HR: Covenant Weapons - Plasma Launcher (Type-52)

Basic description: Scoped, grenade launcher class of weapon, effective against both infantry and vehicles, fires plasma rounds that act like plasma grenades, can fire between 1 and 4 rounds at a time, max capacity of ~9 shots.  Plasma rounds track targets slightly, sticks are one-shot kills as are very close splash damage.  Must hold trigger to charge each or all rounds.  Audio cue is easiest way to tell when first round is ready to launch.  Holding it down longer can result in 4 rounds launching at once.  Only first round will typically stick to infantry, with the rest either falling off when they die or splashing around for large area damage.  All rounds will stick to vehicles when locked and tracked properly.  Takes several direct hits to kill any vehicles, including Warthogs.  [Updated 9/29/10: The tracking ability has been significantly nerfed in the production game]  Is currently the single most powerful weapon in the Beta.  Spawns in the middle of Sword Base, but is also found in Invasion gametypes between phases or in weapon drops.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Brand new for Reach.  Similar in ways to the human grenade launcher and Spartan Laser.

Restrictions: Target lock can be broken by moving quickly, or using Elite Evade ability.  Targets being tracked will hear the weapon charging as it locks and can take evasive action.  Does not suffer from reticle bloom, but non-zero charge time leaves player vulnerable during close encounters.  At short range, tracking isn't as reliable, and targets that are stuck do not explode instantly, so they can charge player resulting in own death.

Uses: Medium to long range.  Pairs very well with jet packs, evade and active camo.  Is the single best covenant defense against vehicles.

Best for: Players used to the Spartan laser and/or good with plasma grenades.  i.e., players able to anticipate when the charge will be ready, and how to lead targets to get sticks.  Teams should work very hard to control this together because it will typically dominate any game.

HR: Gametypes - Slayer

I explained all the brand new gametypes in a previous post here.  There are a few Slayer variants that are available that aren't as obvious and that folks don't get to play very often.  They are:

• Slayer FFA: This is free for all Slayer available *only* in the Free For All playlist.
• Team Slayer: This is standard 4v4 Slayer in Grab Bag or Arena.  Standard maps, abilities, loadouts, etc.  This is the Reach slayer experience.
• (Team) Slayer Classic: Armor abilities are disabled, but everything else is standard.  Like Halo 3 with new maps and weapons.
• (Team) Slayer Pro: Sprint is the only armor ability available, DMR starts, no radar.  Like MLG playlist from Halo 3.
• (Team) SWAT: Sprint is the only armor ability available, DMR and Magnum starts, no radar, no shields.  Get headshots to win, stay in cover, talk to your team, occupy high ground, switch to Magnum in close quarters, cover your backs.
• Invasion Slayer: Previously posted and explained here.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Bullets

Just discovered that bullet physics in Reach are "instant hit" like in Halo 2, instead of "real-time" like in Halo 3.  This means that you hit what you shoot instantly, the bullet takes zero time to travel to the target, regardless of (bullet-based) weapon or distance.  This is a big change for the DMR compared to the BR, where you used to have to lead targets at range.  I have updated the DMR, Magnum, and AR posts to reflect this change.  This is not a change for the sniper rifle, because that was instant-hit in Halo 3.  Obviously doesn't apply to weapons like rocket and grenade launchers, but should apply to the Needle Rifle.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Spartan Laser (M6)

Basic description: Single shot, scoped, must be pre-charged, extremely accurate. One-shot kill for all infantry and vehicles. Very long charge time, but can be continuously pre-charged. Should be very similar to previous laser, but I don't honestly have hands-on experience yet. 4 shot capacity. 

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Smaller charge capacity (4 shots instead of 5).

Restrictions: Long charge time leaves player vulnerable. Taking fire will unscope. Targeting produces a very visible red laser beam that can be tracked back to player.  Can not pick up ammo on the field.

Uses: Unlimited range, one-shot kill for everything. Best for killing vehicles. Pairs well with jet pack or active camo.

Best for: Patient players who can hang very far back from the action. Usually only one on the map, so the team holding it keeps their own vehicles safe from it.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Sniper Rifle (99D)

Basic description: a.k.a., "snipe", "long gun." Semi automatic long range weapon. 4 round magazine. Very high recoil, extremely accurate. Fairly similar to previous sniper rifles.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Very large reticle bloom.

Restrictions: Suffers from extreme reticle bloom, shots must be spaced out. Reticle also blooms when moving quickly, so running and gunning is much harder now.

Uses: Long range. One shot kill. Pairs well with Active Camo. A good sniper can dominate a map. Very good for covering objectives.

Best for: Snipers. Patient players that like to hang very far back in sniper perches.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Chain Gun (M41)

Basic description: Medium range. Usually mounted on the back of a Warthog or on top of the Scorpion tank, has infinite ammunition, no recoil effect.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Takes much longer to spin up to speed, and can overheat if overused.

Restrictions: Accuracy is compensated for with sheer number of rounds. Has a blind spot all the way around the warthog when enemies are too close.

Uses: Short to medium range. Suppressing infantry, defending objectives, killing vehicles. Note that the Warthog will lose most direct 1:1 vehicle battles unless a skilled driver can avoid enemy fire. Aiming for head may increase kill rate, even though this is not a headshot weapon.

Best for: New players that can contribute just by holding down the trigger. Is significantly more effective in the hands of a seasoned gunner though.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Shotgun (M45)

Basic description: Pump action, fires wide spread shells. 6 round capacity, can be reloaded individually or all 6 at once. Very slow full reload time. Can be a phase 3 loadout option in Invasion gametypes.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Significantly reduced range, will do little damage at distance.

Restrictions: Very short range and long reload time.

Uses: Short range. One-shot kills, no headshot required. Good secondary weapon for ranged primary like sniper or DMR. Pairs well with Active Camo or Sprint.

Best for: Players who like to be in the thick of the action with fast reflexes. Also good for defending tight spaces.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Rocket Launcher (M41)

Basic description: Shoulder mounted rocket launcher. Scoped. 2 rockets per reload, maximum 8 total rockets. Large splash damage radius.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Heat seeking/target lock is back. Hold reticle over target to lock (don't need to hold trigger)

Restrictions: Can result in easy suicides in close quarters, usually has only a few rockets.

Uses: Any range. One-shot infantry kills, multi-kills, anti-vehicle. Pairs very well with jet pack.

Best for: Skill players that can conserve ammo for the greatest effect, i.e., killing vehicles or protecting objectives.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Assault Rifle (MA37)

Basic description: a.k.a. "AR." Fully automatic suppression weapon. 32 round magazine, 352 max capacity. Medium recoil, fairly inaccurate. Nearly identical to previous Assault Rifles, is the default Spartan loadout option.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Reticle bloom affects accuracy.  Bullets are "instant-hit" instead of "real-time travel over distance."  This means you hit when you shoot, regardless of range, no need to lead targets anymore.

Restrictions: Suffers from significant reticle bloom, shoot in bursts to increase accuracy.

Uses: Short to medium range. Used alone, takes about a full clip to kill. Can be paired with a pistol for finishing headshots, which is faster than reloading. Very good as a team weapon to focus fire on common targets. Works well when backed up with DMR fire.

