Defiant Map Pack
From Halopedia, the Halo wiki
- "Defy the Covenant"
- — Motto of the Defiant Map Pack[1]
The Defiant Map Pack is the second DLC map pack released for Halo: Reach, officially announced on February 15th, 2011[2]. Released on March 15 2011, the Defiant Map Pack includes three new achievements that add up to a total of 150 Gamerscore and costs 800 Microsoft Points. The map pack includes two new multiplayer maps, Condemned and Highlands, as well as a Firefight map called Unearthed. All three maps in the Defiant Map Pack were developed by Certain Affinity.[3][1] The pack was released with three achievements worth 150 Gamerscore. Three additional achievements worth 50 Gamerscore were released alongside the Anniversary Map Pack in November 2011.
Maps
Condemned
- Main article: Condemned
Condemned is set in the human space station Reach Station Gamma overlooking Reach. Before the Fall of Reach, the space station provided long-range communications for the UNSC and was a vital lifeline between Reach and Earth. At the hands of the Covenant, the station suffered significant damage. Despite this, several fortified sections of the station remain pressurized and intact.
Condemned supports six to twelve players; playlists include Team Slayer, Team Objective, and Rumble Pit.
Highlands
- Main article: Highlands
Highlands is a large competitive map set in a SPARTAN-II training facility in the Military Wilderness Training Preserve within Reach's Highland Mountains. Three Covenant CCS-class battlecruisers loom over the map, glassing the surrounding landscape.
Highlands can support the CTF and Invasion gametypes.
Unearthed
- Main article: Unearthed
Unearthed is a large Firefight map set in a BXR Mining open-cast titanium mine and refinery facility in a civilian sector of the Viery Territory on Reach.
Achievements
- Candy from a Baby - 75G - Capture two flags from an enemy capture zone in a matchmade Stockpile game.
- Crackin' Skulls - 45G - Kill 3 players with the Oddball in a matchmade Oddball game.
- Return to Sender - 30G - Successfully return two flags in a matchmade CTF game.
- All Alone - 10G - Be the last surviving uninfected player in a matchmade infection game.
- Don't Touch That! - 25G - Prevent the attacking team from touching the flag in a matchmaking 1-Flag CTF game.
- Paper Beats Rock - 15G - Assassinate a player that just exited Armor Lock in a matchmade game.
Promotions and trailers
Trailer
- Main article: Defiant Map Pack Trailer
The Defiant Map Pack Trailer was released February 14, 2011.[4]
Trivia
- The GRD helmet was rumored to be be a new unlockable item from the Defiant Map Pack, having been seen in screenshots worn by players and even in the Armory of a Bungie employee on Bungie Day, but the rumors were apparently false. 343 Industries employees refused to talk about the helmet, giving more secrecy to the unknown armor. Eventually, David Ellis confirmed that 343 Industries had planned to include the helmet as part of the Anniversary Map Pack. However, it was cut before release due to time and resource constraints, and was instead featured via the doll Easter egg.[5]
- It is the first Halo: Reach map pack to feature maps created by Certain Affinity instead of Bungie and the first map pack to feature Firefight DLC.
- This marks the first time locations from the novel Halo: The Fall of Reach have been realized as playable spaces in a game. Both the Station Gamma and the Training Preserve are key locations mentioned in the book.
- The song featured in the trailer for the map pack is titled Sacred Icon Suite 2, originally featured on the Halo Legends Original Soundtrack.
- The maps are meant to show the stages of the invasion of Reach: Firstly, Unearthed, with the UNSC having abandoned the planet to the Covenant; secondly, Highlands, with Reach being glassed in the not-so-distant horizon. Finally, Condemned, with Reach visibly glassed.[6]
- Despite their descriptions, the first three Defiant Map Pack achievements (Candy from a Baby, Crackin' Skulls and Return to Sender) do not actually require the player to be playing matchmaking at all to earn them; It is possible to unlock the achievements while playing custom games, as long as the gametype being played is electronically signed by Bungie. (That is, if the gametype is the same one used in matchmaking.)[verification needed] The last three achievements (All Alone, Don't Touch That! and Paper Beats Rock) not only require the player to be in matchmaking, but unlike previously released achievements, also require the player to be playing on a Defiant map.
- The promotional poster for the map pack appears on Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary's updated Bulletin board.[7]
Sources
- ^ a b Bungie.net: Defiant Map Pack
- ^ Bungie weekly update
- ^ Major Nelson: Announcing the Halo: Reach Defiant Map Pack
- ^ Bungie.net: Defiant Map Pack Trailer
- ^ NeoGAF Halo |OT| HaloGAF Evolved
- ^ Halo Waypoint: Behind the Scenes - Defiant Map Pack
- ^ Gamesradar.com: Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary review
