‘Halo Infinite: Echoes Within’–Monster Update is Live Now!
At long last, Halo Infinite: Echoes Within has finally arrived with new weapons, maps, and more.
Halo Infinite has been an exciting time for Halo fans. The multiplayer game was released earlier than the campaign in November 2021 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the franchise. Critics and gamers praised the feel of the multiplayer as a return to the franchise’s roots. Unfortunately, 343 Industries was unable to fully keep this momentum going since the campaign needed to be released the same year.
Halo Infinite: Heroes of Reach & Lone Wolves
The game’s first season was called Heroes of Reach and lasted from Nov 2021 to May 2022. The game was given some updated cosmetics during this time with microtransactions. Gamers were so annoyed by the pricing of the cosmetics that the prices were eventually lowered–people stopped buying them. Personally, I felt the 1st season lasted too long. Many players, myself included, finished the season pass way before May. There were some events here and there to unlock special armor to use in multiplayer. The problem was there just wasn’t enough content.
Season 2 started in May 2022 and was called Lone Wolves. It added a few maps with some new game modes as well, like a mini 12-player Battle Royale. This season annoyed gamers because some maps were only playable with some modes. Other playlists were basically the same as season 1. The new season pass wasn’t all bad though. There were more colors, armor pieces, and more to unlock.
But the game suffered from the same issues as the 1st season–lack of content. They tried evening this out with a shorter, free season pass. This season was supposed to end in November 2022 and 343 Industries was feeling the pressure. The developers made the tough decision to delay season 3 to 2023. Fans have been waiting for season 3 since–and the wait is finally over.
via 343
Season 3 is a Go!
Season 3 is called Echoes Within and it is live now! 343 Industries promises it would be the biggest update yet with tons of new content. The season is starting off with a new event called Mindfall that will run until March 27th. The event has a free 10-tier battle pass to unlock new cosmetics for your spartan to use. This event also serves as the story portion of the multiplayer. Another event called Site Unseen will wrap it up on May 2nd-16th. The Fracture events will also be returning this season to allow even more cosmetics. The events will both keep players busy if they’re itching for new things to do in the game and are only up for a limited time.
Spartans will be getting brand-new weapons and equipment this season. The M392 Bandit is a rifle that is a semi-automatic rifle that bridges the gap between the Assault Rifle and the Battle Rifle. It will be perfect for mid-range fights–with some well-timed and well-aimed shots, you can take out your opponents with ease. The Shroud Screen is a new equipment item that conceals Spartans from both view and radar. The shroud is great for sneak attacks with melee weapons or bluffing that you are inside of them for someone to go into.
New Maps and Community Maps
The season brings some much-needed new maps to the playlists in the game. Oasis is an all-new Big Team Battle Map that is designed for pure mayhem. Vehicles and large teams fight in a “mosh pit” design. Cliffhanger will be a map designed for Arena battles in a mountain base that is great for Slayer. The same can be said for the 3rd new map, Chasm which goes back to the look of a Halo 1 map that takes place inside the Zeta Halo ring. The dev team went into further explanations of the maps on their site. We recommend just jumping straight in since the season is up. Plus they’ll be available in the new Arena Unlimited and BTB Unlimited playlists that will be running this month.
The best thing is the announcement of the season is that the Community Collection Playlist introduced in February is here to stay. The playlist uses maps made by fans in Forge for some much-needed variety and XP can be earned there just the same way as any other playlist. This is wonderful news since the developers can only work so fast at making fun new maps and the community is great at making some incredible maps.
Unfortunately, I don’t see the Waffle House being added to it soon.
New Armor Cores, Season Pass, and Shop Items
Spartans will also be getting brand-new armor cores for players to use in the game. The new armors are called the MIRAGE IIC and the CHIMERA. The armors are free to unlock for players. Many of their cosmetics are a part of the events and season passes of the new season. The season pass will be 100 tiers and will cost about $10 for the pass or around $20 for the premium one that gives enough XP boosts that can unlock 25 levels of any battle pass. Unlike many other free-to-play games, the Halo Infinite Battle Passes do not expire. This means if you are still behind on the season 2 or Winter pass, you can just buy this one and keep working on the other ones. The older armor cores will also be getting some new attachments, so log into the game to see them as soon as you can!
The in-game shop will also be getting new items all the time with the Aquahex Bundle starting it. This bundle comes with cosmetics for both the MIRAGE IIC and the Mark VII armors and some weapon colors too. Keep an eye out for any new items as the season progresses to not miss out on any fun ones!
via 343
Halo Infinite is out now on Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, and PC.
“Spartans never die. They’re just missing in action.”
