Editing H2:Gravemind/Walkthrough (section)

===Part 1: Inside Job===
====Council Chamber====
The level starts right as the Master Chief transports in and grabs a Needler dropped by a panicked Grunt.

As the gameplay begins, you are under assault by two [[Jiralhanae Honor Guardsman|Brute Honor Guards]]. If you can, pick up the other Needler dropped by the other Grunt in the cutscene—it's a bit behind you and to your right. (You can get by with one Needler, but it's harder.) Use the Needlers to fire on the Jiralhanae, as the explosions can kill them easily. As soon as you kill the first Brute, get ready to start backing up quickly, because the other one will go berserk, charge you, and attempt to melee you to death. Pump needles into him as he charges until he's dead.

Now get ready for a Minor Brute with a Minor and Major Grunt, who are about to enter from a door on the side of the chamber. The new Brute is not as tough as the guardsmen you fought a minute ago, but he's still difficult to take down, especially on Legendary. Use the time you have before they enter to grab a Brute Plasma Rifle as your backup weapon—the Honor Guards you just killed have left a couple behind. The general idea is to use the Plasma Rifle on Grunts and save your needles for the Brutes. An alternative is to dual wield the Brute Plasma Rifles (since there are two available) as your main weapon; I find that tedious because it takes a lot of plasma shots to kill a Brute, and you can't aim them that well from across the room. On the other hand, it still gets the job done well.

Use the areas in the corners close to the throne area for cover during the first group's assault, and come out to pick them off one by one. Later, move to the back of the room as more enemies appear. The cover in the back corners is even better than the cover in the front corners.

A Minor Brute will appear on the ledge overhead, armed with a Covenant Carbine. Kill him as soon as he appears, and use the Terminals to jump up to the spectator stand. Grab his rifle and return.

Two Minor Brutes (sometimes one Minor and a Major) will come up to the throne. Needle them if you have any needles left, or use the Carbine or Plasma Rifle if you don't. Then scavenge for weapons, go to the back of the room near one of the pedestals, and wait until Cortana finishes talking about Truth and opens the door for you.

The next room is a pattern you'll see several times. Inside the door is a wall that you go around to get to the rest of the room. Don't do that yet; instead, whip out your Brute Plasma Rifle. Several Minor Grunts, led by a Major, will come charging around the wall; it's easy to dispatch them one at a time. Additionally, they'll furnish you with some more needles, which may be helpful in the next fight. 

On the other side of the wall, the room slopes upward to another similar wall, with a door behind it. At the top of the slope, a [[Unggoy Heavy|Grunt Heavy]] mans a stationary gun. There are also two Minor Brutes up there who will peek out and fire Carbine rounds at you. Use your Carbine to kill them quickly.

If you have no Carbine, or even if you do and the Brutes won't stand still enough to shoot from a distance, you'll have to charge in. Take advantage of the cover along the sides, and take out the Jiralhanae with grenades.

Now to deal with the Unggoy. Use the Carbine if you have one to eradicate the Grunt on the turret, and then use it to kill any stragglers.  Reload, have your Carbine ready, and advance towards the door until it opens.

Outside the door is a platform with a Grav Lift at the other end that you'll eventually need to get to. If you watched the cutscene where the Arbiter was tortured, the platform should look familiar. Another Jiralhanae Honor Guardsman will be outside the door a bit to the left; take him out quickly with Carbine headshots—you'll probably need four shots. After killing him, if you need ammo, this is a good time to dash to a weapons locker outside the door and to the left. It has a couple of Carbines to resupply the one you're carrying.

Use your cunning and superior firepower to eliminate the two Kig-Yar and another Jiralhanae. Keep your distance from the lift as Minor, Major, and Heavy Unggoy float up through the lift. Dispatch them before they can inflict too much damage. After that, a Brute Captain will appear from the lift. Kill him with the Carbine.

After dealing with them all, reload your Carbine—there's another Carbine locker at the end of the platform on the right. Pick up the Brute Shot from the late Captain. It doesn't have much ammo, but for the next mini-battle you don't need much, and in fact you can just melee your way through it with the Brute Shot if you prefer. But first you have to get to it. 

Go to the end of the platform. Cortana will appear and tell you to step into the Grav Lift. (If you dawdle, she will tease you a bit with a few remarks.) Go behind the Grav Lift and enter it from that side, so you'll be facing the right direction when you land. 

