Hold the Line

Hold the Line is the eighth campaign level in Halo Wars 2.

Transcript
{Cinematic Cutscene}

The Spirit of Fire'' is firing its deck guns while Banshees attack with strafing runs. Captain Cutter takes his seat on the bridge to oversee the situation while the entire bridge crew are busy.''
 * Captain Cutter: "Johnson, get those guns back inside."
 * Johnson: "We got a hull breach in sector seventeen."
 * Bridge Crew #1: "Jen, hit those head to blow."
 * Captain Cutter": "Where are we on that hull breach in sector seventeen?"
 * Bridge Crew #2: "ETA 60 Seconds!"
 * Bridge Crew #3: "Engineering system is damaged."
 * Bridge Crew #4: "Too many contacts!"

The point defense system on Spirit of Fire is offline as the deck guns on the starboard side are offline.
 * Bridge Crew #5: "Starboard gun is down."

Anders contacts the bridge while the ship receives another strafing hit from Banshees.
 * Anders: "Captain."

The crew where she is are running past her while she's contacting the bridge.
 * Anders: "Hard to do my best work like this. Can't we fight back?"

View cuts to the bridge where the crew notify the ship that more Banshees are coming out of the carrier.
 * Bridge Crew #6: "Carrier has released more Banshees."
 * Anders: "Um... are we fighting back?"
 * Captain Cutter: "We are, Professor. Let me handle that. You just get me the update on the Ark."

The Banshees are returning to the carrier Enduring Conviction while the crew assess the damage.
 * Bridge Crew #4: "Port defenses is down!"
 * Bridge crew #7: "Starboard guns are down!"
 * Bridge Crew #4: "Sector 1, 2 and 3 has internal fire!"
 * Bridge Crew #3: "Hull breach in six sectors."

Isabel appears next to Cutter, looking at him.
 * Isabel: "Poked the nest, didn't we?"
 * Captain Cutter": "We did. Evacuate and vent! How long can we keep this up?"
 * Isabel: "Not long. We're losing too many guns. At this rate it'll be over soon."

Anders arrives at the bridge to report.
 * Anders: "I think I've found a way to get help."

Cutter stands up and goes to the Holotable as Anders throws her tablet onto the holotable and Isabel appears on the holotable as well, revealing the schematics of the Ark.
 * Isabel: "You can reopen our portal?"
 * Anders: "No, we're going to make a Halo."
 * Isabel: "What?"

Anders opens the schematics where the replacements of the Halo rings are stored.
 * Anders: "I've discovered the Ark keeps an almost-finished ring in the central forges at all times."

She opened it, revealing an almost completed Halo replacement.
 * Anders: "It's an emergency replacement in case one of the other rings breaks down."
 * Isabel: "Rings?! You must mean GALAXY-DESTROYING SUPERWEAPONS, right?"
 * Anders: "Well, on that front, I've figured out how to disable the ring's firing mechanism. We can only launch it to one of locations of the original rings, however."

Cutter look seriously at the hologram view and he remember something.
 * Captain Cutter: "Isabel, you said the Master Chief first found a ring near enough to Reach... That would make it within range of comms beacon... It could work. Anders, how long do you need?"
 * Anders: "Twelve hours if my calculations are correct."
 * Captain Cutter: "We don't have twelve hours, professor. We might not have twelve minutes."

Cutter removes the Ark's schematics, opening the Enduring Conviction's hologram view and pointing at it with anger.
 * Captain Cutter: "Just can't beat that right now."

Isabel scans the holographic schematics and she has an idea.
 * Isabel: "I can. I'm gonna need a little help though."
 * Captain Cutter: "Explain."

Isabel removes the Enduring Conviction, opening two different terrain maps.
 * Isabel: "Well, for starters, I need her down there with me."
 * Captain Cutter: "Isabel..."
 * Isabel: "Sorry, sir. I've been on the Ark for a while. After recent battle reports you should have figured out that there are rules around here."

Isabel search for a place where she can potentially deal the most damage on the Ark.
 * Isabel: "I intend to break one. A BIG one."

Isabel opens the carrier's gravity lift and a Forerunner particle cannon.
 * Isabel: "We'll need to split the ground forces between these two locations to buy me some time."
 * Captain Cutter: "You're taking control of ground forces, now? Buy you time for what?"

Isabel looks at the Enduring Conviction while the crew gets ready to engage Banshees that are starting their strafing runs again.
 * Isabel: "That ship brought these monsters. Killed everyone I was supposed to protect. Now it wants to do the same to you, I won't let that happen."

The crew fire one of its newly repaired point defense guns, destroying two Banshees.
 * Isabel: "It's time to show them what power really means around here."

