Featuring three new maps, the Crimson Map Pack is the first expansion to Halo 4’s competitive multiplayer map selection. In addition to these new battlegrounds, a new game type is set to appear on Halo 4’s matchmaking playlists: Extraction.

Game Type: Extraction

Like a cross between the Dominion and King of the Hill game types, Extraction has two teams of players scrambling around a map to secure special resource points that are marked on everyone’s HUD. You must secure these resource points by placing an extractor upon them, and then hold that point down while a timer ticks away. If you hold an Extraction point for the time required, your team gains a point and the extracted point disappears, replaced by a new point at a random location.

Unlike Dominion, the resource points do not have special defenses that you can deploy over time, and unlike King of the Hill, it’s not enough to simply get close to an Extraction point to capture or steal it. You have to actually interact with the resource point, which means you are vulnerable and can’t fight back while placing the beacon on the resource point.

This game type demands that you play hybrid offense and defense roles over the course of the match, so be prepared and willing to handle both aspects of the battle.

General Tips for Extraction

• At any given time during an Extraction game, two points can be active on a map. After placing a beacon, it takes 45 seconds by default for a resource point to be extracted. Constantly check how much time is left on a point, as this can determine your team’s overall offensive or defensive plan.
• Extraction is a team game—to be successful, you need to work with your teammates. Acting as a lone wolf weakens your team’s offense and defense!
• Harass, harass, harass. Challenging the enemy to prevent them from establishing an Extraction point is a good way to set up a points lead.
• Never allow the enemy to act as a cohesive unit. You can easily split up a team by killing some of them while they transition between resource points.
• You don’t have to hold all the points at the same time; you only need to ensure that the enemy is unable to establish an Extraction point themselves.
• Communicate with your allies after a new resource point opens up on the map, and try to arrive at each fresh point in force. At the same time, some members of the team should already be looking for enemies to harass and kill; this way, if a major fight erupts around a point, the enemy will arrive with weaker shields or fewer Spartans.
• Set up loadouts that help you hold down locations, and select your armor abilities accordingly. It’s tempting to stick to Promethean Vision, but the nature of Extraction makes certain armor abilities better suited for certain tasks.
• Regeneration Field is a good choice for Extraction points that have a lot of cover. If you can force the enemy to come to you, they’ll be walking into a prepared killzone that is constantly restoring your team’s shields.
• The Hardlight Shield is a good stalling/general defense armor ability that can really shine during Extraction. Use it to buy yourself the last few seconds needed for an Extraction point to finish processing. You can even deflect grenade spam if you use it correctly.
• The Autosentry can provide a few seconds of harassment on the enemy if placed correctly, and the extra firepower can help bring down enemies attacking Extraction points that much faster.
• The Hologram can be surprisingly effective even on skilled opponents. Bait players, both on the attack or on defense, into situations where they are more vulnerable.

Harvest

Similar to those found on other agrarian worlds, this impressive tether network was used to ferry resources off-planet.

Harvest is a midsized map based on a re-creation of the human colony world of Harvest, where the first disastrous contact between humanity and the Covenant took place. Much of the map is dominated by three structures that run down the center, flanked by two large open fields with long sight lines ideal for snipers. This map favors Capture the Flag, but other objective game types, such as Extraction and King of the Hill, are natural fits for the buildings and hills surrounding them.

Harvest features vehicles such as the Warthog, Mongoose, and Ghost that traverse the valleys on either side of the central structure. The open sight lines that span across the valleys make using a vehicle extremely important for fast travel between structures.

Vehicle access into the two main buildings is dicey, and there’s generally little reason to force a vehicle into the main buildings, unless your opponent is less skilled and unable to use any form of explosives to quickly destroy you.

Red Base/Blue Base

Sharing the same design, the two base structures are the largest buildings accessible in Harvest. In the standard Capture the Flag game type, they act as the strongholds for the red and blue teams. There are multiple ramps leading from each base that grant access to the valleys on either side of the map. Both bases have a rear alley entrance by way of two gravity pads located on the ground level at either end of the map, and both base structures have a series of ramps that lead to the central structure.

The actual flag-holding area is exposed to the valleys on each side of the map. Combined with the multiple access routes, you have a legitimate tactical nightmare if you’re trying to hold down the area.

Red Alley/Blue Alley

These Alley sections provide corridors that connect the two flanking valleys via a passage underneath the rear sections of each base. Extraction objectives are often placed here, and the closed nature of the Alleys makes them relatively easier to defend. The Alleys contain a set of gravity pads that can launch Spartans into the base structures. This can be heavily exploited during Capture the Flag, but savvy players will keep an eye out for flag-capture attempts via those routes.

