Campaign

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The campaign menu in Halo: The Master Chief Collection.

Campaign is the single player aspect of the Halo games. In each game, the player participates in various episodes of the Halo storyline. The most recurrent character that players control is John-117, the Master Chief, although roughly half of the Halo games focus on other characters and stories. The events of the Halo campaigns focus on the confrontation between humanity and the Covenant, and also feature prominent interventions by other factions such as the Flood or the Forerunners.

Campaign levels usually consist of missions in which the player kills enemies while going through the level's areas and completing given objectives, where the story is established with cutscenes and in-game dialogues. Cooperative play is available in most but not all games, but the number of players can vary. Different difficulty options (Easy, Normal, Heroic, Legendary) and gameplay modifiers (skulls, scoring) also exist. The additional Spartan Ops mode in Halo 4 is loosely based on a campaign and continues the game's story.

Most Halo games are first-person shooters where the player controls a single character. The Halo Wars series are real-time strategy games, in which the player can take control of dozens of troops and units at a time. Halo: Spartan Assault and Spartan Strike are top-down isometric shooters.

Campaigns[edit]

Halo: Combat Evolved[edit]

"While the Covenant had us locked up in here, I overheard the guards talking about this ring world. They call it... Halo."

— Captain Jacob Keyes after being rescued by Master Chief Petty Officer John-117.^[1]

A promotional wallpaper of a UNSC assault on Assault on the Control Room.

Campaign promotional image for Halo: Combat Evolved.

Main articles: Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary

In Halo: Combat Evolved, the player takes control of the Master Chief. Co-op play allows a second player (also playing the Master Chief) to join in split-screen or system link. In Halo: Combat Evolved Anniversary, the second player can join via Xbox Live. There are ten levels, which can be played on four difficulties. Anniversary also adds Terminals, Skulls, and the possibility to switch between old and new graphics.

The campaign is set in September 2552, as the UNSC is embroiled in the twenty-eighth year of a genocidal war started by the alien hegemony known as the Covenant. The plot revolves around the crew of the UNSC Pillar of Autumn, a ship that has escaped the catastrophic Battle of Reach, only to stumble upon Installation 04, a Halo ringworld in uncharted space, something the Covenant believe will act as a gateway to Godhood. The Covenant attempt to destroy the Autumn, but fail, allowing survivors to reach the ring. With the Covenant in pursuit, the Master Chief, alongside his AI companion Cortana, gathers the human survivors and engages the enemy on the surface of Halo, recovering the Autumn's Capitan, Jacob Keyes, while trying to uncover the ring's origin and true purpose. However, the Flood, an all consuming parasite, are revealed after breaking containment and begin spreading across the ring. Attempting to stop the spread of the Flood, the monitor of the ring tries to convince Chief to fire the Halo to kill the flood. However, as they reach the Halo's Control Room, Cortana reveals that Halo is a superweapon designed to prevent the spread of the Flood, capable of destroying every sentient lifeform in the galaxy if activated. Learning this, Chief and Cortana set out to destroy the ring, with Chief detonating the Autumn's Fusion reactor to destroy Halo, with him and Cortana narrowly escaping the ringworld's destruction.

Halo 2[edit]

Thel 'Vadamee: "I will continue my campaign against the humans!"

High Prophet of Truth: "No. You will not."

— Thel 'Vadamee's campaign in Halo 2 was focused against Heretics, the Flood, and eventually the Covenant.^[2]

Campaign promotional art for Halo 2.

Main articles: Halo 2, Halo 2: Anniversary

In Halo 2, the player alternates between the Master Chief and the Arbiter. Co-op allows a second player to join the game in split-screen or system link (or via Xbox Live in Halo 2: Anniversary). Both players control the same character around whom the level focuses (ie: two Master Chiefs, or two Arbiters). There are fifteen levels (an introductory cutscene, a tutorial and thirteen full-fledged missions), playable on four different difficulties, and there are Skulls as gameplay modifiers. Halo 2: Anniversary adds Terminals and additional Skulls along with the possibility to switch between old and new graphics.

