Season 5 (Halo Wars 2)

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Next:	Season 6
Season 5
Start date:	July 25, 2017
End date:	August 17, 2017
Includes content for:	Halo Wars 2

Season 5 was the fifth season of Halo Wars 2 to launch, beginning on July 25, 2017. The season followed Season 4 and was succeeded by Season 6 on August 17, 2017. The season launched alongside the release of the Operation: SPEARBREAKER expansion and the leader Serina; as such the season's emblem is represented by a M88 Bison.

Season 5 Title Update

The launch of Season 5 saw the release of an accompanying Title Update.

July 25 patch

July 25 patch notes

Patch Notes: July 25th The next game patch for Halo Wars 2 is targeted for release on Tuesday, 7/25 in conjunction with the Serina/Operation Spearbreaker DLC release. Here's a list of fixes and improvements included with this month's patch. (note - for a list of balance changes coming on 7/25, please see this thread)

UI/Navigation

• Fixed incorrect control group UI when changing from PC to Controller inputs.
• Players are no longer able to see their opponent’s gamertag and rank in Leader Select by opening the friends menu.
• Clarified wording on the override warning message when the player has chosen to restart from checkpoint.
• Squad is no longer taken to the Blitz Find Match menu when the Squad Leader navigates into the Blitz main menu.
• Fixed ‘F’ key radial menu shortcut (PC).

AI

• Fixed an issue wherein AI strategy was not assigned to AI players in some MP matches.
• Fixed an issue wherein AI unit building is delayed on 1v1 Strongholds.
• Build priority for Jackrabbits has been reduced increasing AI build choices

Buildings/Units

• Supply pad upgrade time changed to 15 seconds.
• Units that die while under the effects of Dying Breath are now included in death counts.
• Units are no longer selectable while inside garrisons.
• Wolverines now automatically path to get in attacking range of garrisons.
• Players can no longer hijack both the Phantom and the unit inside when hijacking with two Spartans at the same time.
• Hero units now receive a damage reduction bonus while inside garrisons.
• Units now take reflective damage when attacking an enemy unit with the Ram ability.
• Shield bars no longer regenerate until full while taking damage during recharging.
• Vehicles hijacked while inside a Shield Generator bubble no longer inherit the Shield Generator’s shield.
• Snipers can no longer attack Sentinels guarding power nodes.
• Fixed an issue with the Hunters’ Assault Beam upgrade not dealing AOE damage.
• Units will no longer sometimes miss hitting Apex buildings placed on corner slots.
• The Phantom can no longer drop units off the map.
• Fixed an issue in which some units could sometimes use an ability twice in succession.
• The Condor will now use it’s lasers against neutral Sentinels.
• The Colossus can now more easily attack Banished Mini Bases.
• Engineers and Nightingales can no longer heal while Dazed from an EMP Mac blast.
• Fixed an issue causing units to sometimes not move to rally points.
• Fixed an issue where units sometimes were unable to gather resources if another unit is already engaged in collecting.
• Air units now return to their original position after automatically moving to attack nearby enemies.
• Made corrections to Warthog upgrade inconsistencies.
• Fixed issue which prevented targets painted by the Mantis’ Designator from taking extra damage.
• Fixed animation anomalies with Jerome’s Command Mantis upon being destroyed.
• Spartans picked up by a Mastadon during a Spartan hijack will no longer become stuck in the vehicle.
• Nightingales hijacked by Spartans with veterancy will no longer retain veterancy after the Spartan dismounts

Campaign

• Fixed the Things that Go Boom Skull functionality on mission ‘Under the Dark’.
• Correct score inconsistencies while using Skulls Pestilence and Sickness in Co-op Campaign.
• Coop users should now be able to get Gold on mission ‘Hold the Line’ again.
• Fixed an issue with Global Rally Points sliding around in Campaign missions.
• Sugar Cookie skull now works in ‘The Signal’
• Corrected several of the Phoenix Logs
• Fixed various issues with mission ‘Last Stand’ objective ‘Kill the Commanders within 10 minutes’.
• Fixed an issue wherein the bonus objective ‘Kill 5 units with Turret Drop’ sometimes does not appear on objectives screen in mission ‘Hold the Line’.
• Enemy AI no longer build expansion bases on easy and normal difficulty on mission ‘The Foundry’.

