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Halo®: Combat Evolved: Sybex ™ Official Strategies & Secrets Doug Radcliffe

Chapter 5: Missions 1–3 Walkthrough

Copyright © 2003 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved. No part of this publication may be stored in a retrieval system, transmitted, or reproduced in any way, including but not limited to photocopy, photograph, magnetic or other record, without the prior agreement and written permission of the publisher. ISBN: 0-7821-4236-2 SYBEX and the SYBEX logo are either registered trademarks or trademarks of SYBEX Inc. in the USA and other countries. TRADEMARKS: Sybex has attempted throughout this book to distinguish proprietary trademarks from descriptive terms by following the capitalization style used by the manufacturer. Copyrights and trademarks of all products and services listed or described herein are property of their respective owners and companies. All rules and laws pertaining to said copyrights and trademarks are inferred. This document may contain images, text, trademarks, logos, and/or other material owned by third parties. All rights reserved. Such material may not be copied, distributed, transmitted, or stored without the express, prior, written consent of the owner. The author and publisher have made their best efforts to prepare this book, and the content is based upon final release software whenever possible. Portions of the manuscript may be based upon pre-release versions supplied by software manufacturers. The author and the publisher make no representation or warranties of any kind with regard to the completeness or accuracy of the contents herein and accept no liability of any kind including but not limited to performance, merchantability, fitness for any particular purpose, or any losses or damages of any kind caused or alleged to be caused directly or indirectly from this book. Sybex Inc. 1151 Marina Village Parkway Alameda, CA 94501 U.S.A. Phone: 510-523-8233 www.sybex.com

5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

We join the story just as the Pillar of Autumn has fled Reach with Covenant ships in pursuit; the ship is in slipstream for approximately 20 days until it reaches Halo—and a Covenant battle group. With Covenant boarding action commencing, surviving humans scramble for escape pods. Meanwhile, Master Chief is awakened from cryosleep and sent to the bridge to receive orders from Captain Keyes. This chapter contains walkthroughs for Halo’s first three campaign missions: The Pillar of Autumn, Halo, and Truth and Reconciliation. You’ll find a proven solution for paving your path through the level (on Legendary difficulty), tips for succeeding in specific combat engagements, strategies straight from veteran Halo players, and level-design notes from the Bungie Studios and Gearbox design teams.

Copyright © 2003 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved.

THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN The Pillar of Autumn is similar to a training mode. In the first part of the level, a technician walks Master Chief through a series of tests, which help demonstrate some important firstperson-shooter and Halo concepts. Over the course of the level you’ll learn other abilities, like the importance of melee attacks, stealth, and how to toss grenades. Listen carefully to the ship announcements while working with the technician. You’ll hear that Covenant boarding parties are making their way onto the Autumn.

Reveille Training is short-lived. Captain Keyes requests your presence on the bridge before any weapons training can occur. At the same moment, the cyrochamber control room is compromised. A Covenant boarding party enters the control room and quickly ends the life of the second technician. Follow the first technician out of the cryochamber.

Objective: Find Captain Keyes on the bridge. The first technician is about to meet an end similar to the second technician’s. Exit the cryochamber but don’t follow him to the right—he perishes in an explosion. These explosions hurt, so it’s important to move cautiously through the halls toward the bridge. Turn toward the passage labeled “maintenance” and jump over the obstruction. All doors marked with green lights are unlocked (those with red lights are locked). Continue moving slowly and enter the unlocked doors. Duck under the half-open doorway and stay clear of the blast doors to the far right—no need to sustain unnecessary damage. Go to the door marked “bridge.” As soon as it opens, back up—a Covenant Elite stands on the other side. Fortunately he’s engaged in battle with Marines: you lack a weapon and the ability to fight! Maneuver behind the Marines for protection (see Figure 5.1). One Marine offers escort to the bridge. Follow him to it and find Captain Keyes in the far side near the console.

FIGURE 5.1: The Marines are battling the Covenant intruders. But you lack a weapon, so keep moving!

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HALO STORY BIBLE: THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN Vessel Identification: UNSC Cruiser C709 Commanding Officer: Captain Jacob Keyes (as of 2552) Description: The UNSC Cruiser Pillar of Autumn is a Halcyon-class cruiser, pulled from long-term storage in 2550 to serve as an emergency support ship in the Zeta Doradus Theater of Operations. The only noteworthy design feature of the Pillar of Autumn is her internal superstructure. The structural system was designed by Doctor Robert McLees (cofounder of the Reyes-McLees Martian Orbital Shipyards). It was, at the time, deemed unnecessarily over-massed and costly due to a series of cross-bracings and interstitial honeycombs. The design was subsequently dropped from all further production models. The Pillar of Autumn and 10 other vessels were the only ships—out of 50—to be built with this type of superstructure.

AI Constructs and Cyborgs First! Along with orders and the ship’s artificial intelligence, Cortana, Captain Keyes hands Master Chief an unloaded pistol. It’s an invaluable weapon for completing this level. The pistol makes quick work of Covenant Grunts and unshielded Elites— especially if you score headshots. The Covenant plasma pistol’s overcharge mode disables Elite shields in a single volley. The plasma rifle is also effective at knocking out shields, though it lacks the overcharge mode. Be sure to equip the human pistol and one of the two Covenant plasma weapons.

