Halo Wars Title Updates

This article is part of a series on
Halo Wars cut content

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Cut content

Cut abilities
Cut buildings
Cut levels
Cut units

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Development

Halo Wars development
Concept art
Storyboards
Title Updates
Halo Wars Alpha
E3 2007 demo
E3 2008 demo
Cancelled sequel
Phoenix

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v • d • e

Throughout its lifespan, Halo Wars was updated with a number of Title Updates to fix game balance issues, patch bugs and make other quality-of-life improvements. The updates were released as free parts of the game's downloadable content throughout 2009 and 2010. Title Updates 1-4 were developed and released by Robot Entertainment due to the closure of Halo Wars developers Ensemble Studios, while Update 5 was developed by 343 Industries.

Title Update 2

Title Update 2 was released on May 12, 2009. Note that the release of the Strategic Options Pack was considered Title Update 1.

Title Update 2 patch notes
General
Flaming Warthog and Honor Guard Wraith skins now available in multiplayer to players who have those skulls. The option to show Unit Hit Point bars above units is now available.
Balance
The number of points to reach all ranks has been reduced. General now requires 2.4 million, down from 3.2 million, and other ranks have been reduced accordingly. The max number of points you can get in a single match has been capped. The Prophet of Regret's land speed is now reduced to match other leaders. Vampire Tech Upgrades now increase damage done by 15% in addition to their other effects. Anders Cryo Bomb Upgrades now cost 50% more supplies. Anders Hawk Upgrade now costs 50% more supplies.
Bug Fixes
Multiplayer Matchmaking and Connection improvements have been put in. Players should find that their 2v2 and 3v3 teams no longer split up. 'Ready for the Sequel' Achievement should now be rewarded properly. Units on Exile and Crevice should find it easier to traverse the map.

Title Update 3

Title Update 3 was released on July 17, 2009.

Title Update 3 patch notes
Balance Changes
UNSC Warthogs Gauss cannon damage against tanks and other heavily armored vehicles reduced by 25% UNSC Warthogs build time increased by 3 seconds to 25 seconds Anders research time bonus decreased to 25% from 50%. Her Research cost bonus remains unchanged at 50% Covenant and UNSC turrets have 5% increased health and 5% increased damage UNSC Elephants have a 20% more health Grenade damage type now has 25% additonal damage against Warthogs and other medium armor ground vehicles. Recycle basic cost return fixed to be 50% for constructed buildings. Locked down bases when unlocked will now release units inside very quickly, which means that when under attack a player can now build a fighting force while locked down and then release them much more quickly than before UNSC Leader powers disabled at the start of Reinforcement Matches Players no longer receive points for team killing. Self Destructing/Recycling buildings now gives points to opponents
Bug Fixes
Players should now find it much easier to play System Link games Fixed Covenant Shield Generator Exploit Invisible Units should now have invisible health bars Players will no longer be able to scout opposing bases by using the area-select tool

Title Update 4

Title Update 4 was released on December 18, 2009.

Title Update 4 patch notes
Balance
Grunts now do more damage to air units The Scarab now has 25% more health and does 25% more damage Gremlins now requires 2 reactors to be built The Arbiter now takes 25% more damage while raging Hunters now focus their Assault Beam much faster Brute Chopper is more effective vs. air
Bug Fixes
The Cryo/Reactor Glitch has been fixed The Multiplayer Lobby should now work better for people with misaligned controllers Y-Abilities should no longer have their cooldowns reset erroneously Profiles that had problems accruing points in Multiplayer should now be able to gain points properly
Rank system changes
While not listed in the official patch notes above, TU4 also brought additional changes to the Halo Wars multiplayer rank system. Rank Old score needed New score needed Recruit Play 1 game Play 1 game Lieutenant 25,000 15,000 Captain 60,000 30,000 Major 140,000 60,000 Commander 310,000 120,000 Colonel 700,000 240,000 Brigadier 1,500,000 480,000 General 2,400,000 960,000

Title Update 5

Title Update 5 was developed by 343 Industries following the the decision to close halowars.com and fold its services into Halo Waypoint. The patch was originally intended to be released on December 15, 2010, though was delayed and later released on March 23, 2011.

Title Update 5 patch notes
Fix the Theater issues that are preventing some players from viewing some cutscenes Some backend work to prepare the game for disconnecting from HaloWars.com. This was a fairly significant amount of work, as we wanted to be sure that multiplayer for the game still functioned properly without HaloWars.com and other backend support.