**Halo Wars: Reactor — clear the climb before bringing up the core**

**Halo Wars: Reactor — clear the climb before bringing up the core** *Campaign spoilers. Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, mission 14.* The Elephant towing the reactor should not be the first thing to discover a defended ramp. Move the army ahead, clear a section, then bring the tow up behind it. That's the rhythm to keep through the climb. Before starting, decide whether you're doing **Didn't Get To Second Base**. That achievement requires completing the mission without claiming an extra base. The normal expansion route and the achievement route need different spending plans. **Get ready at the starting base** Build income, technology and a force capable of breaking the Covenant positions. Scorpions can do the ground fighting; Vultures take more investment but reinforce uphill positions without following every bend in the road. Keep anti-air support available for the Vampires. Attach the Elephant to the FTL Reactor Core through the mission's indicated interaction. Confirm it is towing the core before sending it anywhere. Keep the tow out of the first assault while the army moves up the initial ramp. Clear the Covenant base and defenders ahead. Don't advance the Elephant simply because the central building is falling; check that the route around it is safe as well. **Advance one section at a time** On a standard run, establish a Firebase at the cleared site for closer production and additional income. Add defenses so the position stays useful while you move on. On the no-second-base attempt, leave the site unclaimed. Continue reinforcing from your original base and keep that base defended. Destroying a Covenant base and building your own there are separate actions; it is the extra claim you must avoid. Move the tow up only after the fighting force has secured the next stretch. Keep it close enough that it isn't abandoned far behind the escort, but not so close that it enters the next firefight before you're ready. At the Flood-held section, remove the Den and Launcher threatening the route. Then continue toward the next Covenant base. Use support powers and concentrated attacks to break each defense, repair the damaged force, and repeat the escort process up the ramps. Avoid selecting every unit when issuing an attack order. The last thing you need is to include the towing Elephant in the army's charge by accident. **The black box and the Vampire count** The black box is on the raised grassy shelf southwest of the first Covenant base site you clear, beside the early ascent. Use an aircraft to reach the tree-lined patch without making the tow leave its route. Destroy **20 Vampires** for **Bountiful Harvest**. These are Covenant anti-air vehicles, not Banshees. Keep an eye on the mission counter and use appropriate anti-air defenses to intercept them as they arrive. After the objective completes, collect the skull near the second Covenant base area, in the circle of Forerunner stone-like objects toward the northern part of the route. Do it before the tow reaches its final destination. Waiting for enough Vampires can lengthen the mission considerably. Make that a collection attempt if necessary, rather than expecting the same run to be your fastest gold performance. Do not finish the escort and expect to return afterward for the skull. **The final approach** Clear the last Covenant position at the top. Keep the army between the defenders and the tow until the destination is safe, then bring the Elephant and reactor into the Apex site to finish. On Heroic and Legendary, take the defensive threats seriously instead of attempting a bare escort dash through the bases. If reinforcements are slow to arrive, stop the tow in a secured area and rebuild the escort. Driving onward with a collapsing army only moves the failure farther up the hill. **Signed, Sealed, Delivered** is the Definitive Edition completion achievement. Gold requires **30,000 points**. Check the no-extra-base achievement, black box and Bountiful Harvest separately. The important distinction is whether your army has actually cleared the next stretch, not whether the next objective marker is visible. Keep the reactor behind the fighting and the mission stays much more manageable.