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

SYBEX Sample Chapter
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 bat-
tle group. With Covenant boarding action com-
mencing, 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 difficul-
ty), 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 first-
person-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 techni-
cian. 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 cry-
ochamber 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 pas-
sage 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 bat-
tle 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
FIGURE 5.1: The Marines are battling the Covenant intruders. But you
bridge. Follow him to it and find lack a weapon, so keep moving!
Captain Keyes in the far side
near the console.
THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN 59

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 GAMER TIP
invaluable weapon for completing this
level. The pistol makes quick work of In the first level there is a trick technique for getting
Covenant Grunts and unshielded Elites— three weapons at the start: Leave the captain
especially if you score headshots. The before receiving the pistol and get two
Covenant plasma pistol’s overcharge mode weapons from dead Grunts. Return to the
disables Elite shields in a single volley. The captain to receive your third weapon, the
plasma rifle is also effective at knocking human pistol. —tru7h
out shields, though it lacks the overcharge
mode. Be sure to equip the human pistol
and one of the two Covenant plasma
weapons.
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 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH
Alternatively, remain near cover and assist GAMER TIP
the Marines by using your pistol to score
headshots on the Elites. Once they’re dead, On Legendary difficulty, the Grunts in The Pillar of Autumn
switch out the assault rifle for a plasma throw plasma grenades. This significantly increases the difficul-
pistol, which you can find near one of the ty of each battle. But it helps you as well. You can grab any dis-
slain Grunts.
carded plasma grenades from Grunt corpses. Plus, it’s
More Covenant enter the mess hall to possible to kill a Grunt while a grenade is still in
the right. Engage the Elites first, which his hand. If you time it right, the Grunt will
will be occupied by the Marines’ fire. Use drop the grenade as he dies, and his com-
your newly acquired plasma pistol’s over- rades may not have a chance to escape
charge mode (hold the fire button) to the explosion! —Chad Armstrong
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 pis-
tol to shoot at their heads.
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 addition-
al melee attacks.
One Marine exclaims, “Did FIGURE 5.2: Smack this Elite with the butt of your weapon.
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.

You’ll reach a second Covenant board- GAMER TIP
ing party at airlock #32. Toss a plasma
grenade at the airlock entrance. Just like After each major battle, it’s a good idea to take a lap
before, there are two overshield power-ups around the room and switch out your plasma pis-
in the airlock; snag one before you contin- tol for one with more battery life, grab any
ue onward. Proceed through the corridors
discarded grenades if you’re on
of the Autumn. Save the technicians under
Legendary difficulty, and scour the room
Covenant fire up ahead by shooting the
for health packs. —Chris “DJ GeNiSiS”
enemies that come pouring through the
Gaffney
door on the left.
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 partici-
pants 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 fin-
ish off the group with headshots. Pass through the right door and eliminate the Grunt stragglers
in the following corridor.
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 over-
charge 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 naviga-
tion point to the maintenance FIGURE 5.3: Use your plasma pistol’s overcharge mode to disable the
tunnel. Once inside, switch on plasma shield.
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 TIP
overlooks the cryochambers. Prepare an
overcharge for the Elite at the far end of After regrouping with the Marines, go down the hall on the left
the hall, then switch to the human pistol and defeat the Grunts. Take the first right after the
to finish him off, as well as to take out Grunts. Follow the hallway until you reach some
the Grunts in the adjacent alcove. Enter debris blocking another hall on the left. Peer
the maintenance tunnel in the right room over the debris to find that you have a
(beware of the Grunts inside) and exit to perfect shot on a group of Elites and
rendezvous with more Marines. As always Grunts. Duck behind the junk for cover
on this level, target the Elites first! during the battle.
Continue around the corner to find more
Covenant guarding the route to the
remaining lifepods.
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.