The campaign is set in October 2552, with The Master Chief having returned to Earth after the destruction of Installation 04, aboard Cairo Station. Meanwhile, aboard the Covenant's holy city, High Charity, the Covenant commander who failed to protect Halo is branded a heretic. The Covenant finally discover and attack Earth, prompting the Chief to defend the Cairo and the city of Mombasa, Kenya. Meanwhile, the deposed Elite, Thel 'Vadamee becomes the Arbiter and is sent by the Hierarchs to quell a rebellion against the Covenant, retrieving the monitor of the destroyed Halo. On Earth, the UNSC In Amber Clad, with the Chief aboard, pursues the ship of the Prophet of Regret, only to arrive at a new Halo ring, Installation 05. The Chief sets out to kill the Covenant Prophet, and successfully does so, while the Arbiter is sent to retrieve the activation index to secure Halo's activation, before being backstabbed by Tartarus, Chieftain of the Jiralhanae. Both end in the clutches of the Gravemind, the Flood's central intelligence, who orders them to stop the ring's activation. The Covenant fall into a civil war as the Hierarchs order the Brutes to betray the Elites. The Arbiter manages to defeat Tartarus by forming an alliance with the humans. Meanwhile, the Master Chief is forced to abandon Cortana on High Charity, as it is being infested by the Flood, and chases after the last Covenant Hierarch, the Prophet of Truth, who departs to Earth.

Halo 3[edit]

Lord Hood: "What we should do Commander, is understand - clearly - that this is humanity's final stand - here - at Earth. We go, we risk everything; every last man, woman and child. If we stand our ground, we might just have a chance."

Thel 'Vadam: "No. If your construct is wrong, then the Flood has already won."

— Humanity and the Sangheili plan their operation against the Covenant and the Flood.^[3]

The four characters playable in co-op in the Halo 3 campaign.

Main article: Halo 3

In Halo 3, the player controls the Master Chief. Co-op allows two players in split-screen, and up to four players in system link or Xbox Live. The second, third, and fourth players respectively control the Arbiter, N'tho 'Sraom and Usze 'Taham. It is one of only two Halo games in which the co-op mode has a canonical explanation. There are ten levels playable (an introductory cutscene and nine playable missions). The player can find Terminals and Skulls, and change the game's difficulty either with the four traditional difficulties or with the Skulls. It is also the first game to introduce campaign scoring. Another feature it added was the Rally Point system which allows the player to choose where in the mission they start from with most having two or three rally points (including the option of "mission start" which is labeled as Rally Point Alpha in the MCC version of Halo 3, Halo 3 ODST and Halo 4) at important areas of a mission, such as just after a cutscene or when the player would have moved to a new area of the map, such as the cutscene after defeating 343 Guilty Spark in Halo or the area after the broken bridge in Tsavo Highway, labeled as the broken path.

The campaign is set in November 2552, as the Master Chief returns to Earth to stop the Prophet of Truth. After being retrieved by the UNSC, and fighting at a UNSC airbase, he is sent to the besieged city of Voi to destroy the Covenant's heavy defenses. The UNSC fleet then launches an attack on Truth's Forerunner ship, but he manages to activate the Portal and departs to the Ark to activate the Halo Array and begin The Great Journey. Suddenly, the Flood arrive on Earth, but are eradicated with the help of the Elites. The UNSC and the Elites join their forces and battle the last Covenant forces on the Ark, culminating in the assassination of the Prophet of Truth. However, the flood, having reached The Ark via High Charity, land on the installation and begin to spread. Chief enters the remains of High Charity, retrieves Cortana and they set out to activate a newly built Halo ring, Installation 08, to destroy the local infestation. They successfully light the ring, but during the escape, the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn is cut in half by the Portal, with the forward section crashing on Earth with the Arbiter and the aft section being lost in space, with the Chief and Cortana aboard. The Spartan waits in cryosleep until the UNSC find and rescues them, and the Human-Covenant War is declared over, with a ceremony in remembrance of the lives lost during the war.

Halo Wars[edit]

"Captain's report, February 4, 2531. Five years, five long years. That's how long it took us to get Harvest back..."

— Captain James Cutter on the Harvest campaign.^[4]

Campaign promotional art for Halo Wars.

