The hotly anticipated arrival of Halo Wars 2’s new expansion is finally here, and with it, a new opportunity to take on one of humanity’s oldest adversaries: The Flood. Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare is now available on both Xbox One and Windows 10 PC, and we can’t wait for fans to get in on the action.

Awakening the Nightmare is a brand-new full expansion for Halo Wars 2, featuring new campaign missions played from a Banished perspective, two new multiplayer leaders, two new multiplayer maps, and Terminus Firefight – a unique new cooperative mode where players build both bases and armies to defend and survive against an onslaught of enemy forces. Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare is available now for $19.99 USD exclusively on Xbox One and Windows 10 PC.

Along with the expansion, Halo Wars 2 is also getting a game update aimed to improve player experience in a wide variety of areas – read on for more details on the new missions, modes, Leaders, units, abilities, and more coming to Halo Wars 2 today! Also, join us today (9/26) at 3pm PT on mixer.com/halo and twitch.tv/halo for a special livestream to celebrate the launch of Awakening the Nightmare. We'll chat with developers, answer some community questions, and feature an epic tie-breaking finale match between internal teams Brute Force and the Spartan Strikers. See you there!

BANISHED CAMPAIGN

Expanding on the epic story from the main game, Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare lets players battle through a brand-new series of campaign missions from the perspective of the fearsome Banished and experience their desperate struggle against a terrifying and ancient enemy – the Flood.

Bookending the Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare campaign will be gorgeous new cinematics by our friends and partners at Blur Studio, bringing the adventure to life in incredible drool-inducing detail. Trust us, you haven’t seen the Flood quite like this.

NEW LEADERS

As part of the Awakening the Nightmare expansion, two new Banished Leaders – Voridus and Pavium – will be joining the fray not only as integral parts of the narrative experience, but also as fully playable additions to the roster for Multiplayer, Skirmish, and Blitz. These Brute brothers will bring the Halo Wars 2 Leader lineup to an incredible 16 total commanders and armies to choose from, each with unique units, abilities, and tactics.

VORIDUS

Voridus takes to the field in iatrochemically-enhanced armor powered by tanks of infusion gel. Voridus can drop this gel from his tanks, leaving long-lasting toxic energy pools in his wake which damage enemy units, but which can be harnessed by his allies.

Though he takes to the field with a standard gravity hammer, once he acquires enough resources he replaces it with an Infused Hammer, which creates energy pools with each strike and synergizes with his armor. Voridus can also intentionally release the gel from his tanks when he activates his Salt the Earth ability, leaving wide energy pools in his wake.

Voridus is unusually fast and viscous, even for a Brute. Armed with a barbed hammer, he inflicts a bleed attack on enemy units he hits, causing damage and slowing his targets over time. Voridus’ special ability allows him to slam the ground, dealing a damaging shockwave and creating a large pool of Infusion. For a period of time after placing the pool, Voridus is also able to leave a trail of Infusion behind him wherever he goes, allowing him to block chokepoints or surround bases with Infusion. Voridus can also be upgraded to create longer-lived infusion pools with every attack, increase the size and length of his plasma trail, and even add the ability to cloak whenever he’s in Infusion.

NEW UNITS

Brute Grenadiers

Brute Grenadiers are a special infantry unit available to Voridus. Their Gel Siphon ability allows them to absorb nearby infusion pools and harness that energy to overcharge their iatrochemically-enhanced armor and grenade launchers.

On death, their equipment explodes, doing damage to nearby units and leaving behind a corruption pool. Their weapons can be upgraded with Hard-Target Detonators to cause additional damage against vehicles and structures, and Infused Grenades which increases grenade attack range and creates short-lived energy pools at the point of impact.

Grenadiers are Voridus’ chosen shock troopers, replacing Suicide Grunts in his forces. These tough Brutes, covered in thick armour, serve as durable, assault infantry in the early game. Their Grenade attacks deal significant area damage, making them effective against clusters of enemy infantry, particularly against early rushes. Later in the game Grenadiers transition into strong core units. They can carry volatile tanks on their backs, which explode upon death, causing damage to enemies and releasing pools of Infusion. Grenadiers also have a powerful and unusual special ability – they’re able to Siphon nearby Infusion, consuming it by sucking it up into their tanks. Once siphoned, the Infusion increases the Grenadier’s damage, speed and armour for a short time, the length of the buff determined by how much Infusion they consume.

