With the recent debut of theHalo 3-themed event Operation: Legacy,Halo Infinite’s official multiplayer playlists finally saw the long-awaited return of the fan-favorite game mode Grifball. Originally created by Rooster Teeth inHalo 3based on a joke from their 19-season-long Machinima seriesRed vs. Blue, Grifball went on to appear in every subsequent mainlineHalogame fromHalo: ReachtoHalo Infinite. Here, players can take part in three variations of Grifball: Classic Grifball without sprint, Octane Grifball with thruster equipment, and third-person Classic or Octane Grifball. WhileInfinite’s Grifball has been primarily well-received by fans, it should inspire Halo Studios to bring back another underrated game mode in the upcomingHalo 4-themed Operation: Reclaimer: Ricochet.
The History of Halo’s Ricochet Explained
InHalo 4, Grifball was originally released in early 2013 as a variation of Oddball instead of the traditional Assault game mode due to the latter game mode not being featured inHalo 4’s multiplayer.Halo 4’s incarnation of Grifballwas notable as it was the first instance of allowing players to actually throw the Grifball at other players or across arenas. It was additionally the first incarnation of Grifball that had the ball be affected by physics, such as the ball rolling on the ground after being thrown or a Gravity Hammer causing the ball to move. All of these mechanics causedHalo 4’s Grifball to be the most dynamic iteration of the game mode yet.
Grifball’s new mechanics eventually led 343 Industries, Certain Affinity, and Digital Extremes to develop a successor to Grifball a few months later in coordination withHalo 4’s launch of the Champions Bundle. This new game mode was called Ricochet. Here, two teams of four players would go head to head to try and catch the Gravball and score goals. Instead of being restricted to using Gravity Hammers and Energy Swords, however, players could simply use their loadouts and pick up traditional weapons on maps to combat the opposing team. Players who throw the ball into goals would score 20 points, while players who run with the ball into the goal would score 50 points. The first team to earn 150 points wins the match.
Halo’s Ricochet Beyond Halo 4
Ricochet remained a popular game mode forHalo 4players up until itsoriginal Xbox 360 online servers were shut downin early 2022. However,Halofans can still play Ricochet in its originalHalo 4form throughHalo: The Master Chief Collection. 2014’sHalo: The Master Chief Collectionadditionally ported the game mode toHalo 2: Anniversary’s multiplayer, still allowing players to throw the ball with dynamic physics, albeit without armor abilities, sprint, or loadouts. Despite Ricochet’s popularity inHalo 4,Halo: The Master Chief Collection, andHalo 2: Anniversary, Ricochet never returned to official multiplayer playlists inHalo 5: GuardiansorHalo Infinite.
The debut of Ricochet inHalo 4additionally saw the debut of the Mjolnir GEN2 Ricochet armor, which was inspired by American football gear and was one of the firstHaloarmor sets that could be unlocked with real-world currency.
The Potential Return of Ricochet in Halo Infinite
Halo Studios’ latest multiplayer Operations appear to be celebrating much ofHalo’s past multiplayer history with the reintroduction of classic armors and game modes such as Grifball and the grand return ofHalo 3’sNinja Gaiden-inspired Hayabusa armor. With Operation: Reclaimer celebratingHalo 4’s multiplayer and bringing back some classicHalo 4armor sets such as Venator, it would make sense for Halo Studios to reintroduce a popularHalo 4game mode to coincide with the Operation. WhileHalo 4did have a variety of unique game modes such as Dominion and Spartan Ops, those would be more difficult to implement intoHalo Infinite’s systems than the Grifball-like Ricochet.
Halo Infinite’s iteration of Ricochet could maintain much of its original mechanics while combining elements fromInfinite’s Grifball. For example, players could still use traditional weapons and throw balls into goals, but there could be third-person variations of Ricochet alongside Octane variants with unlimitedthrusters or potentially ball-deflecting repulsorsand drop walls. These equipment additions could makeInfinite’s iteration of Ricochet more dynamic and intense, as goalkeepers would be able to better reject incoming balls with repulsors or drop walls. Halo Studios could additionally reintroduce the Ricochet armor intoHalo Infinite’s exchange, similar toInfinite’s Hayabusa armor, to truly let veteranHalo 4players relive the glory days ofHalo 4Ricochet matches.
