The Last Bastion

The Last Bastion
Map overview
Game:	Halo Wars 2 (Awakening the Nightmare)
Map file name (?):	ff_stopthesignal
Lore information
Location:	Installation 00
Gameplay overview
Terrain:	Grasslands, Forerunner structures
Recommended number of players:	1vE, 2vE, and 3vE
Recommended gametype(s):	Terminus Firefight

“

Protect the Terminus from the onslaught of enemies.

”

The Last Bastion is a multiplayer map in Halo Wars 2 introduced in the game's Awakening the Nightmare expansion. It is exclusively used in the expansion's Terminus Firefight gamemode, focusing on a tower defence-like scenario where players must hold off against waves of increasingly-difficult enemies. While the primary enemies encountered on the map are Flood, the game will also spawn hostile UNSC, Banished, and Sentinels.

Universe and lore

Main article: Terminus

The Last Bastion is set around a Forerunner Terminus site on the Ark. Terminuses are a crucial part of the Ark's defensive apparatus, making their protection a top priority. While The Last Bastion does not depict a canonical battle in the Second Ark Conflict, it is this framing for which the map is presented.

Overview

Layout

The Last Bastion has a broadly trilateral symmetrical layout, with the Terminus at the map's centre and three main paths radiating away from it. Each path in turn branches into two, eventually reaching a teleporter spawn point for waves of enemy forces that spawn throughout the mission. As with most Halo Wars 2 maps, The Last Bastion changes the playable bounds of the mission depending on playercount, with a third of the map becoming locked off in one and two-player matches.

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  One player layout.

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  Two player layout.

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  Three player layout.

The Terminus is protected by a weak energy shield and several turret sites, and additionally protects a healing aura capable of repairing any player units stationed in the immediate vicinity of the structure. The central region surrounding the Terminus has 1-3 socket base sites depending on player count (one for each player in the game). These are the only bases available for players to use, though several minibase slots also exist to be claimed throughout the map.

• One-slot minibases present at the entrance to each path away from the Terminus.
• Two-slot minibases present where the paths branch into two.
• Three-slot minibases present at the end of each path, on the outermost edge of the map and close to enemy spawns.

In total this means that each player is able to take responsibility for a third of the map and can, in theory, each own a single minibase of each type. However, the minibases getting more powerful closer to the map's edge puts them more at risk from enemy attack, becoming a vital tradeoff. In return, minibases grant the player who owns them an additional 10, a score multiplier, and the ability to construct turrets.

The pathways around the map are also covered by a kind of building slot unique to this map (and a handful of campaign levels in Awakening the Nightmare): barricades. Barricades are a kind of fortification that can be built in specialised building slots on the map and consist of various kinds of barriers to hinder or delay enemy passage. These include standard walls alongside things like minefields, spike traps, player-detonated explosive charges, and even bunker-barricades among others. The UNSC and Banished each have a set of unique barricade types. Barricades are accompanied by sites for building turrets, allowing the player to form checkpoints which funnel and disrupt enemy forces.

Periodically throughout the game, Bonus Drops will spawn at various points on the map. When destroyed these drops deposit Supplies, Power, and Veterancy that can be picked up by units.

Strategies

Main article: Terminus Firefight § Strategies

Achievements

Main article: Achievements (Halo Wars 2) § Terminus Firefight

All Terminus Firefight-specific achievements can be unlocked on The Last Bastion.

Gallery

Browse more images in this article's gallery page.

Concept art

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  Concept art of the Terminus.

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  Concept art of the Terminus.

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  Concept art of the Terminus.

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  Concept art for a Firefight match on The Last Bastion.

Screenshots

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