Step in, and as you descend, you'll see Minor Grunts and a Jackal Sniper on the platform you're landing on. Take out your Brute Shot and fire a couple rounds, and then take out the rest by meleeing them. You probably want to kill the sniper early—he's the biggest threat, and you're going to want to use his rifle soon. Pick it up as you exit the platform, replacing your almost-empty Brute Shot. 

The next room is a copy of the previous, with the two walls at each end close to the doors. It's empty, though, so just charge right through. Open the next door, then run behind the wall, waiting for the Kig-Yar to pass. Stealth is the key to victory in the next rooms, so get ready. 

Don't get in a hurry to charge in there. The room is a long passage that curves to the right, so you can't see all of it from the door. It contains a couple of Jackals, several Grunts, and three Brutes. Proceed in until you see enemies and dispatch them one by one. The Carbine works well against the Brutes, as before, but you can use the Beam Rifle if you prefer. Watch for charging Brutes. 

When you take down the first Brute, you can either go straight ahead to deal with the rest, or you can jump up on the ledge/hallway on the left. If you want to switch back to Needlers, there's a weapons locker with a couple up there at the beginning of the hall, often with a Jackal hanging around it. If he's there, melee him. The hall will also have at least one more Jackal and a few Grunts, so take care of them. Don't forget the Brutes down at the end. If you take too long, one may sneak up on you. They're probably firing Carbine rounds at you, which at least gives away their positions, so take them out with the weapon of your choice: Needler, Beam Rifle, Carbine, or even grenades if you throw well. You should have picked up a few grenades by now, and there are plenty more coming. Don't worry much about running out of needles either—they're all over the place for the next few rooms.

After you've dispatched the enemies here, rearm and get ready for the next room. It's similar, except that it curves to the left instead of the right.

Don't charge right in, though. When you open the door to the room, two Jackals will come in from the red door on your right and try to flank you. I usually trip the door into the room, and then back up to deal with the Jackals. Then go on into the next room and pick off the Grunts and Brutes in the order in which they stick their heads up, using the Carbine.

At this point, Cortana will tell you there's a lift in the next room. What she doesn't tell is that there are a slew of Brutes in there too, plus a couple of Jackals. When you open the door, if you stand still the Jackals will often walk right in front of you to be slaughtered. Then you can concentrate on the Brutes.

They will appear in three places: directly ahead at the top of the lift, and in the back of the room on the left and right. Be patient and take them all down. Then go behind the central pillar with the lift to get the last Brute, who usually hides back there on the lower level. Since he's hiding, you can sometimes sneak up and melee him, but otherwise, you'll need to go around on the ledge until you can spot him, and then snipe him with the Carbine (or hose him down with the Needler).

Now it's time to load up on weapons before getting on the lift. You're about to embark on one of the more tactical fights of the whole level. You'll want to have a fully loaded Carbine and a Brute Shot. You should find a Brute Shot lying around one of the Brutes you just dispatched; it doesn't have to be fully loaded, as there is ammo available in the next area.

Go to the bottom level of the room, and follow Cortana's advice and get in the Grav Lift. Look down as you move, especially when you get close to landing; You're looking for a Brute with his back turned. He's the reason for the Brute Shot. If you don't waste time, you can take him down with one whack of the Brute Shot, and if you're lucky no other Covenant forces will wake up. That allows you to take your time.

The area you are in consists of the central lift and a U-shaped ledge that runs around the edge. The walkways from the lift extend to the ends of the U. There are three levels, and you're on the top one. The ledge contains a mixed group of Jackals and Grunts scattered all over it. You need to kill them all before proceeding.

If you've been quiet, you can sneak around and whack some of them before they wake up. Some players have managed to whack as many as four of five before the alarm was raised. Start at one end of the U and work your way around it. The left side seems to have fewer Covenant forces, but either end of the U will work as a starting point.

====Holding Chambers====
Once you've finished that, you're ready to rescue some Marines. There's one group on each of the two levels below you. Cortana can get you into the holding cells, but each one is protected by a two layer defense. There are one or two Brutes and a Jackal or two on the outside of the holding cell, and a Brute or two with a couple of Jackals or Grunts on the inside of the cell.

It's random as to which level Cortana directs you to first. Whichever one it is, move around on the top level until you can sight in on the troops guarding the outside of the holding cell, and fire at them from above. Any weapon will do. Needlers work pretty well against the Jackals if you fire a full magazine, because their shield gets bounced aside and the last few needles hit the Jackal directly. Needlers, Brute Shots, or Carbines will work well on the Brutes. When there are two Brutes, the second one will berserk around a while, but since he's on a different level, he can't go near you. Wait until he settles down and hose him down with homing needles, or practice shooting a moving target.