Main article: Halo Wars

Halo Wars was Halo's first real-time strategy game. The player controls Captain James Cutter. Two player online Co-op for the campaign story is available in the game in Xbox Live link. Player two also controls Captain Cutter as the leader of an original campaign. The campaign consists of 15 Missions and can be played on four difficulties, and has skulls that can be found throughout, acting as gameplay modifiers.

The campaign is set in February and March 2531. It begins with Sergeant John Forge, a Marine aboard the ship UNSC Spirit of Fire, on the planet Harvest, engaging the Covenant to secure a Forerunner relic site for Professor Ellen Anders to examine, with the information gathered showing that the Covenant are heading to the colony of Arcadia, where Forge assists in evacuating civilians. The UNSC then attacks a Covenant site, with Anders and Forge documenting the area, only for Arbiter Ripa 'Moramee to arrive and take Anders prisoner. Following them, the Spirit of Fire emerges over a mysterious planet. Searching for Anders, the UNSC forces come under attack from the Flood. They retreat to the Spirit of Fire which then emerges inside a massive Shield World. Meanwhile, the Arbiter uses Anders to reveal an installation with a fleet of Forerunner warships. Anders manages to escape, linking up with Forge and his Marines. Removing the Spirit of Fire's FTL drive, the UNSC move it into the installation, planning to detonate it, which would the system's star to go supernova, destroying the fleet. The Arbiter attempts to stop them, but is killed by Forge, who stays behind to detonate the reactor, while the rest of the UNSC forces escape on Spirit of Fire. Now unable to return to human space, the crew enter cryonic storage. In a post credits scene, Serina is be heard saying, "Captain. Wake up. Something has happened."

Halo 3: ODST[edit]

"You know the music. Time to dance!"

— Gunnery Sergeant Edward Buck to the rest of Alpha-Nine.^[5]

Campaign promotional art for Halo 3: ODST.

Main article: Halo 3: ODST

In Halo 3: ODST, the player primarily takes control of the Rookie, but also takes control of the different members of the 65th Shock Troops Division. Co-op allows for up to four players over Xbox LIVE or System Link. There are ten levels, which are playable on four difficulties, with Skulls added to the game with the addition of the game to Halo: The Master Chief Collection. The player can also find audio logs to uncover a secret story.

The campaign is set in October 2552. It begins on the UNSC Say My Name above New Mombasa, Earth, where a group of ODSTs, Dutch, Romeo, Mickey, Edward Buck, the Rookie, and an ONI operative Veronica Dare, are preparing to assault the Prophet of Regret's assault carrier. The ODSTs drop from the ship, but before they can land, the assault carrier enters slipspace, sending the drop pods out of control, and causing the Rookie's pod to collide with Mickey's pod, knocking the Rookie unconscious. The Rookie later wakes up and heads into the city to find his squad. Fighting Covenant patrols throughout the city, he encounters the Superintendent, a "dumb" AI tasked with maintaining the city, that begins to help him. The Rookie begins to find clues regarding the fate of his squadmates. When the Rookie finds a clue, the game's perspective shifts to that of the relevant ODST, before returning to the Rookie once the level is complete. Eventually, the Rookie, having made his way to the Superintendent's Data Center, finds Dare locked in on sub-level nine. They fight their way to the data center, and find a Huragok, which has combined its knowledge with the information possessed by the Superintendent. They escape the data core, alongside Buck, and attempt to reach a stolen Phantom waiting in the shipyards down the coastal highway, but are forced to take cover. Buck orders Mickey to provide extraction, and after fighting waves of Covenant forces, the group escapes, narrowly avoiding a Covenant carrier's glassing beam. The game ends with Sergeant Major Avery Johnson interrogating the Huragok, and The Prophet of Truth overseeing more Huragok uncover an extensive Forerunner complex beneath the planet's surface.

Halo: Reach[edit]

Carter-A259: "You want to know if we're losing?"

Kat-B320: "I know we're losing! I want to know if we've lost."

— NOBLE Team Commander Carter-A259 and Lieutenant Commander Kat-B320 during the Siege of New Alexandria.^[6]

Campaign promotional art for Halo: Reach.

