**Halo 5: getting through the Battle of Sunaion**

**Halo 5: getting through the Battle of Sunaion** **Campaign spoilers. Mission 12, Halo 5: Guardians.** Sunaion throws you straight into the Arbiter's assault. There's fighting above you, fighting across the streets, and a Guardian you're supposed to reach on the other side of it all. The practical job is clearer than the scenery makes it look: bring down the air defenses, cross the undercity, and survive the last push with the Arbiter. This follows the regular route. It doesn't depend on skipping cannons or getting outside the map. **1. Start with the gun, then follow the opened route** Clear the Grunts and Jackals around the landing area while the allied Elites advance. The first large cannon firing into the sky is an objective, not an ordinary enemy-operated turret. You can destroy the cannon itself or its power supply. Look for the connected battery rather than spending every useful round on the biggest piece of machinery in sight. The squad can help attack a marked target. Once that position is dealt with, clear the enemies coming through the newly opened doorway and move through it. The next courtyard has another cannon and enemies positioned above the main floor. Check the balconies before walking out toward the objective. There is no reason to stand beside a live battery trading fire with an Elite. Clear enough of the position to work safely, then disable the objective and move on. **2. Work through the streets one position at a time** The early section alternates between courtyards, connecting rooms and raised firing positions. Use the entrances as places to assess the next fight. Precision weapons are useful against exposed infantry; keep a shield-breaking option available for the Elites rather than wasting a dwindling magazine on their shields. The next cannon position has a raised approach and a gun emplacement covering it. Kill the operator before closing in. Moving between the rooms and balconies gives you a better way to deal with the defenders than crossing every plaza through its middle. Watch the exit after disabling a cannon. More Covenant come through connecting doors, and an Elite carrying a Fuel Rod Cannon is a useful source of heavy firepower if you bring it down. Check overhead for a Beam Rifle Jackal before stopping to collect equipment. On Heroic and Legendary, make each cleared room useful. Reload, replace an empty weapon and find the next piece of cover before moving. The level is long enough that dragging an empty favorite gun through it isn't doing you any favors. **3. Clear the three-cannon plaza** The larger plaza holds the final three air-defense guns. It also has ordinary turrets covering the approaches, so don't confuse destroying an objective with making the area safe. A useful route is up the stairs into the building on the left. Its upper position provides a Carbine supply and a view into the plaza. Use that height to break up the defenders and deal with the Shade and other gun positions before crossing to the neighboring building. Be ready for camouflaged sword Elites around that upper approach, particularly on Legendary. Don't turn a corner with your attention still fixed on a distant cannon. Mark the close threat for the squad and make room to retreat. Disable the remaining batteries or guns, using Artemis when you need help finding the objective. After the air defenses are down and reinforcements arrive, locate and activate the elevator platform. This lift takes you **down into the undercity**. **4. Cross the undercity without fighting over open water** Follow the walkways and use the breakable shutters to enter the small structures. These interiors give you a chance to replenish Covenant weapons and shoot from somewhere that isn't a narrow exposed bridge. The gaps matter. Stop firing long enough to line up a jump. A small correction on solid ground is much better than trying to rescue a bad leap with a desperate thrust. The Covenant positions ahead include turrets, ranged Jackals and Elites with power weapons. Deal with the enemies that can shoot the entire crossing before trying to run along it. If an Elite pushes toward you, fall back into the space you've already cleared rather than meeting it at the edge. At the heavily defended long bridge, use the side positions to improve your angle. A sniper perch on the right offers a Beam Rifle and turret. Pick apart the far defenders before committing the whole squad to the crossing. Co-op players can work different angles, but agree where you're going. Splitting the group between two safe platforms is useful; leaving someone downed on an inaccessible lower ledge is not. **5. Deal with the Hunter pair and ride back up** The route reaches a raised platform guarded by two Hunters. Heavy weapons are available on a side platform to the right, including Fuel Rod Cannons. Use the surrounding space to get an angle on exposed flesh rather than pouring shots into the shields. Keep the Hunters in sight when moving around them. Fighting one while the other has a clean shot across your back is how an apparently controlled encounter gets out of hand. If you're attempting **Worms Don't Surf**, this is the pair you need alive for the ocean challenge. Otherwise, finish the fight normally. Clear the Grunts arriving on the elevator afterward, check for anything you want to collect, then take the lift up. **6. Follow the collapsing city back to the Arbiter** The route above passes through a devastated plaza before the Guardian's movement begins breaking the path apart. Follow the remaining walkway, jump the gaps and keep moving through the collapsing section. After the sliding sequence, continue through the damaged rooms and climb the rubble toward the fighting ahead. The Arbiter rejoins you for the Promethean encounter. That's your signal to get ready for another serious fight, not to sprint straight toward the Guardian. **7. Finish the Prometheans and Warden** Start from cover and thin out the Crawlers, Soldiers and Watchers. As the fight expands, watch for Soldier Captains carrying Splinter Turrets. Their fire can punish you while you're concentrating on a different target. The building on the right has an upper firing position with a Beam Rifle and Carbine ammunition. Farther forward, the tilted structure has heavy weapons, but reaching it during the worst of the fight is a risk. Collect useful equipment when the route is manageable, not because you've decided you absolutely must have one particular gun right now. When the Warden arrives, keep the squad involved and use cover to break its ranged attacks. On Legendary, working from the rear position is a reasonable alternative to trying to circle behind it in the middle of the remaining enemies. The Arbiter can contribute up close while you maintain a safer firing angle. Finish the battle and let the ending sequence take over. The mission completion achievement is **Civil War**. If you're collecting Cowbell, make the detour to its ledge before bringing this last encounter to a close.