Halo 5: Guardians’ latest update, Cartographer’s Gift, is launching this week and brings with it a host of new weapons, armor, assassinations, maps, as well as the return of the popular Forge Mode.
Some of the weapons coming with the update include the SPNKR rocket launcher, SPNKR EM, SPNKR EX, and SPNKR Prime and armor variants, such as the classic Spartan Mark IV Gen I armor, Raijin, Locus Edge, Pathfinder Trailbreaker, Raijin Sprite and Stormstrike, Rogue Cutthroat, and Wetwork Cleaner are also included.
The new assassinations introduced in Cartographer’s Gift are called, Nice Try and Oh Snap. Nice Try ends in a curb stomp-style boot smash to the opponent’s helmet while Oh Snap breaks an enemy’s arm then their neck.
The four new maps are There are Overgrowth for arena play, Battle of Noctus for warzone play, and Entombed and Antifreeze for Big Team Battle play. Notably, Overgrowth features narrow corridors perfect for ambushes and a bridge for tactical strikes while Battle of Noctus features a setting on Andesia with vehicles and garages for base keeping, with man cannons for surprise assaults from above.
Forge Mode allows players to generate, create, and customize their own maps for battle. According to Halo Waypoint, Forge Mode “has been rebuilt from the ground up for Halo 5: Guardians.” Forge will have grouping for item selection, as well as multi-selection and multi-editing. The update will also include with more 1,700 objects to place in maps. More than 100 colors, along with options for setting primary, secondary, and tertiary colors for objects throughout a map, and light objects and fixtures allow players to add lens flares to scenes, light rooms just right, and even add objects like light posts and beacon lights to do double duty for decorating and lighting an arena.
The update will download automatically to players’ consoles, and the process should begin this week. Cartographer’s Gift, like Battle of Shadow and Light, is a free update, so players will get even more Halo for their dollar in time for the holidays.