Best for: AR players from Halo 3. Players that like to run and gun will still be most comfortable with the Reach AR.  Is *significantly* more accurate and effective when fired in bursts instead of continuous automatic fire.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Combat Knife

Basic description: Appears exclusively during assassination animations. Hold the melee button when behind an opponent to trigger the assassination. Equipped by all Spartans.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Brand new in Reach.

Restrictions: Note that you are vulnerable during this time and can be killed before killing your target.

Uses: Extremely short range, from-behind attacks. Pairs well with Active Camo, Sprint, or Evade.

Best for: Players that like to hide around corners and sneak up on their prey.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Frag Grenade (M9)

Basic description: Can be thrown by hand or fired from the Grenade Launcher. Has a wide splash damage radius. When thrown by hand, will detonate shortly after bouncing. Max 3 grenade loadout or 2 grenade carry.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Now causes EMP damage in Halo Reach, and is noticeably stronger in Reach. Some loadouts allow you to carry one extra grenade.

Restrictions: Can be slightly unpredictable in bouncing, can be shot out of the air or caused to explode by other explosions. Can result in significant friendly fire casualties.

Uses: Any range. Spamming rooms, enclosed spaces, and objective locations. Can be bounced around corners to flush enemies out. Pairs well with any headshot weapon for a quick one-two kill. Enemy players will shimmer in Halo Reach when their shields take damage. Pairs well with jet pack and sprint, can be used during both abilities.

Best for: New players to get easy kills, but need to be careful about friendly fire. Also good for skill players as a headshot combo.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Magnum Human Pistol (M6G)

Basic description: Semi-automatic, single-shot, 8 round magazine, 40 rounds total. Headshot capable, light recoil, very accurate. Very similar to the original pistol from Halo 1. Is usually the secondary weapon for all Spartan loadouts.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Zoom capable, accuracy affected by reticle bloom.  Bullets are "instant-hit" instead of "real-time travel over distance."  This means you hit when you shoot, regardless of range, no need to lead targets anymore.

Restrictions: Subject to recoil and will lose accuracy when bullet spamming.

Uses: Short to medium range, good as secondary weapon to finish headshots. Used alone, kills with 4 body shots and 1 head shot. Superior to DMR/Needle Rifle in close quarters due to easier headshots and less recoil. Good for killing jet pack players. Very good in close quarters on Team SWAT.

Best for: Players with a knack for headshots and those that are efficient with ammo. Because it takes a minimum 5 shots for a kill and has only 8 shots in a magazine, there is not much room for error.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Designated Marksman Rifle (M392)

Basic description: a.k.a. "DMR." Semi-automatic scoped precision weapon. 12 round magazine, max 48 rounds total. Headshot capable, medium recoil, very accurate. Very similar to the Battle Rifle from Halo 3. Can be a phase 2 or 3 loadout in Invasion gametypes.

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Brand new in Reach.  Fires one round at a time unlike 3 round bursts for the BR.  Bullets are "instant-hit" instead of "real-time travel over distance."  This means you hit when you shoot, regardless of range, no need to lead targets anymore.

Restrictions: Suffers from significant reticle bloom, so shots must be spaced out to maintain accuracy.

Uses: Medium to long range. Used alone, kills with 4 body shots and 1 head shot. Superior to pistol at range due to better accuracy. Good for killing jet pack players.

Best for: BR players from Halo 3. Players that like to hang back and get headshot kills. Anti-sniper.

HR: UNSC Weapons - Grenade Launcher (M319)

Basic description: a.k.a., "pro-pipe." Single shot, single reload. Launches a grenade that does impact damage and splash damage. Grenade explosion can be delayed by holding trigger down, will not explode until trigger is released. Max 15 rounds. Can be a phase 3 loadout option in Invasion gametypes. 

[UPDATE 12/3/10] - Secondary mode with holding down the trigger generates an EMP burst, but does less splash damage.  Primary mode (fire and forget) does not have EMP mode, but does more damage.  Direct hits cause massive damage but are difficult to score on infantry.  The small display on the grenade launcher itself (not the HUD) displays distance grenade has traveled and how many entities are in the kill radius of the grenade.  This is extremely useful for judging how far you've launched it and when to release the trigger!

NEW FOR HALO REACH: Brand new in Reach.

Restrictions: Slow reload leaves player vulnerable on misses. EMP

Uses: Medium to long range. One-shot kills, EMP damage from splash damage. Can launch grenades near targets and time explosion to do remote damage. Can leave grenades in doorways as traps. Pairs very well with jet packs.

Best for: Defensive players in tight spaces or clearing out objective areas.

Invasion Slayer Territories

I've updated the previous post with one more detail that has arisen. Namely, only the team that captures the territory can trigger the power weapon or vehicle spawn. This gives you motivation to capture territories. 15 seconds after the territory is captured, the icon above it will show a parachute with a "0" if it is not occupied by the capturing team. It will remain that way until somebody from the capturing team re-enters the territory. The opposing team can not trigger the spawn. The territory appears to be able to stay in this state indefinitely.

This is a pretty big change to how the game is approached. It gives you strong motivation to take a territory, but also allows you to defer the weapons until the coast is clear. This is *especially* useful in phases 2 and 3 when vehicles are dropped in. Currently in most games, the vehicles are instantly spammed with grenades when they spawn and are killed quickly. It's probably a good idea to let the other team cool off and head to the next territory before triggering your vehicle spawn.

Invasion Tips

As per previous post, the new 6v6 Invasion game type went live today and it is FUN! Here are some quick tips:

General:

• The base engine of this game type appears to be multi-team because everyone is split into two-man fireteams and each two-man team is scored separately. If you care about score, play nicely with your assigned teammate.
  
• You have your choice of spawn locations which can be selected with the D-Pad. You can spawn on your fireteam partner, or in the vehicle bay when they're unlocked, as examples. Choosing spawn is important! The fastest (and maybe only) way into the vehicle bays is via spawn choice.
• If your fireteam partner has chosen to spawn on you, you'll get notified with a big red warning. They can not spawn on you if you're in combat, and you'll see that at the top of your screen (area unsafe). But the big red warning pops up a bit before their spawn timer is up, so you'll see it even if you're in a safe zone.

Invasion Classic

• On initial start Spartans should load out with a DMR first and sprint to the balcony to suppress oncoming elites. Save your grenades for defending the territories. Elites should scatter to spread out the Spartan DMR fire and go for both sides of the base.
  
• In Phase 1, once Elites have reached the base, teams should cover the right and left territories on the end, they're the most vulnerable. Talk! It only takes 20 seconds in total (timer does not ever reset) to unlock a territory, so you can lose a territory just be trying to get from one to the other. You MUST work as a team.
• In Phase 2, everyone is fast tracking it to the other side of the map where the other two territories are. Both can be defended from the interior hallway that connects them. For Elites, the easier territory to take is the inside one on the left because it's harder to defend. The territory out in the open is subject to tons of grenade spamming.
• In Phase 3, Spartans need DMRs once the core is out in the open. If you put a good long range player on the lift pad for the Phantom, that fireteam can keep spawning there, Elites will be focused on grabbing the core. Banshee becomes available to Elites and is super Splatter happy. Beware of Armor Lock Spartans, they will break you if you try to splatter.

Invasion Slayer:

• Firefights will center around the territories, so head towards those.
• [Updated 5/8 12:39am] Stay near the territory after you capture it!!! The territories are not the objective, they are only spawn points for power weapons and vehicles! The weapons/vehicles don't come in for another 10-15 seconds after you capture the territory, so stay there until you get your stuff! Only the team that captured the territory can trigger the spawn. There will be a parachute showing "0" if unoccupied or held by opposing team after capture. Will not drop weapons until the capturing team returns to the territory.
  