{Cinematic Cutscene ends}

CORE / FORERUNNER PARTICLE CANNON

HOLD THE LINE

Mission Briefing
 * Douglas-042: "Captain, we're on site of the Forerunner particle cannon we discovered at the Cartographer. We've targeted the Banished carrier and we're ready to fire on your say so."
 * Captain Cutter: "Do it. The Spirit of Fire wasn't built to fight a carrier like the Enduring Conviction and we can't hold it off for long."
 * Anders: "We're locked on, Captain! The cannon's not large enough to destroy the carrier, but it will immobilize it and punch a hole through its shields - if we can stay alive long enough."
 * Captain Cutter: "That's where the second part of Isabel's plan comes in. Jerome, are you and Isabel in place?"
 * Jerome-092: "Yes, sir. We're making our approach to the Banished base beneath that carrier."
 * Captain Cutter: "Good, be ready to get Isabel inside the carrier once its shields are down. Douglas, Atriox can't afford to lose that carrier, so he'll be sending all his local forces at you to stop that cannon."

Mission Summary

Protect the Forerunner particle cannon from the Banished until it breaks through the carrier's shields.

Scouting Report

Build turrets and deploy your army across Banished routes leading to the cannon.

{In game cutscene}

A Forerunner particle cannon is activated and delivers a hit to the Enduring Conviction.
 * Captain Cutter: "That's a confirmed hit, Professor. The Enduring Conviction is immobilized and not going anywhere. What's the ETA on full penetration of its shields?"
 * Anders: "Hard to estimate, Captain, this thing didn't exactly come with instructions. I'll draw as much power as I can into the cannon, but we're going to make one heck of a target."
 * Captain Cutter: "Agreed. Douglas, the Banished carrier is Atriox's biggest weapon and only means of slipstream transport, so he'll be sending everything he can to destroy that cannon."

{Gameplay}
 * Douglas-042: "Now that we've crippled their portals, the Banished will have to make a traditional frontal assault using whatever local forces they have. To reach the cannon, the Banished will have to pass through those choke points to the east and west, so we've set up UNSC barriers there to defend them. We need to make sure they hold fast."

The UNSC starts to establish their defensive line.
 * Anders: "I've set up monitoring equipment along each of possible routes, so I can alert Douglas as the Banished arrive."
 * Captain Cutter: "And with Atriox redirecting all his forces your way, he'll be leaving the base beneath the carrier relatively clear, giving Jerome and Isabel a chance to infiltrate it. They'll be standing by for word when you've broken through the carrier's shields. Hold the line, team."

Douglas contacts Jerome who is on standby and the countdown starts from 30 minutes.
 * Douglas-042: "Jerome, this is Douglas. We've got a confirmed hit on the carrier's shield. It's going to take a while to punch through but it's working."
 * Jerome-092: "Good to hear. We're making our way now. Keep that carrier busy for us."

Anders alerts Douglas as the Banished will soon arrive.
 * Anders: "Douglas. I'm starting to get early warning alerts on those monitors. The Banished will be here soon!"

When the countdown reaches 28 minutes, the infantry start coming from the North.
 * Anders: "Here they come! Infantry coming in from the North!"

Hunters start to join after the infantry from the North.
 * Anders: "Douglas, we've got Hunters coming from the north!"

While UNSC forces engages the incoming infantry and Hunters, jump pack Brutes coming from the north and leap to the base ahead but are eliminated immediately by Hellbringers and turrets.

Timer reaches 26:00 as more infantry arrives from the north.
 * Anders: "We have more infantry inbound from the north!"

Hunters start coming again along with infantry from the North.
 * Anders: "Douglas. Hunters to the north!"

When the timer reaches 24:00, infantry start to come from the north-east.
 * Anders: "Douglas, you have enemy infantry coming in, this time from the north-east!"
 * Douglas-042: "I guess it's time for a change of scenery. Move it, troops!"

More infantry inbound from the north-east.
 * Anders: "More infantry from the north-east!"

The UNSC wipes them out immediately on the choke point before they split up and the monitor has gone quiet for now.
 * Anders: "Douglas, the monitors have gone quiet - for now."
 * Douglas-042: "Yeah. Looks like we've bought ourselves a little time. Let's check our defenses and call in some more troops while we have the chance."

The timer reaches 22:00 and a new wave is coming.
 * Anders: "Infantry and enemy armor coming from the north-east!"
 * Douglas-042: "Roger that, Anders. Target those Wraith, troops! We can't let them through!"

More Wraiths, Choppers and Ghosts are coming from the north-east.
 * Anders: "Another Wraith incoming from the north-east."
 * Douglas-042: "They'll wreck our barricades in no time. Let's head them off, fast!"

The UNSC quickly form the defensive perimeter, not letting any of them go through.
 * Anders: "Enemy vehicles inbound from the north-east!"

