Halo (Halo 3 level)/Walkthrough

Overview
This is a walkthrough for the Halo 3 level, Halo. It is written for play at the Legendary difficulty. It is the last of the game, and it mirrors the final Halo Level, The Maw. Your objective for this mission is to reach the Control Room of the newly constructed Halo Ring and activate it, then to escape. You are joined on this mission by the Arbiter. You will begin the mission with whatever weapons you finished with on the previous level, or if starting out of the Campaign Menu you will begin with the Assault Rifle and the Rocket Launcher.

If you've made it this far on legendary this mission is going to feel incredibly easy in comparison to Cortana, and will seem only moderately difficult. There are plenty of Flood, but they are dispersed quite a bit and there is only one stand up fight against them so this is possibly the easiest flood level in the game.

Good Skulls on this mission are Thunderstorm, Catch, Tough Luck, Fog, Mythic and Cowbell. However for a truly challenging experience you can turn them all on. It is not an insurmountable task, but requires careful progression.

Master Chief Crashes Again
By now you've realized that the Master Chief is an expert in all manners of combat, weapons and vehicles. He has only one weak point, he can't land without crashing. Once you've gotten your bearings take a look around, on the ground you'll mind all manner of weapons to choose from. There are Battle Rifles and Shotguns, Assault Rifles and Rocket Launchers. Whatever you are comfortable with is good, this walkthrough is written for the Battle Rifle and Assault rifle. they provide you with an excellent ranged attack and good close in firepower as well as a solid melee. You'll swap out later, but for now, these are your best bets for a solid start.

Grab your weapons and follow the Arbiter through the mountain pass to the bottom of the control room. Flood dispersal pods will fall in and Flood Combat forms will begin to appear blocking your way to the control room. Use your Battle Rifle and start clearing at range. Move forward or more flood will simply appear and use up your precious ammo. As you close in on the bottom ramp of the control room (right side) switch to your MA5C and use short bursts to clear a path. If you can see a Brute Shot, swap it for your battle rifle. All your work is going to be close in now so range isn't that much of a consideration.
 * note: At the bottom of the Control Room on either side are a Fuel Rod Gun, Flamethrower or Rocket Launcher with lots of Ammo.

Outside the Control Room
Heading up the path to the control room you're going to encounter lots of Combat Forms and Pure Forms. This is where the Brute Shot and MA5C are most handy. Most of your firing is going to be done up close and personal so a strong melee is necessary, and the Brute Shot grenades are very good at dealing with Ranged Forms. On the far side of the tower you will receive limited assistance from Sgt. Johnson. He has a Spartan Laser, which is great against the Pure Forms, but useless against the Combat Forms. Make your way to the top of the path where the blast doors to the Control Room are. Here, 343 Guilty Spark being the pragmatic AI that it is, will not open the doors until you clear the flood off of the platform. Set up the Automated Turrets and bring up your MA5C. A shotgun can also be of use here, but your better off sticking with the Brute Shot until your out of ammo. Once you've cleared the platform, before you go inside, you need to do two things.
 * 1) Destroy the Automated Turrets. They were helpful now but later, if you leave them they're just gonna make your life miserable.
 * 2) Load up your weapons and drop whatever weapon you want to keep by the door.

Head inside to light the candle on this party.

You Really Shouldn't Trust Monitors
You're going to reach the Control Room, you'll trigger the cut scene and Guilty Spark is going to go turn on you. For the first part just try and stay out of his way. He has a strong red beam and a force field projector. Back away, or jump over the beam, and try to stay to the center of the platform, as the closer you are to the edges the more likely you are to be pushed over by the force field. Just keep moving around until the cut scene plays, you can shoot at Guilty Spark but it doesn't do any damage so don't bother. Once you've gotten a hold of the Spartan Laser from Johnson, take aim and fire. Three shots should take care of the Monitor. It can be a little tricky to center him in the reticule so wait until it starts talking as it tends to stop moving and not shoot at you while speaking. Once you've killed Guilty Spark the cut scene will trigger.

