Scarab Gun

"Think, MASSIVE FIREPOWER! For one level only."

- Frank O'Connor

The Scarab Gun is a Type-25 Directed Energy Weapon that looks like the normal Plasma Rifle but has the firepower of a Scarab's main cannon, hidden in the Halo 2 level.

Background
It has unlimited ammo, continuous rapid fire, and it never overheats. However, if you fire this gun too close to your position, you will die instantly due to the immense splash-damage. It is dual-wieldable, just like a normal Plasma Rifle. The Halo 2 Scarab Gun is the most powerful weapon of the entire Halo series, causing more destruction than the Halo 3 Spartan Laser, and even the Scarab Cannon in Halo 3. Even on Easy difficulty, with shields, it takes a great of amount of skill to not kill yourself.

Method 1
Note: The Sputnik Skull is recommended for this, but not necessarily required.

At the beginning of the Halo 2 level, Metropolis (Easy difficulty is the only practical way to attempt it), kill all of your allies. It is not necessary to kill the enemies on the bridge. Simply driving past them is sufficient to obtain the Scarab gun, but if you are playing on a higher difficulty, you may have to do so. At the point where the two extra allies show up on the bridge, the first two Banshees show up. Saving as many Banshees as possible will not help later as they tend to disappear once you enter the tunnel. The only practical way to have a backup in case you fail is to lure a Banshee into the tunnel, get a checkpoint and have the Banshee stuck in some convenient place (such as between two trucks/cars). Be sure to kill the marines that come on the Warthog. Next, clear the tunnel ahead. Stop, once you reach the closed section of the roadway and have to detour off into the pipes. (Make sure to kill the sniper in there before heading back.) This will leave the tunnel enemy free, making it easier to work a Banshee down the tunnel to the spot needed. This is where the Sputnik Skull may come in handy.

Because your melees make objects move further, it will be easier to maneuver the Banshee where you need it. Return to the end of the bridge and move a tank to road on the bridge. Land a Banshee on top of the tank and then drive the tank down the tunnel. When you reach the first road block, you will need to position the Banshee on the top of the ramp to the right. It is important that you don't attempt to fly the Banshee once in the tunnel. It will cause you to die. You are not able to fly the Banshee into the tunnel due to an invisible wall. Now by hitting the Banshee you can maneuver it through the walk way at the top of the ramp and past the road block. To get the Banshee through the walk ways and end tunnel it may be necessary to shoot off the wings. To do this use either a Plasma Rifle,Battle Rifle or a Sniper Rifle and shoot single shots until the wings are deformed. Don't hit the Banshee too many times in succession. Allow it to rest between attacks, or it will blow it up. Two melees is the most that the Banshees can usually take without needing to rest.

Work the Banshee past the second road block, by forcing it up the wall to the right and through the walk way again. Force the Banshee into the tunnel on the right and up the first ramp in the tunnel. You need to position the Banshee (once on the platform at the top of the ramp) so that it is facing into the next tunnel. Your Banshee should be upright and you should be able to walk up to it and see the "Hold X to pilot Banshee" message. Now force the Banshee, into the tunnel by using well placed and strategic hits. Once the "Loading ..." message appears you need to enter the Banshee before it disappears, If you don't make it you will have to revert to last check point and clear the tunnel again. If the Banshee is destroyed, it is necessary to go back and retrieve another and force it down the tunnel the same way.

After "Loading...done" disappears, fly through the tunnel and then directly up and to the left. There will be two suspension bridges; head to the first one. On the middle of the suspension bridge is a cone over which the Scarab Gun is hovering.

Method 2
Requirements: Lots of patience.

First, kill all the Marines and eliminate everything but one Banshee and one Wraith at the section before the tunnel. Before taking the wraith, use the scorpion turret to shoot off the wings of the last Banshee. Do not shoot too many times in a row or it will explode.Steal the Wraith, luring the Banshee through the tunnel. The reason why you need a Wraith is to better protect yourself from the incoming super heated plasma bombs from the Banshee (the Banshee WILL shoot at you) and to easily kill your allies in a Warthog later in the tunnel. While heading down the tunnel, do not race too far ahead, as a checkpoint will be triggered and the Banshee will disappear. On a similar note, do not let the Banshee draw too close before getting to the lower part of the tunnel, because it will turn around and leave. Try to keep the Banshee within track of your radar.

Kill all enemies in your way as you continue. Due to the AI wanting to do complex maneuvers, such as turning around or turning in general, it will occasionally get stuck in a crack. To fix this simply go directly behind it and move backwards until it turns around and gets itself out of the crack. Or, if it gets stuck near your enemies, you might want to leave it for awhile and kill the enemies first, thereafter returning to free it. This will ensure that it doesn't fly away while you're not keeping a keen eye on it. However, while doing this, you must make sure there is not too great a distance between you and the Banshee or it will disappear. Eventually, when you and it are in the service tunnel, lure it to the point where the loading screen appears. You have to board it within one second. Now fly directly up to a suspension bridge found in between two buildings (note that there are two bridges, go to the first one). Go to the middle of it and claim the gun.

