With BS Angel’s departure from being a community manager, for now I think we can safely assume Bravo will be writing all of these…

It’s Friday, March 21. The time is 11:00 a.m. PDT. Our live stream is set to begin in three hours, and members of our 343 Pro Team are preparing to battle it out against some of our top community members – StrongSide, Ace, Flamesword, and Snakebite. Somewhere, bs angel is selecting which cat shirt she will wear. For the Pro Team, the last few days have been full of Halo 4 practice and arguments about whether or not Killer V was the best gamertag of all time or the worst gamertag of all time.

That morning, I get an email saying that someone had just checked the Pro Team Lounge and found GH057ayame and Killer V reviewing Halo 4 Theater film, and that Dersky and Neighbor were eating a donut. At this moment, we knew we were ready. As a side note, I was slightly concerned as to whether or not Dersky and Neighbor were eating the same donut, but unfortunately did not have time to investigate. It was getting close to show time.

It’s now noon and time to head over to Xbox HQ. After a team huddle in the Pro Team Lounge, I grab Neighbor, hop in a car, and we’re off. In an hour the gameplay will begin, and we’re both thinking the same thing. But neither of us says a word. At least, I think he was thinking the same thing. Come to think of it, I am really not sure. Regardless, we arrive a few minutes late, and begin to set up his station. As expected, bs angel is nowhere in sight.

We set up the live stream, quickly download some Champions Bundles (Ricochet on Pitfall is a must) and 45 minutes later, I get a text from bs angel asking if we need her for the stream. I panic and wonder if everything is okay. This was going to be a stream where her and I chatted about some of her bestest memories in the Community Manager role, and she is rarely late. Did something happen? Was there an emergency?

I text her back with these questions, and (just as unsurprising as her tardiness) it turned out she was just outside the door and trolling me. Once everyone got situated, the stream would start, and this is where the video below begins. If you’d like to check out a rebroadcast of the stream, with all of the laughs, ridiculous stories, and *SPOILER* the 343 Pro Team victory, check it out here. The gameplay starts around 28:00.

343’ers checking out Friday’s Pro Team matchup on the big screen.

We’d like to thank our pro team, all of the community pros, and of course all of you for tuning in to Friday’s stream. We had a blast, and we hope you enjoyed bs angel’s ridiculous stories about Norman Reedus, appearing naked on the red carpet and more. We plan to be back with more live streams in the future, so stay tuned to Waypoint. Speaking of the future, we just announced some upcoming Matchmaking experiences.

Upcoming Playlists

If you’ve been keeping up with our Matchmaking Calendar, you may have noticed that we were getting awfully close to April and the Ninja Assassins update, which was the last update listed on the calendar – until this morning! Today, we’re excited to announce some of our upcoming Halo 4 playlists, which include the return of some favorites. Check out the details below!

HFFL: All I can say for the above is YES! I’ve been wanting Squad DLC! Now hopefully there are enough people in the playlist!

HFFL: Multi-Team!!! It’s about freakin’ time. Why this was ever taken out to begin with is beyond me. I LOVE this playlist. SO much fun and chaos!!! I really want it to be a permanent playlist!!!!! I’m happy as well that Dominion is coming back (but as a 4v4 team and not 6v6?). And two weeks of KOTH? YES PLEASE!

HFFL: Hmm, what playlist if TBD? LOL, yes, I know what it means…

Multi-Team

Multi-Team will return to Halo 4 Matchmaking on April 28, offering a wide variety of fun and chaos that only four-team gameplay can offer. The playlist will feature both Slayer and objective game types.

Dominion

The Dominion playlist will return to Matchmaking in mid-May, but this time with a new 4 vs. 4 format. With customized settings and maps, this new iteration will give players an opportunity to earn Dominion commendations and medals as well as the sweet taste of sweet, sweet objective-based victory.

King of the Hill

The ultimate test of map control, King of the Hill will return in the first week of June, with an updated map pool, game variants, and more.

We’re excited about these upcoming playlists as well as future unannounced playlists, and hope you are as well. To see the full calendar (and keep up with upcoming playlists and playdates), head over to the Matchmaking Playlist Calendar.

Next Matchmaking Update

On top of the upcoming playlists, our Matchmaking Systems team has also been hard at work on Monday’s playlist update. Let’s dig in.

Flood

We’ve teamed up with the Flood community leaders and Community Cartographers to deliver a refresh to the Flood playlist, which includes new maps and game types. To start, let’s take a look at the new maps that will be included in the playlist:

• Constellation by The 0micron
• Morgan Bay by REMKings
• Plaza by PA1NTS
• Procedure by SammichEaterPro
• Prora by Oasis Hurler
• Repository by SammichEaterPro
• Substance by PA1NTS
• The 4th Kind by PA1NTS
• Until Now by TheElderAcorn
• Villa del Pena by CANADIAN ECHO

The following maps will be updated to patch various map specific exploits:

• Payload by NARB GUY
• Temple by Mr. Pokephile

Additionally, we’re adding a new game type: Last Stand. This game type was created by PA1NTS and S1ERRA420. Here’s a breakdown of the game type:

Last Stand captures the genre of “holdout” style Flood game play. The game type creates a separation of survivor territory from flood territory, containing survivor movement to a holdout area while flood are able to roam free and assault the survivor space from locations outside of the survivor’s reach. Survivors must band together and strategize within the holdout while the flood attack relentlessly from beyond the holdout’s walls. Last Stand can be played on:

• Constellation
• Plaza
• Repository
• Substance

To watch the teaser trailer for the game type, head here, and for a detailed breakdown of the game type, head here.

Squad DLC

The Squad DLC playlist will feature a mix of DLC-only 6 vs. 6 Slayer and objective play on maps from Crimson, Castle, and Bullseye Map Packs. Additionally, we know that Heavies was fairly popular during its run in Halo 4 Matchmaking, so we’ll be featuring the game type in Squad DLC for the next two weeks, and also discussing some more permanent options for vehicular warfare in Halo 4 Matchmaking.

Special Edition Ricochet!

If the madness of this month has basketball on your brain, be sure to check out next week’s Bulletin to learn about our upcoming special edition basketball-themed Ricochet playlist, which will be available from April 4-7.

Community Choice: Big Team Battle

Lastly, thanks to your votes last week, Team Snipers was selected for inclusion into the Big Team Battle playlist. Grab some friends and hop into the action!

HFFL: Ugh, Snipers…well, I know what playlist I definitely will be avoiding… I am not skilled at that weapon. I’m marginal at best.

Available Now: Halo: Escalation #4

HFFL: As I’ve already covered this topic in the past two days, I’m electing to skip this part of the bulletin.

Screenshot Spotlight: Haven

HFFL: This week’s topic was Haven. I’m not posting any of them as I really didn’t like any of the ones picked.

For your chance at being in the next spotlight, take a screenshot featuring one or more Frag, Plasma, or Pulse Grenades and then tag it with “Grenade” and “Halo Waypoint,” and maybe, just maybe, yours will be featured in the next Halo Bulletin!

And with that, this week’s Bulletin comes to a close.
Until next week,
Bravo

If you want to read the full bulletin as well as see the screenshot spotlight, you can go HERE to the official site.

-Sal