Screenshot by Fyrewulf.

Co-op Night Is Wednesday at 9 EDT

Something is happening aboard the Forward Unto Dawn. After four years, seven months, and 10 days of drifting without incident, there are multiple decompressions on several decks--the ship is obviously being boarded. A certain spartan better wake up PDQ.

Long time no see, friends! I took a long break from Halo 4, and when I returned to it the other week, guess what? I realized that I really missed it. I'm a campaign guy, primarily, and even though I've got my quibbles with this installment, playing with friends always makes Halo games better, so I'm really looking forward to season 5 of Co-op Night. (And you need a break from GTA V, right?)

This week's battle plan:

Prologue/Dawn
Legendary
Tough Luck, Thunderstorm, Tilt, and Mythic (fun skulls optional)

If you haven't yet, be sure and send a friend request to Coop Night on XBL. This will help me organize teams.

Co-op Night FAQ (V5)

Why co-op?
I like playing with other people--especially people from the bungie.org communities. We all love inhabiting other worlds and kicking alien butt. Co-op Night gives us to chance to do this while also enjoying each other's company and maybe getting to know each other better than we might when we're trying to shoot each other in the face.

What will we play?
A level of the Halo 4 campaign each week until we're done.

Why only one level?
There's no limit to what you can play. The battle plan is just a starting point. If you want to continue to play the next level, that's fine, but personally, I’m about savoring one level per night. Simply put, Co-op Night is about having a night where if you show up, it's assumed you are interested in co-op with community members, and you’re committed to playing through one level.

So there are no rules?
Not really, but the goal is to milk as much fun as possible out of each mission, and for the most part, this means full path Halo, appreciating the story, killing everything, avoiding glitchy shortcuts, and saving the galaxy with style while leaving piles of dead enemies in our wake. In other words, this is not high speed Halo. Co-op night is about teamwork. On co-op night, assists count as much as kills.

How will teams be formed?

1. Send a friend request to the gamertag Coop Night on XBL. (You can also send a note to Kermit7, but friends of Coop Night get invited first.)
2. If you're online at the designated time, I assume you have an interest in co-op and invite you to my party.
3. If and when we have a full party (or multiple parties), we play a short game and the results will serve as our randomized team list. I'll assign team leaders, and we'll count off four starting from the top.
4. The party leaders leave to form their own Xbox Live party, inviting their assigned teammates (usually the two to three names under them in the last game results).

With luck, this process shouldn't take more than 10-15 minutes.

Will Bungie employees be there?

No. I mean, who knows? It's happened before, but that would just be the cherry on top. We're plenty tasty as is. (That's not to say that you wouldn't be extremely welcome, Bungie folks!)

But what about my friends?
You have friends? Congratulations! Gathering a party to play co-op should be easy whenever you want. Quit your bellyaching, soldier! You've got a job to do. Co-op night isn't about playing with the same old people you always play with. It's about playing with the bungie.org community, and maybe forming new friendships and bonds forged in brightly colored blood.

<3

Kermit