A detailed look at the Raven Software patch notes for Warzone
Warzone has been in the wild long enough to attract fans, and you can tell that the developers are listening to the community. This past week has seen a series of major updates from Raven Software and 343 Industries, including new weapons and armor sets, new maps, and more. Today we’re going to go over all of the changes in the latest patch, along with some new additions that fans might have missed, such as a new Forge mode. By the end of this article, you’ll know everything there is to know about Warzone after its biggest update yet!
Maps
The maps are a big deal, as they’re likely to become one of your main focuses as you progress through Halo 5. There are a number of ways to gain an edge on these battlegrounds: by learning their layout and flow, picking up some basic strategies, and focusing on using power weapons effectively. We’ll take a brief tour through all of that and touch on other points along the way. Welcome to our first-look at Halo 5: Guardians.
You may have noticed that some of these maps are familiar from previous games in one way or another. Colony, for example, is a remake of Halo 2’s Zanzibar. Truth and Regret are mirror images of each other and have both been shown before as part of Halo 4’s campaign. The bulk of them, however, are all new to us.
Let’s take a quick tour through each one . As with any good battle strategy, it pays to know the terrain. Here’s what we know about each map so far… Crow’s Nest: It features only vehicle routes and multiple levels of elevation. One end features a precarious ledge from which players can use gravity hammers to smash opponents below; vehicles drive up ramps here too. It looks like this is going to be the site of fast, chaotic action reminiscent of Assault mode in past Halo titles.
Playlists
Another way of playing a similar role is to create and curate content on services like Apple Music or Spotify. If you’re an expert in some area, you can build a (paid or free) playlist on Spotify with your favorite songs/artists that relate to your topic. People will then come to associate your content with these playlists, allowing you to get traction from that association. This can also help expand your audience beyond those who are already familiar with you or some other aspect of your business.
For example, say you create a playlist on Spotify called Meditation Music. People looking to relax might find it and listen to it. It’s much more likely that those who do will be interested in purchasing your meditation guides or coaching services than someone who just happens to stumble upon one of your YouTube videos or articles.
Your audience will likely be very interested in your playlist. They might even listen to it regularly, building their own bond with you and your content. If they enjoy listening to your playlist, they’ll be much more likely to subscribe to your channel or check out another one of your playlists if they find that on Spotify.
Armor Customization
As we roll out future updates to Halo 5: Guardians, you’ll have a lot more control over your Spartan. We’re giving players an array of armor, visor and weapon skins that can be combined in practically infinite ways. But don’t worry – all those unlockable goodies are purely cosmetic; they won’t affect gameplay balance or progression.
To get you started, each of Halo 5: Guardians’ 18 multiplayer maps will have several pieces of gear associated with it – usually one weapon skin, one armor skin and a visor. This gear can be obtained in a variety of ways: You’ll earn REQ Points after every match based on your performance; winning awards you more points than losing. You can also purchase REQ Packs using real-world money, which we’ll go into more detail about soon.
Once you’ve got a few REQ Points, it’s time to customize your Spartan. You’ll be able to personalize your avatar with armor, visor and weapon skins that can be combined in practically infinite ways – just like Halo 4. Each unlockable item is purely cosmetic; they won’t affect gameplay balance or progression. You can also create set-piece loadouts by locking items into place using REQ Points.
New Gear Sets
After listening to player feedback, we’ve made some changes to how you earn gear and level it up. Each time you level a piece of gear, you’ll be able to equip it and activate its stat modifications. The changes are listed below: NEW FEATURE – Pinnacle Progression: When leveling any gear set, players will now have a chance to receive mods that can be slotted into that specific gear set.
This is currently only available on Heroic difficulty. We’ll be expanding to Legendary and Epic soon! A new level-up screen will show you all mods that are slottable into your current gear set and how many of each mod type there are (i.e. 6x Critical Hit Chance). If you have an open slot in your gear set and enough materials to craft the mod, you can select it by pressing Triangle/Y. Slotted mods will stay in place until they’re replaced with better ones. You’ll also see whether or not a particular slot has been unlocked or still needs some experience before being unlocked.
You’ll still need to reach level 20 with a piece of gear in order to level it up again, but there’s no longer a soft cap on how high you can level your gear. Your power will now increase every time you level up! As before, each mod that is slotted into a specific gear set will provide new and more powerful bonuses, so if you want to keep those perks and push your gear even further, be sure to slot mods when they’re available.
General Fixes
The following fixes and changes have been made to game-wide issues. Some may not be documented yet. This list is not all inclusive. It’s just a snippet of some of the most important changes in this update. For a complete listing, please visit our website or press one of the links below. Consequently, we are excited about these additions to the game that will make it more enjoyable for everyone!
Thanks again to all players who participated in the beta tests and provided feedback. We hope you enjoy these updates!
This Week At Bungie: 9/5/18 – 9/12/18
With Forsaken’s launch less than a month away, we’re starting to see some of the massive changes coming to Destiny 2: Forsaken. As of today, Bungie have released their This Week At Bungie post, detailing what they plan on adding to Destiny 2 in between now and Forsaken’s release.
In today’s post, Bungie outlined what they plan on adding between now and Forsaken’s release. To start with, they have already added some new content to their game. The Scourge of The Past Quest is now available, which sends players to fight through a Fireteam of three alongside Valus Thuun to defeat Savathun and her daughters.
New Raid – Palace Garden Wing
New Eden’s largest raid to date, Palace Garden Wing, will be unlocked once all Guardians have completed King’s Fall on Hard Mode. This new raid will introduce more challenging and complex encounters than previously seen in Destiny and will reward you with unique exotics that are sure to dazzle. Stay tuned for further information as we near launch.
For those looking to get their hands on some unique rewards, completing Palace Garden Wing will reward players with a new and exclusive exotic sniper rifle. This gun pairs perfectly with its existing auto rifle counterpart, known as Uriel’s Gift. This weapon has a chance to return health on every kill and is paired nicely with another special item found in King’s Fall Hard Mode.
Once players have completed Palace Garden Wing on Hard Mode, they can unlock a weekly heroic version. Completing a run of each mode will allow players to earn new gear and unique armor exclusive to King’s Fall, along with an exotic weapon blueprint. It is worth noting that these hard modes are different from previously existing hard modes in that players must be at level 40 to enter them.
Weapon and Vehicle Balance Changes
The biggest point of contention from fans is a concern about weapon balancing in Halo 5: Guardians. Recent updates to H5 have improved weapon balance, and continue to do so, with more changes planned for future updates (Patch Notes 2.0.11). Let’s take a look at what has changed since Patch 1.09 and what’s coming up next week.
So what’s changed since Patch 1.09? Most importantly, some of the stronger weapons have been toned down, and we’ve seen a lot more diversity in choices made by players in Multiplayer. The Boltshot received a drop in damage to 4 from 5, bringing it closer to its original Halo 4 state. Its projectiles were also slightly increased in speed, making them easier to land shots with on moving targets like vehicles or Scattershots.
The Scattershot has also seen a reduction in damage from 5 to 4, and similar changes to its shot spread speed. In addition, players can no longer have both an Assault Rifle and a Scattershot equipped at once – you’ll have to choose one or the other.
A number of other weapons saw changes as well, such as slight reductions in damage from both iterations of the Plasma Caster and slightly slower projectiles from both variants of The Storm Riffle. As mentioned earlier, we’re looking to see how these weapons perform after these changes, and plan to make additional adjustments if necessary.