Ever since dedicated modders have found their way to hex-edit Halo, there has been a tiny subset of mods for the series. Ranging from small weapon tweaks to AI possession, these mods were ambitious and incredibly fun to play. Now, with Halo: The Master Chief Collection on PC, modders can finally toy around with most of the Halo franchise.
Sandbox overhauls, new weapons, and visual overhauls are just a few things the Halo modding community has been able to make. With the release of modding tools for Halo CE, the future of the MCC's modding community is looking bright. Let's take a look at mods for Halo: The Master Chief Collection that are sure to impress. The mods listed are in no particular order.
Warning: Updates have a tendency to brick mods for the MCC. Make sure to check each mod page to see if the mod author has updated their mod to work with the most recent update — some may work via "downgrading" your MCC install, as some mod authors may note on their respective pages.
Updated December 30, 2021 by Ritwik Mitra: The Master Chief Collection is a great way to experience the magic of the Halo series, regardless of whether you're a new fan or a veteran of the series. Each and every game in this extensive collection is a treat to play through and will keep players occupied for hours on end as they uncover the story of Master Chief, the world, and the aliens that are threatening life on Earth itself. On PC, this game can become even more engaging with mods. Here are some of the best ones in this regard.
15 All Character Customizations Unlocked
Supports: Halo: Reach
Customizing your character is a small but enjoyable aspect of the Halo games. In Halo Reach, the bulk of these customizations are unusable until you sink a great deal of effort into unlocking them one at a time. Of course, instead of going through this pain, you can just download a simple mod that unlocks all the character customizations in the game for you. It's a handy mod that makes the game all the more interesting and unique!
Download Link: All Character Customizations Unlocked
14 Prometheus
Supports: Halo: Reach
Halo Reach is one of the most popular games in the collection. However, there is a bit of a downside, as some feel the game's campaign doesn't really hold any replay value after a few sittings. But with the Prometheus mod, the campaign can be augmented quite extensively. Everything from the weapons to enemy encounters are changed extensively, giving your next playthrough a vibrant coat of paint and excitement.
Download Link: Prometheus
13 Halo Reach - Eternal
Supports: Halo: Reach
Speaking of campaign overhauls, it's impossible not to mention the massive amount of work put into the mod Halo Reach - Eternal. Unlike its name suggests, the mod isn't meant to be a homage to Doom in any way. Rather, it's a massive overhaul that adds new weapons, vehicles, enemies, and everything else along the same lines. Even the narrative has been tweaked accordingly to make these changes feel more natural.
Download Link: Halo Reach - Eternal
12 Halo Reach Covenant Campaign
Supports: Halo: Reach
The idea of playing as the villain in Halo Reach is pretty novel, making for a great time as players explore the story through the eyes of the Covenant. While there's nothing official that allows players to do this, modders have taken matters into their own hands.
The end result is the Halo Reach Covenant Campaign, which is an absolute blast to play through. You'll take on the role of an Elite called Six and rain hellfire upon the humans that stand in your way.
Download Link: Halo Reach Covenant Campaign
11 Halo Reach - Ultimate Audio Overhaul
Supports: Halo: Reach
It seems that Halo Reach is an incredibly popular game when it comes to the modding community. The audio design of this game is definitely spectacular, but modders decided to go above and beyond the call of duty to improve this aspect of Reach as well.
The end result is the Ultimate Audio Overhaul mod, the function of which should be quite clear from the title itself. The soundscape of Halo Reach takes on a new and unique life of its own here — from footsteps to gunshots, a number of the game's sound effects have seen a significant overhaul.
Download Link: Halo Reach - Ultimate Audio Overhaul
10 4K 60fps Classic Halo Menus And New Intro
Supports: Every Halo title (MCC Menus)
For those that want a nostalgia kick or a nice change of scenery, the "Classic Halo Menus" mod from CozmicDoctor replaces the MCC's menu backdrops with the original menus seen in every game from the collection. Each game in the MCC has its respective menu background and music, showcasing some of the incredible skyboxes and music that accompanied the menus of each game. This is also one of the few mods that you can use while anti-cheat is enabled, as this mod only affects the MCC's menus.
Download Link: 4K 60fps Classic Halo Menus and New Intro (By CozmicDoctor)
9 Halo 3 Campaign With Multiplayer Characters And Skins
Supports: Halo 3 (Campaign)
Halo 3 was the first title to introduce armor permutations to the Halo franchise, allowing players to change the mesh of their armor through various armor pieces they'd unlock. While the system isn't as in-depth as seen in Reach, many Halo fans got connected to their multiplayer Spartans and Elites.
This mod from Gold Team allows you to play as your multiplayer characters in Halo 3's campaign instead of Master Chief or the Arbiter. Spartan multiplayer characters will appear in cutscenes and gameplay, while Elites only appear during gameplay currently. Multiplayer skins also work, allowing you to bring custom weapons and vehicle skins into Halo 3's campaign. Give this mod a try if you love Halo: Reach and want to give Halo 3's campaign a personal touch.
Download Link: Halo 3 Campaign With Multiplayer Characters and Skins (By Gold Team)
8 Ruby's Rebalanced Campaign Mods
Supports: Every Halo title (Campaigns only)
If you've modded MCC at all, you've likely heard of Ruby's campaign overhauls, and for good reason. These mods make many tweaks to the campaign sandbox, ranging from weapon tweaks to level changes.
Ruby has an overhaul for every campaign in the MCC, each balanced around Legendary difficulty. If you're a skilled Halo player that has played every campaign for hundreds of hours, give these mods a try.
