Terminal (map)

For the unlockable objects found in various campaigns, see Terminal.

Terminal is a fairly large asymmetrical multiplayer map in Halo 2, included in the original game as part of the Maptacular Pack and in the Master Chief Collection port for Xbox One.

Summary
"This once-immaculate uptown neighborhood of New Mombasa is now a terrifying scene of carnage and chaos as an out-of-control MagLev hurtles through the city at insane speeds-"

Situated in a stretch of pre-war torn downtown New Mombasa, the Liwitoni MagLev station provides the central setting for Terminal. Long gone are the citizens, who would regularly partake in lunch, shopping and socializing amongst the towering skyscrapers and scattered palms. The people have fled in fear of the coming Covenant forces but plenty of danger remains – the city's high-speed MagLev commuter train has been badly damaged and now hurtles erratically through the transit system. The station is littered with UNSC propaganda and other posters, while screens in the terminal display Channel 7. Additionally, advertisements for the Hog can be found in the map. There is a thunderstorm bearing resemblance to that found above the Portal storm found in Halo 3 missions Tsavo Highway and The Storm either to the north or to the south of the station, although the skyscrapers mostly hide it.

This map includes the Wraith as the default heavy vehicle for multiplayer.

Territories

 * Train Crossing
 * Station Courtyard
 * Lower Garage

Terminal PA Announcements
In Terminal Station Level there are PA announcements to add a bit of realism to the map. The announcements, instead of being dry and generic bulletins, are in fact a relatively amusing source of "really cool, well written and well acted dialog" including in-jokes, Easter eggs, and Bungie references, and were written and acted by Bungie artist Mike Zak and designer Chris Carney - who were noted as being "VERY proud of themselves."

To hear the announcements clearly enough you can stand on the ramp that goes from the raised area inside the terminal up to the station platform. Look at the column with the scrolling "*STATION CLOSED FOR MAINTENANCE*" sign. Just above that sign is an inclined setback. Jump from the ramp to the part of the setback just to the right of the megaphone (you may have to crouch jump to make it). It'll take a few tries, but once you land there without slipping off, you stay there. Now the announcements are loud and clear. The best sound quality can be had by looking towards the map of New Mombasa near the floor.

Or you can listen to the announcements themselves at the HBO Halo 2 Dialog database.

Strategies
In CTF, It's a good idea to attempt to draw the enemy with the flag onto the tracks so you don't waste your ammo.

In a capture the flag match, it would be best if you are attacking, to jump into a Warthog (a Gauss Warthog) and get a gunner. Do not wait for other teammates to get in the passenger seat. Instead of going up the ramp, go in between the ramp, and the train wall, and take out the Wraith as quickly as possible. It does not matter if nobody is in it. Just destroy it; this will help your team a lot.


 * If you are the defending team you have three priorities besides guarding the flag...
 * 1) Get the energy sword. Should the offensive team have it, neutralize the wielder as fast as possible and then take it for your own use. One of the reasons to do so is the Wraith. Should someone on your team be manning it, and a sword wielder sword-cancels or just swords the Wraith, the sword will glide safely right up to it and instantly be able to board the vehicle and possibly kill the driver.
 * 2) Kill the enemy rocket-man and steal the rocket launcher. Even if the rocket launcher has one round left, keep it! Don't let it respawn! If you fire the last one, still hold on to it and prevent it from respawning, as doing this will slow the offense down. Give it to some one who is good with it or drives your team's Wraith.
 * 3) Keep the Wraith Tank in one piece! This is obvious; the Wraith is the ultimate vehicle based weapon platform in the map. Do not lose it! If it is destroyed, defense will be twice as hard since enemy Ghosts and Warthogs can roll right up to your base and give you hell.
 * 4) If you manage to grab the sniper rifle, you can generally stop most of an assault on your own, as you can destroy Ghosts with shots to the fuel tank, kill any driver if you are skilled enough, and kill ground troops before they even see you.
 * 5) If you are skilled enough with both the energy sword and rocket launcher or the energy sword and the sniper rifle, you may go on the offensive and take out all of the vehicle spawn protectors if there are any and take their vehicles.


