343 Industries have introduced a brand-new update for Halo Infinite Season 2, bringing back Skill Jumps and fixes for Last Spartan Standing.
A few weeks into Halo Infinite's second season, and we still have mixed feelings about the whole thing. Whilst the two new maps are pretty darn great, and the new Battle Pass is chock-a-block full of great cosmetic items, there are a few changes that have come around and somewhat thrown out the game's balance.
The removal of Skill Jumps was one of those big, impactful changes in Season 2. It is unsurprising that 343 Industries have made the move so quickly to revert these changes, considering the negative feedback that came as a result of this move. Meanwhile, a few changes are coming to Last Spartan Standing, one of the game's brand new game modes, and it seems like a good move.
We've come to a critical point in Halo Infinite's life cycle. Many are claiming that Season 2 is the do-or-die moment for 343 Industries' latest effort, and they are not wrong in that judgement. Coming with the territory, though, is 343 Industries' drive to improve its communication with the community. Thus, we have a pretty extensive Halo Waypoint blog entry to go through, so let's get started...
Skill Jumps Return to Halo Infinite
343 Industries have confirmed that a number of skill jumps are returning to the game in the latest update. These are the skill jumps in question:
- Live Fire: Key door & house panel
- Bazaar: Double doors (both sides)
- Aquarius: P side edges (with adjustment)
- Streets: Pizza
The developers addressed the skill jump issue by saying that "it was clear we made a mistake in removing a number of skill jumps from the game", an omission that is nice to see from the developers.
In a detailed section of analysis, 343 Industries addressed the decision to make these changes, and why they have reverted a few of them and made a few adjustments.
The Live Fire, Bazaar, and Streets jumps are a 1-to-1 roll-back to how they were before the Season 2 update. The Aquarius P side edge jumps have been brought back with some slight adjustment to support their gameplay more officially. The collision on the Aquarius jumps should now be more predictable in addition to some added pipes which aim to more clearly indicate the collision and traversal mechanics. We hope this retains the essence of the skill and combat of the original jump.We do our best to analyze the trade-offs of different strategies, the movement of players through the levels and the cost or “friction” of traversal in different combat scenarios. In conjunction we strive to create environments that offer a fine-tuned risk and reward experience and clearly communicate the movement opportunities in the combat space.
Changes to Last Spartan Standing
A pretty major change to Last Spartan Standing has now brought all equipment to the Equipment Pods. This is a major change that could potentially make the Battle Royale-style mode a whole lot more fun to play.
Based on community feedback, Equipment Pods in Last Spartan Standing will now feature all equipment, rather than just Power Equipment
It might seem like a pretty small update to Last Spartan Standing, only a single line in the patch notes, but it will be a pretty big difference for any fans of Halo Infinite's attempt and a Battle Royale.
Did Anything Else Coming in the May 13 Update?
If you want a more detailed analysis of the nitty-gritty of the update, as well as the complete patch notes, I would recommend checking out the official blog post. That being said, there were a ton of other changes that came in the latest update. Here's a quick list:
- PC stability improvements.
- The Rakshasa armor core’s leg when using Body Types 1 & 2 will look as intended.
- In Campaign, collected Spartan Cores will accumulate correctly and a player’s balance should now always be accurate. Some players with campaign saves from pre-S2 ended up with their Spartan Core balance and Equipment upgrade track in a bad state, this should now be resolved.
- Address a rare issue preventing players from capturing zones in King of the Hill.
- On Bazaar, the Overshield will now spawn at the start of a match.
- Pelican vehicle drops will match their pre-S2 frequency and type.
- Wasp respawn timers on Highpower will also be brought in line with their S1 timers.
- In BTB, Fireteam color markers should be applied to your matchmaking Fireteam again.
- Disabling Speed Lines should function as intended.
So, there you have it: Halo Infinite is seeing the return of a number of skill jumps, and a pretty major change to Last Spartan Standing. Will this be enough to fix up the game and bring it into the limelight? Well, along with all of that juicy Season 2 content, we could see the game garner a bit more support over these next few months. Only time will tell, though...