Main article: Halo: Reach

In Halo: Reach, the player takes control of Spartan-B312, also known as Noble 6, who is a recent addition to NOBLE Team. Noble 6 is represented by the player's multiplayer Spartan. In co-op, other players are also represented by their multiplayer spartan. Halo: Reach supports online multiplayer as well as split-screen. The original Halo: Reach also supports Campaign matchmaking, has eleven missions that can be played in four difficulties and has skulls that can be found throughout the game. The player can also find Data pads throughout the campaign.

The campaign is set in July and August 2552, just before the events of Halo: Combat Evolved. Spartan-B312, who recently arrived on the colony of Reach, meets up with NOBLE Team to investigate a disturbance at Visegrád relay Outpost. However, they find the Covenant there. NOBLE Team, which included Carter, Kat, Jun, Emile, and Jorge, all of whom are Spartan-IIIs, except for Jorge. They fight against the Covenant invasion in various places, and eventually Noble 6 and Jorge make their way inside a Covenant cruiser. Jorge sacrifices his life to destroy the cruiser, throwing Noble 6 down to Reach. However, it is in vain, because the largest Covenant fleet the UNSC has ever seen arrives. NOBLE Team regroups in New Alexandria, but a Covenant ship fires its glassing beam. As the city begins to get glassed, Kat is killed by a needle rifle. The remaining members make their way to SWORD Base and meet with Dr. Catherine Halsey, the creator of the Spartan-IIs. She gives an AI known as Cortana to Noble-6 and tells him to get it to the UNSC Pillar of Autumn. Jun takes Halsey and somehow they make their way off of Reach. Noble-6, Emile, and Carter make their way towards the Pillar of Autumn, but they encounter a Scarab. Carter crashes his Pelican into the Scarab to destroy it, sacrificing himself. Emile and Noble 6 make their way to the Pillar of Autumn, and give Cortana to Captain Keyes. However, they have to fight off Covenant Phantoms and destroy a cruiser with a MAC Cannon. Emile dies fighting off Elites. The Pillar of Autumn leaves Reach, and Noble 6 fights until his last breath. The epilogue, set in the year 2589 on a re-terraformed Reach, shows Noble Six's helmet sitting in what is now a grassy field, with Dr. Halsey providing a eulogy to Noble Team.

Halo 4[edit]

"Time was your ally, human, but now it has abandoned you. The Forerunners... have returned."

— The Ur-Didact thanks John-117 for releasing him from his cryptum.^[7]

Campaign promotional art for Halo 4.

Main article: Halo 4

In Halo 4, the player takes control of the Master Chief. Co-op play allows two players to play in split-screen, and up to four players to join via Xbox Live or system link. It was the first original Halo game created by 343 Industries. The campaign has 10 missions, (two cinematic and eight gameplay missions), can be played in four difficulties and has skulls that can be collected in the campaign, alongside Terminals.

The campaign is set in July 2557 on the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn, above the Forerunner Shield world Requiem. Cortana wakes Chief from cryo-sleep to search for the cause of the ship's alarms activating, encountering former Covenant forces attacking the frigate. While fending them off, they crash land on the shield world after entering its gravity well. They recover, and attempt to make their way back to Earth in order to find a cure for Cortana's Rampancy. They set out to find a way to contact the UNSC, encountering more Covenant forces, as well as Prometheans, before reaching Requiem's core and freeing the Didact from his Cryptum with the Covenant then quickly allies with the Didact and his Prometheans. Chief and Cortana escape, but emerge to the UNSC Infinity being pulled into the planet. They regroup with UNSC forces and fight against the Didact and the Covenant, before the Didact retreats. The pair set out to destroy the planet's gravity well, but Chief is confronted with a vision from the Librarian, who warns him of the Didact's plans to use the Composer, a device that extracts the soul from a person to turn them into Prometheans. They destroy the gravity well, but Chief stays behind, commandeering a Pelican to attempt to destroy the Didact's cryptum. This proves unsuccessful, as the Didact leaves Requiem with his ship, the Mantle's Approach, to Ivanoff Station, to prevent the Didact from acquiring the Composer, but fail. With the Composer in the Didact's possession, Chief and Cortana attempt to destroy the mantle's approach, and with it the composer, with a nuke, to prevent the Didact from composing the city of New Phoenix. Chief confronts the Didact once again, and Cortana sacrifices herself so he can kill the Didact and destroy the composer. With the last of her power, Cortana teleports John away from the vessel before fading away. Chief drifts in space before being found by the Infinity and returning to Earth.

