HALO: COMBAT EVOLVED Platform: PC Weapons & Enemies Guide v.1.1 By: kerplunk47 MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&8XY7EMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&. .v6MMM&MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&&&M&MAMMM&2EZ#MMMMMM&MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&&MMMM&MMM XoS XE@MM&&&&MMMM&MMMMMMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&MM&&&&&MMM&;n72czEWbMM&&&&&&&&MMM&&MMMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM&&&&&&MBQ0Q&&b9#0bBnMM&&&&&&&&&&&MM&MMMMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMMM&&M&&&&&MMMM# 7MMMMM#E#AY&MM&&&&&&&&&&&MM&MMMMMMM MMMMMMMMMMMM&MM&&&&&MM@Ai70I nMMMMMMMM9i&MMM&&&&&&&&&&&M&&MMMMM MMMMMMMMMMM&M&&&&&&M0 &MMc .7$MMM@c MM@MM&&&&&&&&&&MM&MMMM MMMMMMMMM&MM&&&&&&M&.:.YA&MMMv zoW. .M8.7WM&&&&&&&&&&MM&MMM MMMMMMMMMMM&&&&&&&M;zM@#8WMMMMMZEQt;.. 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SPARTAN-117 Created with ASCGEN V. 2-0.5.0 ********************************************************************* Table of Contents #INT I. Introduction #STO A. The Story #MIS B. Misc. Information #VER C. Version History #NAV II. Navigation #FIN A. The Find Option #ALL III. Allies #MAS A. Master Chief #COR B. Cortana #MAR C. The Marines #PIL D. The Pillar of Autumn #KEY E. Captain Keyes #ENE Enemy Profile Format #COV IV. The Covenant #GRU A. Grunts #JAK B. Jackals #ELI C. Elites #HUN D. Hunters #FLO V. Flood #INF A. Infection Forms #COM B. Combat Forms #CAR C. Carrier Forms #SEN VI. Sentinels #MON A. The Monitor #SET B. Sentinels #WEP Weapon Profile Format/ Types #HUM VII. Human Weapons #ASR A. Assault Rifle #PIS B. Pistol #SNI C. Sniper Rifle #SHO D. Shotgun #ROC E. Rocket Launcher #FLA F. Flamethrower #M41 G. Warthog Chain Gun #FRG H. Frag Grenade #WRL I. Warthog Rocket Launcher #COW VIII. Covenant Weapons #PPI A. Plasma Pistol #PRI B. Plasma Rifle #NEE C. Needler #FUE D. Fuel Rod Launcher #PLA E. Plasma Grenade #SHA F. Shade Emplacement #ENS G. Energy Sword #SHE H. Plasma Shield #UNC IX. Uncategorized #MEL A. Melee #CHX B. Chained Explosion #ACT C. Powerup: Active Camouflage #OVE D. Powerup: Overshield #VEH Vehicle Profile Format #HUV X. Human Vehicles #HOG A. Warthog #SCO B. Scorpion Battle Tank #PEL C. Pelican Dropship #COT XI. Covenant Vehicles #GHO A. Ghost #BAN B. Banshee #WRA C. Wraith Plasma Mortar Tank #SPI D. Spirit Dropship #EAS XII. Easter Eggs #BUL A. Bulletin Board #CH7 B. Chinese 7 #CON C. Congratulations #HIP D. Deadly Hippoes #EMT E. Edit Multiplayer Types Screen #FOO F. Food Nipple #HBT G. Happy Birthday Tank #INV H. Invincible Marines #PIP I. Keyes' Pipe #MLO J. Marathon Logo #MEG K. Megg #MRL L. MRL #REX M. Rex #RTD N. Rock to Death #TIP XIII. Tips #FAQ XIV. FAQ #CRE XVI. Credits #LEG XVII. Legal Stuff ***************************************************************** I. Introduction #INT A. The Story #STO (from the manual) The year is 2552. Planet Earth still exists, but overpopulation has forced many of her former residents to colonize other worlds. Faster-than-light travel is now a reality, and Earth's unified government, through the United Nations Space Command (UNSC), has put its full weight behind the colonization effort-millions of humans now live on habitable planets in other solar systems. A keystone of humanity's colonization efforts is the Planet Reach, an interstellar naval yard that builds colony ships for civilians and warships for the UNSC's armed forces. Conviniently close to Earth, Reach is also a hub of scientific and military activity. Thirty-two years ago, contact with the outer colony Harvest was lost. A battlegroup sent to investigate was almost completely destroyed; only one badly damaged ship returned to Reach. Its crew told of a seemingly unstoppable alien warship that had effortlessly annihilated their forces. This was humankind's first encounter with a group of aliens they eventually came to know as the Covenant, a collective of alien races united in their fanatical religious devotion. Covenant religious elders declared humanity an affront to the gods, and the covenant warrior caste waged a holy war upon humanity with gruesome diligence. After a series of crushing defeats and obliterated colonies, UNSC Admiral Preston Cole established the Cole Protocol: no vessel may inadvertently lead the Covenant to Earth. When forced to withdraw, ships must avoid Earth-bound vectors-even if that means jumping without proper navigational calculations. Vessels in danger of capture must self destruct. On Reach, a secret military project to create cyborg super-soldiers takes on newfound importance. The soldiers of the SPARTAN-II project rack up an impressive record against the Covenant in test deployments, but there are too few of them to turn the tide of the war. Existing SPARTAN-II Soldiers are recalled to Reach for further augmentation. The plan: board a Covenant vessel with the improved SPARTAN -IIs and learn the location of the Covenant home world. Two days before the mission begins, Covenant forces strike Reach and annihilate the colony. The Covenant are now on Earth's doorstep. One ship, the Pillar of Autumn, escapes with the last SPARTAN-II and makes a blind jump into deep space, hoping to lead the Covenant away from Earth. B. Misc. Information #MIS 1. Contact me at: Primary E-mail/ MSN: patrickphantastic@hotmail.com AIM: WarriorSx (not accepting emails) Ok, you can also submit glitches, vehicle/weapon/enemy strategies, etc. but no attachments or corrections on spelling/grammar. Submissions must be capital letters stating the content of the email (e.g. EASTER EGG). If it isn't I'll probably think it's junk mail. Also, leave a name so I know who to give credit to (IF your submission is accepted). If you wish not to be named, just leave either no name or the name "Anonymous". 2. All ASCII art is created with ASCGEN V.2-0.5.0, programmer Johnathan Matthews. Use halo.bungie.org; it's a great reference site, with visual and audio demonstration of various easter eggs and glitches. 3. I wrote my guide and have completed it, but is still available to changes made by either me or you. 4. This handy, all-purpose guide is brought to you by Patrick Phan! 5. NOTE: The rank information may be inaccurate; on my computer all enemies appear in a dull-gray color. Colors are accurate, using other FAQs as references, but my guarantee only extends to that. Some enemies have a very obvious rank (like silver elites and gold elites), so I use info from experiences and assumptions with them. C. Version History #VER v.0.5 Dec 29, 2007-Jun 23, 2008 Wrote everything. Tried to submit to GameFaqs, but formatting was wrong. v.0.75 Jun 23-Jun 26, 2008 Rewrote the descriptions for all weapons and enemies; added various tips pertaining to the said items. Also, I had to manually space 2800 lines of text so it could fit GameFaqs guidelines. Added the tag list. (slight revision) Jun 26, 2008 Redid the tags from [TAG] to #TAG. Also changed around stuff a bit. Weapons and vehicles are now individual sections. v.1.0 Jun 30, 2008 Went over the guide once more and fixed some grammar, and I'd say it is fully complete. Jul 25, 2008 Removed much of the ASCII art. Jul 29, 2008 Some of the info about the enemies (what missions they appear on) was inaccurate. Should be correct now. Jul 30, 2008 Rewrote some of the easter egg information. Updated Megg description. Aug 1, 2008 Added four websites to the legal info section. v.1.1 Sep 17, 2008 Started rewriting the descriptions for everything. This time around the "Brief Description" for each entry is much more informative and professional-ish- sounding. ********************************************************************* II. Navigation #NAV A. The Find Option #FIN Let's face it- it's no fun scrolling through pages of plain text. To help readers all major sections have been divided by asterisk lines, along with the addition of...TAGS! Tags are basically like keywords; you'll find them in the table of contents listed with their corresponding items, and simply hit CTRL+F or Special+F for Macs, and type in the tag. For example, to look up the assault rifle you type #ASR into the search box, hit "Find Next," and it'll jump to the entry. ****************************************************************************** III. Allies #ALL =Stats= NAME: The name of the ally, official and in-game ARMOR: Type of armor this ally has (e.g. a full set of health or rechargeable shields) ACCURACY: How effective this ally is at hitting targets (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best) SPEED: How fast this ally moves at full speed WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Weapons that this ally is usually seen with OTHER WEAPONS: Weapons that this ally may sometimes use SPECIAL FEATURES: Unique features other allies/enemies may not have WEAKNESSES: Weapons that are very effective against this ally FIRST FOUND: Where this ally is first found, subsequent missions found are in parantheses BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A little bit of history on who this enemy is, where s/he's/ they're from, why they're here, function in battle, etc. IN BATTLE: How they help/ weigh you down in battle COUNTER: How to deal with this ally in the unfortunate event you must fight them NOTE: ALLY RANKS ARE ORDERED BY SKILL (TOP TO BOTTOM IS WORST TO BEST). ANOTHER NOTE: IF ANY SECTION IS EXCLUDED, IT IS IRRELEVANT TO THE ENTRY (E.G. THERE IS NO WAY TO ACTUALLY "INTERACT" WITH CORTANA, SO THERE IS NO "COUNTER" SECTION). #MAS NAME: Master Chief ARMOR: A full set of health/ rechargeable shields ACCURACY: Depends on player SPEED: Approximately 55/KPH sprint speed (in-game it is more like very sluggish jogging speed) WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Depends on player OTHER WEAPONS: Every in-game weapon known (except the energy blade) WEAKNESSES: M9D pistol, plasma weapons, heavy weapons (rocket launcher, flamethrower), grenades SPECIAL FEATURES: Playable character. Can do things such as pick up powerups/ ammo, replenish health, flip over vehicles, etc. FIRST FOUND: Every playable mission and online multiplayer BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Born in the year 2511 on the planet Eridanus II, the Chief (otherwise known as John) was kidnapped at the age of six (along with seventy- four other children) to be involuntarily enrolled into the SPARTAN program, designed to create "super-soldiers" to fight the Covnenant. In time John became a great soldier, leader and proud of who he was. He has been biologically and cybernetically augmented, giving him superhuman reaction times, strength, and bone density. However, this was a dangerous process and only thirty-two other SPARTANS survived. The rest were to perish in a Covenant attack on the planet Reach. The Chief, as the last SPARTAN left, is obviously the last hope for humanity. And such. IN BATTLE: In addition to his superstrength, the Master Chief sports the MJOLNIR MARK IV battle suit, featuring rechargeable shields. The integrity of your shields is shown in the upper-left corner of your HUD. It will take the damage for you until depleted, after which your health will start taking the brunt of the blow. Your shields will recharge after a period of not being hit, approximately 6 seconds. Your shields are the difference between life and death. It is advisable to immediately take cover when your shields are fully depleted (you will hear an alarm when they are). In addition to your shields, your suit houses the AI Cortana, who will give brief you on your mission objectives and just be a friendly voice deep in enemy territory. Despite all the features, you can only hold 2 weapons at a time. Gordon Freeman would be ashamed. COUNTER: Online multiplayer is the only place you will have to deal with other Master Chiefs (or, well, SPARTANs). Always, ALWAYS, keep the M9D pistol with you. Your other weapon should either be the shotgun, assault rifle, or sniper rifle. Learn the pistol and how to use it well; the majority of your kills will probably be made with the pistol. B. Cortana #COR NAME: Cortana ARMOR: N/A SPEED N/A WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Sarcasm OTHER WEAPONS: N/A SPECIAL FEATURES: Briefs you on missions, sets NavPoints, alerts you of enemy presence FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn (and every other mission except 343 Guilty Spark and The Library) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Cortana is a female artificial intelligence (AI) construct that is housed in your suit. She is (almost) always with you and her main duties include briefing you on your objectives and just being a friend. Occasionally she alerts you of nearby enemies and sets NavPoints (an arrow telling you where to go). However, Cortana is no run-of-the-mill AI. She was actually created based on a human brain, that of Dr. Catherine Hasley, the mastermind behind the SPARTAN project. This unique "quality" gives her a personality, and the ability to feel emotions. Cortana only appears in cutscenes, but talks to you quite often in game. She is a foot tall, purple in color (although her color changes according to mood), and has short hair. Later in the game she'll be the only friendly voice you're hearing. Cortana is easily one of my favorite characters, but by Halo 7 or so she should have died. This is because she is a "smart" AI. Because she is based on a human she has no limits on what can can learn and the information she can absorb. All this information will eventually lead to her death. Cortana will start to think so much that it will interfere with her normal processes- that is, as if a human were to think so much he stopped sending the impulses to breathe. This predicted death will happen in 7 years. IN BATTLE: She's technically a voice in your head, so she will not be a liability in any way. C. Marines #MAR NAME: UNSC Marines Corps. ARMOR: A full set of health ACCURACY: 7/10 SPEED: A bit