Earlier this week, the new Tenrai IV Operation went live and brought with it the highly anticipated Match Composer feature along with some additional updates. We have also implemented some changes to maps and modes in Big Team Battle, seeking to address community feedback and playlist data that we have been collecting to improve the experience for players.

Let’s take a look at what’s new!

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This quality-of-life update was made with four core goals in mind for improving gameplay in BTB.

1. We want to see an increase in Flag Steals and Flag Captures so that fewer CTF matches in BTB end from the time limit expiring due to stalemate scenarios.
   
2. We want to reduce extended stalemates in certain Zone Sets for Total Control. We also want to make the Total Control Zone Sets as fair as possible for both teams on all maps.
   
3. We want to increase and improve the fun factor and practicality of using vehicles in BTB—especially Warthogs.
   
4. We want to increase the reliability of finding a hard counter to specific enemy strategies. Knowing you can always get to a Hydra spawner will help players counter air vehicles, for example.

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• We have added more vehicles across the board. This will improve the amount of vehicular combat present in BTB by adding in more of the mechanical mayhem we all know and love
  
• Flag Placements have been updated to increase the number of Flag Steal attempts and successful Flag Captures
  
• For BTB: CTF, Flag Return Time has been increased from 40 seconds to 60 seconds. This helps add more exciting gameplay moments when both teams are battling around a pulled Flag
  
• Total Control zone placements now match what is found in BTB Heavies. These placements improve the flow of the match by reducing stalemate scenarios. They’re also tuned to be more fair for both teams.
  
• UI Markers for Power Weapons and Power Equipment are now enabled.
  
• Static Respawn Zones have been enabled for all symmetrical maps when playing BTB: Slayer. Team spawns will no longer flip in this mode
  
• Sniper- and Launcher-class Weapon Racks will now spawn static selections of weapons.
  
• Dynamo Grenade spawners have been reduced or completely eliminated on most maps for improved vehicular gameplay
  
• Disabled Campaign Weapon Variants from having a chance to spawn in Weapon Drop Pods

• Sniper-class Power Weapon Pads at Hex Archway and Rock Archway will now only spawn the S7 Sniper Rifle
  
• Sniper-class Weapon Racks at each base are now set to always spawn the Stalker Rifle
  
• Launcher-class Weapon Racks at Canyon Base and Cliff Base are set to always spawn the Hydra
  
• Launcher-class Weapon Racks at Rock Power Node and Hex Power Node are set to always spawn the Ravager
  
• Launcher-class Weapon Racks at Center Rock Path and Center Hex Path are set to always spawn the Hydra
  
• Dynamo Grenade spawns have been reduced—they have a chance of spawning in the Loot Caves, but nowhere else on the map
  
• The Center Passage Powerup Pad is set to always spawn Active Camo
  
• Powerup Pads set to always spawn Active Camo have been added behind the bases (at Hex Pocket and Rock Pocket)
  
• Added a Vehicle Pad that spawns the Ghost in front of each base
  
• Added a Vehicle Pad that spawns the Banshee at both bases
  
• Added two neutral Vehicle Pads that spawn Razorbacks to middle of the map (near Broken Ring and Wreckage)

• Two new Power Weapon Pads set to spawn S7 Sniper Rifles now reside near the center of the map (at each overlooking side of the central trench)
  
• Precision-class Weapon Racks at the bottom of each base will now guarantee that one spawns a BR75 Battle Rifle and the other spawns a VK78 Commando
  
• The Sniper-class Power Weapon Pad at the Pelican Crash Site will now always spawn the Skewer
  
• Sniper-class Weapon Racks at Bridge and Watchtower are now set to always spawn the Stalker Rifle
  
• Launcher-class Weapon Racks near High Cargo and Low Cargo have been set to always spawn the Hydra
  
• Launcher-class Weapon Racks at each base have been set to always spawn the Ravager (right next to the Shade Turrets)
  
• The Melee-class Power Weapon Pad at the center of the map has been replaced by a Grenade Pad. It is the only Grenade Pad that will spawn Dynamo Grenades and will serve as a counter to the new vehicles that have been added to the map
  
• The Power Weapon Pad in the Cave is now set to always spawn the M41 SPNKr
  
• The Powerup Pad at Bridge has been moved to High Cargo and will now always spawn Active Camo
  
• The Powerup Pad at Watchtower will now always spawn Active Camo
  
• Equipment Pads that spawn the Repair Field have been moved to the top of each base
  
• Mounted Scrap Cannons have been added to Bridge and Watchtower
  
• Added a Vehicle Pad that spawns the Gungoose at both bases
  
• Added a Vehicle Pad that spawns the Chopper at both bases
  
• Added two neutral Vehicle Pads that spawn Razorbacks at the middle of the map (near Crash Site and Low Cargo)
  
