Halo Infinite season 5 is finally here and it adds a bunch of new changes to the Xbox exclusive. Halo Infinite is a game that has been a bit controversial since its release. Although the campaign was great, the gameplay was arguably some of the best in the franchise, and the multiplayer was free-to-play, fans took issue with the fact that it was missing key features like Forge and co-op campaign for a whole year. There were also problems with the game's progression, a lack of content that encouraged players to keep returning to the game, and more. 

Halo Infinite has released its new season 5 update which adds a wealth of improvements to the battle pass, the UI, Forge, and also adds two new maps. For Forge users, you'll be able to spawn in new AI characters which can really enhance your map/game mode. For more in-depth information, you can read the blog post. There's also a new set of rewards for those who reach max rank in Halo Infinite:

• The Infinite Mark VI Armor Kit for the Mark VII Armor Core.
• Two Mark VII Armor Coatings:
  • Campaign Season
  • Midway Emerald
• The Gilded Infinity visor
• The Hero emblem set

Beyond that, there are a bunch of overall improvements, changes, and known issues that have been recognized in the season 5 patch notes.

BALANCE CHANGES

MANGLER

The Mangler can now kill an enemy Spartan with one shot followed by a melee.

M12R ROCKETHOG

The Rockethog is now more effective against turrets and vehicles. When locked-on, the Rockethog's rockets will track targets more aggressively.

RESOLVED ISSUES AND BUG FIXES

Many improvements come from Halo Insider and Halo Support tickets submitted by our community. Thank you for participating and please keep submitting tickets!

Halo Support tickets help the team here at 343 Industries understand what issues you would like to see addressed in future Halo Infinite updates. The development team is actively working on a variety of game updates and improvements based on both player feedback and bug report tickets.

If you experience a crash in Halo Infinite, please include as much of the following information as possible:

• Step-by-step instructions on what caused the crash. The more specific, the better!
• Attach an up-to-date DxDiagfile. To create a DxDiagfile, type "dxdiag" into the Start menu's search bar, press the Enter key, then click "Save All Information" when the DirectX Diagnostic Tool pops up.
• Include the Problem Report from the Control Panel app. To find this, open the Control Panel and enter "problem reports" in the search bar. Click "View all problem reports" then locate the recent Halo Infinite report. Double click on this Halo Infinite entry then use the "Copy to clipboard" button near the bottom of the window. Finally, paste this text into your ticket's comments.

GLOBAL

• Improved stability for Halo Infinite on both Xbox consoles and PC. 

MULTIPLAYER

Menus

• The Search Region option, found in the Gameplay tab of the Settings menu, will no longer reset between multiplayer matches or relaunches of Halo Infinite.
• Decorative objects on clambered surfaces are now less likely to result in minor warping or desync during online multiplayer sessions.
• To improve clarity when setting up a Customs Browser session, the Privacy setting for Custom Game lobbies has been renamed to Visibility.
• The Gamertag filter now is now correctly reset when leaving and re-entering the Customs Browser menu.
• Fireteam members can now switch their team in a Custom Game lobby using a button next to their Gamertag.
• Purchase buttons in the Shop menu now have a distinct hover state when using a mouse.
• While in multiplayer gameplay, leaving a Fireteam via the pause menu's Roster will no longer remove the player from the active match.
• The Ranked widget visible in the Ranked playlists on the Multiplayer menu no longer shows a value of -1.
• The post-match Rewards menu now better supports non-16:9 aspect ratios.
• Vehicle and Weapon Emblems will now remain visible in the Customization menus after equipping then unequipping them.
• Players will no longer see an incorrect error message when customization items are loading in an Armor Hall menu.
• Keyboard shortcuts have been added so that players can scroll up or down through the desciption of a Customization item.
• The Premium Battle Pass's bonus reward tiers in the Battle Pass menu now have the intended endcap icon.
  • Players who have purchased the Battle Pass will now see a checkbox at the end of the tier, while players who have not purchased the Premium Battle Pass will see a lock icon."
• The correct Battle Pass title is now shown when viewing your own profile via the Player Inspect menu.
• The shortcuts listed along the bottom of the screen will now remain visible after using the tabs in the Post-Game Carnage Report.

