Halo: MCC has started 2019 with a bang after its first big update of the year drops.
The latest update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection was made available just last week (16 January 2019) and it is packed with a plethora of additions and improvements. From bug fixes to completely new content, the publishing team at 343 Industries has broke down the update, with particular focus on four key areas.
Modern Aiming Feature
After receiving a lot of feedback from players saying that the aim acceleration just didn’t “feel right”, a “modern aiming” option has been added to the Controller Settings. 343 Industries say that this option is designed to “smooth out the aim acceleration zones on your controller” and that the “big difference you will notice is that the movement of your cursor is much smoother with these settings turned on and the aim acceleration zones in the diagonals are much harder to activate”.
This feature has been set to turn on by default in the older titles of the collection. However, this can be changed in the Controller Settings menus.
New Skulls for Halo: Combat Evolved
Eight new skulls have been added to the Halo: CE for further customization for players who want to challenge themselves in the Campaign. Here is the full list as described by the 343 Industries team:
- Anger – Enemies and allies fire their weapons faster and more frequently.
- Bandana – Fixed a bug with this skull so new energy-based weapons have infinite ammo as well.
- Catch – Enemies throw and drop more grenades.
- Ghost – A.I. characters will not flinch from attacks, melee or otherwise.
- Sputnik – The Mass of objects is decreased, making them more easily displaced.
- That’s Just Wrong – Strengthens the hearing of both allies and enemies. They will now notice the slightest sound of reloading or drawing a weapon, footsteps, etc. A.I. also have increased accuracy.
- Thunderstorm – Field Promotions to the ranks of all A.I. characters so they are more difficult to fight, smarter, and more dangerous; and
- Tough Luck – Enemies always go berserk, always dive out-of-the-way, and never flee.
Playlist Updates
Super Duper Fiesta! is shaking up Social Matchmaking. This new rotational playlist preset will replace the Team Action Sack option as a “temporary refresh”. It includes a spectrum of Fiesta variants across the games available in the Master Chief Collection. In order to play Super Duper Fiesta!, simply go to Social Games and you’ll find it in the Game Preset option.
Updates for the Future
With this huge update kicking off the year, it is hard to think how any other update for the collection will top this one, but it seems as though the people at 343 Industries have a lot more tricks up their sleeves! At the end of the update breakdown, 343 Industries cover some of the key areas of improvement they would like to focus on in the coming year for Halo: MCC, including IP Masking, Custom Game Browser and Post Game Carnage Report. Although not a lot is revealed about what these priorities entail for the collection at this time, it is heartwarming to see such a beloved game to many still getting exciting content for endless gameplay.
The update is available now for Halo: Master Chief Collection on Xbox One. For more information and a full breakdown of the latest update, click here to be taken to 343 Industries’ official Halo news website.
