Halo has always been known for having fun and recognizable multiplayer maps since its inception in 2001. Long-time fans will remember legendary stages such as Blood Gulch, Midship, Guardian, etc. Halo Infinite aims to continue this legacy with its suite of ten multiplayer maps. Currently, there are six Arena maps and four Big Team Battle maps. The former are small (for the most part), primarily designed for eight players.
The latter is designed for the large-scale mode which features 24 players and lots of vehicle play. Infinite has a few standout maps just like previous games in the series, however, not every map can be a winner. Some maps work better than others for a certain game type. Some maps have a better flow than others. It's qualities like these, and more, that separate the good maps from the bad ones in Halo Infinite.
Updated April 10, 2023, by Gregory Gomez: With Season 3 of Halo: Infinite's multiplayer mode releasing in March 2023, the game saw three brand new multiplayer maps added to its multiplayer. The first map was Chasm, a forerunner-stylized arena map with a Halo CE-like sense of scale. The next map was Cliffhanger, which, like Chasm, is built for arena combat, but features an aesthetic closer to Halo: Reach in a few ways. The final addition was Oasis, which is perhaps the best map of the bunch both visually and layout-wise, being the only Big Team Battle map in the update. How do these new maps rank among Halo Infinite's existing pool?
15 Bazaar
The big problem with Bazaar lies in how cluttered it is. The map itself isn't very big, however, there is so much geometry on the map obscuring lines of sight that traversal and even gunfights themselves can feel like they take forever. This also gives the map an overly claustrophobic feel in most areas.
The lack of any significant power position hinders strategy and flow; garbled brawling with little rhyme or reason instead takes its place. This means that most game modes tend to suffer on this map, especially Oddball.
14 Launch Site
Launch Site is a puzzling map because it is absolutely gigantic, yet exists solely in the unranked Arena playlist, which features only eight players at a time. There are vehicles, though there is little reason to utilize them as they offer no tactical benefit due to most of the power positions resting up above the areas dedicated to their use.
The map's inclusion of man cannons that launch players directly into the enemy team's line of sight is also a bit of a head-scratcher since that makes them death traps more often than not. This in particular exacerbates the already stagnant and slow gameplay. It is as if the map is in the wrong playlist altogether. Perhaps this map would be better suited to one-sided, 6v6 objective modes.
13 Deadlock
If there was ever a map that proved that Assault Rifle and Sidekick starts are problematic, it would be Deadlock. The map's layout is perfectly fine with only minimal amounts of clutter, allowing for a reasonable amount of team and vehicle play. However, lack of range on the Assault Rifle and Sidekick on such a large map is a constant thorn in the player's side.
Countering power weapons and vehicles (both of which are random) can be extremely difficult with the relatively limited capability of the spawn weapons, which can lead to snowballing and frustration. This makes the map feel ill-suited to virtually every game type. A possible fix would be to buff the Sidekick or switch to Battle Rifle starts in order to better empower the player.
12 Chasm
While Chasm isn't the worst map in Halo: Infinite, it's really not one of the stronger ones either. In fact, the fan response to Chasm seems to be that it's somewhat of a dud of map, what with its unremarkable layout, unnecessarily hazardous design (it is the easiest map to fall off of), and lack of any meaningful power positions outside the bases.
Sure there are a few floating hexagons in the middle of the map for verticality, however, climbing them leaves the player open to all manner of retaliation. Of the three new maps added in season 3, Chasm is easily the weakest of the bunch.
11 Breaker
Breaker is one of the two maps added during season 2 of Halo: Infinite's multiplayer. Much like Behemoth, it takes place in a biome that does not appear in the main campaign, but it does use the Banished aesthetic like Deadlock.
Unlike either map, however, Breaker is a rather small map by BTB standards and does not feature heavy vehicle play. On top of this, the map can be a bit of a sniper trap due to how open the map is in some areas (a problem that is once again exacerbated by weak spawn weapons). Overall, it's a rather lukewarm map. Its one defining characteristic is that it supports the Last Spartan Standing mode better than most other BTB maps.
10 Streets
While this map doesn't suffer from a lack of power positions as much as Bazaar does, it does have similar issues when it comes to being cluttered and rather directionless with regard to flow. That said, this map shines on two game modes: Strongholds and Capture the Flag. Both of these modes refine the pacing of the map and allow for real strategic gameplay.
In the ranked playlists, static item respawns make gameplay far less chaotic, enhancing the impact skill and strategy already have on the match when playing the aforementioned game modes.