• Smoothed out the natural geometry at Eagle Base’s ramp in front of the Gungoose Vehicle Pad for improved player and vehicle traversal

• The added geometry from the BTB Heavies variant of Highpower has been added to the standard Highpower map. This includes the added cover at Cliffs, as well as the extra cover behind Cobra Base
  
• The Total Control Zone at Lakeside (near Eagle Base) has been moved into the road at Cliffs for both the Alpha and Delta Total Control Zone Sets
  
• The Melee-class Power Weapon Pad at Cliffs near Eagle Team base has been moved to the nearby landing pad and has been changed to a Sniper-class Power Weapon Pad that spawns the S7 Sniper
  
• A new Sniper-class Power Weapon Pad has been added near Rocky Pass for Cobra Team that spawns the S7 Sniper
  
• The Sniper-class Power Weapon Pad at High Power has been set to always spawn a Skewer
  
• The Launcher-class Power Weapon Pad at Center Pit will now always spawn the Cindershot
  
• The Sniper-class Weapon Racks at the landing pad behind both bases will now always spawn the Stalker Rifle
  
• The Launcher-class Weapon Racks at the top of each base will now always spawn the Hydra
  
• The Launcher-class Weapon Racks at Overlook and Rocky Pass will now always spawn the Ravager
  
• The Grenade Pad in the “sneaky-cliff-wall” at Cave Pit is now the only one on the map to spawn Dynamo Grenades
  
• A Mounted Chaingun Turret has been added to the top of each base and in front of each base.
  
• The Vehicle Pads on the landing pad at each base now will spawn the Banshee
  
• Vehicle Pads have been added to the top of each base that can spawn either the Banshee or the Wasp. The vehicle chosen at the start of the game will remain the same for the duration of the match. Both bases will have the same vehicle to ensure balanced gameplay
  
• A Vehicle Pad that spawns the Ghost is now present at both bases
  
• The Equipment Pad that spawned the Grappleshot in Cave has been replaced with a Powerup Pad that will always spawn Active Camo
  
• An Equipment Pad that spawns the Repulsor has been added to the Ridgeline area. This now means both teams will have access to a Repulsor

• The kinetic launcher in Tunnel from the Heavies variant of Breaker has been added to the standard Breaker map
  
• The Launcher-class Power Weapon Pad in Tunnel will now always spawn the M41 SPNKr
  
• Replaced the Sniper-class Power Weapon Pads at each base with Launcher-class Power Weapon Pads that spawn Cindershots
  
• A neutral Sniper-class Power Weapon Pad that spawns the S7 Sniper Rifle has been added to Blast House
  
• A neutral Sniper-class Weapon Rack that spawns the Shock Rifle has been added to “Flappy Flap” (at mid near Launch Ramps)
  
• Eagle Team’s right-side Sniper-class Weapon Rack has been moved closer to initial spawn and will now always spawn the Stalker Rifle
  
• Cobra Team’s Sniper-class Weapon Rack will now always spawn the Stalker Rifle
  
• The Launcher-class Weapon Racks below the Blast House kinetic launchers are set to spawn Ravagers
  
• The Powerup Pads have been moved to each side of the Blast House and will now always spawn Active Camo

This new Breaker map variant includes all the changes featured in the standard Breaker map, with the exception of the details listed below:

• The Defender’s Flag has been set up at the top doorway of Frigate Base, next to where the Drop Wall Equipment Pad resides
  
• The Attacker’s Flag Capture Point has been added to the top center of the Turbine Base, above the blue-liquid death pit
  
• Defender Team Respawn Points at Frigate base have been moved back to increase likelihood of Attacker Flag pulls
  
• New platform geometry has been added to the front of Frigate Base near the Flag to add a new route of attack and escape
  
• New cover/ramp geometry has been added at Frigate Blast Deck as an entry point to the front side of Frigate Base
  
• A new static crate has been added to the right side of Frigate Base as a route for players to use
  
• Removed the Launcher-class Power Weapon Pad from Frigate Base (Defenders)
  
• The Powerup Pad at Frigate Base (Defense) now spawns the Overshield
  
• Removed the Warthog Vehicle Pad inside Frigate Base (Defenders)
  
• The Ghost Vehicle Pad at Frigate base’s little bridge now spawns a Razorback
  
• The Repulsor Equipment Pad at Frigate Interchange (Defenders) now spawns the Threat Seeker.
  
• Added an Equipment Pad that spawns a Grappleshot on the ramps up from Turbine Interchange (Attackers) to Overlook
  
• Added two Mongoose Vehicle Pads to Turbine Base (Attackers)
  
• Added a new Razorback Vehicle Pad to Turbine Base (Attackers)

• Added support for BTB: One Flag CTF. Defenders spawn at Tower Base; the Flag spawns at the entrance to Facility
  
• Zone A in Total Control’s Alpha Set has been moved from above the West Pump building to its interior.
  
