**Spartan Assault — Operation E: Frostbite**

**Spartan Assault — Operation E: Frostbite** Story spoilers for the original campaign ending. Frostbite has two achievement runs worth planning before you start: E-1 with its required skull pair, and E-4 without vehicles or turrets. Neither requires you to turn the entire operation into a special challenge run. Learn the missions normally, then replay the specific one with the restriction. **E-1: Hunt for the Phantom** Advance from the Hornets through the turret defenses and forest toward Parg Vol's Phantom. The route adds Drones, cloaked Elites and vehicles rather than just repeating the opening infantry fight. Keep checking the space immediately around Palmer when the cloaked attackers arrive. Finding the Phantom is not the finish. You still have to secure its landing zone against the final enemies, including Elites and a Brute Chieftain. Save ammunition and useful grenades for that fight rather than arriving with empty guns after fighting everything on the approach. **Vidmaster Challenge** Equip **Hollow and Black Eye** before starting E-1. Hollow leaves you dependent on your shield; Black Eye stops ordinary shield regeneration and requires melee attacks against enemies to restore it. Do not take damage and then hide expecting the normal recharge. Use camouflage to avoid unnecessary fights and create safer opportunities to melee when you need shield recovery. Walking openly into a group of Elites because you need a melee hit can end the attempt immediately. This is a completion challenge, not a gold-star requirement. Take the time to make a safe approach and finish the landing-zone fight. Equipment bought with earned XP can help if you choose to use it. **E-2: The Scorching of the Thicket** Defend the technician while the Phantom is made operational. The four-minute work period is a holdout: you are protecting the engineer, not trying to find an exit somewhere beyond the enemy waves. The attack starts with Grunts and grows to include Jackals, Elites, a Chieftain and cloaked enemies. Artillery begins landing around the defense as the fight develops. Keep moving enough to avoid being trapped, while staying close enough to stop attackers reaching the technician. Do not chase a retreating enemy so far that you cannot return when the work finishes. When the objective changes to boarding, move to the Phantom immediately. The boarding window is short; surviving the full defense and then missing the ship is an avoidable failure. **E-3: Infiltration of the Cult Leader's Base** After leaving the Phantom, work through the Jackals and infantry toward the large anti-aircraft installation. This is an enemy-clearance mission. The large gun is a landmark; you are not repeating the earlier five-artillery-target objective. Enemies come out around the installation and from the surrounding approaches. The fight includes multiple Brute Chieftains, with cloaked Elites and Suicide Grunts adding pressure between them. Keep an escape route instead of fighting with your back against the structure. A Wraith in the area can provide heavy firepower for the main fight. Clear a safe approach and take it if that fits your run. Some remaining enemies may be outside its firing position, so do not sit in it indefinitely waiting for the objective to finish. Get out when necessary, clear the remaining resistance and return to the vehicle if it is still useful. The Foot Soldier restriction belongs to the next mission, not this one. **E-4: Hunt for the Cult Leader** Eliminate six lieutenants across the gorge. Work through their guarded positions and follow the remaining target markers. Expect Ghosts, Wraiths, Shades and Drone swarms around the infantry fights. Later, the route reaches a roadblocked valley that forces an on-foot approach even in an unrestricted run. The final lieutenants are in that defended section, with a large plasma turret and additional vehicles joining the fight. Keep counting the mission targets, not merely the number of Elites killed; ordinary guards are not interchangeable with the lieutenants. **Foot Soldier** Complete E-4 **without using any vehicle or turret**. Do not climb into the tempting opening Ghost, and do not use a Shade just for a few quick kills. Stay on foot throughout the attempt. Hologram is useful for drawing attention away from the direction you want to move. Use the distraction to create space, then focus your attacks on the lieutenants and the enemies blocking your route. Avoid standing between a Wraith and a nearby obstacle where a blast can catch you while you are trying to change weapons. If you want a vehicle-heavy gold attempt, do it separately. There is no advantage in accidentally invalidating Foot Soldier halfway through a good run. **E-5: Battle for the Moon** Clear the opening Jackals and Elites before Merg Vol enters. The surrounding focus turrets and reinforcements mean you still need to watch the arena while concentrating on the boss. Vol initially attacks with a plasma pistol and grenades. After his shield breaks, he retreats to recharge and produces decoys on the other pads. Do not rush into sword range trying to force an immediate kill during that transition. His next attack uses camouflage and energy swords. Keep moving and preserve distance. After another shield break and recharge, he returns with a hardlight shield. Do not empty all your ammunition into that frontal protection; use a better angle and well-placed grenades while managing the Jackals arriving around the fight. When the final shield phase is finished, follow the execution prompt to end the encounter. Defeating the boss completes Frostbite and earns Terminated. It ends the original twenty-five-mission campaign, but Operation F: Hydra is still a separate five-mission continuation to play afterward.