Download Links (All by Ruby of Blue):
- Ruby's Rebalanced Reach Campaign
- Ruby's Rebalanced Halo CE Campaign
- Ruby's Rebalanced Halo 2 Campaign
- Ruby's Rebalanced Halo 3 Campaign
- Ruby's Rebalanced Halo 3 ODST PROTOTYPE
- Ruby's Rebalanced Halo 4 PROTOTYPE
7 Unlock All Cosmetics
Supports: Every Halo title
Created by LordPinecone1, "Unlock All Cosmetics" does exactly what it says. With the hundreds of cosmetic armor pieces and skins that 343 have released each season, some Halo fans might want to skip the grind and go straight to personalizing their Spartan. The mod doesn't work in matchmade multiplayer, but it works for offline mode and custom games. Solo Halo players that want to check out the MCC's excellent customization options should give this mod a try.
Download Link: Unlock All Cosmetics (By LordPinecone1)
6 Third Person Reach Campaign
Supports: Halo: Reach (Campaign)
Halo is a notable FPS franchise, but the games have never invested into third-person infantry gameplay. This mod changes that. "Third Person Reach Campaign" by Xayth does exactly what you'd expect.
Your perspective in the campaign shifts from first-person to third-person, letting you get a view of your character during the whole game. Surprisingly, the core combat of Halo is preserved well when the perspective is shifted and gives more animation flair to what you're doing.
Download Link: Third Person Reach Campaign (By Xayth)
5 Universal RTX
Supports: Every Halo title
Give the MCC a new coat of paint with ultracasio's "Universal RTX" mod. This Reshade mod updates all of the MCC titles with better lighting and post-processing effects that make Halo look like a current-gen title.
Universal RTX comes with four presets: Performance, Gameplay, Cinematic, and Macabre. Each preset focuses either on frame rate or visual fidelity, giving most PCs the ability to use this mod. Make sure you have Reshade installed before using this mod.
Download Link: Universal RTX (By ultracasio)
4 Halo Reach Evolved
Supports: Halo: Reach (Campaign)
Out of every campaign overhaul the talented modding community has created, "Halo Reach Evolved" has stood as one of the best because of its impeccable sandbox tuning and ambitious design.
Originally a mod for the Xbox 360 version only accessible through modded consoles, this amazing mod from TheVengefulVadam has finally graced PC players. "Halo Reach Evolved" is mostly a sandbox tweaking mod, with the main goal of giving every item and gun in the game a distinct purpose. No longer is the Assault Rifle a trash-tier weapon, and grenades finally have the damage you'd expect them to. Better yet, certain encounters have been tweaked while preserving Halo lore to keep the game fresh.
Download Link: Halo Reach Evolved (By TheVengefulVadam)
3 Overkill - Installation 04
Supports: Halo: Reach (Installation 04 Firefight map)
ReteroX's "Overkill - Installation 04" overhauls Halo: Reach's Firefight mode with a new sandbox that promotes faster-paced gameplay that's reminiscent of more recent arena shooters. Don't worry; this mod doesn't turn the game into Doom Eternal or anything that doesn't resemble Halo.
Overkill has made Reach's Firefight mode more ruthless and reliant on gun skill. Players move faster, aim assist has much less impact on your weapons, and the Covenant has become a much larger threat than in vanilla.
The changes in this mod are sensible, don't shift Halo's identity too much, and manage to modernize Bungie's renowned gameplay formula without alienating its hardcore fans. Overkill is one of the best designed Firefight overhauls you'll find for the MCC. Just know that this mod only works on the Installation 04 map currently.
Download Link: Overkill - Installation 04 (By ReteroX)
2 Fall Of Reach Infinite
Supports: Halo: Reach (Campaign and MP)
VigilantPhantom's "Fall of Reach Infinite" plans to morph Halo: Reach's sandbox to more closely resemble Halo: Infinite. While Infinite might not be out yet, this mod makes some massive changes that bring it in line with Infinite's E3 gameplay demo.
Unlike most overhaul mods, Reach Infinite does more than tweak existing sandbox elements. This mod introduces entirely new weapons—some of which have custom 3D models that are expertly made—alongside the ability to grab and throw Fusion Coils. Of course, this mod also makes some changes to the sandbox, most of which focus on injecting identity into Reach's weapon sandbox and Brutes. The mod only supports the New Alexandria campaign mission and Countdown multiplayer map currently, but there are plans to expand this in the future. If you're just as excited for Halo: Infinite as we are, you'll want to check this one out.
Download Link: Fall of Reach Infinite (By VigilantPhantom)
1 Halo 3 - Zombies
Supports: Halo 3
Mod author Crisp has made a brilliant adaptation of Treyarch's beloved Call of Duty Zombies mode for Halo 3. Named "Halo 3 - Zombies," this mod pits you and up to three other players against an infinite wave of Flood in Halo 3's Sierra 117 mission.
This mod has virtually everything that makes Call of Duty Zombies so much fun, including the likes of:
- A point system
- Enemy waves
- The mystery box
- Perks
- Buyable doors
- Wall weapons
- Powerups
- A downed and revive system
Even more shocking, CoD's Zombie mode plays exceptionally well with Halo's weapon and enemy sandbox. Mowing down waves of Flood with UNSC weapons in the dead of night is nothing short of exhilarating. You'll be hard-pressed to find an alternative to Firefight that's as much fun as this.
Download Link: Halo 3 - Zombies (By Crisp)