343 Industries has, yet again, revealed more changes that’ll be happening in Halo Infinite as part of the Winter Update coming on November 8. In addition to the new features being introduced, changes will be made to matchmaking and improvements to Ranked.
A Halo Waypoint blog post explains that players will soon have the option to choose what region they load into before playing a match. To do so, all they have to do is go into settings, then select Gameplay, then Matchmaking, and lastly, Search Region.
The default will be under “Expanded,” which is the existing mode already, where 343 tries to match you in the same region but still allows games outside your region. Players can also change their setting to “Local,” and that’ll limit you to games within your region. Listed below are all the regions that 343 will be rolling out with next week’s patch:
AsiaAustraliaBrazilEuropeNorth America
The blog explains that players may see some changes in their ping from game to game due to the data center within their regions.
Changes will also be made to Competitive Skill Rank (CSR), such as a renewed emphasis on wins and losses rather than individual performance.
Following the Winter Update, they’ll be penalized with a ban or CSR penalty. Both of these features are scheduled to go live on November 10. If someone on your team does quit, they’ll be flagged, and if they receive too many flags, it’ll result in a ban.
Currently, whoever quits in the middle of a ranked match loses 15 CSR points, regardless of who leaves first. In the new system, only the first person to quit will lose 15 CSR points, and the rest of the lobby can only earn/lose 5 CSR points.
Changes will also be happening to the game’s UI. Players will now see how many points they earned after each game. They’ll also be able to see their current CSR, CSR rank value, and CSR progression in the most recently played game.
Lastly, Ranked matchmaking will place players into lobbies based on their current CSR. The current matchmaking system puts players on their skill rating, which is closely tied to CSR. But because of that, some confusion was made when players viewed their rank in the Post-Game Carnage Report. The new matchmaking is supposed to make games feel “fairer and more focused on winning rather than in-game performance.”
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