• Territories are KEY to winning. In my last game, we had THREE Wraiths cruising around at the end against Spartans on foot.
  

Invasion is Live!

The 6v6 Invasion playlist for the Halo Reach Beta just went live! I'll be on much of the day.

HR: Armor Abilities - Evade

Basic description: Allows player to dive roll, covering a lot of ground quickly. Can dive roll in any direction, each full charge allows for at least two rolls. Tapping action and pushing a direction on the left stick automatically rolls, do not have to hold down action button. Available to Elites only.

Restrictions: Can not hold any objective items (will drop bombs or flags), can not be in vehicles, can not fire or throw grenades. Firing or attacking during roll will do nothing, must wait until roll finishes before attacking.

Uses: Good for avoiding danger. Especially useful for getting away from splash damage after sticking a grenade on somebody. Good for covering distance to opponent for melee or close range weapon. Breaks weapon locks, so is a good counter to the Plasma Launcher. Pairs well with Energy Sword.

Counter: Anticipate where they will end up and melee or grenade to that spot. Remember that they only have two rolls available at once and attack after they are spent.

HR: Armor Abilities - Active Camo

Basic description: Makes player absolutely invisible and jams enemy radar by generating lots of false red dots. Player's own radar is also jammed, but teammates' radar is not. Moving quickly, shooting and/or taking fire will reduce the invisibility effect as well making the effect fade more quickly. Crouch walking allows player to stay fully invisible and extends the effect. Can be toggled on and off using action button, do not have to hold down to stay invisible. Available to Spartans and Elites.

Restrictions: Can not hold any objective items (will drop bombs or flags), can not be in vehicles. Sound is heavily muffled while using active camo.

Uses: Good for holding territories, defending spaces, sneaking into enemy territory. Pairs well with Energy Sword because sword is invisible in Reach as well.

Counter: Find a team mate to pair with to light up the camo player and keep them visible under fire. Jetpack away from the area or somewhere inaccessible on foot. Remember that the camo player has their radar jammed as well, so will be unable to track you without line of sight. Because the camo player has muffled sound, they may not hear grenades or weapon fire.

HR: Armor Abilities - Jet Pack

Basic description: Allows player to fly. Note that Halo Reach has fall damage, so a player that runs of jetpack fuel and falls out of the sky will take damage and be stunned for a moment. It's a good idea to save some fuel so that you can feather your landing. Jets only fire when the action button is held. Available to both Spartans and Elites.

Restrictions: Can not hold any objective items (will drop bombs or flags), can not be in vehicles.

Uses: Good for getting places quickly, especially vertically oriented maps like Sword Base. Good for getting over obstacles and otherwise inaccessible areas. Sometimes can provide a good high sightline for firing. Works well when starting from a running jump.  Pairs very well with Rocket Launcher, Plasma Launcher or Grenade Launcher.

Counter: Jetpacks are very loud and not easily maneuverable. Players above your position show up in radar as a red dot with a shadow. Jetpacks tend to be easy targets for precision weapons like the DMR, Needle Rifle, Human Pistol or Sniper Rifle.

HR: Armor Abilities - Sprint

Basic description: Allows player to run significantly faster, until it runs out of charge. Can be toggled on and off by hitting action button, does not need to be held down. Available to Spartans only. Note that Elites naturally run about as fast as a Spartan in Sprint.

Restrictions: Can not hold any objective items (will drop bombs or flags), can not be in vehicles, can not fire weapons, but CAN throw grenades. Can only sprint moving forward. Can turn while sprinting, but can not sprint and strafe (like Evade). Firing will stop the sprint (but is allowed).

Uses: Good for getting to objective items quickly (skulls, flags, etc). Good for getting out of trouble and into cover. Pairs very well with short range power weapons like Gravity Hammer, Energy Sword or Shotgun.

Counter: Sidestep or jetpack over a charging sprinter. It's harder for them to turn while sprinting. Also remember that they can not fire and are vulnerable while sprinting.

HR: Armor Abilities - Armor Lock

Basic description: Makes player absolutely invincible as long as the ability button is held, until it runs out of charge. Can not take damage from anything, including weapons, grenades, bombs and vehicles. Sends an EMP blast when released that can take down shields, holding it longer generates a larger radius blast. If held for the entire duration, will release a huge EMP blast and allow your own shields to recharge. Available to Spartans only.

Restrictions: Can not hold any objective items (will drop bombs or flags), can not be in vehicles, can not fire or throw grenades, can not move.

Uses: Good for holding territories or returning flags, several players can alternate activating their armor lock to hold a territory invincibly for a prolonged time. Good for flushing out campers in tight corners. Good for being in the center of a firefight and allowing team mates to pick off the distracted enemies. Pairs well with short range power weapons but also works with the Human Pistol for headshots due to the EMP blast. Interestingly, will "unstick" plasma grenades.

Counter: Back away from EMP blast or circle around behind player. Time grenades to explode when their charge ends. Do not try to melee.

HR: Maps - Sword Base

Sword Base is one of the two maps currently available in the Beta. Here is a picture illustrating a number of the important items (click for huge):

These are locations you should be aware of:

1. Red Lift - This is accessed from the first level of the main atrium. There is a small opening in the wall, that leads around to a red gravity lift which will bring you to the third floor.
2. Green Lift - This is accessed from a room on the first level on one side of the map. It sends you to the third floor, but ends up in a tight room.
3. Mancannon - In the center of the atrium, provides access to both the "Lower Bridge" and "Middle Bridge" when jet packs are not equipped.
4. Low Bridge - The low bridge on one side of the map.
5. Middle Bridge - In the very middle of the map, spawns the Plasma Launcher ("n00b tube") right in the middle.
6. High Bridge - Green Lift room exits onto one side of this bridge. This bridge tends to see the most action in Slayer matches.
7. Sniper Ledge - Is actually all the way against the back wall (not the ramp itself). Can be accessed by going out the door from Red Stockpile and following the ledge out into the open.
8. 1 Flag Spawn - In 1 Flag CTF games, this is where the flag spawns. Has to be taken to directly upstairs to the second level, but is complicated by the Green and Red lifts being disabled.
9. Red Stockpile - In Stockpile games, this is the red spawn and where red flags are collected.
10. Blue Stockpile - In Stockpile games, this is the blue spawn and where blue flags are collected.
11. Sniper Rifle - Spawns against the pillars on this side of the atrium. For Covenant games, this is the Focus Rifle.
    

Grav Lifts. Lots and lots of activity centers around the lifts, especially in Slayer games. The top of Green Lift is an absolute CF and should probably be avoided if possible. Taking Green Lift up leaves you in a tiny room that is constantly spammed with grenades. Exiting the lift room involves dodging DMR/NR fire from both sides. At this point of the Beta, most people do not know how to access the Red Lift, so it's a much better option to get upstairs and flank people camping the top floor.

Currently, the mancannon is the fastest known way to move the flag in 1-flag CTF. A Scout can jump down from attacking spawn onto the ramp leading to the flag and sprint in. They can then hop over the railing, turn left and mancannon the flag up to Low Bridge. The flag carrier moves too slow to clear the jump themselves, but can throw the flag up for awaiting team mates. It may be possible to jump the other way onto middle bridge as well, but that involves passing the lift and coming the other way.

