3: Tsavo Highway
Full Contact Safari
Objective: Lead marines away from the base
It’s time for you to lead the survivors out of the base and to safety. Take the hallway to the left of the burning path and get into the Warthog with a turret, while the marines will get into other Warthog.
Load up the Warthogs.
Drive along the path marked by red flares until you come to a small outpost where marines are fighting Jackals. Kill the Jackals and let the two marines load into the troop transport before you move out.
The marines will only load up after the Jackals are dead.
Follow the path and kill any enemies you come across. The path will fork around the little hills, but it’ll come back to the same point, so you won’t get lost. Once you reach the downed Phantom, kill the enemies and take the path on the right.
Kill all enemies around the crashed Phantom, the follow the other car.
You’ll pass through a short ravine into a small valley. Here, you’ll fight troops dropped off by a Phantom, enemies in hovering towers, and a turret on a hill. Neutralize the turret first — the biggest threat in the valley — and then drive around the perimeter eliminating the remaining ground forces.
You’ll have to deal with the troops and the Shade turret.
Next, drive up and over the dam, and follow the dried river bed. Eventually it will lead you to a human installation overrun with Covenant forces, where you’ll fight enemies on foot and on Brute Choppers.
Take out the Choppers fast.
Kill all the forces around the installation, commandeer a Brute Chopper — allowing your troops to take over the Warthog you were in — and head to the large purple shield just past the installation. The shield is guarded by Brutes and Drones; kill them and then use a grenade on the shield’s generator, allowing your vehicles to continue on their way.
Take a Chopper, kill the energy shield, then proceed.
Follow the path, preferably while operating a Brute Chopper, and you’ll come to a highway. If you have enough speed, you’ll not only make the first jump, but also the second jump. The marines in the Warthog will disembark and go on foot, which prompts the new chapter of the level and a new objective.
Get lots of speed for the second jump.
The Broken Path
Objective: Get to the town of Voi
Take the remaining marines and, in your Brute Chopper, head forward until you come to a group of marines fighting the Covenant. Kill the remaining forces in the buildings, prompting a message from your HQ about fighting the incoming enemy until Pelicans arrive with support. Head into the buildings on the opposite side of the Covenant floating tower, where you’ll find a turret as well as three Trip Mines. Take the Trip Mines and lay them in the road or along the choke points to the turret, and prepare for the incoming enemy.
The Trip Mines will soften them up.
A Phantom dropship shows up, so man the turret and kill the enemy as they jump out. Next, disconnect the turret from its mount and move towards the Wraith, shooting the pilots. Man the Wraith and move out. (If you destroy the Wraith, use the Warthog that the Pelican drops instead.)
Use the turret to take out the Wraith’s pilot, then claim it for yourself.
Continue down the path, clearing out the enemy towers and Choppers, then enter the tunnel ahead of you. When you come out of the tunnel, you will see two Brutes standing next to their Choppers. If you are quick enough, you can blow them up before they can reach their vehicles. Eliminate them and then head to your left, continuing along the broken highway.
Kill them before they reach their Choppers.
As you come down the ramp from the broken section of highway, you will be attacked by three Brute Choppers, a turret, and two Wraiths. Take the path on the right of where you came down the ramp, and kill the turret on your upper left. Next, kill the three Brute Choppers or let your marines in the Warthog kill them, then move to the Wraith dead ahead. Now all that should be left is the final Wraith.
There are a lot of enemies, kill the lower ones before the Wraith on the hill.
Drive up the hill and kill the final enemy Wraith, and proceed up the highway.
That is the last of the Wraiths.
You will encounter an enemy road blockade that, unless you have a Wraith, will force you to dismount and fight in a close firefight with several Brutes. Fight your way through the barricade, by using the sheer forces of a Wraith or by brutal ground fighting.
This barricade is much easier with a Wraith, just push your way through.
Unless you’ve captured a Wraith, this next part is going to be tough. You’ll spot a downed Pelican and a large energy shield blocking your way to Voi. You will have to fight several Brute Elites and a turret, so use the Wraith on them, thus ending the level.
It looks like a lot, but it all goes down before the Wraith.
