THE BUZZ: 343 Industries has announced that the next title update for Halo: Reach will not only bring a number of fixes but will also be going through an open beta test.

Starting October 4th, all Halo: Reach players with an Xbox Live Gold membership will be able to partake in the beta which will bring a number of fixes and balance tweaks to multiplayer, including Armor lock and Active Camo. The update will also add the Magnum Pistol and classic playlists.

The beta will end when the full title update releases November 15th bringing with it a whole host of classic playlists and map variants. The title update will include:

Specifics

• Make damage bleed to health through shields possible.
• Make reticle bloom configurable.

Modify Armor Lock

• Sticky grenade will not be nullified if you use Armor Lock after being stuck.
• Damage received while in Armor Lock is transferred to remaining Armor Ability energy.
• How much the damage depletes your Armor Lock energy is configurable.

Modify Active Camo

• Reduce the bonus time the player gets in Active Camo while standing still.
• Reduce the overall length of time the player can be in Active Camo.

Miscellaneous

• Remove Sword block
• Disable the ability to block Sword attacks using melee with anything other than another Sword.
• Implement the classic Magnum from Halo: CE.
• Enable playing Co-Op Campaign and Firefight without requiring a HDD.

EGM’s TAKE: We feel that this is a fantastic move by 343. What better way to ensure that balance tweaks work than by letting the players loose with them?