"October 2558. After being taken prisoner by the Banished as chaos erupts across the galaxy, Ilsa Zane’s hunt for the truth leads her to a new stage of life she never expected..."

---

Halo: The Third Life is available here, as a free PDF[aka.ms], and in audiobook format on YouTube[aka.ms].

---

Halo: The Third Life begins on October 28, 2558—immediately following the awakening of the Guardian on Laika III at the end of Hunt the Truth—and continues through the subsequent year as Cortana’s uprising begins to alter the axis of power in the galaxy.

---

Well, hello there. It’s been a while, hasn’t it? Long enough for you to have thought that I was dead. Did you search for me? Did you even try to find me? Doesn’t matter now, of course, since I’m the one with the gun to your head.

I know this must be as much of a surprise to you as it is to me. Once, I gave everything I had to your cause. I believed in everything you stood for, everything you promised… but things have changed, and I can see you now for who you really are.

Before you die—and you are going to die—I want to tell you a bit about who I am, and how we ended up here.

My name is Ilsa Zane.

The traitor. The rebel. The “mad Spartan.”

The tip of the spear of the New Colonial Alliance.

And my hunt for the truth… has led me back to you.

---

Nobody kills Ilsa Zane.

Those were the four words she had lived by her entire life. From the fall of Kholo, where everyone and everything she had ever known was lost to the Covenant, to her selection for the first phase of the SPARTAN-IV program where she had been used and discarded... to now, to this day.

The time of the New Colonial Alliance had come, heralding the culmination of all they had worked for to secure total colonial independence. Rebel groups across human space had rallied, alliances had been forged with a myriad of mercenary factions, and fleets were ready to launch to finally bring war to the United Nations Space Command.

But it had all been put in jeopardy by a single undercover agent of the Office of Naval Intelligence.

FERO.

Over a week ago, Conrad’s Point had suddenly been hit by a seismic event of unprecedented scale. A massive alien construct had risen out of the ground, leaving a colossal crater behind before jumping into slipspace. The cataclysmic event matched other scattered reports of similar activity occurring across several different colonies.

The NCA had managed to get to Conrad’s Point first to study the crater, and it was there that Ilsa Zane had forged a still-undisciplined group of rebels into fighting shape. While they had been ascertaining data that might point to the next site to suffer an event like this, FERO had slipped into their ranks, bringing a devastating UNSC air strike with her in a futile attempt to assassinate Zane.

Enraged and undeterred, Zane had gathered what remained of the NCA survivors and tracked FERO to Laika III, where the next awakening event was set to occur. The objective had been twofold: eliminate FERO, and obtain whatever new, anomalous power had begun to emerge.

Neither goal had panned out.

FERO had taken shelter with a cult known as Triad, whose leader—a slippery conman named Dasc Gevadim—had proclaimed that these events heralded divine transcendence. And then, to add to the growing list of complications, ONI had arrived with enough troops to turn Laika III into an unmarked grave, just in time for the new awakening event to wipe the board clean.

Zane witnessed Triad followers suspended in the air by gravitational anomalies as the ground beneath them collapsed into a gaping maw, but despite the otherworldly phenomena that surrounded her, she used this moment for what it was: a distraction.

The UNSC thugs had been rendered dumbstruck by the chaos, and she had taken the opportunity to tear through as many of them as she could. She had lost her weapon at some point and could not recall dropping it, but she knew she didn’t need one. Ilsa Zane was already a weapon. A wellspring of bloodlust rose within her as she tore through the enemy with her bare hands—a pale wall of dust and rock and death drawing ever closer.

Within a few moments, a great sonorous roar tore through the air. A series of debilitating concussive waves dispersed the dust cloud, and Zane was either tackled by or collided with a body she couldn’t distinguish, hitting her head hard on the upturned ground.

The last thing she saw as darkness crept at the edges of her vision was the winged shadow that rose into the air and disappeared into slipspace. She tried to grit her teeth, clench her fist, but consciousness faded with what she feared might be her final thought.

Nobody kills Ilsa Zane.

---

Ilsa Zane jolted awake as a creature roared in her face—the combined intensity of the rotten breath and fresh saliva that covered her cheek caused her to convulse and gag as an array of reactionary senses all caught up to her at once. She held her stomach with one hand and used the other to lean on a cold rock wall, but the defiant stance she tried to take against her own biological responses quickly vanished as she vomited on the ground, casting an acrid spatter on her combat boots.

It was not until she looked up to see what had caused her rude awakening that she froze. For the first time in years, the ice-cold rush of fear ran through her entire body. She had almost believed herself to be beyond such feelings, but the dire situation that presented itself was one she had hoped never to experience first-hand.

The creature that had now turned its back to her stood over eight-and-a-half feet tall with light gray skin and patches of dark fur over rippling fat and muscle. It picked at its fanged, bloodstained teeth with sharpened claws, and it bore crimson-colored armor plates over a dark undersuit—a Jiralhanae warrior.

“Whatever you do,” a low voice whispered to her, “do not look it in the eyes.”

Zane’s senses gradually managed to stabilize, and she followed the quivering, pointed finger of the man who had spoken. Her eyes settled on a dark smear on the wall that left a three-meter-long trail along the ground.

The area around her was essentially a makeshift prison, or rather a cattle pen made of improvised wooden barriers and mounds of concrete from buildings that had no doubt been laid low by the winged construct’s destructive awakening. Within the pen, she counted seventeen other humans. Some were still clad in scraps of UNSC uniform, while others had been among her own rebel forces—but the man who placed a heavily calloused hand on her shoulder was neither.

He was bald with a long silvery beard and dressed in a gray hooded robe that was tattered and torn, but the marking on his chest was unmistakable. A white ring cut into three sections by a red ‘T’ to symbolize the three internal lives that “must be linked as the key to our transcendence”—the insane story that had gathered a cult following as it spread across Waypoint.

“Well I’ll be damned...” Zane found herself saying aloud, her jaw dropping slightly.

“Yes, child,” he gave a kindly smile, bearing perfectly white teeth, sensing her recognition. “You indeed see clearly.”

