**Halo Wars: Escape — open the matching doors and don't lose track of the clock**

**Halo Wars: Escape — open the matching doors and don't lose track of the clock** *Final-mission spoilers. Halo Wars: Definitive Edition, mission 15.* There are six interlocks around the portal, arranged in three opposite pairs. Clearing a control point and activating it is only half of opening a pair. You still need its partner on the other side. If an enemy reaches an activated interlock before its partner is dealt with, that interlock can lock again. Leave protection behind or be ready to return. Otherwise you'll spend the end of the mission wondering why a door you already handled is still closed. **Build for movement** Develop the starting base and claim nearby supply elevators with infantry where you can protect them. Keep production going while you clear the first control point. Aircraft are especially useful because the opening portal changes the routes ground units can take. Vultures provide heavy fire; ground troops and support powers can clear and secure the interlocks. Don't leave the whole army walking around the rim if an aircraft group can handle a distant threat sooner. Bring enough force to clear defenders before activating a panel. A friendly unit needs to be nearby for the interaction, and enemies around the tower need removing. Confirm each activation instead of assuming proximity alone did the job. **A straightforward door order** For **Thinkin' About My Doorbell**, open the matching glyph pairs in order. Use the small circle on each glyph as the reliable identifier rather than relying entirely on a rotated camera: 1. Complete both doors whose glyph circle is at **12 o'clock**. 2. Complete both doors whose glyph circle is at **2 o'clock**. 3. Complete both doors whose glyph circle is at **4 o'clock**. Each pair consists of opposite doors. The order within a matching pair can be reversed; it's the sequence of completed pairs that matters. Clear and protect the first point, reach its opposite partner, and finish that pair before advancing to the next. Don't read a guide's numbered map markers as numbers painted on your game screen. The glyphs are the in-game reference you can actually inspect. **Keep the army and the bases working** As you move around the portal, deal with the Covenant and Flood defending the required locations. Use leader powers on concentrated threats and maintain enough protection at home that a counterattack doesn't destroy your economy while you're across the map. If you capture additional base sites, give them a useful job: income, nearby reinforcements or a defensible foothold. Don't spend the remaining timer building a beautifully upgraded base you won't need. Check previously activated interlocks when the objective doesn't progress as expected. A relocked point needs attention; repeatedly clicking its distant partner won't fix it. **Emperor changes the priorities** The skull objective is **three Scarab kills**. If you're collecting **Emperor**, don't destroy the Covenant production position before the additional Scarabs have appeared and been defeated. This can require waiting, which makes it a different run from a clean rush through the doors. Fight each Scarab with concentrated damage and support. Keep moving units out of its beam rather than letting the front of the army disappear while the rest waits behind it. Watch where it goes as portal sections open; it can reroute toward positions you care about. After the third kill, collect Emperor in the northern/northeastern Flood area near the hot spring and Flood structures. A flying unit can make the trip without following the broken ground route. Confirm the pickup before opening the final pair. The black box is north of the starting base, across the portal's ring near the northern rim. Collect it while clearing that side. It is **black box 15**, not a twentieth box—there are fifteen campaign boxes. **Finish the campaign** Once the collectibles are settled, clear the remaining controls and complete the final matching pair. Stay aware of the timer and the defense at home until the mission ends. On Heroic and Legendary, don't add a long Scarab hunt to a run that's already barely holding together. Get the completion first, then return with a collection plan. Co-op can divide control-point attacks and base management, but both players need to agree on the glyph order before anyone starts opening doors. **Forging a Way to History** is the Definitive Edition mission completion achievement. Gold requires **30,000 points**. Finishing the campaign, getting the door-order achievement and collecting Emperor are separate checks; one successful ending doesn't automatically prove all three.