Halo Infinite season two’s launch was not the smooth and successful boost to community morale that developer 343 Industries hoped for it to be. Issues with bugs and challenges failing to track plagued day one, but it was the changes made under the hood to map geometry that had players across social media the most frustrated.
Only three days after season two went live, 343’s community manager Unyshek has addressed the backlash to the changes. In an announcement thread posted today, he stated internal reviews are already underway surrounding the map updates made that removed certain jumps in Halo multiplayer, as well as a number of campaign speedrunning methods.
Popular jump spots on various maps were removed with no prior warning, details of it emitted from previous blogs that discussed which changes to expect with Infinite’s second season. The unexpected removal of these jumps, often noted for how they changed map flow in positive ways, led to a lot of anger on social media.
Shyway, a caster for the Halo Championship Series also known for his YouTube series teaching players how to perform these now removed jumps, was one of the most outspoken. “Love Halo Infinite, this community and that’s not changing,” he said in a tweet following the release of the patch notes. “But making significant changes to game balance without transparency or insight from your most dedicated fanbase just doesn’t feel like the best way to foster a healthy community.”
The lack of knowledge players and staff within the esports space had prior to the release of the changes is especially worrying, as the removal of map jumps and an additional season two change that heavily nerfed slide tech are most impactful to how competitive Halo Infinite is played. Snip3down, a veteran athlete currently competing under FaZe Clan, even teased a return to Apex Legends following frustrations with the state of Infinite and its competitive component.
While Unyshek was able to confirm reviews had already begun, he avoided giving players any timeframe for when changes may be reverted or tweaked. “We’re not at the point where we can promise anything yet, but want to be transparent and say we’re taking the feedback seriously and reviewing options internally.”
“We are indeed taking your feedback to heart, especially regarding map jumps and speedrunning,” read a follow-up tweet from Joseph Staten, the head of creative for Halo Infinite. “We’re reviewing options and will have more news to come.”
It might not be the immediate rollback many players probably hope for with these unpopular changes, but other issues with season two’s launch are seeing more instant fixes. Unyshek also announced players who log into Halo Infinite while the Interference narrative event is live will receive five XP boosts and five challenge swaps to make up for the issues the system faced on day one. He further explained 343 was reducing the difficulty of event challenges in coming weeks and making each complete one count for double the progress through the Event Pass.
While a myriad of issues concerning an overall lack of polish to season two’s offerings persist, 343’s willingness to address concerns immediately is a promising sign Lone Wolves and all of its new content will be able to shine as intended soon enough. Though, with the season lasting six months, time isn’t as much of an issue as it is in similar live service titles.