Infused Engineer

Infused Engineers replace standard Engineers in Voridus’ army. They retain the Huragok reconstitution beam but channel large infused gel pools instead of creating overshield bubbles with their special ability. This energy pool stays active until the Infused Engineer dies, is given another order, or is stunned.

These Huragok are modified with Voridus’ dangerous Infusion technology and replace standard Engineers. Infused Engineers share the ability to heal units with normal Engineers, although they are slightly tougher and have a unique Infusion attack. This special ability throws a damaging glob of Infusion at the enemy, dealing some damage on impact, but more importantly leaving a long-lasting Infusion pool behind.

Volatile Scarab

Overcharged weapons systems make this modified assault platform even more deadly for both enemies and for the Scarab’s own crew.

Never one to leave a good weapon alone, once Voridus learned how to harness the power of infused gel he immediately started testing its application to all available Banished systems. Not all vehicles could accommodate the large containment systems required to weaponized the gel, but in the case of the Scarab that extra bulk was a trivial addition. The Infused Scarabs fielded by Voridus are capable of spreading massive pools of the damaging energy gel across the battlefield while retaining the Scarab’s base resilience and ability to traverse even the largest combat obstacles.

Voridus enjoys taking personal command of his Infused Scarabs whenever possible but retains a small cadre of specially selected pilots ready to take over for him when he is otherwise occupied. The prospect of charging into withering enemy fire while riding atop massive tanks of the most volatile liquid known to Banished armorers takes a special kind of crazy, which Voridus knows all too well how to engender in his troops.

Voridus’ personally modified Scarab. Similar in appearance to a standard Scarab, the Volatile Scarab has been overcharged with Infusion technology allowing its beam attack to leave behind pools of Infusion wherever it’s directed. It’s not pretty – well, unless you’re the one commanding it.

NEW ABILITIES

Infused Mine

Drops a single, powerful mine, which leaves an enormous pool of Infusion behind on impact. A very strong tool for map control and zoning.

Combat Spoils

Allows Voridus’ units to generate a small amount of Supplies and/or Power when attacking enemy structures. Resources are gained continually during attacks and do not require buildings to be destroyed. The resources gained depends on the original cost of the target structure, and its durability. Combat Spoils is powerful when accompanying early attacks naturally, but also very useful in a harassment role – even when scouting. It is best used while on the offensive and rewards aggressive attack builds.

Grenadier Drop

Drops in a veteran Grenadier squad. The impact of the drop creates a pool of Infusion – which can either be left to deny the area to the enemy, or immediately consumed by the Grenadier squad to boost their attack.

Infusion Wake

Voridus’ main offensive power. Infusion Wake creates a swirling vortex which damages enemies it crosses (including air units and structures) and leaves behind a trail of Infusion. The vortex is short-lived, but is cheap and has a rapid cooldown, making it a very fast and direct way to place Infusion where you need it. The Infusion trail it leaves behind is very long-lasting allowing large areas of the map to be affected.

Invigorating Frenzy

Frenzy is an activated ability which, for a short time, causes all Infusion areas to heal and boost the speed and damage of friendly units (including air units and structures). Upgrading this ability increased the duration of the buff and the strength of the healing.

Infusion Tech

Infusion Tech is a passive ability which increases the damage that all Infusion pools deal. It also reduces the cost of Grenadiers and Infused Engineers and, at its second level, upgrades the Wraith’s Scorch attack and the Blisterback’s artillery rounds to spawn Infusion.

Vordius Pack Assault

Pack Assault is powerful mid to late-game unit drop, which also spawns a large area of Infusion in the drop zone. Focused on aggressive or Infusion-creating units.

Maelstrom

Spawns a large singularity which sucks enemy units into its centre, virtually inescapable. Effective on its own for halting enemy advances, but especially useful in conjunction with attacks which deal area or splash damage, trapping enemies in Infusion, or when used in combination with Cataclysm.

