Nightfall

''This article is about the level. For the digital feature, see Halo: Nightfall. For the armor set, see Nightfall armor. For the Halo: Reach track, see Nightfall (music).

Nightfall is the fourth campaign level of Halo: Reach.

Upon completing this level on Normal, Heroic, or Legendary the player will unlock the "I Need a Weapon" achievement and 10 Gamerscore.

Summary
The mission involves Noble Six and Noble Three engaging in a recon mission on Covenant forces in the colloquially named "Dark Zone", a Covenant-occupied region in the Viery Territory. They first eliminate a few guards posts, and then encounter a native creature of Reach, the Gúta. They then meet a few militia troopers attempting to recover smuggled UNSC weaponry at a waterfront. The militia troopers tell the Spartans about a hydro plant further into the dark zone. At the hydro plant, they discover a Covenant stealth pylon, which Jun places a remote detonator charge on after a few firefights. After proceeding further into the dark zone and eliminating the Covenant troops in the area, the two Spartans discover a Covenant invasion force and a landing zone. Kat receives the visual and tells them to retreat so they will be prepared for the next day.

Transcript
{Cutscene}

''Fades in on a cliffside at night. Reach's moons, Csodaszarvas and Turul, are hanging in the night sky.''

26:30 Hours

''A Phantom dropship flies by with its search light on. Jun-A266 emerges from a concealed position behind a rock as the dropship passes. He signals to Noble Six with his head. Six follows him along the cliff edge.''


 * Warrant Officer Jun-A266: "Recon Team Bravo reporting: Three and Six in position. It's starting to get crowded up here, Kat."


 * Lieutenant Commander Kat-B320 (COM): "Then we're closing in. Report any Covenant structures or devices. Direct action may be necessary."

Six joins Jun at a cliffside overlooking over a mountainside.


 * Jun-A266: "Copy that. (chuckles) When Kat runs an op, direct action is always necessary."

Jun hands Six a magazine of 14.5×114mm sniper rounds.


 * Jun-A266: "Here. You may need these. High velocity, armor-piercing. They'll take the hat off an Elite at two thousand yards. And they ain't cheap."

Jun and Six head further along the ledge, Jun reaches a boulder and starts to climb it.


 * Jun-A266: "Hmm. I'll be in touch."

''Noble Six slides down the ledge to the ground below. Cuts to his/her point of view as he/she reaches the ground.''

{Gameplay}

...Too Quiet
Another Phantom dropship flies pass Six with its search light turned on.


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Recon Bravo, the sector ahead is dark to electronic surveillance."


 * Jun-A266: "Covenant can block our instruments?"


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "So it would seem, and Command wants to know what they're hiding."

''Six heads up along another ledge. A Sangheili stands watch over the area, back facing them, while a few Unggoy sleep nearby.''


 * Jun-A266: "Elite. He's yours, do it quiet."

Noble Six assassinates the Sangheili quietly using a combat knife or by breaking its neck.


 * Jun-A266: "Not bad..."

Six eliminates the Unggoy and continues forward, eventually reaching a Covenant-controlled complex.


 * Jun-A266: "Recon Bravo to Noble Two, stand by for contact report."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Standing by to copy, over."


 * Jun-A266: "We have eyes on multiple hostiles patrolling a settlement. This what we're looking for, Kat?"


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Negative, too small, you're not in the dark zone yet. Engage at your own discretion, but keep moving."


 * Jun-A266: "You heard her, Six. Drop those tangos."

If the player engages before Kat responds:


 * Jun-A266: "Already engaged."

After eliminating a few of the Covenant troops, a Phantom shows up.


 * Jun-A266: "Incoming. Looks like we really pissed them off."

Jun and Six eliminate the rest of the Covenant in the area and continue on a trail behind the buildings, going further into the complex, soon finding an area with more Covenant troops.


 * Jun-A266: "We got hostiles near."

''The Covenant in the area are quickly eliminated. Jun and Six find a trail leading away, with still more Covenant troops advancing.''


 * Jun-A266: "Visual on targets."

After dealing with the enemy troops, Jun and Six continue down the trail.

Let Sleeping Dogs Lie
''Jun and Six reach a clearing where some enormous native creatures are attacking Covenant troops. A Phantom dropship hovers overhead, pointing its searchlight at the creatures.''


 * Jun-A266: "Look at that!"

After laying waste to the Covenant, the creatures notice Jun and Noble Six, and begin to charge them.


 * Jun-A266: "Major enemy, incoming."

The creatures take sustained gunfire from both Jun and Six, but eventually fall.


