Blue Team (level)/Walkthrough

This is a walkthrough for the second level of Halo 5: Guardians, Blue Team. It is written for play at Legendary and Heroic difficulty.

Level notes

 * This level is all Covenant unlike the previous one, so the Noob Combo is now viable. The plasma pistol can now be smart-scoped, for "peppering" at long distance with small shots and also to make the overcharge more accurate. Note that on Legendary, high-ranked Elites like Warriors and Zealots can resist one overcharge, needing two following headshots to be killed.
 * You have access to every human weapon in this level and a lot of Covenant ones. As such, there are many more ways to get through encounters and more firepower when you need it.
 * On Heroic, the DMR takes five shots to kill an Elite Storm in 1.4 seconds, while the Battle Rifle takes 4 shots in 1.3 seconds. However, the Battle Rifle has 12 shots per magazine while the DMR has 15, and has 48 shots total while the DMR has 60. As for the Carbine, it takes six shots to kill in 1.3 seconds, but has 20 rounds per magazine and can carry 100 shots total. Ammo for the battle rifle is plentiful, DMR ammo is slightly rarer, and carbines are only available in two rooms.
 * The best weapon to arm Blue Team with is Hydra launchers. The NPC Spartans are capable of firing them rapidly from long-range without having to reload, they have lots of splash damage, and they're both strong enough to deal with high-ranked enemies while weak enough that Blue Team won't shy from using them on minor infantry. There are five Hydra Launchers total available in the level.
 * Fred is armed with a DMR, Kelly with her shotgun Oathsworn, and Linda with her sniper rifle Nornfang. Their disposable secondaries are M6H pistols.
 * On Heroic, automatic weapons like the assault rifle, SMG, and storm rifle are viable. On Legendary, they're better ignored for the noob combo.
 * Any rank of Elite can toss grenades now. Keep strafing and avoid backing into a corner.
 * Jackals are more dangerous now because Rangers can use storm rifles, giving them the same firepower as Elites. As they frequently come in group, stay back so they don't swarm you.
 * If you miss targeting an enemy and instead order your teammates to a far location, just point at the floor and target again to override that command.

The Data Center
You start with an assault rifle and a magnum. There's no combat in the level until you pass the first Mission Intel and enter the second room. There will be two Grunts examining consoles unaware of your presence, and a third one in a tunnel to the right. Past them in the next room are two Jackals, an Elite Commander and Warrior leading some Grunts, and another Warrior further back with two Jackals and three Grunts that enter after them.

The Grunts are easy to assassinate; the only danger is accidentally opening the door next to one of them, which will alert the other enemies to your presence. They also carry plasma pistols with full 100% charge. The tricky part is the next room. It's divided into three sections, a narrow corrider where Jackals patrol, a wider room with boxes where two Elites and Grunts stand guard, and a higher level reached by ramp where the highest ranked Elite will fall back to and let in more enemies. On Heroic, the box room is accessible by a hidden vent tunnel that lets one assassinate one of the Warriors. Then one can hide behind the boxes to pick off the others. But on Legendary this will get you in a tight corner where suicide Grunts can easily get you, plus you'll be separated from your teammates.

So on Legendary, assassinate all three Grunts, grab a plasma pistol from one of them, and head down the tunnel to the corridor. Surprise the two Jackals with a grenade and use your magnum to shoot the gap in their shields. The Grunts will come around the corner while the Elites will hang back. Be careful going around corners because the Elites like to toss grenades. After killing the Grunts with headshots, use the noob combo to fight Elites. When two Elites are dead, the last one, usually a Warrior, will fall back to the upper level, which is defended by two Jackals. Going up the ramp he went up by is risky, as he'll often toss a grenade, take pot shots, or even draw an energy sword. He'll also open a door letting in three more Grunts. Try clambering up from a bit farther back to put some distance for magnum shots.

When the enemies are dead, grab another of the completely full plasma pistols from the previous room. Your allies' weapons don't matter much for now, but if you'd like you can order them to pick up storm rifles or SMGs from the crates. Refill your magnum ammo from the dispensers nearby and then activate the data center then the elevator for the next encounter.

The Repair Bay
The elevator deposits you and your team at a platform over the next encounter, which is accessed by charging through a metal barrier and ground pounding the Grunts below. You can actually see down below through a window on the platform. Below are several Grunts, several shield Jackals and Elite Rangers stationed a yard of construction equipment, Jackal Rangers hanging back as marksmen, and a two-storied platform they're defending with more Grunts, two more Rangers, and a Zealot at the top.

Look through the window, pull out your magnum, wait for the Grunts to cluster together, then charge and ground pound the Grunts, headshotting any that are left. Blue Team will follow, and your tactic now will be to dodge and weave through cover, picking off Jackals and noob comboing Elites. Use the squad commands to target weakened foes; Blue Team can often finish them off and the HUD marker will track the enemy should they retreat. Keep using the targeting, because without it Kelly and Linda like to charge into the enemies and get overwhelmed, while a specific foe usually leads them to hang back to shoot.

When most of the Elites are dead or falling back, the Jackal Rangers will come up and harass with their storm rifles. There's a lot of them and they have long sightlines, so use cover and carefully headshot with your pistol, as well as having Blue Team target them. They often like to take position at a platform on the left, so don't move up until they appear to be dead or retreating.

When the remaining Covenant are on the two-storied platform, you have two ways of fighting them. The first is to walk up the platform via its stairs to engage them. This lets you up there quickly but is risky because they have the high ground, so they might charge you on the narrow stairs. The second is to try and flank them by climbing up the crates on the right. This lets you keep some distance from them, though clambering takes time and you may need to jump off if they toss grenades. Pick off the Grunts, and order Blue Team up the stories ahead of you to lure out Elites for noob combos. The last will usually be the Zealot, who will first hang back firing a storm rifle before moving in with a plasma pistol. Do not head up his stairs to engage him; wait for him to charge your teammates for an easy noob combo.

When the music slows, the area is clear. Your pistol is probably half-empty, so swap it for a DMR hidden under the platform's first story. Grab a plasma pistol as well, or if you're using the SMG you can find some ammo for it behind the crates on the back right of the bay.

The Shipyard
At the top of the platform is a Hydra Launcher. It's a handy weapon with targeting grenades that's easy to fire and useful on tough foes. But in the upcoming section there's going to be a ton of Jackal Rangers, who easily dodge the grenades and are too numerous for a weapon that can only lock-on to one enemy at a time. So order a teammate to pick up the Hydra instead. Kelly is the best choice; she'll use it the most often because her shotgun has a rather short range. Make sure she or another teammates goes through this level with it, because it will be very important later.