Cataclysm

Cataclysm is Voridus’ ultimate power and the key to an Infusion-heavy build. Upon activation all Infusion areas are set alight, bursting with violent plasma explosions. All enemies in the cataclysm areas (including air units and structures) take massive damage for as long as they remain inside the plasma. New sources of Infusion created whilst Cataclysm is active will automatically ignite after a short delay, allowing powerful combos with Infusion-enabling weapons and powers. Cataclysm is a devastating ability, but does require Infusion to be present on the field to be useful. It also consumes all ignited Infusion requiring new pools to be created.

THEMES & STRATEGY

Infusion – Voridus’ main strength is his ability to spawn Infusion on the battlefield. Every power Voridus has either creates Infusion, requires Infusion, or has strong synergy with Infusion. Infusion is a sticky, dangerous plasma gel which slows and damages enemy ground units, though it doesn’t initially affect air units or structures.

– Voridus’ main strength is his ability to spawn Infusion on the battlefield. Every power Voridus has either creates Infusion, requires Infusion, or has strong synergy with Infusion. Infusion is a sticky, dangerous plasma gel which slows and damages enemy ground units, though it doesn’t initially affect air units or structures. Infusion as a resource – Voridus is one of the most synergistic leaders in the game. If he’s not creating Infusion, he’s using it as a resource – as a source of battlefield strength, healing, buffing, and – with Cataclysm – a source of massive damage. Voridus, more than any other leader, rewards creative play styles; combining units, abilities and team strategies together in unexpected ways.

– Voridus is one of the most synergistic leaders in the game. If he’s not creating Infusion, he’s using it as a resource – as a source of battlefield strength, healing, buffing, and – with Cataclysm – a source of massive damage. Voridus, more than any other leader, rewards creative play styles; combining units, abilities and team strategies together in unexpected ways. Area denial – Infusion is very long-lasting, much longer-lasting than any other damaging effect in the game. Some sources of Infusion can last for over a minute of game time making Voridus excellent at area denial and map control. Infusion is best-placed in locations your enemy must fight for again and again: chokepoints, bases, capture points. Good placement results in Infusion creating incremental advantage over many engagements and produces the threat of a powerful surprise attack with Cataclysm.

– Infusion is very long-lasting, much longer-lasting than any other damaging effect in the game. Some sources of Infusion can last for over a minute of game time making Voridus excellent at area denial and map control. Infusion is best-placed in locations your enemy must fight for again and again: chokepoints, bases, capture points. Good placement results in Infusion creating incremental advantage over many engagements and produces the threat of a powerful surprise attack with Cataclysm. Aggression – Voridus is highly-focused on offensive, aggressive play. He’s strongest when he’s on your doorstep, burning your forces, using combat spoils and dropping in troops. Voridus lacks obvious healing power, and it’s not his focus. His Infused Engineers are not as effective at preserving troops or healing as regular Engineers, and he lacks a straightforward healing ability (Invigorating Frenzy requires Infusion to be present, and is as much a combat buff as a healing power). Keep up the pressure and stay on the attack to gain victory.

PAVIUM

Pavium is a traditional Jiralhanae combat engineer, taking to the field of battle as an engine of destruction, smashing enemy lines as part of the pack’s vanguard. His panoply of war always includes his custom warplate and a relic tower shield gifted to him by Decimus.

On the battlefield, Pavium is a walking tank armed with a Heavy Mortar System for direct bombardment and a Target Designator for calling out high-value targets for combined fire. Targets painted by Pavium’s designator cannot benefit from stealth and take additional damage. This effect continues until the painted unit dies, moves out of range, or Pavium cancels the ability. Upgrades include Designator Shells, which temporarily paints targets hit by his mortar and an Advanced Designator, which also paints the enemies close to the main target.

Pavium is a gigantic Brute – slow, tough and armed with a rapid-firing, drum-fed mortar. Pavium is best at defense, where he can sit back and pummel the enemy from range, all the time repairing structures with his drone. Pavium’s special ability fires a long-range spotting beam, which paints and reveals enemy targets caught in the beam. Painted targets are slowed, revealed, and take extra damage from other weapons which target them. This makes Pavium excellent as a forward spotter for Mega Turrets and other artillery.