Spartan Ops[edit]

Spartan Ops is an episodic cooperative campaign that acted as the replacement for Firefight. In Spartan Ops, the player takes control of Fireteam Crimson, and features ten episodes, each with five chapters.

The campaign is set in February 2558, with the UNSC Infinity dispatched to reclaim Requiem from Covenant forces. Once there, Infinity engages the Covenant fleet and deploys ground forces, including Fireteams Majestic and Crimson, sending them on many different operations. During one of these, Fireteam Crimson uncover a Forerunner slipspace artifact, which once brought aboard the Infinity disrupts the ship's systems and teleports Chief Engineer Henry Glassman to Requiem's surface, with Dr. Catherine Halsey investigating the event. It then begins transmitting data about the ship to Requiem, and is intercepted by Jul 'Mdama, with him taking Glassman captive. Fireteam Crimson secure another Forerunner artifact, the Didact's Gift, which contains the memories of Promethean Knights formed from the victims of the Didact's [[attack on New Phoenixattack on New Phoenix]]. Investigating the first artifact, Spartan Gabriel Thorne is teleported to the Cauldron, inside of Covenant territory. Dr. Halsey begins unknowingly talking with Jul 'Mdama, who is manipulating her to learn Forerunner secrets. Halsey is apprehended while Spartan Thorne rescues Dr. Glassman. Halsey then briefly escapes imprisonment before being captured by Covenant and Promethean forces, taking her to the Librarian's "shrine". Admiral Serin Osman, head of the ONI, orders Captain Thomas Lasky to assassinate Halsey, but he sends Fireteam Majestic to rescue her. Meanwhile, Halsey enters the Librarian's shrine, and the Librarian's essence gives her an artifact known as the Janus Key, but one half is taken by Jul 'Mdama. Believing to have obtained what he was looking for, Jul 'Mdama launches Requiem into its sun, with the Infinity narrowly escaping. Dr. Glassman then studies his half of the Janus Key while Halsey seemingly agrees to collaborate with Jul 'Mdama.

Halo: Spartan Assault[edit]

"Greeting, Spartan. I'm Roland, UNSC Infinity's AI. We're going to study the historical battles in hopes of increasing your tactical skills for the future. As a bonus, it's a pretty fun game you can play in your spare time. So let's get to it."

— Roland explaining the TACSIM to a Spartan-IV.^[8]

Sarah Palmer in one of the cinematics of Halo: Spartan Assault.

Main article: Halo: Spartan Assault

This section is a stub. You can help Halopedia by expanding it.

Halo: Spartan Strike[edit]

"Our combat simulation is up and running, so let's see how you do playing through this operation as a lone Spartan. Good luck!"

— Roland prepares a TACSIM for a Spartan-IV.^[9]

Campaign promotional art for Halo: Spartan Strike.

Main article: Halo: Spartan Strike

This section is a stub. You can help Halopedia by expanding it.

Halo 5: Guardians[edit]

Jameson Locke: "Cortana's our concern now, sir."

John-117: "Like hell she is."

— Spartan Jameson Locke attempts to arrest an AWOL John-117.^[10]

Campaign promotional art for Halo 5: Guardians.

Main article: Halo 5: Guardians

In Halo 5: Guardians, the player alternates between the Master Chief and Spartan Jameson Locke. Co-op allows for up to four players via Xbox live. When playing as the Master Chief, players on co-op will play as members of Blue Team (Frederic-104, Kelly-087 and Linda-058), while when playing as Locke, they will play as members of Fireteam Osiris (Holly Tanaka, Edward Buck and Olympia Vale). It is the second Halo game in which co-op has a canonical explanation. The campaign has fifteen missions, (three weapons down and twelve gameplay missions), can be played in four difficulties and has skulls that can be collected in the campaign, alongside audio logs.

