Team Hardcore (Halo 3)

“Tactical games for hardcore teams. Stick together or die alone.”

— Playlist description.

The Hardcore Playlist is a collection of ranked hoppers that was added to Halo 3 matchmaking in spring 2008. Team Hardcore used to be an own Playlist, but were replaced by the MLG (Major League Gaming) hopper, and now only the name remains as a collection for all the hardcore playlists in Halo 3.

The Hardcore playlists were moved to the Ranked Playlists while the Hardcore Playlist was retired as of August 4, 2009 for Halo 3.

Team Hardcore Playlists

Consists of several ranked playlists for "hardcore" players, including:

• MLG
• SWAT
• Team Snipers
• Head to Head (Retired)

MLG

MLG replaced Team Hardcore, and feature official MLG gametypes and maps. Standard starting weapon for all gametypes is the Battle Rifle, the speed and damage have been increased to a 110%, shield recharge rate to 90% and there is no radar. Lots of weapons and all equipment are not featured in the MLG playlist to fasten the pace of the game.

• MLG Team Slayer

The same as ranked Team Slayer, but with MLG settings as mentioned above.

• MLG King of the Hill

Up to 250 points, hills move every two minutes, MLG settings as mentioned above.

• MLG Multi Flag CTF

Capture the enemy flag and return it to your base to score a point. First team to score three captures is the victor. Five captures for CTF on Onslaught. Flag recovering time on Narrows and Onslaught is three seconds. Recovering on The Pit is disabled, flag resets after 15 seconds. MLG settings as mentioned above.

• MLG Oddball

250 points to win, MLG settings as mentioned above.

Maps

MLG plays on his own set of maps, which also included two forged Foundry variants.

• MLG Guardian (Team Slayer and Oddball only)
• MLG Construct (Team Slayer and KotH only)
• MLG The Pit (Team Slayer, KotH and CTF)
• MLG Narrows (Team Slayer and CTF only)
• MLG Onslaught (Forged Foundry variant, CTF only)
• MLG Amplified (Forged Foundry variant, Team Slayer only)

Team SWAT

Team SWAT is an old Halo 2 playlist with a unique set of rules. No shields, 150% damage resistance and no radar. Battle Rifle and Magnum starts, no grenade spawns. Infinite ammo. No weapons on map, no overshields, no camouflage. Several equipment are included. Team size: 3-4. Ranked.

• Team SWAT
  • Battle Rifles, Magnums and grenades. 50 Kills to win.

• Team Magnums
  • Magnums and grenades only. 50 Kills to win.

• ShWATguns
  • Starting Weapon is Shotgun, no shields, 150% damage resistance. Included in matchmaking as of June 3.

• SWATball
  • SWAT styled Oddball. 200 points to win. Included in matchmaking as of June 3.

• SWAT 2 flag
  • SWAT styled CTF. Players cannot return flags, they return after 15 seconds on their own. 3 Flag captures to win. Snowbound and the Pit only. Included in matchmaking as of June 3.

Maps

• Construct (SWAT)
• Guardian (SWAT)
• Isolation (SWAT)
• High Ground (SWAT)
• Epilogue (SWAT)
• Narrows (SWAT)
• Boundless (SWAT)
• The Pit (SWAT)
• Foundry (SWAT)
• Rat's Nest (SWAT)
• Ghost Town (SWAT)
• Blackout (SWAT)
• Cold Storage (SWAT)

Team Snipers

Team Snipers is also an old Halo 2 playlist. The team size is 3-4. This playlist only has two gametypes:

• Team Snipers

Score points by killing players on the opposing team. First team to 50 points wins. Players start with Sniper Rifles. 12 minute match time limit.

• Shotty Snipers

Score points by killing players on the opposing team. First team to 50 points wins. Players start with Sniper Rifles and Shotgun secondary weapons. 12 minute match time limit.

Maps

The maps used in the Team Snipers hopper are customized in forge, so they include Beam Rifle spawns on several places on the maps. Some maps, such as Standoff and Sandtrap, have environment placed on some spots, to prevent spawn killing.

• Snipe Trap (Forged version of Sandtrap)
• Snipebound (Forged version of Snowbound)
• Sniper Bridge (Forged version of Narrows)
• Sniper Canyon (Forged version of Valhalla)
• Sniper Guardian (Forged version of Guardian)
• Sniper Stop (Forged version of The Pit)
• Sniperlation (Forged version of Isolation)
• Snipestruct (Forged version of Construct)
• Snipeoff (Forged version of Standoff)
• Sniper's Nest (Forged version of Rat's Nest)
• Sniper Town (Forged version of Ghost Town)
• Sniperlanche (Forged version of Avalanche)
• Snipeout (Forged version of Blackout)

Head to Head

Head to Head was a ranked 1v1 hopper included in the June matchhmaking update. It relied primarily on Duels-style Slayer (indicator over the head of the person with the high score), it featured smaller maps customized in Forge, and there were low weighted instances of Oddball and KotH. This playlist was retired in August due to its low population.