Central

Central is a structure that lies between the red and blue bases, but it is not directly connected to them. Dividing them are two paths that connect the two valleys. Spartans can access the upper area of Central by leaping from ramps located on the upper floor of each respective base; use a Jet Pack or the lifts located on the Sun/Shade Mid sides of the Central building to do this. You can use Sun Mid or the Shade Mid Side to access the corridor that runs through the lower level, but tactically it is a very tough location to hold. There is no cover atop Central, and the corridor running through it can quickly turn into a death trap for everyone involved. Central is best used as a point of transition between other tactically more advantageous sections of the map.

Sun Red/Shade Red

These sections are the Red Base half of the valleys flanking the central structure. Both of these sections have direct access to the Red Base, and both have stone ramps and obstacles that you can use as elevated sniping points or launch ramps for speeding vehicles. Both sections also include a construction tower that you can use for cover against attackers from multiple angles. Expect Warthog drivers to try using those towers for protection during flag runs. These sections of the flanking valleys are where you can find Warthog and Mongoose spawn points. The two valley sections are connected via the Red Alley and the path cutting between the Red Base and Central.

Sun Mid/Shade Mid

The middle section of the valleys flanking the Central building can become lethal hot spots during Extraction games, as resource points spawn by the stone ramps located here. Be mindful of potential fire from the top sections of the Central structure if you’re passing through Sun/Shade Mid.

Like all of the other stone ramps found in other field sections on this map, the ramps at Sun/Shade Mid make for excellent sniping positions. However, it’s best not to constantly stand at the very tops of the ramps, as you’re presenting a big target to enemy countersnipers.

Sun Blue/Shade Blue

Mirrored replicas of the Red side of the valleys, these sections confer roughly similar tactical benefits as the Red side, acting as key access points to the Blue Base and the Blue Alley.

Shatter

Excessive and unexpected volcanic activity may bring an end to the Materials Group’s mining operation on Chi Ceti IV’s moon.

A symmetrically organized plateau, Shatter is another map built primarily to service two opposing teams of Spartans. Shatter is larger than Harvest, and combat can happen out in the middle of the crystal fields or inside the interconnected facilities at the plateau’s center. These structures provide plenty of sniping opportunities on any Spartan trying to traverse the fields. A teleporter located within the larger base structures can send Spartans to landing pads just outside of a smaller set of lab buildings, allowing for quick escapes or flanking maneuvers.

The plateau is divided in half by a stone formation, with two large base structures attached to it on either side. These bases are connected via a network of caves at the ground level and by a tunnel system that directly connects the two primary structures. The caves and tunnels are the main method of travel between both halves of the map.

Shatter features more vehicles than Harvest in its standard configuration. Vehicles such as the Ghost, the Wraith, and the Mantis can rule the open spaces with careful positioning. However, with so many interconnected paths and potential sniping points around the map center, you can expect the heavy vehicles to be challenged from many directions.

As with Harvest, Shatter favors Big Team Battles that feature game types such as Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, and Infinity Slayer.

Red Base/Blue Base

With multiple levels connected by ramps, the bases are connected to one another via the Central Tunnels that pass through the middle of the map. There are a surprising number of external access points throughout these structures, making them difficult to defend during Capture the Flag games. Underneath a portion of each base is a spawn for a Mantis, which can travel through the connecting caves to easily reach the other half of the map.

At the top level of each base is a teleporter that takes you to a landing pad just outside of a pair of smaller lab structures. Don’t forget that this shortcut exists, particularly if you’re playing King of the Hill or Extraction and need to quickly get from one point to another.

Red Tunnel/Blue Tunnel

Behind each base is a path that leads to a tunnel that passes through the central mountain. These tunnels provide a relatively straight shot at advancing on the opposing team’s lab building and is another way to access the Center Tunnels. Unfortunately, you’re quite open to sniping from the roof of the Blue or Red Labs. These caves are one of the main routes for Mantis and Wraith vehicles to take.

Red Lab/Blue Lab

Reach the small labs quickly by taking a teleporter at the top of the Red/Blue Base. This will land you on a pad just outside the labs, or you can run through the fields outside the bases, using the crystals to help cover your advance. The labs make for very frantic close-quarter engagements, while the roof of each lab can act as excellent sniping posts. Players attempting to use the Center Tunnels and the Red/Blue Tunnels are quite vulnerable to patient marksmen on the lab rooftops, and all Extraction points located in the Center Tunnels can be covered from the labs.

Red Field/Blue Field

There are enough obstacles throughout the fields between each base and its lab that Spartans can set up ambushes or escape enemy fire while traveling between the two structures on foot. At the same time, the fields are large enough that Wraiths can make full use of their boost ability to splatter inattentive Spartans without running into too many solid obstacles. The relatively open fields can make defending static objectives very difficult, especially if they are placed away from any useful cover.

