Latest ‘Halo: The Master Chief Collection’ Update Fixes Some Things, Not Others

Developer 343 Industries’ latest attempt to improve Halo: The Master Chief Collection hit the Xbox One on Monday, and the initial results from the player base looks to be mixed. Some players are noticing improvements, while others are still seeing some of the same old issues.

The approximately 700 MB Halo: The Master Chief Collection patch is available to download now. Coming off the holidays, when the 343 Industries development team has been on breaks, it’s not particularly surprising that the update does not cover every single issue with the game. Instead, it tackles select matchmaking, multiplayer, and campaign problems with a small bit on the side for menus and controller layouts (via Halo Waypoint).

Our latest content update, which addresses Matchmaking, H2A network performance, & more is now live. Patch notes: http://t.co/oRrcsW6GsX

— Halo (@Halo) January 19, 2015

MATCHMAKING:

• Improved matchmaking search success rates.
• Made an update to reduce instances of “Awaiting Privileges” matchmaking errors.
• Made an update to ensure player counts more reliably match the expected numbers for each playlist.
• Fixed an issue where player would sometimes appear to be searching in an incorrect “FIND GAME” screen.
• Added countdown sound effect to the voting timer.

GENERAL MULTIPLAYER:

• Made an update to improve Halo 2: Anniversary network performance, specifically in regards to bandwidth spikes.
• Made several improvements to party joining through the in-game Roster.
• Made an update to ensure that the mute icon is visible while in Matchmaking.
• Fixed an issue in Halo 4 where players could equip the same weapon as their primary and secondary weapons.

GENERAL CAMPAIGNS:

• Made several improvements to stat tracking for Halo: CE, Halo 2, Halo 3, and Halo 4.
• Made changes to Halo 3 and Halo 4 scoring to ensure that players are not penalized for destroying empty vehicles.

GENERAL MENU:

• Lowered the music volume level in multiplayer menus.
• Fixed an issue where friend emblems in roster would show up as default when exiting a game session.
• Made updates to UI and menus to improve multiplayer status messaging, such as when a player joins your lobby.

CONTROL LAYOUTS:

• Made an update to the Halo 2: Anniversary “Legacy” Stick Layout.

STABILITY:

• Made stability improvements across multiple titles for campaign and multiplayer

So what’s been the result of these fixes? Users in the sub-Reddit say they’ve seen an improvement in the Halo 2 Anniversary netcode, as the notes above mention. However, others are still reporting issues with matchmaking.

XSC wrote explained as follows.

“Big Team Battle experience, first try- found players quicker than ever before but needed one more player to begin, it took ages to find one so I quit and did the others a favor.

Second try- No players found, quit.

Third try- in progress, already taking a long time as before..after four minutes got to play infinity!”

“Matchmaking is still pretty bad,” added Kamanashi. “No noticeable difference for me. Halo 3 hit detection seems better. Gonna try Halo 2 if I can find more than 1 game an hour.”

It looks like we can expect many more incremental patches before Halo: The Master Chief Collection can be considered “fixed.” Has this latest update improved anything for you? Sound off in the comments below.

[Images via Halo Waypoint]