Halo 5: Guardians' first major post-launch update, Battle of Shadow and Light, has gone live and includes the Big Team Battle playlist as well as 48 new REQs.

When 343 Industries revealed the first major post-launch update for Halo 5: Guardians six days ago, few thought it would be live within a week. Yet 343 delivered a wonderful surprise this morning, pushing the Battle of Shadow and Light update out to Xbox One consoles and reinvigorating the multiplayer community. In a comment attached to the update's launch 343 reaffirmed their "commitment to meaningful post-launch support and expanded free content."

Battle of Shadow and Light's most prominent feature is the highly anticipated Big Team Battle matchmaking playlist. The 8v8 multiplayer mode may not be as big as Halo 5's aggressively touted Warzone mode, a 12v12 mode built to take advantage of the shooter's REQ system, but it is highly valued within the Halo 5 community. Big Team Battle disallows REQ consumable use on its four newly launched maps: Deadlock, Basin, Guillotine, and Recurve.

In addition to Big Team Battle, the Battle of Shadow and Light update also adds 48 new REQs. A majority of the REQs are either Woodland or Tundra-themed skins for all vehicles, but two big inclusions are the Shinobi (Ultra Rare) and Tracer (Uncommon) armor sets. The new Assassination animation has to be mentioned as well. Shove It has the player's spartan dodging their opponent's knife attack, taking said knife and putting it in-between said opponent's eyes, and following it all up with a knee to the knife's hilt.

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The launch of Battle of Shadow and Light hasn't been without complaints, however. Though perhaps that's just the nature of the Halo community these days. Much of the negative talk revolves around the four maps for Big Team Battle, as some are claiming that they're little more than Forge maps and that 343 didn't put more effort into them because of Warzone. Warzone, of course, receiving the attention due to its potential profitability from REQ microtransactions.

There are also several mentions of multiplayer connection issues post-patch in Halo 5, though these complaints don't seem prevalent enough to cause a stir. Considering Halo 5's success, a big update like Battle of Shadow and Light is certain to have some infrastructure issues as players rush to try the new content and put Big Team Battle through its stretches.

What seems to matter here is that 343 is delivering on their promise of new Halo 5 content; that the content they've delivered is free (unless buying REQs sounds rewarding); and that Big Team Battles actually sets REQ consumables aside for a more traditional experience. It's really a win/win situation for all parties involved and it's a great sign that 343 will continue these types of content updates going forward.

Download Halo 5: Guardians first free post-launch content update, Battle of Shadow and Light, starting today on Xbox One.