Method 3
Requirements: Sputnik Skull, Black Eye Skull and an Overshield (Using Black Eye Skull).

First of all get the Black Eye Skull to get your shield to overshield range. Then drive a Warthog to the command outpost, and up the small bridge at the farthest from the outpost. Be sure your Rocket Launcher is either your primary or secondary weapon. Stand on top of the gunner part. Fire the rocket at the bridge. This is when the Sputnik Skull comes in handy, however, there is a high probability of death. Once on the bridge walk to the Scarab Gun and take it. Try it on multiplayer and hop off the bridge, die, respawn with another player and get your gun back.

Method 4
Requirements: Sputnik Skull and another player (strongly recommended).

First of all, get a Rocket Launcher and a Battle Rifle. Then, continue until you get to the part where you have to destroy the Scarab (The last part of the level) and get as much ammo for your Battle Rifle and Rocket Launcher but not necessarily required. Then, zoom in your Battle Rifle at the last bridge where there is no shelter and the connector to the second building. Shoot the box beside the middle exploding vent.

Once you shoot it three times, zoom out and head to it. Push the box and align it with the drain at the start of the bridge. Make it as perfect as possible, then jump on top of it. It is strongly recommended you wait for a checkpoint so you don't have to repeat the entire procedure all over again. Once the Checkpoint...Done appears, switch to your Rocket Launcher and shoot a rocket near the vent nearest to you. You will then fly up towards the bridge where the Scarab Gun is located. This takes some tries. Sometimes, you will go too low, sometimes, you will hit the bottom of the bridge and mostly, you might go too high and hit the invisible ceiling and fall to your death.

But after a few tries, you will be able to get it. This is far most the easiest way to retrieve it. It is suggested you do this in Co-Op mode because when you retrieve the deadly weapon, you will not be able to get down. In co-operative, you can position the second player directly under the suspension bridge. Then, drop to your death and the second player would most likely retrieve it.

Method 5
Requirements: Sputnik Skull and Phantomloads of patience.

This method may be the quickest and easiest out of all 5 methods. Start the level as normal (Easy difficulty is advisable, but not necessary). Kill your Marine allies (including the ones that spawn halfway across), then roll across the bridge and blow up any inhuman son-of-a-bitch dumb enough to get in your way. Blow up all Banshees EXCEPT FOR ONE. Leave one Banshee alive. It will continue to fire at you, but that's a risk you have to take. Proceed to pwn the Wraiths (note: You should have a checkpoint after you pwn the Wraiths. If you don't, move close to the tunnel and you should get a checkpoint), and go park your Scorpion near the end of the bridge (on the bridge side of the toll booths). Carrying on, stand on top of the turret and wait for the Banshee to swoop at you. When you think it's close enough, jump at it and board it. Take out the Elite that lands on the ground, and park your Banshee somewhere near your Scorpion. Jump back in your Scorpion and SLOWLY, SLOWLY proceed to use the Scorpion like a plow. If you increase speed too much, the Banshee will explode. You'll quickly learn the optimum speed to push at. In addition, if any of the 4 treads appear to be going over/on the Banshee, REVERSE IMMEDIATELY. Moving on, push the Banshee past the invisible barrier and into the tunnel. Be careful of firing any of the Scorpion's weapon systems as they may hit the Banshee. Before you come to the first roadblock, stop pushing and reposition the Scorpion so that the Banshee is being pushed on the Scorpion's right side. (Note: You may leave your Marine allies alive at this point. They can be useful in helping to clear the tunnels.) Push the Banshee up the ramp, and if you feel confident, you can push the Banshee over/through the roadblock using the Scorpion. It may be necessary to shoot the wings off the Banshee. I used a Battle Rifle, and it took 5 shots (on Easy) to the cylindrical boosters at the end of each wing to sufficiently destroy the wings. As with other methods, allow the Banshee to "rest" in between shots. Alternatively, you may a) melee it through the roadblock (again allowing the Banshee to "rest") or b) use the nearby Warthog to push the Banshee through. If meleeing, take a glance at "Melee Tips" at the end of this explanation. I used the Warthog, and continued to use it to push the Banshee all the way through the tunnel. Get out of the Warthog, or stop meleeing the Banshee, and clear out the tunnel. Proceed to push the Banshee up to the small walkway to the right of the second roadblock, and melee it through. Proceed to melee the Banshee through the next network of tunnels, making sure that once you get to the narrowest tunnel (the one in which the "Loading.. done" appears) the Banshee is facing forwards and you're able to get in it at a moment's notice. Melee it forward and as soon as "Loading... done" appears, pilot the Banshee. If done right, you'll be flying the Banshee through the small tunnel. Fly up to the two suspension bridges and claim your (suitably epic) prize.