The campaign is set in October 2558, and begins following Locke as Fireteam Osiris is deployed to Kamchatka to extract Dr. Catherine Halsey from Jul 'Mdama's forces. Osiris succeed, recovering Halsey to the UNSC Infinity, and killing 'Mdama. Meanwhile, Chief and Blue Team reacg the ONI research vessel Argent Moon to prevent Covenant forces from utilising its research. Chief has a vision of Cortana, and after destroying the vessel, goes rogue to find her. Halsey, worried that Cortana is manipulating Chief, sends Osiris after Blue Team to bring them back. Arriving at Meridian, they fight the Promethean forces on the planet, including the Warden Eternal, Cortana’s servant, and find Blue Team. Locke fights Chief, but loses, and Blue Team go through a slipspace portal while Osiris extract from Meridian, avoiding the Guardian activated under the planet. Blue Team, after arriving on Genesis, are contacted by Cortana, who explains that her rampancy was cured by The Domain, telling them to meet her at the Domain's access point. Meanwhile, Osiris fight alongside the Arbiter on Sanghelios against ex-Covenant forces. Acquiring a Constructor Sentinel, they reprogram it to activate the Guardian on Sunaion, and fight to reach the Guardian before it activates. They reach it in time, and teleport away, while the Arbiter clears up the remaining Covenant forces. Osiris arrive on Genesis, and with the help of it's Monitor, fight to reach Blue Team. Blue Team, after reaching The Domain, fight through Promethean forces, including multiple Wardens, before reaching Cortana. However, Cortana, believing that AI's should hold the Mantle of Responsibility, traps Blue Team in a Cryptum, despite Chief's attempts to reason with her. Osiris, learning this, fight through the rest of Cortana's forces, and manage to free Blue Team. However, Cortana finds Earth, and uses the Guardians to EMP the planet, with the Infinity narrowly escaping, while Chief reunites with the Arbiter on Sanghelios.

Halo Wars 2[edit]

"Atriox and his Banished raided Covenant resources, cutting a swath across the galaxy; growing in strength with each attack. Gathering killers and mercenaries to his side. The Covenant had two targets in those years. Humanity and Atriox. They almost got us. But Atriox? They never came close."

— Isabel explaining the Banished to Captain James Cutter.^[11]

Campaign promotional art for Halo Wars 2

Main article: Halo Wars 2

In Halo Wars 2, player controls Captain James Cutter. Co-op allows up to two players in Xbox Live link. Player two also controls Captain Cutter as the leader of an original campaign. The original campaign consists of 12 Missions with Captain Cutter as the leader while Extra campaign contains in total 7 missions, two missions from Operation: SPEARBREAKER with Major Vaughan as Leader and five missions from Awakening the Nightmare with Voridus and Pavium as Leader and can be played on four difficulties. The player can find Phoenix Logs by traveling around the map on missions and unlocking skulls by completing specific optional or bonus objectives.

The campaign is set in March to April 2559, as Serina awakens the entire crew of UNSC Spirit of Fire before making a final dispensation. Much to Captain Cutter and Professor Anders surprise, the ship was drawn into Installation 00 through slipspace travel which their own slipspace drive was used as a makeshift bomb on Etran Harborage. Red Team is dispatched to scout the Ark after receiving the UNSC distress signal, only to encounter Atriox, leader of the Banished, after retrieving the AI Isabel, with Douglas-042 suffering a heavy wound. The Spirit of Fire begin their campaign against the Banished, fighting Atroix's lieutenant Decimus, rescuing survivors, and impending Banished operations on the Ark alongside preventing the Banished from utilising the Ark's portal network, killing Decimus, though this causes the Banished's flagship, the Enduring Conviction, to attack the Spirit of Fire. Through investigation on the Ark, Anders discovers a foundry that will allow her to deploy a new Halo ring in order to raise a distress beacon where the closest original site is Reach but Cutter cannot approve that plan until the Enduring Conviction is destroyed. Jerome-092 and Isabel are dispatched and managed to destroy the ship while Anders activate the ring for final preparations. UNSC and Banished contest their ground on new Installation where the UNSC is able to besiege Banished, allowing Anders to wipe them out using gravity anchors. Anders, however, is taken along with Installation 09 away from the Ark while UNSC and Banished continue to fight. She eventually exists slipspace, only to be intercepted by a Guardian.

