With the first current-gen Halo title released in the form of Halo 5: Guardians, fans have come to expect a lot from the Halo team in the way of constant content updates. And 343 Industries has not let them down. The Microsoft-owned developer plans to release large monthly updates alongside free content additions, the latest of which - ‘Battle of Shadow and Light’ in November and this month’s ‘Cartographer’s Gift’ - even brought back missing modes. These content patches are free for all players as to not create a schism from those who would buy map packs, and those who stick with the vanilla game in an effort to push Halo 5 an an eSports giant.
The developer, via Halo Waypoint, has announced the details of the new Cartographer’s Gift update which went live today. It includes a host of REQ items from weapons skins to armor sets, as well as new Warzone, Arena, and Big Team Battle maps. The highlight of the update though, besides the return of the classic SPNKr rocket launcher, is the release of Forge mode, where players can both design and download map creations from the community. The developer also teased what’s to come in January in a small video showcasing the return of the fan-favorite Mark V armor as well as new weapon skins including an American eagle skin among others.
343 also announced additions to Forge for Machinima video creators to ease the process of undertaking larger projects. Players can now lower their weapons in order to get them out of the shot, a feature seen in Halo 4’s Forge mode as well. Other commands include the ability to detach the camera from a live play session to roam around freely, as well as the ability to display Spartan and camera co-ordinates. On top of that, Machinima creators can even change the time of day for different scenes as needed, all in real-time.
While these features are welcomed by the Halo community, many fans are anxiously waiting for other additions to the game like being able to see how close you are to the next competitive rank, a feature that was originally in the Halo 5 beta, or a Forge tutorial for newcomers who are pushed away by the sheer number of options and menus involved. Halo 5’s active lifespan depends solely on the amount of content 343 Industries ships with the monthly patches. Competitive players are currently clamoring for more Arena maps while more casual players have finally been given un-ranked social playlists in this month’s update, and it is through conversing with the fans on forums and through other community sites that will allow Halo 5 to grow and stay in the top 10 most played Xbox Live games.
As for what’s next, the latest official developer live stream offered a brief teaser (very last few seconds of video) of what’s coming to Halo 5: Guardians in January’s DLC with a focus on weapon skins.
For more on Halo 5 and its monthly updates, keep it locked to Screen Rant.
Source: Halo Waypoint
