Halo Infinite developer 343 Industries has previously said it plans to change up the update cadence for the game's free-to-play multiplayer portion following Season 1 with smaller, monthly patches focused on bug fixes and quality of life improvements. Next week, the first of these updates, dubbed 'Drop Pods, is coming in hot, and it will carry significant Ranked matchmaking changes, bug fixes, and more.
Ranked matchmaking is going through a shake up in the form of needing at least 25 completed matches in social playlists before a player can access Ranked playlists. Per 343, this should give its anti-cheat and anti-griefer systems enough time to detect bad actors repeatedly utilizing new accounts. It should also ensure that actual newer players have a grasp on the gameplay before going into the much more competitive arenas of Ranked.
As for existing players, everyone who has already completed 25 matches in Halo Infinite Multiplayer will be allowed in to Ranked when the update goes through.
Secondly, squads jumping into Ranked playlists together will have to be at least a little closer in skill level to not disruptions for both teams due to wildly different Competitive Skill Ranks (CSR).
This change will only apply to 900 CSR players (Platinum 1) and above, meaning those in Gold don't have to worry about playing Ranked playlists with friends. Below are the rules 343 is implementing, though the ranges will be adjusted as the seasons goes on:
- For 899 CSR (Gold 6) or lower, there are no restrictions
- At 900 CSR (Platinum 1), a limit of 900 points is introduced.
- Between 900 CSR (Platinum 1) and 1500 CSR (Onyx), the Fireteam CSR limit will slowly tighten as you climb the ranks. It will start at the 900 limit mentioned above and tighten to its final destination of 600. This essentially means that on the way to Onyx, every 2 CSR gained will tighten the Fireteam limit by an increment of 1 CSR.
Aside from the Ranked changes, the update is also carrying a small durability buff for light vehicles, optimized loading times for elements like Battle Pass and Challenges in menus, espcially in lower-end systems, improved Xbox One stability when joining games to lower drop rates while loading, and even a new loading screen to finally replace the Zeta Halo ravine we've been seeing since launch.
While a definite date was not confirmed today, this first Halo Infinite 'Drop Pod' update should land sometime next week for both Xbox console and PC players. 343 Industries is also looking to begin flights of its long-delayed campaign co-op feature in July if everything goes to plan.
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