Halo 2: Metropolis — take the bridge, then get inside the Scarab

Halo 2: Metropolis — take the bridge, then get inside the Scarab **Halo 2: Anniversary in The Master Chief Collection. Mission spoilers. Conventional campaign route, with Heroic and Legendary advice.** The Scorpion at the start of Metropolis is a welcome change after working through Outskirts' sniper alleys. Take advantage of it. You don't have to leave the tank behind just because a faster route uses a Warthog, and you don't have to copy a speedrun to finish this mission. The tank handles the bridge. After that, you're back on foot through the tunnel, into the park and streets, then up through the Marine command post to board the Scarab. The last part has an important difference from later Halo games: **you finish this Scarab by killing its crew, not by exposing a glowing rear core.** **1. Cross the bridge in the Scorpion** Get into the Scorpion and give the Marines a moment to board. Use the main cannon against vehicles and the machine gun against exposed infantry while the cannon is reloading. Move forward in stages. You have a long view down the bridge, so use it to hit Ghosts and Wraiths before they get close. Don't keep driving while you're watching a shell land somewhere behind you. Check the road ahead again, then advance. **On Normal:** this is a good place to get comfortable moving and aiming the tank separately. You can turn the gun toward a threat without steering the whole vehicle off the road. **On Heroic and Legendary:** preserve distance. A tank is not immunity from incoming fire. When a Wraith's mortar is heading toward your position, move rather than waiting in exactly the same place for your next shot. Avoid trapping yourself against the bridge's obstacles while enemies are still firing. Watch above and behind you for aircraft as you progress. Don't assume the remaining threat is always on the road. Near the far end, clear the Wraiths and other defenders around the tunnel entrance before taking the slope down. A Warthog can get across faster, but that is an alternative approach, not a requirement. This route keeps the Scorpion for the bridge fighting. **2. Leave the tank at the tunnel barrier** Inside the highway tunnel, you'll reach Marines and a barrier across the road. For this route, park the Scorpion and continue on foot. There are ways to wrestle vehicles farther through, but that isn't necessary to complete the mission. A Marine offers a shotgun. Take it if you want a close-range option, but keep a precision weapon as well. The tunnel isn't exclusively close combat; Jackal snipers can punish you from farther back. Use the barrier and tunnel structures as cover. Advance far enough to reveal the next group, deal with it, then move again. If several enemies have a clear shot at you, back up instead of trying to finish your reload in the middle of the lane. Watch for cloaked Elites. A motion-tracker contact or movement in the distortion is a reason to stop and identify the threat, not keep walking forward hoping it was scenery. Near the far end, take a usable beam rifle from a fallen Jackal or a weapon container. The outdoor section makes carrying a long-range weapon worthwhile. Keep some close-range protection in your other slot; a sniper weapon doesn't solve every encounter ahead. Follow the small pipe passage out of the tunnel toward the park. Clear the Jackal near the exit before stepping out into the open. **3. The park: clear firing angles before dropping down** This is another area where snipers can make a seemingly open route dangerous. Don't immediately jump off the exit ledge and start searching for a vehicle while exposed. Use the ledge's cover to locate the elevated shooters. Work through the angles you can see, then change position carefully to uncover the next ones. On Legendary, assume a visible beam-rifle Jackal needs your attention immediately. Avoid taking a count from an old guide as proof that the entire area is safe. If you can still hear shots or see a beam crossing the park, identify the source before committing to an exposed crossing. A friendly Gauss Warthog operates in this area. You can take the wheel and let a Marine use its gun, or use the turret yourself if you prefer the Marine driving. I would drive when I need control over where the vehicle stops and which side faces incoming fire. Move through the gap into the next park section. Ghosts and a Wraith defend the onward route. Use the Gauss gun or available heavy weapons to deal with the armor, and don't drive up alongside a Wraith merely to give your gunner a better view. The exit is the arch/passage beyond that position. Go through the interior with the waterfall to reach the city streets. **4. Relieve the Marine command post** Follow the street around toward the building under siege. Cortana identifies the Wraiths as the main threat to the Marines trapped inside. Deal with the snipers covering this fight before leaving your vehicle to attempt anything complicated. Then work on the tanks. Keep room to move away from mortar impacts and watch for the Phantom delivering more Ghosts. There are several ways through this battle: - **Gauss Warthog:** drive around cover while your gunner gets firing opportunities. Avoid stopping broadside in front of multiple tanks. - **Heavy weapons on foot:** shoot from cover, relocate between attacks and keep enough distance that a rocket doesn't explode against something beside you. - **Boarding a Wraith:** use the boarding interaction when you can reach it, then attack the driver. This is optional. Don't attempt it while another tank and your own Marine gunner are both firing into the vehicle you're climbing on. On Legendary, clear the supporting threats rather than assuming boarding one Wraith instantly makes the area safe. The captured tank still has to survive the rest of the fight. Once the siege is cleared, follow the waypoint into the command-post building. Corporal Perez meets you and leads you upstairs toward Sergeant Banks. If he gets ahead of you, take the stairs and continue through the glass doorway. The terminal is on the command post's ground floor near the stairs. If you're collecting it, stop before following Perez all the way up. Catch is an earlier park detour, not a skull hidden aboard the Scarab. **5. Follow the Scarab from above** At the balcony, the Scarab demonstrates why shooting its armor from the street isn't the solution. After it passes, continue through the building to the upper walkways overlooking the canal. Use the stairs back into the building, go up another level and follow the route through the glass doors to the canal-side walkways. Collect ammunition before you start jumping around. Rockets are useful for weakening the defenders on deck, but keep something suitable for the interior as well. The Scarab moves beneath the bridges. You can board early, but for a first conventional clear, follow it until it reaches the end of the canal and stops. That removes the extra problem of landing on a moving target while being shot. From above, clear the exposed crew. Use the available supplies rather than carrying an empty launcher because it was useful five minutes earlier. Don't expect every enemy to come outside; some of the crew must be fought inside. **6. Board and clear the control room** Jump onto the Scarab's upper deck when you have a clear landing. Deal with anyone still nearby, then find the ramp leading down into its interior. Reload before descending. Use the entrance as a place to work from rather than charging into every Elite at once. Grenades can help break up the defenders; the plasma-pistol shield break followed by a precision shot is another option. If you're carrying rockets, leave enough distance between yourself and the impact. Be especially careful with the Ultra Elite. If it draws a sword, create distance and use the ramp instead of standing in the doorway trading melee attacks. On Legendary, getting this far doesn't make a careless close-range exchange any more forgiving. Finish the defenders inside, including the pilots, and the ending scene triggers. You don't need to plant a bomb, find a rear reactor or run a timed escape afterward. That's Metropolis: a tank crossing, a careful tunnel and park advance, a vehicle battle to relieve the Marines, then a boarding action. The Scarab looks like the biggest obstacle, but keeping your weapons and cover sorted through the earlier sniper sections makes the whole mission much more manageable.