Weapons. I've only marked the Plasma Launcher and the Sniper Rifle on the map because they are easy to mark in the atrium. There is also an Energy Sword in a side room (fairly obvious) and a Shotgun under a staircase on the other side. The Plasma Launcher is the best power weapon in the Beta and is very much overpowered. The fastest way to reach it is to drop down to the main level of the atrium and take the Mancannon up. Or jet pack over, if equipped.

Sniping. I've marked the one Sniper Ledge, but there are also sniper perches on both sides of the map. A balcony is at the top of Red Lift that has visibility to much of the map. There is also a small perch directly above Low Bridge that is accessed via an inside ramp from the top of the Green Lift exit area.

HR: Weapons - Reticle Bloom

Lots has changed for Halo Reach. One of the more subtle changes causing lots of frustration both within the clan and the rest of the community is "reticle bloom." Bungie has introduced a way to simulate the recoil effect of weapons, and is illustrated in your HUD by the reticle expanding in size with each shot. This video demonstrates the DMR:



Your reticle is the targeting window for your weapon, and your shot will generally land anywhere within the reticle. The bigger the reticle, the less accurate the shot. You'll notice the DMR starts with a nice small reticle because it is a precision weapon. However, with each shot, the reticle grows a bit and then shrinks down. With fast shooting, the reticle gets a good deal bigger and doesn't shrink down.

The lesson here? Shoot SLOWER. Especially at range. Players from Halo 3 are used to the BR which forced you to shoot slower because of the 3-shot burst, or the Covenant Carbine which allowed you to spam as fast as you wanted with no penalty. In Reach, the DMR and Needle Rifle replace those weapons and require you to pace your shooting. The human pistol and human sniper rifle also have the same reticle bloom effect, but will be less noticeable due to how people use them.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. HALO REACH BETA!!!

It's finally here! zomg so excited! "Jetpacks are the tits."

The party system is working and the servers have been fixed. Join my HR game party and I'll take us into matchmaking as a group. If you log on late, you should be able to see the whole group together in your "Active Roster." Just select me and choose to queue join. You'll have to wait, but you'll automatically be brought in after our next game. I'll get notified that you're in the queue.

I'm not planning on starting an Xbox Live party right now, but that may change depending on our group size. If you join and see the white bubbles next to everybody's name, it's because we're in a separate XBL party. Try to join that as well.

HR - Servers stable

It appears that the server issues have been fixed for now. Matchmaking is working smoothly, and team play is working as well. Arena matches seem to be much slower to connect than Social Grab Bag.

Halo Reach Servers Inundated

The servers for the Halo Reach multiplayer beta are getting hammered right now. Most players will see "Playlist data pending download..." or "Reach server unreachable..." error messages. You may eventually get into a game if you want in the Matchmaking lobby long enough. If you are able to get into a game, it is recommended that you stay in the matchmaking interface to keep more games coming. Don't try partying up, or exiting to the main matchmaking lobby if you can avoid it, just let the game keep serving games up for you. I was able to play continuously as long as I didn't back out to the lobby.

Halo Reach Beta Now Available

You can now download it via your ODST campaign disc. Expect delays and retries as the servers get hammered.

HR: Beta - What You Need to Know

I've flooded the blog with a ton of content about Reach and there's a ton more coming. But this post will give you the high level overview of everything you need to know to get started.

How to get in: Use your Halo 3: ODST *CAMPAIGN* disc. Will be available "late morning" on Monday, 5/3. I will post here on the blog as soon as its available.

Player models: Spartans and Elites are very different now. The game will decide for you which side you will play on. Elites are faster, have better shields, but are a bigger (easier) target to hit.

Health and shields: Halo 1 (or ODST) style "health" is back for Spartans. After your shields are down, you will take health damage. Shields regenerate, health does not. Health packs are wall mounted and can restore your health, but you must hit a button to activate (can't just walk over it). Elites have regenerating health.

Radar: Enemies below will be a darker red dot. Enemies above will have a shadow behind their dot. Active camo has a radar jammer effect and will create lots of fake red dots.

Melee: In general, works the same as it did before. You can now hold melee to do a super cool assassination when behind a player. This takes time and is not an instant kill, which means you can be killed in the process before your target is dead.

Armor abilities: Brand new in Reach. You will have to choose a loadout, and with it, an armor ability at every spawn. Learn the icons so you know what you're choosing. Spartans have: Active Camo, Armor Lock, Jet Pack, Sprint. Elites have: Active Camo, Jet Pack, Evade.

Weapons: No more dual wielding. Learn the icons so you know what weapons you're choosing with a loadout. The biggest changes to your most common loadouts are the Magnum and DMR. Magnum is now the Halo 1 human pistol that pwns face again. DMR (Designated Marksman Rifle) replaces the H3 Battle Rifle (BR), but works very similarly.

Gametypes: Reach introduces several new game types. These will be in the Beta:

• Generator Defense: 3v3 Spartans vs Elites. Spartans have 3 generators to defend. Elites try to destroy them. Generators can be temporarily locked down and made invulnerable.
• Invasion: 6v6 Spartans vs Elites. Spartans have a data core to defend, protected by two layers of defenses. Elites try to shut down both layers of defense and steal the core. Each phase of the game lasts 4 minutes and introduces better weapons and vehicles.
• Headhunter: Team or Free For All. Try to collect skulls and bring them back to your scoring zone. Kill other players to collect their skulls. Hold and score 10 skulls at once to get an instant win.
• Stockpile: Team. Try to have as many flags as possible in your scoring zone at the end of each scoring period. Scoring periods end every 60 seconds.
  

65 hours to Reach

Requirements: All you need is your Halo 3 ODST campaign disc. Once the beta is active, there will be a menu item that says "Play the Beta." You can test this out now, there should currently be a menu item that says "Preview the Beta." That's where you'll begin. You don't need anything else to get in. It is a 1.2 GB download, so it will take some time, and you'll need the hard drive space available.

When: The beta will become available to the general pubic "late morning PDT on Monday, May 3." That means NOT midnight. Friends and Family codes started become available between 10-11am on Thursday, so that's as good a guess as any. The beta is currently slated only to run through May 19, so play it while the playing is good.

Friends and Family: You may have seen chatter about special access codes. Bungie made hundreds of codes available allowing people early access into the Beta. Check your bungie.net inbox, you might have one. The codes unlock the beta, and do NOT require the ODST disc.

Bootcamp: IGN has written a comprehensive gameplay guide to the Beta. It covers everything and most importantly highlights the new stuff. Read it here.

Armor Lock for Territories

IGN posted a video with one good tip: Armor Lock is a great armor ability for taking territories. Have three guys with Armor Lock go for a territory with each person activating their lock after the previous one wears off.

Bungie Reach Beta Guide

Bungie has posted a very clear description of what the Reach Beta is all about.

Read it here.

It describes how you are eligible, how you download it, how you queue up in active roster, and all the gameplay elements. PLEASE do me a personal favor and read at least the first three sections: Get In, Get Setup, and Matchmaking. If it's not obvious, stupid questions hurt my head. Please don't hurt my head.