Operation: SPEARBREAKER is set in May. UNSC drones spot signs of Banished activity hidden by a cloak field, prompting Sunray 1-1 to investigate. UNSC forces fight Aggressor Sentinels, and a Controller Sentinel, before finding a hologram of a Jiralhanae Warlord, learning that his Huragok have established cloaking towers around their work site. The UNSC set up a Firebase and launch an attack. They eventually destroy the Controller Sentinels besieging the Banished in time to see a Retriever Sentinel emerge, which is eventually destroyed. Sunray then takes the charging columns of a Despair-class fighter, that could have been used to attack the Spirit of Fire offline using HRUNTING/YGGDRASIL Mark II (J) Colossus mechs.

Awakening the Nightmare is set in June. Atriox, cut off from receiving supplies and aid, tasks two of his lieutenants, Voridus and Pavium, with scouting the ruins of High Charity to scavenge usable supplies, but orders them not to enter the ruins. However, Voridus, believing the stories of the Flood to be Covenant lies, leads his troops to deactivate the Sentinel defenses, causing the Flood to escape High Charity. In response, Pavium prepares several waves of defenses, but all of them fail, causing him to fall back to his main outpost, while Voridus retreats to a nondescript Forerunner structure. Pavium then plans to use fissures in the landscape honeycombed with explosive power to halt the Flood. The plan is successful, and Voridus is able to reactivate the Ark's defenses, in time to hear that Atriox has dispatched reinforcements to assist in cleanup measures. Pavium and Voridus begin a centralised assault, but encounter a gargantuan Proto-Gravemind. Thanks to a combination of artillery, orbital support and ground troops, the Proto-Gravemind is eventually killed. Atriox arrives, scolds them for their recklessness, before ordering them to secure the breach.

Halo: Fireteam Raven[edit]

"You heard it, Fireteam Raven! Gear up!"

— Major Antonio Silva to Fireteam Raven during the Battle of Installation 04.^[12]

Promotional art for Halo: Fireteam Raven.

Main article: Halo: Fireteam Raven

In Halo: Fireteam Raven, the player takes control of various members of Fireteam Raven, in a story concurrent to Halo: Combat Evolved. It is Halo's first arcade light gun shooter, supporting between one and four players, with the ability to link their Xbox LIVE account and allow Halo Waypoint to track their in-game progress. The game has six missions, and is either played sat down with M247H machine gun recreations, or stood up with MA5B assault rifle recreations.

The campaign is set in September 2552, with the UNSC Pillar of Autumn arriving in at Installation 04. Fireteam Raven are briefed by Major Antonio Silva to defend the ship from the Covenant. The team fight the Covenant boarders, before being commandeered by the ship's "dumb" AI Wellsley to fend off Seraphs attacking the ship. The team then re-enter and link back up at their drop pods, before landing on the ring and heading towards the Pillar of Autumn's crash site, assisting a raid conducted by allied UNSC forces, helping the Marines secure the ship. Fireteam Raven are then taken to Alpha Base, before it is attacked by the Covenant, with the team helping to fend off the Covenant forces. Eventually, Fireteam Raven are recalled for extraction, as a new threat has emerged in the canyons near the Control Room. The team are deployed into the canyon to distract the Flood and Covenant troops to allow the Master Chief to destroy the ring. They eventually extract via Falcon, but are shot down. Fireteam Raven survive the crash, and continue battling Flood and Covenant, being extracted by a Pelican dropship. They then join another UNSC attack on Pillar of Autumn's crash site to halt the Covenant and Flood forces attempting to stop the Master Chief destroying the Installation. Raven are deployed, but are soon stopped by a Scarab, before boarding the Scarab from a Falcon, and taking it down. They proceed to fight until the Pillar of Autumn's fusion drives are detonated and ring explodes, killing them in the explosion.

Halo Infinite[edit]

"Look around, Cortana. Your empire. Over! Your great plan? Ended at the hands of those who made you."

— Atriox berates a captured Cortana during the Battle for Zeta Halo.^[13]

Campaign promotional art for Halo Infinite: the sixth mainline Halo game.