NEW UNITS

Mega Turret

The Mega Turret is an automated, long-range artillery platform available to Warlord Pavium. They fire powerful plasma torpedoes that can be upgraded to scorch the impact point and leave a pool of Lingering Death and use Banished-modified Compound Detonators for even greater damage. These mega turrets are massive and power hungry, and require a standard base building slot.

The Mega Turret was used to protect Covenant military and religious installations, but these massive cannons have also been encountered at remote colonies and outposts guarding nothing of obvious value and reflexively attacking all who approach without long-forgotten authorization codes. The Banished deploy the Mega Turret as a straightforward anti-siege weapon at war camps on the Ark which have the necessary infrastructure and permanence to support their use.

Pavium’s signature new unit is in fact actually a brand-new structure. The Mega Turret is a new defensive structure so large and powerful it’s built on regular building slots; not turret slots. Massive, deadly, but slow to turn and unable to target air units, the Mega Turret nevertheless makes Pavium’s bases a formidable obstacle. Because they are built at bases, Mega Turrets can also be protected with Shield and Cloak Generators, as well as regular Turrets. You can build as many Mega Turrets as you have space for – even filling a whole base with them – but the cost escalates with each turret built as with Extractors and Shield Generators. Mega Turrets are an economic trade-off though as the building slots occupied by them are then not being utilized for other production or resource structures.

Wraith Invader

The Wraith Invader is an infantry fighting vehicle available to Warlord Pavium. It is armed with a siphoning beam, which repairs the transport, and can carry two units of infantry. Each of the infantry units can fire out of the Wraith Invader. In addition to standard vehicle upgrades the gravity propulsion system of the Wraith Invader can be boosted with Carrier Overdrive, significantly increasing its shield strength and damage.

The Wraith Invader is powerful, late-game Infantry carrier. The Invader is a manoeuvrable, and capable combat vehicle in its own right, armed with an effective health-leeching energy beam. Like other APCs, mounted Infantry units can also fire out from the vision ports of the Invader.

NEW ABILITIES

Burnout

An active ability which turbo-boosts targeted structures with its area of effect and can target allies. Affected structures have their output increased for a short time: resource structures generate more Supply or Power, turrets deal more damage, production structures produce units more quickly, and all structures research upgrades faster. Burnout is a very versatile effective power, which can help explore interesting build orders and strategies and is especially useful in supporting teammates.

Enduring Will

An unusual healing ability, Enduring Will has weaker healing, but lasts for an extremely long time, far longer than any other heal. This makes the power more strategic in its use, but allows for strong zone control and is great defensively when trying to blunt a major attack or hold an key area.

Lich Vanguard

Calls in a Lich Ultimate unit to patrol an area, devastating enemy forces with its powerful beam attack. The Lich also summons a portal from which units can be produced and deployed directly to the battlefield.

Orbital Designator

Reveals a hidden area of the map for a short time – allowing quick scouting, checking for enemy base and building expansions, spotting for artillery, and for revealing units on top of cliffs. At Level 2 the Designator is upgraded to automatically paint targets spotted in the revealed zoned, increasing damage they take from other attacks.

Rain of Fire

Pavium’s primary offensive power, Rain of Fire deploys a swirling formation of plasma beams, that devastate units and structures in its area of effect. A very powerful attack when combined with Orbital Designator or other target painting abilities.

Ultra Mines

The strongest mines in the game – a large field of tough, devastating plasma mines. Capable of devastating enemies units which trigger them, the mines also target-paint any survivors for a duration making them vulnerable to follow-up attacks.

Full Salvage

A passive power which causes all of Pavium’s structures to slowly heal over time. Additionally, recycled structures give a full resource refund instead of a partial refund.

Pavium’s Stand

Upon activation all structures you control on the map, including mines, become invulnerable for a short period of time.

Themes and Strategy

Unbreakable – Pavium is the ultimate defender, with abilities and units which make his bases difficult to crack. Unlike Atriox, Pavium isn’t an expander, he is at his strongest with fewer, but more impregnable bases. Pavium relies on getting the most out of all of his buildings and using Burnout to rival the economy and production rates of foes who out-expand him. He is also a powerful team leader; most daunting when his bases can support each other and his allies.

