Halo 2: The Great Journey walkthrough — the Scarab escort and Tartarus

Halo 2: The Great Journey walkthrough — the Scarab escort and Tartarus **Halo 2: Anniversary in The Master Chief Collection. Full final-mission spoilers. Conventional route, without bringing a Banshee into the boss room.** The last mission starts with vehicles, moves into a prison assault, then sends you back outside to help Johnson. Save some patience for the end. Tartarus isn't a Brute you can finish by emptying your weapon into him whenever you feel like it. **Reach the cliff passage** Use the arriving Spectre to fight alongside Rtas's Wraith. You can drive or take the turret. On Legendary, don't waste time trying to make Rtas hand over his tank; capture an enemy Wraith if you want one of your own. Ghosts harass the route and Wraiths defend the approach to the building. If you're going to board a tank, reduce the nearby threats first. Being stuck in the boarding animation while several Ghosts fire at you is a bad exchange, even if the tank itself looks like an easy target. Once you've opened the route at the far end of the beach, dismount and enter the passage into the cliff. Gather a useful replacement for your starting weapons before leaving the vehicle fight behind. **Fight alongside the Hunters** The Hunters inside are allies. Let them move into the fight while you work around the Brutes' position. In the first main room, use the side ramp to reach the upper level rather than trying to shoot through the Hunters from the entrance. Camouflage gives you a chance to approach a distracted enemy, but the charge is short. Have a retreat picked out before using it. Your goal is to take pressure off the allies, not disappear until they're dead and then face everyone alone. Continue into the cavern with the curving, U-shaped walkway. Watch the far approach for reinforcements and snipers. A precision weapon is useful here; a sword alone leaves you waiting for enemies to come to you. The following bridge has Jackals, a distant sniper and Drones, with a Phantom adding fire from the side. Clear the enemies controlling the far landing, then cross without stopping in the exposed middle to collect every dropped weapon. **Free the prisoners — and get the terminal here** The next major room is a detention area. Brutes hold the floor while Jackals occupy higher positions. Shoot the small power devices beside the shielded cells to free the Elites and Hunters inside. Those prisoners can help with the battle. Don't stand in front of a newly freed Hunter's weapon. Give your allies a lane to fire, and keep explosives away from the cell entrances as they come out. **Terminal 13 is in this prison section.** It comes before the Scarab scene and before you receive a Banshee. Check the collectible guide while you're here; it is not hidden on the control-room roof with Black Eye. Once the opposition blocking the route is dealt with, follow the corridor to the outdoor Scarab platform. Brutes are threatening human prisoners. Fight through that group and let the scene play: Johnson takes control of the Scarab. You do not need to find a Scarab driver's seat for yourself. **Escort Johnson in a Banshee** Friendly pilots provide Banshees after the scene. Take one and support the Scarab along its route toward the control room. Attack the ground vehicles blocking its progress, then handle the hostile aircraft and emplacements along the canyon. Don't hover in one place trying to finish a Wraith while everything nearby gets a clear shot at you. Make an attack pass, break away, and come back with room to maneuver. If Johnson stops, check for surviving opposition on the route and move back toward the Scarab rather than waiting far ahead at the destination. Don't assume flying to the control-room door advances the whole escort by itself. At the control room, stay out of the Scarab's firing line and let Johnson blast the entrance open. The door is his job; shooting it with your Banshee isn't a substitute. **Black Eye detour:** the skull uses the exterior control-room structure and Banshee access. Do that before abandoning your aircraft for the final interior sequence. The precise landing and climb are in the collectible guide. **Enter the control room** Land by the opened entrance, leave the Banshee and go inside. Brutes defend the approach to the final chamber. Work from cover and use camouflage to change your angle when they pin you down. The lower space beneath the broken floor can help you break their line of fire, but don't treat it as an invulnerability spot. Look before dropping and check the route back out. Continue through the next passage to trigger the confrontation with Tartarus. After the scene, clear the Brutes immediately in front of you, then cross to the central fighting platform. **Tartarus: wait for the shield to drop** The boss arena has three levels connected by a central gravity lift. Keep moving between usable positions, but watch the edges. Falling while escaping the hammer is still a lost attempt. Tartarus's glowing shield makes ordinary damage ineffective. Johnson uses his beam rifle to bring it down: **three hits in close succession open a short damage window**. Watch the shield itself as well as listening for shots. Three sounds don't help if a shot missed or an obstruction blocked it. Keep Tartarus where Johnson has a clear line of sight. If you lead him behind the central structure and the shield stays up, change your position instead of pouring ammunition into it. When the glow drops, fire into him with your loaded damage weapon. A Carbine gives you distance; dual plasma rifles are another option if you have them. When the shield returns, stop spending ammunition on his protected body and reposition for the next opening. The main rhythm is: - Keep clear of his hammer. - Give Johnson a usable shot. - Attack during the unshielded window. - Reload or replace your weapon while the shield is back. - Deal with arriving Brute reinforcements before they trap you. That last point matters. Watching only Tartarus can leave ordinary Brutes shooting into your back while you're circling him. Break off boss damage when you need to clear your escape route. Don't interpret “three beam-rifle hits” as “three total boss phases.” How many damage windows you need depends on your difficulty, weapon and how much damage you actually land. Likewise, an upper or lower platform is a way to create distance, not a guarantee that nothing can reach you. **Finish the fight** Repeat the shield-and-damage cycle until Tartarus falls and the ending begins. There is no need to force a close-range sword duel with his hammer. A missed damage window costs time; getting greedy at melee range can cost the entire attempt. On Legendary, surviving is worth more than squeezing in a few extra shots. If his shield drops while you're reloading or boxed in, fix your position and use the next opening. Johnson will have another chance to bring it down.