After launching in December 2021, Halo Infinite has seen plenty of success and accolades, especially with the campaign. Multiplayer has largely been praised thanks to gameplay that manages to capture the nostalgia of classic Halo experiences. Bringing back many fan favorites like SWAT and classic Slayer, 343 Industries has been able to keep things fresh by introducing a live service element to the experience through Battle Passes and limited time events like Fracture: Tenrai.
However, getting to this point was, at times, a struggle as fans weren't enamored with every aspect of the Halo Infinite multiplayer experience. Battle Pass progression has been a sore spot with Infinite fans, tied to finishing weekly challenges rather than XP earned while playing. The online store's microtransaction prices have also come under fire for being too high, especially for items which many viewed as minor. Thankfully, as a live service game, 343 Industries has continued to refine the experience through constant updates.
The latest patch, which 343 indicates is the mid-season update, addresses numerous issues players have brought up. One of the bigger elements of this update addresses the first-person animations for reloading and clambering, which now appear smoother at all framerates. Quick Resume has also been a big topic for Halo Infinite, which has seen plenty of tweaks over the months. The latest one in this patch makes more improvements to help reconnect players to multiplayer and customization services. Digital owners should also see less prompts to purchase the campaign as well.
Recently, there's been a lot of talk around Halo Infinite's anti-cheat system. In fact, anti-cheat is a big reason why Halo Infinite remains unsupported with Valve's upcoming Steam Deck hardware as it continues to undergo testing with the Proton compatibility system. The mid-season update adds improved cheat detection and other anti-cheat improvements, though the patch notes don't go into specifics or confirm that this is the step needed to get Halo on Steam Deck.
While the updates will certainly help fans, there are still some issues which remain a work in progress. 343 confirms that there are still a bunch of known issues including those associated with Battle Pass progression and splitscreen. However, players have also highlighted other issues including one problem related to how Halo Infinite tracks challenges. Worse yet, new clips have been appearing online of desync issues during matches, including one Halo Infinite player that is denied a direct rocket kill and instead gets gunned down by the player.
For now, here are the full Halo: Infinite patch notes:
RESOLVED ISSUES
Many improvements come from Halo Insiders feedback and Halo Support tickets submitted by our community. Thank you for participating and please keep submitting tickets!
GLOBAL
- First-person animations, including reloading and clambering, now appear smoother at all framerates.
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The following sound effects are louder in the audio mix for both multiplayer and campaign:
- Enemies throwing grenades
- The Needler's supercombine
- Player Ravager completing its charge
- Multiple improvements to Quick Resume on Xbox Series X|S consoles including increased reliability of reconnecting to Halo Infinite's multiplayer and customization services. Players who have purchased Halo Infinite's campaign digitally should also see less prompts to purchase Campaign after using Quick Resume.
- Players who did not receive an Achievement after completing its requirements should see it unlock after updating and launching Halo Infinite.
- Improvements to Dolby Vision High Dynamic Range (HDR) output on Xbox Series X|S consoles.
- Color accuracy improvements when playing on a PC with an AMD GPU and FreeSync capable monitor(s). If you want to play with HDR enabled, ensure it is enabled HDR in Windows and the AMD Radeon Software/Settings.
- Stability improvements for Xbox One consoles.
- Launching Halo Infinite with an out-of-date PC graphics driver will now direct players to download Halo Support's recommended drivers.
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PCs with Intel Integrated Graphics hardware may experience less graphical corruptions.
- Intel Integrated Graphics are below Halo Infinite’s minimum system specifications. Gameplay on this hardware may be functional but is likely not performant.
MULTIPLAYER
- Improved cheat detection and other anti-cheat improvements.
- Sound effects for receiving damage as well as enemy footsteps and gunfire are now louder in multiplayer's audio mix.
- The Combat Sensor's range has increased from 18 meters to 24 meters in Big Team Battle (BTB).
- Added new telemetry to help our developers gather more information on shot registration issues. Read the development team's in-depth analysis of these issues and their plans for future mitigations: Halo Infinite's Online Experience.
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After receiving a matchmaking ban, players can select the Play button in any matchmaking playlist to see when their ban will end. This expiration time will be in the MM/DD/YY format and PT time.
- For more information on Halo Infinite bans and how to submit a ban appeal, see How to Appeal a Ban.
- The Optimal Polish Initiated armor coating is now available for all players who have submitted a valid code on Halo Waypoint. More information about this promotional offer can be found at OPI's blog. If you encounter any issues with this promotion, contact amazonhelp@opixboxrewards.com.
- Players standing on destroyed vehicles will no longer experience stuttering or desyncs.
- Matchmaking playlists now reflect accurate Estimated Wait times.
- The Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR) will now reflect the correct winning team after online matches.
CAMPAIGN
- Improvements to Campaign's save system to prevent data loss.
- Interactive items, such as uncollected audio logs and ammo crates, now have their intended sound and visual effects after completing the Campaign's final mission.
- The description of Forerunner Artifacts now appears correctly when playing in a language other than English.
KNOWN ISSUES
This update includes two new known issues:
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Local Area Network (LAN) servers cannot be started from the in-game menus.
- LAN servers can be started on Steam by launching Halo Infinite with the following launch options: -server -console -lan
- This workaround is currently only available for Steam.
- This issue only affects starting a LAN server on PC. Joining a LAN server in-game works as expected on all platforms.
- The Bot Bootcamp matchmaking playlist has an inaccurate Estimated Wait time. Actual wait times may vary but should be much shorter than the listed Estimated Wait.
For a full list of known issues for Halo Infinite, go to our Known Issues section.
Halo Infinite is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S.
Source: Halo Waypoint