**Spartan Strike: what to know before starting**

**Spartan Strike: what to know before starting** Spartan Strike has thirty missions, but the last six aren't unlocked simply by reaching the credits. That is the first thing worth knowing before you settle into a playthrough. The campaign has five operations, with six missions in each: - **A — Orphic Spear:** New Mombasa and the search for the Conduit. - **B — Steadfast Pursuit:** following the signal to Gamma Halo. - **C — Valiant Hammer:** fighting to recover the artifact. - **D — Adamantine Shield:** the return to Earth. - **E — Brother's Keeper:** an additional set unlocked by earning gold on every mission in A–D. That means twenty-four gold stars stand between a basic first clear and access to the whole campaign. You don't need to do all the Assault Ops or Vidmaster challenges to open E. Those are separate completion goals. **Pick the right version's checklist** This is a single-player game. Unlike Spartan Assault's console release, it doesn't add a five-mission Flood co-op campaign. It also isn't included in MCC. The Steam version has twenty achievements. The original release also covered Windows 8, Windows Phone 8, iPhone and iPad, but that historical platform list is not a guarantee you can still buy or install every version today. If you already own a mobile copy, verify that it runs on your device before planning a completion attempt around it. Steam achievements and old Windows Xbox achievements are different records. In particular, do not use a Windows achievement page marked discontinued to conclude that the matching Steam achievement is impossible. Equally, don't assume an old cross-platform progress tip still works because someone wrote it at launch. **Separate a clear, a gold run and a challenge run** Start each mission by reading its three Assault Ops. If a challenge fits the weapons and enemies in your normal route, work on it. If it requires a weapon you don't want to use while learning the level, leave it for a replay. For gold, concentrate on chaining kills and earning medals. A slow clear can survive every encounter and still miss the target. The Score Booster is there to help when you are repeatedly falling short; compare the target on the selected mission with your previous best before buying upgrades for another attempt. Vidmaster runs are different again. Each operation's sixth mission has a specific two-skull combination. Learn the route with the HUD and normal conditions first, especially when the eventual challenge removes information or changes how you recover. **A straightforward completion order** 1. Finish A–D and learn the objectives. 2. Replay any of those twenty-four missions without gold. 3. Complete the six missions in E. 4. Finish missing gold stars in E. 5. Clean up the five mission-specific achievements and five Vidmasters. 6. Finish the remaining Assault Ops and check armor abilities and upgrade spending. You can combine steps when it makes sense. There is no benefit in forcing a perfect escort, an unfamiliar weapon challenge and your first gold attempt into the same run if they keep getting in each other's way.