 * Jun-A266: "Kat, pick any of that up?"


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Affirmative, Recon Bravo. It's an indigenous creature, called Gúta."

Jun and Six continue on, soon finding another trail.


 * Jun-A266: "Six, there's a trail up ahead through the rocks. Let's take it."

''While taking the trail they come across several Moa. Soon they hear gunfire.''


 * Jun-A266: "Gunfire. Magnums. Security sidearms, standard issue."

''The trail opens up to a pumping station. Several militia are under attack by Covenant forces.''


 * Jun-A266: "Noble Two, we're at some sort of pump station. Got eyes on civilians, I'm thinking more local militia. They've engaged hostiles."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Move to assist. They may have intel we need."


 * Jun-A266: "You heard her, Six. Keep those civilians alive."


 * Militia trooper: "Give us a hand! Bastards just keep comin'."

If civilians die anywhere between now and end of level:


 * Jun-A266: "Recon Bravo to Noble Two. We've lost the civilians."

After the Covenant troops in the area are eliminated, the group gathers around a couple briefcases.


 * Militia trooper: "Little more action than we're used to. You Spartans are good in a fight."


 * Jun-A266: "What are you doing here? Whole area's supposed to be evacuated."


 * Militia trooper: "Didn't like leaving it to someone else to protect our home. So we came back, for this. (indicates briefcases) We have 'em hidden all over the territory."

The briefcases open electronically to reveal various UNSC weapons.


 * Jun-A266: "You know this stuff is stolen?"


 * Militia trooper: "What? You gonna arrest me?"


 * Jun-A266: "No. Gonna steal it back."

A Phantom shows up, and the group moves to defensive positions.


 * Jun-A266: "Another dropship coming in."

After dealing with the hostiles, a second Phantom shows up.


 * Jun-A266: "We've got company."

After eliminating the hostiles, yet another Phantom shows up.


 * Jun-A266: "More inbound."

Eventually, they eliminate the final wave.


 * Jun-A266: "Nothing here but that lake."

If at least one militia trooper is still alive:


 * Militia trooper: "Road leads to a hydro-electric plant, but the gate doesn't work."


 * Jun-A266: "Alternate route?"


 * Militia trooper: "We use the riverbed to smuggle rations, weapons..."


 * Jun-A266: "Basically anything the UNSC considers contraband."


 * Militia trooper: "Basically."


 * Jun-A266: "Show us."

If all militia troopers have been killed:


 * Jun-A266: "No movement. Nothing else alive, human or Covenant. Nothing here but that lake. Kat, where are we going?"


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "There's a hydroelectric plant nearby."


 * Jun-A266: "Front gate looks locked. Is there another way in?"


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Stand by, I'll check with Recon Alpha. Jorge said settlers dammed a nearby river. There's a (unintelligible) - a dry river - that might be your best route."


 * Jun-A266: "Copy. Thanks."

''The militia troopers lead Jun and Six to the riverbed. If the troopers are dead, the Spartans continue on their own.''


 * Jun-A266: "There's the riverbed, Six. Let's see where it goes."

The Spartans continue down the riverbed.


 * Jun-A266: "Where does this riverbed lead?"


 * Militia trooper: "Straight to the hydro plant. We dammed this river up forty-five years ago. Plant powers every settlement in the territory. Shame if it all gets wasted."


 * Jun-A266: "Doing what we can."

A Phantom passes overhead.


 * Jun-A266: "Hold up. Covie dropship, take cover."

The Phantom passes by them.


 * Jun-A266: "OK, clear. Let's move."

I'll Just Leave This Here...
''They continue on, eventually reaching the plant, which is under Covenant control. A Covenant stealth pylon is seen near the plant.''


 * Jun-A266: "Kat, are you seeing this? Covenant structure, kind of a big pylon. Heavily fortified."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "That's the source of our dark zone."


 * Jun-A266: "OK...consider it gone."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Negative, stick a remote det charge on it. Command's planning something big, they say that pylon ties it down."


 * Militia Trooper: "We gonna blow it?"


 * Jun-A266: "We're gonna clear the area, and I'm gonna plant a remote det charge. You want to provide some cover, go right ahead."

They neutralize the guards on the bridge, attracting the attention of the other Covenant in the area.

After eliminating the Covenant forces in the area, Jun heads for one of the pylon's legs.


 * Jun-A266: "All clear, Six. This is gonna take a minute, keep your eyes peeled."

A Phantom shows up and drops off a pair of Mgalekgolo, followed by another Phantom with a Sangheili Spec-Ops team.


