5 March 2014
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The Halo Bulletin: 3.5.14

03.05.2014 16:39

The Halo Bulletin

I often spend time in the Bulletin talking about how the weather in Seattle really isn't that bad. It truly is quite pleasant outside most days, and despite Seattleites telling visitors and tourists that it's "never like this," it's pretty important to expose the meteorological truth whenever possible. The past few days however, have been filled with a bit too much cold, fog, and overall wetness that is generally associated with our corner of the country, and when I walk over to the other building to visit (bother) the multiplayer team, I often arrive drenched. Unfortunately for them, this doesn't stop me from swinging by and peeking at their in-progress work. The lackluster weather does have me quite excited for warmer weather, and all that the next few months should (hopefully) bring. Some of these include various forms of madness (including both the March and Medal varieties), a new playlist (more on that later), and...did I mention warmer weather?

Seeing as it is still cold out, we're planning on staying inside and playing lots of games. This lines up perfectly with Monday's community playdate, when we'll be playing Halo 4's newest game type. Let's talk about it!

Community Playdate

Just a few days ago, Medal Madness made its way into Halo 4 Matchmaking. We've gotten some great feedback on the game type (thank you!) but if you haven't tried the playlist, we suggest you do so immediately. To help you start slaying with style (and prep you for the upcoming community playdate - details below), here's a crash course:

At the start of the game (and each mini-round), one of Halo 4's medals will be displayed on screen with a 1:00 timer. Your goal is to get more of the specified medal in the time period than the other team.

Your player traits will change with each mini-round. Sometimes, this means only your primary weapon will change, but other times, this may mean turning invisible with Active Camo, which is the case for the Assassination round. The team that wins the mini-round will get one point. First team to seven points wins!

If you think you've got what it takes to rack up some medals, join us for next week's community playdate. If it feels like we just did a playdate last week, then you are indeed feeling very right. It just so happens that we really like to play Halo and play with you, so we're comin' back for more.

This Monday, March 10, we'll be running some Medal Madness matches in custom games. To further contribute to the madness, we'll be inviting community members at random, so just send a message to one of the gamertags below:

B is for Bravo
bs angel
TTL L askan

We'll be mixing up teams and players regularly, so if you don't receive a response or invite right away, just keep spamming us. No, just kidding. Please don't do that.

We can't wait to play with you, and hope to see some of you then!

Matchmaking Playlist Update

Our March 17th Matchmaking Update will bring with it some goodies, one of which is Extraction. If you haven't had a chance to check out one of Halo 4's exclusive game types, hop into the playlist - Extraction is a unique blend of attack / defend gameplay that often results in tug o' war matches, last second conversion, and nonstop action. It will be available as our featured playlist through March 30th.

Last week, we announced that an update was on the way for the Team Throwdown playlist. As I write this, our sustain team is designing a fresh experience for players. This update will take the form of new settings, a new map pool, and a new playlist name - Proving Ground.

The Proving Ground playlist will be the new arena for Halo 4 players to enjoy BR-start gameplay that will feature an increased variety of power weapons, the removal of Personal Ordnance and Armor Abilities, and the addition of the motion tracker. The settings are similar to Legendary Slayer BRs, but do not include the Assault Rifle as a secondary weapon, and instead focus on precision weapon gameplay. Additionally, the Team Slayer Top 200 will be moving to the Proving Ground playlist, ranking the top players in this new playlist each week, which is specifically designed for a new competitive experience in Halo 4.

We're excited about the playlist, and will have additional details for you next week regarding the map pool and more. This week, though, we want to know which objective game type you want to see included at launch in Proving Ground!

Community Choice Poll: Proving Ground Game Types

In Proving Ground, objective game types will be fast paced, competitive, and in general, pretty awesome. Before we launch this new playlist, we want to know which objectives you want to play first. Check out the choices below and vote on your favorite option!

Capture the Flag
Proving Ground CTF will feature symmetrical gameplay with a mix of on-disc, DLC, and community-made maps.

Extraction
Proving Ground Extraction will feature Battle Rifle gameplay coupled with strategically placed and timed power weapons that results in a fast paced, teamwork-oriented experience.

King of the Hill
Proving Ground King of the Hill will feature time-based sequential hill movement. This means that the hill will move along a set path on set time intervals, providing structured gameplay that promotes map control.

Head here to vote on the Waypoint forums, where voting will be open for approximately four days. Next week we'll announce the Community Choice winner along with the Matchmaking Update!

New Halo 4 Marine Armor Avatar Items

If you didn't catch it last week, the Xbox Live Marketplace just got a bit more UNSC armor in stock. The Halo 4 Infantry Armor and Space Armor variants are now available for your protective pleasure.

If you'd like to armor up, head over to the Xbox Live Marketplace where you'll find these new items as well as all Halo 4 avatar items.

Knowledge Drop: Community Questions

Every once in a while, we receive some awesome questions from you across the forums, Twitter, Facebook, or while walking to lunch in the rain (you know who you are). Sometimes, we can't answer these questions because they deal with future projects or adventures, or we may just be trying to get a sandwich at the local sandwich shop. Other times, we can answer them, and that's when I run over to our Franchise team and ask if they can provide me with some juicy info for the weekly update. Luckily for all of us, this is one of those times.

Our very own Jeremy Patenaude and Brian Reed stopped by and answered a few of your fiction questions from Twitter over the past week. Check 'em out below.

Q: The Minister of Discovery seems to think his people squandered the Mantle. Was it "given" to them until Humanity was ready? - @AncientHistoryx

A: Despite his heavy critique of the Covenant, Discovery's perspective is not entirely objective, so it's important to take everything he says within the framework of his skewed worldview.

Q: Mortal Dictata was great! What happened to Sav Fel? Along with Endurance, there is no more info about his fate. - @ShadowDRAC086

A: Right now, Mortal Dictata's events are the most details we're giving out about our bird buddy Sav Fel. We're just glad we've got a Skirmisher among the ranks of named characters.

Q: DeMarco was born on Aug 24, yet he says his birthday is Mar 5th in Issue #3. Can you clear this up? - @Mr_Admirals

A: Clearly someone in the UNSC Paperwork Filing Corps filed the wrong paperwork.

If you'd like to ask a question for a future Bulletin, be sure to drop us a line on Twitter or via the discuss link at the bottom of the article!

Next up, bs angel is back with another Screenshot Spotlight!

Screenshot Gallery: FOTUS

Last week, we turned the spotlight on the color purple. This week, we decided to go with a mythical and magical creature. Er, helmet. Take a gander at the following FOTUS screenshots, and maybe even find inspiration to make your own.

For your chance at being in the next spotlight, take a screenshot on the map Skyline and then tag it with "Skyline" and "Halo Waypoint", and maybe, just maybe, yours will be featured in the next Halo Bulletin!