She had survived, only to have been plucked and deposited into this foul mire, where she found herself looking into the eyes of Dasc Gevadim himself.

“Let yourself settle first,” he said, surveying their fellow captives who all kept their heads firmly locked to the bile-strewn ground. “They’ll be back soon.”

“What for?”

Dasc grimaced. “Dinner.”

He explained to Zane in hushed whispers that the construct—what he called a Guardian—had been claimed by an artificial intelligence who then broadcast a message across the galaxy, declaring that a new order of peace would be imposed to bring an end to hunger, pain, and conflict. Frankly, it sounded every bit as absurd and unbelievable as the false religion Dasc himself peddled, but Zane chose to entertain his words for as long as he was providing her with information.

The others, it seemed, would say nothing. They simply stood, shaking on the spot, muttering to themselves, teeth chattering in the cold and retching in the foul stench of death and soiled clothing. The barriers of their cattle pen could easily be slipped through or climbed over, but none dared try their luck.

Dasc detailed how all the survivors of the Guardian’s awakening had been rounded up when a new force arrived in a siege ship to lay claim to the crater.

The Banished.

Zane had only some familiarity with the mercenary faction. She had assumed them to be scavengers picking the bones of the dead, plundering old Covenant War-era battlefields and factories for whatever supplies they could get. All she knew was that Admiral Mattius Drake—leader of the New Colonial Alliance—had not sought to parley with them in the NCA’s pursuit of independence.

“So,” Dasc concluded. “The only remaining matter is how we get out of this.”

“You seem pretty familiar with these Brutes,” Zane replied. Although Dasc was clearly shaken, he spoke with a peculiar confidence, where hardened rebel fighters and ONI troops had been utterly broken.

“I once found myself in a similar situation some years back. We managed to stage an escape by turning the pack against each other, but it can be tough to play the same card twice.”

“Then it’s a good thing I’ve got an ace,” Zane said, prompting Dasc’s brow to raise. “I have a tracker implant that directly pings NCA command every twelve hours. By now, they’ll no doubt know I’m on Laika III, and if I don’t report in within three days, then Admiral Drake will send a rescue team.”

“So, it’s a waiting game,” Dasc stroked his chin with a muddy hand. “Which means we’ll have to outlast this lot for another day or two.”

Zane regarded the remaining survivors, figuring that wouldn’t be too difficult.

“I propose a deal,” Dasc said, a twinkle in his eye. “I can teach you how to survive the whims of these Brutes until your rescuers arrive. In exchange, I come with you and get dropped off at a location of my choosing.”

Everybody always had an angle, and it was difficult to tell whether Dasc’s confidence was simply motivation to survive or something else. He was, after all, a conman and a “spiritual guru” who wanted people to believe that he had transcended to some other level of reality with the Guardians’ rising. How could she possibly trust a man like that?

The thudding of footsteps and subsequent whimpering among the other humans interrupted Zane’s deliberation and announced the return of the Jiralhanae.

The armored warrior moved slowly, reveling in the atmosphere of terror its mere presence created as it opened the wooden gate and stepped inside. Two UNSC Marines standing closest to the gate stepped back to create space for the Jiralhanae like honor guards, their heads still dipped to the ground, tears welling in the eyes of the others as their breathing grew ragged.

Whether they would live or die today was entirely in the hands of this Jiralhanae, and it was not clear which fate was worse—to continue to fester in the muck and gore of this abattoir for another day, or to be devoured by this beast and its packmates.

These were the rules of the game, and none of this sorry lot had the power, capacity, or will to do anything about it. They would simply let themselves be snuffed out like a candle flame, and for that Ilsa Zane held no pity in her heart for them. It made them small, weak. Inferior.

Maybe thinking like that made her a monster, but whatever else she had become over the years, Ilsa Zane was a Spartan.

And if there was one thing a Spartan could do, it was change the rules of the game. So she did what no one else dared do.

She looked up.

The action immediately caught the lumbering Jiralhanae’s attention, gnashing its tusks at the human’s audacity, shoving aside the Marine it had been eyeing to answer the challenge to its authority. Dasc’s eyes went wide as he saw what Zane was doing, believing in that moment that she was madder than anybody had ever thought him to be.

"Hey, ugly,” Zane stepped forward, fists clenched, and looked directly into the Brute’s eyes.

What happened next was a blurred rush of violent ecstasy. The Jiralhanae threw its head back to let out a blood-curdling roar, and that was when Zane launched herself forwards, punching it in the throat as hard as she could, crushing its windpipe.

The augmentations that Spartan Zane had received all those years ago were unique to what would become standard for the SPARTAN-IV program. She had been told that ONI was looking to make the costly Mjolnir armor effectively obsolete by instead making her bones practically indestructible, grafting reinforcement plating under her skin and inducing muscle growth that would put her on as close to an equal physical footing with the likes of a Sangheili or Jiralhanae as possible.

That was only half true, of course—a convenient story that seemed just as contrived as Dasc’s religious con. In reality, she had been a lab rat for untested augmentation cocktails and procedures that had wreaked havoc on her brain as well as her body.

But she didn’t mind what she had become. Ilsa Zane liked being a living weapon, it was just a matter of having the choice of who she was aimed at.

The beast continued to claw at its throat, desperately gasping for air. In response, she pulled off one of its armored shoulder pieces, turned it to its jagged edges, and brought the alloyed plating down onto its face. Again and again, as the creature fell to its back on the ground, writhing in pain. Dark blood began pouring from its eyes, nose, and mouth, and still Zane kept slamming her improvised cudgel down as hard as she could until she could no longer feel her arms.

She felt the bloodlust rising in her again, singing in her veins like the sweetest sort of song.

She followed the feeling until it spilled from her mouth in a war cry.

Until it morphed into dark, unencumbered, laughter.

She was only dimly aware of the other humans in her periphery watching in horror, flinching with each dull thud that sounded from her relentless assault.

It might have been seconds, minutes, or even hours before she finally stood up, content that her jailer was now little more than a dark smudge on the ground. Slipping her hands into the Brute’s exposed harness straps, she dragged the body over to the wooden gate to display her handiwork.

