Spectral Jester

Okay there has been much discussion regarding the map pack with Halo CEA that is playable in Halo Reach here are the facts to clear up any questions. The Anniversary Map Pack, which includes six multiplayer maps along with one Firefight map, will be available on November 15th for 1200 Microsoft Points. This means even Halo: Reach fans can take part in Anniversary! I thought I would walk you through some of the different scenarios you may find yourself in on November 15th. Halo: Anniversary and the Anniversary Map Pack are two different pieces of content, so here are the various ways to access the maps. • If you own Halo: Anniversary but not Halo: Reach, you will launch the Anniversary maps from the disc menu. • If you own Halo: Anniversary and Halo: Reach, we recommend installing the maps using the Anniversary Map Pack code that comes with Anniversary. You will then be able to launch the Anniversary maps from both the Anniversary and Reach menus. • If you purchase the Anniversary Map Pack, you will install the maps like any other piece of DLC. You will then be able to launch the Anniversary maps from the Reach menu.

Now that the relevant playlists have been covered, we should probably touch on the multiplayer maps as well. The Anniversary Map Pack, which includes six multiplayer maps along with one Firefight map, will be available on November 15th for 1200 Microsoft Points. This means even Halo: Reach fans can take part in Anniversary! Before we dip into each of the maps, I thought I would walk you through some of the different scenarios you may find yourself in on November 15th. Halo: Anniversary and the Anniversary Map Pack are two different pieces of content, so here are the various ways to access the maps. • If you own Halo: Anniversary but not Halo: Reach, you will launch the Anniversary maps from the disc menu. • If you own Halo: Anniversary and Halo: Reach, we recommend installing the maps using the Anniversary Map Pack code that comes with Anniversary. You will then be able to launch the Anniversary maps from both the Anniversary and Reach menus. • If you purchase the Anniversary Map Pack, you will install the maps like any other piece of DLC. You will then be able to launch the Anniversary maps from the Reach menu. Now, back to business. In previous Bulletins, we took deep dives into the majority of the maps, but in an effort to save you the time of digging deep within our archives, I’m going to summarize all seven of the included playspaces. I think I’ll even throw in an overhead shot of each map. Because yes, despite what you may have heard, I really am that nice. Well, every once in a while, anyway. BATTLE CANYON (2 - 8 players) “The telemetry spires in these canyons help manage the Halo ring’s vast translocation grid.” The rocky warrens of this part of Halo provide the ideal environment for an array of impressive telemetry clusters. These spires’ synchronization conduits ensure that the ring’s translocation grid is always fully operational, part of a remarkably powerful system which allows near-instant transportation across the full ten thousand kilometers that span the installation. BREAKNECK (8 - 16 players) The initial Covenant strike is over, but the fight for Mombasa has just begun.” Section 21 once looked out onto the New Mombasa Orbital Elevator with pride and optimism. Now, with much of the city flooded by the Covenant’s brutal assault, the skyline is only a shattered ghost of what it once was as the battle for humanity’s survival continues on the streets and corridors below. HIGH NOON (4 - 12 players) “Despite millennia of abandonment, transportation facilities like this one continue to function flawlessly.” The vast generator complexes which power this enormous slipspace portal allow it to connect with an unknown number of locations across the galaxy. However, passage through this system requires a Forerunner keyship, and few command such a vessel this long after the disappearance of the portal’s creators. PENANCE (2 - 8 players) “The Covenant have harnessed the waters of this moon to refuel their massive supercarriers.” As the primary satellite of the Unggoy homeworld, Buwan provides the perfect environment for this massive Covenant hydro-facility used to power and refuel a variety of capital ships. Though still operational via automated subsystems, the station was abandoned shortly after the breaking of the Covenant. RIDGELINE (8 - 16 players) Overlooking one of Halo’s impressive relay complexes, this idyllic cliffside once served as a UNSC staging area.” Once serving as a watchpoint for the immense relay complex below, the monitoring outposts nestled atop this ridge became a staging ground for human forces during their time on Installation 04. Toward the end of the conflict, a Covenant assault brought the resistance of the marines here to a tragic end. SOLITARY (2 - 8 players) The security spire’s damaged interior only hints at the terrifying power of its previous inhabitant.” These spinning confinement platforms are a testament to the technological prowess of the Forerunners. In the event of a security breach, the facility’s suborbital location and frigid temperature were thought to be able to keep any threat at bay, but it appears those plans were… optimistic. INSTALLATION 04 (1 - 4 players) Fight for survival around mysterious Forerunner structures on Installation 04.” When the UNSC Pillar of Autumn arrived at Alpha Halo—also known as Installation 04—the Covenant was already there to welcome them. The conflict that followed raged across the surface of the ringworld, eventually pitting the renowned and battle-hardened ODSTs against a merciless Covenant assault, which would stop at nothing to control Halo.