GAMER TIP

In the first level there is a trick technique for getting three weapons at the start: Leave the captain before receiving the pistol and get two weapons from dead Grunts. Return to the captain to receive your third weapon, the human pistol. —tru7h

Objective: Get off the Pillar of Autumn. Exit the bridge. At the exit you’ll automatically pick up some pistol ammunition. Put in a fresh clip and approach the corner. Use the pistol to eliminate the three Grunts in the next room. Aim for the head! Move forward to the entrance to the Marine’s mess hall. You’ll grab an assault rifle upon entering the mess hall. Switch to the pistol. A group of Marines is in a hectic firefight against some Grunts and Elites on the mess hall’s far side. While moving toward the Covenant, kill the Grunts. Doing so triggers the opening of a door behind the Covenant troops—more Marine assistance! The Elites will turn around to face their new attackers. Once the Elites turn, run up behind them and use the melee attack to knock them out. 60

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Alternatively, remain near cover and assist the Marines by using your pistol to score headshots on the Elites. Once they’re dead, switch out the assault rifle for a plasma pistol, which you can find near one of the slain Grunts. More Covenant enter the mess hall to the right. Engage the Elites first, which will be occupied by the Marines’ fire. Use your newly acquired plasma pistol’s overcharge mode (hold the fire button) to launch a bolt capable of disabling an Elite’s shield in a single blow. Use any plasma grenades you found on the corpses from your previous victory. With the Elites dead, the Grunts are fodder and will run away in panic. Use the pistol to shoot at their heads.

GAMER TIP

On Legendary difficulty, the Grunts in The Pillar of Autumn throw plasma grenades. This significantly increases the difficulty of each battle. But it helps you as well. You can grab any discarded plasma grenades from Grunt corpses. Plus, it’s possible to kill a Grunt while a grenade is still in his hand. If you time it right, the Grunt will drop the grenade as he dies, and his comrades may not have a chance to escape the explosion! —Chad Armstrong

Exit the mess hall and round the corner to find an Elite—facing away from you— engaged with a couple of Marines. Take the opportunity to use the melee attack on the back of the Elite’s skull (see Figure 5.2). If he happens to turn around before the strike, circle around him with additional melee attacks. FIGURE 5.2: Smack this Elite with the butt of your weapon. One Marine exclaims, “Did something just hit us?” in response to a jarring crash nearby. A Covenant boarding party has docked with airlock #31 just around the corner. Toss a plasma grenade into the airlock entrance. If you don’t have any grenades, target the Elite first with a plasma pistol overcharge, then finish him off with the human pistol and clear the area of Grunts. Before leaving the area, go into airlock #31 and grab one of the two overshield power-ups. The overshield increases the capacity of Master Chief’s shield, which allows you to sustain a lot more damage.

The next two encounters provide opportunities to flank the Covenant forces. You’ll spot Marines battling the Covenant. In the first encounter, turn right instead of rendezvousing with the Marines; you’ll be able to attack the Elites from a different angle. In the second encounter, go forward. Regroup with the Marines after defeating the enemies.

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You’ll reach a second Covenant boarding party at airlock #32. Toss a plasma grenade at the airlock entrance. Just like before, there are two overshield power-ups in the airlock; snag one before you continue onward. Proceed through the corridors of the Autumn. Save the technicians under Covenant fire up ahead by shooting the enemies that come pouring through the door on the left.

GAMER TIP

After each major battle, it’s a good idea to take a lap around the room and switch out your plasma pistol for one with more battery life, grab any discarded grenades if you’re on Legendary difficulty, and scour the room for health packs. —Chris “DJ GeNiSiS” Gaffney

LEVEL-DESIGNER NOTES: THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN The Pillar of Autumn was one of the more challenging missions of the game to construct because it contained the game’s tutorial. Teaching new players all of the skills they needed without boring or frustrating them proved to be harder than I expected. After I finished the first version of the tutorial, we brought several people into our playtesting labs to give us feedback on it. It was a disaster. Everyone got completely lost. Nobody could figure out the controls. Several of the participants were killed before they could even find a weapon, or blew themselves up with grenades. Most of the participants ended up shooting the technician giving the tutorial in frustration. A couple even asked if they could stop playing and go home. So I went back to the drawing board. I kept the (few) things that worked and rebuilt the tutorial based on the things we had seen in the playtests. We gave the player a lot more control over the pacing of the tutorial to give him time to master a skill on his own. We built devices for him to interact with to keep him interested while he learned important controls. We also ended up trimming the tutorial to about half its original length and moved some of the controls into the rest of the mission. Since this was the first mission in the game, we packed lots of scripted moments into it. There are crewman getting thrown through closing blast doors by grenades, Marines pinned down behind makeshift barricades, Covenant boarding parties blowing in an airlock door, and lots of other dramatic moments. My favorite one happens when you “accidentally” kill Captain Keyes on the bridge. —Jaime Griesemer, Design Lead, Bungie Studios

The next room is one of the toughest on the level. When you enter, Cortana points out that Covenant reside on the landing above. Don’t attempt to battle the Covenant from below; it’s very difficult to fire an accurate shot from the lower level. Go up the stairs and use grenades and plasma pistol overcharges against the Elites. Marines are here to assist; work quickly while they’re still alive and distracting the Elites. Go up the left staircase. A blast door opens on the far right side, revealing more Covenant. Target the Elite from long-range with the plasma pistol, then switch to the human pistol to finish off the group with headshots. Pass through the right door and eliminate the Grunt stragglers in the following corridor. 62