There, she found a gathering of six Jiralhanae who had watched the grisly scene play out. One of them stepped forward—clearly the leader from its heavy gray-red armor and ornate helmet, a gravity hammer the length of a human being in its hand. The chieftain appraised Ilsa Zane with bared teeth.

“The human has murdered one of our brothers,” one of the chieftain’s packmates shouted. “Slay her now!”

Its fellows roared and began to chant a rising chorus of “Slay her now, slay her now,” but they were quickly silenced as the chieftain thudded the pummel of its hammer on the ground three times.

“The human has killed Amatus,” it said plainly, pausing as it felt the pack’s collective attention hang on whatever would be said next. “I did not like Amatus.”

Roars from the pack were howled into the sky, and Ilsa Zane dropped the armored shoulder piece that had been her weapon. She hadn’t liked Amatus either.

“You have done well, human,” the chieftain’s face settled into a dark grin. “I offer you a boon for your show of strength and spirit. You shall dine with us tonight, and you may choose which of your fellows shall take your place and be fed to the pack.”

A thousand thoughts thundered through Ilsa Zane’s mind at once. She had earned the respect of the Banished chieftain, she was not going to die today, she would be fed and watered, and...

And I have a loose end.

She had told Dasc that the New Colonial Alliance would soon be on their way. If he were to attempt to curry favor with the chieftain, all he needed to do was reveal this information and the tracker would be pulled from her body by force. She was strong, but there was no way that she would survive the whole pack descending on her.

Perhaps Dasc was counting on her choosing somebody else until the rescue team arrived, honoring her word... but she hadn’t actually agreed to the terms of his deal before Amatus showed up.

In the end, Dasc Gevadim was simply... in her way.

“Him,” Ilsa Zane pointed to the old man in his tattered gray robe, and part of her delighted at the shocked expression on his face, at an outcome he had never conceived.

He may well have shouted Ilsa’s secret at that very moment, but he had been rendered as stunned as the other humans had been in their silent stupor.

Two Jiralhanae warriors entered the pen and grabbed the cult leader from under his arms, dragging him through the mire. His legs struggled to find purchase as he numbly attempted to dig his heels into the ground, as if it might slow the march to his final, deserved, delicious end.

And as he was carried over a hill and out of sight, the screams of Dasc Gevadim eventually faded with the coming of night.

---

And that was it. I waited, day after day, week after week, and no NCA ship ever showed up. So I made the most of my situation, did whatever it took to survive.

Every day, they let me pick the next one to die. They all just stood there, as if something in them had collectively… broken. The complete absence of hope had brought about some kind of dissociation between mind and body—perhaps that was the only way they could filter out the horror of the situation they were in.

Every day, Admiral, I imagined them with your face.

In time, I became part of the pack. We hunted, we killed, we ate, and we waited…

One day, after I had lost count of how long I had been there, a ship arrived. It seemed like this was what the others had been waiting for, keeping the site secure so that their scientists could study the ancient structure that the Guardian had risen from.

Don’t know what they were looking for, but it was something big enough for the war chief of the Banished himself to be present.

He wasn’t pleased to find that I was alive at first, but let’s just say that I made him an offer he couldn’t turn down…

[SLIPSPACE RUPTURE DETECTED]

And would you look at that.

He’s here right on time.

---

Ilsa Zane turned the command chair of Admiral Mattius Drake to face the bridge’s viewscreen so he could bear witness to the arrival of the intrusion corvette that had just slipped in.

The vessel bore extensive modifications from its Covenant origins, from additional sensor arrays and jagged ramming spikes to an underbelly containing several boarding craft for rapid breaching operations. And painted on its front was a blood-red stripe emblazoned with the mark of the Banished.

A single Phantom emerged from the intrusion corvette and approached the hangar of the NCA D’artagnan.

There was a perceptible shift in the air as Admiral Drake’s blood ran cold, his brow lined with sweat and his face pale. In that moment, he reminded her of Dasc. All he could manage was little more than a strangled whisper.

“Ilsa, please…”

But she had already turned her back on him to examine the holotable on the bridge which was displaying the New Colonial Alliance ships located in the system. A little over two-dozen NCA spacecraft were currently stationed here—a mixture of light frigates, corvettes, and converted merchant trawlers docked at a former-Covenant space station. They were joined by a handful of alien warships, and the inherited remains of Vata ‘Gajat’s mercenary band, now led by the far more pliable T’vaoan known as Tek.

“Attention, all NCA vessels,” Zane began to transmit on an open frequency. “This is Ilsa Zane here to inform you of a… change in management.”

Admiral Drake struggled against his restraints, but his chair held firm.

“For years, Admiral Drake has promised to claim independence, vowing to strike at the UNSC and secure our freedom. We built a machine of conquest, but here we are hiding in some distant system, preying on scraps, and waiting like spineless cowards.”

She could hear his approach now, the great thudding footfalls of the Banished war chief. He had come alone, leaving his guards in the hangar bay.

“This was to be our time,” Zane continued. “A bunch of misfits and rebels given purpose—as every little piece of a larger machine needs. But there’s a very specific piece that just doesn’t fit any more; it’s holding us all back, and I refuse to let it break what we’ve built together.”

The shadow that was cast over the broad, hulking form of War Chief Escharum receded as he entered the bridge, revealing a Jiralhanae with a gray beard on his chin, a milky, clouded eye, and a heavily scarred face. He appraised the situation: a handful of ensigns dead in their seats, Admiral Drake bound to his own command chair, and the one he had encountered on Oth Voran—the rogue Spartan—broadcasting her message from the holotable.

“And so, I am relieving Admiral Drake of command,” she unholstered her pistol. “Permanently.”

lsa Zane barely registered the sound of her pistol firing as she pulled the trigger without a moment of hesitation and saw the light instantly disappear from Drake’s eyes. A sad, pathetic end to a man who had proclaimed to be laying the groundwork for greatness, reduced now to little more than a footnote in the New Colonial Alliance’s history.

“Our fleet spread across countless colonies, our agents entrenched on a thousand frontlines, and the fire in our hearts for independence—all that we have mustered,” Ilsa Zane concluded. “All that makes us the New Colonial Alliance is hereby pledged to serve as both sword and shield to the Banished.”

