Season 0 (Halo Wars 2)

Next:	Season 1
Season 0
End date:	February 28, 2017
Includes content for:	Halo Wars 2

Season 0 was the launch season of Halo Wars 2, beginning with the game's release on February 21, 2017. The season was present at game launch, and served as the "pre-season" prior to the official start of the seasons with Season 1 on February 28, 2017. The season was themed to coincide with the Sgt. Forge day one/ pre-order DLC, and features Forge's Warthog as the Season banner.

Season 0 Title Updates

Several patches were released for Halo Wars 2 during Season 0. For the Xbox One, the first patch was a day one patch released on February 21, while for Windows 10 players the patch was released later on in February. The second patch was released for both platforms in a similar manner.

February patch

Hello - A game update is rolling out today for Halo Wars 2 on Windows 10. This is essentially a "day one" update that was slightly delayed for PC and while it includes a number of improvements it does not directly address many of the issues reported by some players since the game launched. The team is working on a substantial patch for Xbox One and Windows 10 that is close to being handed off to certification at which point we will share patch notes here in this thread. The team is pushing hard and fast to get these updates into the game as soon as possible. Thank you for your feedback and patience.

Halo Wars 2 Windows 10 Update - Feb. 22

Please note that this same update was released on Xbox One last week.

• [Campaign] - Optional objective "Complete the mission with under 50% damage" on Mission 1 has been fixed
• [Campaign] - Mission 11 - Fixed an issue where loading a save created shortly after the Retriever Sentinel returns would cause the unit to idle and not correctly path between the Domination points.
• [Campaign] - Mission 8 will now fail when the Particle Cannon is destroyed
• [Campaign] - Fixed an issue where completing objectives in a mission, saving and loading, and then completing the mission resulted in the number of completed optional and bonus objectives being misreported on the missions log.
• [Campaign] - Fixed an issue where "Restart from Checkpoint" and "Load Game" options do not appear on Mission Failed Screen.
• Scarab minimum range has been adjusted to more effectively engage units that are very close to it
• Uber Units can no longer be built by the AI in Skirmish on Easy & Normal difficulty
• Blitz card hand input speed has been increased
• Fixed an issue where game audio could sometimes be distorted when a lot of units are in play
• Fixed an issue where pressing Alt+Enter to enter full screen and then again to exit full screen just as the client launches, just prior to the Xbox app displaying, can result in a crash.
• Fixed an issue where closing the Min. Spec dialog box could result in a crash
• Join a 2v2 match with your favorite deck for Blitz Quickmatch
• KNOWN ISSUES: Please note that with the introduction of this update some players may experience a longer initial black screen during game launch.

March 7 patch

A major patch for Halo Wars 2 is now available for Xbox One. The team is working to get the Windows 10 patch out as soon as possible and the current ETA is ideally within the next 24-48 hours. While we regret that PC players have to wait a bit longer, the team didn't want to delay Xbox One solely on account of the Windows 10 release. Due to the much more complex nature of the PC platform everything just takes a little bit longer (certification pass, testing, etc...). We will provide updates as new information becomes available.

Please note this patch is a 9.9GB download.

Here are the top issues being addressed in this latest patch:

Crashes/Errors/Performance

• Fixed an issue where players could get stuck on the loading screen
• Fixed an issue that caused some PC players to see a black screen on startup
• Several "desync" fixes, one of which covered most of the tracked occurrences
• Fixed a variety of PC crashes that were hardware-dependent
• Fixed a Network Error on opening Blitz Packs
• Fixed some AI issues in Skirmish that could cause performance hits
• Fixed some performance hitches in Cooperative Campaign
• Made performance improvements on various hardware
• Overall multiplayer performance improvements
• Fixed some crashes that could occur when loading a saved game
• Fixed an issue that would cause a Campaign mission to get stuck after loading a save
• Fixed a bug with joining a party and getting a network error
• Added a driver check on PC to alert users to the presence of old drivers
• Fixed an issue that caused players to disconnect from multiplayer games at the beginning of the match

