March Playlist Update

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:20 pm

March Playlist Update
Posted by lukems at 3/5/2008 2:29 PM PST
The March playlist update to Halo 3 features a number of tweaks to the matchmaking experience (more on those later) and the introduction of DoubleXP Weekend playlists as well as some tweaks to the DLC playlists.

We're introducing two Weekend Hoppers DoubleXP playlists this month, with the first hopper launching Thursday, March 6 at midnight.

* Grifball, the game created by Burnie Burns of Red vs. Blue will be an unranked, weekend-long social playlist awarding DoubleXP to winning teams. We've slightly adjusted some of the rules for Grifball (unlimited round times make for unlimited griefing potential), but kept the game's core intact. You'll be able to go in with party configurations ranging from one to eight people. This playlist will be available from Thursday, March 6 at midnight until March 10 at midnight (all times Pacific Standard). I apparently forgot to mention that the Grifball hopper is being treated like a Tournament hopper -- a hopper where there will be prizes. Tournament prizes.

* Beginning March 20 at midnight will be the return of Team SWAT in the Social, DoubleXP variety. Team SWAT is an old Halo 2 gametype where players have no shields, increased body health and do not have the luxury of radar. This eight-player maximum hopper will be completely Team Slayer focused with the SWAT ruleset. This weekend playlist will be available from March 20 at midnight until March 23 at midnight (all times Pacific Standard).

The Heroic DLC hopper has underwent some revisions as well. The hopper has been split into DLC Slayer (4v4) and DLC Objective (6v6) featuring a mix of various gametypes on the DLC maps. Slayer variants include Team Snipers, Team Rockets, Team BRs, Team Duel and Team Duals. Objective variants include Multi Flag CTF, Multi Flag BR, One Flag, Assault, Neutral Bomb Assault and Team King.

A number of other changes to maps and Matchmaking were included in today's rollout:

* Fixed map exploit on The Pit
* Fixed map exploit on Construct
* Fixed map exploit on Epitaph
* Reduced Ranked Big Team Battle "Large party" size to six players and increased Big Team threshold to two*
* Fixed Spartan Laser falling through map
* Fixes to matchmaking to allow more even leveling for players
* Disabled Mixed Skill restrictions for RBTB and Team Slayer**

These changes are all live, now.

As always if you see map issues, please report them in relevant and pertinent forums with a link to a video in your File Share. We may not be responding to everything, but we absolutely are reading the forums.

*The reduction in "Large Party" size for Ranked Big Team battle does not affect the total amount of players in a given game, but rather is a change to the system and what it "considers" a big party. A few weeks ago we changed that number to seven and found that it did not decrease matching times significantly, and so we're adjusting that number. Ultimately, we want to have Ranked Big Team evolve into a playlist where you go as a large team to fight other large teams -- now we've changed the system so that Large Teams are considered parties of six or more instead of seven or more.

We've adjusted the threshold to allow teams of six to now match with teams of six, seven, and eight players, where before, an eight-player team would only match against a team of seven or eight, now an eight player will match against a six, seven or eight player team. We're still keeping some restriction because we don't want the Ranked Experience to be a bunch of "organized teams" steamrolling a collection of solo players. We hope that these two changes (along with the below change) will improve the Ranked Big Team matching experience. We'll be monitoring this closely, going forward.

**Parties are considered "Mixed Skill" when there is a spread between the highest skill and lowest skill is greater than 10 levels. In matchmaking, when your party has mixed skill the system tries to match you up with similarly mixed skill parties. Now, in Ranked Big Team and Team Slayer when your party is "Mixed" you will be able to match against parties that do not have "mixed skills" associated with them.

bballaplaya4life · Post by **bballaplaya4life** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:26 pm

Awsome! I suck at Griffball, but I'm pretty good at team swat. I really look forward to this!

Also what do "map exploits" mean?

haxalot88 · Post by **haxalot88** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:27 pm

w00t team SWAT! Although I wish they would just keep it as a social playlist permanently, much like social infection.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:30 pm

bballaplaya4life wrote:Awsome! I suck at Griffball, but I'm pretty good at team swat. I really look forward to this!

Also what do "map exploits" mean?

I'm not sure. I'm assuming places that you could get out of the map or something to that effect. Not sure.

unknownv2 · Post by **unknownv2** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 5:36 pm

You know what would go great with this update? New maps.

Can't wait for them.

I might play more Halo in the double exp, but probably not.

kody1721 · Post by **kody1721** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:52 pm

Griffball? YAY, i love playing that in customs and now i can get exp for winning!

Munsie · Post by **Munsie** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 6:57 pm

Map exploit on The Pit -> Under the ramp (outside of the Shotgun rooms).
Map exploit on Construct -> Under the map, on the golden lift side.
Map exploit on Epitaph -> Not sure, but possibly some of the little ledges that support a player standing on them.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:02 pm

Oh, haha. We were playing Team Hardcore today and my team kept trying to get off of the map with the oddball on Construct. No wonder it wouldn't work.

-Legendary- · Post by **-Legendary-** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:16 pm

DOH! They put grifball. Sweet. Maybet hey will do Basketbomb

:D:D

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:17 pm

I think they only consider good gametypes.

-Legendary- · Post by **-Legendary-** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:19 pm

;_; everyone likes it ;_;

And awesome that they are bring swat back

:D

SPARTAN-OMEGA · Post by **SPARTAN-OMEGA** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 7:37 pm

I cant wait for SWAT, I also signed up for the March tourney, does anyone know how I play in it?

Munsie · Post by **Munsie** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:26 pm

DrXThirst wrote:Oh, haha. We were playing Team Hardcore today and my team kept trying to get off of the map with the oddball on Construct. No wonder it wouldn't work.

That would probably explain it.

There's plenty of other little gimmicks for Oddball though.

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:31 pm

Playing fair is overrated.

Munsie · Post by **Munsie** » Wed Mar 05, 2008 8:42 pm

But playing fair won't let me become a Level 90 Super General Pwnage III. =o

kody1721 · Post by **kody1721** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:31 am

Munsie wrote:Map exploit on The Pit -> Under the ramp (outside of the Shotgun rooms).
Map exploit on Construct -> Under the map, on the golden lift side.
Map exploit on Epitaph -> Not sure, but possibly some of the little ledges that support a player standing on them.

Yet they didnt fix the one on Narrows?

Yay, awesome oddball spot for me still.

DrXThirst · Post by **DrXThirst** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 3:51 am

Hey, I told them that I was doing the killing. All they had to do hold the ball.

Also, I got possibly the biggest choke ever that game. Click To Download

bballaplaya4life · Post by **bballaplaya4life** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:19 pm

Are you allowed to have 2 images in your sig? (cough DrXThirst)

Tural · Post by **Tural** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:22 pm

As long as they don't total over the limits. DrXThirst's signature is within the rules.

bballaplaya4life · Post by **bballaplaya4life** » Thu Mar 06, 2008 5:24 pm

So you can have as many pics as you want as long as they stay within the limits and the max lines?