After checkpoint is made safe, a squad of Ghosts is inbound from the east followed by Marauders.
 * Anders: "The monitors are lit up again - wait, they're coming in from a new route! We've got enemy vehicles inbound from the east!"
 * Douglas-042: "These guys are relentless! I can see how they managed to survive the Covenant during the war!"
 * Anders: "They're sending in more Ghosts from the east!"

A Wraith is attempting to make a beeline straight to Douglas' base while more jump pack Brutes are coming from the north.
 * Anders: "Douglas! One of their Wraiths is making a beeline for our base!"
 * Douglas-042: "If we lose that, we won't be able to hold the line. Let's make sure that doesn't happen."

The UNSC splits their forces in two, engaging enemy armor from the east and defending the base from the Banished raid.

A Locust arrives to attack the base.
 * Anders: "They're sending in a Locust from the east to attack our base!"
 * Douglas-042: "I've seen those before. 'Building Killers'. Let's take it out before it levels home base!"

While not done dealing with Locusts that head towards the base, more armor is coming from the east.
 * Anders: "More vehicles from the east, they've got heavy armor this time!"

More Ghosts and Wraiths are inbound from the east.
 * Anders: "Ghosts and Wraiths inbound from the east!"

Making things worse, infantry are coming from the east with intent to support the Locust that is heading towards the base.
 * Anders: "Ground troops coming in from the east, heading directly towards our base. Looks like they're support for a Locust strike!"

''The UNSC quickly wipes them out while defending the barrier. After a brief rest, the infantry are coming from the north and north-east.''
 * Anders: "Infantry coming from the north-east!"
 * Douglas-042: "They're trying to split out forces. Stay sharp."
 * Anders: "Uh-oh, we've got a wave of Suicide Grunts coming from the north-east."
 * Douglas-042: "Head them off fast before they can detonate!"
 * Anders: "Jump Brutes to the east!"

More infantry coming from the north-east.
 * Anders: "Infantry coming from the north-east."
 * Douglas-042: "I hate those guys. Take them out from range, you don't want to be close when they pop."

The UNSC continues to defend their position, not giving a chance to let the Banished through while Anders keeps giving Douglas warnings as to where the Banished come from.
 * Anders: "Uh-oh, we've got a wave of Suicide Grunts coming from the north-east."
 * Douglas-042: "Head them off fast before they can detonate!"
 * Anders: "Jump Brutes to the east!"

The Banished tries to break through the west barricade.
 * Anders: "The enemy is trying to break through the west barricades, we can't lose it!"

The timer reaches 12:00
 * Anders: "Douglas, the cannon's nearly broken through the carrier's shields. I just need a little bit longer."
 * Douglas-042: "Sure thing, Professor. Think they've taken enough punishment yet?"
 * Anders: "Apparently not...I'm receiving an incoming communication. It's not encrypted - and it's not UNSC. I'm patching it through."
 * Atriox: "Ah, little Spartan - I see you've recovered from our introduction. It seems you need another 'lesson'."
 * Anders: "That was him."
 * Douglas-042: "Atriox."
 * Anders: "Forget him, we need to focus on...uh oh... on EVERYTHING they're throwing at us."
 * Douglas-042: "Good. I've got some anger to work off."

Enemies start to come from every direction.
 * Anders: "Infantry to the north-east!"
 * Anders: "Enemy armor coming from the east!"
 * Anders: "More armor, this time from the north-east!"
 * Anders: "Wraiths to the north-east!"
 * Anders: "They're sending in infantry form the North-east!"

The east barricade is taking damage from the Banished's attack.
 * Anders: "We have to defend the east barricade! The Banished are trying to breakthrough!"
 * Anders: "Enemy vehicles inbound from the east!"

The Banished throw ground vehicles at the UNSC.
 * Anders: "Wraiths and Locusts from the north-east!"
 * Douglas-042: "What's the status on that shield? It's Banished central down here!"
 * Anders: "We're very close to punching through, hang on, we're almost there!"
 * Douglas-042: "You got it."

The Banshees attack on Spirit of Fire has been reduced as the Shipmaster diverts some of the Banshees to the particle cannon.
 * Captain Cutter: "Douglas, Professor! The Shipmaster has diverted some of his air units from the attack on the Spirit of Fire. They're heading your way."
 * Douglas-042: "We need to get some anti-air defenses, ASAP! Turrets! Wolverines!"

Banshees start coming and heading straight to the particle cannon, but not without taking out the UNSC's barricades first.

Banished then start to attack from all routes.
 * Anders: "Enemies inbound from all routes! Repeat, enemies inbound from ALL routes!"

The enemies are attempting to break through the east barricades again.
 * Anders: "Don't let them break through the east barricade! We need to defend it!"

