend long, cheer on your favorite team, and don't miss the finale of the latest Halo esports season!
You can also watch all the rest of the Halo Celebration Community panels such as the Cosplay Contest, Fireside Chat with Steve Downes, Jen Taylor, & Keith David, and more!