– Pavium is the ultimate defender, with abilities and units which make his bases difficult to crack. Unlike Atriox, Pavium isn’t an expander, he is at his strongest with fewer, but more impregnable bases. Pavium relies on getting the most out of all of his buildings and using Burnout to rival the economy and production rates of foes who out-expand him. He is also a powerful team leader; most daunting when his bases can support each other and his allies. Attrition – Pavium is about the slow build-up of power, gathering pace into an unstoppable juggernaut, slowly pushing from base to base with Mega Turrets, or pummelling the enemy into submission.

– Pavium is about the slow build-up of power, gathering pace into an unstoppable juggernaut, slowly pushing from base to base with Mega Turrets, or pummelling the enemy into submission. Control – Many of Pavium’s abilities are less reactive, but better over a longer period of time, making him effective at a slow, deliberate controlling role. Rain of Fire, Lich Vanguard, and Enduring Will all allow him to bring a strong offense, or defense, to anywhere on the map it’s needed.

– Many of Pavium’s abilities are less reactive, but better over a longer period of time, making him effective at a slow, deliberate controlling role. Rain of Fire, Lich Vanguard, and Enduring Will all allow him to bring a strong offense, or defense, to anywhere on the map it’s needed. Artillery – Pavium excels at long range combat, keeping the enemy at arm’s length and dealing massive damage. A deliberate build-up of Mega Turrets can steadily deny whole areas of the map as well as subdue nearby bases. Once upgraded, these massed turrets can produce an artillery assault of unprecedented power.

BROTHERS IN ARMS

Despite being very different in approach and gameplay, Voridus and Pavium are pack brothers, and – with the death of Decimus – two of Atriox’s most important lieutenants. As well as having great synergies with other leaders, Pavium and Voridus play extremely well together, in complementary roles:

Voridus is strong and aggressive, and deadly in the early game, whilst Pavium is slower to gather power. Voridus can attack early, allowing Pavium to build up to an unstoppable late game.

Targets painted with Pavium’s special ability, an upgraded Orbital Designator, or Ultra Mines, take additional damage from Infusion, making its effects even more deadly. Pavium’s beam also slows targets, causing them to stay longer in Infusion pools.

Infusion slowing targets synergises nicely with Mega Turrets, who get more time to pound their (weakened) targets from long-distance.

Invigorating Frenzy heals and buffs allies, including allied structures. A friendly Pavium swathed in Infusion with Invigorating Frenzy active is even more difficult to crack.

Pavium’s Burnout power can be used to supercharge Voridus’ early production and speed up an early assault.

TERMINUS FIREFIGHT

In addition to the new campaign missions and new playable Leaders and units, Halo Wars 2: Awakening the Nightmare introduces a brand new cooperative experience to the Firefight family. In Terminus Firefight, up to three players amass armies to defend both their bases, and their Forerunner terminus node against an ever-increasing and intensifying hoard of attacking enemies.

Battle against UNSC, Banished, and voracious Flood forces while fighting for survival. With the ability to construct new defense measurements such as spike floors and barricades alongside classic Halo Wars gameplay features like base-building, tech trees, and Leader power usage, Terminus Firefight adds an entirely new tower defense-style twist to the beloved wave-based Halo mode.

ACHIEVEMENTS

For Achievement hunters, Halo Wars 2’s Awakening the Nightmare expansion brings a pretty heroic haul of new Achievements to chase down. There is a total of 37 Achievements available that bring Halo Wars 2 to a whopping 1,750 total combined Gamerscore.

LEADERS

Spreading Darkness – Win 3 matches as Voridus (Multiplayer, Skirmish or Blitz) – 10

Cataclysmic – Kill 50 units with Cataclysm – 10

Revel in Destruction – Use Invigorating Frenzy 50 times – 10

Unbreakable – Win 3 matches as Pavium (Multiplayer, Skirmish or Blitz) – 10

Marked for Death – Paint units using Pavium or Orbital Designator 30 times – 10

The Long Game – Kill 50 units with Mega Turrets – 10

CAMPAIGN

Smash! – Gain a gold medal and complete all objectives in ‘What Could Go Wrong?’ – 10

