Editing Reach:Long Night of Solace/Walkthrough

{{Status|Gameplay}}
{{Walkthrough infobox
||era=[[File:Halo Reach box art.png|40px|link=Halo: Reach]]
|prev=[[Tip of the Spear/Walkthrough|Tip of the Spear]]
|next=[[Exodus/Walkthrough|Exodus]]
|name=Long Night of Solace
|image=[[File:Reach E310 Campaign09.jpg|300px]]
|player=[[SPARTAN-B312]]
|objective= Destroy Covenant supercarrier with a hijacked Covenant corvette.
|location=Reach, Epsilon Eridani System
|starting weapons=
*[[MA37 Individual Combat Weapon System|MA37 Assault Rifle]]
*[[M6G Personal Defense Weapon System|M6G Pistol]]
|new weapons=
|enemies= 
*[[Covenant]]
**[[Sangheili]]
***[[Sangheili Major]]
***[[Sangheili Ultra]]
***[[Sangheili Ranger]]
***[[Special Operations Sangheili]]
***[[Sangheili General]]
**[[Kig-yar]]
***[[Kig-yar Major]]
***[[Kig-yar Sniper]]
**[[Unggoy]]
***[[Unggoy Minor]]
***[[Unggoy Major]]
***[[Unggoy Ultra]]
**[[Huragok]]
|skulls= 
|pagegamelabel=HR
}}
This is a walkthrough for the fifth mission of the ''[[Halo: Reach]]'' campaign, [[Reach:Long Night of Solace|Long Night of Solace]]. It is written for Heroic and Legendary difficulty, with specifying notes for either, and does not involve skips or hacks.

==Level notes==
*Long Night of Solace has three unskippable cutscenes, which are the beach landing, the Sabre takeoff, and the docking at Anchor 9. They are thirty seconds, a minute forty, and two minutes eleven seconds long, respectively. Have patience when doing this level.
**These cutscenes are skippable in the MCC version, however.
*This level has the most energy swords available, with three fully charged ones and one available on Legendary from an enemy.
*Enemy projectiles travel faster on Legendary, in addition to being stronger.
*If you're disorientated flying upside down on the Sabre, let go of the control stick for a few seconds and it will automatically right itself.
*The Black Eye skull has no effect on the Sabre, as it is nearly impossible for it to "melee" opponents short of ramming them, which usually destroys the Sabre in the process.
*A BOB can spawn on this level in one of five possible locations. Refer to {{Plain|[https://youtu.be/h51GvmLyJx4 this guide]}} for where to find them.
*Make sure you save magnum ammo! On lower difficulties you can go wild with it, but on higher ones, its headshot capabilities are priceless.

==Level Start: First Floor: Aliens, Beaches, Secret Launch Stations==
===The Rocky Beach===
*'''Jorge-052''': "Bit of a hike to the launch facility..."

*'''Carter-A259''': "Any closer's too hot to land."

*'''Kat-B320''': "Copy that, Commander."

*'''Carter-A259''': "Move up the beach, Noble!"

The first encounter is on the beach heading to the launch facility. You'll be on even ground with lots of rocks fighting four Grunts, three Jackals, and four Elites. You'll be armed with an assault rifle with 400 rounds, two frag grenades, and a pistol with 60 shots. You'll be accompanied by Jorge with his turret, Kat with her pistol, and Carter with his DMR.

As you run past Noble Team towards the beach, you'll enter through a somewhat narrow crevasse to see a Spirit dropping four Grunts behind the rocks just ahead of you, with a drop pod following afterward. On high difficulties, you may want to wait a bit for the Spirit to start flying away so that it doesn't shell you from above. Then head for the rocks, circle around, and toss a grenade into the pack of Grunts. Mop up any that are left with your assault rifle, but watch for the Elite that just landed in the drop pod by them. Usually it's a Minor and Major Elite, with another landing further to the right of the beach. They'll tend to fight a bit then flee. Three Jackals will be by the second Elite. They'll retreat too, but they'll be hard to headshot from this range, so you can ignore them for now.

As you move up the beach, you and Noble Team will battle the Elites. The Elites will often retreat behind the rocks, so try flanking them. The [[Noob Combo]], using a plasma pistol from one of the Grunts, can be helpful here, but the Elites will be fairly far away and they have greater accuracy than you. Approaching from the left, by the coast, can be safer, since the Elites will be farther away, but this will still put them rather far for good accuracy. Try to flank them when they're more focused on your allies then on you. Sometimes the Elites will charge if their shields are down and you're fairly close; whip out your pistol and rapid-fire at their head before they reach you.