5: Floodgate
It Followed Me Home
Objective: Find the crashed Flood ship
After seeing the Flood ship crash at the end of the last level, you have been tasked with destroying the ship and stopping the infestation. Head right at the start of the level, and work your way around the chasm towards the crash site.
Head through the fog and towards the installation.
You will come to a tight road. Follow it, and after it bends to the left, find the dead Brute on the left side of the path. Take his Gravity Hammer; you’ll need it.
Take the Gravity Hammer off this body.
Continue down the path until you come to a group of marines behind sandbags. To the left will be the first group of Flood you have to fight. Use the Gravity Hammer, and collect the Bubble Shield near the sandbags.
Once you hit the sandbags, take a left and hit the Flood with all you got.
Head into the building on the right of where you just fought the Flood. Inside, bash the enemy with your Gravity Hammer, then follow the Arbiter into the next room.
As you enter the next room you’ll see a dead Brute with two Spikers laying next to him. Pick up the Spikers, switch weapons, and pick up the shotgun on the left of Brute, next to a dead marine. Now that you’re properly equipped, move on out.
Get the Spikers and the Shotgun before moving out.
Move through the crates until you come to an area where marines are fighting the Flood. You’ll see a yellow catwalk above the fray, so head up there to find a flame thrower.
The Flamethrower will be your best bet against the Flood.
Now, take out any remaining Flood and cross the catwalk, going through the door on the other side, and dropping down the hole in the floor.
What a convenient place for a hole.
| Follow the blue arrow: If you’re lost, just look for the blue arrow that indicates the distance from the objective |
Falling through the hole, you’ll have to fight the Flood in very tight quarters. Use your flame thrower to take them out, but make sure you put as much distance between the Flood and yourself, otherwise you’ll set yourself on fire as they run towards you.
Roast them in the choke points.
 |
Proceed towards the blue arrow and you will come out onto a catwalk. A cut-scene starts showing several Elites dropping out of the sky. The start of a new chapter! |
Shadow of Intent
Continue following the blue arrow, passing the Elites fighting in the background. Follow the Elites into the building and through the hallway, destroying the Flood before you. As you follow the Elites into the second room of the structure, see that Cortana is on the crashed Flood ship, prompting a new objective.
Let the Elites go in first.
Objective: Search the ship for Cortana.
Continue to follow the Elites and Arbiter towards the blue arrow marking the crash site. You’ll come out onto a catwalk, where there is a mounted machine gun. Dismount the machine gun and use it to press the attack forward, destroying the Flood you come across.
Fall to the machinegun.
Eventually, as you fight your way along the path, you will come to a point where you can no longer proceed forward. To your right you will see the crashed Flood ship. Jump down and pick up weapons right where you’ve dropped down.
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Need a Weapon?: Chances are that if you need a weapon, there are plenty laying around. The Flood are constantly dropping their weapons, so take a moment and look around! |
Proceed up the ramp made by the ship’s wreckage, and then jump into the bright yellow hole, taking you into the bowels of the ship, prompting a new chapter.
Down into the bowels of the wreckage.
Infinite Devil Machine
Follow the tunnel of the ship. You will drop down another hole and then continue to follow the single pathway. The Gravemind will speak to you twice, and after the second time, you’ll see the purple box where Cortana is supposed to be, which you then have to interact with Cortana’s supposed location.
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After interacting with Cortana’s location, you will enter into a lengthy cut-scene that prompts the end of the level. |
8: Cortana
Rampant
Objective: Find Cortana
After the cut-scene, proceed directly ahead into the bowels of Flood’s lair. Fight your way through the first big room, and then pick up the pair of Spikers in front of the first door you pass through.
Spikers are excellent anti-Flood weapons.
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Do Not Shoot These: These pods are full of little Floodlings. If you shoot them they will swarm you, so do your best to keep your shots from hitting these. |
Through the first door, you’ll pass a short corridor, where you’ll have to jump down through another door. Time for a big fight.
Once you pass through this door the real fight begins.
Enemy soldiers descend down the hill landing right in front of you. Stay at the bottom and kill them as they come down. When you run out of ammo, simply run to the base of the hill — where you have been slaying enemies in mass — and collect a new one. Head up the top of the hill when you’ve finished the first wave.