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The next area features the first physical Covenant plasma shield—and Elites are adept at hiding behind them! Don’t waste your human pistol or assault rifle ammunition on the shield. Use a single plasma pistol overcharge to temporarily disable the shield, which exposes the Elite to your weapons fire (see Figure 5.3). Captain Keyes calls for all hands to abandon ship, but Cortana points out that the Covenant are destroying all of the lifepods. Follow the navigaFIGURE 5.3: Use your plasma pistol’s overcharge mode to disable the tion point to the maintenance plasma shield. tunnel. Once inside, switch on your flashlight. Take the first left and follow the tunnel to the exit door. Cortana warns of heavy Covenant presence outside the door. Move down the tunnel on the left and take the alternate exit. Bust the broken door with a melee attack. Move quietly around the corner to find a hapless Grunt with his back turned. Melee-attack the back of his skull and continue all the way to the end of the hallway. Turn left at the end and quickly bash the Elite when his back is turned (it won’t be for long). Use the plasma pistol on the remaining Elites in the area. Proceed through the control room that overlooks the cryochambers. Prepare an overcharge for the Elite at the far end of the hall, then switch to the human pistol to finish him off, as well as to take out the Grunts in the adjacent alcove. Enter the maintenance tunnel in the right room (beware of the Grunts inside) and exit to rendezvous with more Marines. As always on this level, target the Elites first! Continue around the corner to find more Covenant guarding the route to the remaining lifepods.

TIP

After regrouping with the Marines, go down the hall on the left and defeat the Grunts. Take the first right after the Grunts. Follow the hallway until you reach some debris blocking another hall on the left. Peer over the debris to find that you have a perfect shot on a group of Elites and Grunts. Duck behind the junk for cover during the battle.

As you near the lifepods, locate fragmentation grenades behind a barricade. Grab a pile and toss the grenades at the Covenant on the other side of the barricade. Upon eliminating this final Covenant group, you automatically enter the lifepod and eject from the Autumn. Next stop: Halo.

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HALO You start the mission with the assault rifle and human pistol. Exit the crashed lifepod and gather the fragmentation grenades and ammunition scattered around the Marine corpses. There’s also a health pack here, which you should save to use after your first battles on the level. Cortana provides your mission objectives not long after you’ve exited the lifepod.

Flawless Cowboy A bridge spans a chasm to the lifepod’s right (if you’re facing the lifepod). You have a couple options here. If you stay on the lifepod’s side of the chasm, Cortana will eventually discover a Covenant dropship en route. The dropship will land near the lifepod and deposit a handful of Grunts and a couple of Elites. If you elect to cross the bridge immediately, Cortana will discover the dropship as you cross, and it will still land near the lifepod. You can simply evade the enemies and continue advancing away from the lifepod.

HALO STORY BIBLE: HALO The name “Halo” is derived from Covenant battlefield transmissions, translated by Cortana. A more literal translation would be “Ring of Heaven” or “Ring of the Gods.” Halo orbits a large gas giant (Earth Survey Catalogue Number B1008-AG, nicknamed “Threshold”), suspended at the Lagrange point between the planet and its largest moon, Basis. The ring has a 24-degree axial tilt from the gas giant’s orbital plane, which means that any point on the surface receives sunlight for half of the time it is on the sunny side of Threshold, and for none of the time it is on the dark side. This gives the ring a somewhat unusual day–night cycle in which it is dark three-fourths of the time. There is, of course, no sunrise or sunset in the traditional sense.

Objectives: Evade Covenant patrols searching for you. Head for higher ground. Search for other lifeboats. If you do choose to battle the Covenant forces, use the pistol’s zoom function to eliminate the Grunts from long range. Fight the Elites near the bridge. If you toss a grenade at an Elite on the bridge, the Elite will actually dive off the bridge to avoid the blast. Grab a plasma pistol upon killing the group.

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GAMER TIP

When you spot a Covenant dropship landing, chuck one or two plasma grenades onto the hatch that the Covenant come out of. You’ll most likely take a few enemies out with no trouble. Also, never fire on a dropship; it’ll blast you with piping hot, heavily damaging plasma. —Trevor Scott

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Crossing the bridge triggers two Covenant Banshee flyers. The Banshees fly overhead and will swoop down and attack with their plasma cannons. Use the trees and rocks as cover against their attacks. When one Banshee is destroyed, the second flees the scene. Use the pistol at long range to target the Banshee. When the craft flies close or swoops down on its attack run, switch to the assault rifle if you still have it; otherwise stick with the pistol. If you’re suffering damage from the plasma cannons, immediately duck behind cover.

FIGURE 5.4: The Banshee can inflict significant damage in a short amount of time. Duck behind cover when it begins to fire.

After destroying a Banshee, continue up the left path cautiously. There’s a Covenant patrol group ahead. Use the human pistol to eliminate the Grunts from long range. Switch to your plasma pistol to eliminate the Elites’ shields. After the battle, swap out your plasma pistol for a fresh one and gather the dropped plasma grenades. Cortana picks up a lifeboat beacon over the next hill. Head over to encounter a battle in progress. A Covenant dropship lands as you approach. Aim for the nearest Elite with the plasma pistol’s overcharge mode while tossing a grenade at the tightly packed Grunt group. Cycle to the human pistol and eliminate the unshielded Elite. Pop all remaining Grunts with the pistol and battle the Elite that are left by using the nearby cover and surviving Marines for assistance.