OMGvidz

Invasion on Boneyard gameplay showing continuous footage of phases 2 and 3:



Generator Defense on Overlook, showcasing the new 3v3 gametype:



Stockpile on Swordbase, lots of jetpacks and flag bashing



Slayer on Powerhouse:



Lots more vids here:

http://www.1up.com/do/gameOverview?cId=3171232&type=game&sec=VIDEOS

Clan night tonight. Left 4 Dead 2. 8pm PT.

Last week before Halo Reach multiplayer beta.

One Week to Beta

Some things of note as we hit the one week mark to Beta:

• Ars Technica is giving away early-access Friends and Family beta codes here.
• For the H3 beta, Bungie sent Friends and Family codes to bungie.net inboxes. Make sure you check your b.net inbox on Thursday 4/29.
  
• This hands-on preview notes how active camo is very effective for Elites to capture territories.
• Grenades and melee attacks both pwn generators quickly. However, generators blow up when destroyed,which will pwn your face if you are mid-melee.
• Skulls dropped in the scoring area of Headhunter will disappear, preventing camping n00bs from just stalking the scoring area.
  

Halo Reach Overload

b.net's latest update about the Reach MP beta is hurting my head. This is far and away the steepest learning curve of any Halo game to date. New weapon set, new abilities, new loadouts, new spawn control, new game types, new maps. There's a lot going on here, so we'll need to ramp as a clan to work together effectively in teams. Reach seems to be putting a much greater emphasis on team work than ever before.

Invasion on Boneyard. Details have finally been announced. This will be a Spartans vs Elites game type where you get to play as one or the other in the Beta. Spartans defend the high ground, and Elites try to break down stages to progress to the next phase.

• Phase 1: 4 minutes long, Elites need to occupy 1 of 2 generator territories for 20 seconds to unlock the next phase. Elites have choice of two short range loadouts, but mid/long range Needle Rifles are available on the map. Spartans can choose short or long range loadouts. No vehicles.
• Phase 2: 4 minutes long, Elites need to occupy 1 of 3 territories for 20 seconds to unlock the next phase. Both Spartans and Elites have choice of short or long range loadouts. Warthog, Ghost and Wraith spawn in each team's respective vehicle bays.
• Phase 3: 4 minutes long, Elites try to move data core outside to awaiting Phantom to win. Both sides have four different loadouts to choose from, Jetpacks and specialty weapons become available. All vehicles spawn, which should result in massive chaos.

Team Work. Bungie has now announced two heavily team-centric game types in Invasion and Generator Defense.

• Generator Defense is 3v3 where the 3-man Spartan team has to defend 3 generators.
  
• Invasion is 6v6 where only 2-3 territories have to be defended at any given time, but it is a MUCH larger map.
• Fireteams. New for Reach is 2-man fireteams. The game will automatically pair you with a buddy for the duration of the match. When you die, you will have the opportunity to spawn on your fireteam buddy, or choose from other predetermined spawn locations. This will have a HUGE impact on gameplay. If your buddy is in a fight, he will get notified that you're trying to spawn on him, can pull back out of fire to allow you in, and then come out of cover with a new ally! You can also directly spawn into the gunner seat of your buddy's vehicle!

Invasion Slayer. This is a watered down version of Invasion where the phases are determined simply by time or kills. Each phase introduces better weapons and better vehicles. The craziest thing here is that there will be random territories placed around the map. In order to get the better weapons and vehicles with each phase, you have to hold a territory which will then trigger a weapon/vehicle drop.

Controls. Bumper Jumper is back, but may not be as super if you plan to use your abilities a lot. Abilities are mapped to "X" in Bumper Jumper, which will make it hard to aim and shoot while flying or camo'd. Abilities are mapped to "LB" in most other schemes.

Man, my head hurts.

Halo Reach Multiplayer ViDoc

No clan night this week.

4-20, dude! Local conflicts for several of us. Though some of us may be on split-screen sporadically around 9pm.

ODST/Reach Beta Giveaway

Defend This House is running an easy contest to win a copy of Halo 3: ODST, and with it, an invitation to the Halo Reach multi-player beta. Click here for details.

New Game Modes for Halo Reach

1up.com has some more details and new game modes that we've heard teased so far.

Headhunter: Basically an Assault type game where the object is to capture an object and deliver it somewhere else. Specifically, you are trying to pick up skulls and score them in deposit zones that move around the map. Actually, very similar to Powerball from the American Gladiators TV show. The twist here is that you can carry more than one skull (maybe up to 10), but if you are killed before you score, you drop them all, allowing anybody else to pick them up. Also, you have shiny waypoint marker on your head indicating how many skulls you are carrying.

Stockpile: Described as Territories meets CTF. Scoring happens at regular time intervals, and the game counts how many flags you have within your territory at each interval, regardless of which team is actually holding the flag. So you must bring neutral flags back into your territory, and hold them there until the scoring time interval ends.

Generator Defense: A round-based 3v3 game type that pits Spartans (defenders) against Elites (attackers). There are 3 generators to defend, 3 random power-weapon drops fall from the sky at the beginning of each round, and generators can be locked down (invulnerable) for 30 seconds at a time. This actually sounds like a pretty hard game type because there are only 3 defenders available to defend 3 objectives. Only played on a purpose-built map though, so maybe the generators are in difficult locations.

Invasion: This is a large scale 6v6 game type that is described as epic and should be a clan favorite, given our predilections. Not many details have been released, but it does appear to be round-based and multi-stage, with heavy weapons being air dropped in for the later stages.

GT wont' be on tonight

For those that get this on RSS and e-mail, I won't be able to make H2 night tonight at 10pm. A 6am meeting got scheduled after I wrote the post. I did verify during the day today, however, that the downloads are all available and that matchmaking is working correctly. Today is the last day you'll ever be able to play Halo 2 on Xbox Live, so get it while it's good! I sucked pretty hard, so wouldn't have helped you guys anyway.

Halo 2 tonight. 10pm PT.

(For those of you who are interested, this is a rally point. GT will not be on.)

In last week's Bungie update, they announced that they would be giving away some Halo Reach prizes for people on the last day Halo 2 will be available. I'll be on-line tonight at 10pm or earlier to log a few games to qualify. Join me!

Two important things:

• There are two title updates and several map packs that you will likely have to re-download to play in matchmaking. So far, I am the only one in the clan that I know of who was been able to do it successfully. If you want to play, I strongly recommend that you log in at least an hour ahead of time to try to get your downloads.
• Halo 2 is an Xbox 1 title, so it doesn't support any of the new Xbox Live NXE features. Specifically, XBL parties will not work, so it will be hard for me to help you if you're stuck. Also, chat and messaging (though supported within Halo 2) is not interoperable with the XBL NXE interface. That means if you are in the new XBL dashboard and send me a message, I will not be able to view it in Halo 2, and vice versa.
  

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Be there, bitches.

Reach Tidbits

IGN and Bungie have some new tidbits on Reach this week.

• Headhunter is indeed a gametype (OD) and not some kind of skull activated effect. Don't know what the game is though.
• Spartans vs Elites is featured on the Generator Defense gametype, an asymmetrical objective game that sounds kind of like Assault.
• The MP Beta will feature four maps: Sword Base, Powerhouse, Overlook and Boneyard.
• Jetpacks are (sadly) for n00bz. Though cool, they are apparently slow, loud, and not maneuverable. Additionally, you're basically sitting duck for Needlers or Needle Rifles.
• Fall damage even applies to mancannons. wtf?!
• Boneyard is big enough to, and will support vehicles in the MP beta.
• "Bloom" is the reticle expanding effect that I noted from the trailer but forget to mention in the last Reach update. This isn't a headshot notifier or anything, it's to illustrate the decrease in accuracy after each shot so that you can't just spam rounds.