Once the Covenant guards are down, you're ready to free the first batch of Marines. Collect more ammo for your Brute-killing weapons, and go to the area of the U that contains some lifts—they're the round things with a purple glow coming up from them. The ones on the left go down, and the ones on the right go up. (On the top level, the ones on the right are not glowing because you can't go up any further.) Take the one that goes down. If the Marines are on the bottom level, go down one more level.

A Marine holding cell will have the usual assortment of Covenant. A good strategy is to Brute Shot most of them and use a Carbine to finish off the few remaining Grunts, but Needlers work pretty well too. When you've killed all the Covenant forces, the Marines will be released.

When you come back out, some Grunts and Jackals will probably attack from the direction of the lift. Deal with them before doing anything else.

Then find Cortana on the level below (if you have freed the Marines on the middle level), or the level above (if you have freed the Marines on the bottom level). Kill the guards, take the lift to that level, and repeat the holding cell action to free another batch of Marines. If you take too long, some of those outside guards may come up or down on the lift to meet you.

Rearm, kill a few more Grunts and Jackals that show up, and get ready for the last fight before leaving that area. Cortana will warn you that reinforcements are coming down the lift—she means the main Grav Lift that you entered the area with, not the lifts that move between levels. Go to the tip of the U and take out the usual mixed bag of Covenant troops—watch for grenade-throwing Brutes and Grunts during this battle. Alternatively, you can—if you are fast enough—run to the bottom of the lift (directly under the enemies) and punch them with the Brute Shot as they come down; be sure to time the punches correctly. Also, load your weapons first, if possible, or get off before Cortana reverses the lift.

Now, you and any surviving Marines are ready to go on to the next area. Grab a Carbine and a Brute Shot, both fully loaded, to deal with the fight to come. When you're ready, get on the main Grav Lift and it will take you back up to the general area you came from earlier.

You'll see three doors. The one that doesn't show red is the one you'll need to go through. When you approach it, however, three Elites will come charging out. As soon as the door starts to open, toss in a grenade, and then fire the Brute Shot into that group. That will typically kill at least two of them, and your Marines will probably pin down the third, damaged one. Reload the Brute Shot and get ready for some Drones that spew out of the door.

The Drones are somewhat difficult; they're hard to shoot, and they just chip away at your shield until it's gone. However, the Brute Shot works wonders when they fly in formation. Just aim at the middle of the swarm and fire a magazine-worth of rounds. The shots will hit some of them and explode, and the resulting splash damage will usually kill a few more of them. Switch to the Carbine to pick off the survivors.

When you go through the door, two or three more Drones will show up, so be ready for them. There's also an Energy Sword lying there, if you're into slashing Brutes to death.

But the real story here is that you get to see your first internecine battle.<ref>[[Halo 2: The Official Strategy Guide]] page 134</ref> The Covenant Civil War is in full procession, and in this particular fight, two Brutes are up against two Honor Guard Elites, with a few Drones added to the mix to spice things up.

You're going to see several similar scenarios. The Elites have an advantage in these fights because of their shields and Energy Swords; they can wage a war of attrition against the Brutes and win if they can occasionally retreat to recharge the shields.

The best strategy would probably be to take down one Honor Guard, and then let the rest fight it out for the honor of being killed by you. However, your impatient Marines will usually charge in and screw that up. They also like to shout "We're gonna lose 'em!", as if that's a bad thing—it'd be a lot easier if you could ignore the fights.

The charging Marines often cause one of the Brutes or Elites to retaliate and charge you or your Marines. Things vary from there, so improvise until you get that room cleared.

As you exit the room, another swarm of Drones will buzz you. Since you just triggered the door, you might be a bit close for the Brute Shot, so aim at the middle of the swarm and empty a magazine of Carbine ammo. With some luck, you'll be able to take down the entire swarm that way. If any survivors get through, you and your Marines will make short work of them.

After passing a dead Hunter, you'll enter another similar room that curves the other way. This next room is the same basic setup, with the addition of a few Jackals. Staying close to the door will usually keep your Marines from jumping in and getting themselves killed. Pick off the Jackals when their backs turned, so you don't have to worry about their shields when they are facing you later.