If Banished are gathered at the east barricade.
 * Anders: "Douglas, there's a surge of Banished at the east barricade!"

If Banished are gathered at the west barricade.
 * Anders: "Douglas, there's a surge of Banished at the west barricade!"

When the east final barricade reaches 50% of its durability.
 * Anders: "The east barricade is under attack from the Banished, we've got to protect it!"

A Spirit lands, dropping three pairs of Hunters on the west barricade forcing the UNSC to split their forces again to defend the west and east barricades.

When final east barricade reaches 25%.
 * Anders: "Don't let them break through the east barricade! We need to defend it!"

If the Banished manage to destroy the east barricade.
 * Anders: "Douglas, we've lost the east barricade! The Banished have broken through!"

If Banished manage to destroy the west barricade.
 * Anders: "The west barricade is down! The Banished are coming through!"

If both of the barricades are down.
 * Anders: "That's both barricades down, Douglas. We're going to have to fight harder to defend the cannon now!"

If Banished start to attack the particle cannon.
 * Anders: "The particle cannon is taking hits! We've got to protect it!"

UNSC keep holding the line until the timer reaches zero.

{In-game Cutscene}

The timer reaches zero as Anders finally gathers the power she needs to take down Enduring Conviction's shields.
 * Anders: "Here goes."

The particle cannon emits a large burst as its output increases, taking down the carrier's shields.

The cannon's control platform descends and Anders runs back to the rendezvous point.
 * Anders: "It worked! The shields are down!"

Douglas, Anders and the UNSC forces rally on the extraction point as two Pelicans land to extract them while the rest of the UNSC bases and turrets are being deconstructed.
 * Douglas-042: "Nice shooting, Professor! Get ready for extraction back to the Spirit of Fire. Jerome, this is Douglas. The shield is down and you are a go."
 * Jerome-092: "Roger that, Douglas. Now get your troops clear. You don't want to be down there when Isabel gets started."

The Pelicans leave the extraction point, returning to Spirit of Fire.

Level ends

Leader Power Available on this level

 * R&D I
 * Archer Missiles I and II
 * Restoration Drones I and II
 * ODST Drop
 * Turret Drop I and II
 * Battle Hardened I
 * Lotus Mine I and II

Initial Structures and Units

 * Combat Station
 * Supply Pad
 * Generator
 * Douglas-042
 * 1 Hornet
 * 1 Warthog
 * 8 Watchtowers
 * 3 Marines

General

 * Create a kill zone to prevent the Banished from breaking through UNSC barricades. Turrets will not be enough to slow them down.
 * Southeast from the 1-slot mini base is the best defensive line since all units will be gathered mainly in the east.
 * There are other mini-base slots around the map. Use these to your advantage, but be careful as some of the enemies may divert their assault to it.
 * The 2-slot mini base often becomes a target of Hunters. Have at least two Marines with Combat Technician and 1 Nightingale to guard it.
 * Some areas are not visible by the Watchtowers and it's recommended to explore these areas with either Warthogs or Hornets.
 * Seize all the Power Nodes in the map as they will contribute to unit production or upgrades.
 * Destroy all Silos on this map at the beginning of the level for additional resources.
 * Set up defenses at specific chokepoints in order to maximize the defensive capabilities.
 * Set up Siege Turrets at the Firebase, as they will bolster ground defenses. Alternatively, equip two Base Turrets with anti-air upgrades and set up Siege Turrets in the two sockets furthest from the barricades.
 * Always bring Nightingales with you and not rely on only Restoration Drones.

Bonus and Optional Objectives

 * The AI-controlled Marines (garrisoned near the north 1-slot minibase) need to be taken out to allow the Banished access the lightbridge controls, which in turn is the prerequisite for the player to deactivate the bridge for killing 10 enemy units using the lightbridge controls.
 * Use Turret Drop at the west barricade because the Banished usually uses infantry to attack this point, and the turret can easily deal with them.
 * Have all minibases constructed, including a 1-slot base north of your base, another west of the portal, and a 2-slot minibase northeast of the initial 1-slot minibase at the north.
 * Should one be destroyed, it won't matter as long as the optional objective is completed.

Miscellaneous

 * This is the only level which features Turret Defense gameplay.
 * If enemy vehicles attack the cannon, a veteran Cyclops will be deployed to assist the player.
 * Players cannot speedrun at this level by any means necessary. Completion time will be always a par time of 31 minutes and 35 seconds.
 * The Sickness skull is awarded upon level completion for keeping all barricade intact. The Firestarter skull is awarded upon level completion for keeping the Particle Cannon health above 50 percent.

Mistakes

 * The level art depicts Alice-130 defending the particle cannon. In gameplay, however, only Douglas-042 is defending the particle cannon while Alice and Jerome are on the mission to infiltrate the Enduring Conviction.