• The Sniper-class Power Weapon Pads formerly near Oasis are now centralized at each base and will always spawn the S7 Sniper Rifle
  
• Launcher-class Weapon Racks at each base now always spawn the Hydra
  
• The two Launcher-class Weapon Racks at the entrance to Facility from Oasis will now always spawn one Hydra and one Ravager
  
• A neutral Sniper-class Weapon Rack that spawns the Shock Rifle spawns at Cave Lift
  
• Sniper-class Weapon Racks at each base are set to spawn Stalker Rifles
  
• The neutral Launcher-class Power Weapon Pad at Pipe Hall now always spawns the Cindershot
  
• Added a 30 second initial spawn timer to the neutral Wasp spawner
  
• Added a Vehicle Pad that spawns a Banshee to each base
  
• Mounted Chaingun Turrets have been added to each base
  
• The neutral Powerup Pad that spawns at Cave Lift now always spawns the Quantum Translocator
  
• The neutral Powerup Pad that spawns at Facility now always spawns Overshield
  
• The neutral Powerup Pad that spawns at Oasis now always spawns Active Camo

• The Sniper-class Weapon Racks at both bases near West Balcony and East Balcony will now always spawn the Shock Rifle
  
• The Sniper-class Weapon Rack at Crosspoint will now always spawn a Stalker Rifle
  
• Mounted Plasma Cannons have been added at each side of the Crosspoint kinetic launcher
  
• The Launcher-class Weapon Racks at Processing will now always spawn the Ravager
  
• Replaced the Shroud Equipment Pad at the Crosspoint platform with a Powerup Pad that will always spawn Active Camo
  
• The Powerup Pad at Power Core (Top-Mid) was moved to the other side of the platform and will now always spawn the Quantum Translocator
  
• A Vehicle Pad that spawns the Gungoose is now placed at each base
  
• A Vehicle Pad that spawns the Chopper is now placed at each base

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That’s a wrap on the complete list of BTB updates. We hope you enjoy these changes and that they create more active, driven matches—as always, we are keen to hear your feedback and we will be watching our socials and playlist data closely.

Halo Infinite’s Match Composer is live and players can now select their preferred variants of BTB to play, whether you’re all in for BTB Heavies or prefer to jump into the core objective modes (see more details in our Match Composer blog).

See you on the battlefield!

Warriors at rest:
They sing a song of silence
As the garden blooms.

Tenrai returns as the latest Operation in Halo Infinite, bringing a new 20-tier Operation Pass along with the highly anticipated Match Composer feature and the return of a historic fan-favorite mode.

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From June 4 to July 2, Operation: Tenrai IV will be active and you’ll be able to work your way through its 20-tier Operation Pass which contains a new themed armor set along with a new visor, emblem, and additional Spartan Points to spend in The Exchange.

Progress your Operation Pass with Match XP and Challenge completions. 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

Securing either of the above will include the Onyx Edge armor coating, depicted below!

Following on from community feedback we have received, we are pleased to confirm that we are adding the 500 XP Daily Challenge back into Halo Infinite.

The XP Daily challenge was removed previously at the start of Operation: Banished Honor and replaced with a challenge that rewarded 250 Spartan Points. Starting in Tenrai IV, the challenge deck will be updated to have two daily challenges. The first challenge will be SP, the second challenge will be XP:

• Match 1: 250 SP
  
• Match 2: 500 XP

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Along with Tenrai IV comes the Match Composer feature for Halo Infinite.

The Match Composer is intended to give players more control over what they would like to play when they hop into online matchmaking—something that players of Halo: The Master Chief Collection will be familiar with.

In Halo Infinite, the Match Composer will enable players to choose which game modes they would (or would not) like to participate in, making it easier for you to have a good time playing exactly what you want to play.

From the Multiplayer screen, players will be met with a list of playlists as usual, and upon selecting a specific playlist they will be able to choose which game modes they want to play based on what is available in the playlist by selecting or deselecting according to your preference.

For example: If you want to jump into some Free For All, you will find that there are ten game modes available within that playlist. By default, all of them are selected, but the Match Composer will allow you to deselect any that you may not want to play. Of course, in the event that you make selections which may result in longer matchmaking queue wait times, a message will appear to inform you of this.

Alongside the release of this update, the following playlists now utilize the Match Composer feature to help curate your multiplayer experience:

• Quick Play (4v4) – All things 4v4 from Team Slayer to Husky Raid
  
• Team Doubles (2v2) – Assorted games for teams of two
  
• Rumble Pit (FFA) – A mix of Slayer variants and other FFA modes
  
• Infection (FFA) – Infect the enemy team or survive until the time limit
  
• Big Team Battle (12v12) – Curate between standard BTB, BTB Heavies, and a variety of other BTB modes
  
• Squad Battle (8v8) – Your traditional fix for large-scale warfare, featuring Team Slayer and objective gametypes

For a full breakdown, check out our Match Composer blog!

