Season 8 (Halo Wars 2)

Season 8 was the eighth season of Halo Wars 2 to launch, beginning on November 2, 2017. The season followed Season 7 and was succeeded by Season 9 on January 16, 2018. The season's release coincided with the launch of the Xbox One X and as such, the season's emblem is the same stylised representation of John-117 boarding a Scorpion tank - itself a reference to the console's codename "Scorpio" - printed on the console's motherboard. This season saw the release of 4K support for Halo Wars 2 on Xbox One X consoles, a balance patch and an update to the Halo Wars 2 multiplayer ranks.

Season 8 Title Update
The launch of Season 8 saw the launch of an accompanying Title Update for Halo Wars 2. A server-side balance patch later followed on November 10, including an update to the Halo Wars 2 rank structure.

November 2 patch notes

 * Halo Wars Patch Notes - Xbox One X Update & More!
 * November 2, 2017

New features

 * Added support for 4K Ultra HD & HDR gameplay on Xbox One X
 * Crossplay is here for Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs!
 * Crossplay will be supported for Campaign, Blitz Firefight, Terminus Firefight, Custom Games, and all UNRANKED Playlists
 * All of the existing ranked playlists will remain platform-specific for the sake of fairness and parity
 * For players who really want to see how console stacks up against PC, a new playlist called "Ranked 3v3 X War" will be added that will support crossplay.
 * Crossplay will be rolled out in phases to make sure everything is working as intended and to give the team time to assess.
 * When the update is released, the following will be enabled for crossplay:
 * Campaign
 * Blitz & Terminus Firefight
 * Custom Games
 * Unranked Playlists: 3v3 Deathmatch, Terminus Firefight
 * Ranked Playlist: (NEW) "Ranked 3v3 X War"
 * Crossplay will be added to more playlists at a later date once everything is verified to be in good shape.


 * Arena support on Xbox One and Windows 10 PCs
 * Halo Wars 2 now supports tournament play between members in the same club.
 * Available tournament types at launch:
 * 1v1 Deathmatch – Rift
 * 1v1 Deathmatch – Bedrock
 * 2v2 Deathmatch – Sentry
 * 2v2 Deathmatch – Vault
 * 3v3 Deathmatch – Ashes
 * 3v3 Deathmatch – Fissures
 * 2v2 Blitz
 * 3v3 Blitz

Core systems

 * Fixed various crashes, soft locks and desyncs
 * Improved disconnection handling
 * Fixed medals and progress not being restored from services
 * Fixed potential cause of lost progression

Gameplay

 * Fixed mobile garrison units not ejecting garrisoned units
 * Fixed ODST units not capturing Power Nodes and Control Towers

Campaign

 * Fixed progression blocker in Manifestation caused by recycling a Mega Turret
 * Fixed temporarily invincible scripted Flood Infectors in Manifestation

Firefight

 * Fixed friendly fire towards the Nexus and Spires from player turrets and offensive leader powers
 * Fixed the Find Match tile in the Firefight menu
 * Fixed an issue where season leaderboards were not loading in the leaderboard data

Cosmetic

 * Fixed placeholder mission briefing video in Manifestation
 * Fixed Operation: Spearbreaker DLC placeholder achievement images
 * Fixed missing splash art from the ATN loading screens
 * Fixed missing Shield Barrier VFX in Firefight
 * Fixed missing flare VFX for Lotus Mines in Firefight
 * Fixed missing supplies glow VFX
 * Fixed flickering Barriers during deployment
 * Fixed premature Colossus deployment animation in Not On My Watch
 * Fixed inconsistent camera boundary on mini-map in Gatecrashers

PC only

 * Restored ability to rebind the Cancel command
 * Fixed default Push to Talk key (‘\’) not functioning until rebound

Balance updates are being worked on and will be forthcoming in a separate server-side update at a little later date. Stay tuned for more details!

