Halo Infinite Feb 3 update patch notes: Big Team Battle finally fixed

The first proper Halo Infinite update in weeks arrived on February 3 as 343 Industries tried its hand at another Big Team Battle fix after a failed first attempt, and this time, they were successful.

The first few months of Halo Infinite haven’t exactly been the smoothest. Slow responses to critical issues, “lazy” events, and even flawed updates have all led to a constant string of criticism.

Devs have since delayed Season 2 and even the 2022 roadmap with it due to a wide array of existing issues. Finally looking to get back on track, however, we now have a new patch that should lead to greener pastures.

After a false start in resolving Big Team Battle last month, a proper fix went live on February 3. Here’s everything included in the update.

Big Team Battle update

When Big Team Battle arrived in December, key matchmaking problems quickly came under fire. Players were often left in endless queues just hoping to find a match. Even searching as part of a larger squad couldn’t help salvage the mode.

343 rolled out a small hotfix on January 19 to address the flaw, though it didn’t quite do the trick. “We know this is an ongoing source of frustration and the team will continue to work towards a resolution,” Halo’s Community Director Brian ‘ske7ch’ Jarrard said.

Fortunately, they managed to solve the problem two weeks later. At first, people were cautiously optimistic about it. However, the developers confirmed that everything is working as intended this time around.

• Read More: Everything we know about Halo TV series

Not only will players experience quicker load times and a much more consistent matchmaking experience, but they will also finally be able to distinguish fireteam members from other players – which has been an issue since launch.

Here’s a list of everything included in the patch, courtesy of 343 Industries.

Halo Infinite February 3 patch notes

Multiplayer

• Matchmaking service improvements for Big Team Battle (BTB). Players should find full matches quicker and more consistently.
• Scorpion Tanks and Wraiths will appear more frequently on BTB maps.
• Fireteam members in BTB matches will have the selected Fireteam Marker color, but may still start the match in different areas of the map.
• Join in progress rules updated to avoid matchmaking into games which are nearly complete.
• Changes to Oddball in both Ranked and Arena Multiplayer playlists:
  • If the score is tied when a round’s timer runs out, one minute is added back to the timer. If the score is tied at the end of the additional minute, then the round will be declared a tie.
  • The match will end if two separate rounds end in a tie and the victory will go to the team with more rounds won.
• Halo Championship Series (HCS) variant of Free-For-All Slayer added to the Custom Game modes list.
• In Custom Games, changes to Free-For-All Slayer, FFA Oddball, Neutral Flag and Tactical Slayer game options update correctly.