Gameplay

• Bots will no longer enter gameplay and attack players during the match's non-interactive intro sequence.
• The fullscreen visual effect for players caught in the Threat Seeker's pulse radius now aligns with how long they are visible to the player who activated the Threat Seeker.
• Players who join in-progress Free-For-All Escalation Slayer matches will now be able to win the match as expected when they level up all weapon loadouts.
• Players will no longer receive duplicate Extermination medals when all four required kills are completed in rapid succession.
• Players will now respawn as expected when playing Free-For-All Escalation Slayer on the map Empyrean.
• Players can no longer use the Grappleshot to leave the intended playable space on the map Behemoth.
• Pelicans vehicle drop-offs on the map Deadlock have been improved to deliver the same vehicle for both teams in the same wave.

Audio

• Players will no longer hear voiceover lines for BUTLR when a different Personal AI is equipped.
• Iratus voice lines in the Infection gametype now consistently play in the selected Audio Language.
• Survivors who win a round of Infection will no longer hear Iratus declaring victory.
• The in-game announcer will no longer announce an inaccurate amount of time remaining in Infection.

Visual

• Several Nameplates have been updated to improve the placement of their artwork in relation to the Career Rank flag.
• The Weapon Coatings listed below no longer display a black texture when equipped to the MK50 Sidekick with the Swiftguard Weapon Model:
  • Flash Fjord
  • Snowbound
  • Tigris Dread
• Loading screen images and text are no longer offset after increasing either of the Heads-Up Display (HUD) Display Margins values.
  • The HUD Display Margin options can be found in the Gameplay tab of the Settings menu.
• Adjusting the Head-Up Display (HUD) Opacity value will now adjust the opacity of navigation markers, such as the Last Spartan Standing icon in the Infection gametype.
  • The HUD Opacity option can be found in the Gameplay tab of the Settings menu.

Accessibility

• Improved contrast ratio for the text in the top left corner of Forge file thumbnails.
• The arrows for dropdown scrollbars are now larger and scale with the Text Size option.
• Improved readbility and navigation of setting descriptions in the Video tab of the Settings menu, especially when the Large or Extra Large Text Size options are enabled.
• "The UI Narration feature now reads out the following:
  • The name of all Halo Championship Series (HCS) Shop bundles.
  • Whether a highlighted bundle in the Shop menu is already owned.
  • The name and assigned keys for all keybindings in the Keyboard/Mouse tab of the Settings menu."
• The Linear Navigation feature now navigates the Shop menu as expected.

Theater

• The spacing between the current timestamp, the film's total length, and both ends of the film's timeline has been improved.
• To better clarify the camera's behavior, the Cinematic camera type has been renamed to Orbit.
• Disintegrations via the Heatwave or players leaving the match will no longer cause the viewer to swap between players.

Observer

• Bots are now listed in the Observer scoreboard.
• The Observer camera will no longer switch to a different player's perspective when the currently spectated player respawns.
• Players can now remap the Change Outlines, View Previous Player, and Toggle Player Switcher functions to another controller button as expected.
• Setting the Starting Occluded Outlines option to Off, found in the User Interface (UI) tab of the Settings menu, now correctly results in occluded players' outlines being visible through map geometry.
• The Free-For-All Attrition gametype now ends as expected when there are Observers in the match.

FORGE

Edit Mode and Creation Tools

• The Reactive Water Plane now consistently displays water splashing effects for players and vehicles.
• Using the Undo or Redo function no longer has a chance to apply unintended rotation to the updated object.
• Disabled or unavailable actions are now greyed out in Forge mode's radial menu.
• The position and rotation of Scriptable Switch objects will now be more responsive in Edit mode.
• Magnet connections no longer vary depending on the camera's position in relation to the selected objects.
• Objects set to be non-visible via the Folders tab in the Forge menu will no longer appear visible when entering a Forge map.
• Prefabs with an asymmetrical Center of Mass pivot point will no longer break when rotated.
• Scripts using Declare or Get Generic List Variable nodes will now function as expected in every round of a Custom Game.
• Previously available material swatch regions have been restored to the Eroded Terrain E object, and a separate Terrain Inheritance version of the Eroded Terrain E object is now available.
• The parent object of a prefab can now be changed more consistently.
• The Radius and Length options now function as expected for Area Lights.
• Forerunner Energy objects now consistently have audio in Test and Play mode.
• Improvements to the performance and speed of light probe generation on Forge maps. For example, here are the light generation times for Argyle when using an Xbox Series X:
  • Argyle (Winter Update): 13663 probes took over 8 minutes to generate
  • Argyle (Season 5): 13663 probes took around 1 minute to generate

File and Map Publishing

• Non-latin characters and emoji can no longer be used in Forge file names.
• Highlighting text in a Forge file's description field no longer results in some characters shifting between lines.
• Bookmarked Forge maps will now consistently load into the author's latest published version of that map.
• A map's Details menu will now consistently show the correct publishing status.
• The Forge lobby menu will now consistently reflect the selected version number on the map's thumbnail.
• Players can now consistently add or update the screenshots attached to their Forge files.
• The My Published Files menu will now consistently show all published Forge files.