November balance patch notes
''The release date for this patch is currently unknown; these patch notes were updated on November 17, 2020; a Friday. Consequently, it is likely the patch released in the final week of November.'' All Units! Thanks for hanging in there and being patient as the team has been working on the next balance update to Halo Wars 2! We hope everyone is enjoying Arena, Crossplay and if you own an Xbox One X, that sweet 4K HDR goodness!

Please note that this is a preview of the currently planned balance changes. This is subject to change between now and release. And as of now, I don't have a firm release date yet but I reckon the team hopes to release this next week.

Player Rank

 * Player Ranks increased to 99.
 * Ranks 50-98 maintain named rank (6th Star) with Rank 99 introducing the new rank of 'Reclaimer'.

Voridus – Infusion
Damage, duration, and unit movement penalty reduced for all sources of Voridus’ Infusion gel.
 * Infusion Damage
 * Damage Per Second reduced -15%
 * Infusion Speed Penalty
 * Infantry Slow Modifier reduced -7%
 * Vehicle Slow Modifier reduced -18%
 * Infusion Duration
 * All Infusion Duration reduced by -10% except for:
 * Infusion Mine I reduced -18%
 * Infusion Mine II reduced -15%
 * Infused Engineer reduced -20%
 * Medium Pool (Explosive) reduced -17%
 * Infusion Duration - Blitz
 * All Blitz Infusion Duartion reduced by -10% except for:
 * Infusion Mine I - Blitz reduced -20%
 * Infusion Mine II - Blitz reduced -17%

Voridus – Cataclysm
Voridus Cataclysm damage has been reduced as part of overall Infusion balancing.
 * Cataclysm Damage
 * Damage Per Second reduced -9%

Voridus – Infused Mine
Cooldown increased to help reduce layering deployments of this power.
 * Infused Mine I
 * Cooldown increased +10s
 * Infused Mine II
 * Cooldown increased +10s

Voridus – Infusion Tech
Infusion Tech has been adjusted as part of the overall Infusion balancing changes. This increase partially offsets overall damage reductions to Infusion and helps maintain its effectiveness in the late game. Even when fully upgraded however, Infusion DPS is still below current levels.
 * Infusion Tech I
 * Damage Modifier increased +5%
 * Infusion Tech II
 * Damage Modifier increased +8%

Voridus – Pack Assault
Population cost changed to reflect actual cost of units deployed: Wraith, Blisterback, Veteran Infused Engineer.
 * Pop Cost reduced 18 -> 16

Suicide Grunts
Damage increased versus Light Infantry to help improve counter for early rush builds.
 * Damage Modifier vs. Light Infantry increased +11%
 * Damage Modifier vs. Light Infantry In Cover increased +11%

Chopper & Ghost
Banished Scouts more effective against rush Infantry units.
 * Small Arms
 * Damage Modifier vs. Light Armored increased +13%
 * Ram (Scouts)
 * Damage Modifier vs. Light Armored increased +7%

Vulture
Partially reverts earlier reduction to Phoenix Missile damage. The change overly impacted UNSC leader ability to crack bases in the late game and this adjustment brings back some of the Vulture’s hitting power.
 * Phoenix Missile
 * Damage Per Second increased +20%

Cannon Fodder
Earlier reductions to YapYap’s resource gathering rate proved overly punishing and these changes help improve his early game effectiveness. Cannon Fodder are still significantly below the rates of other units but now allow a bit more build flexibility.
 * Supply & Power
 * Gather Rate increased by +100%

Decimus – Boundless Siphon
Boundless Siphon was providing a very strong benefit in combination with several high-HP units especially when fully upgraded. This adjustment helps curb that benefit and bring it more in line with equivalent powers.
 * Hit Point Bonus reduced -14%

Marauder
Reducing health to address very strong late game build scenarios. Damage has been increased to improve effectiveness at Tier 1 & 2 while health has been rebalanced to increase their vulnerability but still retain their inherent strength when upgraded with Thick Hide.
 * Health
 * Hit Points reduced -13%
 * Damage
 * Damage Per Second increased +9%/+5%
 * Thick Hide
 * Hit Point Modifier reduced -7%