Center Tunnels

The S-shaped Center Tunnels provide a direct connection between the Red and Blue Bases. Use the Central Tunnels as elevated sniping positions on either field, particularly during games where one team is being pushed back toward the labs. The Center Tunnels also have many access points available to Jet Pack users. Additionally, there are several ramps that help players on foot access the Center Tunnels. There are many good sight lines to take advantage of from this sector.

Generally it is not safe to hole up in the Center Tunnels, especially if the enemy is at all coordinated. You will take fire through the numerous gaps that expose you to the areas surrounding the tunnels.

Center Caves

Beneath the Center Tunnels is a small cave network that allows players to pass between either side of the map without being sniped from the map’s outskirts. Naturally, vehicles will attempt to exploit this to their benefit. Jet Pack users can get quick access to the upper levels of either base or to the Center Tunnels from these caves. Expect flag runners to make frequent use of these caves!

Wreckage

One of the many attempts to contain the Flood, Line installations were designed to viciously force down any ships within range.

Unlike the other two maps in this Map Pack, Wreckage does not have base buildings from which two teams of Spartans can attack and defend. Wreckage is more chaotic, filled with the metal corpses of various ships that have crashed due to the gravity well generator off the island’s coast. Much of the debris has access points that allow more enterprising Spartans to outmaneuver their opponents and reach sniping positions. Vehicles like the Ghost and the Warthog are available for Spartans to test their driving skills on the rough terrain and on the paths that snake throughout all of Wreckage.

The map’s defining landmark is the mountain of debris at its center, called the Big Wreck. Once part of a larger space-faring vessel, the remains of this crashed ship are defined by a network of interconnected corridors that will test every Spartan’s close-quarter skills. Expect Capture the Flag, King of the Hill, and Oddball games to have ferocious battles within and around this wreck.

The area surrounding the Big Wreck is a complex mix of smaller structures, bumpy dirt roads, and debris. The coast is relatively easy to navigate, but the deeper inland you go, the more places you’ll find that clever Spartans can use to ambush careless victims running out in the open.

Coast

The Coast is one of the more open areas of Wreckage, with a variety of access routes into the Tower, the Big Wreck and both fields that flank it. Compared to other sections of the map, cover is relatively sparse. The Coast’s open nature makes it an ideal playground for the Ghost and the Warthog. If King of the Hill or Extraction objectives crop up on the coast, watch out for Spartans attempting large-scale vehicular slaughter!

Tower

While the Tower is small, it is an important landmark. Passing through the Tower to reach the Big Wreck or the Covenant Field gives you good protection from snipers, and you can use it to ambush hostiles in the surrounding areas. Unfortunately, the Tower’s small size means that you don’t have a lot of room to work with should you get pinned down inside it.

Big Wreck

The Big Wreck is the map’s center, and it’s likely where the heaviest action will take place. The center of the ship is hollowed out to allow for passage between the Coast and other parts of the map, while corridors on either side of the central passage take Spartans through the bulkheads to try and flank each other. During Capture the Flag games, the standard locations for the flags put the Big Wreck almost dead center between them. The two fields on the sides of the wreck often become alternate routes for flag runners.

Covenant Field

Named for the remains of a Covenant Lich that crashed against the wall, the Covenant Field is another open section of the map that allows for Ghost and Warthog drivers to flex their skills. During Capture the Flag games, Covenant Field is one of the key flanking zones either team can use to try scoring quick flag runs. However, in addition to shooters attacking from the Coast and from the Big Wreck, the Overlook hill has a nearly perfect position over almost all of this field. It’s best to travel quickly through Covenant Field; if you don’t use a vehicle, stick close to the pieces of the Big Wreck to use them as cover.

Wreck Field

Named for another portion of the Big Wreck that is sticking out from the northern wall, Wreck Field is the other major flanking zone near the central wreck. Unlike Covenant Field, there is more cover to use for protection. The portion of the ship on the northern wall contains another passage that you can use for cover or sniping. As with Covenant Field, almost all of Wreck Field can be covered by Spartans using the Overlook, so be wary when using this field for flag runs.

Overlook

This hill on the island’s western end can provide good watch positions on both Covenant and Wreck Field, but due to debris, it does not have the cleanest angles on any targets inside the Big Wreck. Snipers placed here can swiftly end any flag run attempts, but they should be mindful of the side paths that enemies can use to outflank them, either on foot or with vehicles. Jet Pack users can also quickly climb up the cliffs of Overlook to surprise the inattentive.