Serving a New Master – Complete 'A Calculated Risk' on any difficulty – 5

Hold the Line(s) – Gain a gold medal and complete all objectives in ‘Fighting Retreat’ – 10

The Wave Breaks – Complete 'Fighting Retreat' on any difficulty – 5

Hidden Power – Gain a gold medal and complete all objectives in ‘Light the Fuse’ – 10

Tapped – Complete 'Trapped' on any difficulty – 5

We Got This – Reach the final room of The Archive without calling in reinforcements from the teleporters. – 5

Nimble, for a Big Fella – Navigate the laser defenses in The Archive without losing any units on Heroic or above. – 5

Have You Tried Rebooting? – Complete 'The Archive' on any difficulty – 5

Before This Gets Out of Hand – Complete 'Manifestation' without the Proto-Gravemind exceeding 50% critical mass – 10

Clean up your Mess – Complete PLC 'High Charity' on any difficulty – 5

Banished Prowess – Beat any level on legendary in par time with a scoring skull active (AtN only) – 15

The Brute Side – Collect every Phoenix Log collectable in 'Awakening the Nightmare' – 10

Awake – Complete the 'Awakening the Nightmare' campaign on any difficulty – 30

Again with the Tentacles – Complete the 'Awakening the Nightmare' campaign on Heroic or higher – 40

The Ancient Enemy – Complete the 'Awakening the Nightmare' campaign on Legendary – 50

TERMINUS FIREFIGHT

Watch My Six – Complete wave 20 in co-op as a UNSC/Banished partnership (Terminus Firefight) – 10

Outflood the Flood – Build and hold a minibase on every slot of a map at the same time (Terminus Firefight) – 15

Ka-Ching! – Destroy 20 bonus drops in a single game (Terminus Firefight) – 10

High Maintenance – Build 50 barricades in a single game (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Turret Farmer – Build 50 turrets in a single game (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Pristine – Prevent the Terminus from taking any damage for 15 waves (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Walled In – Have a wall built on every plot of the map at the same time (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Survivor – Finish wave 5 without training additional units (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Terminus Defender – Get a player score of 500,000 (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Terminus Tactician – Get a player score of 1,000,000 (Terminus Firefight) – 10

Terminus Teamwork – Get a score of 2,000,000 (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Terminus MVPs – Get a team score of 5,000,000 (Terminus Firefight) – 10

Garrison – Finish wave 10 (Terminus Firefight) – 5

Barricade – Finish wave 20 (Terminus Firefight) – 15

Fortress – Finish wave 30 (Terminus Firefight) – 20

GAME UPDATE

PATCH NOTES & BALANCE CHANGES

Included with this latest content for Halo Wars 2 is a collection of updates and bug fixes, all designed to improve player experience in a wide range of areas. For the full patch notes, head HERE!

NEW MAPS

Launching alongside the expansion, this latest game update introduces two gorgeous new playspaces to get your skirmish and multiplayer on. These maps are free for all Halo Wars 2 players, regardless of whether you own the Awakening the Nightmare expansion or not. Let’s take a look!

FISSURES

Volatile liquid churns and boils beneath the uncertain amber surface.

MIRAGE

Rolling sands carry hide the ghosts of fallen warriors through arid wilds.

SPECTATOR MODE

In direct response to community feedback and request, we added a brand-new tool for players to showcase their Halo Wars 2 experience. Spectator Mode allows players to set a dedicated observer slot to watch 1v1, 2v2, and 3v3 matches with a variety of spectator-specific tools to enhance the viewing experience. Features like enhanced zoom, variable camera options, and more create a fantastic foundation for casting competitions or creating cool community content.

PLAYLIST UPDATES

In addition to all the above, the latest game update also brings some new changes to Halo Wars 2’s multiplayer playlist suite. See below for details on the new look, including some notes from the design team on some of the thoughts behind the process.

Changed Blitz (Win 10) PC playlist to be 2v2 Open and 1v1 Unranked – 2v2 Blitz is the most competitive playlist and we felt would benefit from a refresh to offer new competitive challenges. 1v1 is a stepping stone into other competitive modes and has thus been made into our non-ranked offering.