Escharum snarled in approval. Though the war chief lacked the same admiration that Atriox held for humanity, he was no fool. The current state of the galaxy demanded greater unity with willing allies to face the challenges ahead, and there was great potential for the resources and influence of this new alliance to be put to use.

He would not deny those who pledged their loyalty and service to Atriox. And so, it was time to welcome a new brotherhood into the widening reach of the Banished.

“Atriox sees you for what you are and for what you could be,” Escharum boomed, stepping beside Zane at the holotable. “For the fury that fuels your desire for freedom is his fury too. We shall do great things together—hunt powerful prey and plunder ancient treasures. You shall be paid in blood and sport and spoils. And you shall never bow again.”

It was done.

---

That was the day that changed everything for the New Colonial Alliance.

Do I regret killing Drake? No more than I regret any of my actions that have brought me to this point—which is to say, hell no, not one bit.

Once, I owed my life to that man, but the NCA is bigger than any one person or leader, and at such a critical point there was no room for weakness. Drake would have seen us wallow in obscurity until the forces we’d gathered lost their edge, rebelled, or simply fled. It all would've fallen apart.

Not while I’m still here.

I can’t help but think about Dasc. He was the leader of a fake religion, one that believed in linking the three internal lives we all supposedly have, and in a weird way I recognize how that applies to me more than I might have originally thought.

There was the orphan, who I used to be during the Covenant War, a life that seems a thousand light years away from me now.

Then, after the war, I became a tool to be used and discarded for a new generation of insipid UNSC propaganda.

And now they call me the Banished Spartan. I like that. It feels... right, and I’m eager to discover what this third life has in store for me.

Escharum was keen to put us to use almost immediately. A mission to test us, get us bloody—that’s a story for another time. But if you’re wondering how I got this armor, well... let’s just say it wasn’t the first Spartan I’ve killed.

I’ve got a list of names to work through as we go—old scores to settle. FERO. Musa. Palmer. Kree’yat. Dinh...

It's a big galaxy out there, and I’m ready for a new hunt.

Updated 5/7/2024

Back in February, the Big Team Battle playlist was refreshed with some amazing new community maps. After that update, many asked to see those maps expand to other BTB offerings and I’m pleased to tell you that the next time you see BTB Heavies (aka today!), the map pool will have increased as we’re adding all the BTB refresh maps! You’ll be able to experience:

• Fortitude
  
• Insolence
  
• Obituary
  
• Refuge
  
• Thunderhead

Expect more chaos thanks to increased vehicular carnage and heavy weaponry spawns.

Additionally, the fan-favorite One Flag CTF mode has been added to Heavies so you’ll be able to play tug of war while you try to capture the flag.

The fun is here so get those reflexes primed and ready to jump into the fray!

---

We talked about it on the January livestream[www.twitch.tv] and it’s finally here…the eagerly anticipated Big Team Battle (BTB) refresh has arrived!

The biggest playlist gets even better with the addition of FIVE new community maps, nearly doubling the total map pool! You’ll be able to engage in vehicular combat with heavy vehicles but for those of you that prefer to hoof it (like me!), there’s plenty of room for ground based combat. As an added bonus, some of the maps might look a bit familiar…

But that’s enough rambling, let’s take a look!

---

Author: DarkSkull, CertifiedChamp

At first blush, this map looks pretty straight forward but, as we all know, looks can be deceiving. There’s a lot of layers to the center which means there’s ample opportunity for sneaky plays. But if you prefer to run ‘n’ gun, you can do that too!

Modes:

• Capture the Flag (CTF)
  
• Slayer
  
• Stockpile
  
• Total Control

Download Link[www.halowaypoint.com]

PS – Don’t run straight over top middle. Or do. I can’t stop you but at least I can say I warned you.

---

Author: xDTx Kaos, W0lfR3ign

If you like big booms and you cannot lie, this is the map for you. Heavy weaponry + heavy vehicles automatically increase the possibility of explosions. Fairly symmetrical in nature, the CTF battles here are going to be epic.

Modes:

• CTF
  
• Slayer
  
• Stockpile
  
• Total Control

Download Link[www.halowaypoint.com]

---

Author: xDTx Kaos

This map gives me some strong Halo 2 Containment vibes and I can hardly contain my excitement! Dual Wraiths, tons of other vehicle options, and lots of traversal opportunities by foot as well. No matter how you prefer to play, you have choices here.

Modes:

• CTF
  
• Slayer
  
• Stockpile
  
• Total Control

Download Link[www.halowaypoint.com]

---

Author: Cousin Tim, InfiniteForges, NightAvenger01, Micheal B 2K8

Refuge is what happens when Headlong has been left alone long enough for nature to heal. The overgrowth makes it hauntingly beautiful but the beauty can’t stop the imminent carnage that comes with this classic map.

Additionally, you may notice the qualification on the CTF mode below…yes, a one-sided objective mode has arrived! Shoutout to I Crush All for creating the mode.

Modes:

• One Flag CTF
  
• Slayer
  
• Total Control

Download Link[www.halowaypoint.com]

---

Author: DarkMaiming

Putting the emphasis on big, Thunderhead has a huge area of engagement for you to explore. If you happen to get the sneaky, up high, Banshee spawns you’ll have a bird’s eye view over the plain below you and you’ll be able to see who called for aerial artillery.

Modes:

• CTF
  
• Slayer
  
• Stockpile
  
• Total Control

Download Link[www.halowaypoint.com]

---

Huge shout-out to the Forgers who are continuously creating these beautiful maps and great experiences to help keep things fresh and exciting. Grab your battle buddy and jump in and check out the refresh today!

More maps. More battles. More better!

May is both Mental Health Awareness and Asian Pacific Islander Heritage month!

---

As we mark Mental Health Awareness Month, let's reinforce the importance of maintaining your mental health 💚

---

Throughout Asian and Pacific Islander Heritage Month, we honor our colleagues and community for their invaluable contributions to Halo and the world 🌸✨

---

By logging in all month long, you'll unlock both the MHA and APIHM 2024 armor coatings, visors, and nameplate/emblem suites!