Now you need to rearm for a battle with a pair of Hunters. Use Brute Shot, if it has any ammo left, and a fully loaded Carbine. Keep in mind that needles and swords are almost useless against Hunters. The Hunters will be in one of those rooms with a wall inside the door at each end, and in this case the room will slope upward.

Get ready to say goodbye to most of your Marines. They don't have the brains that you have, so nearly all of them will foolishly try to rush at the Hunters, getting themselves killed. You can sometimes use them as decoys and shoot a Hunter in the back when it goes after them. If you have a Beam Rifle, you're in luck: one or two shots to the back will kill them.

Otherwise, you've got to deal with the Hunters yourself, and you have no Rocket Launchers or Fuel Rod Guns to help out. You'll have to do it the hard way—or rather, one of the hard way''s'', as there are multiple ways to go about it.

Some like to melee the Hunters, and the Brute Shot is a good weapon for the task. You'll need good timing for this. When the Hunter raises his arm to strike, pivot around him and melee. Repeating this technique a few times will take him down.

However, there are better ways to kill him. If you can find a spot just barely around the edge of the wall, the Hunters may just stand there idly and stare at you. That gives you an opportunity to concentrate on one of them, aiming for his vulnerable orange skin and sniping him a few times. It's a tedious task, but if you keep it up, you'll take him out. He'll sometimes lower his shield arm to mask his weak point, in which case you have to wait for him to relax; you'll also need to stay alert and be ready to move if he green-lights you with an incipient blast.

A particularly effective method involves a combination of grenades and one of the two weapons you're carrying. If you stick a Hunter with a grenade, its explosion will almost always spin him around, so his back is to you; the basic process, then, is to stick him and then aim for his vulnerable midsection. When the explosion happens, open fire before the smoke clears. Sometimes, just one usage of this method will slay him; if not, the second try almost surely will.

====Valley of Tears A/Hanging Gardens A====
When you exit that room, you'll enter an outdoor area that is the stage for another battle in the Covenant Civil War. Usually an Honor Guard and a Brute are fighting in front of the door, so be ready to kill the survivor. There's also usually an Elite somewhere off to the right, and a couple of snipers to worry about.

One of the snipers is in a platform to the right. A Carbine can make short work of him—sniper Jackals have no shields. 

You don't really want to get involved in this battle. You don't even need to go to the area at the bottom where most of the action is taking place; your path is along the rocks on the right. So hang back, pick off stragglers until things look safe, and rearm for the next section. Take a Beam Rifle and a Carbine—both can be found in the weapons lockers. 

Your destination is the door that you see up on the wall across from the door you entered through. Bungie wanted you to think the door is your destination, and they've made it a bit of a puzzle to figure out how to get to it. It turns out that the rocks on the right can be leaped upon, and you can maneuver around on them to get to an area where you can drop down and enter the door. 

If you do that, a Brute will come out of the door and you'll need to take him down before proceeding. But you can easily avoid by somewhat glitch bypassing the door. Here's how. 

While you're scrambling on the rocks, instead of dropping down, keep going higher. It might look too steep, but you can climb it. When you go over the peak, you'll see that the rocks meld into a wall, and the top of the wall is accessible to you. Walk or leap onto it, and begin walking to your left. Take the first right, which becomes a wall for the chamber you need to be in (you know, the one the door leads into, but you've avoided the door). Jump down into the chamber. The Brute won't appear. If you've taken really good care of your Marines and have managed to keep any alive, they'll follow you in through the door, but they won't trigger than extra Brute either.

The chamber you're in is empty, save for some Carbines and a few Plasma Grenades lying around. So go to the end, and exit. You're roughly half-way through the level—and that means you've got plenty more Covenant forces to kill before you're done.

As you exit the empty room, you'll see a kind of plasma slide-walk thing; you'll be seeing several of these from this point forward. It is a '''one-way''' transport to the other end of the room. <!-- Is a "plasma slide-walk thing" anything like the Man Cannons found in Halo 3's Forge? If so, we should probably say that -- it sounds a bit more professional/encyclopedic than "plasma slide-walk thing". When changing this term, note that from here on out, the object is referred to as a "slide-walk". -->

At the other end of the slide-walk, a lone Jackal Sniper will be hanging around, but he is quickly joined by a battling group of Elites, Grunts, and Brutes. Pick off the sniper as soon as you can, and then avoid the battle until the ranks are thinned down a bit. Hang around the entrance if you want to protect your Marines, because they'll show up behind you and spill right into the middle of the battle, making it a confusing, three-way affair.