Changed Blitz Xbox playlist to be 1v1 Unranked, 2v2 Open, 3v3 Ranked

Removed the map Highway from 1v1 playlists – Highway has proved too large for 1v1 play, and is become largely unpopular as a result. With the introduction of the two new maps (Mirage and Fissures) we want to focus on the providing the best battlefields for each mode.

Changed Versus AI to be Deathmatch only – Since release we’ve seen consistent community feedback indicating a high rate of players immediately quitting in Versus AI if they don’t get the Deathmatch game mode, which obviously is a frustrating experience for any other players involved.

COMPLETE YOUR COLLECTION

For new fans looking to jump in to the epic adventures on the Ark, the Halo Wars 2: Complete gives players another awesome option to grab the content they want. Get all 20 story missions, all 16 Leaders, all maps, all modes, and more. All currently-released content wrapped up in an easy-to-download package.

Halo Wars 2: Complete Edition Includes:

Halo Wars 2 – 12 campaign missions playable solo or co-op online, 6 multiplayer leaders across the UNSC and Banished forces, a variety of traditional multiplayer modes, plus Blitz PVP and PVE.

– 12 campaign missions playable solo or co-op online, 6 multiplayer leaders across the UNSC and Banished forces, a variety of traditional multiplayer modes, plus Blitz PVP and PVE. Halo Wars 2: Season Pass – Includes 7 additional multiplayer leaders and 2 campaign missions with Operation: SPEARBREAKER.

– Includes 7 additional multiplayer leaders and 2 campaign missions with Operation: SPEARBREAKER. Awakening the Nightmare – 5 Banished-focused campaign missions, 2 new Banished multiplayer Leaders, and an all new tower-defense style co-op survival mode – Terminus Firefight.

AVAILABLE NOW!

NOT QUITE DONE YET…

And don’t forget, Halo Wars 2 will be getting additional love this November with the release of the Xbox One X including a graphic update to take full advantage of stunning 4K and HDR visuals, and community tournament support through the Xbox Arena feature.

Before we go, we wanted to give some of the Halo Wars 2 team here a chance to say a few words about their personal Halo Wars 2 journeys.

GREG STONE – SENIOR PRODUCER: The expansion has been so much fun to work on! Creating a Banished campaign and reviving the flood have given us a ton of exciting material to work with. In addition to the amazing campaign we are introducing my favorite mode, Terminus Firefight. I can’t wait to see many waves you guys make it through.

To all the Halo fans, my most emphatic thanks for your continued support and feedback. Your engagement has made this a better game. It’s been a pleasure meeting you at trade shows, at community events and reading your comments on Waypoint. See you online!

CLAY JENSEN – DESIGN DIRECTOR: One of my favorite moments on Halo Wars 2 is still the day that we announced at Gamescom in 2015. Watching fans react live to the teaser and realize that there was going to be another chapter in the Halo Wars saga after so many years was priceless. From that moment the whole community was engaged and their enthusiasm and support has played a huge part in making the game what it is.

One of the most satisfying experiences of working on Halo Wars 2 has been following players discover new aspects of the game- even after months of playing. Seeing someone uncover a leader tactic they haven’t tried before, or combining them with others to develop a better team strategy, illustrates how deep the game is, but watching them come up with something entirely new is the best reward because it shows how much the game is a part of the community itself.

ISAAC BENDER – TECH DIRECTOR: It's been a real whirlwind shipping Halo Wars 2 in February, and then updates every month since then. Some of my favorite things in the game are the fantastic movies from Blur, the web-based deck editor, and the amazing variety of leaders that we've been able to add post-launch. I always love to see how players find the new meta after each release.

Also, spawning 200 locusts from the debug menu is super fun.

It’s been a wild ride, and it’s been awesome to have this amazing community along for it all. We can’t wait to see the amazing new content you all create with new tools like Spectator Mode, and share in your experiences from Campaign, Multiplayer, Firefight, and more. Here’s to you!

As a reminder, if you missed last month’s new content – the battlemaster of Balaho himself, Yapyap THE DESTROYER – you can read more about them RIGHT HERE.

Follow @Halo and stay tuned to Halo Waypoint for the latest info and remember to stop by our forums to share your feedback with the Halo Wars 2 team. See you on the battlefield!