This week’s bulletin is PACKED (Bundle packed you might say) with goodness!

As expected there  is a brief recap of RTX 2013.

What a great display for the Halo 4 Global Championship tournament to be shown on!

Below is a pic of the 343 staff as well as the 6 finalists of the RTX qualifier.

Next up is the REAL MEAT of the bulletin. The “Champions” bundle pack. While I went over this in decent detail over the weekend, now we have the official news and names of stances, bonus weapons skins and so on.

The Champions Bundle contains three DLC packs, as well as bonus content, including:

• Bullseye Pack (Includes Ricochet, a new game type)
• Steel Skin Pack
• Infinity Armor Pack
• Bonus content, including new stances, armor and weapon skins, and a new armor mod

All of this content makes the Champions Bundle unique from other DLC, and each of the aforementioned packs can be purchased separately or as a group. For example, if you’re most interested in the Bullseye pack, you can download it as a separate piece. However, bonus content is included with the entire bundle.

As I reported over the weekend the two new maps are Vertigo and Pitfall, the latter a remake of the Pit.

To illustrate the difference here are two graphics showing the classic Pit beside the newly modeled Pitfall:

Pitfall look fantastic. It stay very true to the original, with a scant few changes. Aesthetically, the Pit never looked better. I can’t wait to play on this!

Along with Pitfall comes a new game type, Ricochet. Scoring a goal by tossing in the ball nets your team 20 pts, while running it in nets you 50 pts. I just KNOW there are going to be Ricochet leagues starting from this. Hmm, I might just look to start a HFFL team if there is interest.

There is also the Ricochet armor. I’m told this armor is usable anywhere, not just within the Ricochet game type. Though I believe that while playing Ricochet, your spartan’s armor will default to that, much as when playing flood you default to a flood if infected.

Here’s a better look at that armor:

Speaking of armors, again as I reported on, there are three armors coming with “Champions.” The long awaited return of the Mark V and ODST armors have seen maybe a Halo fan squeal with delight. No that was NOT me squealing..Promise… As well there is a very cool Forerunner-equse armor called Prefect.

Check them out below along with some technical info about them:

MARK V Armor
DESIGNATION: MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor System [GEN1] – MARK V
MANUFACTURER: Materials Group
TESTING SITE: Damascus, Vhalkem – CHI CETI IV

ODST Armor
DESIGNATION: MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor System [GEN2] – ORBITAL DROP SHOCK TROOPER
MANUFACTURER: Cascade Stronghold Technologies
TESTING SITE: Mindoro, Lhopat – CASCADE

PREFECT Armor
DESIGNATION: MJOLNIR Powered Assault Armor System [GEN2] – PREFECT
MANUFACTURER: The Watershed Division
TESTING SITE: Denegroth, West Conamara – EUROPA

Next the Steel Weapons skin pack: 

I have to say these look SLICK as HELL!

Now along with the Maps, Armor, and Weapons packs which you can buy separately, if you buy the WHOLE bundle, you get the following bonus content:

Bonus Weapons skins:

Okay, so a couple of changes here. Gone are the additional DMR skins. The blue one I’m okay with being gone as it is similar to the McFarlane toy release code coming early fall. The one I’m disappointed not being in here when it was just shown this weekend is the Tiger Stripe skin. THAT looked cool as hell.

Still, I LOVE that blood splattered AR. I see that one being used a LOT! As well the Teeth AR Skin is really cool.

Eight not seven stances as I reported. Looks like they held one out on us from RTX.

Definitely liking these stances. Okay, now which to use??? I’ll likely use Loyalty for awhile, though the Captain Morgan er…Lookout pose will be used for sure at some point. As I mentioned, the Han Solo pose, seen here as “Drawn” is in. That is a VERY classic pose from Star Wars. I being a fan of that franchise since it first came out, I KNOW it will get some use in my player card.

Bonus Armor Skins:
Five new armor skins:
• Tracer
• Column
• Python
• Bayonet
• Solid

Hmm, so let me think aloud here what those skins might look like:
• Tracer – I foresee this having small lines all over the armor, thus giving the appearance of tracer bullets.
• Column – Hmm, now if this is for Seventh Column… Otherwise, I”m a bit clueless as to what this could be.
• Python – Cobra from GI Joe! LOL. Seriously though. I know they are two different kinds of snakes, but wouldn’t it just be cool if we got a symbol that was Cobra like on the chest plate?
• Bayonet – This I see as having blade like markings, especially on the forearms.
• Solid – Hmm, maybe rivets?

In any event, Im glad to see yet more skins coming.

Halo 4 Armor Mod update: 
In addition to the Halo 4 Champions Bundle bonus content, we’ll be releasing two additional armor mods free of charge for the community to enjoy. We’re currently planning on releasing these one day before the Champions Bundle releases on August 20, and you’ll immediately be able to incorporate these new mods into your loadout and experiment with them.

• Survivor ejects you out of a vehicle if it’s about to explode.
• Recharge decreases the time it takes for your shields to recharge.

Also, Resistor Tactical Package. The Champions Bundle will include a sneak peek to the Resistor armor mod, which allows players to retain full mobility despite taking fire for a few moments. The armor mod will eventually be made available to all players in Halo 4 Matchmaking free of charge.

Now for the Matchmaking Playlist Update.
It’s all about the Halo 4 Global Championship.

The Halo 4 Global Championship online qualifiers are about to begin! If you have not yet registered for the tournament, head here to get signed up. The online portion of the tournament will include five weeks of gameplay, with new winners, game types and prizes each week. For a recap of the details of the Halo 4 Global Championship online qualifier and scoring system, check out last week’s Halo Bulletin. As a reminder, we’re using a scoring system that ranks you based on your performance across all of your matches.

