Halo Infinite Update Adds Classic PvE Mode

Highlights

• Halo Infinite’s December 5 update brings back the classic Firefight PvE mode with a new twist, allowing players to team up and capture hills while fighting difficult waves of enemies.
• The update includes nine new maps for Firefight: King of the Hill, with more potential maps in future updates.
• Players can customize their Firefight experience in Custom Games, adjusting options such as lifepool, Skulls, and hill capture times, and Forge creators can take advantage of Node Graph scripting to customize matches further.

The December 5 Halo Infinite update marks the return of the classic Firefight PvE mode with a new twist. Halo Infinite players may team up with three others in Firefight: King of the Hill, which includes a total of nine maps from the developers at 343 Industries and talented creators from the Forge community.

On October 17, Halo Infinite Season 5: Reckoning brought exciting pieces of content into the live service multiplayer shooter, including a revamped Extraction mode and new multiplayer maps. Season 5 also brought new Flood cosmetics, multicore helmet support, and new Forge AI features that fans have been clamoring for. In addition, the season’s reveal trailer teased the long-awaited return of Firefight, which 343 Industries promised to release with a mid-season update.

The new Halo Infinite update introduces the Firefight: King of the Hill PvE mode, and 343 Industries shared more insight about the mode in a Halo Waypoint blog post. Firefight: King of the Hill works similarly to the classic Firefight mode from Halo 3: ODST and Halo Reach, but players must also capture hills while fighting progressively more difficult waves of Banished enemies. Moreover, Firefight: King of the Hill does not have a shared lifepool like traditional Firefight, but teammates can revive each other just like in Attrition. Once a certain amount of progress is made, a Boss Wave will spawn with a “High Value Target” or boss to take down. The team will be awarded a point for capturing the hill and clearing the Boss Wave, and the process is repeated after a brief respite for a total of five hills per match.

Although the timer for Firefight: King of the Hill is unlimited, the average runtime for matches will be roughly 15 to 20 minutes. Victory is achieved by capturing three out of the five hills, and players are awarded with bonus XP for capturing the fourth and fifth hills. Players may level up their Halo Infinite Career Rank by accruing high personal scores in Firefight, and Skulls will grant a stacking score bonus for each one that’s enabled. Nine Firefight: King of the Hill maps are available with the latest update, and more maps may come in future updates.

Halo Infinite Firefight Maps

• House of Reckoning
• Behemoth
• Deadlock
• Launch Site
• Live Fire
• Oasis
• Exiled (by Epetr0, SandoChokUN)
• Kusini Bay (by Mr Kwatz)
• Vallaheim (by HaiseOz)

Halo Infinite players may also enjoy Firefight: King of the Hill in Custom Games. A classic lifepool option is available for those wanting a more familiar Firefight experience, and players may adjust Skulls, the amount of lives and revives, hill capture times, and many more options. Halo Infinite’s Forge mode supports Firefight: King of the Hill, so Forge creators can take advantage of Node Graph scripting and customize the finer details of a match as well.

Halo Infinite’s new Firefight mode is a promising addition to the game, and future updates could further improve the mode with more maps and additional features. The game is experiencing a resurgence due to Season 5’s warm reception, and the launch of the Firefight update could help boost Halo Infinite’s momentum leading into Winter Contingency 3.