Objectives: Stay with the survivors. Protect the human survivors. Wait for an evac dropship to arrive. You won’t have long to survey the battlefield. Use all three structures for cover against the Covenant attackers. Employ a plasma pistol–human pistol or plasma pistol–plasma rifle combo; the plasma weaponry is ideal for disabling Elite and Jackal shields, but the assault rifle is too inaccurate at long range.

TIP

There are three health packs in the area. Two are on top of the large alien structure (ascend the ramp from ground level to reach the upper platform) and the third lies near the lifeboat on the large structure’s western side. Save the packs until you’re near death (your health meter will be red). You’ll need the boost to survive the Covenant attack waves—especially on Legendary difficulty!

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Five Covenant attack waves arrive by dropship. The fourth and fifth waves arrive simultaneously. Using the assault rifle’s compass as a directional indicator (assuming north is the indicator that points forward), the attack waves arrive in order from the following directions: north, west, east, north, and east. The Elites are your biggest challenge in each attack wave. Try to reach the dropships as they deposit the Covenant forces. Stick the disembarking Elites with plasma grenades if possible. Use the plasma pistol’s overcharge bolt in combination with your secondary weapon against the Elites and the Jackals that hide behind their shields. Retreat to the cover of structures if necessary. Pick up new plasma weapons to keep your battery life high, and don’t forget the health packs. If possible, reserve one to use after you complete the five waves so you have full health going into the next mission objective. If you have trouble against the five waves, consider completing the task by simply hiding out. Go northwest from the downed lifepod into the cave area. You can hide from Covenant forces there. Of course, the Marines you’re ordered to save will be overrun by the Covenant, but you will be safe! After approximately 10 to 15 minutes, the evac ship will arrive anyhow, and your next objective will begin. If no Marines survive the attack waves, though, you’ll lack assistance in the Warthog’s passenger seat.

HALO STORY BIBLE: THE PELICAN DROPSHIP The standard method of deploying troops from orbit to ground is the D77-TC “Pelican” Troop Carrier. The Pelican has a capacity of three crew (pilot, copilot, and flight engineer) and 10 passengers in its rear bay (though it can accommodate five additional standing passengers in a crisis). It is equipped with electronic systems hardened against EMP; heavy armor; a 70 mm “chin gun” controlled by a gunner and an IHADSS (Integrated Helmet and Display Sight System—essentially wherever the gunner looks, the chin gun follows); rocket pods; jamming and detection gear; an onboard weapons locker (which can hold weapons and ammo for up to 30 troops); and computerized mapping gear.

Objectives: Search for the three additional groups of human survivors. Protect the human survivors. Wait for an evac dropship. After repelling the five Covenant attack waves, Pelican Echo from the Foe Hammer arrives and drops a Warthog jeep (see Figure 5.5). Replenish health and ammunition as needed, then board the Warthog as driver. Reequip your human pistol if applicable. Drive close to any surviving Marines, and one will climb into the passenger seat. Descend into the valley northwest of the lifepod; it leads to a cavern opening. Follow the winding cavern path. Just after you go up the ramp, get good speed to make a small leap. When you round the next series of corners, the tight corridor opens into a large chamber. A careful eye can spot Covenant forces in the distance.

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Upon entering the opening to the large chamber, stop the jeep and pick off as many Covenant as possible from long range with your human pistol (using the zoom function). Inch the jeep closer and closer (turn so the passenger faces into the chamber) and allow the gunner to shoot the Grunts, Jackals, and Elites with the Warthog’s chain gun. The other Marine passenger will use his own weapon to blast away at available targets. Although it’s possible to run over enemy units in the Warthog, getting close enough to do so will make you a target for plasma grenades.

FIGURE 5.5: It’s time to search for three more groups of human survivors—and you’ll have a Warthog to help in the search.

The light bridge ahead is down. Hop out of the jeep and ascend the ramp right from the bridge. Three Elites patrol the tight hallway at the top of the ramp. Toss grenades around the corner to weaken or kill them, then finish them off with a combination of plasma and pistol ammunition. Use the console at the end of the catwalk to reactivate the light bridge. Return to the Warthog, drive over the bridge, and follow the corridor to the exit.

Reunion Tour Upon exiting the cavern, pick out the stream on the left side of the path. Cross the stream and locate a downed lifepod on the left side of the area. Hop out of the Warthog and grab the ammunition scattered around the lifepod. You’ll also find a health pack (save it for later if you aren’t near death) and a new weapon: the sniper rifle (see Figure 5.6). Switch out the human pistol for the new toy, then get back into the Warthog.

FIGURE 5.6: Locate this downed lifepod near the stream. You’ll find a health pack, ammunition, and the coveted sniper rifle nearby.

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There are three groups of human survivors nearby. You can visit them in any order. Blue beacons mark the paths into each area. If you fail to save the survivors; the mission can still conclude successfully, but you’re likely to lose out on Marine assistance in your Warthog. I suggest heading for Marines with sniper rifles (they’re at two of the three locations) because they can be extremely helpful as Warthog passengers.