After killing the first three Elites, the last Elite will land, and he’s an Ultra. He isn't shy about tossing grenades and any surviving Jackals will be on a hill behind him providing covering fire. Once again, wait for him to engage your allies. The best time to noob combo is when he's tossing a grenade, as he'll be stuck in place. If you do it too late, you will be in some serious trouble so hurry. Once he's dead, Noble Team will aid you with any remaining Jackals and then advance to the next area. Leave your plasma pistol or assault rifle behind, keep your magnum and grab a plasma rifle, and look for any spare plasma grenades by the dead Elites or Grunts. Then move with Noble over the hill.

===The Beach Hillside and Into the Launch Station===
*'''Jorge-052''': "More hostiles in the rocks to the south."

*'''Carter-A259''': "Root 'em out."

The next section is a hill covered in boulders that leads to the launch station's entrance. Several Grunts will be hiding behind the first rocks, but they'll soon retreat. Move around the rock to take them out, either with your plasma rifle or pistol. (And watch your aim if the Seraph crashing into the facility shakes the beach.) Noble Team will aid in tearing them up, then they'll focus on the Jackals guarding the hill by a metal barrier and their shields. Those Jackals you can ignore at first; your next priority is the two Jackal marksmen with needle rifles. They're on top of a rocky hill firing at Noble Team, and their needle projectiles will strip your shields quickly and force your teammates into Armor Lock. Since the marksmen will strip your shields if you get too close, use your pistol to peg them from afar. The shot hits a little higher than center on the reticle, so remember than when trying to headshot. If you can’t kill in one shot, consider moving closer as to not wast ammo.  When they’re dead, you can concentrate on the several shield Jackals defending the hill. Use your plasma rifle to get them; it has much better range than the assault rifle or pistol, has a fast rate of fire, will greatly weaken their shield, and your pistol is likely low on ammo now.

The last few enemies will retreat to the top of the hill near the entrance, and an Ultra Elite in a drop pod will land. He's the biggest threat with his concussion rifle, but Noble will quickly distract him. Keep your distance with potshots while he fights your teammates, or flank him by heading to the far right of the hill, around some large rock dividers, to get him from behind. Use your plasma rifle at close range to mow down infantry and pop his shields. Once all the enemies are dead, a Pelican will land and drop troopers to reclaim the beach.

===The Launch Station===
*'''Army Trooper #1''': "Everybody inside, more hostiles on the way."

*'''Carter-A259''': "Inside, Six, let's go!"

There are only two enemies of note at the launch station, a Wraith and an Elite Major, but they’re still very challenging if you don’t have the right weapons to deal with them. You’ll want to assemble a good louaout to board the Sabre with, but you also need a good loadout to make it through the facility. Here’s what to do.

When you reach the entrance with Noble Team, grab grenades, health, Drop Shield, and a DMR from the weapons posted by the door. Two troopers will be guarding the door, and the one on the left has a sniper rifle. You’ll need this for the corvette mission, so swap a weapon for his sniper; it will have at least seven to ten rounds. Then wait at the door for ten seconds or so, and a trooper will come down carrying a rocket launcher. Swap your other weapon for his laucher, it will come with three or four rockets. These rockets are for the Wraith. Head to the left of the base, and you’ll see a Wraith parked at the dock some distance away. It takes three direct hit rockets to destroy it, four if one glances. If it fires a mortar at you, deploy your drop shield to protect yourself. If it won’t blow up and you run out of shots, look for another rocket trooper to swap with. Once it’s dead it’s safe to head in the base.

You have an Elite to deal with in the base, usually a Major or Ultra. You’ll be rather close quarters with him, and with Drop Shield you can’t run fast enough to assassinate him. So you’ll need rockets once again. As you head into the base you reach a room with the wall blasted out; the Wraith would’ve been below here lobbing mortars at you. As of now, there will likely only be a Spirit harassing soldiers with its turrets and dropping a few troops. One of those soldiers has a rocket launcher; trade him for it and you’ll get four rockets. You can fire a few to the dock below to get a small multikill, but keep at least two rockets. The first is to kill the Elite; the second is if you miss.

Go further into the base with Noble Team, and the Elite will arrive. He tosses a trooper down the hallway, waits a bit, then turns to fight you and Noble. If you have rockets, fire it center of mass to blast him away. If not, then go back for a DMR or let Noble Team fight him. It’s not a good idea to try for a point-blank snipe or melee kill; he’s much stronger than you at close range. Therefore, rockets are the definite way to deal with him.