CAMPAIGN

• The Headmaster Achievement will now unlock consistently.
  • If the conditions for unlocking this Achievement were completed and it did not unlock in a previous version of Halo Infinite, the conditions will need to be completed again after installing the Season 5 update.

XBOX

• The Play button can now be used by any player who has menu control during splitscreen sessions on Xbox consoles.

KNOWN ISSUES

With this update, the team has added multiple new issues to our Known Issues lists:

• When first launching the Season 5: Reckoning update, the initial Battle Pass purchase menu may briefly show incorrect prices for both Premium Pass options. The correct prices will appear after a few seconds, and attempting to purchase either option while the incorrect price is shown will result in the correct amount of Credits being deducted.
• When using the Spawn in Vehicle option in a Custom Game session, the non-interactive intro sequence for the match will show the players' Spartans standing on top of their vehicles.
• On Xbox One consoles or PCs with lower quality video settings enabled, Spartans may briefly appear to have solid black textures during a multiplayer match's non-interactive intro sequence.
• If the settings listed below have been changed to a non-default value, they will revert back to their default value upon entering the Halo Infinite Campaign menu:
  • Event Feed Background Mode
  • Event Feed Background Opacity
  • 1.6x Zoom Level Sensitivity
• Customization changes may not be immediately visible to other Fireteam members in the multiplayer menus. On Xbox consoles, Fireteam members may briefly appear to revert to a default Spartan after completing a multiplayer match. This issue only occurs in the multiplayer menus and all equipped customizations will be visible in a multiplayer match.
  • Workaround: leaving the Fireteam, waiting for a few seconds, then rejoining the Fireteam will update your Spartan for Fireteam members."
• When equipping customization items on an Armor Core in the Armor Hall menu, the preview tiles for the Utility and Knee Pad sockets may sometimes show the back side of that customization area.
• On Xbox One consoles or PCs with lower quality video settings enabled, the Perfect Circle helmet attachment may overlap with the Spartan's helmet.
• Launching Halo Infinite then navigating to the Community tab and starting a Custom Game using a map file listed there may result in the Custom Game lobby starting with a different map selected.
  • Workaround: After launching Halo Infinite, navigate to the Custom Game lobby before selecting a community-made map file. 
• Occasionally, switching between the main menu's tabs may result in missing lighting or effects in the Play tab.
• After restarting a Custom Game match via the pause menu, finishing the restarted Custom Game may result in the Post Game Carnage Report (PGCR) to display incorrect or missing match statistics. When this issue occurs, Match XP is not awarded. 
  • Workaround: Rather than restarting an in-progress Custom Game match, select the End Game option in the pause menu then start a new match. This will ensure that either match, if eligible, will grant Match XP.  
• In the Team Lineup tab of the Post-Game Carnage Report (PGCR), Observers will see a zoomed in view of the players' Spartans.
• When leveling up a Battle, Event, or Operation Pass, the Season 4: Infection insignia may briefly be visible during the level up animation. This issue only affects Passes released after Season 4: Infection.
• The Woodlands Tradewinds vehicle coating does not apply to the M12 Warthog's turret as intended.
• Weapon and equipment pickup prompts are not consistently visible for Survivors in Infection multiplayer matches.
  • Workaround: When this issue occurs, the weapon or equipment can still be picked up by the affected player.
• When playing the Infection gametype in a Custom Game session, setting the Infected starting weapon to a non-default option will result in Alpha Infected players being unable to fire their weapon after sprinting.
• If a Survivor and Infected kill each other at the same time with melee attacks, the Survivor may receive a -10 Personal Score betrayal penalty.

• The difficulty option for AI enemies in Forge-made maps lists the Bot levels ranging from Recruit to Spartan. In a future Halo Infinite update, this option will be updated to reflect the Easy to Legenday difficulty range used in Halo campaigns.
• The Weapon Trunk object cannot be placed directly on the ground or on top of another object when its Physics option is set to Fixed in the Object Properties panel.
• Several Primitive and Structure objects appear as expected when previewed, but their X, Y, and Z dimensions are increased by .02 when placed.
• After successfully publishing a Forge map or mode via the file's Version History menu, the Publish button does not update to an Unpublish button.
  • A future Halo Infinite update will restore the Unpublish button in the Version History menu. While this issue is active, players who want to unpublish an affected file must create a copy of the published file then delete the published version.