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 pro-
vides 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 ene-
mies 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, nick-
named “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 some-
what unusual day–night cycle in which it is dark three-fourths of
the time. There is, of course, no sunrise or sunset in the tradi-
tional 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 GAMER TIP
eliminate the Grunts from long range.
Fight the Elites near the bridge. If you When you spot a Covenant dropship landing, chuck
toss a grenade at an Elite on the bridge, one or two plasma grenades onto the hatch that
the Elite will actually dive off the bridge the Covenant come out of. You’ll most likely
to avoid the blast. Grab a plasma pistol take a few enemies out with no trouble.
upon killing the group. Also, never fire on a dropship; it’ll blast
you with piping hot, heavily damaging
plasma. —Trevor Scott
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 suffer-
ing damage from the plasma
cannons, immediately duck FIGURE 5.4: The Banshee can inflict significant damage in a short
behind cover. 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 plas-
ma 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 pis-
tol’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 battle- TIP
field. Use all three structures for cover
against the Covenant attackers. Employ There are three health packs in the area. Two are on top of the
a plasma pistol–human pistol or plasma large alien structure (ascend the ramp from ground level to
pistol–plasma rifle combo; the plasma reach the upper platform) and the third lies near the lifeboat on
weaponry is ideal for disabling Elite and
the large structure’s western side. Save the packs
Jackal shields, but the assault rifle is too
until you’re near death (your health meter will
inaccurate at long range.
be red). You’ll need the boost to survive
the Covenant attack waves—especially on
Legendary difficulty!
HALO 65
Five Covenant attack waves arrive by dropship. The fourth and fifth waves arrive simultane-
ously. 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 assis-
tance 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 elec-
tronic 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.
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 FIGURE 5.5: It’s time to search for three more groups of human sur-
to do so will make you a target vivors—and you’ll have a Warthog to help in the search.
for plasma grenades.
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.
HALO 67
There are three groups of human sur-
TIP
vivors nearby. You can visit them in any
order. Blue beacons mark the paths into
Each of the three human-survivor areas includes a
each area. If you fail to save the survivors;
downed lifepod that contains grenades, ammuni-
the mission can still conclude successfully,
tion, and a health pack.
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.
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 discov-
ery. One look at the green valleys stretching out in front of you and you get a sense for the freedom and wonder that char-
acterizes 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 plat-
form. 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
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 drop-
ships 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 wield-
ing the sniper rifle escapes the battle TIP
alive. You can get him into the Warthog by

making the current passenger exit (press After you (hopefully) rescue the first set of human
the E key while you’re against the passen- survivors and return to the central hub, two
ger seat) and drive the Warthog near the Banshee flyers attack from overhead. Give your
Marine with the sniper rifle. gunner a clear line of fire so he can make
quick work of the aerial attackers. If you
Follow the stream north and drive
lack a gunner, hop out of the driver’s
through the beacons on the right. You’ll
seat, assume control of the gun, and
find Covenant surrounding a large struc-
take care of business yourself!
ture; 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 ele-
vated 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.
HALO 69
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— GAMER TIP
equipped with 64 total shots instead of
the normal maximum of 24. Using the Here are some sniping tips for this level on Legendary difficulty.
sniper rifle effectively is especially key on Stay in 2u zoom mode when you’re looking for a target. Zoom
this level, particularly on Legendary diffi- in to 8u mode when you know exactly where a target is going
culty. to be. Once you’re discovered by Covenant forces, go find anoth-
er spot to shoot from. The Covenant will soon settle back down
Objective: Board the Covenant battle and start wandering if they don’t see you. Purple
cruiser. Elites will always take at least two shots to kill:
Move forward to a path. Cortana sug- one for the shields and one through the
gests remaining on high ground to pick off head. If they’ve turned away from you,
the Covenant in the valley to the left. they’re less likely to dodge the second
Target the Grunts manning the shade tur- shot. —Asmodeus
rets, 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!
With the area clear, scour the corpses
GAMER TIP
for plasma grenades and switch out your
assault rifle for a plasma pistol or plasma
Deprive Grunts of the ability to take control of a
rifle to use in a pinch (much more useful
shade turret by knocking it over with a grenade!
against the Elites here than the assault
The Grunts won’t be able to get the turret
rifle is). Continue forward cautiously and
back upright. If you want to use it your-
eliminate the Grunt and Jackal patrols
self, just press the E key to get it back in
ahead. Additional Covenant reinforcements
arrive, and you can terminate them with position. —Simpsons Rule and TH-555
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 GAMER TIP
rounds—don’t pick up a box unless you’ve

already exhausted 16 rounds. You can Use the landscape to your advantage when sniping the
return here during the first part of this Covenant from long range. For instance, when
mission and grab either box or both boxes Cortana says, “Covenant forces detected up
when you need them. ahead, the path on the left should let us
sneak up around them,” look for the rocks
There are many Grunts in the next
scattered ahead. You can jump on top of
area. Target the Elites first with your
the rocks, take out your sniper rifle, go
sniper rifle and eliminate them. You can
then either continue to use the sniper rifle maximum zoom, and blast away. —Ryders
against the Grunts or use your plasma Raptors
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 tur-
rets. 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 FIGURE 5.8: Snipe Grunts out of the shade turrets so you can
take control. The shade’s plasma cannons inflict high damage to
weapon; using the sniper rifle Elite shields.
TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION 71

