**Halo Wars: Relic Interior — getting Forge and Anders out alive**

**Halo Wars: Relic Interior — getting Forge and Anders out alive** *Campaign spoilers. This guide is for Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, mission 3.* Two Grizzlies ought to make this a straightforward rescue. The problem is that you don't have a factory behind them turning out replacements. Lose your armor before reaching Forge and Anders and you've thrown away the rescue force. Keep the tanks together. When one starts taking most of the damage, pull that tank behind the other instead of letting both continue shooting from the same positions until something explodes. You'll get much more out of moving a damaged unit than you will out of squeezing in its last few shots. **Before going inside** The black box is outside the Relic. Turn away from the entrance and follow the separate rocky path toward the crashed Pelican. Clear the small Covenant guard and collect the box at the dead end. This is a convenient opening detour; you can also collect it on the way out, but keep Anders away from the extraction marker if you leave it until then. Now take both Grizzlies through the entrance. Use their Canister Shell ability against the dangerous infantry concentrations, especially Hunters. A tank is not automatically safe because its target happens to be on foot. **Reach the trapped group** Work through the entry passage, taking down turrets and clearing the troops that can keep firing into your rear. At the larger interior junction, use the western route toward the hardlight bridge. Don't send one tank down each side just to uncover more of the map. Cross after clearing the nearby attackers, then continue toward the marked rescue position. Prioritize the Hunters surrounding Forge and Anders. Ordinary Grunts can wait while the units that threaten your armor are still standing. Once the group joins you, use Anders' repair ability on the tanks. This is a good place to stop issuing orders to everybody at once. Keep Anders and the infantry behind the Grizzlies rather than letting the rescue targets become the front of the formation. **The bridge defense** The escape route requires Anders to activate another bridge. Put her on the marked control and defend the position while she works. Spread the tanks enough that they can both fire without obstructing each other. Save their special attacks for Hunters or a worthwhile cluster rather than spending both on the first small unit that appears. When the bridge becomes available, move the entire group across. Check that your slower infantry and Anders actually made it; selecting everybody and clicking the far bank isn't the same as confirming that everybody arrived. The bridge control also provides the mission's achievement opportunity. **Covenant “Hot Drop” requires killing five Covenant units with the bridge.** Allow pursuers onto the hardlight span and deactivate it from safety. Your own troops must be clear of it. Don't confuse five nearby enemies being shot with five enemies actually falling when the bridge disappears. If the achievement doesn't unlock, take another opportunity rather than assuming the first group was large enough. Keep the rescue targets well away from the crossing while you set it up. **Cowbell and the final exit** The skull objective is **45 Hunter kills**. The late escape fighting gives you additional Hunters, so keep an eye on that counter before moving the heroes into the landing zone. Maintain the tanks and use infantry support rather than leaving damaged armor parked in front of repeated fuel-rod fire. Completing the counter spawns **Cowbell** back at the central position where Forge and Anders were originally trapped. It does not put the skull directly into your collection. Send a unit back to that rescue platform and collect it. If a bridge you need is inactive, turn it back on before trying to cross. For a collection run, keep the heroes in a cleared position while the collecting unit makes the detour. Then bring the group back through the entrance and move Forge and Anders to the marked landing zone. On Heroic and Legendary, protect your tank health throughout the route rather than treating repairs as something to remember only when a vehicle is almost gone. Don't chase every reinforcement away from the path. The job is to extract the people, not empty a map that keeps sending more Covenant at you. **End-of-mission check** - **Smash and Grab:** finish mission 3 on any difficulty in Definitive Edition. - **Covenant “Hot Drop”:** five kills using the bridge. - Black box collected outside, near the crashed Pelican. - Cowbell collected after killing 45 Hunters. - Gold target: **45,000 points**. A careful collection run and an efficient score run don't have to be the same attempt. Do the detours while learning the route; once you know where everything is, stop paying for those detours with damaged units and long pauses.