Most interesting of note in the Bungie update is that they will be giving out prizes for everyone who plays Halo 2 on the last day, April 14. They mention "visual flair" for Halo Reach as well as some other undetailed prizes. Remember that there are TON of annoying updates and the process is super wonky. Be prepared to try a few times.

Halo 3 tonight. 10pm PT.

We'll be on-line trying out some matchmaking and shaking off the rust tonight. Join up!

Transition Plan

Starting this weekend, I will start hosting off-night clan sessions in Halo 3 matchmaking. If it wasn't obvious already, I am getting us ready for the launch of Halo Reach. I am, generally speaking, available all nights (other than Tue/Wed) after 9:30pm PT. To accommodate those in other time zones, I am happy to pre-schedule earlier nights as well. Leave a comment or reply on e-mail if you have requests for days/times.

Also, since people keep asking me, the way you get invited into the Halo Reach multiplayer beta is via the Halo 3 ODST game disc. I've posted about this before, but there are a number of outlets where you can get it for cheap now. GameFly was offering used copies for $20. Other outlets are offering it at varying prices: Amazon $49.99 new w/ free shipping, Gamestop $44.99 used, Amazon $35.78 used w/ free shipping, eBay ~$30 w/ shipping included.

Expect us to fully convert to Halo Reach when it launches this fall. You should also expect that all clan nights while the Halo Reach multiplayer beta is active will involve the Reach beta. ODST was unfortunately a dud with limited 4-player Xbox Live play. Halo Reach brings back the full 16 player multiplayer experience with a TON of new changes to the Halo universe. With the new active roster, clan nights will (in theory) run smoother than they ever have in the past. w00t!

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

I'll need to drop around 9:45pm, but that should still be plenty of time.

More on Reach

Bungie's latest update answered many of the questions raised by their MP trailer I blogged about a while back as well as clarifying many other things. Highlights:

• Elites and Spartans will have very different models and characteristics. At first blush, Elites appear to pwn face.
• Loadouts (0:14) explained: Ability to choose armor and weapon configs at round start and with every respawn.
• Active Camo (0:29): Degrades with movement and jams radar, so others will be aware it's in operation.
• Armor Lock (0:22): Makes you temporarily invincible, even to splatters, which explains how the one guy blew up the Ghost in the trailer instead of getting splattered.
• Evade (0:11): These are the dive rolls that may only be available to Elites.
• Jet Packs (0:14): New details released including the implication of fall damage and needing to reserve jet pack fuel to soften the landing. Also susceptible to EMP damage. Note that the green gun can generate the normal EMP, but that the new grenade launcher can also generate EMP! (maybe this is seen at 0:28 - in-air rocket kill)
  
• Sprint: Run faster but can't shoot

New weapons:

• Plasma Repeater: Looks like dual wielding has been removed, so this is similar to two Plasma Rifles. It will not conk out when it overheats, will just slow down. Analogous to UNSC Assault Rifle.
  
• Plasma Launcher (0:47): Sends up to four plasma bombs, and appears more similar to the UNSC Rocket Launcher than the Brute Shot. Rounds have slight target tracking ability.
• Focus Rifle (1:16): This is that crazy rail gun looking thing. Basically merges a beam rifle with the sentinel beam.
• Grenade Launcher (0:45, 1:04): Bungie puts quotes around this as the "Pro Pipe" but that may be an ironic reference to this as a "n00b cannon." Interestingly, you can hold the trigger after you fire a round and it won't detonate until you release the trigger. As mentioned above, these grenades also have an EMP blast, so you can use this pop jet packs out of the air.

Vehicles:

• Warthog: Probably the biggest (and saddest) news for our clan. The Warthog chaingun can now overheat. Suck.
• Scorpion (0:07): Gunner is now secondary and exposed.
  

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

With luck, maybe we'll have more than the same six people that have showed up for the last three weeks. In other news, looks like Cock of Dooty's MW2 patch that dropped today is hella broken. xbox.com/support is #2 in the world on the Google most searched list as of this writing.

ODST for $20

Gamefly is offering used copies of ODST for just $20. This would be an inexpensive way to get into the Halo Reach beta.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

nom nom nom

Halo Reach matchmaking details

Bungie and Shacknews have just released a bunch of new details about the matchmaking system that is coming with Halo Reach later this year. While much of it won't be relevant for the large majority of you that never host parties or run the matchmaking setup, I would like everyone to check out the Bungie update and scroll down to "Invite Me, Plz" where they describe the new Active Roster feature. Basically what this will allow is for you to join clan night at whatever time you like, queue up for the party (even if we're in a game) and automatically join the next time we hit a lobby. I don't need to send you an invite, you don't have to send me a private note, no separate Xbox Live party required. This solves a huge annoyance for clan nights, so hopefully the beta test in May irons it out so it goes smoothly. I will be debugging our party connection issues over the next couple of months as well to figure out what's wrong with that.

Speaking of Reach, questions from some latecomers remind me that it's not entirely obvious. Invitation to the Halo Reach beta test launching on May 3 is EXCLUSIVELY via the Halo 3: ODST game disc. No ODST, no Reach beta for you. The game is $49.99 new at Amazon with free shipping. Can probably be found used locally for $44.99 at Gamestop or as cheap as $35.78 used including shipping on Amazon. Prices on eBay are hovering around $30 including shipping. As I've mentioned before, you should expect the clan to be playing both the Halo Reach beta as well as Halo Reach when it drops in the fall. The group consensus is also leaning towards Halo games during the interim between the two.

Firefight Night

Got a free evening? Been having trouble sleeping? Firefight rounds tonight starting at 9:30pm. I will break out of games to pick up stragglers up until 10pm.

L4D2 Updates

Happy St. Patrick's Day! Valve has announced some updates coming out for Left 4 Dead 2:

• "The Passing" DLC - Includes new campaign and versus maps as well as some other bells and whistles.
• Versus infected bots - To help balance shorthanded versus teams
• Disabled Finale auto-spawning - Because it sucks

I will not be recommending the DLC for clan purchase unless there is strong demand for it. That said, there will likely be a lull in games between the Halo Reach beta in May and when Halo Reach officially launches later this year. I am taking nominations now for what the clan should play in the interim. Here are some thoughts:

• Left 4 Dead 1 and/or 2 - We can always keep playing zombies. If we play for a few months, it may then be worth it to get the DLC.
• Halo 3 and/or ODST - I will assume that the Halo Reach beta will expire like the H3 beta did, but we can stay in the swing of all things Halo until the fall if people would like.
• Rainbow Six Vegas 2 - Even though R6V1 was fun and popular, we missed this game because it had a conflicting release date. It's an old game at this point and would be really cheap for everyone to pick up at their local Gamestop.
• Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 - This is a very popular game on-line and we could consider joining it late, but I suspect it might not be very fun for n00bz.
• NHL 10 - This would be a break from our standard FPS fare, but I recently picked it up. It's not all that revolutionary in gameplay (compared to NHL 94) or graphics (compared to Madden 10) but it does support 6v6 on-line multiplayer which is quite the novelty. If there is demand for a sports game, I would consider it.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Back to our regularly scheduled brain programming.