 * Jun-A266: "We've got big targets coming. Covenant dropship inbound!"

Noble Six eventually defeats them while Jun continues to work on the remote detonator.


 * Jun-A266: "Recon Bravo to Noble Two, charge placed."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Somewhere inconspicuous, I hope?"


 * Jun-A266: "Stuck it inside the pylon's power supply."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Alright. Keep pushing into the dark zone. Command wants to know what the Covenant are hiding."


 * Jun-A266: "There's a gate to the southeast of the hydro plant."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Copy. Uploading security codes to you now."

The team reaches the gate.


 * Jun-A266: "Okay, got 'em. Unlocking the gate."

Jun accesses the control panel and opens the gate.


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Recon Bravo, you're heading into the dark zone now."


 * Jun-A266: "Understood."

''The Spartans and the surviving militia head through the gate. A Phantom holds position nearby. The human forces engage more Covenant troops almost immediately.''


 * Jun-A266: "Phantom, too close for comfort."

They advance further, engaging more Covenant troops and a Shade turret.


 * Jun-A266: "Shade! Fire and maneuver, Six. Hit' em from the side."

''After neutralizing the Shade, they advance further. Multiple Banshees start flying overhead.''


 * Jun-A266: "Lotta air traffic around here, Six. I think we're getting warm."

''As they advance further in, they encounter more Covenant troops and several more Shades. Soon, a is seen holding position on the other side of the rock wall.''


 * Jun-A266: "Noble Two, we have eyes on at least one Covenant ship."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Solid copy. Don't stop now."

Eventually, the Spartans and militia clear the area of hostiles.

or
 * Jun-A266: "Yes, clear."
 * Jun-A266: "We are done here."

They head to a cliff side at the end of the trail.

{Cutscene}



''Jun and Six go prone and crawl forward towards a cliff edge. A Covenant Tyrant is standing in front of a massive Covenant landing zone. Two Covenant corvettes hold position nearby. Additionally, two Covenant Spires are seen far away.''


 * Jun-A266: "Jackpot."


 * SPARTAN-B312: "Transmitting visual."


 * Jun-A266: "You seeing this, Kat?"


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Confirmed. Receiving Noble Three and Noble Six's live visual of a Covenant strike force."


 * Jun-A266: "That's no strike force, it's an invading army. If we're gonna smother this thing, we need to go in hard and fast."


 * Catherine-B320 (COM): "Agreed. All recon teams disengage and fall back. Sun will be up in a few hours...and it's going to be a very busy day."

Fade to black.

Level ends.

Achievements
The following achievements can be unlocked on Nightfall across the Xbox 360 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection editions of Halo: Reach.

Glitches

 * Jun is known to accidentally shoot the player if he/she assassinates the target he is firing at, causing the player health to go down or even die. That is because the friendly AI regards the enemies that are assassinated as being alive until the player finishes the animation, and Sniper Rifle rounds can penetrate opponents.
 * After the encounter in the pumping station, the player takes a path that is inhabited by Moas. However, as the next area loads, the Moas will be erased from the level, even when in sight of the player.
 * By exiting a Forklift when it is parked next to the locked gate at the Stealth Pylon, a player can jump straight through the gate after a few tries, skipping the Hunter encounter. The next area will be entirely devoid of enemies; the player can then simply sprint to the end of the level. This is a very useful glitch when playing on Legendary. The ending cutscene will also feature two different tracks being played at once. Furthermore, the Tyrant will not be seen in the area. Note that this will not work on Cooperative Play.

Miscellaneous

 * A section of this level is a night-time version of the multiplayer map Powerhouse, with some notable differences such as the Stealth Pylon being absent in the multiplayer version.
 * This is the only level that features a Gúta, one of Reach's native species.
 * This is the last level to feature Moa.
 * This is the only level in any of the games to feature the Colonial Militia.
 * The Sniper Rifle given to Noble Six at the start of the mission has more ammunition capacity than normal. This is mission-specific only, as Nightfall is primarily a sniper mission. This is similar to the mission Truth and Reconciliation from Halo: Combat Evolved, in which John-117 uses a Sniper Rifle with above-normal ammunition capacity. The player's secondary weapon also has increased capacity, though this is often overlooked. But in Co-op the ammunition is at normal capacity.
 * The Firefight map Waterfront is based on a section of this level.
 * The Dreaming Grunt can be found on this level.
 * The actual date is not given at the start of the level, just the time. However, the next level, which begins the next morning, takes place on August 12, making Nightfall take place on the night of August 11.