Editing Firefight

{{Status|Gameplay}}
[[File:H3ODST Firefight SecurityZone3.jpg|thumb|300px|Firefight in ''Halo 3: ODST''.]]
<choose><option>{{Quote|This is Firefight. And we need every able body we can get. Even yours.|[[Avery Johnson|Sergeant Major Avery Junior Johnson]]{{Ref/Marketing|Id=bipbapbam|H3ODST|Halo 3: ODST ViDoc: Bip. Bap. Bam.}} (''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'')}}</option>
<option>{{Quote|Welcome to the last day of the rest of your life.|[[The announcer]]{{Ref/Marketing|Id=twopoint-oh|HR|Halo: Reach Welcome to Firefight 2.0 Trailer}} (''[[Halo: Reach]]'')}}</option></choose>
'''Firefight''' is a single or [[Co-op Campaign|cooperative]] wave defense mode featured in multiple ''Halo'' games. The mode debuted in ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'' in [[2009]] and has since gone on to become a series staple, with most of the following games having a variation on the concept of some sort. In traditional Firefight, up to four players can co-operate with one another via [[System Link]] or [[Xbox LIVE]] to fight off waves of attacking enemies, though some variations of Firefight allow for more players and player-versus-player gameplay.

Since its debut in ''Halo 3: ODST'', Firefight has been featured in ''[[Halo: Reach]]'', ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'', ''[[Halo Wars 2]]'', and ''[[Halo Infinite]]'' - each putting their own spin on the concept. ''[[Halo 4]]'' did not feature Firefight, but did feature [[Spartan Ops]], which filled a similar niche for that game.

==Overview==
===''Halo 3: ODST''===
[[File:FirefightMap01.jpg|thumb|250px|A game of Firefight in ''Halo 3: ODST'' on the map [[Lost Platoon]].]]
{{Main|Firefight (Halo 3: ODST)}}
Firefight debuted in ''[[Halo 3: ODST]]'' as a survival-focused wave defense mode in which the player(s) have one objective: survive for as long as possible. This early iteration of Firefight has no limited to how many Waves of enemies can spawn, and continues until the squad has completely run out of lives. There are five Waves in a Round, and three Rounds in a Set. At the end of each Round, new [[Halo 3 skulls|skulls]] are activated, increasing the difficulty further. At the end of each Set is a Bonus Round, in which infinite [[Grunt (NPC)|Grunts]] spawn for a period of 90 seconds. During the Bonus Round, players cannot respawn and multiple skulls are activated, with the score modifier increased, allowing players to gain thousands of points in a short timeframe. Each enemy killed is worth a number of points, with the score multiplier increasing as the game goes on and more skulls are enabled.{{Ref/Site|Id=DropInto|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=Halo3ODST_Firefight|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Drop Into Firefight|D=12|M=10|Y=2014}}{{Ref/Site|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=BWU_081409|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Bungie Weekly Update: 08/14/09|D=12|M=10|Y=2014}}

Upon ''ODST''{{'}}s original 2009 launch, stats and leaderboards for Firefight were hosted on [[Bungie.net]], though these were discontinued after [[Bungie]] disconnected ''Halo'' web services in [[2012]].{{Ref/Site|Id=Bnet|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/projects/odst/features.aspx#firefight|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Halo 3: ODST : Features - Firefight|D=24|M=03|Y=2013}} The mode was not included with the [[2015]] port of ''ODST''{{'}}s [[campaign]] into ''[[Halo: The Master Chief Collection]]'', and was instead added to the collection alongside ''ODST''{{'}}s port to PC in mid-[[2020]].{{Ref/Marketing|MCC|Halo 3: ODST Firefight Teaser}} The port to ''The Master Chief Collection'' saw the mode expanded with the ability to play Firefight in [[matchmaking]] (a feature unavailable in the original game), create customised gametypes, access to enemies, weapons and vehicles previously unavailable in the original release, an increased playercount, and other miscellaneous quality-of-life improvements detailed [[Firefight (Halo 3: ODST)#Changes for Halo: The Master Chief Collection|here]].