Head into the control center and to the Sabre. If you're playing on Legendary, then before you climb in the Sabre swap out your Drop Shield for Sprint. The former armor ability is more useful but you need the latter for a tricky spot on the corvette in Legendary. Then grab an Energy Sword lying by a dead Elite, leave your sniper rifle as your alternate, head up to the Sabre, and fly off with Jorge into space.

==Rally Point Alpha: Operation Upper Cut==
*'''Colonel Urban Holland (COM)''': "Noble Actual to Sabre Bravo Oh-Two-Niner, over."

*'''Jorge-052''': "Copy, Actual. Colonel Holland?"

*'''Holland (COM)''': "Affirmative, Noble Five. Welcome to Operation: UPPER CUT."

It's time for a first in the ''Halo'' series, space fighter combat. The Sabre section consists of four waves: a Banshee wave, a small Seraph wave, a mixed Banshee and Seraph wave, and a Phantom wave. Because projectile speeds and strength are different on Heroic and Legendary, one's strategies will have to be different for either difficulty. If you're playing on high difficulties, presumably you'll be familiar with the Sabre's controls by now. But just in case, here's a refresher.

The Sabre controls similar to the Banshee in control scheme and mechanics. Like the Banshee it has two firing modes: one automatically firing bullets, the other firing lock-on missiles, which Colonel Holland points out work as a [[Noob Combo]] in space; bullets for enemy shields, missiles to finish them off. For faraway targets, it will adjust the reticle to account for distance and let you lead your shots. It can perform tricks to aid dodging; a left or right roll, and an up or down flip, neither of which have a use limit. Like the Banshee, it can boost to accelerate, but unlike the Banshee it can continue firing while boosting. It has regenerating health and energy shields, both represented by percentages. The Sabre's shields take longer to start recharging than the Sabre's health, but they replenish faster than health does. If flown upside down, it will automatically right itself if one lets go of the control stick for a few seconds. Pulling back on the control stick will slow it down, pushing forward will speed it up, and lastly it will not survive collisions if boosting or performing a trick.

As for the space field you're in, it's a large bowl with Anchor 9 floating towards the back and several [[UNSC construction platform|construction platforms]] floating surrounding the rest of the edge. They can be used for cover, but generally this is hard to do because the Sabre will take a lot more time to fly behind them, and because your enemies might follow. Keep aware of their location so you don't accidentally crash into them. Three or four Sabres will fly around as allies, but their accuracy is poor as they don’t lead their shots and can’t fire missiles. Anchor 9 itself is more useful as it will deploy defense turrets that grow more accurate as the fight goes on.

===Wave 1 and 2 / Banshees and Seraphs===
*'''Anchor 9 (COM)''': "Anchor 9 to all UNSC ships: station defenses are down, requesting combat support until we can bring them back online."

*'''Jorge-052''': "Here we go, Six. Show them what you can do."

The Banshee wave comes first, after a minute of free floating at Anchor 9. Even on Legendary the wave is a cakewalk, but there are still ways for improvement. As radio control warns you of an incoming wave, head for the far left of the field, by two floating construction platforms and wait there. Pull back on the control stick to slow your speed, then aim your reticle a few inches (on the screen, not in the in-game world) behind the waypoint marking where the Banshees will come from. According to the waypoint, you’ll be roughly 600 to 500 feet away from it. Done right, and when the Banshees appear you can shoot down four or five of them as they pass you by, making it easy to mop up the rest.

The Banshees are very weak in health and firepower. They only take one hit from your machine guns to destroy, and they generally only fire a few shots before speeding off. In other words, easy target practice. When there are only four left, waypoints will appear marking the last ones, making them easier to find. If the Banshee is far away from you, don’t try to peg it from long range even if you lead your shots. Use your boost to close the distance while shooting it.

Once the Banshee wave is done, you’ll only get a few seconds warning before four Seraphs come in. While there’s only a few of them, they’re significantly more challenging than the Banshees since their shots are stronger and they’ll frequently gang up on you. Also, like Colonel Holland reminds you, you need to wear down their shields with bullets before finishing them off with missiles. But if you move quickly, you can even the odds a bit as soon as they arrive like so.

As the waypoint marking the Seraphs’ arrival site appears, fly straight toward it while aiming a bit above it. When the Seraphs appear, flip around with a trick and fire at the Seraphs below and furthest behind all the rest. Done right, and it will quickly be destroyed before it has the chance to turn around. Waypoints will then appear on the last three, making them easier to hunt down.