Shoot them as they come down the hill.
Another wave of enemies will spawn when you reach the top of the hill. Fall back down the hill, and repeat the same strategy until they stop coming down. Then work your way back up the hill, killing the stragglers. Note: To the left of the hill (assuming you’re facing upwards), there’s a door outside, where you see a crashed Pelican.
Lying next to this Pelican is a flamethrower, which, if you hold onto it until you get the next one, can be incredibly useful to get through the first section.
The second wave includes infested Elites complete with swords.
As you proceed down the large tunnel at the top of the hill, make sure you have a long ranged weapon. There will be Floods that can shoot spikes from long distance. Use a gun to shoot them off the walls and roofs before proceeding.
The needles from the guys above you hurt as much as a Carbine.
Continue down the tunnel, following the blue arrow through the doorway. You will now get a brief reprieve; the next two rooms will have zero enemies.
After passing through another door you’ll come into a room where several corpses stand up. Kill them and then scavenge the area for weapons, then head for the tunnel.
These “corpses” are about to stand.
The tunnel will end with another hole that you have to drop through, which will lead you into a room filled with Floods. Hang back at the place where you’ve dropped down, letting them come to you.
Always keep your distance from the Flood.
Proceed slowly into the room and kill the remaining enemies. Your goal will be to get through the door on the opposite side of the room from where you started (look for the blue arrow).
The blue arrow will show you where to go.
Pass through the doorway and through the short hallway, until you come to a large room filled with enemies. To your right will be a small hallway, where there is a flame thrower.
Grab the Flamethrower and then burn ‘em up.
Grab the flame thrower and enter the large room, burning all who stand in your way.
Burn every last one of them.
When you get to the end of this room you’ll be out of ammo for most of your weapons, but that’s OK since in the next room, just through the door you’ve passed through, will be a Covenant Carbine sitting on a rack. First, use your remaining ammo to kill the wave of Flood that will hit you right at the door, and then pick up the Carbine. With the Carbine in hand, shoot the Flood on the upper pathway, and snipe the remaining Flood you can see from the doorway.
Take the Carbines off the rack and shoot the Flood from a distance.
After you have cleared out the Flood with the Carbine, ditch the gun, and pick up ranged weapons. Now, with guns in hand, proceed through the room, fighting your way up the various levels of the room. Eventually, when you reach the top, you’ll jump across a small chasm and go through a doorway.
Jump across to this door.
Go through the doorway, through the short hallway, and into the reactor room.
The reactor room has a lot of enemies, so watch out.
Kill all the Flood around the perimeter of the room, and then head out along the fleshy pathway that leads to the room’s center. From here, take the path to your right, which branches towards the rest of the room’s perimeter. It will be marked by a blue arrow.
Head through the blue doors.
Proceed through the non-Flood converted doors and to the computer in the center of the room. Punch your way through the shield, and free Cortana.
Beat the crap out of this shield to free Cortana.
Nor Hell a Fury…
Now that you have Cortana back, head back into the reactor room, prompting the following objective.
Objective: Destroy the reactor
Get back out to the center of the room and hit the switch on the computer, exposing the reactor’s pylons.
Hit this switch to expose the reactor’s pylons.
Now shoot the three glowing pylons marked by blue arrows. And don’t worry about getting close; even a pistol can set them off from a distance.
Shoot the pylons to get the reactor going.
You will be given a new objective when the reactions are destroyed.
Objective: Escape High Charity
After fighting to the other side of the reactor room, Cortana informs you that an explosion has made a new exit. She marks the path way on your HUD with a series of blue arrows. Follow them back through the rooms that you previously fought through, killing as much Flood as you need to. Remember, you’re not trying to kill them all; you’re trying to kill any who slows you down from getting to the exit.
Just shoot enough to let you pass through.
After you proceed through the areas you previously went through, Cortana will tell you that she has picked up a friendly contact. Run to the blue arrow on your HUD, which turns out to be the Arbiter, complete with a flame thrower.
Arbiter to the rescue!
Now, with the Arbiter leading the way, fight your way to the final blue arrow that Cortana puts up on your HUD. It will lead you to a Pelican that, when you board it, will signal the end of Mission 8.
