Halo 2: Regret — the lake crossings, submerged rooms and the Prophet's chair

Halo 2: Regret — the lake crossings, submerged rooms and the Prophet's chair *Halo 2: Anniversary in The Master Chief Collection. Full mission and boss spoilers. Conventional route, not a speedrun.* Regret looks like it should be a simple trip across the lake. It isn't. You have snipers on the approaches, Hunters at the crossings and several stretches where leaving with the wrong weapons makes the next fight harder than it needs to be. Keep a useful ranged weapon. There are close fights, but a sword and an almost empty SMG won't do much for you when a Jackal is on another platform. Before activating a gondola or underwater lift, reload, collect ammunition and make sure you're ready to leave that area behind. **1. Fight out of the starting temple** The mission continues from Delta Halo. Clear the opening room of the attacking Drones and Elites, using its ramps and doorways to restrict their angles. If the middle of the room gets crowded, move back to cover rather than trying to shoot in every direction. Take the upper route toward the exterior walkway. Check for enemies approaching around its corner before leaning out to aim at distant snipers. A beam rifle is useful here; don't discard it just because the immediate enemy is closer. Follow the intact bridge and the conventional path through the next structure, then onto the approach to the central platform. The broken-looking scenery is not an instruction to grenade-jump across the lake. On Heroic and Legendary, scan from cover before each exposed crossing. Don't rely on one memorized sniper position being the only threat. Clear the angle you're about to enter, then move to the next piece of solid protection. **2. Clear the platform and the Hunters** Fight through the defenders around the platform before the first gondola. A Phantom brings in two Hunters as this encounter develops. Keep both in view when possible. The mistake is watching one Hunter's shield so closely that the other lines up a shot or walks into melee range. Use the platform's cover to separate their firing angles and aim at exposed orange tissue when they turn. Your Marines can distract them, but don't throw a grenade into the same space as a friendly soldier. A precision weapon gives you a way to exploit an exposed back without having to stand directly behind the Hunter. Don't assume Combat Evolved's old pistol trick applies here. After the Hunters, deal with the Covenant arriving on the approaching gondola. Start picking off visible defenders while it comes in, then clear the remaining passengers before boarding. Use the Pelican resupply before you leave. This is a good time to replace an exhausted weapon rather than carrying it across the lake because you meant to find ammunition later. **3. Take the first gondola** Board and activate the control. Keep a precision weapon ready for targets at range and something workable against Drones that close on the platform. An enemy gondola interrupts the crossing. Use your own platform's structure for cover and deal with its occupants. If your journey has stopped, check for remaining enemies instead of repeatedly pressing the control and assuming it has failed. As the far tower approaches, remove visible defenders before disembarking. Watch the entrance as well as the upper positions. A sniper in the doorway can be more immediately dangerous than a turret farther above it. Let the gondola dock. This route doesn't require an early jump that strands your allies or leaves useful equipment out of reach. **4. Find the first underwater lift** Enter the tower and clear the connected rooms. Work up the ramp and deal with the remaining defenders, including the fuel-rod threat above, before returning attention to the lower floor. The elevator comes up through the opening in that floor carrying more Covenant. Stay clear of the shaft while waiting. Clear the passengers, board the platform and use its control to begin the underwater journey. **Skull detour:** Assassins is above this first-gondola destination building. Follow the companion collectible route before taking the underwater lift if you want it on this visit. This isn't a swimming section. Stay on the transport and follow it to the next facility. **5. Cross the submerged complex** After leaving the lift, clear the initial corridor and move into the larger chamber with the Prophet's hologram. There are routes at different heights, and the fighting includes snipers, Drones, Elites and a pair of Hunters. **Terminal stop:** this submerged chamber contains Terminal 7, behind the large Regret hologram on the raised walkway/pillar area. Use the companion route and Anniversary graphics before leaving. Don't run into the center and try to solve every threat at once. Remove the sniper angles you can see, use the entrance and upper cover to thin nearby enemies, and watch the lower doors for arriving Elites. The onward exit is at the far end on the **lower level, beneath the ramps**. You aren't trying to damage the hologram. Clear enough of the route to reach that exit safely; killing absolutely every enemy in the room is not a separate mission objective. If you fight the Hunters, keep space to move and avoid backing into a doorway with another enemy behind you. If you move past them, remember they may follow. Reaching the next room doesn't instantly make everything you've left alive disappear. The following water-filled room contains cloaked Covenant. Check the corners and far doorway before advancing through it. Shield outlines, movement and incoming fire matter more than trying to spot a perfectly visible enemy model. Continue to the next elevator and take the second underwater trip. **6. Return outside and clear the ruins** Deal with the enemies around the lift's destination and follow the passage back into daylight. Drones and elevated Covenant positions guard the way out. Use the doorway to fight from cover before moving onto the open path. Work upward through the ruins toward the next gondola. More Covenant arrive in this section, so don't sprint into an apparently empty courtyard while the dropship is still approaching. Stay behind solid cover during its pass and handle the troops afterward. Restock at the UNSC weapon drops before boarding the second gondola. Rockets are useful for the aircraft coming up, and a rifle is useful for enemies you don't want to spend a rocket on. Check both weapons' ammunition instead of judging the loadout by the names alone. **7. Survive the second gondola crossing** Activate the gondola and watch for Banshees. Use the rocket launcher's vehicle lock when you have the weapon and a clear shot. Don't fire through the edge of your own cover or a Marine walking across the reticle. The next opposing platform brings another fight, including flying Elites. They can change angles quickly, so don't fixate on the Grunt directly in front of you while an Elite moves around the side. Fight from the protected parts of your gondola. Break line of sight when your shields drop, then return fire at a target you can actually finish. Trying to shoot every enemy once leaves all of them shooting back. Conserve ammunition, but not to the point of refusing to use the weapon you brought for this encounter. A launcher full of rockets is no help if you die trying to save every round. Clear the threats and let the gondola take you to the main temple. Deal with the defenders on the approach and the Honor Guards near the entrance. Pick up ammunition and grenades before moving into the boss room. **8. Board Regret's chair, then punch** Regret's floating chair protects him from the ordinary shooting strategy you've used on Elites. The intended way to damage him is to **get close, use the boarding prompt and repeatedly melee him while attached to the chair**. Just swinging a sword at him from the floor isn't the same action. Look for the boarding interaction and use the control shown by your own setup; don't rely on a button named in an old Xbox guide. First, create an opening. Kill Honor Guards that are directly blocking the approach, especially sword carriers. Use the upper sides of the room to assess where Regret is and how you'll reach him without crossing every enemy's firing line. Approach from cover, board when the prompt appears and keep punching until he throws you off or teleports away. Then get back to safety, recover your shields and check the room again before another attempt. On higher difficulties, expect multiple boarding cycles. There isn't one fixed number of punches in this guide that guarantees a kill on every setting. More importantly, don't assume the floor is safe when the chair vanishes. An Elite may have moved underneath you while you were occupied. The guards keep replenishing. Clearing the entire room permanently isn't a prerequisite you can finish before touching Regret. Clear the immediate danger, make your attack and repeat. A plasma pistol with a battle rifle can help against the Elite shields; a sword is another option if you can use it without exposing yourself to several enemies at once. Watch the motion tracker between attacks and dodge the chair's weapon rather than running straight down its firing line. If a new guard ruins your planned approach, deal with that change instead of forcing the boarding attempt anyway. When Regret dies, stay alive for the transition into the ending scene. Don't put the controller down the instant he falls while Covenant are still nearby. You don't need to find another gondola or complete a new playable escape circuit.