The Seraphs tend to fly in back and forth directions, speeding across one side of the battlefield then turning around to head the other way. As such, they tend to fly close together and combine their fire. When shot at, they usually break off, especially when getting close to your Sabre, so you usually don’t have to worry about crashing. If they blast your shield, flip around to face them, fire at them so they break off, then pursue as they flee. Like you did for the first one, you generally want to target the Seraph that’s the furthest back of all the others, so they won’t retaliate while you attack one. If wounded, it’s better to break off the chase and try again later than to pursue relentlessly hoping your attackers will give up.

===Wave 3 and 4 / Banshees, Seraphs, and Phantoms===
*'''Jorge-052''': "Is there any place the Covenant isn't?"

*'''Anchor 9 (COM)''': "Anchor 9 to all UNSC ships: station defenses are back online. Clear the lane, and we'll light 'em up."

Wave 3 will have a checkpoint and a fairly lengthy dialogue before starting, allowing you a breather before battling again. You’ll need it, as this section is one of the hardest parts of the level, especially on Legendary. A mixed wave of Banshees and Seraphs, more than on the previous waves, will arrive and your Sabre will be practically bathed in plasma fire while in a bowl with limited cover. So to survive, you’re going to have pull out every one of your bag of tricks. For this wave, remember two rules. One, flip around when you’re attacked. Two, stay close to Anchor 9.

Wave 3 will arrive in two groups, Seraphs first, Banshees following a second later. While the Seraphs are obviously the more dangerous, the Banshees will be the thorn in your side, as they’ll frequently fire from across the map while you’re trying to get your shield to recharge. So to minimize this, you have to take out as many Banshees as possible quickly. When you see the waypoint, fly to the construction platforms from the same place you camped at in Wave 1. Wait for the Seraphs to pass, and when the Banshees arrive fire across to them and take out as many as you can. You once again might be able to get at least four or five before the fighters start turning to attack you.

That was the easy part; now comes the challenge. The Seraphs will promptly start ganging up on you. Once you taken out as many Banshees as you safely could, start flying to Anchor 9 and keep close to it. The reason for doing so is this: Anchor 9’s turrets are 100% accurate at close range. So if you stay close to it, it will shred Seraph shields and so protect you. But you can’t count on it to kill everything for you; you still have a job to do.

As you fly near Anchor 9, look for Banshees; you need to kill as many things as you can to trigger Wave 4 and the Banshees are the weakest. But as soon as you get shot, flip around and fire at your pursuer. If your shield gets popped, keep flipping. Then keep flipping and flipping until it recharges; do not let your enemy keep your aim on you. This is going to happen A LOT, so you must have patience with giving up prey so you can survive. The general rule is, every time you get attacked, flip and fight back.

Keep your distance a little bit from Anchor 9 so you don’t crash into it when flipping, but otherwise keep doing so when shot. A few seconds holding still will be all your enemies need to resume harassing you, so make it as inconvenient for them as possible. Rolls left and right generally won’t affect their aim as much, so up and down is the safer route. If they still keep picking at your health, don’t stop. Your health recharges sooner than your shields, so a few percentages of regained health can be just enough to last out until they break. Even if you’re under 20% health, it is still possible to survive. Sooner or later the Seraphs will pass you to another side of the battlefield and you can get back to fighting condition again.

Your priority targets are Banshees, but weakened Seraphs are next. If you spot a Seraph with an already damaged shield, fight him over a full shield one; a few hits will mean a few seconds difference between its destruction or you having to give up the chase. Anchor 9 will be a huge help here with its autoturrets. Now that all its defenses are online, it will constantly pepper Seraphs with overlapping fire and be pretty accurate at closer range. It usually can’t both take down a Seraph’s shield and destroy it, but it can usually achieve one of them so you can accomplish the rest.

Once enough Seraphs and Banshees are dead, five Phantoms will arrive as the fourth wave. This part is actually significantly easier than wave 3, as the Phantoms are basically immobile and the Seraphs become much less aggressive. The Phantoms’ concussion shots are more annoying than deadly, as they merely heat up your screen but cause your ship little damage. As long as you roll to dodge them, they’re easily avoided. Reinforcing Seraphs and Banshees will come with them, plus a few survivors from Wave 3, but once again they’re much less aggressive now and will mostly fly around the outer edges of the field. You can either fill the Phantoms with missiles (they don’t have shields) and then all the remaining fighters will flee, or you can take out all the fighters; no further reinforcements will come. Once all the Covenant are gone, dock with Anchor 9 to play the cutscene and continue to the Covenant corvette.

===The Corvette===
*'''Jen (COM)''': "Frigate ''Savannah'' in position. Sabre teams: sound off."

