343 Industries has released Halo: The Master Chief Collection update for December 7 that adds the matchmaking rejoin feature, alongside other changes. Read up on the new Halo MCC update patch notes.

Halo MCC Update for December 7 Patch Notes:

UPDATED GAME VERSION: 1.3065.0.0

UPDATE OVERVIEW

This update brings dozens of bug fixes and several new features to Halo: The Master Chief Collection. For a full list of this update’s bug fixes, see the Resolved Issues section below. New features included in this update are:

SPARTAN POINT REWARDS FOR ALL 300+ LEVELS

Reaching a new level in the Halo: The Master Chief Collection progression system will now grant 1 Spartan Point for all available levels. Prior to this update, players would receive 1 Spartan Point per level up to level 100 (Tour 4, Level 10). Players can now earn 1 Spartan Point for all 330 levels (Tour 11, Level 30).

Players who surpassed level 100 prior to this update have been granted the correct amount of retroactive Spartan Points.

A new post-match Level Up menu will appear after reaching a new level to show that level’s icon and Spartan Point reward.

MATCHMAKING REJOIN FEATURE

Players will now be able rejoin a matchmaking session they were either disconnected from or intentionally left, so long as the game is still in progress.

Players who were automatically kicked from the match due to a violation will not be able to rejoin an in-progress match.

To rejoin an in-progress matchmaking session, requeue for matchmaking in the Multiplayer menu and select “Rejoin” on the pop-up to rejoin the match. Select the Matchmake button in the Rejoin Match pop-up to abandon the in-progress match and start a new matchmaking search. Abandoning in-progress matches may result in automatic temporary bans.

The Rejoin Match pop-up will only appear if the last played match is still in-progress.

EXCHANGE SELECTION EXPANSION

The Exchange menu now features more customization items for players to unlock each week. Level up or complete Challenges to earn additional Spartan Points which can be used to unlock items in the Exchange.

To view all items available in the Exchange, use the new arrow buttons on either side to scroll through the lists.

CAMPAIGN COLLECTIBLES IN HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED AND HALO 4

Golden Moa statues have been added to Halo: Combat Evolved and Halo 4 campaign missions. These statues will appear in different missions each week and can be collected by shooting them. Rotating weekly challenges will reward players with 100,000 XP and 1 Spartan Point for finding and collecting these hidden Golden Moa statues.

To view a list of the campaign missions with hidden Golden Moa statues each week, visit the Weekly PVE tab of the Challenge Hub menu in-game.

NEW SKULLS ADDED TO HALO 4

The Acrophobia and Bandanna Skulls have been added to the Halo 4 campaign. The Acrophobia Skull allows players to fly through the air after double pressing then holding the jump button or key. Once in the air, press the crouch button or key to hover in place. The Bandanna Skull provides players with unlimited ammunition and grenades as well as instant cooldowns for their equipped Armor Ability.

The Acrophobia Skull allows players to fly through the air while they are on foot in campaign missions.

RETURNING HALO 4 MULTIPLAYER LOADOUT OPTIONS

The Recharge and Survivor Support Upgrades, as well as the Resistor Tactical Package, are now available in Halo 4 multiplayer in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.  

Recharge and Survivor were part of a free update for the original release of Halo 4 while Resistor was included in the Champions Bundle Downloadable Content (DLC). No purchase is required to use these Loadout items in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Alongside the reintroduction of these Loadout options in this update, their Achievement requirements are returning as Weekly PVP Challenges: Just a Scratch, Can’t Catch Me, and Repeat Survivor. In a departure from their original requirements, they are no longer restricted to matchmaking multiplayer and can now be completed in any Halo 4 multiplayer mode, including Custom Games. Navigate to the Challenge Hub within the Options & Career menu and view the Weekly PVP tab to learn more about these and other multiplayer Challenges.

These new Loadout options provide the following benefits during Halo 4 multiplayer matches:

• Survivor: Prevents the death of operators when their vehicle is destroyed.
• Recharge: Lowers the time it takes before one’s shields begin recharging.
• Resistor: Allows players to retain full mobility despite taking fire.

To equip these items in-game, navigate to the Customization menu in Options & Career, select Halo 4, then equip them in the desired Loadout(s).

The new Support Upgrades and Tactical Package included in this update can be found at the bottom of their Loadout slot‘s list of available options.

MODDING TOOLS

Steam Workshop Support

Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Steam is now integrated with Steam Workshop. Using Steam Workshop, players on Steam can now subscribe to mods, such as a multiplayer map, then play that content in-game without having to manually navigate to or move downloaded files.

Visit the Halo: The Master Chief Collection Workshop to view compatible player-created mods. To navigate to the Steam Workshop within the Steam app, select Halo: The Master Chief Collection in your Steam Library then select Workshop in the row of options beneath the Play button.

Modded Map Detection

When launching with Anti-Cheat Disabled, Halo: The Master Chief Collection can now detect modded multiplayer maps, Firefight maps, and campaign missions that players have downloaded to their PC.

Modded multiplayer maps are only available for use in Custom Multiplayer matches and not matchmaking playlists. When entering the Custom Multiplayer menu to set up a match, players with modded maps downloaded will first be prompted to select between Built In Maps and Modded Maps.

Halo 2: Anniversary and Halo 4 Mod Tools

Mod tools are now available for Halo 2: Anniversary and Halo 4. To download these mod tools on Steam, set your Library filter to include “Tools” then locate the “Halo 2: Anniversary Mod Tools – MCC” and “Halo 4 Mod Tools – MCC” listings.

To learn more about the Steam mod tools and discuss them with other players, visit the mod forums on Steam.

Excession Tool

The new Excession Tool is now available as part of the Halo MCC Mod Uploader toolset. This tool allows players to export mod packages that can be automatically detected by Halo: The Master Chief Collection and uploaded to the Steam Workshop.