slower than you WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Assault Rifle, M9D Pistol OTHER WEAPONS: Fragmentation Grenades, LAAG Gun, Needlers, Plasma Rifles, Shotguns, Sniper Rifles SPECIAL FEATURES: Utilize sniper rifles WEAKNESSES: Human weapons, grenades FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn (Halo, Truth & Reconciliation, Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room, 343 Guilty Spark) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: I'm sure you saw it coming. You can't have a space game without those semi-useless but oh-so-cool-looking Marines on your side. The UNSC Marines are the all-purpose kill-everything combat outfit that is stationed...everywhere. Like you they also have a battle suit, but they lack rechargeable energy shields. They are, however, dare I say- SO much cooler looking than your ol' green suit. Anyways, these aren't your cliche macho tough Marines. They're actually a pretty happy, positive lot. But don't let this fool you- they're fearless. They will never run away or desert you (or make you cry or say goodbye) in battle regardless of how bad things get. They will either be wearing their awesome black ballistic armor or combat fatigues. All Marines start off with a full set of health. They will not be able to replenish their health in any way. MEET THE MARINES: A special section included in this entry to detail the different Marines. There are six "kinds" of Marines, distinguishable by their voices. Halo randomizes the character model that the voice is tied to, except for the sergeants. So you might have some interesting combinations like an Asian Pvt. Mendoza or an Asian Chips Dubbo. Pvt. Bisenti An American. He has a sort of New York/Italian accent. In the beginning cutscene of the mission Truth & Reconciliation you can hear him say "So how do we get inside the ship if it's in the air? The Corps issued me a rifle, not wings." Pvt. Chips Dubbo An Australian. Easily distinguishable by his Australian accent. Pvt. Wallace A. Jenkins Another American with no real accent. In The Pillar of Autumn you can hear him say "What the hell? Did something just hit us?" after you pass the cafeteria when the whole ship shakes. His voice sounds a lot more youthful compared to that of Bisenti's. Sgt. Avery Johnson Black guy. That is, his character model is always a black guy wearing a cap and fatigues. This guy guns and snipes like a god. Pvt. Mendoza A Hispanic guy. Sgt. Pete Stacker White guy. His character model is always the same: a white guy with a cap and fatigues. He has a sort of southern accent. IN BATTLE: Marines either start the mission with you, are dropped off during the mission, or they are found/ rescued. They will follow you and attack any enemy they see on sight. Almost every Marine uses an Assault Rifle, but for some reason they only fire in bursts. This skews their usefulness but nevertheless they should be able to take down Grunts with relative ease. They will have some trouble taking down Jackals and they will get pwned by Elites and Flood. You can double their usefulness by letting them man the gun whenever you have a Warthog. Just drive near a Marine and they will automatically get on. They're not very good gunners either, so you'll have to run over things to help them. However, if you come across a Marine sniper, you've just been sent a gift from heaven. I've never seen any ally kill as fast as these guys. COUNTER: If you purposedly kill too many Marines, they will turn on you and start shooting at you. There is really no reason to kill a Marine unless you REALLY need ammo or you're hog jumping. About ammo...Marines (along with other NPCs) have infinite ammo, so when you pick up an assault rifle (or any other weapon) they should have near maximum ammo. -Marine Ranks- Junior Officers/Technicians= If you think the Marines are useless, meet the junior officers. Also known as Technicians, they are easily noticeable by the fact that they do not wear military-associated attire but bridge uniforms, which is basically a red/blue shirt with matching pants and black slacks. They use a M9D pistol which they rarely even shoot. I've never seen them kill anything either. Thankfully they appear in only two missions. Sergeants= There are only two types of Sergeants you'll ever see, and that is either Sgt. Johnson (black guy) and Sgt. Stacker (white guy). They either use the Assault Rifle or sniper rifle. They're a bit more skilled and than the privates. Privates (1st class)= Privates are usually seen wearing their black ballistic armor complete with helmet and data-goggle. Some may wear military fatigues (boonie hats and olive drab). They use all of the weapons listed above and are the most common rank you'll see. Far superior to Junior Officers/Technicians. D. The Pillar of Autumn #PIL NAME: The Pillar of Autumn ARMOR: 2m (6.5ft)-thick Titanium A Battleplates ACCURACY: N/A SPEED: ? WEAPONS OF CHOICE: There's so many I'll make a list. 1 Magnetic Acceleration Cannon (MAC) 7800 Archer missiles 7+ Longsword Interceptors 8+ Scorpion tanks 4 Shiva nuclear warheads 40 50mm autocannons on the underside of the ship 14+ Pelican dropships 40+ Warthogs Lots and lots of lifeboats SPECIAL FEATURES: Look at the massive weaponry. WEAKNESSES: Plasma torpedoes FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn (and The Maw) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Without the Pillar of Autumn there would be no Halo. Why, you ask? First, a brief history. The Pillar of Autumn was created in 2509 as a Halcyon-class warship. At the time the armor was deemed overmassed because of its many cross-bracings and honeycombs. By the present time (2552), however, the Pillar of Autumn was a 43-year-old hunk of junk with inferior armor to other warships. This was the exact reason that Cortana chose it for a specific mission- no one would suspect this ship as a launching platform for such an important mission. What's the mission, you ask? Simple, really: to find and disable a Covenant ship so the SPARTANs can get in and find the location of the Covenant homeworld along with capturing a Covenant prophet (their leaders) to negotiate the end to the Human-Covenant war. However, the mission encounted a snag when the Covenant invaded the planet Reach, a military stronghold and naval shipyard. The Pillar of Autumn was called to battle along with many ships in the area. The humans ultimately lost, and the Pillar of Autumn (led by Captain Keyes), made a random Slipspace jump to evade their Covenant pursuers. And what do you think they found? Halo. IN BATTLE: This is where I sadly tell you despite its massive weaponry it will never help you in any way nor will you be able to use any of it. The Pillar of Autumn is more like a huge map/level than a ship since it's not interactive in any way; in fact, besides cutscenes you don't even get to see what it looks like. E. Captain Keyes #KEY NAME: Captain Jacob Keyes ARMOR: A full set of health ACCURACY: Depends on the needles (of the needler) SPEED: Equivalent of Marines (bit slower than you) wEAPONS OF CHOICE: Needler OTHER WEAPONS: M9D Pistol SPECIAL FEATURES: Triggers mission end upon death WEAKNESSES: Human weapons, grenades FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn, Truth & Reconciliation (as a combat ally) BRIEF DESCRPTION: My favorite character. Keyes was born on Earth (unknown year) and spent his childhood around the Pacific Ocean (one can assume he lived on the west coast). While in military training there was an incident that, due to poor planning, killed fourteen ensigns. Keyes himself suffered plasma burns. However, he refused to testify against the perperators of this incident, which is why Dr. Hasley (head of the SPARTAN-II project) chose him to assist her in choosing children to be enrolled into the SPARTAN program. He was then sent back into active military duty. In a ship-to-ship space battle he managed to win outnumbered 4-to-1, earning him a promotion to Captain. In 2552 he was given control of the Pillar of Autumn on a mission to capture a Covenant prophet to negotiate an end to the war along with finding the location of the Covenant homeworld. An unfortunate series of events leads to the discovery of Halo. Keyes also gives you your first weapon in the game- the M9D pistol. IN BATTLE: Captain Keyes is about as skilled as an Elite with a Needler (which is pretty good). Nevertheless try to keep him out of combat; his death will trigger the end of the mission (Truth & Reconciliation). ****************************************************************************** #ENE NAME: The name of the enemy ARMOR: Type of armor this enemy wields ACCURACY: How effective this enemy is at hitting targets (on a scale of 1-10, 10 being the best) SPEED: How fast this enemy moves at full speed WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Weapons that this enemy is usually seen with OTHER WEAPONS: Weapons that this enemy may sometimes use SPECIAL FEATURES: Unique features other enemies may not have DO USE: Weapons most effective against this enemy DO NOT USE: Weapons that are absolutely worthless against this enemy FIRST FOUND: Where this enemy is first found and subsequent missions found BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A little bit of history on who this enemy is, where s/he's from, why they're here, etc. IN BATTLE: What you should do in an encounter, their function in battle COUNTER: Best way to take care of this enemy NOTE: ENEMY RANKS ARE ORDERED BY SKILL (TOP TO BOTTOM IS WORST TO BEST). ANOTHER NOTE: If the COUNTER section is missing, it has been integrated into the IN BATTLE section. IV. Covenant Enemies #COV Ah, the Covenant. Besides Master Chief himself this alien race is probably the most iconic of the game. Hell, that's an Elite skull on the emblem for the "Legendary" difficulty, and with good reason- the Covenant are, no doubt, one of the toughest enemies one will ever face in all of Halo. The Covenant are actually an alliance of alien races (the Grunts, Elites, Jackals, and Hunters) united under one religion- the worship of a race known only as the Forerunners. Upon discovering the humans, the Prophets (Covenant leaders) have declared them to be an affront to their religion and the entire Covenant race is hell-bent on the destruction of mankind. A. Grunts #GRU NAME: Grunts ARMOR: 1/4 to a full set of health ACCURACY: 5/10 SPEED: Either 1/2 or 3/4 as fast as you WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Plasma Pistols, Needlers, Plasma Grenades OTHER WEAPONS: Fuel Rod Cannons, Shades SPECIAL FEATURES: Impressive arsenal and number, man Shade guns DO Use: All weapons (including melee) DO NOT Use: Rocket launcher (what a waste!) FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn (and every other mission except The Library) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Grunts come from an icy homeworld and unlike anything else you encounter in their game, they do not breathe oxygen. Rather, they breathe methane from an apparatus on their mouth. Because of their small size and sheer number they are used as cannon fodder- basically soldiers that are "born to die". Their main function is to waste your ammo and harrass the enemy while the Elites and Jackals move in for the kill. Despite the fact that they're used as fodder they do have an impressive weaponry- Grunts have been seen using pretty much every Covenant weapon in the game and are also capable of manning a Shade gun. IN BATTLE: Focus on killing Grunts before on any more powerful enemies, as they can still dish out some hurt if you're only focusing on the Elite that's standing next to them. Grenades are not really worth wasting on them except when you might be able to take out several at a time or stick them with a plasma. Sometimes the stickee will run towards his comrades screaming to geti it off. COUNTER: Any weapon will take care of Grunts nicely. The most effective are any human weapons (assault rifle, pistol, shotgun, sniper rifle). Use grenades sparringly on these guys; maybe only when you're in danger or you might be able to take out a group. Sticking one with a plasma grenade might send him running back to his buddies screaming to get it off. -Grunt Ranks- Grunts wear body armor, which covers almost their entire body (except their head, hands, and feet). This is the color of their suit. ORANGE/YELLOW= The most cowardly; will run away upon death of their superiors. RED= A little bit more backbone; they might/might not run away upon death of their allies. Also a bit more durable than their orange counterparts. BLACK= The black armor these Grunts wear signifies they are part of the Spec Ops. They have a full set of health and are pretty tough (but still cute). They may also appear in silver armor, with the same capabilities/ armor. B. Jackals #JAK NAME: Jackals ARMOR: 1/4 to a full set of health ACCURACY: 6/10 SPEED: Either 1/2 or 3/4 as fast as you WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Plasma Pistol OTHER WEAPONS: N/A SPECIAL FEATURES: Hand-held energy shield, use Plasma overcharge DO Use: Plasma Pistol, Plasma Rifle, human weapons, GRENADES, melee DO NOT Use: Needler FIRST FOUND: Halo (and every mission thereafter except The Library, Keyes, and The Maw) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Jackals are the Covenant's response to the UNSC Marines. They are agile, good marksmen, and are just as intelligent. Jackals seem to be loners, rarely ever working with Elites or Grunts. They essentially are evolved reptiles, with excellent senses of hearing and sight, which means they will be able to spot you from long distances better than their counterparts. However, they are physically weak- they cannot melee and can only sustain as much damage as a Grunt can. IN BATTLE: Since they usually attack in groups, it is best to use grenades. Regardless of grenade type, the Jackals never get away in time, or simply don't even pay attention to them. Also remember that the plasma overcharge shot will make their shields disappear, after which they will run away. They are also unable to dodge your melee attacks. WARNING: the Jackals are the only enemies that use the plasma overcharge. Also note that if their handheld shield is destroyed, it can still regenerate. COUNTER: Use the plasma pistol to take out their shields and then mow them down with your close range weapon. Plasma gunfire of any kind will take them out quite nicely. Needles will bounce off their shields, as most of the time the Jackals easily block/ deflect any inbound needles. USE GRENADES. If you are able to get up close, a few melee attacks will easily take them out. -Jackal Ranks- This is the color of their handheld shields. Jackals do not wear armor. BLUE= The most common milling about on Easy/Normal, on Heroic/Legendary they'll be replaced with Yellow Jackals. About 1/2 the health you have. YELLOW= Jackals with yellow shields. Won't run away upon losing their shield. They are quite tough with a full set of health. C. Elites #ELI NAME: Elites ARMOR: A full set of health plus rechargeable shields SPEED: Bit slower than you Weapons of choice: Plasma Rifle OTHER WEAPONS: Banshees, Energy Swords, Ghosts, Needlers, Shades, Wraiths, Plasma Grenades SPECIAL FEATURES: The only enemy that has rechargeable body shields, the only enemy able to pilot vehicles (Banshees and Wraiths), are also able to man Shades DO Use: Plasma overcharge, Rocket launchers, Sniper Rifles, Plasma weaponry in general DO NOT Use: Frag grenades FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn (and every other mission except The Library) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Jackals are the equivalent of Marines, and the Elites are the equivalents of YOU. Sadly there is no lone "Master Elite", but a lot of them. Elites are fearless, reckless, and possess superior physical strength to any other enemy in the game. This is complemented by battle suit that possesses...that's right...RECHARGEABLE ENERGY SHIELDS, just like yours. Besides online multiplayer Elites cause the second most deaths in Halo. Seriously. WARNINGS: Elites have a quick and powerful melee attack that you should be wary of should you get close enough. The only time I'd recommend moving in to have a brawl with an Elite is when A) you're fighting close-quarters or B) you're in close-quarters and your ammo/shields are out/down. On another note, don't even bother using fragmentation grenades. Elites dodge these more effectively than a fighter jet can dodge a slingshot. IN BATTLE: Should you encounter a group of Covenant, Elites should be the last enemies you target. Take out the Grunts and/or Jackals (if any) so you can focus just on the Elite(s). Your first priority is taking out their shields. Plasma weapons (ESPECIALLY THE PLASMA OVERCHARGE SHOT) can take down their shields quite nicely. Elites are temporarily stunned when their shields are taken out, so act quickly. Either move in and introduce it to your fist or tear it many new ones. Beware...Elites' shields can recharge after a period of not getting hit (just like yours). Grenades are only recommended if you're close enough and you're sure to stick them or they're not paying attention to you. Plasmas are the only way to go because frags don't do much damage to Elites and Elites can dodge them almost as good as a Banshee can. Even if you do manage to stick an Elite with a plasma, watch out: they might charge towards you in a kamikaze attack. Luckily upon getting stucken Elites will temporarily pause to let out a roar/ battle cry before they run for you. As for melee attacks, you should only use these if Elites are very close by, or the situation calls for it. If, for example, both you and the Elite have your shields down, I'd recommend going in for the kill. -Elite Ranks- BLUE= The lowest-ranking, and by definition the weakest of the Elites. They're less durable, less accurate, and actually run away. They never use grenades. 1/2 to 3/4 your shield strength. RED= I believe these Elites' shields are as strong as yours. SILVER= These Elites will either use Plasma Rifles or Energy Swords (which are still visible even when the user is not). They have no shields, but to compensate they are- that's right- invisible. But not entirely. Look for distortions in the air, and you can tell they are there. Sometimes they laugh or make other noises that give away their position. BLACK= The Spec Ops Elites that have a shield strength equivalent or maybe 1.5x as powerful as yours. They seem to be the only Elites that use plasma grenades, and are damn good aims at that. GOLD= These are a huge step up, with twice as much shields as you have (equal to an overshield). They will either use a plasma rifle or energy sword and are also capable of jumping as far as a Flood combat form. D. Hunters #HUN NAME: Hunters ARMOR: The equivalent of three sets of health ACCURACY: 7/10 SPEED: Bit slower than you Weapons of choice: Fuel Rod Cannon, Metal shield OTHER WEAPONS: none SPECIAL FEATURES: The only enemy that has a weapon built into them DO USE: Rocket launchers, M9D pistol, sniper rifle, shotgun DO NOT USE: Needler, Plasma weapons FIRST FOUND: Truth & Reconciliation (and every mission thereafter except The Library) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Hunters are the most durable walking enemies in the game, but they're also by far the easiest to kill (besides Grunts and infection forms). Elites are very large in size and are also very strong. But of course, they are very slow to compensate. They will never be able to outrun you (unless you're in a tight space) and are actually pretty crappy aims. They do not have energy shields; rather they just have a lot of health. I'd say three full bars. They have a fuel rod cannon built into their arms and a metal shield in the other one. They don't use their shield as well as Jackals do; rather, they use it as a club to hit you with. WARNINGS: Use grenades only to stun them, as this is the most they will do. Do not bother to melee them or try to melee them on the back. No ranks. IN BATTLE: If you spot a Hunter, hide. Chances are he didn't spot you, and just wait for the Hunter to relax. Sooner or later it will turn its back to you or stretch out its neck. Shoot the orange patch and it's a one-shot kill. If they have spotted you, just keep moving around and they'll never hit you. You have two options from there. Hide and hope they forget about you, or, if you have ammo to spare, go up to them. If you have a pistol on hand, just let them start to charge at you. Aim for the belly when their body is outstretched the most at mid-attack. If you have ammo to spare, then you can just keep running and jumping backwards while shooting; they'll eventually die. ****************************************************************************** V. Flood #FLO The Flood is pretty much the sole reason for the creation of the Halo installations. The Halo installations are basically huge guns- with a range of 25,000 light years, they wipe the galaxy clean of any life in order to starve the Flood of their food. As for the Flood themselves, they are much like zombies- Infection forms can infect any living things, after which they become combat forms (drones) or carrier forms, which incubate more Infection forms. A. Infection Forms #INF NAME: Infection Forms ARMOR: One shot from any gun ACCURACY: 2/10 SPEED: A bit slower than you Weapons of choice: Themselves OTHER WEAPONS: none (unarmed) SPECIAL FEATURES: Travel in huge groups DO use: All weapons DO NOT use: Grenades, rocket launchers (what a waste!) FIRST FOUND: 343 Guilty Spark (and every mission thereafter) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Flood do not "get it on" to make more Flood. Rather, they use these little parasites that travel in huge swarms (of 30 or more) that will stop at nothing to kill you. Like the girls at school they chase you around and attack by throwing themselves at you. However they are very small and can be killed from one bullet from any gun. If your shields are up they automatically pop on contact, but take away a small amount of it. If your shields are down they will take away a few bars of health. WARNINGS: Avoid at all costs if your shields are down. Also, don't just let the swarms attack you and expect your shields to take care of them. If your shields are up, they'll pop on contact, taking away about 1/20 (5%) of your shield integrity. IN BATTLE: When encountering an Infection swarm, remember to always run away from them, and avoid getting cornered. You can usually get away before any of the infection forms jump on you. Even when they do, if quick enough you can dodge it, like the dreaded red bullet in Time Crisis. Don't waste any grenades on them at all. You can also use meleeing if you want to conserve ammo. B. Combat Forms #COM NAME: Combat Forms or Drones ARMOR: Full set of health ACCURACY: 6/10 SPEED: Fast as you Weapons of choice: N/A OTHER WEAPONS: All weapons (excluding Banshees, Ghosts, LAAG Gun, Scorpions, Shades, Warthogs, or Wraiths) SPECIAL FEATURES: Can reanimate themselves, jump amazingly far, and have shoot-offable arms DO Use: SHOTGUNS, Rocket Launchers, Grenades DO NOT Use: Melee, sniper rifle FIRST FOUND: 343 Guilty Spark (and every mission thereafter) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: When a living thing gets infected by the Flood, the combat form is one of the possible result. Like an infected zombie a combat form has no intelligence, travels in huge swarms (when they can), and stop at ABSOLUTELY nothing to kill you. Oh, but there's more catches- combat forms can run. And jump. And fire weapons. And they have a huge-ass Wolverine claw. It's evolution at its best. WARNINGS: Combat forms are capable of reanimating themselves (that is, getting up again after they're on the ground). Also, melees and sniper rifle shots are useless against them. You will NEVER win a melee fight against a Flood form. IN BATTLE: Once again, your friend the grenade comes to the rescue. The Flood do not notice grenades at all, so frags are deadly. Using plasma is advisable only when thrown from far away enough so they can detonate at a safe distance. Flood will always charge directly at you, and bullets do not deter them when charging (as in not making them stagger or the like). SHOTGUN them all the way to hell. A combat form barely ever survives more than one shotgun blast. The pistola also is a hell of a good weapon. Just be wary if they went down after only a few shots; they'll most probably reanimate. Since Combat Forms usually attack in large groups, explosives are your best bet (note: Carrier forms also count as explosives :]) In addition, Flood combat forms can be mutilated- you can shoot off a Combat form's arms with a well-placed bullet. Removing both of their arms (the claw hand and the weapon-holding hand) renders them useless; the only thing they can do now is follow you around. It's your very own Flood buddy! -Combat Form Ranks- EX-MARINE-These resemble zombies, with a humanoid head and feet. Less durability, I believe. EX-ELITE- From the front they seem to have no head, but there is actually an Elite head hanging off at the back. They have hoofs. They are more durable than an ex-Marine. C. Carrier Forms #CAR NAME: Carriers ARMOR: Half a set of health ACCURACY: N/A SPEED: as fast as light(ly-colored ducks) WEAPONS OF CHOICE: Themselves, Infection forms OTHER WEAPONS: none (unarmed) Special features: Carry Infection forms inside them, only enemy that functions like a suicide bomber Weaknesses: Everything FIRST FOUND: The Library (not your local library, thank God, the mission) Oh, and they appear on every mission thereafter. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: These guys look like ex-Elite combat forms, but cannot melee you, are shorter, and they waddle so painstakingly slowly. Be thankful of their speed, and don't let them get near you; they will promptly flop to the ground and detonate themselves in an explosion about as powerful as a grenade (but with not as much splash damage). Upon exploding a few Infection forms come out at you, but they will not be a problem if you killed the Carrier before it could take down your shields. Always look for them among the Flood, as they are like walking grenades. No ranks. WARNINGS: Don't use grenades against them unless absolutely necessary: this simply sends them flying, and THEN they will detonate. They are immune to sniper rifle shots and melees (though if you get THAT close they will detonate themselves). Also, when in groups with other Carriers, watch out. Destroying one will probably send all the others flying. IN BATTLE: Alone they are no threat, but watch out if they get too near you. When they do, they'll flop themselves to the ground and blow themselves up to explode. You do have enough time to get away when they flop themselves down. When in groups with other Flood forms, kill these first. They're just like walking grenades! Can't take as much of a beating as Combat forms can. ****************************************************************************** VI. Sentinels #SEN In the event of a Flood outbreak on one of the Halo installations the Sentinels are in charge of annhilating the threat. They are controlled by the local monitor; in this case, 343 Guilty Spark. A. The Monitor #MON NAME: 343 Guilty Spark or (more popular) The Monitor ARMOR: Invincible ACCURACY: N/A SPEED: 1.5x fast as you are or so Weapons of choice: Lancer beam OTHER WEAPONS: Sentinels, annoying-ness Special features: The only invincible animate object Weaknesses: N/A FIRST FOUND: 343 Guilty Spark (as an ally) gee, they named a mission after him! Two Betrayals (as an enemy) Also appears in Two Betrayals and The Maw. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: 343 Guilty Spark is the Monitor in charge of Halo installation 04 (that is, where this game takes place). He has been on this job...for over 101,217 (local) years. And that amount of time alone can make anyone insane. Or at least incredibly annoying. Sparky is no exception. Upon first meeting him you must rely on him to take you through the Library, and what a bloody good job he does, disappearing at the most inconvinient times and constantly humming to himself and calling himself a genius. Besides the duty of a little brother on crack, he is also in charge of the Sentinels, so his calling them to help you is the only way he can assist in battle. The "Lancer beam" is only used once in a cutscene to temporarily stun the Master Chief. He resembles a hovering blue ball of light capable of driving one to suicide. WARNINGS: Don't waste your ammo on him, no matter how tempting. He won't do anything, but it's a waste of ammo. IN BATTLE: Are you kidding? He's never there in battle. B. Sentinels #SET NAME: Sentinels ARMOR: Equivalent of maybe a full set of health. Some have shields. ACCURACY: 6/10 SPEED: 1/2 to 3/4 your speed. Weapons of choice: Ozone Laser Beams OTHER WEAPONS: none SPECIAL FEATURES: Only enemy that hovers DO Use: All Covenant weapons (ESPECIALLY the plasma overcharge), shotgun DO NOT Use: Any other human weapon (save the rocket launcher) FIRST FOUND: 343 Guilty Spark (as allies), Two Betrayals (as enemies) They also make an appearance in The Library and The Maw. BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Sentinels are sort of like the robotic equivalent of the Marines (but they look nothing alike) that are present on every Halo installation. Their main job is to keep the Flood under control should they break out. They resemble angry hovering security cameras that fire lasers the color of thousand island dressing. WARNINGS: Like Marines, don't kill them on purpose when they are your allies. They will turn against you, and your shields will drop pretty fast. IN BATTLE: Keep moving around and some of the laser fire will miss. USE PLASMA WEAPONS. They simply MELT them like chocolate. One plasma overcharge will take down a Sentinel quite nicely, as do needle explosions and plasma bullets. Plasma grenades also do a lot of harm. Since Sentinels hang out in close-knit groups when on guard, sticking one will most probably kill all the other sentinels around it. HUMAN WEAPONS are pretty useless against Sentinels, with the exception of a good shotgun blast. Upon destruction a Sentinel crashes to the ground in a little ball of fire that might harm you if you happen to be directly under it. -Sentinel Ranks- All Sentinels look the same, and there doesn't seem to be any particularly distinguishing aesthetic features. However, there are two kinds of Sentinels: those with shields (about 3/4 as much as yours) and those without (these make up the majority of Sentinels). *************************************************************** VII. Human Weapons Human weapons, for the most part, are best when it comes to long-range combat, taking out enemy armor, or against unshielded enemies. They generally do a lot more damage to health than to shields, and are the most versatile in any combat situation. #WEP =Stats= RATING: On a scale of 1-5, how good the weapon is. 1- Completely, totally useless. The only reason you'd use it is to look cool or give yourself a challenge. 2- Almost always useless or unwieldly, but it may be needed in some specific situations 3- This weapon is OK, but has a better acceptable replacement. Is still useful though. 4- Very good and a keeper, but might have one flaw that keeps it from becoming a 5 (e.g. rarity of ammo, small ammo reserve, etc.) 5- Pure awesome. Always have this weapon on you, no matter what. NAME: Name of the weapon CLIP/MAXIMUM AMMO: Number of rounds in a clip and maximum number of rounds in ammo reserve RATE OF FIRE: How fast this weapon can fire rounds ACCURACY: The accuracy of this weapon RELOAD RATE: How fast this weapon reloads MELEE RATE: How fast this weapon melees WEAPON CLASS: The class this weapon belongs to SPECIAL FEATURES: Unique features that other weapons may not have AVAILABILITY: Abundance on the missions it can be found. BOLT COLOR: The color of the bullets. For Covenant weapons only. STRONG AGAINST: Enemies/ objects this weapon is effective against WEAK AGAINST: Enemies/objects this weapon is ineffective against FIRST FOUND: Where this weapon is first found (either from live enemies or "pre-killed" corpses) Weapons found on this mission are also found on every mission thereafter. TIPS: Lists what other weapons complement this one, and other various tips. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Weapons with about the same strength or functionality or a better swap altogether. The swaps are ordered from best to worst. =Weapon Classes= NOTE: These weapon classes apply to Halo weapons, not real life weapons. Damage rates (little damage, medium damage, high damage, very high damage) applies to when these weapons are used on infantry. AUTOMATIC= A weapon that can fire either full auto or in bursts. Individual bullets do only a little bit of damage, but compensated for by their very fast rate of fire. Best for close range combat. Very high clip/ max ammo reserves. SEMI-AUTOMATIC= A weapon that fires semi-auto, which is as fast as you can pull the trigger (or, er, click that mouse button/press the R trigger). Individual bullets do medium damage, and these weapons are best for medium range. Medium clip/ max ammo reserves. Semi-auotmatic rifles, on the other hand, have small clip/ max ammo reserves, and are best for long-range combat. PUMP-ACTION RIFLE= A weapon that fires rather slowly and needs to be pumped for each shot- basically, a shotgun. Each round is comprised of tiny pellets rather than an actual bullet. The pellets are spread over a large radius when fired. Each individual pellet does very little damage, but when they all hit their mark, major damage is inflicted. Medium clip size/ ammo reserves. Best for close-range combat only; absolutely useless otherwise. ANTI-ARMOR= A weapon that fires rounds very slowly; individual rounds are usually explosive/ do very high damage. The rounds themselves also travel slowly and can be dodged by more agile enemies. Very small clip/ammo reserves. Best for medium range, and for taking out large groups of enemies or vehicles. ANTI-PERSONNEL= A weapon that fires full auto: individual rounds do high damage and have large clip/ ammo reserves. Close-range only, and absolutely useless otherwise. ANTI-AIRCRAFT= A weapon that fires full auto: individual rounds do high damage and have an infinite ammo reserve. Best for close-range combat but can also be used for medium. ENERGY= A weapon that fires rounds either full- or semi-auto. The main difference is that there is no clip; the ammo is depleted directly from the ammo reserve (in this case called a battery). All energy weapons have 100 battery power, and depending on the strength of the weapon it can fire from several hundred to just a dozen bolts. Firing in succession can cause the weapon to overheat, making it temporarily useless until it cools down. These weapons are best for taking down energy shields, and when the battery is depleted it cannot be recharged, it must be replaced with the same weapon. Best for close range. EXPLOSIVE- A weapon that explodes either on contact or after a specific time. Individual explosives do high damage and are generally best for close range. Explosives inflict splash damage (they damage the area around where it detonated). MELEE- A weapon that can be used infinitely and will only damage targets from point-blank range. Melee weapons do high damage, but cannot fire projectiles of any kind. #HUM A. Assault Rifle #ASR RATING: 3 (multiplayer) 3 (campaign) NAME: MA5B Assault Rifle Clip/Maximum Ammo: 60/600 (10 clips) RATE OF FIRE: Automatic, 15 rounds per second. ACCURACY: All right, terrible at medium/ long range RELOAD RATE: fast MELEE RATE: fast WEAPON CLASS: Automatic SPECIAL FEATURES: Ammo counter, Compass that points to the gas giant Threshold (this feature is useless) AVAILABILITY: Common (found on Marines, Combat Forms, and ammo piles) Strong against: Grunts, Jackals, Infection Forms, Marines Weak Against: Elites, Ghosts, Sentinels, any shields in general, Wraiths FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This is standard issue military hardware. In almost every mission you will be given this weapon from the start, and I suggest you keep it until you come along the shotgun in 343 Guilty Spark. With a quick melee and even quicker rate of fire, this rifle will mow down your enemy after their shields are down. TIPS: Don't fire in bursts; this is useless, especially at close range. It might be better to take toss in favor of the M9D in the more open levels (such as Halo and Assault on the Control Room). ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Shotgun, M9D Pistol, Plasma Rifle, Needler B. Pistol #PIS RATING: 5 (multiplayer) 4 (campaign) NAME: M9D Pistol Clip/Maximum Ammo: 12/120 (10 clips) RATE OF FIRE: Semi-automatic ACCURACY: A bit worse than the sniper rifle WEAPON CLASS: Semi-Automatic RELOAD RATE: fast MELEE RATE: slow SPECIAL FEATURES: 2x Scope Zoom AVAILABILITY: UNCOMMON (found on ammo piles and some Combat forms) Strong against: Carriers, Combat Forms, Grunts, Hunters Jackals, Infection Forms, Marines, Master Chief, Elites (when their shields are down) Weak against: Elites' shields (might as well just use a staple gun), Sentinels FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The king of all weapons. A great asset on any mission when paired with a plasma weapon: after your enemy's shields are down the pistol will take it down in only a few shots. It is also very effective in taking down the Flood. Pistol ammo, however, is somewhat uncommon- found only in ammo piles, crash sites, and occasionally on the Flood. An absolute MUST on online multiplayer. Master the pistol and you have mastered Halo. TIPS: The Pistol is fair for close range combat, and is best paired with the Plasma Pistol. Use this to take out Grunts and Jackals before tackling the Elites, and it is also very effective in taking care of Flood forms. When fighting Hunters, shoot their orange spots, or if you're up close and they're trying to melee you, shoot them at the orange at the waist/stomach. Just as good as the assault rifle at mowing down enemies when their shields are down. Although the pistol is capable of a somewhat automatic rate of fire, it'd be advisable to click rather than hold down the mouse button- this greatly increases accuracy. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: None, really. C. Sniper Rifle RATING: 4 (multiplayer) 2 (campaign) #SNI NAME: S2 AM Sniper Rifle Clip/Maximum Ammo: 4/24 (64 in Truth & Reconciliation) RATE OF FIRE: Medium ACCURACY: Sniper-rifle accurate WEAPON CLASS: Semi-Automatic RELOAD RATE: Slow MELEE RATE: Slow SPECIAL FEATURES: Bullets leave a smoke trail, 2x and 8x scope Zoom AVAILABILITY: Very rare Strong against: Elites, Jackals, Grunts, Hunters, Infection Forms, Marines, Master Chief Weak against: Carriers, combat forms FIRST FOUND: Halo BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Your standard sniper rifle, with three main differences- the bullets leave a smoke trail, the scope has built-in night vision (default "Q" while you're zoomed in), and it has a VERY fast rate of fire for a rifle. It expends bullets as fast as you can pull the trigger (or, well, press the mouse button). Pretty much the only time you'll really need a rifle is if you start off the mission with it. Luckily the AI is incapable of tracing your position using the bullet smoke trails. TIPS: Once again, aim for the head, and when you can, stay hidden. In the missions when you get one at the start, it's advisable to keep it. Best paired with the plasma rifle or pistol. If your target is moving you have to lead it and fire AHEAD of it rather than trailing it with your scope and firing AT it. Since the bullets leave a smoke trail, try to change your sniping spot after a few shots lest your enemies spot where you are (this is meant for online; on campaign enemies cannot spot the smoke trail). ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Pistol (somewhat) D. Shotgun #SHO RATING: 5 (multiplayer) 4 (campaign) NAME: M90 Shotgun Clip/Maximum Ammo: 12/60 (5 clips) RATE OF FIRE: Between slow and medium ACCURACY: Between 2 and 3 stars WEAPON CLASS: Pump-Action Rifle RELOAD RATE: Quite slow. MELEE RATE: Medium SPECIAL FEATURES: The shells have hippoes on them (see Easter Eggs section). AVAILABILITY: Uncommon (found on ammo piles and a few Combat forms) Strong against: Elites, exposed Jackals, Grunts, Infection Forms, Marines, Master Chief, all flood Weak against: Hunters FIRST FOUND: 343 Guilty Spark BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The all-purpose anti-personnel lead-pumping zombie-killing boomstick. When you first get your hands on this baby I advise to always keep it on hand to complement your plasma/human pistol. This gun is pretty much the best close range weapon there is. It's a shotgun- what more do I need to say? TIPS: Don't aim for the head with this gun. Because of its wide radius, the pellets will most likely miss. Just shoot at the body. This weapon is an absolute must for Flood-infested missions and, well, any mission in general. Best paired with human pistol (Flood missions) or plasma pistol (Covenant missions/mixed missions) ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Assault Rifle E. Rocket Launcher #ROC RATING: 3 (multiplayer) 2 (campaign) NAME: M19 SSM Rocket Launcher Clip/Maximum Ammo: 2/8 (4 clips) RATE OF FIRE: Slow, maybe a full clip (2 rockets) in 3 seconds ACCURACY: 10/10 (to compensate for this, rockets travel painstakingly slow) RELOAD RATE: Slow MELEE RATE: Slow WEAPON CLASS: Anti-Armor SPECIAL FEATURES: 2x scope (note: the manual made a mistake; the rocket launcher does not have a 8x scope) AVAILABILITY: Very rare (found in some ammo piles and a few Combat forms) Strong against: Everything Weak Against: Chuck Norris FIRST FOUND: The Silent Cartographer BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The rocket launcher is very much like a magic wand- you point it at the enemy and they explode. Despite its power the only time you'll really need is is for taking down Covenant Wraiths. Its small clip and ammo reserve size makes it an impractical weapon to keep with you. Unlike other rocket-launching boomsticks the rockets the M19 fires travel very slowly, so slowly that an Elite could easily sidestep out of the way. Nevertheless should you score a hit...well, you know. TIPS: Fire at the feet to ensure a hit, but it will do less damage. Remember that faster enemies (Elites) can dodge them sometimes. And of course, don't get too close. Should you need to fire at a moving target, remember: don't track the enemy (shoot AT it), rather, trail it (shoot AHEAD of it). This is especially important because the rockets travel VERY slowly. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Flamethrower, LAAV gun F. Flamethrower #FLA RATING: 3 (multiplayer) NAME: M7057 Defoilant Projector (basically, the Flamethrower) Clip/ Maximum Ammo: 100/300 (not sure, 2 clips) RATE OF FIRE: Twice as fast as the assault rifle ACCURACY: It's a flamethrower; it can only shoot at close-range targets RELOAD RATE: Slow MELEE RATE: Medium WEAPON CLASS: Anti-Personnel SPECIAL FEATURES: Fires fire; devastating against enemies AVAILABILITY: Rare Strong Against: Master Chief Weak Against: ? FIRST FOUND: Multiplayer only folks BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Not much to be said. This weapon fires fire. A full blast about 3 seconds is enough to kill an enemy SPARTAN. It is THE most powerful close range weapon in the game. However, it can only fire a few feet in front of you, so you're vulnerable even from medium range. After a target is hit with the flamethrower they will continue to be burned, taking away another few bars of health/ about 20% of your shield integrity. TIPS: Pair this with the pistol. If you're a passenger on a Warthog you can maximimize your usefulness by having this on hand. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Rocket launcher, Shotgun G. Warthog Chain Gun #M41 RATING: 5 (multiplayer/ campaign) NAME: M41 LAAG (Light Anti-Aircraft Gun) Clip/ Maximum Ammo: Infinite RATE OF FIRE: Either 30-60 rounds per second (according to the manual, the LAAG actually fires at half the rate of the assault rifle, but that is bull.) ACCURACY: Pretty bad RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: No melee WEAPON CLASS: Anti-Aircraft SPECIAL FEATURES: Quick rate of fire, infinite ammo AVAILABILITY: Common Strong Against: Everything to some extent Weak Against: N/A FIRST FOUND: Halo BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This miraculous weapon, sadly, is not a hand weapon. It is found on back of LRV (light recon vehicle) Warthogs. It rips through enemies in amatter of seconds- one LAAG round packs as much power as a pistol shot. The only problem is accuracy. Marines are pretty shoddy aims, but online most people are sufficient enough behind the LAAG. This is the all- around best Warthog-mounted weapon. TIPS: Stop shooting when you have to swivel the gun to target something else. Also don't fire when there's no enemies. Any enemies that see the stray bullet tracers will know a Warthog's a-comin'. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: LAAV Rocket Launcher H. Frag Grenade #FRG RATING: 5 (multiplayer) 4 (campaign) NAME: M9 HE-DP Grenade Clip/Maximum Ammo: 1/4 RATE OF FIRE: 1 throw per second ACCURACY: Depends on range RELOAD RATE: N/A MELEE RATE: Go ahead and try whacking an enemy on the head with a grenade (Call of Duty lawl) WEAPON CLASS: Explosive SPECIAL FEATURES: It explodes. AVAILABILITY: Uncommon (found on Marines, some Combat forms, and ammo piles) Strong Against: Master Chief, Elites, Grunts, Jackals, All flood, Marines Weak Against: Wraiths, Hunters, Banshees (i have never dinked a banshee with a frag grenade in Campaign, at least) FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: One difference between Halo and other FPS's is that the grenade is not an individual weapon, meaning that you do not have to switch to it in order to throw it (a la Half Life, Counter-Strike, Day of Defeat, etc.) Instead, just use the right mouse button (default) to lob one! Takes 1 second to detonate. Slightly weaker than the plasma grenade. Best for Grunts/Jackals/Flood forms. Can be found in ammo piles, with Marines (they carry from 0-2 at a time) or on the Flood. TIPS: Use sparringly, as these grenades are quite rare. Do not use these on Elites unless they are truly cornered; otherwise use them to dispatch of Jackals, Grunts, and Flood forms. Besides the M9D pistol, one of your best friends in multiplayer. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Plasma grenade (somewhat) I. Warthog Rocket Launcher #WRL RATING: 3 (multiplayer) NAME: LAAV (Light Anti-Armor) Rocket Launcher Clip/Maximum Ammo: 3/Infinite RATE OF FIRE: Slow ACCURACY: Dead-on RELOAD RATE: Slow MELEE RATE: No Melee WEAPON CLASS: Anti-Armor Weapon SPECIAL FEATURES: Clip size of three rockets, infinite ammo reserve Availabilty: Common Strong Against: Everything Weak Against: Nothing FIRST FOUND: Multiplayer only BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Like the M41 LAAG, this, sadly, this is not a hand weapon. This is a rocket launcher mounted on the back of LAAV (light anti- armor) warthogs. In contrast to the fast vehicle, the rockets travel very slowly. However it is more effective at flipping over a vehicle/ killing its passengers than the LAAG gun is. TIPS: Aim at the target's feet to ensure a hit. Don't fire when there's no enemies- you don't want to get caught reloading. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: M41 LAAG ****************************************************************************** VIII. Covenant Weapons #COW Ah, the Covenant. Like all futuristic alien races, their weapons use plasma. They never have to reload; instead they draw power from a battery that must be replaced/recharged every so often. Since in-game there is no way to replace a battery or recharge it, you'll have to replace the weapon itself. For the most part plasma weaponry does more damage to shields than health but most plasma guns are capable of standing on their own. NOTE: ALL COVENANT WEAPONS EXCEPT FOR NEEDLERS HAVE A BATTERY CHARGE. IT STARTS OUT AT 100 AT DEPLETES ITSELF FROM USE DEPENDING ON THE STRENGTH OF THE GUN (USUALLY SEVERAL SHOTS TAKES AWAY 1 BATTERY POWER). THESE WEAPONS ARE HEAT-BASED, SO FIRING TOO MUCH BOLTS AT A TIME WILL CAUSE THE WEAPON TO OVERHEAT AND TEMPORARILY NOT BE ABLE TO FIRE. THERE IS NO WAY TO RECHARGE THE PLASMA BATTERY, SO YOU WILL HAVE TO CONSTANTLY SWITCH IT FOR A WEAPON WITH MORE BATTERY POWER. A. Plasma Pistol #PPI RATING: 1 (multiplayer) 5 (campaign) NAME: Plasma Pistol Clip/ Maximum Ammo: 100 RATE OF FIRE: Semi-Automatic ACCURACY: All right RELOAD RATE: No Reload MELEE RATE: Fast WEAPON CLASS: Energy SPECIAL FEATURES: Overcharge, baby! AVAILABILITY: Common (found on Grunts, Jackals, and a few Combat forms) Bolt Color: Green Strong Against: Shields, Sentinels Weak Against: Hunters, Wraiths, Banshees FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This weapon is an absolute must when dealing with the Covenant. I've mentioned the plasma overcharge shot a lot of times, and here's how it works: hold down the mouse button. The pistol will start to vibrate and light up brighter; release the bolt to fire an overcharge shot. It saps a lot of battery power (11) and renders your gun inoperable for a few seconds (from overheating), but it will completely take out the targeted enemy's shields, regardless of how strong they are. And as God is a generous person, the overcharge shot also homes in on enemies- it can't change direction completely but from a close enough range enemies should be unable to dodge one. The plasma pistol will need very frequent replacement but you can be thankful that this is one of the most common weapons found in the game. TIPS: Don't rely on the Plasma Pistol's "homing system" too much, it's not a heat-seeking missile. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Plasma Rifle B. Plasma Rifle #PRI RATING: 1 (multiplayer) 4 (campaign) NAME: Plasma Rifle Clip/Maximum Ammo: 100 RATE OF FIRE: Automatic ACCURACY: Plasma bolts are super light; the farther the travel the wind will cause them to change course slightly. RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: Medium WEAPON CLASS: Energy SPECIAL FEATURES: Pretty strong against shields AVAILABILITY: Common (found on Elites and some Combat forms) Bolt Color: Light blue Strong Against: Shields, Sentinels, Infection Form, Jackals Weak Against: Hunters, Wraiths, Ghosts FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Covenant equivalent of the Assault Rifle. This weapon is actually pretty good all-around: most Covenant weapons do more damage to shields than health, but the plasma rifle does enough damage to be able to stand on its own. It also has a very generous heat reserve- that is, it doesn't overheat that easily. TIPS: Like most plasma weapons this gun can overheat, so rather than firing full auto it's better to fire long sustained bursts. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Assault Rifle, Plasma Pistol C. Needler #NEE RATING: 1 (multiplayer) 1 (campaign) NAME: Needler Clip/Maximum Ammo: 20/80 RATE OF FIRE: Automatic ACCURACY: The needles home in on their target RELOAD RATE: Medium MELEE RATE: Slow WEAPON CLASS: Automatic SPECIAL FEATURES: The needles home in on their target. AVAILABILITY: Common (found on Grunts and a few Elites) Bolt color: Pink Strong Against: Sentinels, and depending on the health and number of needles fired it can be effective against all enemies save the Hunter and higher- ranking Elites. Weak Against: Everything if the bullets are fired one by one (except for Infection forms). FIRST FOUND: Halo BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Despite all its fancy features, the Needler is, in my opinion, one of the most useless guns in the game. First, the good. This thing fires pink needle-like bullets that home in on their targets. Only the quickest enemies (Elites) are capable of dodging a needle (or needles). The Needle will burrow into soft targets but bounce off of hard targets (Jackal shields, Hunter armor, some parts of vehicles). After burrowing the needles will burst, causing minute damage. Seven or more needles creates a small explosion, which is usually enough to kill a Grunt, Jackal, or Sentinel. There is, however, one huge, glaring flaw: there is a short delay between the needles burrowing in the enemy and exploding. This short delay truly is the thin line between life and death- and that line is very often crossed over. Elites are very good at dodging Needles regardless of range, and a full clip is not enough to kill an Elite in the later difficulties. Jackals also defend against needles very well with their shields. This gun is also the only Covenant weapon that uses ammo, and it has a very small ammo reserve for its clip size. TIPS: Don't use from too far away, the enemy can dodge the needles easily (especially Elites). Needle explosions cause minor splash damage. Don't fire in bursts either. And don't use on Hunters. They can literally take countless needle explosions, anywhere on their body. It'd be best to just disregard this weapon entirely, as the short delay between the burrowing and explosion makes it an inferior weapon to any other of its Covenant counterparts. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Plasma Rifle, Assault Rifle, Plasma Pistol D. Fuel Rod Launcher #FUE RATING: 2 (multiplayer) NAME: Fuel Rod Cannon (or Fuel Rod Gun) Clip/Maximum Ammo: 100 RATE OF FIRE: Semi-automatic ACCURACY: 8/10 (at close range; this gun fires in arcs, which severly affects its accuracy at medium/long range) RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: Slow WEAPON CLASS: Anti-Armor SPECIAL FEATURES: The bolts curve downward the longer distance they travel, on Campaign they have a failsafe. AVAILABILITY: Uncommon (found on Hunters and a few Grunts) Bolt Color: Green Strong Against: Master Chief Weak Against: ? FIRST FOUND: Multiplayer Only (not available to the player on Campaign, but Grunts are seen using them, and of course, Hunters do also) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This baby lobs huge green bolts that explode. It is basically the Covenant rocket launcher. Thankfully, though, the fuel rod launcher is inferior in both accuracy and power. One shot does about as much damage as a grenade (one layer of shields plus half your health), but its perks end there. The fuel rod launcher saps a lot of battery power; a full charge should only yield about 15 shots. When fired over long ranges, the bolt arcs downward, making it near impossible to aim and hit targets accurately. Since in Campaign you will never be able to get your hands on one (dropped fuel rod launchers detonate when the user dies), you won't have worry about the aim. The fuel rod launcher is used by all Hunters and also Grunts in the Maw level. Once again: FUEL ROD LAUNCHERS WILL DETONATE AFTER THE USER DIES (THIS APPLIES ONLY TO GRUNTS). BEWARE. TIPS: As I said, the fuel rod isn't the best at aiming, so fire at the feet (you DO get to use them on onlime multiplayer). Remember, when you kill Grunts wielding a Fuel Rod Cannon, WAIT FOR THE FUEL ROD TO EXPLODE BEFORE WALKING OVER. A hit from directly under you should be sufficient to kill you, if not seriously injure. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: Rocket launcher D. Plasma Grenade #PLA RATING: 2 (multiplayer) 4 (campaign) NAME: Plasma Grenade Clip/Maximum Ammo: 1/4 RATE OF FIRE: 1 throw per second ACCURACY: Functions like the fuel rod, depends on range RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: No melee WEAPON CLASS: Explosive SPECIAL FEATURES: Latches on to moving targets (Covenant, Humans, Flood, and vehicles), detonates after 3 seconds AVAILABILITY: Common (found on Grunts and some Elites) Bolt Color: Light Blue Strong Against: (if latched on) All enemies save the Hunter Weak Against: Hunters FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: All that needs to be said is said above. Since the plasma grenade sticks onto a target (upon successfully "hitting" them), the plasma grenade will kill the stickee (an exception is Hunters). However, the fuse is very slow: 3 seconds, giving enough time for the enemy to recklessly charge towards you and hurt you with the resulting explosion. If YOU get sticked, you will die. An explosion near you will do about the same amount of damage a fragmentation grenade does (all your shields and half your health). TIPS: Don't try to throw them from far away. Always run when the enemy lobs one at you. They do stick to vehicles, but will bounce off some parts of Warthogs (specifically the windshield). Great Scorpion killer. ACCEPTABLE SWAP: Frag grenade E. Shade Gun Emplacement #SHA RATING: 1 (multiplayer) 2 (campaign) NAME: Shade (stationary plasma gun emplacement) Clip/Maximum Ammo: Infinite RATE OF FIRE: Anti-Personnel ACCURACY: 3/10 RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: No melee WEAPON CLASS: Anti-personnel SPECIAL FEATURES: Can cut your shields and health down considerably AVAILABILITY: Common Bolt Color: Lightish purple Strong Against: Marines, Master Chief, Grunts, Jackals, Elites, Flood forms Weak Against: Vehicles, Hunters (?) FIRST FOUND: Truth & Reconciliation BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Shades are the stationary plasma guns you will find in some levels. For the most part they'll be manned by Grunts, but Elites can operate them too. Shades themselves are not destructable, so the only way to neutralize one is to either kill the gunner or to flip it over (with a strategically placed grenade). For a gun emplacement the bolts it fires travel very slowly, but to compensate they will mow you down if they hit. For this reason it's best to take these out first; otherwise they'll be pinning down both you and your Marines. Best used for close range combat; absolutely useless at long range because of the slow muzzle velocity and the huge recoil. TIPS: The Shade is great for taking care of enemies from CLOSE range, any other range and you might as well be sniping with an Assault Rifle. Always keep in mind the huge recoil of this gun, but it does pretty decent damage. ACCEPTABLE SWAP: M41 LAAG F. Energy Sword #ENS RATING: N/A NAME: Energy Sword Clip/Maximum Ammo: Infinite RATE OF FIRE: N/A ACCURACY: Dead-on crosshair RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: Fast (?) WEAPON CLASS: Melee SPECIAL FEATURES: "One-shot" kill AVAILABILITY: Uncommon Strong Against: Master Chief and most foot enemies Weak Against: Hunters (?), Flood (?), vehicles FIRST FOUND: Truth & Reconciliation BRIEF DESCRIPTION: In Halo: Combat Evolved energy swords only function as enemy weapons. They flare out and disappear when the user dies. Energy swords have a light blue plasma blade. They used either by silver (but the sword will still be visible) or gold Elites. They kill in one shot, no matter what. TIPS: Don't worry when Silver (invisible) Elites use this, as you can still see this sword. Always kill these Elites first if they are A) close to you or B) you want to protect your Marines. For some reason the Marines don't notice the energy sword. ACCEPTABLE SWAP: Lightsaber G. Plasma Shield #SHE RATING: 0 (multiplayer) 2 (campaign) NAME: Plasma Shield (no official name) Clip/Maximum Ammo: N/A RATE OF FIRE: N/A ACCURACY: N/A RELOAD RATE: N/A MELEE RATE: N/A WEAPON CLASS: N/A SPECIAL FEATURES: Rechargeable AVAILABILITY: Common Strong Against: Human Weapons Weak Against: Covenant Weapons FIRST FOUND: Truth & Reconciliation BRIEF DESCRIPTION: This shield is basically a decoration. Although it is impervious to both human and plasma bullets, it is too tall for anyone to be able to use it to duck-and-cover. Pay no mind to this. Grenade and rocket explosions and plasma overcharge still causes it to flare out, but it recharges pretty quickly (about 5 seconds). TIPS: Despite the fact that the shields are transparent, the enemy can't see you when you're behind it. You can use these to peek at your enemies. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: N/A ****************************************************************************** IX. Uncategorized #UNC A. Melee #MEL NAME: Melee Clip/Maximum Ammo: Infinite RATE OF FIRE: Depends on weapon ACCURACY: Dead-on crosshair RELOAD RATE: No reload MELEE RATE: Depends on weapon WEAPON CLASS: Melee SPECIAL FEATURES: Can kill in one "shot" if you melee the back (excludes Combat forms, carrier forms, Hunters, Sentinels [not sure about sentinels]) Strong Against: Unshielded enemies, shielded enemies' backs Weak Against: Heavily armored enemies and the Flood FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: As long as you have a weapon in your hand, empty or not, you can use it as a club. Press F (default) to melee. Melee is the silent killer, so you can use it while active camouflage is...active. In campaign and most enemies won't hear or notice that you're there. Some weapons may have a more powerful melee than others; I'm not sure. TIPS: Use weapons with quick melees (see the weapons section) and it's advisable to use this while in Active Camo. Fast melee weapons include the plasma pistol and assault rifle. MELEE THE BACK for an instant kill (excluding Flood forms and Hunters) ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: err..no. B. Chained Explosion #CHX NAME: Chained Explosion Clip/Maximum Ammo: ? RATE OF FIRE: Depends on amount of grenades ACCURACY: Affects everything within range of the grenade(s) RELOAD RATE: ? MELEE RATE: ? WEAPON CLASS: Explosive SPECIAL FEATURES: Is used in Warthog Jumping, a Halo sport first popularized by Randall Glass. Strong Against: Depends on the amount of grenades and the health of an enemy Weak Against: See the Strong Against feature. FIRST FOUND: The Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: What's the deal with listing "Explosion" as a weapon, you ask? Well, in Campaign when you see grenades on the ground that are not about to explode (ones dropped by killed allies or enemies; Dead grenades), throwing a "live" grenade (one thrown by you) in will detonate the "dead" ones, causing a chain of explosions. This is a pretty useful "weapon", and it was the only reason I survived in the cafeteria in the Maw. Piling "dead" grenades under a warthog and then detonating them can send them to unbelievable places, sometimes they go where you cannot see with a sniper rifle or even disappear. This is called Warthog Jumping. An easy level to do warthog jumping is on The Silent Cartographer (included with the Trial!). Note: Grenades found with pre-killed corpses will not detonate. TIPS: Always watch for dead grenades, and especially beware if you can be at the receiving end of a chain explosion. ACCEPTABLE SWAPS: A bigger explosion C. Powerup: Active Camouflage #ACT NAME: Active Camouflage Clip/Maximum Ammo: N/A RATE OF FIRE: N/A ACCURACY: N/A RELOAD RATE: N/A MELEE RATE: N/A WEAPON CLASS: Powerup SPECIAL FEATURES: Makes the user semi-invisible Strong Against: N/A Weak Against: N/A FIRST FOUND: Truth & Reconciliation BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Besides super-soldiers, active camouflage would be another one of the pinnacles of modern military technology. In Halo, it seems to be all but perfected. Upon picking this powerup up (it looks like a little glass pyramid with a ball in the middle), you will quickly fade into near- invisibility. This will last for a few minutes, a time in which your enemies will be unable to see you. Firing your weapons will still alert enemies your position from the sound (online you will appear temporarily when firing), so it's best to use melee attacks. D. Powerup: Overshield #OVE NAME: Overshield CLIP/MAXIMUM AMMO: N/A RATE OF FIRE: N/A ACCURACY: N/A RELOAD RATE: N/A MELEE RATE: N/A WEAPON CLASS: Powerup SPECIAL FEATURES: N/A STRONG AGAINST: N/A WEAK AGAINST: N/A FIRST FOUND: Pillar of Autumn BRIEF DESCRIPTION: It looks like a glass box with a red ball in the center. Upon picking it up you will be given two extra layers of shields, which are non-rechargeable. Enjoy. Online the Overshield will slowly drain away over time, regardless. WARNING: One plasma overcharge shot will still be able to short out all your shields. *************************************************************** #VEH =Stats= NAME: Name of the vehicle SPEED: How fast the vehicle goes at normal speed WEAPONS: Weapons that are either mounted or integrated with the vehicle CREW: The number of people this vehicle can hold, along with the functions of each crew member AVAILABILITY: Is this vehicle found on campaign only, multiplayer only, or both? Note: Vehicles usually only appear once per mission (either once per mission or only in one location) FIRST FOUND: The mission where you first find this vehicle TIPS: Tips for taking down an enemy in this vehicle. NOTE: WHEN IN VEHICLES (EXCLUDING THE GHOST), DRIVERS (OR PILOTS) CAN OFTEN TAKE MORE DAMAGE THAN WHEN ON FOOT ON MULTIPLAYER. VEHICLES WITH HEALTH WILL TAKE DAMAGE INSTEAD OF THE DRIVER/PILOT. IN VEHICLES WITH INEXHAUSTIBLE HEALTH THE DRIVER TAKES THE DAMAGE. X. Human Vehicles #HUV A. Warthog #HOG NAME: LRV (Light Recon Vehicle) or LAAV (Light Anti-Armor Vehicle) or (most popular) Warthog or Jeep SPEED: 3/4 as fast as a banshee Weapons: M41 LAAG Gun or LAAV Rocket Launcher Crew: 3 (Driver, Passenger, Gunner) maximum AVAILABILITY: Campaign/ Multiplayer (the LAAV is multiplayer-exclusive) FIRST FOUND: Halo (Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room, The Maw) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Warthog is the futuristic equivalent of the Army Jeep/ Hummer. Like its counterparts it is an all-terrain vehicle and has 4x4 drive. Its construction is very simple. Seats in the front (for a driver and passenger) and a gun in the back (either a chain gun or rocket launcher). The Warthog is not a closed vehicle, so everyone on a Warthog is much suspectible to enemy gunfire and grenades. However, besides the passengers, the Warthog itself is indestructible. It is a rather speedy land vehicle and it'll be the vehicle you'll probably be using the most, be it on Campaign or Multiplayer. As mentioned before, the Warthog seats 3 people. The driver drives. The passenger is capable of using whatever weapon he/she has on hand and throwing grenades. The gunner stands in the back, manning the gun. TIPS: Using good timing, you can flip a hog over (and seriously injure) using a well-placed frag grenade. Basically, wait till the hog is coming straight for you, and then when it's about one second away from you, throw a frag grenade at your feet and back up. Most drivers won't dodge it in time. DRIVER: Drive, fool, drive! If you're trying to run over someone it's best to zig-zag rather than drive straight at him- if he throws a grenade you won't be able to dodge it in time. However, if he does, the best thing to do is to stop the Hog and back up to give your gunner some time to kill him. PASSENGER: Unless you have a weapon that acually makes you useful (fuel rod launcher, flamethrower), don't waste your ammo or your grenades. You should be the one who gets off the Hog to go capture the flag, or you should be the one holding the oddball, since the passenger is the "smallest" target. GUNNER: There is no real strategy here. Just aim and shoot. B. Scorpion Main Battle Tank #SCO NAME: M808B Scorpion MBT (Main Battle Tank) SPEED: Half-fast as the warthog Weapons: 90mm HV (High Velocity) and 7.62mm AP-T (Armor-Piercing, Tracer) in other words, a cannon and a chain gun Crew: 5 (driver, 4 passengers) maximum AVAILABILITY: Campaign/ Multiplayer FIRST FOUND: Assault on the Control Room (also the only level) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Two words can accurately describe this huge gun-toting mobile fortress- big target. But first, the good. Unlike the Warthog, when on the Scorpion you are capable of driving and operating the cannon at the same time. In fact, the Scorpion has both a main cannon and a chain gun (left click for cannon, right click for chain gun). As with all vehicle-mounted weapons the ammo is infinite; however, the cannon takes 4 seconds to reload between shots. Up to 4 passengers can sit on the track pods of the tank to take care of enemies when they get too close for the tank to be able to do anything about it. The tank itself is not destructible, but of course you are. On Campaign you should have no problem kicking alien ass, but on multiplayer you're simply a huge sniper/ grenade target. The Scorpion may be powerful, but it's too slow to get away from any threats- even the extremely slow-running SPARTANs. TIPS: Use grenades on this, as it is so huge the driver will never get away in time. Also, you can snipe the driver easily. PASSENGER: Same as Warthog. If you don't have a fuel rod launcher or flamethrower don't waste your ammo. Hell, there isn't even a point to being a Scorpion passenger. Since it's such a huge target and travels so slowly, you're better off on foot. C. Pelican Dropship #PEL NAME: D77-TC Pelican Dropship SPEED: 1.5x the speed of a warthog Weapons: None (according to the novels, though, Pelicans are supposed to have 50mm chain guns) Crew: 11 (pilot, passengers) AVAILABILITY: Campaign only FIRST FOUND: Halo (Truth & Reconciliation, Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room, 343 Guilty Spark, Two Betrayals, The