Jump on and get the hell out of there!
Campaign Strategies
Follow the Arbiter: On any level where the Arbiter is around, he will show you the way if you get lost. You can always find him thanks to the big blue arrow above his head. Don’t be afraid to let him to some of the work if you need a hand.
Reload: You’ll often forget to reload — especially for that off-hand weapon — so reload anytime you have a free moment, even if you’re down only a few rounds in the magazine; you never know when you need a full magazine.
Different grenades for different situations: You have four types of grenades at your disposal: flame, spike, plasma and frag. Spike and plasma grenades stick — good against some enemies, but terrible when fighting the Flood. The point? You have options, so don’t just mash the right trigger, but choose the grenade based on the current situation.
Teammates: Before Halo 3, you teammates weren’t known as the smartest of the bunch. The allied A.I. in Halo 3, however, is quite good. Keep them alive and give them the most powerful weaponry you can, preferably a weapon that has a few shots left. Why? Because your teammates never run out of ammo.
Don’t always dual-wield: Dual-wielding has its ups and downs. Yes, you put out twice as much fire, but you can’t throw grenades or melee unless you drop one of the weapons.
Sneaky melee: Hitting enemies from behind is an instant kill. Moreover, it won’t alert the others to your presence.
Fire in bursts: Sure, you can unload a fully automatic gun in matter of seconds, but that doesn’t mean that you should. Unless the enemy is right in front of you, fire your weapon in bursts. This will make your shots more accurate, as well as conserve ammo.
Choose your equipment: Some equipment is better than others. A bubble shield, for instance, will often be of far more use than a flare. Think about what you might encounter next, and if an opportunity comes up, make the decision wisely.
Campaign Scoring
By default, Campaign Scoring is disabled but before you use in this feature, it is highly recommended that you first complete the game normaly so that you can experience the game in full.
Your campaign score is determined by a combination of many different factors. At the basic level, you will earn points for every enemy you kill. However, the amount of points earned will vary greatly depending on things like the type of enemy, how the enemy is killed or what difficulty setting you are playing. Most of the point multipliers are factored into the score for each enemy you kill, in real time, as you progress through a mission. The only real exception is the overall mission completion time, which provides one final multiplier to your final score once you have finished the level.
- Easy : 0.25x
- Normal : 1.0x
- Heroic : 2.0x
- Legendary : 4.0x
Let’s look at an example – a standard Brute kill would net you 20 points on Normal difficulty. That same Brute would only be worth 5 points on Easy (20 x .25), 40 points on Heroic and a whopping 80 points on Legendary. This can also work against you though – dying on Legendary will cost you 4x as many points as dying on Normal.
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Grenade Stick – Stick an enemy with a plasma or spike grenade to get a 1.25x bonus. So, that Brute we were talking about earlier, who is worth 20 points for killing on Normal difficulty, would actually get you 25 points if you stuck him with a plasma grenade in the same game.
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Headshot – Aim well and you will be rewarded for it. All enemies will give you a higher point value if you kill them with a well placed headshot instead of just unloading a clip into their torso. Headshots will provide a 1.25x base multiplier to the point value for any applicable enemy.
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Stealth Kill – Melee attack an enemy behind to earn a Stealth medal as well as a 1.25x point multiplier for the enemy.
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Road Kill – If you run down an enemy in a vehicle, you will get 1.25x the points you’d normally get for just shooting them.
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Multi-Kill – A multi-kill is defined as killing at least 3 enemies within 1.5 seconds. Successfully doing this will earn you 1.25x
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Needler-Superdetonation- If you manage to get eight needles into an opponent, you will trigger the “superdetonation” which explodes and sends their corpse flying. Doing so will also get you a 1.25x point multiplier.
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“EMP” – If you hit an enemy with a charged plasma bolt and then get the finishing shot off within 3 seconds, you’ll earn a 1.25x point bonus.