Nice Work, Now Let's Get the Hell Out of Here!
Okay, The ring is active, the Flood and the Sentinels want your blood and all you have is an Assault Rifle. No Grenades, no second weapon. Good thing you've spent so much time with your MA5C otherwise this might be a problem. Head back out and deal with the Combat Forms and Infection Forms that appear. You'll pick up some grenades and a Plasma Rifle. Once you reach the blast door swap your Plasma rifle for your Brute Shot that you left before the Control Room. Follow the Arbiter up to the right onto the ledge. Run past the Sentinels that are now your enemies and only engage the Combat Forms if they offer you ammo or resistance. Don't slow down to kill Sentinels for their Sentinel Beams. It is effective against Flood but you would probably be toasted faster than a Turkey on Thanksgiving. Go into the hallway and engage the Combat Forms here, you should be able to mow them down fairly easily. Once you turn the corner stick the Carrier Forms and kill the infection forms or wait until the Carrier Forms explode then toss a few grenades to quickly wipe out the Infection forms, on lower difficulties it is possible to do Floor Sweeping with a Sentinel Beam. After you've cleared the tunnel head out into the open air.

Ride or Die.
Outside you'll find Johnson's Warthog waiting for you. Depending on the difficulty you can also find a Mongoose or a couple of Brute Choppers. Because of the differences in their weight, maneuverability, speed and weapons these vehicles make completion of the level more challenging. The Warthog is the most stable and easiest vehicle to complete the level in.

The Arbiter will man the Turret and trust in him to deal with the enemies that crop up. But that's a secondary concern. More important is your ability to drive. You need to be swift and crafty to avoid the Flood, The Sentinels and the rapid deterioration of the activating ring. You will be given waypoint indicators on your HUD. These are but guides, as often heading directly for these points will result in falling down a hole to your death. Avoid the Carrier Forms when they appear, but other than that, only pay attention to the ground in front of you. Sentinels can be a major pain, but as long as you don't slow and stay on the ground as much as possible their effect is limited.

You'll first head through several Flood infested areas and some straightaways with falling debris and large holes. Make note of the explosions and smoke plumes. these areas lack ground so you should avoid them. Once you've passed through the third set of Flood areas and straightaways you will end up in a large tiled area with plenty of Sentinels and a path marked in red. follow the path, sometimes you'll have to go around areas that are falling away, keep an eye on your waypoint indicator so you know your headed in the right direction. Once you can see the Forward Unto Dawn, gun it. You need to go straight and fast. The panels are falling out as soon as you drive over them. Head over the edge and into the cargo bay. The cutscene will begin and congratulations, you've just completed Halo 3.

Skulls
Activating Skulls on this level is a good multiplier, but here is a breakdown of skull use on this level and how it will affect your gameplay.


 * Iron
 * If you're confident in your skills, this is an excellent challenge, but if you hesitate the slightest bit you will go back to square one.


 * Black Eye
 * In the first area of the level, excellent, in the vehicle, suicide. Not Recommended.


 * Tough Luck
 * A consequence-free multiplier; the Flood don't dodge.


 * Catch
 * Activate this skull if you have it; the Flood don't use grenades, but they will drop more when they die, and will cause many deadly chain reactions if you throw a grenade near one.


 * Fog
 * A consequence-free multiplier; you're only headed one direction, and when you see one Flood you know you're surrounded.


 * Famine
 * Ammunition is scarce on this level, and why make it more difficult.


 * Thunderstorm
 * Nearly consequence-free; a few more shielded Combat Forms are all that will result.


 * Tilt
 * This skull is probably the most annoying, but also the easiest to get around. Your Plasma weapons will become very ineffective, but projectile weapons like the Spiker and Human weapons are twice as deadly.  Being able to aim properly is key here as headshots with the Carbine aren't affected.


 * Mythic
 * Much like the "Tilt" skull, for experienced players it's going to be more annoying than anything else. Accurate fire and knowing your weapons will effectively negate the consequences of activating this Skull.  For inexperienced players, and those with difficulty aiming, this skull can be a death sentence.