Bungie drops Halo 3 March Playlist update

by Terrence Stasse { Mar 5th 2008 at 7:30PM }

The March Update for Halo 3's playlist sees Bungie taking some steps to end the dominance of COD4 and, if they have any luck, return Halo 3 to the top of the charts. The major change implemented by the playlist would be the creation of what are being called "DoubleXP Weekend Playlists" that are just like they sound, and which will start for the first time this Thursday at midnight (or thereabouts) with the playlist Grifball. In addition, the playlist for the those players who have the DLC has also been updated to give a choice between objective and slayer games. The update also includes a multitude of smaller changes that mainly have to do with in-game exploits, and the full list can be found after the break. Will twice the XP in "flavored" playlists be enough to bring back the masses who seem to have migrated elsewhere? Doubtful, only the DLC eventually being free has the potential to do that.

[Thanks to everyone who sent this in!]

Full list of update changes after the break.

Changes Live Now:

Fixed map exploit on The Pit
Fixed map exploit on Construct
Fixed map exploit on Epitaph
Reduced Ranked Big Team Battle "Large party" size to six players and increased Big Team threshold to two
Fixed Spartan Laser falling through map
Fixes to matchmaking to allow more even leveling for players
Disabled Mixed Skill restrictions for RBTB and Team Slayer

Upcoming DoubleXP Weekend Playlists:

Grifball, the game created by Burnie Burns of Red vs. Blue will be an unranked, weekend-long social playlist awarding DoubleXP to winning teams. We've slightly adjusted some of the rules for Grifball (unlimited round times make for unlimited griefing potential), but kept the game's core intact. You'll be able to go in with party configurations ranging from one to eight people. This playlist will be available from Thursday, March 6 at midnight until March 10 at midnight (all times Pacific Standard). I apparently forgot to mention that the Grifball hopper is being treated like a Tournament hopper -- a hopper where there will be prizes. Tournament prizes.

Beginning March 20 at midnight will be the return of Team SWAT in the Social, DoubleXP variety. Team SWAT is an old Halo 2 gametype where players have no shields, increased body health and do not have the luxury of radar. This eight-player maximum hopper will be completely Team Slayer focused with the SWAT ruleset. This weekend playlist will be available from March 20 at midnight until March 23 at midnight (all times Pacific Standard).

Tags: bungie, halo-3

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

bonzai @ Mar 5th 2008 7:37PM

haha desperation

Chuck @ Mar 5th 2008 7:38PM

Double XP won't get me back on Halo 3... truth is that I havn't touched Halo since they announced the DLC cost last fall... Why pay for extra maps when I had CoD 4, Assassins Creed, and Mass Effect sitting on my shelf??

Sev @ Mar 5th 2008 8:00PM

Seems nice, although I don't it's going to beat CoD4 in the long run. I was still hoping for Swat and full time playlist though :(

Project Ekim @ Mar 5th 2008 8:11PM

It will easily beat COd 4 in the long run Cod 4 almost never changes the playlists and all the games are pretty much the same, i and my friends after playing weeks of COD 4 are getting really really bored with it and i hate to say it. It just lacks in the grand scale of things and with rainbow six vegas coming out i dont think i will ever go back to COD again....

Josh @ Mar 5th 2008 8:12PM

Seriously... where the hell is my Team Snipes? This is getting ridiculous. It's been 5 months now. There have been countless threads. It was one of the most popular playlists on Halo 2. Where is it?

horngreen @ Mar 5th 2008 8:13PM

Swat would bring me back. Maybe including some Halo 1 and 2 maps FOR FREE would help as well. Although in all honesty what does being number 1 on the playlist really do for you as a company. It's not like Halo has been forgotten about just a little stale for some. I still think Halo 2 was the tops in that franchise. Great maps and not too many gizmos thrown into the mix. I think all that extra crap like 4 grenade types, lifts, trip mines, energy drains and so on is what hurt Halo 3. That and some maps that just didn't seem too awesome from the start.