The Excession Tool also allows players to select images for their modded maps that will appear in menus and loading screens.

Mod Documentation

Official mod tool documentation for Halo: The Master Chief Collection recently became available on Microsoft Docs. This documentation includes instructions on how to create mods and an overview of all currently available Halo: The Master Chief Collection mod tools.

RESOLVED ISSUES AND BUG FIXES

Many improvements come from Halo Insider and Halo Support tickets submitted by our community. Thank you for participating and please keep submitting tickets!

GLOBAL

• Visual, spelling, and timing improvements to various subtitles throughout cutscenes in all titles.

MENUS

• The description of the H3 Hardcore Doubles multiplayer playlist now fits in its textbox in Spanish and Portuguese.
• The description for the Narrative Navigator Challenge now fits in its textbox in Russian.
• The Campaign Customization toggle for Cross-Game Playlists now overrides the per-game Campaign Customization toggles.
• When playing on Xbox consoles, the main menus can now be navigated with only a mouse and keyboard connected.
• Improved stability when the Menu Narration setting is enabled on Xbox One consoles.
  • The Menu Narration setting can be adjusted in the Accessibility tab of the Settings menu.

CUSTOMIZATION

• The name “Halo 2: Classic” is now used consistently in the Customization menus.
• Multiplayer Loadouts can now use spaces in their names.
  • To edit and rename Loadouts, navigate to the Options & Career menu then select Customization. Loadouts are located in the Halo 4 Customization menu.

SETTINGS

• The background from the original release of Halo: The Master Chief Collection in 2014 is now available for use as a video background.
  • To change which background videos will play, navigate to the Video tab of the Settings menu and press the Select button next to Configure Backgrounds.
• Theater-related Mouse and Keyboard control settings will no longer reset after closing then relaunching Halo: The Master Chief Collection on Xbox consoles.

CUSTOM GAME BROWSER (CGB)

• Players are now able to rejoin a Custom Game Browser session on Xbox consoles after leaving then adding a guest profile.

USER GENERATED CONTENT (UGC)

• Newly saved private map and game variants for Halo 3 will now upload consistently from the My Files menu.
• The character limit for the names of Halo 3 and Halo 3: ODST files is now consistently listed as 15 characters.

THEATER

• The Roster menu will now load correctly when accessed via the pause menu in Theater.

ACCESSIBILITY

• The Dialogue Color and Speaker Name Color options now have additional colors available. These options can be adjusted in the Accessibility tab of the Settings menu. The full list of available colors is now:
  • White
  • Black
  • Green
  • Blue
  • Red
  • Yellow
  • Purple
  • Light Green
  • Light Blue
  • Orange
  • Pink

HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED

• Changes made to the Axial and Radial Dead Zone controller settings will now consistently apply to Halo: Combat Evolved.
• Animated chapter titles in the missions The Library and The Truth and Reconciliation now match their appearance in the original release of Halo: Combat Evolved. For example, the “Sir” in “Shut up and get behind me… Sir” now fades in shortly after the rest of the title.
• The Banshee’s original pathing over the first bridge in the mission Assault on the Control Room has been restored.
• During the mission Keyes, doors now consistently open at the intended distance.
• During multiplayer matches, players on Xbox One and Xbox One S consoles will no longer see a brief black screen when opening the Roster menu via the scoreboard.

HALO 2: CLASSIC MULTIPLAYER

• Players’ selected emblem will now appear on their Spartan or Elite in Halo 2: Classic multiplayer.
  • Halo 2: Classic Emblems can be selected by navigating to the Options & Career menu then Player ID.
• Player emblems will now appear on captured territory flags in the Territories game variant.

In addition to territory flags, emblems in Halo 2: Classic are visible on the shoulders and back of Spartans and Elites.

HALO 2: ANNIVERSARY

Campaign

• Debug text will no longer appear during the opening of the mission Outskirts while Japanese subtitles are turned on.
• When using Classic graphics, enemies using Active Camo no longer appear to flicker or turn fully invisible when the Assassin Skull is enabled.

Anniversary Multiplayer

• Disabling the New Skins setting no longer results in the Halo 2: Anniversary Multiplayer default armor appearing with low resolution textures.
  • This setting can be changed in the Gameplay tab of the Settings menu.

HALO 3

• In the mission Sierra 117 on Xbox consoles, the bottom of the water surface now appears correctly when viewed from below.
• Cortana’s horizontal scan lines are now consistent across all resolutions and match their appearance in the original release of Halo 3 on Xbox 360.
• The lighting on clouds in the final cutscene of the mission Floodgate now matches the original release of Halo 3 on Xbox 360.
• When playing the mission Halo with Campaign Customization enabled, the Warthog in the final cutscene now uses the correct skin.
• The Killing Frenzy medal and announcer voice line will now trigger without a delay once players kill 10 enemy players without dying.

HALO 3: ODST

• Brutes will no longer drop Equipment when killed in Firefight missions.

HALO 4

• Adjusted the spacing before question marks and exclamation points in French subtitles.
• The visual effects for Promethean Watchers reviving Promethean Knights in Spartan Ops no longer appears as blue squares.
• Multiplayer Loadouts without a Tactical Package, Support Upgrade, or Armor Ability equipped will now display a “–” in the empty slots.

HALO: REACH

• When zooming in with the Target Locator weapon, the compass along the bottom of the Heads-Up Display (HUD) is now visible.
• When playing the mission Noble Actual on PC, a second Falcon no longer briefly appears on screen while Noble 6 walks past the Falcon carrying Jun.
• Camera cuts during campaign cutscenes will no longer flash or appear briefly offset on PC.

Source: Halo Waypoint