TIP

Each of the three human-survivor areas includes a downed lifepod that contains grenades, ammunition, and a health pack.

For the first area, drive across the stream and go south from the lifepod. As the stream bends left, you’ll cross it and locate the entrance toward the Marine group. It’s a rockslide; the Marines (one using a sniper rifle) are hiding out in the rocks as Covenant forces search for them. Drive the Warthog around the perimeter and allow the gunner to eliminate as many Covenant units as possible.

LEVEL-DESIGNER NOTES: HALO To me, the mission Halo epitomizes all the things that make the game unique. It starts out with the Master Chief alone against a dropship full of Covenant and two Banshees, completely outnumbered, but tough enough to take them all on. It presents the essential mystery of the game—“What is Halo?”—in an environment that requires lots of exploration and discovery. One look at the green valleys stretching out in front of you and you get a sense for the freedom and wonder that characterizes the entire game. It also has most of the gameplay mechanics that make Halo special. It has the Marines, so you get the experience of having effective allies that kick ass and talk like real people. It has the sniper rifle, which is the most satisfying weapon in the game. And it has the Warthog, the vehicle that has been Halo’s signature element since it first debuted at Macworld. It has all these things in the green, lush environments people most associate with the game. I remember playing this mission well after midnight once, trying to get ready to show it playable for the first time at E3. We weren’t sure how well the game was going to be received, especially since this was just after we switched to the Xbox platform. I was driving between lifeboats on the back half of the mission when the Marine gunner in my Warthog shouted, “There’s one!” and lit up a Banshee that was swooping in for an attack run. I cranked the Warthog hard to avoid the Banshee’s weaponry (they packed a lot more punch back then) and my gunner really laid into the Banshee as it flew overhead. It tried to pull out of its dive, but instead it exploded in a ball of flame and crashed into the wall of the canyon, landing right in front of me with a satisfying crunch. My Marine shouted something like, “Yeah, suck it down!” and right then I knew that things were going to go great at E3. —Jaime Griesemer, Design Lead, Bungie Studios

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You won’t be able to get the Warthog into the narrow path between some of the rocks. Hop out of the Warthog and locate the remaining Covenant troops on foot. When you run out of sniper ammunition, trade the sniper rifle for a secondary plasma weapon. Four Covenant dropships land. You must clear the area of enemy forces before the evac ship can touch down. Utilize the Warthog’s chain gun (either you or a Marine gunner can fire it) to aid in the destruction of the enemy forces. Once the evac ship is called in, the area will be clear. It’s very beneficial if the Marine wielding the sniper rifle escapes the battle alive. You can get him into the Warthog by making the current passenger exit (press the E key while you’re against the passenger seat) and drive the Warthog near the Marine with the sniper rifle.

TIP

After you (hopefully) rescue the first set of human survivors and return to the central hub, two Banshee flyers attack from overhead. Give your gunner a clear line of fire so he can make quick work of the aerial attackers. If you lack a gunner, hop out of the driver’s seat, assume control of the gun, and take care of business yourself!

Follow the stream north and drive through the beacons on the right. You’ll find Covenant surrounding a large structure; the Marine survivors (including one using the sniper rifle) are on a hill on the right side of the area. The Warthog’s gunner is your best ally for the upcoming battles. Keep the Warthog in motion and give your gunner a clear line of fire against the Covenant forces. Drive up the hill on the right side to find the Marines. Position the Warthog near the hill edge so the gunner can fire on incoming attackers. Use your sniper rifle, and target Elites first and foremost. Toss a liberal dose of grenades and replenish your supply with that of your slain enemies. A single Covenant dropship will land with additional attackers. Maintain your position at the hilltop and use your sniper rifle from the elevated position. You can also take control of the Warthog’s gun if necessary. Search the interior of the small structure to locate the human survivors. A few straggler Grunts will be lurking about. Clear the area of enemies and wait for the evac ship to arrive, which triggers the level’s final objective.

Objective: Search for the last group of human survivors. The last beacon-marked entrance is on the same side as the downed lifepod (where you found the sniper rifle). Marines are holed up in the smaller structure as Covenant forces patrol the perimeter. There are many Elites, Jackals, and Grunts running around. If you’re very patient you can clear the entire area with the Warthog’s chain gun (see Figure 5.7). Or you can take a more direct route: drive into the area and sweep it, allowing your gunner and passenger to take open shots at the enemy forces.

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The mission ends once you’ve cleared all three areas of Covenant forces and the evac ships have been called. A Pelican dropship descends into the last area. Move to the ship’s rear and use the E key to board it and end the mission.

FIGURE 5.7: The Warthog’s gunner is your best ally against the Covenant forces. Don’t hesitate to take control of the gun yourself if necessary.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION Orders are to clear the path ahead of your fellow Marines by using your sniper rifle— equipped with 64 total shots instead of the normal maximum of 24. Using the sniper rifle effectively is especially key on this level, particularly on Legendary difficulty.

Objective: Board the Covenant battle cruiser.

