Season 2 (Halo Wars 2)

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Next:	Season 3
Season 2
Start date:	April 28, 2017
End date:	May 22, 2017
Includes content for:	Halo Wars 2

Season 2 was the second season of Halo Wars 2 to launch, beginning on April 28, 2017. The season followed Season 2 and was succeeded by Season 4 on May 22, 2017. The season launched alongside the release of the leader Colony; as such the season's emblem is represented by a Goliath.

Season 2 Title Update

The launch of Season 2 saw the release of an accompanying Title Update, with a balance patch released later in the season.

April 27 patch

April 27 patch notes

Alongside the release of Colony, the latest Halo Wars 2 DLC Leader, the team has implemented a host of various updates, general tweaks, and bug-fixes to improve your Halo Wars 2 experience. Check out a detailed overview of these changes below.

Core systems

• Made various stability improvements
• Fixed some secondary objectives not triggering after loading from a save
• Fixed some more cases that could cause infinite loading
• Fixed a performance issue on Banished buildings caused by some audio looping inappropriately
• Fixed an issue causing desync for some players

Leader Powers

• Archer Missiles now interact with Fog of War appropriately
• Fixed an issue with players being able to build toward the pop cap of temporarily stolen units with Isabel’s Ghost in the Machine
• Fixed an issue where a shield generator wouldn’t spin up if the main base was damaged during construction
• Fixed an issue where Isabel’s ‘The Best Offense’ passive power would render Scorpions unresponsive

Blitz/Firefight

• Ark Defense spawns the correct number of Sentinels in Blitz, for all interactions with line of sight
• Grunt Mob returns the correct amount of energy on death in Blitz
• Fixed an issue with audio corruption in longer games of Blitz Firefight

Campaign/Gameplay/Settings

• Grunts no longer shoot each other in the back, reducing their damage output
• The campaign log "Beyond the Edge" is now unlocked when completing campaign mission “The Halo”
• Neutral marines in the tutorial no longer attack and kill the player’s units, preventing them from completing the mission
• Strongholds custom game setting for “starting population count” now works as expected
• Fixed it so “Minibases count as HQ” enabled now prevents the game from ending when the player has no units and only minibases
• Added some Sentinels to capture points on Sentry and Badlands
• Marines’ grenade throw is more responsive
• Deployed Blisterbacks are now attackable by all units, not just anti-air
• Hunter upgrade no longer renders Hunters unresponsive
• Fixed an issue where Holo-decoy units under the effects of the Hellcharge ability would do damage to enemy units
• Global unit upgrades now apply to the Scorpion
• Fixed text on Forge’s Rolling Economy text to match the changes that were applied in the previous update
• Aligned Kinsano’s flame VFX for her Flamewall power with the area in which it does damage
• Fixed several translation errors in Russian, Polish and Japanese
• Fixed some instances of debug strings showing up as UI text in a few locations

AI Fixes

• Shipmaster AI can no longer teleport units into the void
• Changed the way AI uses and reacts to Nightingale smoke ability
• Fixed an issue that allowed the AI to control a jackrabbit drone
• AI players are now more aware of cloaked bases
• AI players will retake power nodes which were reclaimed by Sentinels
• An AI will no longer kill its own units by disabling a Lightbridge while they're on it… RIP

Achievements

• Fixed “Two Heads are Better than None” achievement

Audio/Effects

• Fixed audio with several leader powers
• Fixed several issues with units not having appropriate audio on destruction
• Fixed several instances in campaign when background music could be heard in cutscenes or ingame cinematics
• Adjusted some leader powers' audio
• Synced some audio with animations for Kinsano’s Cyclops
• Fixed an issue with audio events getting spammed when interacting with Fog of War or Cloaking ability
• Fixed an issue with large scale battles causing some audio corruption
• Fixed death visual effects on the Veteran Flame ‘Hog in Blitz
• Fixed some particle issues with the Flame Warthog incendiary grenade
• Fixed Guard units generating noise endlessly in Blitz
• Douglas’s taunt is no longer heard globally

And now for something completely different:

• Fixed an issue where Grunt Squads turn into Grizzlies after the player kills them in any mission when loading a save file with the skull “Grunt Birthday Party” active from a previous release

May 5 patch

May 5 balance patch notes

All units! The team has deployed a mid-season balance update to address a few things that have surfaced based on player feedback and game data analysis. This update is now live and will automatically apply the next time you launch Halo Wars 2 (the game will restart once updated). Here's a summary of what's been changed:

Shipmaster

• Spirit Support - Now drops a veterancy level 2 Hunter (Previously veterancy level 3 Hunter)

Kinsano

Kinsano Cyclops

• Flamewall ability cooldown time increased from 45 to 60 seconds
• Flamewall damage versus buildings reduced by 70%

Flamehog w/ Flame Mortar Upgrade

• Flame Mortar damage over time effect reduced damage by 35%
• Flame Mortar damage over time effect, reduced damage vs buildings by 40%
• Flame Mortar range decreased by 14%
• Flame Mortar fire rate reduced by 0.5 seconds, overall impact damage per second not affected, but will create fewer DOT scorch areas.

Inferno

• Reduced damage versus buildings by 20%
• Reduced duration from 25 seconds to 20 seconds

Colony

• Hunter Captain - Move speed increased by 19%
• Skitterer - (bug fix) Now receives upgrade benefits from Global Vehicle Upgrades
• Vehicle Symbiotes - (bug fix) No longer shows buff effect through Fog of War

Global Banished

Grunts

• Banished leader now start with 3 Grunt squads instead of 2
• Grunt squad resource gather speeds increased by 32%
• Engineers - HP reduced by 20%

Hunters

• Basic speed increased by 15%
• Fuel rod projectile velocity increased to help hit moving

Brute Chopper

• Move speed increased 11%
• Explosive rounds upgrade now also increases damage by 15%

Locust

• Line of sight reduced by 12.%
• Locust cost increased from 250/175 to 300/200
• Wraith - Scorch projectile initial damage reduced by 50%

Global UNSC

Jackrabbit

• Basic DPS increased by 15%
• Drone delay before healing reduced from 10 seconds to 7 seconds

Scorpion

• HP increased by 10%
• Cannon DPS increased by 10%
• (bug fix) Unit ability Canister Shell now fires almost instantly