 * If you are on the offensive team you have a lot more to do, such as:
 * 1) Drive a Warthog and cause chaos.
 * 2) Grab the rocket launcher. This should be obvious, Rocket(s) + Wraith = Wraith destroyed. Do not let the enemy team steal it and hog it for themselves. Most defenders are wise enough to shoot the rocket guy before any one else, so try and stick with a friend to have some cover.
 * 3) Shotgun: Also simple. Charging into the enemy base with a shotgun is the best way to counter a Wraith besides disabling it. The Wraith can't normally hit you when indoors, so take care of its weakness. Also, most people don't easily see the shotgun, but they do and almost always notice a sniper or rocket-wielder.
 * 4) Sniper rifle: One or two shots to down any basic shielded foe. Only the Wraith or overshield should be a problem. The overshield can be taken down with a whole magazine and the Wraith will have to be taken care of by the rocket wielder in your team. But if you can snipe him out of the Wraith because the roof is blown open, do so. Make sure to get to nice cover, and move often. A good sniper can support the team incredibly for assaults against the defenders. If the defenders have the rocket launcher and/or sword, prioritize them, and make sure a teammate can get to the weapon.
 * 5) Ghost: Though not impressive, drive it. Infantry will envy you and will scurry away upon seeing you rush them. You can also act as a distraction, harassing the Wraith so the Gauss Warthog or rocket launcher can destroy it.
 * 6) Energy sword, if the defenders were foolish enough to leave it lying around. Take it, they'll regret their mistake soon enough. But be warned, if you are not good with it, you might get a lucky kill before some one takes you down and liberate the close range weapon from you, so give the sword to someone skilled.
 * 7) If you are skilled enough with both the energy sword and rocket launcher or the energy sword and the sniper rifle, you can be a lethal combo for the offensive team since you can attack from short, medium, and long range or protect the vehicles or take out any stolen vehicles (easiest with the rocket launcher).

An excellent game mode to try is slayer with Brute Shots and carbines. The map has a excellent variety of open ground and elaborate buildings that are excellent for such a game style. While the Wraith is inadvisable, Ghosts provide an interesting touch.

Tips and tricks

 * There is a sniper spot above the parking garage. You can get up there by putting a Scorpion on the map (not recommended because it would take a LONG time to get the Scorpion in the garage). Go into the garage and jump on the Scorpion, or another player. This is also a possible spawn point.
 * By parking a Warthog underneath the tracks and leaving, enemies may attempt to get in the Warthog, only to be hit by the over-passing train.
 * The train is both indestructable, and strong enough to smash all kinds of vehicles on the map, including Scorpions and Type-26 Wraiths.
 * It is also possible to survive being hit by the train by jumping and grazing its top edge as it passes. This will cause the player to be launched into the air, draining their shields but not killing them.

Production notes

 * In the early design of Terminal, the light rail train was originally going to be engulfed in flames and people inside screaming could be heard as it passed by. The flames were later removed, probably because it was assumed to be too harsh, even for a multiplayer map. The screaming of panicked passengers can still sometimes be heard if you are attentive, as well as the conductor sounding the horn of the train, although much easier to hear. To hear this somewhere else go to the sound file website given above and listen to the "Passengers connecting to Orbital Shuttle Hub board westbound trains" file.
 * Artist Robert McLees was responsible for creating the map of New Mombasa found in this level, utilising both playable and non-playable spaces in Halo 2.
 * Terminal was conceptualised as a flexible asymmetrical arena, allowing players to play anything from Big Team Battle to multi-team Territories. Designer Jaime Greisemer's main goals for the map were to make vehicle combat central to a 4v4 map, and create situations where the Flag return would be contested.
 * Artist Michael Zak was responsible for the abstract layout of Terminal, with the train on the map coming from his ideas about the map's fictional "hook". The idea for the train was primarily inspired by his Christmas vacation, in which he spent time riding the sky train in Vancouver because he loves mass transit. During the production of Terminal, Zak was able to reuse many of the assets from the Halo 2 campaign missions set in Mombasa; "This was a great chance to use some of the assets we created for New Mombasa but never got the space or time to use. That means cool textures, geometry, and even lighting effects that we wanted to squeeze into Halo 2. Now we finally can."
 * Designer Chris Carney was brought on later in the project following the completion of the initial layout pass. He was then able to "really hone the experience, to rub it, to season it, to simmer it, until it became a glorious “reduction”, where the most important elements were the strongest flavors. Like ditching the banshee, and making a spawn hive for the defenders. Cause that’s cool. The hive." According to Carney, only one gametype doesn't perform well on the map; "I built Terminal very asymmetrically, and since the defending team spawns in a kind of hive, multi-flag CTF games would be pretty lopsided.""

Trivia

 * Sometimes, if the train smashes a Warthog, the turret will face the other direction.
 * All the phone booths in this level are booth number 7.
 * The dumpster near the Wraith will disappear in CTF.