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Classification |
Base Points |
Example |
|
Light Vehicle |
50 or 100 |
Most light vehicles, like Ghosts and Brute Choppers, are worth 100 pts. A Shade Turret is only worth 50 pts. |
|
Standard Vehicle |
150 |
Banshee, Prowler |
|
Heavy Vehicle |
200 |
Wraith |
|
Giant Vehicle |
250 / 500 |
A Phantom is worth 250 pts, Scarab is worth 500. |
|
Classification |
Base Points |
Exam |
|
Infantry |
5, 10, 15, 20 |
Sentinel, Flood Carrier, Jackal, Brute |
|
Specialist |
10, 20, 30, 50, 150 |
Spec Ops Grunt, Jackal Sniper, Brute Stalker, Flood Pureform Tank, Hunter |
|
Leader |
50 |
Brute Captain |
|
Hero |
150 |
Brute Chieftain |
Controls
Differences between Halo 1 and 2 Control Schemes
Due to the inclusion of equipment and the lack of black and white buttons on the Xbox 360 controller, there are a few differences in the control scheme that are worth noting. The X Button in Halo 1 and 2 handled context sensitive actions such as activating switches, picking up weapons, reloading, and using turret. Now that the X button is used to deploy equipment, the Right Bumper now handles most these actions with a few exceptions.
Grenades
Switching between the three grenade types is now accomplished by the left bumper when not dual wielding.
Dual Wielding
Picking up a second weapon to dual wield is now performed by the left bumper within pick-up range. When dual wielding, each weapon is independently reloaded by its respective bumper rather than both being reloaded.
Turrets
To use a stationary turret, click the right bumper. A turret can be unmounted and used while moving. This is accomplished by using a stationary turret with the right bumper and pressing the B button to unmount it.
Crouching
There are now two options for crouching: (1) the classic method that requires the left analog stick to be clicked and held down to continue crouching, or (2) a toggle method which requires you to click LS to begin crouching, and again to stand.
Voice Communication
Proximity voice is heard automatically by those who are within a certain range. To communicate via headset (previously handled by the White button in Halo 2), tap any part of the directional pad and begin speaking. The channel will automatically close when the game detects that you are no longer speaking.
References
Halo 3. (2007, May 16). In Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. Image retrieved 11:21, May 16, 2007, from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Image:Controller_Halo3.jpg
Equipment
Equipment changes the way that you will play Halo 3. Depending on which piece you have, it will provide a chance to explore new strategies, making you an adaptable opponent.
Flare |
The flare sends out a radiant light, temporarily blinding all the enemies around it. Generally, unless it’s the only item available, you shouldn’t choose the flare over another item. |
Bubble Shield |
The Bubble Shield places a barrier around the area where it is deployed. This barrier is impervious to all forms of damage, keeping those inside the bubble safe. However, attacks can’t go outside the bubble. |
Energy Drainer |
The Energy Drainer is effective only against shielded enemies. The Drainer takes down enemy shields with its initial burst, and then charges up and explodes, finishing them off. This can also disable ghosts, similar in effect to a plasma pistol shot. |
Grav Lift |
The Grav Lift is a deployable jump pad, shooting you up into the air, giving you quick access to higher ground. Unfortunately, it also works for enemies. |
Invincibility |
The name describes it all: makes you invincible for a short time. A valuable item, indeed, use it for the direst of situations. |
Invisibility |
Gives you a temporary cloak. Use the invisibility to pass large groups of enemies, or to sneak up behind them |
Jammer |
Available only in multiplayer, the Jammer jams the radars of your opponents, making fake targets appear on enemy radar. It’s particularly useful to opponents who are trying to get close to their enemies in order to steal the flag or to execute them. |
Portable Cover |
The Portable Cover is a one way shield device. When deployed, the person behind the shield can shoot from it (unless it’s an energy weapon), and the shield absorbs all bullets shot at it. It does not stop rockets, however. |
Trip Mine |
When deployed, this mine will explode whenever anyone or anything touches it. |
Regenerator |
The Regenerator does the opposite of the Power Drainer; it charges shields. Like the Bubble Shield, it radiates out a small field, recharging the shields of anyone who is within it — friendly or otherwise. Use these whenever you or your team is trying to take or hold a spot where you are outnumbered. |
Auto Turret |
Similar to an immobile Sentinel, the auto turret is a deployable antipersonnel turret. Drop the auto turret in an area where you want to defend, and it will shoot at the enemy. |
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