Halo CE in MCC: Assault on the Control Room walkthrough
Mission spoilers. For Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary in The Master Chief Collection. This is the first trip to the control room, not the later Two Betrayals mission or Campaign Evolved.
This is a long mission, and the repeated rooms can make it feel even longer if you lose track of where you're going. The useful landmarks are the first bridge, the Marines in the snow, the Scorpion, the huge underground cavern, the point where you leave the tank, and the later bridges leading to the pyramid.
I'm following the conventional route through those areas. No jumping off the opening bridge to bypass the level, no door clips, and no assumption that you already know where a speedrun lands you.
**1. Get through the opening rooms and first bridge**
Clear the landing-platform opposition and head through the doors into the installation. Keep the pistol for ranged shots; a plasma weapon in the other slot is useful against Elite shields.
The interior rooms have similar shapes. Look for the floor markings pointing toward the onward route, and remember which door you entered through before circling the room. Use those markings with the room layout rather than staring only at the floor while enemies shoot at you.
At the first outdoor bridge, don't run straight down the exposed center. There is a lower walkway as well as the main deck, and enemies can be on more than one level. Clear the approach, check the lower path and work across using cover.
Watch the far doorway for a sword Elite as you near the end. Backing up into cleared space is better than discovering you have nowhere to retreat because you ran past a group behind you.
Continue through the far-side rooms and take the elevator down. The Fog skull is in an interior chamber along this early section, before you emerge at ground level into the snow. Use the separate collectibles guide for that detour rather than jumping at every central platform you pass.
**2. Help the Marines and choose transportation**
Outside, Marines are pinned down near an overturned Warthog. Covenant vehicles and fixed guns are part of the fight, so don't walk directly into the open just to reach the supplies.
Clear an approach and check the weapons and health near the Marines. A sniper rifle or rocket launcher can be useful here, but think about which weapon you're giving up. You still have indoor fighting ahead after the vehicle sections.
You can take the Warthog or an available Ghost onward. With the Warthog, allow a gunner to board and keep its firing angle in mind. With a Ghost, you control the guns yourself, but don't confuse maneuverability with protection from everything in the valley.
**Wraith Hunter warning:** if you're attempting that achievement, don't destroy the first Wraith with your personal weapons while clearing this area. You need Scorpion kills. The dedicated checklist explains the four targets; a normal clear and an achievement run don't always handle the opening armor the same way.
Continue to the next Marine position near the crashed Pelican and Scorpion. Help secure it, then switch to the tank for this route.
**3. Take the Scorpion through the armored positions**
Use the tank's range. Identify Wraiths, Ghosts and turrets before driving into their firing angles.
Use the cannon for enemy armor and larger threats. Between shots, keep checking nearby infantry rather than watching only the distant target. Be especially careful firing near Marines riding with you or fighting ahead; the shell's explosion doesn't distinguish a good target from an ally standing beside it.
The route leads through another large snow-covered area toward a descending tunnel entrance. Look above that entrance as well as across the ground: a Wraith occupies the elevated position overlooking it.
Don't park in the open while its shots land around you. Fire, adjust your position and take the next shot when you have the angle. If you're under pressure from several directions, remove a nearer Ghost or turret before committing all your attention to the elevated tank.
Clear the Hunters around the tunnel approach, descend and use the door control to open the way into the underground cavern.
**4. Cross the cavern without losing the tank**
This is the huge room with a deep central drop and a vehicle route around and across it. Clear the near-side threats before committing the Scorpion to the narrower crossing.
Turn deliberately. A tank can make the fight easier and still be very easy to drive off the wrong edge if you are aiming at an enemy instead of watching the route. Line up with the crossing, deal with the opposition ahead and advance in stages.
The Malfunction skull is below the main route in this cavern. It is an optional detour, not the path to the exit. If you're doing a straight completion, stay on the vehicle route. If you're collecting it, read the ledge instructions before stepping off; the large drop is real.
On the far side, activate the exit-door control and drive out through the next tunnel and up into the snow.