Operation: Banished Honor arrives on April 30 and you’re gonna want to look the part!

After all, the Banished welcome all who pledge their service to Atriox, and your new allegiance and mindset demands a new outfit, so let’s find out more about the customization that awaits you…

---

Spartans have often been thought of as incorruptible symbols of virtue, but that’s just the official story. Some names are known as historic examples of Spartans having gone rogue, pledging themselves to a variety of causes or simply trying to leave the UNSC behind to start a new life—Randall-037, Soren-066, Michael Crespo, Vladimir Scruggs, Ilsa Zane…

The Banished are united not by species or faith, but bonds of brotherhood and allegiance to Warmaster Atriox. Cast off the ties to your previous life and give yourself to the pursuit of glory and spoils as you work your way through the Operation Pass, which contains the pieces you will need to assemble your new Champion armor.

Progress your Operation Pass with Match XP and Challenge completions, and unlock new armor, a new visor and emblem, and Spartan Points to spend in the Exchange.

Additional premium options for the Operation Pass include:

• 500 credits will make the Operation Pass durable (it will not expire), offers bonus XP during the Operation’s live window, an extra Challenge slot while your pass is equipped, and comes with an exclusive customization item
  
• 2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers of the Operation Pass at purchase and includes the exclusive bonus customization item

Upgrade to the Premium Pass to obtain the Fuego Flame armor coating and strike fear into the hearts of all who would oppose you.

*NOTE: The Banished Honor trailer and promotional images depict the Datacore Administrator visor as a reward in this Operation Pass. The Datacore Administrator visor is part of the Facing Firewall bundle while the free Banished Honor Operation Pass includes the Essence Decompilation visor.

---

Sometimes it’s fun to just jump into the Armor Hall and try out a bunch of different looks—seeing what elements can make each core and kit just the right kind of unique.

Coatings are obviously a key element of customizing your Spartan, and when Operation: Banished Honor launches we have 54 existing coatings that have been updated to work with additional Armor Cores and Kits.

For the full list, be sure to check out the patch notes when the update goes live tomorrow[aka.ms]!

---

Missed out on previous customization rewards? Enter The Exchange.

The Exchange is a brand-new shop rotating each Operation that contains both items from the past and never-before seen customization content. Items are purchased with Spartan Points—a free currency that is earned through three primary ways:

• Completing your first Daily Challenge will award 250 SP (rather than XP)
  
• Completing the weekly Ultimate Reward will award 1,000 SP (instead of a misc. customization item).
  
• Operations Reward tracks will offer up to 15,000 SP (replacing misc. other rewards)
  
• When The Exchange refreshes, items will not be “going away,” removing the chance to get them—they will still be available to purchase with Spartan Points through the customization menus (much like bundles once they have rotated out of the Shop)

For an in-depth breakdown, head over to our Exchange blog.

---

Banished Honor is just the beginning, as it will be followed by two further Operations still to come…

June 4-July 2

Tenrai will return with new customization rewards in a free Operation Pass, a Tenrai-themed refresh of the Exchange, and new Shop bundles.

July 2-30

New Mark IV-themed armor pieces are accompanied by an Exchange refresh full of tactical gear from the past and more!

---

Head to the Shop when Banished Honor launches and you will find the Path to Dominance bundle, which contains the following items:

• Tormenter helmet
  
• Tormenter’s Kneepads
  
• Tormenter’s Mantle shoulders
  
• Victory Crest chest attachment
  
• Crimson Compliment wrist attachment
  
• Fearless Glyphs armor coating
  
• Agitator helmet
  
• Shock-Treated visor
  
• Segmented Pauldron shoulders
  
• Agitator Heartplate chest attachment
  
• Agitator Belt hip gear
  
• Sharp Bracer wrist attachment
  
• Kneecapper kneepads
  
• Carrion River armor coating
  
• Merciless Cutthroat M293 Bandit weapon model
  
• Cruel Treatment weapon coating
  
• Paths to Dominance Mythic Effects set

---

That concludes our look at the customization elements coming with Operation: Banished Honor. For more on this upcoming content update, be sure to check out these other blogs:

• UPDATE OVERVIEW: Catch up on our latest community livestream for an overview of what’s coming when Operation: Banished Honor arrives
  
• THE EXCHANGE: Take a deep dive into the new shop where customization items from the past return and can be purchased with free Spartan Points
  
• SANDBOX OVERVIEW: Get the full debrief on the latest sandbox balance changes and mode updates coming in Operation: Banished Honor
  
• FORGE OVERVIEW: Explore the new Flood and Alien World-themed object palettes coming to Forge, alongside additional updates

QUICK‼️ Grab your Grunty goodies before they dissolve in acid‼️

It’s your last weekend to earn Yappening II rewards. Secure the Premium Battle Pass, and it will never expire!

Operation: Banished Honor is live!

Halo Infinite’s latest content update brings with it new features, new customization rewards in a free Operation Pass, sandbox tuning adjustments, additional Forge palettes, and more.

Let’s get you the full debrief on all the new content.

---

• UPDATE OVERVIEW: Catch up on our latest community livestream for an overview of what’s coming when Operation: Banished Honor arrives
  
• THE EXCHANGE: Take a deep dive into the new shop where customization items from the past return and can be purchased with free Spartan Points
  
• SANDBOX OVERVIEW: Get the full debrief on the latest sandbox balance changes and mode updates coming in Operation: Banished Honor
  
• FORGE OVERVIEW: Explore the new Flood and Alien World-themed object palettes coming to Forge, alongside additional updates
  
• CUSTOMIZATION: Feast your eyes on the Banished-themed armor coming with a free new Operation Pass and further customization updates

---

Join the Banished. In Operation: Banished Honor, liberate yourself through the teachings of Atriox and claim your spoils.

Operation: Banished Honor runs from April 30 to June 4 and features a free Operation Pass containing 20 tiers of customization rewards and Spartan Points.

Progress your Operation Pass with Match XP and Challenge completions, and unlock new armor, a new visor and emblem, and Spartan Points to spend in the Exchange.