=== ''Halo: Reach'' ===
[[File:DesignatorPhantom.jpg|thumb|250px|A player using the [[Series 8 jetpack|jetpack]] and a [[H-165 target locator|target locator]] in Firefight.]]
{{Main|Firefight (Halo: Reach)}}
{{Quote|It’s official. Firefight is back and better than ever. To get your drool on, go ahead and salivate over a Firefight that’s fully integrated into Halo: Reach’s matchmaking and topped off with an insane side of complete player customization, right down to each Set, Round, and Wave. And that’s just the beginning of the control you have over the experience.|Bungie.net description{{Ref/Site|Id=FF2|URL=http://halo.bungie.net/News/content.aspx?type=topnews&link=e32010ff|Site=Bungie.net|Page=Welcome to Firefight 2.0|D=13|M=10|Y=2014}}}}
Firefight returned in ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' with a new and expanded featureset, referred to as "'''Firefight 2.0'''" by Bungie.{{Ref/Reuse|FF2}} The major focus of Firefight 2.0 was the introduction of custom [[gametype]]s, allowing players to customise the composition of each Wave of enemies throughout the game, the traits of the player characters, and the hazards and obstacles present on the map. For ''Reach'', Firefight was also integrated into the game's [[matchmaking]], allowing players to search for Firefight games online. These features shifted Firefight away from ''ODST''{{'}}s pure survival focus toward more arcade-styled custom gametypes, with the default Firefight experience in matchmaking capped at one round (though the traditional ''ODST''-style mode is preserved as the Firefight Classic gametype). As such, players have access to all of the weapons and equipment in Firefight that they may have in normal Firefight including [[armor abilities]], as well as access to features not found in regular multiplayer such as the [[H-165 target locator|target locator]].

Among the changes introduced in ''Reach'' was the concept of [[Firefight Versus]]; players are able to play as [[Elite (multiplayer)#Halo: Reach|Elites]] and fight alongside the Covenant enemies to attack and kill the Spartan players. The [[Generator Defense]] mode was also added to Firefight, shifting the game focus away from pure survival towards the defense of a number of [[MEP-PU-2550D/E Generator|fusion generators]] dotted across the map.

When ''Halo: Reach'' was added to ''The Master Chief Collection'' in [[2019]], its iteration of Firefight recieved many of the same improvements afforded to ''ODST'' Firefight, including an increased player cap, more custom game options, and online quality-of-life improvements (detailed [[Firefight (Halo: Reach)#Changes for Halo: The Master Chief Collection|here]]).

===''Halo 5: Guardians''===
[[File:H5G-HappyMythicWarden.jpg|thumb|250px|A Mythic variant of the [[Warden Eternal]] boss in Warzone Firefight.]]
{{Main|Warzone Firefight (gametype)}}
Firefight was not included in ''[[Halo 4]]'', though a similar mode, [[Spartan Ops]], was included in its place. The mode was also not included in ''[[Halo 5: Guardians]]'' at launch, though a [[Warzone Firefight (update)|post-launch update]] released in mid-[[2016]] provided a major spin on the traditional Firefight experience in the form of [[Warzone Firefight]]. Unlike previous Firefight experiences, Warzone Firefight is less focused on wave survival and instead on the completion of specific objectives in a multiplayer PvE context based on the standard [[Warzone]] mode. The mode can only be played in matchmaking and features no customisation, though can be played with up to eight players.{{Ref/Site|Id=WZFF|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/en-us/games/halo-5-guardians/updates/warzone-firefight|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Warzone Firefight|D=18|M=08|Y=2016}}{{Ref/Site|Id=WireWZ|URL=https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2016/03/20/first-look-at-warzone-firefight-in-halo-5-guardians/|Site=Xbox Wire|Page=First Look at Warzone Firefight in Halo 5: Guardians|D=09|M=05|Y=2025}}

In Warzone Firefight, players are tasked with completing five rounds of increasing difficulty: each round features a new randomly chosen objective including defense missions and [[Boss (gameplay)|boss battles]]. Players do not have limited lives as in earlier Firefight iterations, but each round instead adds time to the respawn timer. If a round's objective is not completed before the round timer counts down, the match ends. Due to Warzone Firefight's foundations on the existing Warzone mode, it heavily relies on ''Halo 5''{{'}}s [[requisition system]] for its gameplay. Players have access to their entire [[List of REQ cards|REQ card]] library and can call in power weapons and vehicles at any time.{{Ref/Reuse|WZFF}}{{Ref/Reuse|WireWZ}}

===''Halo Wars 2''===
{{Main|Blitz Firefight|Terminus Firefight}}
Firefight made its debut in the [[real-time strategy]] genre in ''[[Halo Wars 2]]''. At launch, ''Halo Wars 2'' included [[Blitz Firefight]], a variation on the regular [[Blitz]] multiplayer mode. Blitz Firefight plays similarly to regular Blitz, with up to three players tasked with defending three control points on the map from increasingly-difficult waves of AI-controlled units of both [[Banished]] and UNSC variety. The mode can only be played on the map [[The Proving Grounds]]. Similar to the original ''ODST'' Firefight, Blitz Firefight is an endless mode, and only ends when the AI gets 200 points by controlling a majority of the map's control points. Due to the mode's basis on Blitz, Blitz Firefight does not involve building bases or managing economy; instead, the focus is on calling in [[List of Blitz cards|Blitz cards]] for reinforcements.