Leader Power

• Playing Ghost in the Machine as vision is lost in Blitz no longer prevents further cards being played.
• Sergeant Johnson’s Pelican Transport Leader Power is no longer free after upgrade.
• Passive Siphon and Active Siphon now work on units in motion.
• Field Promotion no longer decreases a unit’s veterancy if above rank 1.
• Units under the effect of Ghost in the Machine can no longer be picked up by the Pelican Transport leader power.
• The Emperor skull no longer causes power cooldowns to cease indefinitely when upgrading to Power Surge 3.
• VFX for Arbiter’s Plasma Bolt can no longer be seen through Fog of War.
• Drop VFX for Arbiter’s Stasis and Mass Stasis can no longer be seen through Fog of War.
• Explosion VFX for Jerome’s Enduring Salvo can no longer be seen through Fog of War.
• Using Forge’s Combat Salvage after Grizzly Battalion will no longer cause drop off Pelican Gunships to settle at the players HQ.
• Fixed damage mitigation buffs for Hunter’s Vehicle Symbiotes Leader Power.
• Powers such as Glassing Beam and Vortex Lightning are no longer cancelled if the player loses vision during charge up.

Engine

• Fixed an issue with AMD Radeon R7 that caused screen tearing.
• Fixed an issue with AMD Radeon R7 that caused low fps on default options.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when using Ghost in the Machine in a versus AI custom game.
• Fixed an issue in which HDR TVs and monitors were able to see through FOW effects in Campaign.
• Fixed a crash issue that occurred when attempting to access the Theatre.
• Fixed a crash issue when setting a local rally point, saving, and then attempting to set the local rally point at the same base upon loading saved game.
• Fixed performance drops during 3v3 Strongholds gameplay.
• Fixed performance drops during longer 3v3 Skirmish games with 5 AI.
• Fixed game crash when a direct disconnect occurs while loading into a multiplayer game.
• Fixed an issue with Campaign progression loss when switching back and forth between different Xboxes.
• Fixed performance drop with Multi-GPU enabled.
• Improved performance on a hitch that could occur in some games.
• Fixed a crash that occurred when accepting a game invite during mission load.
• Fixed rare issue which prevented player-owned bases from appearing on mini-map.

Art

• Fixed a VFX issue that sometimes occurs when destroying rock walls with the Scarab in mission ‘The Foundry’.
• Fixed a VFX issue with the Retriever Sentinel in mission ‘The Halo’.
• Fixed a VFX issue where projectiles will sometimes appear to cover the whole screen when units are just off camera.
• Holo Decoy Gauss Hog projectile VFX no longer missing.

Audio

• Fixed timing issues for Arbiter’s Plasma Bolt and Stasis SFX.
• “The enemy has destroyed one of our buildings” VO no longer plays after player recycles a main or mini base.
• Corrected timing of projectile sound for Mac Blast.
• Sound effects now playing when receiving Blitz card packs for completing Daily and Weekly Challenges.

MISC:

• Commander Jerome’s unique Blitz cards are now appropriately flagged as “Collected” and can be used to create Jerome decks.
• Removed unfair starting advantage on MP map Highway where in some players’ starting units were close enough to begin collecting supplies automatically.
• Fixed issues with various achievements not correctly unlocking for some players.
• Units put into stasis from Stasis Mines now count toward the Time and Place achievement.
• Global Rally Points can no longer be placed on an opponent’s base plots regardless of whether or not they have built on them.
• Using Arbiter’s Stasis or Mass Stasis is no longer counted twice for game stats.