Additional premium options for the Operation Pass include:

• 500 credits will make the Operation Pass durable (it will not expire), offers bonus XP during the Operation’s live window, an extra Challenge slot while your pass is equipped, and comes with an exclusive customization item
  
• 2,000 credits instantly unlocks all 20 tiers of the Operation Pass at purchase and includes the exclusive bonus customization item

Upgrade to the Premium Pass to obtain the Fuego Flame armor coating and strike fear into the hearts of all who would oppose you.

*NOTE: The Banished Honor trailer and promotional images depict the Datacore Administrator visor as a reward in this Operation Pass. The Datacore Administrator visor is part of the Facing Firewall bundle while the free Banished Honor Operation Pass includes the Essence Decompilation visor.

---

Missed out on previous customization rewards? Enter The Exchange.

The Exchange is a brand-new shop rotating each Operation which contains free content from the past that players may have originally missed out on (along with some new items as well). This includes rewards that were originally tied to Halo Infinite’s free Event tracks, special limited-time login bonuses, past Twitch drops, and partner promotional items.

Items are purchased with Spartan Points—a free currency that is earned through three primary ways:

• Completing your first Daily Challenge will award 250 SP (rather than XP)
  
• Completing the weekly Ultimate Reward will award 1,000 SP (instead of a misc. customization item)
  
• Operations Reward tracks will offer up to 15,000 SP (replacing misc. other rewards)

When The Exchange refreshes, items will not be “going away,” removing the chance to get them—they will still be available to purchase with Spartan Points through the customization menus (much like bundles once they have rotated out of the Shop).

We’ll be keeping a close eye on community feedback and in-game metrics, so please share your thoughts once you have a chance to try out the Exchange!

For a more detailed breakdown, head over to our Exchange Overview blog.

---

This Halo Infinite update brings with it some new toys for you to play with in Forge.

The parasite has come to Forge…

The Flood palette contains over 100 new objects that will help Forgers to transform their maps into festering hives, enabling players to recreate places from the past (this’ll pair quite nicely with the Covenant object palette for, say, a Flood-infested High Charity) or wholly new locations that have become twisted blightlands.


The galaxy is a vast place filled with worlds of alien wonder and beauty.

With the Alien World object palette, composed of over 150 new objects, players can enhance the visual diversity of their maps’ environments with distinctly alien-themed plants, trees, flowers, and even ancient stone structures.


Alongside these new palettes, Forge has also received some additional updates to enhance scripting and object options.

For a closer look at these additional elements, check out our Forge blog.

---

Halo Infinite’s sandbox is getting some tuning updates based on community feedback and overall player usage.


The return of the king! We’ve heard your feedback, desiring the Plasma Pistol’s ability to temporarily EMP (“Oh, you mean an emp!”) vehicles with its overcharged bolt, and we are giving you just that.

• Restored EMP functionality on vehicles

We know the rapid-fire functionality feels great and is core to the identity of the weapon, but we wanted to address player feedback on the time-to-kill when on the receiving end of a Sidekick encounter.

• Rounds per second decreased 6.6 >> 5.6

A common theme in feedback from the community has been that the sniper’s ready-up time after being picked up felt a tad too lengthy. To help the sniper feel snappier, we wanted to address this by decreasing its ready-up time. We hope this will allow for more sniper highlights that we can’t wait to watch.

• Ready initial playback speed scale 1 >> 1.2 (shorter ready-up time)

The Cindershot is a fun and powerful weapon to use, but we acknowledge it can be frustrating to be redirected by the impulse of the explosion. To eliminate that frustration and address player feedback, we eliminated the gravity effect that would pull players around and slightly reduced the rate of fire. We hope this will improve both sides of the combat experience while still maintaining the Cindershot’s effectiveness as a power weapon.

• Remove inverted impulse effect
  
• Rounds per second decreased 1.33 >> 1.1

We felt the range in which the Gravity Hammer can fully eliminate an enemy was too far, so we wanted to address this in the slightest of ways.

• Slight decrease of elimination range
  
• Radius low 1.25 >> 1.75
  
• Radius high 2 >> 2.5

[/i][/list]

Spike Grenades have been underperforming in the core gameplay loop, and we felt a change in detonation behavior may improve its viability. The first step we took was to ensure the Spike Grenade reached its intended target by preventing its detonation midair. Additionally, once the Spike Grenade does reach its intended target it will detonate more quickly—similar to other grenades in the sandbox.

• Detonation timer starts changed from immediately >> when at rest
  
• Timer decreased (low & high) 1.8 >> 1.2 seconds

[/i][/list]

---

Back in February, the Big Team Battle playlist was refreshed with some amazing new community maps. After that update, many asked to see those maps expand to other BTB offerings, and we’re pleased to confirm that the next time you see BTB Heavies (later this Operation), the map pool will have increased as we’re adding all the BTB refresh maps! You’ll be able to experience:

• Fortitude[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Insolence[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Obituary[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Refuge[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Thunderhead[www.halowaypoint.com]

Expect more chaos thanks to increased vehicular carnage and heavy weapon spawns.

Additionally, the fan-favorite One Flag CTF mode has been added to Heavies so you’ll be able to play tug of war while you try to capture the flag.

The fun will arrive during Operation: Banished Honor so get those reflexes primed and ready to jump into the fray!

---

Spartans have often been thought of as incorruptible symbols of virtue, but that’s just the official story. Some names are known as examples of Spartans having gone rogue, pledging themselves to a variety of causes, and one former-Spartan in particular finds herself on a new path altogether…

Set in the immediate aftermath of the Hunt the Truth audio drama, our next Waypoint Chronicle drops out of slipspace next week where it will be available here, on Halo Waypoint, as a free downloadable PDF, and in audiobook format on YouTube.

---

This update is just the beginning, there’s still more to come on the horizon—further Operations and the highly anticipated Match Composer functionality are on the way.

June 4-July 2

Tenrai will return with new customization rewards in a free Operation Pass, a Tenrai-themed refresh of the Exchange, and new Shop bundles.

July 2-30

New Mark IV-themed armor pieces are accompanied by an Exchange refresh full of tactical gear from the past and more!