9 Aquarius
Aquarius has a rather simple, symmetrical layout which makes it work well for game modes like CTF and Slayer. While there is a little too much clutter in some areas, as well as long and claustrophobic hallways on either side, it's not as much of an issue as on some other maps.
Ranked gameplay on this map is fast and strategic thanks to static items and Battle Rifle spawns. Unfortunately, this means that casual play somewhat suffers on this map but nevertheless, Aquarius is one of the standout competitive maps of Halo: Infinite.
8 Cliffhanger
With Cliffhanger, fans get a reasonably open, if somewhat oversized arena style map. It seems a little odd that a 4v4 map would need a man cannon to get across it in a timely fashion, but that is one of the things Cliffhanger brings to the table. It has better sight lines than some of the other arena maps and has some verticality to it but nothing too crazy.
Its size does mean that it should be able to support a variety of small to medium-sized game types, at least in theory. It's a competent map but nothing truly amazing by Halo standards. Amazingly, it is so far the first and only map in the game to feature snow of any kind.
7 Catalyst
Season 2 of Halo: Infinite's multiplayer added this Forerunner themed, symmetrical 4v4 map to the game on May 3rd, 2022. Catalyst looks like an old school Halo map in a number of ways, and even features some tried and true elements, making it feel nostalgic for longtime fans of the franchise.
The map has some good sight lines and doesn't feel quite as claustrophobic as some other 4v4 maps, though this element does still persist to a degree. The map is relatively simple in layout, however, which definitely helps to elevate it above some of the other 4v4 maps and makes it the better of Halo: Infinite's new maps.
6 Live Fire
Live Fire is a nice, versatile map for the most part. It has reasonably clear lines of sight, isn't claustrophobic, and features a number of power positions and lanes of attack that players can incorporate into their strategies. The standout mode of this map is ranked Oddball. Under this setting, the map features a number of valuable and well-placed tools for players to fight over such as Repulse, the Sniper, Camo, and a few others.
Live Fire is one of the better arena-style maps in the game and a lot of fun to play. Plus, it gets bonus points for referencing the dearly departed, Sergeant Major Avery Johnson.
5 Fragmentation
This nostalgic-looking set piece succeeds where Deadlock fails. This is to say, the map seems to have been designed in a way that AR and Pistol starts don't hinder the experience nearly as much. Fragmentation is a map dominated by tight pathways with just a few elevated locations in between two massive bases. Vehicle play takes a back seat to good old 'boots on the ground' combat much of the time.
The player isn't always exposed and can more easily utilize the terrain to their advantage. For some, this might be a bit boring as it means the map is cluttered, though others may feel that vehicle play can compensate for this. Loot caves are also a fun little innovation.
4 High Power
While High Power doesn't feature Fragmentation's loot caves, it does have a slightly more balanced layout when it comes to tighter infantry pathing and more open vehicle-oriented areas. The map is somewhat vertical, however. This can mean that longer BTB matches are more fun to play as vehicles that spawn later in the game can be used more effectively.
This more balanced design also means that there isn't a bottleneck when it comes to strategy. Teams can be a little more creative with how they go about playing on this map than on other BTB maps.
3 Oasis
Oasis is not only the best of the three maps added in season 3, but it's also one of the better maps in Halo: Infinite. The map has a very good balance of broad sight lines and confined areas with plenty of room for vehicular combat as well. It's not too large either like Deadlock is, but it's less cluttered than High Power or Fragmentation. This makes it a rather strong blend of each map's strengths in some sense.
The one deficiency the map has is featuring the Wasp, which can make traversing the more open areas a nightmare. Other than this the map can support a wide variety of modes, and it's got a killer aesthetic to boot, giving players little reason to skip this map.
2 Behemoth
Behemoth is a nice and open map with a surprising amount of versatility. It supports a good amount of vehicle play which is balanced healthily with infantry play most of the time. As far as player count goes, Behemoth is on the bigger side and thus has a hard time ensuring that 4v4 game modes are as fun, but the map works so well for larger modes it kind of makes up for that slight deficiency.
The map looks nice aesthetically, it has good sight lines and yet an ample amount of cover, it's simple yet allows for a variety of strategic gameplay.
1 Recharge
Easily one of the better maps in Halo: Infinite, Recharge sports some of the sandbox's most fun-to-use and consequential items (even in ranked). The asymmetrical and segmented design allows for a variety of game modes to work well while avoiding issues of being too cluttered like some other maps.
Movement around the map is rather fluid, and the map has a good sense of verticality for its size. The map even has a few clever trick jumps that would impress even old-school pros. In the end, Recharge does everything well enough that it succeeds more than any other 4v4 map in the game.
Halo Infinite is available to play on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.