**Halo Wars 2 — Hold the Line: protect the cannon, barricades and base**

**Halo Wars 2 — Hold the Line: protect the cannon, barricades and base** **Main campaign, mission 8. Mission spoilers.** This is a defense mission with enough room to make a mess of your own defenses. If you spend every lull watching the timer, the next attack will find the same weak position the previous one almost broke. Use the early waves to build the economy, strengthen the approaches and prepare a mobile reserve. You are protecting the Particle Cannon, but that does not mean every unit should stand beside it and wait for the Banished to arrive. **Build outward while the pressure is manageable** Start resource production and capture the nearby Power Nodes with infantry. Put defenses on the approaches where they can damage attackers before those attackers reach the barricades. The raised positions overlooking the northern routes are useful early turret sites. As the attacks change from mostly infantry to heavier vehicles, upgrade the defenses accordingly rather than leave every turret suited to the opening wave. Keep an eye on the main base as well. A wave heading toward your production is still a serious threat even if it is not firing at the cannon yet. [Opening defense](https://t.co/MLUvBq18U3) **The two skull requirements** **Sickness:** finish without losing a barricade. **Firestarter:** keep the Particle Cannon from taking more than half its health in damage. For a cautious run, aim to keep it comfortably above half, rather than gamble on an exact boundary while several enemies are firing. These are stricter goals than merely surviving. You can still win after damage that has already spoiled a skull attempt. Check the objective and health state so you know which run you are actually playing. [Skull requirements](https://t.co/ek4uRDyHP5) Meet enemies outside the barricades when you can. A defense that finally kills everything after it has been pounding the barrier for a minute may preserve the cannon but fail the barricade challenge. **Keep a mobile reserve** Hornets can move between threatened routes without following every ground-level bend. Support them and avoid leaving them over hostile anti-air. Scorpions become useful once you have the technology and income to produce them, but retain anti-air coverage for later attacks. I would divide the ground defense between the main approaches and keep the mobile group separate. When one side needs help, send the reserve rather than strip the other side completely. Replace losses after each attack and repair units before the next one arrives. The mission's warning calls tell you where attacks are approaching and what is coming. Use those warnings to move early. Waiting until the barricade health drops means you have already lost valuable time. [Mission sequence and defensive context](https://t.co/ql6kAFmsxr) **Expand and collect without forgetting the defense** Build on the available minibase plots for the optional objective. Use those plots for something that supports the run: extra production, economy or the upgrade building you still need. An expansion that leaves your main production starved is not automatically an improvement. There are two Phoenix Logs: - **Chrysalis:** on the overlook by the eastern enemy approach/spawning area. - **Rise of Atriox IV:** by the left-side, southwestern minibase area. Search during an early lull with a unit you can spare. Return it to the defense afterward. [Log landmarks](https://t.co/Hga6x2nFIX) **Use the lightbridge deliberately** Later, the Banished activate a lightbridge that gives them another approach. Send infantry to the controls. For the bonus objective, deactivate the bridge with enemies actually on it; you need **ten enemy kills** from the bridge, not ten button presses. You can operate the bridge again to create further opportunities, but do not get so absorbed in the bonus that another route collapses. If you are already struggling to keep the cannon safe, shutting down the access route is more important than waiting for an ideal crowd. The other bonus involves kills with **Turret Drop**. Use it where enemies are genuinely engaging and confirm progress. A temporary turret placed in an empty corner does not help the counter or your defense. **Finish with the army still functioning** Prepare anti-air before the air raids reach the base. Keep the two main ground approaches covered and reserve resources for support powers and replacements. Use healing after the dangerous part of a wave, not only when a unit is one shot from being lost. On higher difficulty, avoid pursuing survivors far beyond your prepared positions. The next attack can arrive while your force is scattered across the map. Regroup, restore the defensive line and watch the cannon's health until the countdown is complete. You are not trying to clear an enemy headquarters here. You are buying the time the cannon needs, and every intact position makes the last minutes easier.