GAMER TIP

Here are some sniping tips for this level on Legendary difficulty. Stay in 2u zoom mode when you’re looking for a target. Zoom in to 8u mode when you know exactly where a target is going to be. Once you’re discovered by Covenant forces, go find another spot to shoot from. The Covenant will soon settle back down and start wandering if they don’t see you. Purple Elites will always take at least two shots to kill: one for the shields and one through the head. If they’ve turned away from you, they’re less likely to dodge the second shot. —Asmodeus

Move forward to a path. Cortana suggests remaining on high ground to pick off the Covenant in the valley to the left. Target the Grunts manning the shade turrets, then the Elites. Wait for enemies to come within view, and use the sniper rifle to target them. If the area is clear, advance slowly until additional enemies arrive. Be patient and retreat if necessary to remain at long range with the sniper rifle. Cortana will mark a Grunt with a navigational indicator—eliminate the Grunt when it attempts to reach a shade turret!

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With the area clear, scour the corpses for plasma grenades and switch out your assault rifle for a plasma pistol or plasma rifle to use in a pinch (much more useful against the Elites here than the assault rifle is). Continue forward cautiously and eliminate the Grunt and Jackal patrols ahead. Additional Covenant reinforcements arrive, and you can terminate them with the sniper rifle. If they detect you, retreat and resume sniping. Locate the health pack ahead; also nearby are a couple of boxes of sniper ammunition. Each box contains 16 rounds—don’t pick up a box unless you’ve already exhausted 16 rounds. You can return here during the first part of this mission and grab either box or both boxes when you need them. There are many Grunts in the next area. Target the Elites first with your sniper rifle and eliminate them. You can then either continue to use the sniper rifle against the Grunts or use your plasma weapon to finish off the cannon fodder. Switch out your plasma weapon for a fresh one from the nearest Covenant corpse. Cortana will point out ahead that you can go around to the left and possibly sneak up on the Covenant in the next area. The area is heavily occupied and contains several shade turrets. As you go left, spot the bridge to the right and take out the patrolling Jackal. Aim at the Grunts manning the shades and nail them with the sniper rifle. Continue around to the left and line up your crosshairs with the nearest Elite. If you’re spotted, retreat or switch to your plasma weapon; using the sniper rifle

GAMER TIP

Deprive Grunts of the ability to take control of a shade turret by knocking it over with a grenade! The Grunts won’t be able to get the turret back upright. If you want to use it yourself, just press the E key to get it back in position. —Simpsons Rule and TH-555

GAMER TIP

Use the landscape to your advantage when sniping the Covenant from long range. For instance, when Cortana says, “Covenant forces detected up ahead, the path on the left should let us sneak up around them,” look for the rocks scattered ahead. You can jump on top of the rocks, take out your sniper rifle, go maximum zoom, and blast away. —Ryders Raptors

FIGURE 5.8: Snipe Grunts out of the shade turrets so you can take control. The shade’s plasma cannons inflict high damage to Elite shields.

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from the hip is also an option, as is tossing grenades. Since the path is quite narrow you’re likely to damage or kill your intended target. A Covenant dropship deposits reinforcements. Snipe them as they exit the dropship or, if you’ve cleared most of the other forces, man a shade turret and blast them (see Figure 5.8). If you have trouble in this area, you can grab an active camouflage on the left side behind some trees. The power-up, which turns you virtually undetectable for approximately 50 seconds, will help clear the area—bash Elites in the backs of their heads with melee attacks. GAMER TIP Note that you shouldn’t fire your weapon or Covenant forces can detect you; but Instead of heading directly through the narrow path to the well, you can throw grenades! Alternatively, move above the path using the high rocks and the you could save the power-up for the battle bridge. You’ll trigger a group of Elites and Grunts, around the gravity well. Locate the path toward the gravity well underneath the and can attack them from above using rock bridge and away from the area’s grenades. If you just rush into the narrow entrance. path on ground level, you’ll have to deal Covenant forces heavily defend the perimeter of the gravity well. Additionally, there are five shade turrets in the area, so be sure to snipe the Grunts controlling them if you maneuver into their line of fire. Remain patient and cautious. Advance slowly and stay at long range to take out the Elites and Grunts that man turrets. Grunts on foot can be left for your plasma weapon if necessary. Retreat to the area’s entrance should you need to regroup.

with the Elites face-to-face—a much tougher battle. —Asmodeus

GAMER TIP

The gravity well on Legendary difficulty is one of the hardest battles in the game. Snag the camo from the previous area then hurry toward the gravity well. Bash every Covenant in the back of the head before the power-up runs out. Don’t shoot (though you can throw grenades), or the Covenant will see you. If you still have Marine help, hop in a shade and fire at everything that drops from the ship overhead. If you lose Marine support, return to the narrow path that you entered from. The Covenant stay near the gravity well, so you’re safe to snipe from this position. —Jerry Brandon

The Covenant send reinforcements from a dropship as well as directly from the Truth and Reconciliation via the gravity well. Use either the sniper rifle or a shade turret to blast the reinforcements with their own weaponry. Locate a couple of Marine corpses adjacent to the gravity well; you’ll find a health pack here as well as more sniper ammunition. Save them, if possible, for the battle’s conclusion so you’re refreshed and reloaded upon entering the Covenant battle cruiser.

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5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH Copyright © 2003 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved.