When you've finished off the surviving Covenant, you can go either way on the sidewalk around the next structure. Rearm first, of course, and then go around and spend a bit of time watching a battle between an even number of Elites and Brutes. If you don't interfere, the Elites will usually win, though sometimes the Brutes eke out a victory by pushing the Elites over the edge. Melee an Elite or two to speed things up. If a Brute is the last survivor, he'll probably go berserk and charge at you. In that case, be ready, because if you're not careful while avoiding him, you'll fall off the edge and die.

Your next foes are fairly dangerous - a couple of flying Ranger Elites. If you don't have any Marines to distract them with, they can take you down pretty fast, especially on Normal or Heroic difficulties. If you're good at sniping erratically moving targets, then you can use a Beam Rifle on them. The easiest way, though, is to hose them with needles, so head back the way you came and pick up and dual-wield the Needlers dropped by dead Grunts. Then head back to the arches, and fill up the Needlers by walking up to a Needler weapons locker at the far end on the left of the arches. Not only do you get some extra needles, but you also trigger the Ranger Elites.

It's your choice of cover, and watch around the edge of the structure for the Elites to fly in. When they get close enough, open fire. A magazine of dual-wielded Needlers is more than enough. 

Now exchange the Needlers for a fresh Beam Rifle from the weapons locker on the right side of the arches. Go around the next structure and you'll see a group of Elites and Grunts who will be joined by a Brute or two. If you hang around, the Elites will come after you, so snipe them and get ready for the Brutes. When you've cleaned the area out, reload and get ready for the next slide-walk.

Check the other end with a zoom scope before you go. Occasionally, one of the Brutes stays over there instead of coming across for the previous battle. If he's there, snipe him before heading across.

====Mid Tower====
At the end of the slide-walk is a door, and when you open it, two Drones will fly by. They won't attack you even if you provoke them, because they're heading for a bigger battle. The hallway they enter ends in another two-level room, and inside, another big Covenant Civil War battle is underway. Hang around the doorway and watch Ranger Elites, Regular Elites, Brutes, Jackals, and Drones fight it out. This battle will take a while, even if you help out. When it's finished, rearm, go through the door opposite the one you came in, and enter another hallway that ends at a slide-walk. 

====Hanging Gardens B====
Take the slide-walk. At the end of this slide-walk is a scene that will look familiar, except that some shields are scattered around. Proceed around the structure as before and watch the weirdest battle in the Halo series. Two berserk Brutes are chasing a bunch of Grunts around. The Grunts are in Panic Mode, and they won't fire at you even if you fire at them. You need to take out the Brutes; it's tedious because they move around so much, but you can just run past them.

When you're done, rearm, and head past the arches and around the structure for another slide-walk. If you're getting tired of them, you can take solace in the fact that this is the last one. When you go in the door at the end of the slide-walk, you'll see a mirror image room to the empty one back that you entered before by climbing the wall. As you enter, three Brutes will come in from the door. Use your favorite Brute-killing technique to take them out, and go to the end of the room for another battle in an exterior setting. 

====Valley of Tears B====
As you exit the door, an Elite and a Brute will be fighting on the left, with a Jackal standing by making occasional sniping comments; you know what to do. Then freelance until all the enemies in the pit below you are dead. There are plenty of weapons around, and don't forget about the Brute Shots dropped inside the room you just left. Watch out for a Fuel-Rod-wielding Grunt across the way; snipe him if you can, and take note of where he drops the Fuel Rod Gun. 

When all is quiet, go down towards the right, rearm as necessary, and cross into a pathway that leads out of the pit area. Watch for hidden Brutes—occasionally the last one is injured and hiding along the path you'll be taking. 

As you go up the path, you'll be challenged by two Energy-Sword-wielding cloaked Elites and a small contingent of Grunts. Brute Shot the swordsmen if you feel like it—there are numerous other effective ways to take care of them. After you're done, wind around to the right and start up a path towards another door. There will probably be a lonely Grunt hanging around guarding it. 

At this point, gather up a few weapons to leave outside that door. The Fuel Rod Gun, plus a loaded Brute Shot, a loaded Carbine, or a couple of Needlers. There is a very large battle coming up a couple of rooms ahead, plus another couple of major battles after that, and if you don't grab those weapons now and drop them, they'll disappear (even the ones in the