Siege Turrets
Cost increased to reflect earlier range and damage improvements.
 * Supply cost increased 750.0 -> 800.0
 * Power cost increased 0.0 -> 50.0

Warthog – Gauss Cannon
Issue fixed which resulted in a decrease to Anti-Building damage when upgraded to Gauss Cannon.
 * Gauss Cannon
 * Damage Modifier vs. Buildings increased +28%

Armory & War Council
Earlier addition of 100 Power cost proved to be too limiting to early game Hero use in combination with increased build times. This adjustment makes Heroes easier to field early in the game.
 * Armory
 * Power cost increased 100 -> 50
 * War Council
 * Power cost increased 100 -> 50

Colossus
Adjustments for Colossus’ overall effectiveness. Improvements to long and short range attacks increase this unit’s tactical options and flexibility in combined unit builds.
 * Line of Sight
 * LOS increased +15%
 * Autocannon
 * Range increased +10%
 * Railgun
 * Range increased +10%
 * Stomp Attack
 * Area Of Effect ranges increased +13%/+15%/+20%/+33%

Isabel – Holographic Decoy
Decoy count and lifespan increased to improve its effectiveness.
 * Holo Decoy I
 * Max Holograms increased +14%
 * Hologram Lifespan increased +5s
 * Holo Decoy II
 * Max Holograms increased +9%
 * Hologram Lifespan +10s

Scorpion, Grizzly, Colossus – Heal Rate
Earlier reductions to Heal Rate for Tier 3 tanks proved to be too much. This change partially reverts that adjustment.
 * Scorpion
 * Heal Rate increased +8%
 * Grizzly
 * Heal Rate increased +12%
 * Colossus
 * Heal Rate increased +11%

Scorpion, Wraith – Canister Shot/Scorch Mortar
As part of the general improvement to Tier 3 tanks, Canister Shot (Scorpion) and Scorch Mortar (Wraith) damage has been increased.
 * Scorpion - Canister Shot
 * Damage Per Second increased +10%
 * Wraith - Scorch Mortar
 * Damage Per Second increased +11%
 * Wraith - Corrupted Scorch Mortar
 * Damage Per Second increased +9%

Warthog
Slight improvement to Warthog health.
 * Hit Points increased +3%

Mantis
Adjusting cost slightly to better reflect its current strength.
 * Supply cost reduced 350 -> 325

Shroud
Rate Of Fire increased slightly to improve its ability to counter single, high-impact projectiles (Mega Turret, Siege Turret, Kodiak, etc.)
 * Shroud Point Defense
 * Recharge Rate increased +25%

Pavium – Rain Of Fire
Base beam damage reduced slightly to decrease attack’s power, particularly in team matches.
 * Rain Of Fire
 * Damage Per Second reduced -5%/-5%/-4%

Mortar Warlord

 * Mortar / Designator Mortar
 * AOE Radius reduced -6%

Wolverine & Reaver
UPDATE - 11/17/17: In response to community feedback, the initially-proposed adjustments to the Wolverine and Reaver have been removed from the upcoming balance adjustment. Both units will remain as they currently perform.

Isabel – Mac Blast
A boost to damage and AOE range to restore some if the power’s punch and align it better with cost.
 * Mac Blast DPS & Range
 * Damage Per Second increased +15%
 * AOE Radius increased for all levels

Spartans
'''Overall improvement to Spartan Veterancy bonuses equalize XP thresholds, increase damage, weapon accuracy, and damage mitigation bonuses at each level. Keep those Spartans in the fight.'''
 * Spartan - Alice, Douglas, Jerome
 * XP Thresholds reduced -67%/-61%/-52%
 * Damage increased +4%/+4%/+8%
 * Accuracy increased +3%/+4%/+6%
 * Damage Taken reduced -8%/-11%/-13%
 * Spartan (Omega) - August, Jerome, Leon, Robert
 * XP Thresholds reduced -17%/-7%/-4%
 * Damage increased +4%/+4%/+4%
 * Accuracy increased +3%/+4%/+6%
 * Spartan (Omega) - Jerome
 * Damage Taken reduced -8%/-11%/-13%