HALO STORY BIBLE: COVENANT DROPSHIP AND BATTLE CRUISER Covenant dropships are angular, horseshoe-shaped craft with personnel bays along the exterior of each “leg.” Between the extended personnel bays, an energy field fluctuates visibly as it generates the ship’s antigravity propulsion (similar in appearance to the energy pulse of the “gravity lift” elevators the Covenant use to commute between the ground and hovering ships). In addition to the pilot, the ship is crewed by a single gunner for the underslung bubble-shaped plasma-gun turret—similar to the shade but with a higher rate of fire. Each troop bay can hold four fully equipped Covenant warriors, who deploy when the long panel doors on the bays swing downward as the ship approaches the ground. Covenant battleships are long, vaguely manta-shaped spacecraft capable of launching dozens of fighters. They are typically armed with several dozen energy weapons. Covenant capital ships come in varying classes and sizes, though military observers note that there is a great deal of variance—weaponry, length, estimated tonnage, fighter complements, speed, and so on—within a particular class.

Two Hunters drop onto the gravity well. This is the last battle before you can enter the Truth and Reconciliation. Hop out of a shade turret if you’re inside one, and use the sniper rifle to eliminate the Hunters from long-range, or get in close and shoot their orange skin. The best opportunity will likely come when the Hunter is occupied while crushing one of your fellow Marines. Before standing on the gravity well, gather ammunition and grenades, replenish your health if necessary, and obtain a plasma rifle with ample battery life.

Into the Belly of the Beast You’ve entered the Covenant battle cruiser Truth and Reconciliation. You’re locked in a hangar bay and about to face one of the toughest battles in the game.

Objective: Find the ship’s brig and rescue Captain Keyes. Survey your surroundings. Crates provide a lot of cover in the room. There’s also an active camo and a health pack in a corner. Save them for when you really need them. Continually watch the doors. They flicker when they’re about to open, and enemies will rush into the hangar. The first to arrive is a silver Elite; he’s camouflaged and barely visible apart from his devastating plasma sword. Hit him with plasma quickly. Once you do, he’ll be visible and your fellow Marines can open fire.

GAMER TIP

Watch your motion detector carefully when you’re around doors inside the Covenant ship. It will detect enemy movement on the other side. Just as the door starts to open, toss a grenade. —Mike

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As doors flicker, hurl a grenade to damage the incoming foes. Beware of gold Elites. Defeat the Elites before engaging the lowly Grunts or Jackals. Grab the active camo when you need it, and don’t shoot or the enemies will be able to hone in on your position and counterattack. Only throw grenades and use melee attacks, preferably from behind. Hunters enter the room last. Move behind them and fire the sniper rifle on their exposed orange skin. Exit the hangar through the exposed passage. The door is locked; the Marines remain there while you search for a way to open the door. Return to the bay and enter one of the two unlocked doors—both lead to the same place. You will battle many Covenant troops throughout the ship’s corridors. Plasma grenades prove effective; the Covenant have little room to escape the blasts. Don’t forget to restock after each victory. Continue right to enter a large room on the other side of the locked door. Use your elevated position to eliminate the enemies inside. If you exhaust a plasma weapon, just pick up another from a dead enemy. Note that Cortana marks the locked door with a navigational indicator (see Figure 5.9). Upon clearing the room, drop to the level below and use the controls to open the bay doors. Search the chamber for a health pack and sniper ammunition.

FIGURE 5.9: Clear the room then unlock the doors marked by Cortana’s navigational indicator.

LEVEL-DESIGNER NOTES: TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION The first exterior encounter for Truth and Reconciliation was the first I built when I joined the Halo team. It’s also the encounter I rebuilt the most as new features came online! My process for laying out encounters is to get all the basic functionality working, playtest for a week or two, then go back through and add all of the detail-oriented scripts. Basic functionality includes things like laying out how the player will navigate the environment, cover locations, proper firing point placement, character numbers, spawn points, and save points. Once I finished the basics I would play the encounter for a few weeks to perfect it while at the same time getting ideas for the details that will make each specific encounter unique.

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5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH Copyright © 2003 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved.