When the battle starts, fly down under the Corvette and try for a Killionaire. Beneath the corvette is its “belly” full of docked Banshees. They’re arranged in two rows, and will take off when attacked or flown close to. When you’re under, aim for the Banshees and mow them all down with your machine guns. If you’re fast enough, you can take nearly 10 to 15 Banshees in just four or five seconds and rack up to a Killionaire medal. Plus, it saves you from fighting them later.

The Corvette space battle is not as hard as Anchor 9’s, but it is more cramped. The Covenant ship and the frigate flying around are easy to fly into, so you have to stay aware of where they are when doing tricks. The Seraphs should be taken out first; the Savannah, like Anchor 9, will helpfully weaken them with its turrets. When they’re all dead, you must cripple the corvette. Your objective is to destroy its engines, but you should also take out any light turrets on its hull. There are three at its rear and four on its sides; two on either side of its upper deck. The six bigger turrets toward its front can’t be destroyed; and don’t try, as they can blow you up in two shots.

Once they’re all destroyed, fly to the rear of the corvette, pull back on the control stick to slow down, and blast all its engines with your missiles.; there are four engines to destroy. Then, three more Seraphs will then fly in from above the corvette (and the Banshees would’ve launched at this point) and must be taken out before you can continue. With the Savannah’s help and your tricks from before , the  can be destroyed so you can land and begin the operation.

==Rally Point Beta: And The Horse You Flew In On==
===The Comms Room===
*'''Holland (COM)''': "Noble Six, the ''Savannah''<nowiki>'</nowiki>s countermeasures won't work forever. Find a way inside, and permanently disable the cruiser's communications. As soon as we're sure the Corvette can't squawk, we'll initiate UPPERCUT - Phase Two."

As you exit the corvette, you will still have the loadout you entered it with: Energy Sword, Sniper Rifle, and Sprint. This landing bay and communications room is where you can put that sword to good use against the [[Sangheili Ranger]]s. This section is also in vacuum and low gravity; sounds are muffled, you jump higher, and fall slower.

On Heroic, this section is a cakewalk. As soon as you arrive, slash the Ranger that leaps up to meet you then run to the other side to slash the second one that leaps up. Then walk down into the ship through the energy shield, land on a ring-shaped platform, and slash the last two Rangers that are typing on its consoles. LZ secured.

But on Legendary, this is one of the hardest spots in the level. After those four oblivious Rangers, there will be two more that dual-wield plasma rifles. While coming aboard the corvette with the Drop Shield might protect from their fire, it’s only a temporary comfort, as they’ll just tear down your shield then keep firing away at you. This comms room has little cover, so to fight them you need to run.

On Legendary, as soon as you land on the console ring and kill the two typing Rangers, Sprint for the second floor via the walkway going to the right. Once you reach that floor, turn around to the left and you’ll see a nook with two armor abilities, Drop Shield and Armor Lock. Now you can grab the Drop Shield; trying to do that run for the second floor without Sprint but with Drop Shield would not have gotten you away fast enough from the dual-wielding Rangers.

With you out of sight of the Rangers, they’ll head to the bottom floor to kill off the troopers that came with you. After reaching the second floor, head to the left until you reach a spot where you can see the ground floor and the Rangers. Wait until you get their attention. When they shoot, duck behind a wall, maybe peeking to see where they are. Sooner or later, the Rangers will jump to your floor. This is where you can take advantage of an AI exploit: the Rangers can’t shoot and jump at the same time. While they’re jetpacking to you, they’re harmless until they touch the ground. As they fly to your floor, greet them with the energy sword.

===Securing the Hangar===
*'''Holland (COM)''': "Holland to ''Savannah'', enemy comm relay is now offline."

*'''Jen (COM)''': "Copy that. Halting countermeasures, diverting all power and personnel to weapons."

*'''Holland (COM)''': "Alright, Noble. Let's get that slipspace bomb on board. Six, head for the hangar."

It’s time to help get the Pelican with the bomb onboard, and to do that you’ll need a needle rifle. But before you do that, remember one vital note about this section: All dropped weapons in the comms room will despawn. Weapons that spawned on the floor and ammo crates will stay there, but those dropped by you, enemies, or dead allies will disappear when the next room loads. Remember that before trading weapons right after the Rangers have died.

After the corvette’s communications are reported as jammed, a door on the ground floor will open, revealing a Ranger and two Unggoy Ultras. (All the Grunts and all Elites in this section will be Ultras and Rangers, as their enclosed helmets let them breathe in vacuum.) They won’t go far int