ODST Firefight Nights

Sorry for being dark last week and missing the clan night post. Had a guest in from out of town and was afk all day. In other news, the Halo 2 downloads have been consistently problematic for folks, so I'm just going to skip it. Starting this week for 3 weeks or so, I will coordinate ODST Firefight nights for those who are interested. If you want to log some 4 player action, leave a comment here or reply on e-mail with what days/times you'd like to game. I'll send out a first lobby of 9:30pm or later on any day but our regular Tuesday clan night.

Halo Reach MP Trailer Details

I've watched the trailer in more detail and here some things I've noticed:

• 0:07 - Scorpion gunner fully exposed like Wraith gunner
• 0:09 - Uppercut finishing move, suspect this is just built into the melee function (mentioned on bnet) like the assassination animation shown later
• 0:10 - Glow shields (mentioned on bnet)...shields glow with an outline and then "explode" when gone showing when to get a headshot easily
• 0:11 - Dive roll...this looks brand new, some kind of Gears of War mechanism maybe
• 0:14 - "Loadouts" This is the first appearance of the ZOMG jetpack. Calling it "loadouts" implies you can choose this at spawn, interesting. More subtly, the Spartan running through the foreground also has active camo.
• 0:17 - "First Strike" is a new medal. Appears has an orange upside-down pentagon with a skull in it. Announcer also displays kills "with grenades" now.
• 0:20 - A new HUD element above the radar shows what must be the jetpack "fuel" remaining.
• 0:22 - What appears to be a ghost splatter is actually not. The ghost explodes afterwards. The HUD special equipment shows a lock, maybe that has something to do with it?
• 0:25 - "Pull" and "Headshot" medals. Pull medal implies kill for somebody in the air based on this kill and how the medal looks like a jetpack.
• 0:25 - Green and yellow multi-colored armor.
• 0:27 - First look at what is presumably the DMR (BR replacement). Looks seksi.
• 0:28 - Rocket kill in the air. This is almost impossible with today's non-tracking dumb rockets. If we presume there's a reason that they've chosen to show this, maybe rockets track flying people now?
• 0:29 - Active camo armor being shown with HUD element.
• 0:30 - Sniper targeting reticle turns red and then suddenly gets huge when bullet strikes. Unclear if this is to indicate headshot available, or because reticle expands to cover shield explosion.
• 0:32 - Assassination animation. This one appears to be with a knife, though it's pretty homoerotic in the showers there.
• 0:34 - Two more assassinations here, these climbing up on top like a jockey.
• 0:41 - "Invasion" Assuming this is a new game type where one team storms a base or something.
• 0:45 - Some kind of new gun that has a targeting reticle similar to the gauss cannon.
• 0:46 - Sniping in more detail, again with the expanding reticle. This time much more strongly suggests headshot indicator.
• 0:47 - New weapon, looks like a Fuel Rod cannon, but has "energy" instead of rounds. Appears to be 6-7 points per shot, so in total maybe 15 shots. Appears to have a track locking feature. 3 shot warthog pwn.
  
• 0:51 - Dive roll shown in more detail this time
• 0:51 - "Headhunter" Maybe some kind of skull that can be enabled? A bunch of flaming skulls explode out of the dead guy. Could be a human equivalent of Grunt Birthday Party.
• 0:53 - Again showing the changing reticle size, this time on a DMR. Headshot results in flaming skulls.
• 0:57 - "Active roster" - Have no idea what this means
• 1:04 - Gauss cannon thing appears again, with the reload animation showing a shell being put into the chamber. Also notice the lightning bolt HUD element for special equipment. Maybe sprint upgrade?
• 1:06 - "Spartans vs Elites" - Have to assume this is a new self-explanatory game mode. So far have only seen Elites being able to dive roll.
• 1:09 - Equipment HUD element looks like a targeting reticle, dunno what it is. Rocket destroys "generator" implying some new gametype.
• 1:14 - "The Arena" - Dunno what this is, maybe a map?
• 1:16 - What I previously described as the "rail gun" appears to be new Covenant beam rifle maybe? The beam trail is significantly more pronounced everywhere it appears, and actually tracks the target being hit here for 3 or 4 steps.
• 1:17 - New "Revenge!" medal. Red skull on upside down triangle.

All in all, the game looks generally gorgeous. Very excited. Two months left.

ZOMG

Bungie just dropped a trailer for the Halo: Reach multiplayer beta coming out in exactly two months. Jaw drop here please:



This kind of looks like Halo, but NOT. Punching in the gut, what looks like a rail gun, jockey-like humping assassinations, JETPACKS, I'm going to need to watch it over and over and over again. Consider me aroused.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Our usual programming for tonight. We had a full house last week with 8 players, so as a reminder remember that first come first served applies for clan night. If there are more than 8 playing, the latest players will have to wait. Generally speaking, this doesn't last very long, so you should stay on. When possible, I will try to spin off players so that there are multiple groups playing, but it's not always possible.

Road to Halo Reach Beta

There are nine weeks left until the Halo Reach multi-player beta goes live. You can expect clan games to shift over to the Halo Reach beta on Tuesday, May 4. In the mean time, I can host a secondary clan night on late nights to get ready. 10pm is usually a good time for me on other nights, but am happy to compromise on popular time slots. Here's proposed games:

• 2/28-3/20: Halo 2 multi-player
• 3/21-4/10: Halo 3: ODST firefight
• 4/11-5/2: Halo 3 multi-player

Leave a comment or reply on e-mail if you have opinions.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Remind me if I forget that the "Strength in Numbers" achievement is still available if we get down to 4 players at some point in the night.

Halo 2 Update

The Halo 2 multi-player maps are now available for download again and the links are working. In total, there are 6 downloads in total you will need to play Halo 2 on-line with Xbox Live. There is an Xbox Live title update that you will be prompted for as soon as you launch the game, and a second Halo 2 title update that you will need to download from within the game (it will prompt you). Then there are FOUR map packs you have to download from within Halo 2. Go to Xbox Live -> Content Download inside of the game menus. These are the map packs and download times (measured over 12 Mbps):

• Blastacular (Tombstone and Desolation): 4 minutes
• Maptacular (Terminal, Backwash, Relic, Elongation, Gemini): 6 minutes
• Bonus (Containment, Warlock): 3 minutes
• Killtacular (Turf, Sanctuary): 3 minutes

If you'd like to try and play Halo 2 again in the future (before April 15), please go download all the map packs and then comment here on which week you would like to play. If there is critical mass, I will set it up again. Remember that Halo 2 does not support the Xbox Live NXE party-chat system, so if you run into problems the week we're trying to do this, it will be hard to help you. Voice messages recorded in Halo 2 are also not interoperable from within the Xbox Live NXE.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Back to our regularly scheduled programming.

Halo Reach Gameplay Details

Gamespot has a pretty good article and video about what they've discovered so far. Most notably is that Spartans in Halo Reach have the ability to upgrade their equipment. Unlike Bubble Shields or Flares from Halo 3, these upgrades are persistent and can be used more than once. They tease the "Sprint" upgrade which you can use and then allow to recharge. Thanks to OD for the tip.

Halo Reach ViDoc

The Microsoft X10 event is happening right now and a number of things have been announced. Below is a ViDoc of Halo Reach showing some impressive new detail in the graphics.