Some of the things I would do during the finishing pass would include difficulty-specific touches (additional waves of enemies, random turret placements, and switching out some of the basic enemies for more difficult ones), adding more cinematic elements (dropship recordings), and navigation markers. Some of my favorite moments from the exterior section are the Marines running around with their flashlights on (Bernie [Freidin] came up with that and I added it a couple days before we locked everything down), the music that kicks in when you kill the first enemy of the second encounter, sniping the Elite on the ledge at the beginning of the third encounter (what are you supposed to do when he sticks his neck out like that?), and taking on the final exterior encounter like an action hero. One of the only things I would change about all the exterior encounters is the introduction of the Hunters. I always felt it should have been more cinematic while others didn’t want to take control away from the player since there would be a long cutscene right after you did away with them. Note that the third exterior encounter was empty until a week before we locked this mission down! Ah…the good old gravity-well room. I make no excuses for the difficulty of this room. This was always intended to be one of the harder encounters in Halo, but Mat Segur’s recommendation to throw in some gold sword Elites made it truly legendary. This was also one of the harder spaces to spawn enemies in since the player spends a lot of time in a small area and can get into the hallways where the Covenant spawn. Trigger volumes and random spawn placement keep the Covenant pouring into the room regardless of the player’s location. Each increase in difficulty level adds three waves to the encounter. Getting through on Legendary isn’t so much of a challenge—but getting through on Legendary with all the Marines alive tends to be much more difficult. The hangar bay proved to be an interesting challenge. It’s a big open space with tons of geometry (read: slowdown) that provides very little cover for the player. Good thing for Master Chief that the Covenant put everything they own in space crates (and they bring these crates with them everywhere they go). This is another encounter that went through many revisions before I felt it was right. I’m more or less still happy with it, although if I was to do it again, I wouldn’t push the player back to the entrance as often as I do. By far the hardest and most time-consuming portion of this mission was getting Captain Keyes and the Marines to follow Master Chief back to the hangar. I asked for a script command to do this but was told we wouldn’t have time and I should do it all through trigger volumes and squad migration, which proved to be a horrendous waste of time and energy. I lost almost a month’s worth of work attempting this (hitting script buffer overflow limits, cluster activation problems and the big kicker, getting them to follow you through a BSP swap). Once I finally proved that it was insane to make the AI follow the player using this technique, Chris Butcher wrote the AI follow command and I rescripted the whole portion in a day and a half. Because of this loss of time, I had to turn over scripting of the Flood to Jaime [Griesemer]. Captain Keyes used to carry a plasma rifle, but when you were looking at the captain and Marines in the dark hallway, you couldn’t tell which one was the captain. I ended up giving him the needler. Initially he would shoot two or three needles at a time, which wasn’t very exciting, so I turned up his firing rate and he became the ultimate badass with the needler. Although Keyes tends to be a little overzealous sometimes and fill Master Chief full of needles, or worse, he’ll fill an Elite full of needles then run towards it and end up dying in the explosion. —Paul Bertone, Level-Design Lead, Bungie Studios

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Go through the door marked with the new navigational indicator. Once inside, go left and continue descending into the Covenant ship. Follow the unlocked doors to the bottom floor of the Covenant’s three-floor dropship bay. The area is crawling with enemies. Don’t be conservative with your sniper rifle, even if you don’t have opportunities to use the zoom—just shoot from the hip. The shuttle bay holds eight boxes of sniper ammunition. Find a health pack in the same area as the entrance and an overshield on the far opposite side. Take cover behind crates if you need to wait for your shield to recharge. Hunters are the last enemies to enter the dropship bay. Defeat them as you have previously, with the sniper rifle and a shot to the back.

GAMER TIP

When you first enter the dropship bay, look up at the elevated center section. There’s a patrolling Elite up there. Use the sniper rifle to kill him before maneuvering too far into the shuttle bay. This Elite is very hard to kill during active combat and will wear you and your Marines out. —ZackaryW100

Cortana finally unlocks the door, which is marked with a navigational indicator. Head through the corridors and battle additional enemies; use plasma grenades and your sniper rifle. You can return to the dropship bay if you need more ammunition. Enter through the unlocked door into the dropship bay’s second floor. The Covenant surround you up here. Stay and fight or drop back to the bay’s first floor and return to the second level so you aren’t flanked. Cross the hangar to the far side and continue to the third and highest level. Battle the Covenant, which enter from both sides of the walkway, and continue to the far side and the only available new pathway. You’ll reach a three-way intersection. Go left and grab the health pack and more sniper ammunition near the human corpses. Continue forward at the intersection to enter a Covenant control room where a gold Elite—complete with plasma sword—patrols the upper platform. Eliminate the gold Elite with a combination of plasma and sniper ammunition. Dispatch all of the Grunts inside the room and follow the navigational indicator through the far door. Go left at the next intersection. You’ll reach a second intersection with a lit doorway on the left. It’s the first of two prison cells. Use the control console on the far side to open

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FIGURE 5.10: With active camouflage, you can sneak up behind this tough Elite commander and kill him with a single melee attack to the back of the head.

5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH Copyright © 2003 SYBEX Inc., 1151 Marina Village Parkway, Alameda, CA 94501. World rights reserved.

the prison doors. Snag the health pack from inside one of the cells if you need it. Return to the console and grab the camouflage power-up behind the platform. Time to work quickly! Exit and go straight across to the far room. Ignore the Jackal patrol and turn right into another set of holding cells. You’ll spot a pair of sleeping Grunts, two silver stealth Elites, and one gold commander with a plasma sword near the prison-door controls. With active camo, walk behind the gold Elite and melee-attack him (see Figure 5.10). Do the same to the two silver Elites and finally the Grunts. If the camo runs out, use a combo of plasma and sniper weaponry to eliminate the remaining enemies.

Shut Up and Get Behind Me… Sir Use the console to open the prison doors and free Captain Keyes. Now you must escort him safely to an extraction point—Keyes must survive! The captain is armed with a needler, and the other freed Marines carry plasma rifles.

Objective: Return to the shuttle bay for extraction. Two silver Elites barge into the room. Light them up with your plasma rifle or use the sniper rifle. Make your way back to the Covenant control room that contained a gold commander Elite. It now houses two stealth (silver) Elites. Snipe them from long range and quickly switch to your plasma rifle to finish them off with the aid of your fellow Marines. You’ll have to find your own ride off this ship, as the Foe Hammer won’t be able to mount a rescue attempt. Follow the navigational indicator back to the Covenant dropship bay. Don’t rush and get Keyes killed. Move forward cautiously and handle the enemies before they get too close. You’ll reach the dropship bay’s third floor. Use the first console on the right to release the dropship clamps, which ends the level successfully.

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