Despite complaints being levied against its seasonal battle pass structure,Halo Infinite’s open multiplayer beta has been a success.Halo Infinitewas Microsoft’s top free-to-play title on Xboxfor the US and UK last week, and 343 Industries head of design Jerry Hook said fixing the “pain” of progression is his team’s top priority. Though the title does not officially release until December 8, fans have gotten a good taste for its multiplayer - including limited-time events.
The Fracture: Tenrai event is split into session that are spaced out over a few months, with thefirst Fracture: Tenrai period set to end on November 30at 10:00 a.m. PT. It will not return until June 25, 2025, and overall there will be six sessions lasting through April 2022. Players will not be able to unlock the samurai-themed items in its event pass between each session, but more importantly the Fracture: Tenrai Fiesta playlist will also be inaccessible. Given its popularity and utility for newcomers, Fiesta should get a permanent slot at launch.
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Halo Infinite’s Fiesta Mode is a Fun Break From the Norm
A Halo Support tweet put out Sunday says the “Fiesta event playlist” will be unavailable until the Tenrai event returns in 2022, which leaves open the possibility of other Fiesta playlists being introduced. There are already calls for343 Industries to let players choose what modes they wantinHalo Infinite, which would reduce the amount of people leaving once they discover the random rotation has stuck them in something like Capture the Flag when they wanted Slayer. Having standalone Fiesta modes on the list would go a long way.
Fiesta is a match modifier that has existed since Bungie’s originalHalotrilogy. The Fracture: Tenrai event inHalo Infinitefeatures Fiesta Slayer, which means teams aim to get a certain number of kills but with a twist: every spawn includes a random set of weapons, and no others can be found around the map. In the past this modifier has been featured on game modes like Oddball or Firefight, but Tenrai has just a Slayer variant.
Fracture: Tenrai’s Fiesta playlist is one ofHalo Infinite’s best multiplayer modes, and not only because it limits the pool to Slayer. Part of the fun in a game likeHalois learning various maps to find the best weapon spawns and shortcuts to combat zones, as knowledge can turn the tide of battle. However, Fiesta makes things far more accessible and chaotic, only asking players to take what they’ve been given and go nuts. It’s appealing in its simplicity, but this also makes Fiesta a good learning tool.
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Fiesta May Be Important for Newcomers
Halo Infinitelets players practice all they want inBot Bootcamp mode, which also activates multiplayer achievements. Learning to play against bots with severely downgraded capabilities is a far cry from learning how to best useHalo’s weapons against warm-blooded players, though. Fiesta Slayer in the Fracture: Tenrai event takes away the pretense of more competitive matches by not asking players to seek out a rare weapon and try to learn it before getting destroyed.
Some may feel the random nature of Fiesta’s weapon allocation takes away from its teaching capabilities, as a player may want to learn more about the Skewer but never spawns with one. However, that’s part of what makes Fiesta so effective. Players need to work with what they have, and chances are they’lllearn a lot about a huge variety of weaponsthat can make them better in more serious match-ups. Not everyone can pick up the Skewer or Heatwave in a regular match, so learning less powerful guns is just as useful. This is especially true given Fiesta Slayer allocates random equipment, so players can see how each element interacts.
Halo Infinite’s Tenrai Fiesta playlist highlights how the game can improveusing dedicated playlists for main modes like Slayer. Fiesta-modified modes of all kind deserve a spot at the table too, as they’re both chaotic fun and a means of learning the ropes on every weapon - which is especially important givenHalo Infinite’s multiplayer is free-to-play, attracting a host of newcomers. Still, time will tell how 343 Industries improvesInfiniteand its mode selection heading into launch.
Halo Infinite’s multiplayer beta is available now on PC, Xbox One, and Xbox Series X/S, with the full game releasing on Jun 25, 2025.
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