Melee Tips: Through careful experimentation, I have learned the following things. All the following things are based on the Banshee being parked with its nose to your right, and its right side facing you.

Tip 1: Walking continually into the Banshee's cockpit will cause it to tilt up and possibly flip forward. This allows you to move it forward without hitting it.

Tip 2: Making the Banshee flip onto its back can, if used well, prove a brilliant tactic. After being flipped onto its back, the "Hold X to flip", if used from the side of the Banshee (standing next to a wing, for example), will flip it away from you, again moving it forward without hitting it.

Tip 3: Standing in the cockpit, if you look directly up and melee the top of what you're looking at, this can be VERY forceful. It can be (and has been) used to make the Banshee frontflip!

Tip 4: If you melee the circle-shaped portion of the Banshee's sides (the circular things on the very left of the Banshee's sides) while standing slightly behind the cockpit, this can make the Banshee spin, and is a very powerful hit. Hitting the left side will cause the Banshee to spin clockwise, and vice versa.

Other Scarab Guns
There are actually four Scarab Guns in Halo 2 -- two on and two on.

Outskirts Scarab Gun (1)

 * 1) On Outskirts with the Black eye and Sputnik skulls on, get a Rocket Launcher and grenades.
 * 2) Get in a Ghost and go to the highway tunnel. (Fun fact: if you go against the wall and out toward the water you can slip outside the map.)
 * 3) Go to the edge of the building and turn left. Now go boost forward until you get a checkpoint.
 * 4) When the checkpoint is activated, get out and aim at the ground. Throw a grenade, shoot the ground with a rocket, and, at the same time, jump.
 * 5) With an Overshield, you should fly up in the air.
 * 6) Hold X and you should (if in the right place) pick it up and land on the wall.

Outskirts Scarab Gun (2)
The second Scarab Gun does not actually exist. This 'second' Scarab Gun is a common misconception. The Scarab gun is obtained by 'tricking' the game into loading the Highway tunnel and then returning to the water, jumping up, then landing on the wall. The Warthog flies past, like it would if you were in the tunnel. After obtaining the gun, you can go through the tunnel and the Warthog and Scarab won't load, because the level has already loaded, and the scripted Warthog has already been activated.

Metropolis Scarab Gun (Alternate)

 * 1) On Co-op, at Metropolis, fight until you clear the city center and talk to Corporal Perez.
 * 2) Have one player stand where the Scarab arrives. Have the other go into the building and load the Scarab.
 * 3) When it loads, have the first player perform an Overshield-, Rocket-, Grenade-, or Sputnik-jump (or really any "boosted" jump) into the scarab's laser—or into the blue cloud, if there is one—and hold X, and they will pick up yet another Scarab Gun.

Trivia

 * The Scarab Gun has a slightly different appearance than a normal Plasma Rifle. On co-op, when you get the gun, have your partner look at you while you are dual-wielding it with a Plasma Rifle. There is a glow at the tip of the Plasma Rifle, that is not present on the Scarab Gun (although you can do it on single player).
 * Unlike the Plasma Rifle which fires blue bolts, the Scarab Gun fires the same green beam a Scarab does. However, it fires with reduced accuracy and as 'rounds' (even though the ammo is unlimited), rather than a continuous beam, like the Sentinel Beam.
 * An achievement in Halo 2 Vista called King of the Scarab is unlocked by obtaining this weapon.
 * Interestingly, the safety cone underneath the gun has multiple "Danger" signs on it, showing that the gun might have been put there intentionally to keep it away from others. Also, this is supported by the fact that Bungie put in an actual model (the plasma rifle's model) for the weapon, unlike other vehicles' .weapon tag (weapons are not specified in the vehicle tag).
 * If the player gets into the side seat of a Warthog and fires the Scarab gun, the screen (except for the HUD) will go completely white until the player stops firing. That's because, in third person, the weapon's gleam is as large as the Scarab's main gun.
 * If you give a marine this Easter egg, he will hold it as if it were a normal plasma rifle, but he will never fire it. Bungie might have expected this and took steps to prevent this in order to balance the game AIs.
 * It was confirmed by Bungie on April 16, 2010, that the Scarab Gun was intentionally put in there as an Easter Egg
 * If you pick up the gun, the screen will still say "picked up a plasma rifle."
 * If you grab the gun and make it to the part when the Scrarab shoots the Scorpion destroy the Scorpion and the Scarab will refrain from firing.

External

 * Video Tutorial