Oddball

"Play ball!"

- The Announcer



Oddball is a multiplayer gametype featured in the Halo series. It has been featured in every Halo multiplayer to date.

Description
The objective is to locate the Skull(s) on the map and to maintain possession of it for the longest period of time possible. The default settings allow the game to be a free for all with one Skull on the map, which you need to have possession of for two minutes in order to win. This game can be played as a Rumble Game or a Team Game where the highest score of the lone player (Free-For-All), or on a team's accumulative score, chooses the victor(s). Normally, a player who has the Oddball is the immediate target for the other players, which is what makes Oddball an extremely fast paced and fun game-type.

While a player has possession of the Oddball, they cannot wield their weapons or throw grenades. However, they can still melee opponents with the Skull, which normally inflicts massive damage. The settings for the game can also be altered to make it more interesting. For example, the player with the Oddball can go invisible or can be slowed down. The number of Oddballs on the map can also be changed.

The Oddball's appearance is nearly identical through the original trilogy; the ball is a plain human skull. They are also identical to the skulls found in campaign in Halo 2 and Halo 3. In Halo: Reach the Oddball is on fire much like the Headhunter skulls. If the skull is dropped in water the flames are extinguished, though it will relight when it is picked up again. In Halo 4 the Oddball is a crystal skull in a metal frame.

Halo 4 features the first noticeable gameplay changes since Oddball's inception in Combat Evolved. Players can now throw the Oddball using the grenade throw button (default left trigger). Catching or intercepting a thrown skull awards medals. The skulls are also more noticeably affected by physics, bouncing off the surfaces and getting knocked around by explosions and Gravity Hammer strikes.

Trivia

 * Oddball is derived from Marathon's "Kill the Man With the Ball".
 * In Halo: CE, Juggernaut is an Oddball game type.
 * In Halo: CE, in the oddball section, if you go to the edit section to change the number of balls, a joke will appear in the bottom of the screen, depending on the number of balls.
 * On the base of the Oddball is a Neural Interface implant seen in Halo: Combat Evolved.
 * In Halo 3, Halo Reach and Halo 4 multiplayer, if you melee an enemy with the Oddball it is an instant kill, however, this can be tweaked via the game setting in all of the Halo games.
 * Getting three Oddball kills on a Legendary Map in Halo 3 matchmaking unlocks the Alas, Poor Yorick achievement.
 * In Halo 3, if you go to the game settings in the Custom Games lobby, go to Oddball Settings and change the ball number to two, a little notice appears at the bottom saying, "Players fight over two objectives. Ha, thought I'd make a ball joke, didn't you?"
 * Earning three Oddball kills on any map after having downloaded Halo: Reach's Noble Map Pack unlocks the Crackin' Skulls achievement.
 * In Halo: Reach, the Oddball is on fire, much like the Headhunter skulls.
 * In Halo 4, assassinations are possible with the skull which vaporize the target like Forerunner weaponry, as well as the ability to wield a pistol with a flag. These were first shown at SDCC 2012.
 * In Halo 4, the Oddball is a spherical container containing a light blue holographic skull. The "ball" part consists of black metal brackets that surround the skull. The brackets are positioned to emerge from the back of the skull and leave the 'face" area open. It also serves as the Grifball.
 * In Halo 4, the ability to throw the Oddball was added. It has resulted in the gametype being much faster paced.
 * In Halo 4, the skull seems Forerunner rather than Human, as it is blue, holographic, has a faintly visible Promethean Knight-like skull in the center, and disintegrates with Assassinations.

Gallery
 File:Marathon 2 Durandal HD Ball.png|Sprite of the "Ball" in the XBLA port of Marathon 2: Durandal. File:Marathon 2 Durandal HD Ball in Hand.png|Sprite of the player holding the "Ball" in Marathon 2: Durandal XBLA. File:HCE Team Oddball Game.jpg|A player holding the ball in a Team Oddball game in Halo: Combat Evolved. File:H5G - Overtime update - Banner.png|A Team Oddball game in Halo 5: Guardians. File:HINF AlasPoorYorick.png|A Spartan-IV holding the ball in Halo Infinite, in a pose likely referencing the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare. 