Halo 2 Patch

[RoMi]

Yeah, if you turn on Xbox Live today it makes you download the new patch.  It takes a little bit of getting used to, but its good since it got rid of a lot of the cheats people use.  It changed around weapon hit points, but they aren't so significant that its like playing another game.  Overall its a good patch.

Heres the official news from bungie.

WEAPONS CHANGES!
 
The scale of the autoupdate gave us a unique opportunity – a chance to implement balance changes on certain weapons to smooth out the Xbox Live and System Link experience, and in a couple of cases, we feel, subtly improving the overall feel of the game.
 
 
 
Melee Damage
 
Melee damage has been increased across the board as a counter measure of sorts to close-up dual wielding. Jumping strikes are now much more powerful, often resulting in instant kills, while the general potency has been increased for normal melee attacks and the Brute Shot has been given a specific melee attack boost, in recognition of the fact that it has a huge scythe attached to it. This actually makes the Brute Shot a go-to weapon in a lot of new situations.
 
Examples of the increase in power include one-hit kills from many jumping strikes, two-hit kills from the Brute Shot melee attack, and far more power on torso and head strikes from all other weapons.
 
 
 
Grenades
 
Grenade attacks will be one of the most significant changes for the 1.1 version of Halo 2. In many ways, the new grenade balance is a reflection of the way we really wanted them to be. Grenades were not only weakened in the previous iteration, they didn't address the balance difference between a grenade-throwing player and a dual-wielding attacker.
 
A common complaint amongst critics (and Bungie employees!) was that grenades felt very weak and often simply ensured that a player would be hurt rather than killed. Some unfortunate side effects of this, apart from a difference in "feel" between Halo CE and Halo 2 were unpredictable damage and difficulty making accurate, long distance throws have any significant impact. The grenades, both plasma and human, have been improved in a number of ways and are significantly more powerful.
 
The fuse timer has been SHORTENED on the Frag and Plasma Grenade to increase their value in combat and in last-ditch efforts to defeat an attacker. In most instances, this new fuse timing will reduce the harm they cause when accidentally tossed at the start of a new round. The shortened fuse also makes using grenades for attacks slightly more predictable and accurate.
 
The damage caused by plasma grenades (frag grenade power is increased slightly) is significantly increased. In testing, we found that players equated it with the type of damage caused in Halo 1. A plasma grenade detonating at a player's feet will likely kill that player outright, even with full shields. The shortened fuse and small damage-boost on the frag grenade means that a well-thrown 'nade is more dangerous.

We feel that this, more than almost all the other changes will be noticed, and incorporated into the widest range of player skill. The grenade goes from being a dangerous distraction to a potent, flexible weapon and will change the balance of Slayer and objective-based games dramatically. We expect to see a lot of criticism initially, as we understand folks are used to playing one way – but long term testing has shown that it improves the experience in the vast majority of maps and game types.
 
Plasma "sticks" will continue to be utterly deadly. And note that there is a knock-on effect to Brute Shot ammo from the power increase on frag grenades. It's subtle but enhances the Brute Shot nonetheless.
 
 
Magnum
 
Magnum bullet damage has been slightly reduced to emphasize accurate headshots over a simple dual wielding combo. The auto-accuracy of the Magnum has also been toned down slightly when dual wielding.
 
SMG
 
Other slight reductions include the softening of the Plasma Rifle and SMG combo, to bring it in line with other combos. Experts will notice the difference.

[Newby]

That is lame. The SMG was weak as it was, why weaken it some more?

Same with the human pistol. Fuck.

And why in the bloody shit did they make the brute shot stronger? That was a DUMB move.

[RoMi]

Well if you ask me the Brute shot should have a strong melee attack because it has this massive blade at the end.  The shot itself was strong enough.  I actually love the new pistol arrangement because in reality who could shot a pistol and an smg at the same time while aiming the pistol accuratly.  Your pistol kind of bounces up and down as you walk, something to get used to, but pretty easy.  SMG was a stupid change becasue today I had a kid kill me with 1 SMG while I had 2, becasue the 2 are a lot less accurate.

[Quik]

The kids I know who are obsessed with this game are pissed because they patched a few of the exploits they found. I find this craze really retarded, but whatever puts people to sleep at night I guess.

[RoMi]

Ewww, I'm gald your friends are pissed if they used exploits.  It's a lot of fun because all of my friends play it and we have a good time swearing at eachother.