Main article: Halo Infinite

In Halo Infinite, the player character is once again the Master Chief. The campaign is different from previous entries in the series, as it takes on an open-world style. There are 16 main missions in Halo Infinite. However, 10 of them take place outside the open world. There are also many side missions the player can undertake, including capturing Forward Operating Bases, rescuing Marine squads, and assaulting Banished outposts. In co-op, other players are also the Master Chief. Players cannot get a certain distance away from each other, as they will die. Split-screen is not supported.

The campaign is set in May 2560. The UNSC Infinity has been destroyed by Atriox's Banished forces above Zeta Halo. The Master Chief battles Atriox onboard the Infinity, but is defeated and cast into space above the ring. He floats in space for 6 months before being found by The Pilot. The Master Chief's suit is reactivated and he boards the warship Gbraakon and destroys it. He makes his way down to the ring to retrieve The Weapon, whose purpose is to imitate and lock down Cortana. The Master Chief and the Weapon defeat various Banished forces, before learning of a species called The Endless after meeting The Harbinger. The Harbinger tells him she wants to start the Reformation so she can find and free her people, who were imprisoned because they can survive the activation of the Halo Array. The Master Chief eventually makes his way to the Command Spire and ends the Reformation. The Master Chief goes to the House of Reckoning and defeats Escharum, who was the current leader of the Banished on the ring, alongside learning of Cortana's actions on the ring^[14]. Master Chief frees the Pilot, who had been captured while Chief made his way through the Command Spire. The Master Chief then goes to the Silent Auditorium to stop The Harbinger, and learns of Cortana's sacrifice to kill Atriox after the apparent death of the Master Chief. After a fierce battle, the Master Chief defeats The Harbinger. She tells an unknown entity that they have what they need to finish her work. The Master Chief then reunited with Cortana, who tells the Master Chief to learn from her mistakes. The auditorium then collapses and the Master Chief is teleported to a mysterious desert area, and continues to fight against the Banished. However, Atriox, having survived Cortana's sacrifice, uses a Forerunner key to uncover to the imprisoned Endless, while a conversation between Despondent Pyre and the Forerunner Grand Edict about the imprisonment of the Endless. with the Grand Edict revealing that the AI Offensive Bias has been deployed to assist Despondent Pure in overseeing them.

Trivia[edit]

All games except Halo: CE also have a unique, unofficial difficulty known to fans: Mythic, which is Legendary with all Skulls activated. In Halo: Reach, weekly challenges even feature completing levels on this difficulty. This is also known as LASO (Legendary, all skulls on).
In Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 3, Halo Wars, Halo 4 and Halo: Spartan Assault, the endings of the five games end with a huge Forerunner structure getting destroyed or very damaged.
- Halo: Combat Evolved ends with Halo Installation 04 being destroyed.
- Halo 3 ends with Halo Installation 08 firing (and getting destroyed by the effects)
- Halo Wars ends with a Shield World imploding
- Halo 4 (and Spartan Ops) ends with the Didact's ship, Mantle's Approach, the Composer and Requiem destroyed
- Halo: Spartan Assault ends with X50 sabotaged.
Every Halo game released from 2001-2012, as well as Halo 4, starts and ends with the player in space.
- In Halo: Combat Evolved, the game starts with Master Chief on the Pillar of Autumn and ends with him in a Longsword.
- Halo 2 starts with him on Cairo Station and ends with him on the Forerunner Dreadnought.
- Halo 3 starts off with him crashing towards Earth and ends with him stranded inside the UNSC Forward Unto Dawn.
- Halo Wars starts with Captain Cutter on the UNSC Spirit of Fire talking about the war on Harvest and ends with the freezing of Professor Anders.
- Halo 3: ODST starts with the Rookie on the UNSC Say My Name and ends with him on an ONI orbital facility.
- Halo 4 starts with the Master Chief inside the Forward Unto Dawn and ends inside the UNSC Infinity.
- Halo Wars 2, Halo: Fireteam Raven, and Halo Infinite all start in space, but do not end there.
AI cannot perform needle supercombines, except in Halo: Combat Evolved, Halo 4 and Halo 5: Guardians