**Halo: Reach in MCC — Tip of the Spear, from the first gun to the Spire**

**Halo: Reach in MCC — Tip of the Spear, from the first gun to the Spire** *Mission spoilers. Conventional Normal, Heroic and Legendary route.* Tip of the Spear puts an enormous battle around you, but you don't have to solve the entire battlefield. Your route takes out two anti-aircraft guns, passes through the mining facility and ends at the top of the Spire. The scenery makes it tempting to shoot at everything moving in the distance. Keep your ammunition for the enemies actually between you and those objectives. **Secure the opening and take the Rocket Warthog** Use the rocks around the starting position while you clear the immediate Covenant. Deal with turret operators and exposed infantry before standing in the open to line up a harder shot. Your grenade launcher is useful, but a missed shot followed by a long reload is a poor way to start a fight with several enemies at once. When the Rocket Warthog is available, get in and take the road toward the first anti-aircraft emplacement. Let your gunner have a clear angle rather than parking with the turret facing a rock. Slow down before turning into the gun's defenders; a vehicle is useful cover only until concentrated fire disables it. On Heroic and Legendary, watch for plasma-pistol charges. Being stopped in front of a whole group is more dangerous than any single Grunt in that group. Clear what you can from the edge, then move in. **Destroy the first anti-aircraft gun** The gun has a vulnerable power core inside its lower section. Fight your way to the entrance, break the protective energy barrier and damage the exposed core. Once it begins its destruction sequence, get out and move away from the emplacement. Don't stay inside to watch the result. You need the gun destroyed, not a close-up of the explosion. If the objective hasn't changed, check that you actually damaged the core rather than only shooting its protective barrier. Return to your vehicle and follow the road onward. The next substantial stop is the BXR mining facility. The road leads you there; there is no need to investigate the distant battlefield or try to reach every aircraft you can see. **Through the mining facility** Leave the vehicle when the route moves onto the building's walkways. Work upward through the catwalks, watching the elevated turret and the enemies around the turns. A defender above you can keep firing while you are looking for a doorway below. **If you want the Zealot achievement, be ready now.** The marked Elite in this section will try to escape. Focus on it promptly, strip its shields and finish it rather than chasing ordinary infantry first. If it disappears, the mission still continues; killing it is an optional achievement, not the main objective. Proceed through the damaged building and drop through the opening into the lower interior. This is the stop for data pad 4 before you leave the garage-like area. Check your weapons before heading out: the next stretch has vehicles, a second gun and heavy infantry. You don't want to emerge with two nearly empty small-arms weapons. Outside are Covenant vehicles you can use. The Revenant gives you mobile firepower; a Ghost is an option if that suits the fight better. Follow the canyon toward the second emplacement. The broken overpass along the route is the Legendary data pad 13 landmark. **The second anti-aircraft position** Approach the area in stages. Take out lighter defenders before committing to the Wraiths and Hunters, and keep space to reverse away from incoming mortar fire. Trying to turn around against a wall while a Wraith has your range is an avoidable way to lose the vehicle. You can destroy the anti-aircraft gun by reaching its core as before. Heavy vehicle fire can also bring it down. If you choose to take a Wraith, first deal with its gunner and the surrounding infantry; hopping out in the middle of the entire defense to attempt a boarding maneuver is especially risky on Legendary. Watch for Drones and the remaining defenders after the gun is destroyed. The explosion does not automatically complete the battle around it. Use the vehicles and available heavy weapons against the Hunters, then clean up the enemies keeping the extraction from advancing. When Jorge's Falcon arrives, board the gunner position indicated by the objective. Take a moment to orient the weapon before the aircraft carries you into the next stretch. **The Falcon ride** You are firing from the aircraft, not piloting it. Prioritize Shade turrets and enemy positions that can attack your approach. Keep your aim ahead of the Falcon's movement rather than following one survivor until every other threat has passed behind you. The shield surrounding the Spire causes the scripted crash. Don't keep firing into it as the aircraft crosses: the blast can hurt you around the transition. Let the scene play and prepare for the ground assault. **Reach the Spire's lift** After the crash, collect a jetpack from the available equipment. It gives you a way up the terrain and an escape option, but you still need somewhere safe to land when the fuel runs out. Work along the approach, taking out ranged enemies before climbing into their view. Precision ammunition is particularly useful against the smaller exposed targets. Keep a shield-stripping option if you can; the upper fight has an Elite who is much more dangerous at arm's length than at the other end of a clear firing lane. Clear your route to the structure's base and use the gravity lift to ascend. You don't need to hijack a Banshee to complete the mission. That can be a separate achievement attempt rather than an extra complication during a first clear. **Clear the top and disable the shield** Don't rush straight out of the lift into the center of the control area. Check the sides for Grunts with heavy weapons and be ready for the sword Elite. Remove exposed enemies quickly, then give yourself enough room to deal with the Elite's charge. A charged plasma-pistol hit followed by a precision headshot is useful when you have the weapons and a clear angle. If the Elite closes the distance, retreat or use the jetpack to create space without drifting off the tower. The edge is not a substitute for cover. Once the defenders are dealt with, use the shield control to finish the objective. The ending follows from that interaction. You aren't supposed to jump from the Spire and continue fighting below. For a later timed run, the transitions to remember are the mining-building drop, the second gun's cleanup and the final lift. For now, concentrate on reaching each with ammunition and health instead of turning the whole mission into a race to the next checkpoint.