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Juggernaut has returned to Halo Infinite!

This game mode finds its origins all the way back in Halo: Combat Evolved (originally as a variant of Oddball), but later came to prominence in Halo 2 where it became its own mode with additional variations.

One player is selected by the game to be the Juggernaut, which is good news for those of you who like getting certain advantages (which have historically included overshields, active camo, increased speed and damage, and so on)… but also bad news because everybody else is trying to kill you—and whoever succeeds in doing so becomes the new Juggernaut.

In Halo Infinite, the Juggernaut will receive a substantial buff to their shields and damage resistance, as well as a speed boost, while being equipped with a Gravity Hammer and Quantum Translocator.

Another notable variant of the Juggernaut mode since Halo 2 is Ninjanaut, where one player is equipped with active camouflage. In Halo Infinite’s take on the mode, your active camo is finite but can be reset each time you get a kill, and you’ll have the additional aid of unlimited Plasma Grenades and a Grappleshot. But beware, as your enemies are outfitted with Threat Seekers to find you, so you will need to become practiced in the art of a silent, stealthy kill.

Both Juggernaut and Ninjanaut are available in the Tenrai IV playlist, which you can find further details on here.

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Tenrai IV brings back the stunning community-made maps featured in Tenrai III—along with a new addition—to matchmaking.

Credit: MikRips, Foge, bullet2thehead9
Bookmark[www.halowaypoint.com]

Leaves gently scatter
The music of silent rest
Relax with the wind

The cherry blossoms are blooming, the lake is quiet, but this space is soon to be filled with the sound of combat. With its mix of multi-levelled outdoor areas, winding corridors, and bright interior spaces, you will need to be on your guard for a variety of encounter types and quick to seize the opportunity to strike.

Additional maps included in this playlist are:

• Dynasty
  
• Houseki
  
• Kaiketsu
  
• Kiken’na
  
• Opulence
  
• Shiro
  
• Shogun
  
• Takamanohara

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The Exchange has been refreshed with Tenrai-themed items from the past. Don’t worry, the slate of items in The Exchange from Operation: Banished Honor are not going away, so you won’t be missing out on anything. Just keep scrolling to the right and you’ll find ‘em!

Items added to The Exchange in this Operation include:

• “Fractures” – Backdrop (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Torii Reflection” – Backdrop (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Resistance” – Backdrop (NEW)
  
• “Floral Crest” – Emblem (NEW)
  
• “Rose Crest” – Emblem (NEW)
  
• “Shibuichi” – Visor (Ultimate Reward)
  
• “Spring Blossom Filter” – Helmet Attachment (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Dragonbark” – Kneepads (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Jadeiron Plate” – Chest Attachment (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Dragonbark Hipguard” – Hip Attachment (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Tempered Steel” – Visor (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Koban” – Weapon Charm (Ultimate Reward)
  
• “Funeral Bell” – Stance (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Rain and Thunder” – Wrist Gear (NEW)
  
• “Echo Blue” – Armor Coating (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Fog Painting” – Armor Coating (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Dragonbark” – Shoulder Pads (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Whispered Sky” – Weapon Coating (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Willow Tea” – Armor Coating (Ultimate Reward)
  
• “Yokai” – Helmet (Fracture: Tenrai)
  
• “Sol Devil” – Weapon Coating (Fracture: Tenrai)

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Head to the Shop in Halo Infinite and you will find this Operation’s two new bundles available now—Ikari Legacy and Kendo Master, which contain the following items:

• Ikari helmet
  
• Final Resolve helmet attachment
  
• Cave Bear Guard shoulders
  
• Clawed Plate chest attachment
  
• Beckoning Blades hip attachment
  
• Beast Pad kneepads
  
• Dark Bronze armor coating
  
• Fortune Bold weapon model (MLRS-2 Hydra)
  
• Crimson Coral weapon coating

• Kendo helmet
  
• Temple Champion helmet attachment
  
• First Movement shoulders
  
• Burden of Metal chest attachment
  
• Burden of Wind hip attachment
  
• Second Movement wrist attachment
  
• Marked Scars armor coating
  
• Leaping Bounty weapon model (Mk50 Sidekick)
  
• Secret Greetings weapon coating

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With that, the time has come to jump into Halo Infinite and expand your samurai-themed wardrobe—let’s see how close we can get to creating “Spartan Toranaga” from Shōgun!

Jump into the Tenrai IV playlist and relive the fun of Juggernaut and Ninjanaut, earn Spartan Points to pick up new and returning customization content in The Exchange, and play how you want to play with the new Match Composer feature.

See you on the battlefield, samurai.

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Download the Tenrai IV Press Kit here[aka.ms]!