Play what you want, whenever you want! Jump into matchmaking and choose your preferred modes to customize your online experience with Halo Infinite’s new Match Composer functionality.

---

Head to the Shop and you will find the Path to Dominance bundle, which contains:

• Tormenter helmet
  
• Tormenter’s Kneepads
  
• Tormenter’s Mantle shoulders
  
• Victory Crest chest attachment
  
• Crimson Compliment wrist attachment
  
• Fearless Glyphs armor coating
  
• Agitator helmet
  
• Shock-Treated visor
  
• Segmented Pauldron shoulders
  
• Agitator Heartplate chest attachment
  
• Agitator Belt hip gear
  
• Sharp Bracer wrist attachment
  
• Kneecapper kneepads
  
• Carrion River armor coating
  
• Merciless Cutthroat M293 Bandit weapon model
  
• Cruel Treatment weapon coating
  
• Paths to Dominance Mythic Effects set

And if you’re looking for even more Banished goodness keep your eyes open for the Renegade bundle, dropping later this operation.

---

Today’s update delivers many updates and fixes that the team have been working on to improve the Halo Infinite experience. Head over to the Halo Support site to check out the full list of patch notes[aka.ms].

Run into a bug, glitch, or other unexpected issue? Submit a ticket and notify the team on the Halo Support site[support.halowaypoint.com].

You can submit tickets on a wide range of topics that include reports of Audio Issues, Crashes, Game Save Corruption, Report a Player, General Bug Reports, and more.

---

That’s all for this launch blog, so boot up your Xbox or Steam and get ready to jump into Operation: Banished Honor.

Head into Forge and check out what you can build with the new object palettes; get to grips with the new weapon tuning updates and shut down some vehicles with the plasma pistol’s EMP; start earning some Spartan Points by jumping into matchmaking, and then head to the Exchange to further deck out your Spartan and player ID!

Hunt well, and may you be paid in sport and spoils for the glory of the Banished.

---

Download the Operation: Banished Honor press kit here[aka.ms]!

Forge is getting some new additions with the arrival of Halo Infinite’s next content update.

Let’s take a closer look at what new toys you’ll be able to play with when Banished Honor releases on April 30.

---

“Blightlands are the result of uncontained Flood expansion: areas around established hives filled with growths and spore bodies, which harvest the vitality of the soil, soak up solar energy, and consume all native life within its boundaries.” ~ Halo Encyclopedia (2022)

When Season 5 launched, we brought Flood infection to Spartan customization. Now, with the latest update, the parasite has come to Forge!

The Flood palette contains over 100 new objects that will help Forgers to transform their maps into festering hives, enabling players to recreate places from the past (this’ll pair quite nicely with the Covenant object palette for, say, a Flood-infested High Charity) or wholly new locations that have become twisted blightlands.

---

The galaxy is a vast place filled with worlds of alien wonder and beauty.

With the Alien World object palette, composed of over 150 new objects, players can enhance the visual diversity of their maps’ environments with distinctly alien-themed plants, trees, flowers, and even ancient stone structures.

For more on these, you can check out the Banished Honor Community Livestream where we took a closer look at what the Alien World and Flood palettes look like in-game.

---

Alongside these new palettes, Forge has also received some additional updates to enhance scripting and object options.

Many of these nodes and objects have come directly from community feedback we have received and will enable Forgers to have even more granularity of control over what they want to make. As ever, we remain in a perpetual state of awe over the awesome creative things that folks in the community have been sharing—we can’t wait to see more of that to come!


New nodes will be added for Extraction and Last Spartan Standing modes, along with additional options:

Clone Object:

• Allows players to duplicate gameplay objects that are on the map

Object Filters:

• Does Player Pass Object Filter
  
• Remove All Filters on Object
  
• Set Player Filter on Object
  
• Set Team Filter on Object

New mode variants have been added:

• Firefight: King of the Hill
  
• Last Spartan Standing
  
• All Ranked modes

Several new objects will be added, including:

• Generic Deliver Point
  
• Generic Flag Spawn
  
• Generic Power Seed
  
• Generic Shrinking Zone

---

That concludes our look at what’s coming to Forge when Halo Infinite’s next content update lands on April 30. To learn more about what’s coming in this update, be sure to check out these other blogs.

• UPDATE OVERVIEW: Catch up on our latest community livestream for an overview of what’s coming when Operation: Banished Honor arrives
  
• THE EXCHANGE: Take a deep dive into the new shop where customization items from the past return and can be purchased with free Spartan Points
  
• SANDBOX OVERVIEW: Get the full debrief on the latest sandbox balance changes and mode updates coming in Operation: Banished Honor
  
• CUSTOMIZATION: Feast your eyes on the Banished-themed armor coming with a free new Operation Pass and further customization updates

The ring might not be a cudgel, but this pistol sure is!

Obtain the Cestus bundle to acquire the following:

• Cestus helmet
  
• XAH-23 Acoustic Hailer helmet attachment
  
• UA/Teutobod shoulders
  
• UA/X800 Plate chest attachment
  
• Striker's Gloves
  
• UA/S-Plate hip attachment
  
• Sunrise Showdown armor coating
  
• Vicious Sidekick weapon model
  
• Glibnub's Deal weapon coating
  
• Frozen Conflict visor

Things are about to get vicious...

---

That, er... that's all paint, right?

Complete all of your Weekly Challenges and the Ultimate Challenge to earn this week’s Ultimate Reward – the Crazed Bond armor coating.

A new Ultimate Reward will become available every week, so be sure to keep an eye on your Challenges and take advantage of these free rewards.

Our preview of Halo Infinite’s next content update continues with a closer look at the sandbox tunings, mode and playlist updates, and additional gameplay improvements ahead of Operation: Banished Honor’s arrival on April 30.

---

Halo Infinite’s sandbox is getting some tuning updates based on community feedback and overall player usage, so let’s kick things off with some exciting news that’ll make your Plasma Pistol hum!


The return of the king! We’ve heard your feedback, desiring the Plasma Pistol’s ability to temporarily EMP (“Oh, you mean an emp!”) vehicles with its overcharged bolt, and we are giving you just that.

