Halo Infinite Season 2 patch notes: Battle pass, new maps & modes, Forge, more
Halo Infinite Season 2 is finally here, bringing some new content to the game that will entice players to hop back into the FPS.
Halo Infinite has gone through a bit of a dry spell recently, with most excitement about the game coming from leaks and rumors surrounding a potential battle royale mode.
Finally, some new content is here with the Halo Infinite Season 2 update, which is called “Lone Wolves.” With that being said, let’s take a deep dive into the patch notes.
- Halo Infinite Season 2 release date
- New Halo Infinite Season 2 Battle Pass
- Season 2 Events
- New Halo Infinite Season 2 maps
- New modes in Halo Infinite Season 2
- Forge Open Beta
- Halo Infinite Season 2 Full patch notes
Halo Infinite Season 2 release date
Halo Infinite Season 2: Lone Wolves will kick off on Tuesday, May 3, 2022, at 11 AM PT/ 2 PM ET/ 7 PM BST.
The Season will last 6 months, and so the season is expected to end on November 8, 2022.
New Halo Infinite Season 2 Battle Pass
Halo Infinite Season 2 introduces a new 100-tier Battle Pass with up to 180 rewards.
Purchasing the Premium Battle Pass is required to earn all rewards and 1,000 Halo Credits, but all players will be able to unlock free tiers that include rewards like Challenge Swaps, armor pieces, and the all-new Lone Wolves armor core: RAKSHASA.
Battle Pass Switching
Players who have purchased the Premium Battle Pass for Season 1, Heroes of Reach, and have not yet completed it will be able to re-equip it and unlock any previously locked tiers during Season 2.
To change which Battle Pass is equipped, follow the steps below:
- Navigate to the Season 2 menu. This can be done from the main menu by selecting or using the shortcut listed within the Season 2 tile in the top right corner.
- Select the Switch Battle Pass button below the Battle Pass tile on the left side of the menu.
- On the Battle Pass Switcher menu, use the checkbox below the Battle Pass tiles to equip the preferred Battle Pass.
For players who did not complete the Season 1 Battle Pass previously and do not currently own Season 1’s Premium Battle Pass, it can be purchased from the Battle Pass Switcher menu or the Shop menu.
Season 2 events
Lone Wolves Narrative Events – Interference & Alpha Pack
Season 2 will feature two separate Lone Wolves events. These narrative events will each last two weeks and feature different 10-item Event Passes.
- Interference will be active May 3-15, 2022.
- Alpha Pack will be active July 19 – August 1, 2022.
To earn items in either Event Pass, players must complete Event Challenges while the event is active. Event Challenges can be identified by the orange banner icon visible by the Challenge’s name.
These challenges will often require players to complete matches or perform certain actions in the event playlist. Event Challenges cannot be completed in Custom Games or non-Event playlists.
Fracture: Entrenched
Season 2’s Fracture event will provide players with multiple weeklong opportunities to complete Event Challenges in the new Land Grab mode and earn up to 30 free customization items.
Like the Lone Wolves event above, these customization items can only be earned by completing Event Challenges while the event is active.
At the core of this event’s free customization items is the new armor core: EAGLESTRIKE. This armor core can be unlocked for free by completing Event Challenges, and all other armor pieces earned via the Entrenched Event Pass are exclusive to this armor core.
New Halo Infinite Season 2 maps
The new season of Halo Infinite will bring two new maps to the FPS game, Breaker and Catalyst.
Breaker is a Big-Team-Battle map set in a “banished scrapyard where each team’s base is a huge chunk of ship debris, divided by the plasma cutting beam structure in the middle.” This beam is actually a dynamic element of this map, which you can either use to your advantage or be punished by its presence.
Catalyst is much different, as it is a smaller, more “symmetrical arena map,” which is set high up inside an expansive “tunnel-like Forerunner structure.” This map possesses an overgrown aesthetic, where nature and a man-made structure have intertwined.
New modes in Halo Infinite Season 2
The Halo Infinite Season 2 update also brings new modes to the game, one of which is a familiar fan favorite.
