Halo 5: Guardians, the FPS video game from developer 343 Industries and publisher Microsoft Studios, has received a new update -- The Battle of Shadow and Light.

The Battle of Shadow and Light update for Halo 5: Guardians adds several new features, but one thing that is the highlight of this update is the addition of Big Team Battle, eight vs. eight multiplayer playlist of vehicular carnage to Arena matchmaking, which was missing and had been part of the Halo franchise.

In an official post on Halowaypoint, it said, "Our promised commitment to meaningful post-launch support and expanded free content begins today with our first drop," going on to give out the new additions -- stealthy new Shinobi ninja-themed armour, legendary Light Rifle firepower, Big Team Battle maps and modes.

It detailed the addition of 48 new REQ, added a navigation point for vehicle drivers and fixed several issues like the aiming issue, issue of driver and gunner seats being usable when holding the flag.

Halo 5 players need not pay for this new update, as it is free of cost. Halo 5 was released on 27 October, 2015, exclusively for Xbox One.

The Battle of Shadow and Light update for Halo 5: Guardians will include the following as detailed in Halowaypoint post:

  • Added 48 new REQs, including new armors, helmets, weapon skins, weapon and vehicle variants, a new visor and assassination, and new emblems. See below for a breakdown of what's included.
  • Added Big Team Battle playlist to Arena matchmaking
  • Added BTB (Big Team Battle) Capture the Flag, Strongholds, and Slayer to matchmaking and custom games.

The mode details are as follows:

For all BTB game types, the Motion Tracker is the same size as Warzone at 25m (larger than the Arena Motion Tracker), and match length is 16 minutes.

  • BTB CTF – Score to win: 3 Captures
  • BTB Strongholds – Score to win: 150 points
  • BTB Slayer – Score to win: 100 points

Added 4 new BTB maps, also available in both matchmaking and custom games:

  • Basin by the 343 Multiplayer team
  • Deadlock by Nokyard & the 343 Multiplayer Team
  • Guillotine by The Psycho Duck & the 343 Multiplayer Team
  • Recurve by The Fated Fire & the 343 Multiplayer Team
  • Fixed an aiming issue that could occur due to variance in controller hardware. Head here (Halo 5 Aiming & Controllers) for more details.
  • Made a variety of tuning tweaks to Warzone Assault, including the below. Head here (Warzone Assault Tuning Changes) for more details.
    • Faster REQ leveling
    • Decreased base capture time from 20 seconds to 16 seconds
    • Reduced starting grenade count to 1
  • Disabled Friendly Fire in SWAT
  • Increased respawn time from 1 second to 3 seconds in SWAT
  • Added the "deliver" nav point for vehicle drivers who have a friendly flag carrier as a passenger.
  • Fixed an issue where players were able to use the driver and gunner seats while holding the flag. Now, the flag carrier can only sit in the passenger seat.
  • Improved Post-Game-Carnage-Report consistency.

As noted earlier in the story, there will be 48 new REQs that will be added in the update. The players should note that it will be taking some time for the REQs to populate through the system as their roll out will be over time. Check out the image below: