Halo: Combat Evolved — getting through “Halo” in MCC
Mission spoilers. This is the second mission in Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary inside The Master Chief Collection, not Halo: Campaign Evolved.
This is where Halo gives you some room to move. You're out of the ship, there are Marines scattered around the valley, and eventually you get a Warthog to go looking for them. The part that can get confusing is that finding one group doesn't necessarily mean you've finished rescuing them. You may still have enemies to clear, and later there are three separate rescue areas to visit.
This route is for finishing the mission without rushing past everything. It is not a par-time route or a promise that you'll collect every achievement in one run. Start with no gameplay-modifying skulls if you want the straightforward version of the mission.
**Before you get into a vehicle:** if you're attempting How Pedestrian, keep that for a separate run. This walkthrough uses the Warthog, including the underground jump. Driving, riding as a passenger, or using the gunner seat is not the way to complete a no-vehicle attempt.
**1. Leave the lifeboat and get across the valley**
Check the supplies around the crashed lifeboat before moving away. Your pistol is worth keeping. It lets you deal with enemies beyond comfortable assault-rifle range without walking straight into their fire.
The Mythic skull is near the waterfall on this starting side of the valley. If you're collecting it, make that detour now. Otherwise, cross the narrow natural bridge and follow the route uphill into the next area.
Covenant troops and Banshees are searching the valley. For an ordinary completion, you don't need to turn the opening into a Banshee-hunting session. Use the rocks for cover and deal with the ground troops blocking your way. No-Fly Zone is a different objective with its own timing considerations; don't assume the aircraft will wait around while you finish everything else.
On Normal, you have some room to experiment. On Heroic and Legendary, get used to a simple habit now: shoot from cover, stop when your shield is nearly gone, and let it recover before moving into the next exposed stretch. A recharged shield doesn't refill the separate health bar underneath it.
**2. Find the first Marines and hold the position**
Continue until you reach the Marines fighting around the large structure. Clear the Covenant already attacking them, then prepare for more troops arriving by dropship. This first defense happens **before** the three rescue areas in the second half of the mission. Don't count it as one of those three and leave an area unexplored later.
The structure and surrounding rocks give you places to break line of sight. Check the supplies at the Marines' position, but don't stand out in the open just because there's ammunition nearby. Watch where the next dropship is approaching and move to a useful firing position before its troops spread out.
You don't have to stand underneath a dropship to fight the enemies it delivers. Its guns are another reason to keep some cover between you and the landing area.
For Grunts, the pistol is a good way to conserve ammunition when you can place your shots. Against an Elite, a plasma weapon can help bring the shield down before you finish the fight. If a Jackal is facing you behind its shield, change your angle rather than repeatedly shooting the same protected spot.
Be careful with grenades here. A crowded landing area is tempting, but the Marines can run into the same space. Throw toward the arriving Covenant, not through your own defenders.
**Heroic:** work one side of the position at a time and keep an exit back into cover. Chasing a retreating Elite can expose you to the rest of the wave.
**Legendary:** be more selective about when you leave cover. Strip an Elite's shield from a protected position, finish the opening you created, then reset. If several enemies can shoot you at once, back off and make them approach from a narrower angle. There is no benefit to spending your remaining health trying to save a few seconds.
Stay until the attack is resolved and Foehammer brings in the Warthog.
**3. Take the Warthog through the tunnels**
Give a Marine time to reach the gunner position before driving off. Having the vehicle doesn't make you invulnerable; the gunner needs a clear view of what you're fighting, and driving directly into a packed group is an easy way to turn a manageable encounter into a mess.
Follow the canyon toward the large tunnel entrance. The Boom skull is above this entrance on the right-hand grassy ledge. Stop for it before going underground if this is your collectible run.
Inside, follow the descending route. The mission's terminal is in a lower side alcove before the small vehicle jump. It is **not** the control that activates the light bridge later on.
For the jump, line the Warthog up with the ramp and keep your approach straight. Get your speed before the edge instead of trying to correct the steering at the last moment. If you arrive crooked, stop and line up again while you still have room.
Beyond the jump, you'll reach the larger chamber where the route is interrupted by an inactive light bridge. Clear the enemies interfering with your approach, then leave the Warthog somewhere safe. Follow the small passage and ramp on the right side of the chamber up to the elevated control. Activate it, return to the vehicle, and cross the bridge.
Don't confuse the two obstacles: the earlier gap is the driving jump; this larger crossing needs the control activated. Trying to launch the Warthog across the wrong one is not the solution.
**4. Use the river valley as your hub**
After the tunnels, the mission opens up into a larger outdoor area. A lifeboat near the river has supplies, including a sniper rifle. That's useful for dealing with dangerous enemies before driving into their position.
There are now **three survivor locations**, and you can handle them in any order:
- The rockslide area, with Marines sheltering among large boulders.
- The head of the river, where survivors are in the hills above the structure.
- The cliffside structure, where you need to search inside as well as outside.
Use the river valley to get your bearings between visits. Lights at the canyon approaches help identify the routes into the rescue areas. Pick an order and remember which ones you've finished; driving back into the same cleared area can make the mission feel more confusing than it is.
A simple order is rockslide, river head, then cliffside. That is an organizational suggestion, not a claim that it's the fastest route.
**5. Clear each rescue area properly**
**Rockslide:** find the Marines among the boulders and fight the Covenant attacking their position. Use the rock formations to separate the fight into smaller pieces. With the Warthog, give your gunner a useful angle without driving over the people you're rescuing. If the vehicle approach is getting you surrounded, get out behind cover and work through the enemies on foot.
**River head:** don't stop at the structure and assume you've found everybody. The survivors are up in the surrounding hills. Locate them, deal with the Covenant presence and arriving reinforcements, and stay with the rescue until the area is secure.
**Cliffside:** check the structure's interior. Some of the fighting and survivors are below the outside platform, so circling the building in the Warthog isn't enough. Fight your way through the interior without throwing grenades into a group of Marines, then clear any remaining opposition outside that is holding up evacuation.
On Heroic and especially Legendary, the sniper rifle gives you another option before committing the Warthog. Take a protected position, identify the enemy that is making the approach dangerous, and remove that threat first. Save ammunition for useful shots rather than firing at everything you can see.
You don't need to force every encounter into a vehicle fight. The Warthog is transportation and mobile fire support; if a position is bad for it, park safely and change your approach.
**6. Take the final evacuation**
After the third rescue area is resolved, Foehammer's pickup is your way out as well. Board the Pelican when the mission directs you to leave.
If you're waiting and nothing is happening, check the practical things first: did you actually locate the survivors, is an enemy still alive nearby, and have you visited all three areas beyond the tunnels? The first defense at the beginning doesn't replace any of them.
Losing a Marine does not automatically fail the mission, but protecting the survivors is still the objective here. This route isn't built around killing allies to skip their evacuation.
The useful rhythm for this level is simple: find the survivors, finish the fight, confirm the rescue, then move on. Once you keep those three areas straight, the second half becomes much easier to follow.
Halo: Combat Evolved — getting through “Halo” in MCC
· Games / Halo