‘Halo 5’ Warzone Firefight Update Bringing Mecha Grunt, New UNSC Vehicle
The release of Warzone Firefight to Halo 5 later this month on the Xbox One will add some fun new surprises. Developer 343 Industries revealed a unique Grunt mech boss Monday along with a new UNSC vehicle for players to pilot.
The Warzone Firefight update is currently scheduled to release by the end of June and is set to be the largest free update to Halo 5 yet. This is due in part to a delay of content from May’s Hog Wild update, but there is plenty coming with Warzone Firefight alone.
The Grunt Goblin is a massive mech piloted by an Elite Goblin for players to face in both the current Warzone multiplayer modes and the new co-op Warzone Firefight mode. It’s the first character 343 Industries has created exclusively for multiplayer. Existing bosses are variants on Promethean and Covenant characters from the game’s campaign.
This new boss will come in Legendary and the more powerful Mythic boss version. The Grunt Goblin comes equipped with a double-barrel Heavy Needler. This weapon can do tremendous damage to vehicles and target up to eight players at once. The Heavy Needler can be destroyed, but players will still have to deal with a grenade launcher and devastating melee that will one-shot kill Spartans and light vehicles. It is also highly mobile and can jump up to 200 feet.
Spartans will not be able to hijack the Grunt Goblin, nor will EMP effects work against it. Players will need to target a weak spot underneath its backpack, which can be destroyed, or demolish the mech canopy and kill the Grunt pilot.
Meet the Grunt Goblin, coming later this month! It's gonna be one crazy birthday party… https://t.co/SSIoSdSfhh pic.twitter.com/k5NlIn0bwG
— Halo (@Halo) June 21, 2016
“There are two variants of the Grunt Goblin with different capabilities,” 343 Industries character designer Steve Dyck told Polygon. “Essentially, the backstory of this battle suit is it was built by Grunts for Grunts in what the Grunt designers agreed was the perfect embodiment of agility and lethality. Obviously when you have a Grunt driver or ‘jockey’ controlling this powerful battle suit, results may be unpredictable.”
“We really wanted to make the Goblin jockeys fun, memorable enemies to fight,” said writer Nick Ardizzone. “We made sure to give them lines that show for all the time they spent learning to pilot their Goblins, they spent at just as much honing their cutting insults (‘You’re real bad at fightin’!’) and terrifying threats (‘Gonna smash all your important parts!’).”
The Halo 5 Warzone Firefight update also adds in a brand new UNSC vehicle called the Wasp. The VTOL vehicle will make its first appearance in the Halo universe and appears to behave in a similar fashion similar to the Promethean Phaeton.
“In fiction, the AV-49 Wasp supplements existing stocks of AV-14 Hornet and AV-22 Sparrowhawk aircraft in UNSC Marine service,” said systems designer Tim Temmerman. “It is a close air support VTOL armed with heavy machine guns and twin rocket launchers.”
“In-game, players will want to use it as a quick-strike vehicle, flying in low for a kill and bugging out quick to allow the shields to recharge. The armor on the Wasp is light in order to keep it aloft, so the recharging shield provides the moderate protection needed to re-engage at a later time. The key is to keep moving, drop in low to maximize weapon effectiveness, and steer clear of vehicles with heavy weapons.”
It lacks the ability to teleport short distances like the Phaeton, but it is still similar to the chin-mounted weapon and dual rocket launchers.
Each round ends with a 30-second intermission before the start of the next round. This gives players a chance to regroup, restock on ammo, and call in any REQs that may be ready to use in the upcoming round.
The enemies and objectives will get progressively more difficult as players progress through each round. Generally speaking, the third round is when players will need to start calling in power weapons and vehicles to help complete objectives.
The fifth and final round features two boss encounters. The first encounter is similar to the bosses from earlier rounds. The second encounter features a battle against a Mythic level boss with a huge health pool. He is usually accompanied by minions and Legendary-tier bosses. It will take the entire fireteam plus plenty of power weapons and vehicles to bring it down before the timer runs out.
What do you think of the new Halo 5 boss enemy and vehicle? Sound off in the comments below.
[Image via 343 Industries]
