Too Close to the Sun

Too Close To The Sun is a Halo 3 Achievement. It is awarded for destroying a Banshee in either campaign or a ranked multiplayer playlist or Campaign with a Spartan Laser or Missile Pod. Unlocking this achievement will give you the Scout Body for Spartan II Armor Customization. It is represented by a red ten-pointed star with a brown-winged white star.

Easy Ways

 * An easy spot to complete this achievement is near the start of The Covenant, after the first batch of Brutes and Grunts. Banshees occupy the airspace there, and Master Chief spawns with a Spartan Laser. You can easily shoot down a Banshee in the area that the Pelican drops a Mongoose.
 * If this is still not good enough, save up your Spartan Laser ammo and fly the Hornet (the one to transport you to the third tower) and park it on the cliff between the tower with the Thunderstorm Skull and the entry to the 3rd tower. Around the cliff area there should be an enemy Phantom and a ton of Banshees. From here, start shooting at the Banshees with your Laser. The Banshees shouldn't attack you since there are two Pelicans nearby that the Banshees will focus their fire on. If something goes wrong (like running out of ammo, getting shot etc.), you can always reset to last checkpoint (which should be on the beach where you enter a Hornet or in mid air in the Hornet).
 * Another easy spot is on The Storm, where the Scarab enters and there are stationary Missile Pods. Drive your Mongoose or Ghost up to the Missile Pods as fast as possible so the Banshees aren't killed by Hornets, then use the Missile Pods to shoot down the Banshees. Remember that you do not have to rip the Missile Pod off its base.
 * A much easier way is take the turret off the stand, then walk through the next fight with Brutes in the warehouse, use one on each of the Hunters at the end (one-hit kills, even on Legendary), and use it on the Banshees flying around the AA gun. This is simple because all they do is fly around waiting for you to kill them.
 * Another way to get this achievement is to have an enemy Banshee on Sandtrap, shoot it to get it's attention, grab the Laser or Missile Pod, there's a Missile Pod in the crate near the Elephant and a Laser near the Trip Mine, which is next to the entrance to the tunnel. As soon as the Banshee is in the open, fire about 4 rockets from the pod as soon as you get a lock-on. If it starts strafing again the missiles will destroy it. If you try it with the Laser, get the enemy player's attention, if it strafes you line up and charge your laser, if it attempts to splatter you, get out of the way. As it flees, charge and track it, if you practiced with the laser, you should be able to get this achievement fairly easy. (With the recent addition of DLC Big Team, this Achievement is much easier to come by.)
 * A really easy way is on DLC Big Team on Valhalla, try to get the Missile Pod and camp inside the base, eventually an enemy will get in a Banshee, come out and do some damage, or you can do it the hard way and get the Spartan Laser. That, or you can do it in a more difficult fashion. If you grab the Spartan Laser at the top of the hill, you can easily lure a Banshee into coming directly at you. No doubt the Banshee in question will shoot at you, in which case you walk backwards until you fall off of the hill, granting you momentary cover. Then it's simple. Just shoot the Banshee down using your Spartan Laser.
 * Another extremely easy way to get this achievement is to do the level The Covenant at mission start only. You must do this in Co-op. Get up to the part with the Hornets, have player 2 (The Arbiter) drive, and get player 1 (Master Chief) to sit in the side seat.  Have Player 1 charge up the Spartan Laser, and have P2 drive up close to a Banshee so player 1 can shoot.

Trivia

 * The name of this Achievement is a reference to the ancient Greek myth of Icarus. The inventor Daedalus and his son Icarus were imprisoned by King Minos of Crete, and in order to escape their captivity, Daedalus invented a pair of wings held together by wax. Daedalus warned Icarus not to fly too high or the sun would melt the wax and cause him to crash. Icarus was overjoyed by flight, however, and did not heed his father's warnings. Thus, he flew too close to the sun and was killed when his wings gave way as a result.

Related Pages

 * Halo 3 Achievements