HCS
As the start of the Halo World Championship draws near, so too does the end of our settings testing period. Thank you to everyone who played in custom games and matchmaking, and for giving us your feedback which helped shaped the settings along the way. Today, we’re sharing an update on Oddball testing as well as the current gametype list for the upcoming season of competitive play.
ODDBALL UPDATE
We’ve been working closely with HCS Pros to get their detailed feedback on Oddball to tweak and update, and we’re currently in the final stages of testing. At the moment, we’re gathering remaining feedback on two separate variants with some key differences in Oddball carrier traits:
Oddball v3:
- Oddball carrier can only use Clamber Spartan Ability
- Melee while holding the ball requires one hit to kill
Oddball v4:
- Oddball carrier can use Thrust & Clamber
- Melee while holding the Oddball requires two hits to kill
Testing will continue through the new year until final settings are locked on January 5.
GAMETYPES LIST
We’ve made a few changes to original map and mode list based on pro player surveys and other player feedback. Additionally, we’ve reduced the list of maps there were being tested Oddball from six to four based directly on player feedback to focus on providing the best experiences for Oddball.
ODDBALL
- Truth
- Plaza
- Eden
- The Rig
SLAYER
- The Rig
- Truth
- Regret
- Plaza
- Coliseum
CAPTURE THE FLAG
- Truth
- Coliseum
- Fathom
STRONGHOLDS
- The Rig
- Plaza
- Eden
- Empire
Slayer on Eden has been benched from competitive play for the Halo World Championship 2018 season, and will be evaluated for a possible return in the seasons that follow. Teams can begin practicing on these map and mode combinations starting today, with all map and mode variants available the “Official HCS” bookmarks:
MAP BOOKMARKS
MODE BOOKMARKS
MORE UPDATES
We’ve also made some key changes to some map and mode settings which are currently in play in the HaloWC Preview Playlist and on v4 maps and modes in the “Official HCS” fileshare.
SNIPER RIFLE
Sniper Rifle ammo has been reduced from 12 total bullets to 8. This change was made to reduce the “snowball” effect that allowed teams to swing a match in the favor and accelerate their advantage throughout the remainder of the game.
SPNKR ROCKET LAUNCHER
SPNKr Rocket Launcher ammo has been reduced for 4 total rockets to 2. Much like the Sniper Rifle, this change was made to reduce the “snowball” effect on the maps it was present on. These new changes should still give the wielders an advantage, but limits the window of time in which they’re dominant on the map.
INITIAL SPAWNS – THE RIG, EDEN, PLAZA
Initial spawns have been adjusted for red and blue teams. At the start of the matches on these maps, red team was consistently spawning with an advantage and “head start” to map control over the blue team. These adjusted spawns should allow blue team more time to contest for control over the map at the start of matches.
We can’t wait to kick off the Halo World Championship on January 13, and are excited to watch new strategies develop for Oddball in the coming months. On January 5, we’ll be providing a final settings update which will be available to download from the “Official HCS” fileshare.