Gameplay

• Fixed issue with ‘Detect’ on some starting units not working properly
• Fixed an issue with getting the Palmer’s Pure Gold Achievement
• Fixed some bugs with Kodiaks in Campaign
• Fixed a bug with garrisoned Snipers not getting additional stats
• Fixed issue with squads getting stuck trying to garrison if another squad beats them to it
• Gold medal can now be more easily attained in ‘Hold the Line’
• Fixed a Cyclops and Reaver pathing bug where they would sometimes stop moving
• Fixed an issue with units getting stuck in bases after being made
• Fixed various skull functionality not working on some units or abilities
• Fixed some cross-skull interactions between Annihilation and Pestilence
• Fixed some Locust pathing issues in Blitz (even though they’re driven by Grunts)
• Fixed an issue with units becoming unresponsive in Blitz
• Fixed an issue in Blitz with units getting a x4 speed boost in a specific situation
• Fixed a conflict created by swapping d-pad functionality in Blitz
• Fixed an issue with the Blisterback not recovering from damage in Blitz
• Fixed behavior of Marines sometimes failing to get new targets after throwing a grenade
• Friendly cloaked units now appear on the minimap
• Made some adjustments to Scarab creation
• Tweaks to Grunt Mob, Bloodfuel Grunts, and Bloodfuel Locust
• Holo Decoy can no longer be used on Pelicans or Spirits
• Fixed card level of units affected by Holo Decoy not showing over clones
• Glassing beam always creates vision now in Blitz
• Adjusted AI to make better use of Healing and Cloaking fields
• Skirmish AI now uses Extraction and Teleport
• AIs have been practicing their Domination game

Metagame

• Fixed a bug where parties were always assigned to Team 1
• Fixed a rare issue with users not actually getting to play the leader they selected in Blitz
• “Halt” cinematic should no longer be unlocked early in theater
• Fixed some daily/weekly challenge issues where they were not tracked in some playlists
• PC players can no longer tab target to whisper to themselves
• Phoenix Log page adjustments
• Pause menu adjustments
• Set default difficulty of AI to normal from easy

Cosmetic

• Cleaned up some language localizations
• Fixed a bug with UI textures failing to load
• Fixed some minimap graphical issues
• Fixed a PC issue with starting army text overlapping some UI
• Fixed some issues with individual card pack opening animations
• Fixed an issue with a terminal for a red barrier not having a display string
• Fixed a Domination icon issue, where it would rotate briefly when being recaptured
• Fixed an issue with Health bars getting stuck on the screen
• Fixed some issues with particles randomly shooting across the maps for various objects
• Adjusted transparency on locked skulls in the side panel
• Radial menu has been cleaned up a bit
• Added extra visual indicator to aid players when they are selecting cards
• Made some enhancements to the leader selection carousel

Audio

• Fixed an issue with the announcer constantly reporting Zone B is contested when it’s not
• Fixed an issue with the Condor being able to be heard through fog of war
• Fixed incorrect audio playing on some units when damaged
• Fixed some issues with units calling out the wrong attackers
• Fixed an issue with using right trigger or mouse wheel would cause audio spam
• Added audio to Plasma Mines deploy
• Added a variety of sound effects, and adjusted timing on some existing ones

Last, But Not Least

• Under-the-hood preparation for future ranked multiplayer

Known Issues

In addition to these fixes, the teams are continuing to investigate and track various issues being reported by some players. A few known issues that are not fixed in this patch but are being worked on include:

• We are still working on a fix for a known issue where a game can sometimes freeze or result in a very low frame rate
• Investigating reports of the "Short Term Commitment" achievement not registering as intended
• Investigating some reports of performance issues with cinematics
• Investigating reports of the mini-map occasionally being unresponsive on PC
• Occasional infinite loading screen when loading into consecutive missions in co-op
• Game can sometimes hang indefinitely when restarting a mission
• Unit balance feedback and assessment is ongoing by the design team
• This is not a full list of in-progress fixes, the team has a number of player-reported bugs at various stages of investigation/fixing. As always we appreciate your feedback here in the Waypoint forums and we'll provide more details and updates as we have them. Thank you!
• Design & Balance Change Details
• The unit balance adjustments included in this patch pre-date the release of the game and as such are not in specific response to game data and player feedback since launch.

Balance changes:

• Scout Vehicles now take increased damage from Turrets, Leader Powers, Basic infantry weaponry, Marine grenades and Grunt squad Mines.
• Scout Vehicles deal reduced damage against Non-scout vehicles.
• Warthogs and Marauders increased damage versus Scout vehicles
• Ramming Vehicles now take increased reflect damage.
• Scout Vehicle cost changes: (100/50 = 100 Supply & 50 Power)
  • Banished Brute Chopper – 270/0 to 280/20
  • Banished Ghost – 250/0 to 265/20
  • UNSC Jackrabbit – 210/0 to 220/15
• Scout Vehicle build time changes:
  • Banished Brute Chopper - 23 to 25 seconds
  • Banished Ghost- 23 to 25 seconds
  • UNSC Jackrabbit – 21 to 24 seconds
• Grunt squad mines arming delay reduced from 5.0 to 3.0
• Grunt squad mines damage increased by 13%
• Marine grenade secondary area of effect damage increased from 30% to 50%
• Grunt Mob card cost increased from 50 to 60
• Bloodfuel Grunts card cost increased from 30 to 50
• Bloodfuel Locust card cost increased from 60 to 80
• Increased Watchtower’s line of sight from 50 to 90