The first is Last Spartan Standing, which is described as a “free-for-all elimination mode.” This mode is for 12 players and is set on Big-Team-Battle maps. Players will have 5 chances to respawn, and every time a player gets a kill they can “upgrade to a different weapon.”
We then have Land Grab, which is a simple yet effective team-based game mode in which players must capture 3 neutral zones on the map in order to gain points. When a zone is captured, the team earns one point. When all zones are acquired by a team, three new zones will spawn. The first team to eleven points wins the match.
Last, but certainly not least, we have King of the Hill, which fans of the franchise should be familiar with. In this mode, a “neutral hill spawns on the map and two teams battle it out to control the hill and earn points.”
Further, “when a player enters the hill uncontested, it is captured and begins earning 1 point per second into a capture bar. When a team’s capture bar is full, they score 1 point and a new hill spawns somewhere else on the map.”
Halo Infinite Forge Open Beta in Season 2
Also coming in Halo Infinite Season 2 is the Forge Open Beta, which is set for “later in Season 2,” according to the April 2022 blog.
The devs have explained that they wish to “get the Forge toolset into your hands sooner rather than later so that awesome community maps and modes can more rapidly make their way into the game.”
Bringing this in Season 2 will be great for players, as it will provide an endless flow of new content, which many feel has been the main letdown of Season 1.
Halo Infinite Season 2 patch notes
Here are all the official patch notes for Halo Infinite Season 2:
NEW ROTATING PLAYLISTS
In addition to the new modes listed above, several new playlists will begin to rotate in and out of Halo Infinite’s matchmaking. The first rotational playlist of the season is Rumble Pit. Replacing Free-For-All (FFA) Slayer, Rumble Pit is an FFA playlist with more mode variants to create more FFA gameplay variety.
For example, the following variants will be included in Rumble Pit:
- Ninja Slayer: Infinite ammo Energy Swords and Grappleshot loadouts, with only Grappleshots and Power Equipment on-map.
- Vampireball: In this Oddball mode, the Skull carrier is no longer nerfed—instead, the Skull is a one hit kill and has 50% Shield Vampirism.
- Rocket Repulsors: Infinite ammo Rocket Launchers and Repulsor loadouts, with only Repulsors and Power Equipment on-map.
Attrition
Attrition, which debuted in Season 1’s Cyber Showdown event, is also now available in the Quick Play and Bot Bootcamp playlists as well as Custom Games.
Game mode rules:
- Two teams of four players face-off in classic Slayer fashion, however, the teams have a shared pool of respawns. Once that pool of respawns has been depleted, downed players will drop their Personal AI. Teammates can use the dropped AI to revive downed players while enemies can use the dropped AI to eliminate players entirely.
- Players must work together across multiple rounds to ensure they can eliminate the enemy team first.
- If the round continues long enough, a Danger Zone will begin to close in on the map. Players caught outside of the Danger Zone will begin taking damage.
Elimination, a variant of Attrition in which the shared pool of respawns is disabled, will be available later in Season 2 as a rotating playlist.
The “Medic!” Achievement, which is unlocked by reviving three allies in Elimination or Attrition, can now be unlocked in both Custom Games and matchmaking.
BIG TEAM BATTLE (BTB) ANNOUNCER CHANGES
The Arena multiplayer announcer, voiced by Jeff Steitzer, will now call out medals earned during BTB matches. Commander Agryna will continue to provide strategic game mode oversight.
This change to Halo Infinite was inspired by player feedback. Visit the Halo Waypoint forums to provide feedback and meet other Halo players. Feedback shared on the Halo Waypoint forums may be shared with Halo Infinite developers.
MOTION TRACKER CHANGES IN MULTIPLAYER
The Motion Tracker has a new “edge” functionality in non-Ranked matchmaking playlists. The edge reveals the general direction of players who are sprinting, shooting, or operating vehicles just outside of the Motion Tracker’s range. The inside of the Motion Tracker will continue to detect walking, sprinting, shooting, and operating vehicles as precise blips.
In Arena modes, the Motion Tracker’s will show precise blips for enemies up to 18m away, and the edge functionality will reveal players who are up to 30m away. In Big Team Battle, the Motion Tracker’s max distance is 24m, with the edge functionality reaching out to 40m.
