King of the Hill is a multiplayer gametype. The point of the game is simple, hold a designated area known as the hill for the longest time or to the time requirement. Depending on if the game has a moving hill, you may need to search for the hill periodically. The hill is either a square or circular holographic which is projected by an indestructible holographic projector which shows neatly the boundaries of the hill. This game type may be played as a FFA or Team based game.
Instead of earning points, controlling a hill fills up a 'Capture Meter', which will earn a team a single point when it is filled. Once a point is earned, the hill will move elsewhere and both teams' capture meters will reset. The first team to earn 4 points win the game. Hills now have a short capture time before a team can control them, and contested hills will pause the capture meter. Like in previous iterations of the mode teams must keep at least one Spartan in the hill to control it.
This mode uses the 'Objective Clock', in which the time limit will only count down when the objective is unoccupied. In Ranked modes, the order that hills will appear is fixed based on the map.
King of the Hill was one of the original multiplayer gametypes in Marathon.
Some people use King Of The Hill for races.
In Halo: Reach the hill can be placed on a vehicle.
Tactics
A useful tactic during team games, is to have one person inside the hill scoring points, and the rest of the team fanning out and defending the hill and player in it.
Close Quarters weapons are usually the best weapons for holding the hill, as the close proximity to other players makes them desirable.
Due to the hills visual style it could be used as a form of camouflage to surprise opponents attacking or defending the hill.
Often players will throw a grenade into the hill in an attempt to clear out opposition before moving in. Hence, a player can accumulate a number of multiple kills if the opposition is standing too close to each other when the grenade explodes. Occasionally some servers may limit access to grenades to make this much more difficult.
When controlling the hill, a bubble shield tends to be very useful.
Production Notes
The changes to the mode in Halo Infinite were designed to address three design problems with the mode in prior games: That the hill moving on a fixed schedule punishes late hill captures, that being able to instantly capture the hill leads to an extremely frantic pace of play, and that it is possible due to time limits to enter a mathematically unwinnable situation or win a game by controlling a new hill for a very short duration. The control meter and objective clock aims to fix the first and third issues, while the second issue is addressed by giving hills a short capture time.[1]
