Full Circle: AutoUpdates, Maps, and Matchmaking Playlists
Article Written by: Chris Raiyn

Six months into the life of Halo 2, it has metamorphosed into a completely different monster. One week, we all are shocked by the Halo:CE replication of the AutoUpdate. Grenades have power, melees have power, and the game takes skill again. The following week, the insatiable thirst of thousands upon thousands of screaming gamers became partially sedated with the addition of four new maps (four, and not two, because seriously – who DIDN’T buy Turf and Sanc?), some of which are better than the originals.

On Wednesday, May 04, 2005, more changes will occur, but this time in the field of Matchmaking. Of course, nothing guarantees that Matchmaking will support more fairness, and in turn, fun, but it will at least be based more on skill now that the changes have been made.

The first, and most necessary change to mention would of course be the Leaderboard reset. This includes not just those players actually viewable on the Bungie.net leaderboards, but also every player from rank fifty to rank one. Everyone will pop back down to one and be forced to start over. According to Bungie, this shouldn’t matter because rank doesn’t matter, and Halo 2 isn’t a competition. But, more on that later. Game stats will still be available on Bungie.net pre-reset, but ranks will be reset. So don’t worry about losing the proof of that Killtrocity in head to head: it’s still there.

After becoming a level one, everyone can of course head over to the old playlists to see a couple fresh names: Double Team and Team Preview. Double Team is the highly-demanded 2 vs. 2 playlist that Bungie just couldn’t refuse. Little is known on the maps, or the presence of objective gametypes, but it promises to be an all new playground which will incorporate completely different strategies. Finding a team of four to set up a skirmish or slayer isn’t always easy, but perhaps more players will be accommodated now that a playlist will be released. Anybody can find a friend online at any given time.

The other big change is Team Preview. Though Containment and Warlock, the two free maps, are slated to be adopted across the board, Team preview will give those who were obsessed enough to buy Turf and Sanc a medium in which to test their talents on the new maps. Team Preview, although a mix of older favorites, will mainly consist of large helpings of the two particular maps they’re geared towards. Those who did not purchase the maps, will be unable to play in this play list. Also, Bungie has announced that players will be awarded prizes for their stats (not rank, but individual statistics) in the new Preview play list, so there’s extra incentive to do well. Of course, add to this the knowledge that games within matchmaking will be geared more towards skill and be loaded with a few extra surprises.

Those surprises come mainly in the form of minor changes to individual maps and gametypes but with staggeringly powerful results. Here goes, in list format:

Probably the one most people will get upset about is the removal of the Plasma Pistol from both Beaver Creek and Colossus match made games. PP was so easy to find, Bungie argues that PP/BR combos were making the games much more stale and less fun. Also, that grenades and melees were going to add more skill and variety to these maps anyway; the combo had just outgrown itself.

Think the Banshee was cheap on Ascension and Headlong? Well, simple enough: There is no more Banshee on objective gametypes for those two maps. Bomb hiding had become an increasing problem, though it appears that the next change may have taken care of that. And who doesn’t hate being on Ascension without rockets and getting torn up?

Sudden death on Assault? Gone. No more bomb hiding. Though this may anger quite a few people, Bungie has decided to increase bomb round times across the board. This will allow for more time to implement multiple strategies, rather than just having the bomb carrier wait until his team returns after spawning or hiding out until the other team gives up and quits.

Head to head, though it probably won’t be any fun, is getting the addition of King and Oddball game types, and the removal of the motion detector. Since very few people play head to head, this shouldn’t matter since this doesn’t sound much more fun that the alternative.

Want the Spectre in your games? You got it. Hate phantoms? Wasted like your sister at her first frat party.

Probably one of the more notable changes is a Battle Rifle start on big maps. The two specifically mentioned maps were Burial Mounds and Coagulation, though Bungie didn’t make it entirely clear whether or not more than a few of the maps would be sharing in this generosity. No one knows whether just adding the BR to the big maps is a personal shot at MLG, but perhaps it’s best not to think about that.

Now, with all of the changes occurring over the last few weeks, one must wonder: why is Bungie so drastically changing its game? MLG proponents have been pressuring Bungie since virtually the game’s release to fix the settings in Matchmaking. Battle Rifle start for more options, no sudden death assault, no radar in team slayer, etc. Bungie was hesitant to make any of those changes based on no research, so it compromised.

It did its own research, and rather than changing settings, it has tinkered with a few and changed the game instead. Rather coincidental is the fact that Bungie has now completed its updates, while MLG will probably have their asses glued to their chairs in brainstorming sessions to find out what the settings should be with the new updates to the game.

Most likely, however, MLG proponents will still be arguing for MLG settings even after the monumental changes to game play, but Bungie still won’t listen. One of the GotFrag Halo staff has some opinions on this, but that’s for another time. In regards to the changes that have been made, all seem for the better and curiosity will most likely get the best of every Halo player come Wednesday morning.