News Hornets and Warlords

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It might not be E3, SDCC, or GamesCom, but that doesn't mean that there isn't news on Halo: The Master Chief Collection surfacing on the web. With the game's launch barely a month away, IGN has begun extensive coverage of the title. This coverage is ongoing, and we'll try to keep you guys up-to-date on it as more info and goodies are released. For now, we have a few neat pieces of information to report.

(10/7/2014) Warlord:
The biggest announcement over the past few days was the reveal of the last of Halo 2: Anniversary's six multiplayer maps. If you haven't guessed yet, it's Warlock. Warlock was itself a remake of Wizard from Halo: Combat Evolved. Warlord is a small, four-way symmetrical arena suited to CTF and multi-team matches. This remake has received a few geometry and weapon changes alongside its hefty visual upgrade. Most notably, there is now a jump up to the front of each of the four platforms around the map. To counterpoint the fact that these platforms and the height advantage they offer are now more easily reached and contested, the nearby pillars are a bit thicker, giving players in these positions a bit more cover. Another notable change to the map is the opening up of bottom mid, where a Sentinel Beam has been lovingly placed. That's right, the Beam is the central power weapon on the map and is a bit more powerful than it was in the original game to allow it to better suit this role.


(10/7/2014) Bloodline:
IGN has also revealed (a bit more discretely) some images and gameplay from Coagulation's successor: Bloodline. The video where this can be seen is not on Youtube, and therefore can not be directly embedded into this post. However, you can check it out at the top of the page here. Most of us remember Blood Gulch and Coagulation as being wide-open vehicle-friendly playspaces, and while that has clearly not changed, there have been a few tweaks made to this iteration of the map. There appears to be a bit of much-needed height variation on this version, creating a few dips which can be crossed over on bridges. We've learned in the past that these bridges are likely the map's dynamic element. That isn't all, though. The teleporters at the bases appear to have been replaced with mancannons (two per base). This change will give players an added movement option out of the bases, but will expose them to enemy fire while using it. Oh, and then there's the Hornet. That's right, the horniest of Halo vehicles has been retconned into Halo 2: Anniversary's sandbox. This iteration of the vehicle sports a larger reticule than its predecessor, indicating that its machine guns will be a bit less accurate this time around. Whether it will sport heat-seeking rockets in this version is not yet known.

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Blood Gulch's latest iteration in Halo 2: Anniversary

(10/8/2014) Halo Channel Walkthrough:
Kiki Wolfkill sat down with IGN to unveil some of the features we will see in the Halo Channel this November.


(10/9/2014) Launch day playlists:
Today, IGN has revealed the launch day playlist lineup for MCC. These playlists will be subject to curation post-launch, and rotational playlists will be making a return.
  • Team Halo 2 Anniversary (H2A, 4v4)
  • Halo 2 Anniversary Rumble (H2A 8 player FFA)
  • Team Halo 2 Anniversary Social (H2A, 5v5)
  • Team Slayer (CE, H2, H3, H2A, 4v4)
  • Big Team Battle (CE, H2, H3, H4, H2A, 8v8)
  • Halo: Combat Evolved (CE, 4v4)
  • Halo 2 Classic (H2, 4v4)
  • Halo 3 (H3, 4v4)
  • Halo 4 (H4, 4v4)
  • Team Hardcore (H2, H3, 4v4)
  • Halo eSports (4v4)
  • SWAT (H2, H3, H4, H2A, 4v4)
(10/15/2014) Campaign Leaderboard Features:
This video isn't from IGN, but it was recently released by 343i to show off some of the campaign leaderboard functionality in the Master Chief Collection. The game will automatically set up the proper settings for you to make attempts at achievements, and will also allow you to set rivals to compete against. There is a lot of functionality here, watch the video below for details.

(10/17/2014) Bloodline Gameplay:
Feast your eyes on a walkthrough of and some gameplay from Coagulation's remake, Bloodline. This remake was designed to incorporate some of the best elements from past iterations of Blood Gulch and Valhalla.


That's the extent of the news so far. Stay tuned to this thread for updates, and be sure to drop by the Master Chief Collection Discussion Thread.
 
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If you look closely I believe one can see a teleporter behind the Red satellite on the picture of bloodline. It's green like in Halo CE and Halo 2 so I don't think they replaced it.
 
I've updated the original post with the list of launch day matchmaking playlists in Halo: The Master Chief Collection!
 
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I suppose the interactive element on Bloodline are the energy balls on top of the bases. But I hope it's not like on Vertigo where a blast makes you no-shield. Would be pretty unfair in a 1-Flag match... It should be a challenge to bring out the flag/plant the bomb, not just a "shooting at an energy ball and giving everyone a headshot". But we will see how it's gonna be.
 
Updated, this time with a new video from 343i detailing campaign leaderboard functionality in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
 
Never mind, the energy balls actually *help* the bases, not the enemies! A huge EMP blast will neutralize any vehicle that is in the radius! Interesting...


 
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Never mind, the energy balls actually *help* the bases, not the enemies! A huge EMP blast will neutralize any vehicle that is in the radius! Interesting...


While affecting friendly controlled vehicles as well. gg 343i -_-
 
While affecting friendly controlled vehicles as well. gg 343i -_-
That means, you need Team speak. It's like a last option if the enemy is pushing hard with Warthog and Hornet (and Gungoose :p ). Yes, trolls (or just noobs) are going to push that button very hard just to see the blast, but I think people will learn fast how to use this "weapon"...
 
That means, you need Team speak. It's like a last option if the enemy is pushing hard with Warthog and Hornet (and Gungoose :p ). Yes, trolls (or just noobs) are going to push that button very hard just to see the blast, but I think people will learn fast how to use this "weapon"...
I feel it's going to be abused more than for its actual purpose.