Halo Infinite serves as something of a soft reboot to the franchise. And while not everyone is happy with 343’s attempts to reset the status quo, most Halo fans seem to agree that it successfully recaptures the spirit of Halo: Combat Evolved . However, the game still has plenty of room for improvement, with Big Team Battle, in particular, going through something of a rough patch over the last few months.
Developer 343 Industries rolled out the latest multiplayer update today, significantly improving Halo Infinite’s 12 vs 12 Big Team Battle mode. Players will notice improved matchmaking and balance changes that will, hopefully, address their concerns better than the previous hotfixes.
343 announced Halo Infinite’s latest update yesterday, with the patch going live at around 1:20 PM Eastern, 10:20 AM Pacific. Full patch notes are available on the Halo Waypoint website and include a variety of fixes, primarily but not exclusively addressing problems with Big Team Battle.
The most significant changes involve matchmaking and random game joining, with 343 tweaking the system to help players find teams faster. Additionally, Fireteam members now have their selected Fireteam Marker color in Big Team battle, though they won’t necessarily start the game in the same part of the map. Big Team Battle players will also notice Scorpion and Wraith tanks distributed much more frequently around the map.
The patch also includes general multiplayer changes and tweaks to Halo Infinite’s Oddball mode. The latter focuses mainly on reducing the number of matches that end in a tie. The game now adds an extra minute to Oddball’s round timer if scores are tied when it runs out. The match is only declared a tie if there still isn’t a winner after the extra time runs out. Additionally, the match ends automatically if two separate rounds end in a tie.
As for the general fixes, the new update prevents Halo Infinite players from joining a multiplayer match that’s already almost over. It also fixed a bug that prevented Custom Games from saving changes to Free-For-All Slayer, Free-For-All Oddball, Neutral Flag, and Tactical Slayer matches. Finally, the patch adds the Halo Championship Series esports variant of Free-For-All Slayer. Players will find it as an option when setting up a Custom Game.
According to 343 Industries, the whole update is only 1.1 GB or less on all platforms and downloads automatically. Halo fans need a win after 343 further delayed co-op and Forge, so hopefully, the adjustments to Big Team Battle prove to be a massive upgrade to Halo Infinite’s signature multiplayer mode.
Halo Infinite is available on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Halo Waypoint