Maw) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: Yet another mind-blowingly different element of games that take place in outer space- the dropship. Not much to say. It flies, it has no weapons (technically, it does, but it has no ammo for said weapons) and it drops off things. Those things are you, Marines, and Warthogs. Indestructible and cannot be interacted with- except for glitches, you cannot get onto a Pelican. TIPS: Keep your arms and legs inside the vehicle at all times until it comes to a complete stop. XI. Covenant Vehicles #COT A. Ghost #GHO NAME: Ghost SPEED: Fast as the warthog, maybe a bit faster Weapons: Twin plasma cannons (the same plasma bolts as those fired by plasma rifles) Crew: 1 (driver) AVAILABILITY: Both FIRST FOUND: Assault on the Control Room BRIEF DESCRIPTION: A rough equivalent of the Warthog. The Ghost is a small hovering one-seater vehicle armed with twin plasma cannons. It is very quick and maneuverable (capable of strafing!), but not very good at killing things. It is really just best for getting around. On Campaign Ghosts are totally optional- I don't recall any situation where a Ghost was necessary to get somewhere. However, Ghosts are destructible. One rocket shot or two grenades should take care of one quite nicely. Not only that, but the driver is almost completely exposed to enemy fire. As you can see, Ghosts are really only useful for getting around. On Multiplayer Ghosts are indestructible, but for the reasons stated above they are still useless combat-wise. TIPS: Ghosts aren't really that big of a threat, but can be annoying. You can either try to stick the Ghost with a plasma grenade (to kill the pilot) or destroy the Ghost itself. Don't try using frag grenades- Ghosts have the widest range of movement in a pinch and so can very easily get away from frags. Marines can get on Ghosts and use them. B. Banshee #BAN NAME: Banshee SPEED: About four times as fast as you can run Weapons: Twin Plasma Cannons, Fuel Rod Cannon Crew: 1 (Pilot) AVAILABILITY: Both FIRST FOUND: Halo (piloted banshees only), Assault on the Control Room (banshees available to pilot) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Banshee is the only flying vehicle in the game. It sports twin plasma cannons and a fuel rod launcher. Left click fires the cannons while right click fires the fuel rod cannon. The fuel rod takes about 4 seconds to recharge. It is undoubtedly the fastest vehicle and pretty hard to disable if you don't have the right weapons. On Campaign, Banshees are destructible, with the same durability a Ghost has. Unlike other vehicles the pilot is almost completely covered, so the only thing you'll have to worry about is the banshee getting destroyed. Banshees are usually an annoying threat at most. The best way to take care of these things is the pistol. If you can get your hands on a Banshee, good for you. They are the best way to get around and almost impervious to enemy fire since, you know, it flies. Useful on multiplayer too. TIPS: The pistol is the best weapon to take it down, or the rocket launcher. This applies to both Campaign and Multiplayer. When you're the pilot, remember to do strafing runs. That is, fire your plasma cannons and then fire the fuel rod when you're close enough and repeat. The Banshee can also hover. The default is S (move backward). C. Wraith #WRA NAME: Wraith SPEED: Fast as Scorpion Weapons: Plasma Mortar (no official name) Crew: 1 (Driver) AVAILABILITY: Campaign (unpilotable) FIRST FOUND: Truth & Reconciliation (inactive), Assault on the Control Room (activate) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Wraith is the Covenant's response to the Scorpion. However, its arsenal consists of only one weapon- a plasma artillery cannon. Despite the fact that these artillery shots travel EXTREMELY slow, the Elites that pilot it, God bless them, are pretty damn accurate. They are actually capable of hitting you WHILE piloting a Banshee (if you're low to the ground), However, since these monsters move very slowly you can easily ignore them and run by as long as you're not on foot. Otherwise you'll be forced to deal with them. It'll take either 3 rockets, 6 grenades, or 2 scorpion shells. TIPS: The only way to kill this pest is the rocket launcher. Otherwise you're screwed. Or, on some missions, you can use the Banshee and do quite a few bombing and strafing runs to kill them, or you can kill them with the Scorpion. It is possible to flip over a Wraith, and you can also flip it back over. However, you still cannot get in. D. Spirit Dropship NAME: Covenant Dropship or Spirit SPEED: 1.5x that of a Warthog Weapons: Shade Turret Crew: 9 (pilot, passengers) AVAILABILITY: Campaign (unpilotable) FIRST FOUND: Halo (Truth & Reconciliation, Silent Cartographer, Assault on the Control Room, 343 Guilty Spark [crashed], Two Betrayals) BRIEF DESCRIPTION: The Covenant dropship. However, this thing has a weapon- a Shade cannon. Thankfully, Shade cannons were never too accurate in the first place so you won't have to worry at all- not even on Legendary. The Spirit does not drop off troops like a conventional one. Troops stand inside slots, and when they are dropped off the Spirit opens the doors that cover the slots. So in this way all the troops get off at exactly the same time and somewhat spaced apart. They drop off Elites, Jackals, and Grunts. They usually drop off an average of 4-6 troops. TIPS: Really, you have no way to destroy them. HOWEVER, troops getting off this are vulnerable right after they touch down. With the right timing, the troops can jump down right on top of a live grenade, or Elites can be sniped just as they touch down. *************************************************************** XII. Easter Eggs #EAS There are many easter eggs placed throughout Halo, some small such as a programmer's initials on the bottom of your boots to the infamous Megg. NOTE: SOME OF THESE EGGS REQUIRE FOR YOU TO JUMP ONTO SOMETHING. WHILST JUMPING, PRESS CROUCH (DEFAULT CTRL) AT THE HIGHEST POINT OF THE JUMP TO GET A BIT HIGHER. A. Edit Multiplayer Gametypes Screen #EMT Go to multiplayer and put your mouse over the Edit Gametypes button. DO NOT CLICK ON IT. When you put your mouse on it, you can see a diagram of Master Chief with small text describing the various parts of his suit. Not all of these are serious. The one pointing to MC's left thigh says "Sometimes I give myself the creeps Sometimes my mind plays tricks on me" (lyrics from Green Day's song Basket Case). The arrow pointing to MC's right chest says "All your base are belong to us" (this shouldn't need explanation). The arrow pointing to MC's right knee (below the Green Day lyric) says "Hydraulic suspension thigh pads with cool Kevlar crap". The rest are unreadable. B. Chinese 7 #CH7 This symbol is on top of the pistol. Switch to your pistol. The Master Chief will cock it (so, just watch the take-out-pistol animation), and you'll you see a faint Chinese 7 (a regular 7 with a line through near the top). Take a screenshot and you'll be able to see it for a longer period of time. C. Deadly Hippoes #HIP For this egg you'll need a loaded shotgun and a weapon with a scope on hand. Fire your shotgun (as many times as you like) and then look for the shells. Zoom in on them, and on some you'll be able to see a hippo face right above the words 8 GAUGE. D.MRL #MRL On the bottom of MC's boot is the initals MRL, which stand for Marcus R. Letho, Halo's art director. One way you can see it is on multiplayer, have another player jump on top of you. Examine the person's boots. On one of them you should see MRL. E.HBT (Happy Birthday Tank) #HBT The numbers on the left front tread of the Scorpion says 050369. This is the birthdate of Marcus Letho (MRL, the Halo art director). 05-03-69, or May 3, 1969. NOTE: THE SHOVEL ON THE SCORPION IS NOT AN EGG, NORMAL TANKS DO HAVE THIS EQUIPMENT. F. Marathon Logo #MLO What is the Marathon logo? It's the logo of a game that Bungie made before Halo. This egg can conviniently be found on Captain Keyes's shirt. Use a scope weapon to observe his chest, and you'll see his nametag (Hello, my name Keyes) and a Marathon logo on the right. It looks like this: O- The only missions you can do this on is The Pillar of Autumn (after Keyes gives you his pistol, go back and look at his chest) or Truth and Reconciliation (if you kept your sniper rifle, zoom in on his chest after you freed him from jail). Another interesting note: apparently the creators forgot to put the word "is" in "Hi, my name Keyes". G. Invincible Marines #INV This is not actually an easter egg, but it's something to take note of when trying to activate the Megg. It only works on the mission The Pillar of Autumn and in the bridge. When you receive a weapon of any kind, kill anyone on the bridge, and then Cortana will say, "What the hell are you doing? Security to the bridge- the Master chief has gone rampant!" Note that the door in front of the bridge opens exactly when she says "rampant." Eight or so Marines will greet you, and they'll storm in and block your way out. All doors in the Pillar of Autumn will lock even if the green light is up. Nothing will kill them. The best you can do is to shoot at them with the Assault Rifle to get any further out the bridge. The reason this happens is to prevent plot holes- if Keyes is dead from the very first mission, the plot would simply cease to make sense. H. Bulletin Board #BUL On the mission The Pillar of Autumn, go inside the cafeteria (or it's somewhere near the entrance to the bridge). You'll see a bulletin board (easily noticeable by the poster showing a picture of Earth saying, "Fight for her") Here is the board layout: -Top left- FOR SALE Pentium 30 33GF CHICAGO OFFICE COLONY SHIP 3-speed manual transmission HYDE PARK CONDO Integrity -Bottom left- MARINES KEEP IT CLEAN! Clean your area, toss your filth, put away your tray -Center- MARINES Scooters are for squirts No scooters on deck -Top right- Duty Roster Pillar of Autumn (a list of unreadable names) -Center right- Lost: Calico Cat Answers to Jonesy -Bottom right- Attention Marines Callbacks for South Pacific (the rest is covered by a keyboard-thing) -Far right- A poster of Earth with the caption "Fight for her" I. Megg #MEG #0QQ0000000000Eb8888E0QQQ0000QWWWBBBBWQQQ0Eb8ZZ8EEEE000WWWWWWQQQ00QQQQQQQQQQQQ #AEEEEEEEQQQWQ00E8Z9bQWQ000EbZ6Uz1CCCYv::ii::iic7Y7SzA9QE698E0QQWWBBBBBBWQ0000 #80Q0QQQQZA69886A0Q0EWBQ0bAU1Y;i.. .iYtSUbEBQb89I26Z8bbbbEEEW#WWWW #80Q000$z:.:i::.Y0W0b0QQ08z7v,... .,vXS2UWEbbc;,::i;;;;;;vcW#WWW #80QWQW6X1nSzznnn17n6EEUStcii,....... ...,.. ...:i;;vASzEz1B#ZoUz2AzzSCz$WWW #bW$$$B0QWWWQQ0Eb9Ub8802tv;;iii::::........v;..,i;;ivv:t;7zISA7tt1SSzzIz1tE$WW #bWWBB$@@@@@@@@#$$QEbAb9AS7cv;;i::i,.......,...:i;vvCt;C,v7S9EWB#####@####$BWW #8QWWWBBBBB$$BWBWQ92oXzAA92C77c;:::i::,,::. ,;vYY7tX8c7XCoA0WB$##$#$$##$$BW #8QWWWWWWWWWWWWQWWASS19bI9AXCXv;,,:iii...,,::Yi:ccccvYzBYX1oA6b0QWBBWBBW$$$$$$ #EQWWWWWWWWWWWBW0bon1tIQIzzttc,.,:,i;ii;ii;inMMX;vv;c7tbY7tzIU680QQWB$$##$#### #WBBBBBBBBB$BWWQZ2tSzzt8n1tttCv:@&Yic;Y7c;vvzU7vi;ccYcvI7tzAUSn60QW$$B$####### #QB$$B$#$$$$$BWQbztnIz71c71nz691E$A$MMI7ttY0MQ9W1SI2z1IB0AE0E6IZEQ$$$$$####### @W$$$##$$$$$$$BW0EbZ6zUQQEEQQQE0SctAbZIIo0$$n7W$nCSI99E06UU962Sz60QQWB######## @BB$$#########BQE00827v2EA9z7CAM@U..;t#BcQ&#;.,Y62vYC1z97ttzUIzSA0QWWB$#$$#### @WBBB$######$WQbUzoo17cctYviictEQI:,iU@W;iYvii;0&M2Y11U0tn1SIAAIU80WW$$$$$$$$$ @QWBB$######BW0EInootCt7ItcYSEBUYcX1t7t##v.ivccYUEzt2z6b122ooSooAb0WB$$$$$B$#@ &@#BWB$$$$$$$Wb8AIAA9b0b0AotS$M#UI662S1zo7Sonn7;nM@1IU69Sn11SoSSAE0QW$$$B$#&&& &&&@#$BWBBB$$BQEZ66UIUA26AzStYo98E86U9AC6IZQEU2bbbZUEbb8AUnt2I22Ab0WB$$B$&&&&@ &@&&&&@$WWB$$BB096921ttCzIoSYUZtIQEbZbE9ZAEE2ozEEb@@0b8E8bS166II6EW$$B#&&&&@@@ &&@&&&&&@#BB$BW0E88USSntoAonYQ@IzQQ000W$BBWUtZbEEB@#AtzIzAA66AIAZ0QW#@&&&@@@@& &&&@@@@&&&@#BWBQEbZ99znnzZIn1AQ0b$$BQbUIII80QWW$BBb6@ISSnoU6UUAZEQ$@&&&@@@@&&& &&&&&@@@@&&&&#$Q0bZZbA22zAAUzz2zSz9Q$Q8AI80Q$@@$W090Q2zzzS2UIU9EQ@&&&@@@@@&&&& &&&&&&&&@@&&&M&#WE8bEEZ6IIUUIz1XY7z0#$0EB###$0#@W000QQ92oA9AUAE$&M&@@@@&&&&&@@ &&&&&&&&&&&&@&&M�Z8bZ6AI2UIIzzSnSAEQ0QQ00QE B@$BWB##BWBBQbW@&@@@@&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&#@&&&@$EZ9b86IIzzIIIz2I2AEEE00QW. c&$QEEQ$$$$QW@&&@#@@&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&&&@@@@@@$098Z6UzzzzooSozzI6ZbEW$ iBQbEEQQ0Q$@@@@@&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&&&&&&MMM&@##@@@$WE8862zzZ6o29622IA9@Mn.:itQW08ZQ@@@##@&MM&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&&@#WB$B#&MM&&@##@@@#Qb9AE$WE0E89AU2zQMM. ii iBQW#@@#@@&M&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &@@@@@@@#$6c70@@@&&MM&###@@@$#@@&&@@@@#EE##@M&9 . 1&&&&&@&&&&&@@@@&&&&&&&&&& &@@@@&@$##z:ib@@#&&&&MM&&@@@@@######WWWQ@MMM&@BcC11Xc#&&&&M&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &@@@@&&##@0AU0@##M&&&&&MM&&&@@#BWWQWQ00BMMMMM&EQ@MM$bb&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &@@@@&&&@@&@@@#@@&&&&&&&&&&MMMMMMMMMMMMM&&&MM@B&&MM#B0#MM&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&W&&&&@&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&MMMMMMM&M&&&&M@B$$####$W#M&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&&@&M&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&MW&M&&&&M@W#$BWBBQ#8$M&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& &&&&&&@&&&&&&&&&@@&&&&&&&&&&&&&&@&&&@Q&&&@&&&&@######&&&#&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&& I present to you the infamous easter egg that provoked a search so furious you may've actually heard about this egg before you even purchased a copy of Halo. This egg is a heart made out of spattered blood with bulletholes spelling the letter M (Meg+easter egg=Megg). This egg was actually a private gift from Jaime Griesemer (a.k.a. The Flawless Cowboy, a designer for Halo) to his girlfriend Meg. Once you see the list of things you need to do to activate this egg, you'll see what I mean by "private gift". This list of directions was not even here from the start. After Meg found the gift, she left a series of clues on how other players could find it. The clues: Carnage before. Impossible tasks as possible. One maker. Mathematics births gore. Devotion. Pain. Before you die, you see the Megg. Look up to the skies and see... It took over 4 months to find this egg. Not even all of the Bungie staff knew about it. There are MANY different methods to find it. This is the most surefire one. The clues have been translated into these 19 (!) triggers: 1. Start the mission The Pillar of Autumn on Legendary. 