Brian Fantana @ Mar 5th 2008 9:15PM

FREE! Thats the key. They do need to bring back some classic maps for free. And bring the Halo 2 playlists back. Halo 3 is getting a little stale. Even more people will flee when R6:Vegas 2 comes out. I'll be one, because almost all my friends will be getting it.

wickedpheonix @ Mar 5th 2008 8:57PM

You can't bring people back to a crappy game. People are starting to realize what many PC gamers knew for a long time - only the first Halo was really worth anything, if anything at all. The stoic, bland gameplay that is Halo 3 has been replaced by a more complex, more graphix-smexy game called COD4 that deserves the high post.

No offense to Master Chief with this post though - he (and the Halo story up to the end of Halo 1) fracking pwn, even if the game he's locked in doesn't.

mcatrage @ Mar 5th 2008 9:15PM

Free maps would help though I might go back for SWAT if I can somehow make my friends actually play Halo 3 again.

NACHO @ Mar 5th 2008 9:34PM

Is there a date for free? I like free.

kerbero9 @ Mar 5th 2008 9:28PM

YES! Team SWAT FTW!!!

Mr.ESC @ Mar 5th 2008 10:18PM

Call me when they fix Halo community stupidity and mute all those retarded teenagers.

Oh and please do something about the damn friendly fire.

Back to TF2.

Josh @ Mar 5th 2008 10:22PM

sounds good, played some H3 and CoD today, CoD way to many problems, and went back to H3 and a blast.

ryan @ Mar 5th 2008 11:24PM

now if they just updated Halo 3's sprint, going prone and calling in strikes features....

RoboChocobo @ Mar 6th 2008 12:09AM

Newsflash: Alot of great Multiplayer games came out this year. Stop acting like you're surprised when popularity between titles wanes and grows in strength.

never mind time suckers like Mass Effect, Oblivion:GOTY or even ye old Bioshock.

If I decide I want to play Team Fortress 2 *le stab/F**CKIN SPY*, I'll go do that. If I feel a pang of longing for leveling up in COD4, I'll go play that. If I feel like playing with some buddies in Halo 3, or goofing off in Forge, I'll go do that.

They're all great games, and the only thing that really determines my time distribution is 1) What I feel like, 2) Where my friends are, 3) If there's new content or things to experience.

Thus, Halo 3 is going to receive my full attention this weekend as I enjoy Grifball, and know my friends are going to be on.

Dac @ Mar 6th 2008 12:48AM

Give me Lockout, and Prisoner back I would burn my copy of COD4 then proceed to chat whilst dancing naked in a circle.

Dac @ Mar 6th 2008 12:49AM

chant** wheres the edit button?

SadisticHam @ Mar 6th 2008 8:47AM

Shouldn't try ripping us off with stupidly priced maps then should they?

Last i saw COD4 was holding a competition for user made maps, i doubt there going to charge for that perhaps Bungie should stop being so money hungry and take a note out of there book.

rob paek @ Mar 6th 2008 9:22AM

It would be so nice if they brought the old maps back like a few of y'all have mentioned. My personal faves are Prisoner and Hang em High. I played Halo 1 WAYYYY more than I played Halo 2, although they both have some pretty good maps overall.

There are too many FPS games out there right now. The only reason I haven't bought COD 4 and Mass Effect is due to the fact that Halo 3 sucks up a lot of my time, and if I'm not playing that it's either Rock Band/Guitar Hero or NCAA 08 football.

I do agree, those little kids are so annoying. I just mute them in the lobby. I don't know why they just won't make the voice communication like GoW, just talk during the game with teammates and then be able to talk to the other team in the lobby.

KilgoreTrout XL @ Mar 6th 2008 9:36AM

I was leaning towards CoD4 for a while, but as soon as I pop Halo 3 back in the tray, I remember why it's so superior. There's just a wider skill set that you can use to differentiate yourself from other players. I think that that's really what these MP games are all about.

Now, /please/, can we have ivory tower and lockout back?

ryan @ Mar 6th 2008 10:03AM

meh, it's just not as satisfying as CoD4. i like running for cover, cat and mouse type survival and the fear of knowing that you can die in an instant vs. having a protective shield the whole time.

i also really like how people can jump in and leave anytime in CoD4 and how it won't really affect the match, because people are constantly joining vs. Halo 3 you're screwed if you got people dropping your team.

plus not to mention: the guns are waaay more satisfying in CoD4 because of H3's "balanced" issues. case in point, what would you rather kill with H3's Magnum or CoD4's Desert Eagle? yeah, because you can actually KILL with the Desert Eagle.