**5. Continue through the valleys, then leave the Scorpion**
Outside, work through the next armored position and continue around the structure in the canyon. There are more Covenant vehicles and infantry between you and the lower frozen-river area. Don't abandon the tank just because you've crossed the first large cavern.
The route eventually descends toward Marines under attack from Hunters. Keep your aim and driving line clear of the Marines while helping them.
Near the pipes and narrow passage, the Scorpion portion comes to an end. This is your cue to check the nearby supplies and continue on foot, not spend ten minutes trying to force the tank through an opening it doesn't fit.
There is active camouflage near this transition. Pick it up when you're ready to move, rather than wasting its duration while deciding which weapon to carry. A cloaked sword Elite is a danger in the passage ahead; camouflage can help you approach, but still watch where you're walking.
Beyond the passage, clear a route up the ridge past the fixed guns. The onward doorway is on the right-hand side of this next canyon. Cortana's dialogue also makes clear that the Marines are holding while you continue ahead.
If you need to restock before going inside, do it now. Don't enter with an empty heavy weapon just because it was useful two valleys ago.
**6. Work through the upper rooms and paired bridges**
Inside, follow the connected rooms and elevator upward. This section returns to close combat, so slow down at the doors. A grenade thrown into a separate enemy group can help; one thrown at your feet because an Elite surprised you is a different situation.
You eventually reach two outdoor bridges linked by more interior rooms. Enemies on the other bridge can still matter while you're crossing the first. Check across the gap instead of assuming everything dangerous must be directly ahead.
Use the raised sections and doorways for cover, and clear the route in front of you before stepping out for a shot at a distant enemy. After crossing the first bridge, follow the interior connection to the second, then continue through the rooms beyond it.
A familiar-looking chamber doesn't mean you've looped back to the beginning. Track the sequence: upper room, bridge, connecting rooms, second bridge, more interior fighting, then the natural rock bridge overlooking the final valley.
**7. Decide whether to take a Banshee**
At the rock bridge near the control-room pyramid, parked Banshees give you an opportunity to fly. If you can reach one before its pilot boards, or stop the Elite reaching it without destroying the aircraft, you can use it.
Don't grenade the vehicle you want to steal. And don't assume you can perform a later game's boarding animation to throw a pilot out of an occupied Banshee; this is CE.
If you get one, fly toward the pyramid and land safely near your approach to the doors. If the aircraft are taken, that does **not** block the mission. Continue across the bridge, through the far-side rooms and down the elevator to the valley floor.
The normal ground route is still there. There's no need to restart a long mission because you missed an optional aircraft.
**8. Climb the pyramid and reach the control room**
From the valley floor, deal with the armor and other threats covering the approach. A Ghost can help with the climb, but you can also work up using the structure's cover and ramps.
The collectible terminal is down near the pyramid's base, along the lower supporting structure. Stop for it before committing to the final doors if you're collecting everything. It is separate from the controls used to open those doors.
At the top, use the panel beside the large entrance. Be ready for the enemies behind it instead of standing in the opening with an empty magazine. Keep distance from the sword threat, clear the corridor and use the next control to continue into the control room.
Entering the final chamber triggers the story sequence and completes the mission. There is no return trip to the Scorpion or Pelican extraction to arrange afterward.
**Normal, Heroic and Legendary priorities**
On Normal, learn the transition points: when to get the tank, when to leave it, and how the bridges connect. Those are the landmarks that stop this mission becoming a blur of identical rooms.
On Heroic, protect your health by recovering your shield between encounters. Use vehicle range instead of driving close enough for every enemy to fire at once.
On Legendary, clear one angle at a time and keep a retreat available. The tank is useful, but Chief is still vulnerable. Losing the tank advantage through careless positioning can leave you solving a large vehicle encounter on foot.
Change weapons or vehicles when the terrain calls for it, and use the major landmarks to keep track of your progress.
Halo CE in MCC: Assault on the Control Room walkthrough
· Games / Halo: Combat Evolved