Let us know what you think of this change by sharing feedback in the Halo Waypoint forums.
ENDLESS WEAPON DRILLS
All Weapon Drills in the Academy now have an endless variant, meaning they do not have a timer or scoreboard. These Drills can be used to improve your mastery of the weapon sandbox or to fine-tune your aiming controls.
Like the addition of the multiplayer announcer to BTB, this tier of Weapon Drills was inspired by player feedback. Thank you to all players who provided feedback in the Halo Waypoint forums and elsewhere!
IMPROVED BOT BEHAVIOR
Various improvements have been made to bot behavior:
- Bots will now jump into allies’ vehicles as either passengers or gunners.
- Bots are now more capable of completing objectives in game modes such as Capture the Flag (CTF) and Strongholds.
- In Academy’s Training Mode, multiple new toggles and options have been added to finetune bot behavior on a per-skill basis. Adjustable skills include movement, aiming, equipment usage, grenade usage, and more.
NEW PLAYER OUTLINE OPTIONS
The opacity and thickness of player outlines can now be adjusted. This includes the ability to disable outlines entirely. Changing these options will apply to enemies and allies in both multiplayer and Academy modes.
These settings can be adjusted in the User Interface (UI) tab of the Settings menu in-game.
NEW TARGET FRAME RATE OPTIONS FOR XBOX SERIES X|S CONSOLES
Xbox Series S consoles now support a 120hz refresh option. Xbox Series X now support a 30Hz refresh option.
These options can be adjusted in the Video tab of the Settings menu. More details about enabling the 120Hz refresh option in Halo Infinite can be found in the “How to Enable Graphics Quality Mode for Halo Infinite.
- Known Issue: Selecting a Target Frame Rate of 30Hz will work as expected on Xbox Series X|S consoles, however, gameplay will revert to 60Hz after the next relaunch of Halo Infinite.
- Workaround: To maintain the 30Hz cap, the Target Frame Rate option will need to be set to 60Hz and then back to 30Hz every time the game is launched.
BALANCE CHANGES
WEAPONS
Melee
- Melee damage has been reduced by 10% in both multiplayer and campaign.
- In multiplayer, this change to melee damage makes the Mangler a 2-shot beatdown rather than a 1-shot beatdown.
- In Ranked multiplayer only, the Battle Rifle has increased melee damage.
- This change was made to preserve the Battle Rifle’s two-burst beatdown after the global melee reduction.
- Other changes to melee will also result in the following improvements for multiplayer:
- “Traded” melee kills will occur more often now than in Season 1.
- Improved snapping to enemies during melee lunges.
- Improved enemy collision immediately after meleeing.
Mangler
- In addition to the melee damage change noted above, the following changes were also made to the Mangler in multiplayer:
- Reduced starting reserve ammo from 24 to 16.
- Reduced max ammo capacity from 56 to 40.
Ravager
- The Ravager’s base shot is now stronger than before and is therefore capable of a two-burst kill.
EQUIPMENT
Drop Wall
- The Drop Wall is now stronger than before and deploys faster once it hits the ground.
Overshield
- The Overshield now grants an additional half bar of shielding.
VEHICLES
Warthog
- The Warthog’s tire positions and suspension have been adjusted to better improve its handling on uneven terrain.
Chopper
- When boosting, the Chopper will now one hit kill all vehicles except for the Scorpion and Wraith.
Banshee
- The Banshee’s mobility and weapons have received multiple buffs:
- The Banshee can now move slower and faster than before, including when turning.
- Weapons cooldown faster and deal more damage.
SYSTEMS
Slide
- Velocity gained from landing into a slide on a ramp has proportional reduction based on fall height.
JUMPS
- Multiple collision fixes on all previously released multiplayer maps. Some examples of these improvements include:
- Smoothing out traversal on the ground.
- Fixing player’s standing on out of bounds rock ledges.
- Removing or adjusting collision on small props and thin ledges.
There you have it, that’s all of the Halo Infinite Season 2 patch notes. For more on Halo, check out how many people are playing in 2022.
Source: Halo Support
Image Credits: 343 Industries