Here's How Halo Wars 2 Is Changing After The Beta

Halo Wars 2 is changing in response to feedback from the recent beta. In the developer's latest weekly blog post, 343 outlined some of the balance changes and improvements.

First, 343 is reducing the Locust and Bloodfuel Locust DPS, health, and shield values in response to feedback from the beta. Quite a few people remarked that Locust was overpowered. Additionally, the Scarab can now attack from closer range, while loading times have been improved. What's more, there are a series of bug fixes and improvements for multiplayer server reliability, among many other things.

You can see a full list of what's changing and being improved below, but note that it's only a high-level rundown and doesn't get very specific. These changes will be implemented in the final version of Halo Wars 2 that comes out on February 21.

Additionally, 343 has announced that Halo Wars 2 players can earn up to 10 Blitz card packs for Halo Wars 2. Here is a rundown, as written by 343, of how you can earn them:

• Blitz Beta – If you participated in the Blitz beta then you potentially have two card packs waiting for you when the game launches. You'll earn one pack if you just launched the beta and another pack if you completed one match.
• Halo Wars 1 – The team also hooked up Halo Wars 2 Blitz Packs to two existing Halo Wars 1 achievements. You can earn one Blitz pack for completing the "Playin’ the Field" achievement and three packs for the "Adjudicate the Arbiter" achievement.
• Halo Wars: DE – Get one Blitz Pack for completing the "Playin' the Field" achievement and three packs for "Adjudicate the Arbiter."

In other Halo Wars 2 news, 343 has confirmed that there will not be map-making tools and revealed the game's complete list of achievements.

Halo Wars 2 is an Xbox Play Anywhere title. That means if you buy it digitally on Xbox One or PC, you'll receive access to the game--and all saves and progress--on the other platform at no extra cost.

Halo Wars 2 Balance Changes And General Improvements:

• Reduced the Locust and Bloodfuel Locust DPS, health, and shields
• Scarab can now attack units at closer range
• Improved the responsiveness of Blitz card hand inputs
• Improved game performance
• Improved UI responsiveness
• Tightened skill matching to improve match quality of multiplayer games
• Improved initial loading times
• Bug fixes for card hand and units not responding
• Improved voice chat functionality on PC
• Improved PC performance, hardware detection, and compatibility
• Improved multiplayer and network reliability
• Lots and lots of additional fixes