• Restored EMP functionality on vehicles

We know the rapid-fire functionality feels great and is core to the identity of the weapon, but we wanted to address player feedback on the time-to-kill when on the receiving end of a Sidekick encounter.

• Rounds per second decreased 6.6 >> 5.6

A common theme in feedback from the community has been that the sniper’s ready-up time after being picked up felt a tad too lengthy. To help the sniper feel snappier, we wanted to address this by decreasing its ready-up time. We hope this will allow for more sniper highlights that we can’t wait to watch.

• Ready initial playback speed scale 1 >> 1.2 (shorter ready-up time)

The Cindershot is a fun and powerful weapon to use, but we acknowledge it can be frustrating to be redirected by the impulse of the explosion. To eliminate that frustration and address player feedback, we eliminated the gravity effect that would pull players around and slightly reduced the rate of fire. We hope this will improve both sides of the combat experience while still maintaining the Cindershot’s effectiveness as a power weapon.

• Remove inverted impulse effect
  
• Rounds per second decreased 1.33 >> 1.1

We felt the range in which the Gravity Hammer can fully eliminate an enemy was too far, so we wanted to address this in the slightest of ways.

• Slight decrease of elimination range
  
• Radius low 1.25 >> 1.75
  
• Radius high 2 >> 2.5

Spike Grenades have been underperforming in the core gameplay loop, and we felt a change in detonation behavior may improve its viability. The first step we took was to ensure the Spike Grenade reached its intended target by preventing its detonation midair. Additionally, once the Spike Grenade does reach its intended target it will detonate more quickly—similar to other grenades in the sandbox.

• Detonation timer starts changed from immediately >> when at rest
  
• Timer decreased (low & high) 1.8 >> 1.2 seconds

---

In addition to the above, further adjustments have been made to Firefight, Ranked, Custom Games, and more.


Folks have been loving Firefight: King of the Hill and we have been looking to identify places to continue improving that experience as we review player feedback. A particular area we focused on for this update centers around Personal Score—if you’re driving a Warthog while your gunner mows down enemies, or you’ve been putting in the work to bring down an enemy’s health bar but don’t necessarily get the final shot, your contributions should be honored.

As a result, we have made the following additions to Personal Score and Medals:

• Regular assists on all AI units = 5 points
  
• Driver assists on AI units = 10 points
  
• Adding higher priority to Land Stand announcer voice over lines to make the feedback more reliable
  
• More Medal support when playing against AI Units

Added medals include: Blind Fire, Bomber, Boxer, Breacher, Grenadier, Gunner, Gunslinger, Heavy, Marksman, Mounted and Loaded, Pilot, Rifleman, Scattergun, Sharpshooter, Tanker, Wheelman.


Along with the launch of Banished Honor, Ranks will be reset as we enter a new ranked season.

Additionally, with this update, we’ll be implementing a new feature to improve the Ranked experience. Starting on April 30, if you load into a match and the server detects that there are uneven teams at the start of the match, the game will automatically end and send everybody straight back into matchmaking so players can get a back into a quality match.

Neither team is rewarded nor punished for matches that automatically end as a result of this, your CSR will remain the same—you will jump straight into the matchmaking menu so you can queue for a new, fair match and keep the good times rolling!


Match Score Override is a new feature where, in the event of a game crash or disconnect during—for example—a tournament event, the match can be restarted and its previous state recreated with a set score and timer.

Also, if you’re jumping into some customs and want to give your friends an advantage, you can simply give them whatever number of points you want rather than having to suffer the timely indignity of having to find each other on the map to get killed multiple times over.


After our latest update to respawn cameras, we saw feedback around how we could improve them even more. Now, when you swap between your teammates while waiting to respawn, the camera will always start pointed at where they are looking. When you fall in battle after the update, you will also be able to rotate around your own body. Additionally, the speed that you can rotate your camera has also been increased to help provide even more control over what you’re able to see as well.


Added the Bandit EVO to the standard Bandit weapon drills, which should help players who want to warm up using the weapon.


Players gave us feedback that the Pelican vehicle drops on Deadlock did not feel good when dropping off Scorpions and Wraiths. We liked the focus on tanks, but agreed that the power of the Scorpion was too much and noticed it could dominate matches. To help address this, we’ve updated to vehicle drops on Deadlock to only bring in Wraiths, while the rest of the vehicle pads still spawn in their normal vehicles.


The following bugs across networks, modes, and Forge have been addressed in this update:

• Weapon Dropping is faster than swapping to secondary weapon
  
• Skewer should feel more responsive during online gameplay
  
• Vehicles are able to play ‘Doom State’ audio without being in ‘Doom State’

You’ll be able to check out the full list of bug fixes and updates when the patch notes drop alongside the Operation launch.

---

Back in February, the Big Team Battle playlist was refreshed with some amazing new community maps. After that update, many asked to see those maps expand to other BTB offerings, and we’re pleased to confirm that the next time you see BTB Heavies (later this Operation), the map pool will have increased as we’re adding all the BTB refresh maps! You’ll be able to experience:

• Fortitude[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Insolence[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Obituary[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Refuge[www.halowaypoint.com]
  
• Thunderhead[www.halowaypoint.com]

Expect more chaos thanks to increased vehicular carnage and heavy weapon spawns.

Additionally, the fan-favorite One Flag CTF mode has been added to Heavies so you’ll be able to play tug of war while you try to capture the flag.

The fun will arrive during Operation: Banished Honor so get those reflexes primed and ready to jump into the fray!

---

That wraps up our look at the gameplay sandbox, playlists, bug fixes, and additions coming with the arrival of Operation: Banished Honor on April 30!

To learn more about what’s coming in this update, be sure to check out these other blogs:

• UPDATE OVERVIEW: Catch up on our latest community livestream for an overview of what’s coming when Operation: Banished Honor arrives
  
• THE EXCHANGE: Take a deep dive into the new shop where customization items from the past return and can be purchased with free Spartan Points
  
• FORGE OVERVIEW: Explore the new Flood and Alien World-themed object palettes coming to Forge, alongside additional updates
  
• CUSTOMIZATION: Feast your eyes on the Banished-themed armor coming with a free new Operation Pass and further customization updates