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.
Note that you shouldn’t fire your weapon GAMER TIP
or Covenant forces can detect you; but
you can throw grenades! Alternatively, Instead of heading directly through the narrow path to the well,
you could save the power-up for the battle move above the path using the high rocks and the
around the gravity well. Locate the path bridge. You’ll trigger a group of Elites and Grunts,
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 with the Elites face-to-face—a much
perimeter of the gravity well. Additionally, tougher battle. —Asmodeus
there are five shade turrets in the area, so
be sure to snipe the Grunts controlling
them if you maneuver into their line of
GAMER TIP
fire. Remain patient and cautious. Advance
slowly and stay at long range to take out
The gravity well on Legendary difficulty is one of the hardest
the Elites and Grunts that man turrets.
battles in the game. Snag the camo from the previous area then
Grunts on foot can be left for your plasma
hurry toward the gravity well. Bash every Covenant in the back
weapon if necessary. Retreat to the area’s
of the head before the power-up runs out. Don’t shoot (though
entrance should you need to regroup.
you can throw grenades), or the Covenant will see you. If you
The Covenant send reinforcements still have Marine help, hop in a shade and fire at
from a dropship as well as directly from everything that drops from the ship overhead. If
the Truth and Reconciliation via the gravi- you lose Marine support, return to the narrow
ty well. Use either the sniper rifle or a
path that you entered from. The Covenant
shade turret to blast the reinforcements
stay near the gravity well, so you’re safe
with their own weaponry. Locate a couple
to snipe from this position.
of Marine corpses adjacent to the gravity
—Jerry Brandon
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.
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 hover-
ing 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. GAMER TIP
Save them for when you really need them.

Continually watch the doors. They flicker Watch your motion detector carefully when you’re
when they’re about to open, and enemies around doors inside the Covenant ship. It will
will rush into the hangar. The first to detect enemy movement on the other side.
arrive is a silver Elite; he’s camouflaged Just as the door starts to open, toss a
and barely visible apart from his devastat- grenade. —Mike
ing plasma sword. Hit him with plasma
quickly. Once you do, he’ll be visible and
your fellow Marines can open fire.

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 elevat-
ed 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 FIGURE 5.9: Clear the room then unlock the doors marked by
the chamber for a health pack Cortana’s navigational indicator.
and sniper ammunition.
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 func-
tionality 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 envi-
ronment, 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.
Some of the things I would do during the finishing pass would include difficulty-specific touches (additional waves of ene-
mies, random turret placements, and switching out some of the basic enemies for more difficult ones), adding more cine-
matic 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 revi-
sions 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

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 GAMER TIP
to use the zoom—just shoot from the hip.
The shuttle bay holds eight boxes of When you first enter the dropship bay, look up at the
sniper ammunition. Find a health pack in elevated center section. There’s a patrolling Elite
the same area as the entrance and an up there. Use the sniper rifle to kill him
overshield on the far opposite side. Take
before maneuvering too far into the shut-
cover behind crates if you need to wait for
tle bay. This Elite is very hard to kill dur-
your shield to recharge. Hunters are the
ing active combat and will wear you and
last enemies to enter the dropship bay.
your Marines out. —ZackaryW100
Defeat them as you have previously, with
the sniper rifle and a shot to the back.
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 plat-
form. Eliminate the gold Elite
with a combination of plasma
and sniper ammunition.
Dispatch all of the Grunts inside
the room and follow the naviga-
tional indicator through the
far door.
Go left at the next intersec-
tion. You’ll reach a second inter-
section with a lit doorway on
the left. It’s the first of two
FIGURE 5.10: With active camouflage, you can sneak up behind this
prison cells. Use the control tough Elite commander and kill him with a single melee attack to the
console on the far side to open back of the head.
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 drop-
ship clamps, which ends the level successfully.


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

Cargado por

Información del documento

Título original

Derechos de autor

Formatos disponibles

Compartir este documento

Compartir o incrustar documentos

Opciones para compartir

¿Le pareció útil este documento?

¿Este contenido es inapropiado?

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

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

Cargado por

Copyright:

Formatos disponibles

SYBEX Sample Chapter

Halo®: Combat Evolved: Sybex

Chapter 5: Missions 1–3 Walkthrough

We join the story just as the Pillar of Autumn

Objective: Find Captain Keyes on the bridge.

THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN 59

Vessel Identification: UNSC Cruiser C709

AI Constructs and Cyborgs First!

Objective: Get off the Pillar of Autumn.

60 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN 61

LEVEL-DESIGNER NOTES: THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN

62 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

THE PILLAR OF AUTUMN 63

HALO STORY BIBLE: HALO

64 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

HALO STORY BIBLE: THE PELICAN DROPSHIP

66 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

LEVEL-DESIGNER NOTES: HALO

68 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

alive. You can get him into the Warthog by

Objective: Search for the last group of human survivors.

70 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

rounds—don’t pick up a box unless you’ve

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION 71

72 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

Into the Belly of the Beast

Objective: Find the ship’s brig and rescue Captain Keyes.

Save them for when you really need them.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION 73

LEVEL-DESIGNER NOTES: TRUTH AND

74 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION 75

76 5: MISSIONS 1–3 WALKTHROUGH

Shut Up and Get Behind Me… Sir

Objective: Return to the shuttle bay for extraction.

TRUTH AND RECONCILIATION 77

También podría gustarte