The release of ''[[Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare]]'' in late 2017 brought the addition of a second Firefight mode to the game: [[Terminus Firefight]]. Terminus Firefight functions as a more traditional Firefight experience for ''Halo Wars 2'', tasking the players with defending a [[Forerunner]] [[Terminus]] building from infinite waves of increasingly difficult AI attack. In contrast to Blitz Firefight, Terminus Firefight allows players to build bases and fortifications across the map akin to a tower defense game, allowing for a more traditional ''Halo Wars'' gameplay experience inside the Firefight formula. Terminus Firefight can only be played on the map [[The Last Bastion]], and uniquely allows players to fight against the [[Flood]] alongside waves of Banished and UNSC attackers.
<gallery>
File:HW2 BlitzFirefight.png|Blitz Firefight.
File:HW2-Terminus Firefight 04.jpg|Terminus Firefight.
</gallery>

===''Halo Infinite''===
{{Main|Firefight (Halo Infinite)}}
Firefight was introduced into ''Halo Infinite'' in the game's [[Winter Contingency III|December 2023 update]] in the form of [[Firefight: King of the Hill]]. Unlike prior Firefight modes, ''Halo Infinite''{{'}}s Firefight is not an entirely separate experience to the regular multiplayer, but instead built in the game's [[HINF:Forge|Forge mode]] thanks to the new ability to spawn AI in the editing tools. Firefight: King of the Hill combines Firefight gameplay with [[King of the Hill]], with waves of increasingly-difficult Banished enemies attempting to storm and hold a hill located on the map. Players have to capture and hold five hills to win, with boss waves deployed at regular intervals to up the ante. Due to feedback from prior games' Firefight modes, Firefight: King of the Hill does not have a limited pool of lives and players can be revived if downed - however, a full squad wipe is cause for total loss (though the traditional system of limited lives can be enabled in custom games).{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/firefight-king-of-the-hill-preview|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Firefight: King of the Hill Preview|D=09|M=05|Y=2025}} For special events, such as [[The Yappening II]], Firefight: King of the Hill has been themed around more specific game variants like [[Gruntpocalypse]], in which all enemies are replaced with Grunts.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/the-yappening-ii-operation-launch|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=The Yappening II Operation Launch|D=09|M=05|Y=2025}}{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/gruntpocalypse|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Gruntpocalypse|D=11|M=05|Y=2025}} In [[2024]]'s [[Great Journey (Operation)|Great Journey update]], a third-person viewmode was added to Firefight: King of the Hill, marking the first time third-person gameplay had been done in any official ''Halo'' release. Third-person mode was also added to [[custom game]] settings at the same time.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/playlist-overview-great-journey|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Playlist Overview - Great Journey|D=31|M=10|Y=2024}}

The [[Blue Team (Operation)|Blue Team Operation]] released in early [[2025]] brought the addition of Firefight Classic to ''Halo Infinite''. Firefight Classic aims to emulate the original ruleset of ''Halo 3: ODST''{{'}}s Firefight including Waves, Rounds, Sets, the 7 limited lives, the Bonus Round, and the infinite waves. However, one notable change includes the ability to end the game early at the end of a Set. After each Set, a zone spawns on the map that allows players to enter it; if two or more players enter the zone, they are extracted from the game. If the players fail to enter the zone, they are commited in the game until they either run out of lives or finish the next set.{{Ref/Site|URL=https://www.halowaypoint.com/news/firefight-classic|Site=Halo Waypoint|Page=Firefight Classic|D=09|M=05|Y=2025}}

==Trivia==
Firefight is similar to wave defense game modes found in many other games, examples including the survival mode from the Xbox LIVE Arcade port of ''[[Marathon|Marathon 2]]'', Zombies from ''Call of Duty'', Invasion from ''Unreal Tournament 200X'', Survival Mode from ''Left 4 Dead'', and Horde from ''Gears of War 2''. In all of these game modes, players attempt to survive against countless numbers of enemies of increasing difficulty over a long period of time.

==Gallery==
<gallery>
File:FirefightMap03.jpg|Johnson fighting a Jiralhanae Chieftain on [[Lost Platoon]].
File:Look Up Jackals.jpg|A Jackal lance on [[Windward]].
File:HTMCC Floodfight KeyArt.jpg|Key art for the "Floodfight" update to ''Halo 3: ODST'' in ''Halo: The Master Chief Collection''.
File:H5G-WF.jpg|Warzone Firefight in ''Halo 5: Guardians''.
File:HINF-FirefightClassic.jpg|Firefight Classic in ''Halo Infinite''.
</gallery>

==Sources==
{{Ref/Sources}}

{{Firefight navbox}}
{{Gametype}}
[[Category:Firefight]]
[[Category:Firefight gametypes]]
[[Category:Halo: Reach gametypes]]