Halo Wars 2, the RTS developed by Creative Assembly and 343 Industries, just received a big update (9.9GB) that improves the game's performance as well as making several bug fixes and tweaks.

　　You can find the full changelog below. Halo Wars 2 launched last month on Windows 10 PC and Xbox One; while not without its faults, it's a pretty solid game for strategy fans according to our Chris Wray who rated the game 7.5/10.

　　Halo Wars 2 is an ideal strategy game for beginners. There's little doubting that the action is solid and it looks fantastic, but other strange choices mar what would be a great title. From downright bad writing, to the inclusion of pay to win microtransactions in a premium game, there are some absolutely perplexing decisions.

　　

CRASHES/ERRORS/PERFORMANCE

Fixed an issue where players could get stuck on the loading screenFixed an issue that caused some PC players to see a black screen on startupSeveral "desync" fixes, one of which covered most of the tracked occurrencesFixed a variety of PC crashes that were hardware-dependentFixed a Network Error on opening Blitz PacksFixed some AI issues in Skirmish that could cause performance hitsFixed some performance hitches in Cooperative CampaignMade performance improvements on various hardwareOverall multiplayer performance improvementsFixed some crashes that could occur when loading a saved gameFixed an issue that would cause a Campaign mission to get stuck after loading a saveFixed a bug with joining a party and getting a network errorAdded a driver check on PC to alert users to the presence of old driversFixed an issue that caused players to disconnect from multiplayer games at the beginning of the match

　　

 GAMEPLAY

Fixed issue with ‘Detect’ on some starting units not working properlyFixed an issue with getting the Palmer’s Pure Gold AchievementFixed some bugs with Kodiaks in CampaignFixed a bug with garrisoned Snipers not getting additional statsFixed issue with squads getting stuck trying to garrison if another squad beats them to itGold medal can now be more easily attained in ‘Hold the Line’Fixed a Cyclops and Reaver pathing bug where they would sometimes stop movingFixed an issue with units getting stuck in bases after being madeFixed various skull functionality not working on some units or abilitiesFixed some cross-skull interactions between Annihilation and PestilenceFixed some Locust pathing issues in Blitz (even though they’re driven by Grunts)Fixed an issue with units becoming unresponsive in BlitzFixed an issue in Blitz with units getting a x4 speed boost in a specific situationFixed a conflict created by swapping d-pad functionality in BlitzFixed an issue with the Blisterback not recovering from damage in BlitzFixed behavior of Marines sometimes failing to get new targets after throwing a grenadeFriendly cloaked units now appear on the minimapMade some adjustments to Scarab creationTweaks to Grunt Mob, Bloodfuel Grunts, and Bloodfuel LocustHolo Decoy can no longer be used on Pelicans or SpiritsFixed card level of units affected by Holo Decoy not showing over clonesGlassing beam always creates vision now in BlitzAdjusted AI to make better use of Healing and Cloaking fieldsSkirmish AI now uses Extraction and TeleportAIs have been practicing their Domination game

METAGAME

Fixed a bug where parties were always assigned to Team 1Fixed a rare issue with users not actually getting to play the leader they selected in Blitz“Halt” cinematic should no longer be unlocked early in theaterFixed some daily/weekly challenge issues where they were not tracked in some playlistsPC players can no longer tab target to whisper to themselvesPhoenix Log page adjustmentsPause menu adjustmentsSet default difficulty of AI to normal from easy

COSMETIC

Cleaned up some language localizationsFixed a bug with UI textures failing to loadFixed some minimap graphical issuesFixed a PC issue with starting army text overlapping some UIFixed some issues with individual card pack opening animationsFixed an issue with a terminal for a red barrier not having a display stringFixed a Domination icon issue, where it would rotate briefly when being recapturedFixed an issue with Health bars getting stuck on the screenFixed some issues with particles randomly shooting across the maps for various objectsAdjusted transparency on locked skulls in the side panelRadial menu has been cleaned up a bitAdded extra visual indicator to aid players when they are selecting cardsMade some enhancements to the leader selection carousel

AUDIO

Fixed an issue with the announcer constantly reporting Zone B is contested when it’s notFixed an issue with the Condor being able to be heard through fog of warFixed incorrect audio playing on some units when damagedFixed some issues with units calling out the wrong attackersFixed an issue with using right trigger or mouse wheel would cause audio spamAdded audio to Plasma Mines deployAdded a variety of sound effects, and adjusted timing on some existing ones

LAST, BUT NOT LEAST

Under-the-hood preparation for future ranked multiplayer