Firefight (Halo 3: ODST)

Firefight on Security Zone.

"Built on top of Halo 3: ODST's campaign, Firefight is a cooperative game mode that lets you and up to three of your friends put your skills to the ultimate test. It allows you to jump straight into the heart of Halo and experience traditional Halo sandbox encounters with a new, high octane twist. Though you’ve squared off against most of the enemies you’ll face in Firefight before, you’re not going to be able to rely on your past experiences alone to guide you through all of the action. In Firefight, even the most "harmless" enemy can become a dangerous threat when you’re low on ammo, low on lives, and have your back against the wall. Throw game play modifying skulls into the mix and you'll find that the combat can become even more interesting and intense."

— Bungie.net description

Firefight is a game mode that debuted in Halo 3: ODST, and has since become a staple gamemode across the Halo series.

Overview

The heads-up display elements of Firefight.

"Problem is, we got alien bastards in the house. Each new wave means more bad guys. Five waves make up a round. Three rounds in a set. Sounds easy, huh? Wrong! See these skulls? When they activate, they turn a casual Covenant make-out session into a full-on test of your manly prowess!"

— Sgt. Johnson

Firefight is an endless wave-based survival mode introduced in Halo 3: ODST to supplement regular competitive multiplayer matchmaking. Players compete to survive waves of Covenant troops deployed by Phantom dropships for as long as possible, earning points and attempting to survive as long as possible. The mode supports up to four players in splitscreen or Xbox LIVE cooperative play. Players have a limited number of lives - meaning the game only ends when all players are dead. Firefight can be played on Easy, Normal, Heroic and Legendary difficulties, and players can optionally enable the Blind, Cowbell, IWHBYD and Grunt Birthday skulls for no increase in score.

A wave of Grunts in the Bonus Round.

Firefight is structured into waves, rounds and sets. A wave consists of a handful of enemy infantry deploying from one or two dropships or doorways onto the level at a time. Five waves make up a round and three rounds make up a set. At the end of every round, players are restored lives, weapons and vehicles. As a set progresses, a new skull will be enabled for each round, though these skulls will reset at the end of the set. Meanwhile, at the end of every set, an additional skull is enabled permanently, making the experience harder and harder. As the waves in a given round and rounds in a given set increase, the enemies deployed onto the battlefield will get harder, progressing from Grunts and Jackals to Brutes and Hunters - ending the round with Brute Chieftains. No matter what difficulty is selected for Firefight, the Tough Luck skull is always enabled.

At the end of each set is a bonus round. During the short bonus round, a single Phantom will hover over the battlefield and disperse an endless wave of Grunts for players to kill for points and score. During the bonus round, all skulls are enabled including Iron, meaning that if a player dies they will be unable to respawn until the round is complete. However, player deaths in the bonus round do not subtract from the overall pool of lives. If players score high enough during the bonus round, they are awarded bonus lives.

Skulls

Sergeant Johnson manning a Warthog turret.

The following is a summary of the skulls featured in Halo 3: ODST's Firefight. Some skulls can be activated before setting up the match, for no change in score, namely: Blind, Cowbell, Grunt Birthday Party and IWHBYD. Most, however, are activated progressively throughout the match, as outlined below. The only Halo 3: ODST skull which does not feature in Firefight is Thunderstorm.

Standard Skulls

Set	Round	Set skulls	Round skulls
1	1	N/A	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron
2	1	Tilt	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron
3	1	Tilt, Famine	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron
4 and above	1	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron

Floodfight Skulls

In the April 2022 update for Halo: The Master Chief Collection, a new mode was implemented into Halo 3: ODST Firefight known as Floodfight (see below for details). The Floodfight update included a Seasonal Challenge called Gravetender, which effectively served as a Floodfight equivalent to the Endure achievement/challenge in regular Firefight. Only one set is available in Floodfight.

Set	Round	Set skulls	Round skulls
1	1	N/A	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Famine
	3		Tough Luck, Famine, Tilt
	Bonus	Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck, Black Eye, Iron
2	1	Tilt	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron
3	1	Tilt, Famine	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron
4 and above	1	Tilt, Famine, Mythic	Tough Luck
	2		Tough Luck, Catch
	3		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye
	Bonus		Tough Luck, Catch, Black Eye, Iron

Player characters

Officially-commissioned keyart for Firefight, by Brad Rigney.

Main article: Armor customization (Halo 3: ODST)

In Firefight, players can choose to play as any of the members of Alpha-Nine, the ODST squad featured in the Halo 3: ODST campaign mode, with an additional bonus character of Sergeant Johnson for players who pre-ordered the game. In the original ODST game, characters could be unlocked by completing campaign missions. In Halo: The Master Chief Collection, all characters are unlocked in the Series 3: Recon progression system and available for play, including the previously-exclusive Johnson. The Master Chief Collection additionally introduces two new character variants based on models used only in the campaign, unlockable through