Halo Reach Beta: 5/3/10

The Halo Reach multiplayer beta will go live on May 3, 2010. It will require the Halo 3: ODST disc for access. Get ready now.

http://www.bungie.net/news/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=HaloReach_X10

Halo 2 Multiplayer Inaccessible

Apologies to those who tried logging into Halo 2 for Tuesday's clan night. They have apparently updated the matchmaking playlists to require several map packs. However, those map packs are not accessible for download from within Halo 2 anymore. I will look into solutions to this problem, but for now H2 multiplayer is not available. I also forgot that Xbox Live Party chat is not available for original Xbox games due to their limited Xbox Live support.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Halo 2.

In recognition of Halo 2's upcoming death on Xbox Live, we'll jump into some H2 multi-player tonight. Be sure to join the XBL party for coordination in case we run into logistical issues. Also remember that Bungie recommends NOT installing H2 to the hard drive because of the way the game uses the hard drive to cache data pre-NXE. I expect to return to our usual programming of brains next week, unless H2 proves to be overwhelmingly popular.

Xbox Live being dropped for original Xbox

On April 15, Microsoft is dropping Xbox Live support for original Xboxes and original Xbox games. That includes games like Halo 2 that were original Xbox games but run on the Xbox 360. This marks the end of an era. Does anyone want to fire up some Halo 2 before it goes away forever?

http://majornelson.com/archive/2010/02/05/xbox-live-being-discontinued-for-original-xbox-consoles-and-games.aspx?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=feed&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+MajorNelson+%28Major+Nelson+%28Xbox%29%29&utm_content=Google+Feedfetcher

Clan night tonight. Left 4 Dead 2. 8pm PT.

Brrraaaaaaaiiiiiiiinnnnnssss.

Lost Season Premiere

The premiere of the final season of Lost airs this week exactly during clan night. Seeing as President Obama scheduled his State of the Union address to avoid a scheduling conflict, I will pose the question to the clan. Would you rather watch Lost or eat braaiiiinnnss this Tuesday? A third option is to defer clan night until after Lost, but that may be late for some people. Vote here in the comments.

Xbox Live: $34.99

I believe that anybody who reads this blog has an Xbox Live Gold subscription. Amazon.com currently has 1 year subscription cards available for just $34.99, free shipping, no tax. I just got mine and applied it, so I can verify that there's no "catch." You don't have to wait for your current membership to expire, it will just add 12 months to the end of whatever your current plan is. This is a 30% savings over the normal rate of $49.99/year!

zomgftw Flying Warthog!

Bungie has announced that in Halo:Reach there will be a new vehicle available for Mulitplayer called the Falcon. They've called it the "Warthog of the Skies." Needless to say, I'm excited. I have to assume BeerMonkeee and OmniscientDeath are too.

No official clan night this week

Local poker conflict, but some of us may be on later sporadically.

You Can Still Be a Hero

Many props go out to OD and BeerMonkeee for joining me in ODST Firefight on Wednesday. We did our small part in Bungie's campaign to raise money and awareness for Haiti earthquake relief. Apparently though, the Halo community at large is as apathetic as this clan is, and they didn't reach their maximum goal of players. If you couldn't motivate to log a few minutes of on-line game time this week to help the devastation in Haiti, you still have time to buy a t-shirt in the Bungie store to contribute to the relief effort

Haiti Relief Tonight. 9pm PT. H3/ODST

We'll be on-line tonight to support Haiti relief efforts. Join in at 9pm.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT.

By default, we will be playing Left 4 Dead 2 unless there is a request to get some H3 or ODST practice in before the Haiti relief sessions on Wed/Thu. For L4D2, I think I'd like to setup some Scavenge games this week to break up the monotony. We'll need to balance teams though, because OD and GT are clearly huge handicaps.

Send Relief to Haiti for Free

Bungie has announced that it will donate $100 to the Red Cross Haiti relief effort for every thousand people that play Halo 3 or ODST this Wednesdady or Thursday. All you have to do is play on-line with the special heart emblem. This is how you set it:

o Press START
o Select “SETTINGS” / “APPEARANCE”
o Select “EMBLEM”
o Select “Hearts” ICON, “Circle” BACKGROUND
o Back out to the APPEARANCES menu and select “COLORS”
o Set “EMBLEM PRIMARY” to RED (or MAROON / BRICK / ROSE depending on which game you’re playing!)
o Set “EMBLEM SECONDARY” to WHITE

OmniscientDeath and I will be on-line to help people with achievements if folks would like to play. If you are interested, leave a comment here and I'll schedule ODST foursomes or H3 teams. There's still tons of achievements to get. As a clan, we've only completed 56% of the ODST achievements. Here are the rarest achievements for our clan that you could get this week:

• Be Like Marty (Only 1 player has this besides OD and GT)
• Firefight: Last Exit (1 player)
• Firefight: Security Zone (1 player)
• Both Tubes (2 players)
• Firefight: Chasm Ten (2 players)
• Firefight: Lost Platoon (2 players)
• Firefight: Windward (2 players)
• Laser Blaster (2 players)
• Stunning! (2 players)
• Vidmaster Challenge: Deja Vu (2 players)
• Vidmaster Challenge: Endure (2 players)

If you'd like to help the Haiti effort through a different way, you can purchase a special ODST t-shirt through Bungie and 100% of proceeds will go to the Red Cross. That t-shirt is available here.

Cohesion BandBox Product Review

Most everyone has Rock Band or Guitar Hero now. Though fun, these games come with a lot of plastic crap that takes up a ton of space. What to do? The Cohesion BandBox is now available on Amazon.com for just over $100, with free shipping that arrives in less than a week! Mine arrived today and I'm pretty pleased with it. It's pretty inconspicuous with a black (assuming fake) leather exterior and a red felt interior. It has room for two regular guitars, drums, mic stand, three mics, and room for other accessories. My new bass guitar even fits with the head piece detached. The BandBox can mount either the Rock Band or the Guitar Hero drums, and stows it all very nicely.

There are really only two things to note. First, though the BandBox does allow you to mount the drums directly as shown in the picture, you have to detach the drums to fold them back into the box. That's not as convenient because you basically have to assemble the drums every time you want to use them, but it's a workable solution. The other item is that the box is pretty heavy, especially with all the gear inside. I'll be mounting casters to the bottom of mine to make it roll, but otherwise it'll be a drag to move around.

There is another product called the AK Rock Box that actually has a drum lift so that drums come up and out of the box. That'd be cooler, but it hasn't been available for retail anywhere I've been able to see in quite some time. It's also a good deal more expensive.

Free XBL Gold for L4D2

This weekend from 5pm GMT Friday, January 15th to 5pm on Sunday the 18th, Microsoft is upgrading Silver accounts to Gold for Left 4 Dead 2 multiplayer. Doesn't really apply to anybody in the clan, but folks would be able to play split screen with guests and enable voice chat for everyone. Leave a comment here if interested in gaming this weekend.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Dark Carnival so that folks can work on clown achievements.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Happy new year, kiddies. Brains as usual this week. Taking nominations for versus campaigns.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Looks like there's still a few people around, so clan night at the usual time tonight. Braaaaiiiiiinnnsss.

Clan night tonight. 9pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Starting a little later tonight since my family is in town.

Clan night tonight. 8pm PT. Left 4 Dead 2.

Sorry for the late post. Crazy couple of days. We'll start with Hard Rain on Versus tonight.