2. Skip the cutscene, turn around, and jump on Master Chief's cryo tube after it closes. 3. Jump on top of the shield regenerator. 4. Jump on top of the walkway. 5. Look up, then walk towards the exit while on the walkway. 6. Once done, turn around and walk to the back. 7. Jump on top of the yellow barrel (stay there for 10 seconds). 8. Jump back on top of the walkway. Walk towards the door, and jump off the walkway. The crewman will now leave. No need to follow him or anything, head to the bridge. 9. When you get to the Marine who leads you to the bridge, simply jump over him. This is not as hard as it sounds. 10. Once at the bridge, run PAST Keyes WITHOUT triggering the cutscene and jump down to the ladder. Wait for the message on how to climb ladders to appear before climbing up. 11. Climb up and talk to Keyes. 12. Head for the exit. Kill the three Grunts. The order doesn't matter. 13. Get the Assault Rifle by the door. Reload it for a full clip. 14. Kill a standing crewman near the door WITHOUT a headshot. It doesn't matter which weapon you use. It is recommended you reload to prepare for the incoming Marines. 15. Once the invincible marines come for you, shoot at them with the Assault rifle until your clip is empty. (the door will open exactly when Cortana says "rampant"). The important part is making sure that the Marines will not be able to advance past the open door. 16. Duck behind the pillar next to the door, reload, and fire at them some more in order to clear your way to get out the door at the end of the hall. 17. Run for the door. It should open by now. If not, you did something wrong, and you're screwed. 18. Go down the hall. Look up. There it is. Turn on flashlight for better view. 19. Now you're screwed again - you can stay in the Megg "room", but if you leave, the invincible marines will kill you. Even if you run past them, the door to the rest of the Autumn is locked (despite the fact the doors have the "green light"). Might as well go back and face those Marines like a man. SOME QUESTIONS ANSWERED Q. If I die at the invincible Marines part, can I start off from the last checkpoint or do I have to do it all over again? A. You CAN start from a checkpoint. Just don't forget any triggers. Q. Do I have to follow the exact procedure in taking care of the Marines? A. No. In fact, you may find it benefecial to kill a crewman and wait for the Marines to spread out a little more before making a run for the door. J. Rock to Death #RTD You'll need to be on the level Assault on the Control Room. Get a banshee and fly to the control center. There are three pillars that bracket (these pillars form a "T") the central pillar in the front of the door. Land the banshee parallel to the walkway, facing the left, and hop out the back. One wrong move, you die. Walk to the right end of the ledge and stand still. Then you should hear music. This music is the Seige of Madrigal. See video demonstration at halo.bungie.org. K. Keyes's Pipe #PIP In Halo: Fall of Reach and Halo: The Flood (not sure if it's mentioned in the latter) Keyes constantly nibbles on his pipe, his prized possession. Well, you can see it on the level Keyes. You'll need a scoped weapon (just get one of the Flood on the way to the control room; no need to keep one from the beginning). When you see Keyes inside that blob (poor Keyes..), look to the right. There should be some sort of root hanging off to the edge. Zoom in and there ya be, Keyes's famous pipe. You can see it without a scope, but it'll be obscure. L. Food Nipple #FOO This egg is pretty easy to find. On the chapter "Warning: Hitchhikers May Be Escaping Prisoners" (on the mission "The Maw") drive your Warthog until you reach the platfrom where Echo 419 gets shot down. Like all Halo savvy players, drive past it. Keep going until you see a tunnel on the right. You should pass a room with a bunch of pillars in the center before reaching this tunnel. The tunnel is about at the point where you have 915 meters to go. Go inside the tunnel and turn into the next tunnel. You'll see a Spec-Ops grunt. Bump into him or do something to make him notice you. He won't attack you. But, he'll say, "Good thing that food nipple's waiting for me at the starship, 'cuz man! Have I worked up a big, grunty thirst!" After he says this, now you can kill him if you want, or let him die in the initial explosion. Your choice. HOWEVER, making this stop might leave you with insufficient time to escape. M. Rex #REX This is the last Halo easter egg you can interact with. Past the platform where you watch Foe Hammer get shot down, there's a jump that takes you down a few stories. Instead of driving straight off, angle your jump to the left so you'll hit the ledge on the side of the tunnel. It's not as hard as it sounds. In fact, it's quite easy. Anyway, park your Warthog right up against the concrete platform thinggy. Jump on top of the chain gun turret so you'll be able to get up there. Keep walking and you'll find a "room" with a doorway that's splattered with blood. Inside you'll see the word "REX" written in splattered blood. This is the work of Tyson Green (a.k.a. REX), the Halo level designer. N. Congratulations #CON Beat the Maw on Legendary. There is a small cutscene added. ********************************************************************* XIII. Tips #TIP Just keep these little gems of wisdom in mind. *If you're gonna take a long drop, crouch right before hitting the ground. This reduces damage unless it's a sure-death drop. *If you happen to be falling down a ledge or something, try to slide along it rather than jumping off it like Evel Kneivel. If you do this correctly, you shouldn't take any damage (UNLESS it's one of those sure-death drops). *When jumping, press CROUCH (default CTRL) at the highest point to jump a bit higher. This is especially essential in the finding of Easter Eggs. *Levels with lots of Flood (like The Library)- always take the shotgun as your primary, and you have two other good choices as weapons- an assault rifle (for when your shotgun needs reloading or is empty, and for eliminating infection forms; a good sub is the plasma rifle) or a pistol (for eliminating Flood from medium distances). *When all hell breaks loose (that is, when there's a battle between the happy inhabitants of Halo), lay low until one of the sides is defeated. Then you come in and annhilate the survivors. *In Legendary and Heroic, the Covenant ALMOST ALWAYS wins the battle (if not outnumbered). On Normal and Easy, they can beat sentinels, but will sometimes lose to Flood (depending on their weapons like shades, etc. and the amount of Flood). *In Legendary and Heroic, Sentinels always lose the battle (hell, in every difficulty, it seems). Might as well try to pick off some Flood/ Covenant while they're distracted for a few seconds. *In missions you start out with a sniper rifle and want to keep it, I recommend pairing it with plasma pistol, if you can bear with the semi-auto rate of fire, but you get the advantage of the plasma overcharge. Otherwise use a plasma rifle. *Levels with lots of Covenant- take a plasma weapon (preferably a plasma pistol; it's abundant and better at sapping shields) and a close range human weapon if you're gonna plan on fighting up close. If you're planning on sniping them, keep the pistol with you, but try to keep a distance between you and them. *Levels with a mix of enemies- take a plasma weapon and a human close range weapon. *Remember- plasma weapons damage shields the most, but human weapons damage health the most. *Conserve grenades- use them when the enemy is cornered or in a big group. *Remember, grenades are virtually useless against Hunters and Elites (Elites dodge them so very easily), unless you stuck them with a plasma. Plasma grenades temporarily blind Hunters. *Don't use grenades on Carrier forms. Why? For one, it doesn't kill them. Two, it sends them flying INTACT, and when they land THEN they'll explode. *Avoid being cornered. When you're in a wide open space, watch your back. Especially with the damn Flood. *The Flood are ideal grenade targets. They do not notice them until they explode. *Remember, Marines are simply temporary distractions for the enemy- in Legendary and Heroic. In Easy and Normal, expect losses, but they can actually cut an enemy down to size (they'll have trouble with Elites). They are also actually capable of taking out Hunters, under the right circumstances (at least 4 Marines, and in a close-range fight) *Marine snipers are extremely useful. They empty their 4-round clip fast and kill enemies fast. They're actually better than a Marine manning a machine gun. *If you can be stealthy, please do. Melee sleeping Grunts and send them to permanent Dreamland. Active camo's on? Use melees only. Firing even one shot will immediately alert enemies within earshot of your presence. Active camo is useless against the Flood- you can't melee them to death anyway. *Melees and sniper rifle shots are useless against Flood. *Legendary isn't simply a bit harder than Heroic- it's a completely new workover of the game, as in the AI, enemy armor, tactics, everything. ****************************************************************************** XIV. FAQ #FAQ Frequently Asked Questions Q. Where's your complete contact info? A. Here you go: Primary E-mail/ MSN: patrickphantastic@hotmail.com AIM: WarriorSx (not accepting emails) Q. What do I do if I have a question that's not in the FAQ or information that's not in this guide? A. Great! Send an e-mail or AIM me. I'll try to answer as promptly as I can. Q. How many times have you beat the game? A. Twice on Normal, and working on beating it in Legendary (this means beating the missions back-to-back. I've played individual missions quite often). Q. I need help in the game. Can I contact you? A. Go ahead. It might take me a long time to respond though since I'm usually busy. Q. Do you really get new weapons for beating Legendary under 3 hours or for beating the game on Easy? A. Nope. All you get is the "glory" (definition: nothing). Q. I know codes for Halo. Can I submit them? A. No. These codes are for Halo: Custom Edition only, not Combat Evolved. Q. How do I take an in-game screenshot? A. Right click on the shortcut you use to run Halo and then click on properties. In the Target bar, you'll see "C:/Program Files/Microsoft Games/ Halo" or something like that. After the quotes put a space and "-screenshot" (without the quotes). Then press the Print Screen/SysRq key on your keyboard to take a screenshot (it's on the upper left side of the keyboard, the set of keys next to the lock lights). To find screenshots go to the Halo folder and to screenshots. They're in PNG format. Q. What's "Halo: Fall of Reach" and "Halo: The Flood"? A. These are both novels based on the game Halo: Combat Evolved. The former is by Eric Nylund and the latter by William C. Dietz. Fall of Reach is about what happened before the game (the birth of the original 30 SPARTANs) and The Flood is about the events taking place during the game (however, Dietz has added many different subplots in addition to the Chief fighting his way off Halo). In my opinion, "Fall of Reach" is better because there's scores of awesome space battles. Nylund also has published two other books, Halo: First Strike, detailing the events between Halo 1 and Halo 2, and Halo: Ghosts of Onyx, detailing the training of new SPARTANs. Q. INSERT QUESTION ANSWERED IN THIS GUIDE A. Read the guide again, buddy. Q. Why didn't Sgt. Johnson die in 343 Guilty Spark? Why does he appear in Halo 2? A. First of all, I tell you, Sgt. Johnson is not still alive because the game spawns him. Sgt. Johnson has Boren's Syndrome- a billion-in-one disorder. He got it from setting off a crate of plasma grenades (which releases radiation or something) in the Seige of Paris IV, causing him to come down with it. He refused treatment; he was supposed to die from this disorder, but he didn't. What does this have to do with him surviving? Well, the Flood controls people by taking over the nervous system. In Johnson's case, the syndrome messed up his nervous system so much the Flood couldn't control him. He escapes Halo in an escape pod, and hooked up with Master Chief in his Longsword Fighter. *************************************************************** XV. Credits #CRE -Credits- -Writer, Researcher, Editor- Patrick Phan (a.k.a. kerplunk47) -Contributors- -Enemies & Allies Info- kerplunk47 -Weapons Info- kerplunk47 -Vehicles Guide- kerplunk47 -Easter Eggs Guide- kerplunk47 -Everything/Anything Else- kerplunk47 -Special Thanks to- Parents (buying it for me) Bungie (making the game) Eric Nylund William C. Dietz Fellow Halo lovers (for reading my FAQ) God (making me; no, I do not like to think my parents made me) Aragorn Marsden (inspiration) *************************************************************** XVI. Legal Stuff #LEG This document is copyrighted material of Patrick Phan and may not be used without expressed written consent of the aforementioned party. No part of this guide can be used without proper quoting and/or recognition. Any person(s) found violating this copyright are punishable by law and will be to the fullest extent. Please contact me if you wish to use this. The following sites have permission to use this guide: http://www.gamefaqs.com http://www.neoseeker.com http://www.supercheats.com http://www.gamesradar.com http://www.cheatplanet.com