Online qualifier scoring system, by placement:

1st – 8 points
2nd – 7 points
3rd – 6 points
4th – 5 points
5th – 4 points
6th – 3 points
7th – 2 points
8th – 1 points
Quit – 0 points

Over the course of all of your games, your average will be calculated. For example, a player who plays and wins 20 matches during a week of the Halo 4 Global Championship is given an average score of 8 points. A player who places first in 19 matches and places second in match 20 receives an average score of 7.95.

In the event that two players are tied with the same average at the end of the week (or at any point during the week), the leaderboard will automatically use the following tie breakers to determine each player’s rank:

• Most games played
• Most first-place finishes
• Most kills
• Fewest deaths
• Most assists
• Fewest quits
• Earliest date and time of first qualifying game played
• Earliest date and time of tournament registration

For example, if the top two players for week 1 both have an average (perfect) score of 8, the player who plays (and wins) a twenty-first game would be ranked higher for having more games played as well as more first-place finishes. However, keep in mind that if that player places even as low as second in match 21, that player’s average would drop below 8. This system maintains a high-skill factor and leaves no room for error or loss at the top of the leaderboard. In the event that two players have 21 games won, the next tiebreaker would be most total kills for the week, then fewest deaths for the week, and so on. These tiebreakers ensure that the players who perform the best across all of their games will advance to the finals.

As announced last week, the game type for our first week of competition will be Infinity Rumble, which has received some subtle tweaks for tournament gameplay. Here are the full details:

This game type will be played on the following maps, which have been updated and modified with optimized respawn points, initial ordnance and on-map weapons:

• Haven
• Solace
• Adrift
• Abandon
• Landfall
• Monolith
• Skyline

The Halo 4 Global Championship playlist will be available at the top of the War Games Lobby playlists and will use new parameters and settings that are optimized for competition. Also, the Global Championship playlist will replace the Rumble Pit playlist during the tournament. Here’s some of the things you can expect in the playlist each week:

• There will be no map voting in the playlist. Once you search and find a match, a map will be auto-selected and a three-second countdown will begin, during which players will not be able to leave or “back out.” Leaving the lobby or game through any method after this point will be counted as a Quit.
• After the game concludes, you’ll have an opportunity to view your post-game stats, and then you’ll be returned to the War Games Lobby rather than another searching phase. This will ensure that players do not accidentally hop straight into another game. To hop back in, simply search the playlist again.
• Join-in-Progress is disabled throughout the entirety of the tournament.
• The Max Party Size is 1, restricting players to solo-searching.

Each week’s winners will undergo a full account and game history investigation. As a result, we will not be announcing the official winners immediately at the end of each week. Wait for the official winner announcement on Halo Waypoint each week. Best of luck to all Global Championship competitors! Be sure to tag your tweets with #Halo4GC throughout the tournament. We’ll be retweeting our favorites from the Halo Waypoint account!

Next up word of Legendary Slayer: 

At PAX East, we announced that we were working on a new playlist named Legendary Slayer. After much iteration, discussion and playtesting, we’re excited to announce that it is (almost!) here and (almost!) ready for your enjoyment. Legendary Slayer is a variant that focuses on basic gameplay with only one loadout, on-map weapons and motion tracker enabled. Here are the key settings:

• 4 vs. 4 Slayer
• Default starting weapon (Assault Rifle)
• No Armor Abilities
• Motion Tracker enabled
• All weapons and grenades located on map (no initial, random or personal ordnance)

The singular loadout is:

• Starting weapon: Assault Rifle
• Secondary weapon: None
• Armor Ability: None
• Grenades: Frag x2
• Support upgrade: Explosives
• Tactical package: Resupply

We’re excited to deliver a brand-new experience to Halo 4 Matchmaking that will focus on even starting weapons and map control, with players fighting to gain control of all rifles, power weapons and each map’s power positions. The Legendary Slayer playlist launches Monday, July 15, on the following maps, which have been custom-created specifically for this playlist:

• Haven
• Solace
• Adrift
• Abandon
• Landfall
• Monolith
• Skyline
• Shutout

As always, we’ll keep a close eye on community feedback and Matchmaking statistics for this playlist and are very excited to play with you! Lastly, Crimson DLC will be replacing Majestic DLC as our featured DLC playlist. We will continue to monitor the population and activity of this playlist as we rotate and optimize DLC content in Halo 4 Matchmaking.

San Diego Comic-con 2013:

As you may have seen on Major Nelson’s Blog, we’ll be at the Xbox Gaming Lounge at this year’s San Diego Comic-Con! Both Halo: Spartan Assault and Halo 4 Champions Bundle will be playable in the lounge. We’ll have Ricochet, Pitfall and Vertigo playable for the first time ever, with prizes and giveaways. We’ll also be running mini-tournaments on the new maps and game type from 5:30 to 8:00 PM PDT on Friday and Saturday, July 20 and 21. You’ll need an SDCC pass to enter the lounge. We hope to see you there!

Additionally, we’ll have a panel that will provide some insight into the making and fiction of Halo: Spartan Assault:

Inside the Looking Glass: Building “Halo” Worlds and Wonders, Past, Present and Future
Room 6BCF, San Diego Convention Center
Thursday, July 18, 11:45 AM to 12:45 PM PDT

And finally as always, the Bulletin ends with a Screenshot Spotlight, this one on the Mark VI armor.

To read the full bulletin go to the official site (though truthfully, this is one time where I copy/paster much of the bulletin, so you won’t get much more there other than the Screenshot spotlight.)

-Sal